It was a big year of news at The Epoch Times Australia, with several stories garnering local and international attention.
January: Australia Day Controversy
It’s no doubt Australia Day is a passion topic among readers, and the top story from January proves just that.
The cause was taken up by One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson, who later said the retailer had responded to her queries to clarify its position—that store teams are free to mark Australia Day in a way that suits them.
“In the past, some of our stores have chosen to display the Australian flag alongside the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander flags, and others have run team and customer activities,” Director of Store Operations Ben Camire told The Epoch Times.
Australia Day continues to be a contentious topic as some Indigenous and progressive groups call for the date to be moved.
February: Blood Pressure a Silent Killer
Readers proved to be very interested in health-related issues when an old story about high blood pressure being a major culprit in illness rocketed to the top of the most well read stories of February.
More than one in five Australian adults have high blood pressure, but researchers discovered many are not receiving adequate treatment.
Around half of all sufferers are unaware they have an issue.
“Blood pressure is the leading cause of death. Lots of people are not aware of that,” said lead author Alta Schutte, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at UNSW Sydney.
March: Bankwest Closes Last Remaining Physical Branches
The news that Bankwest had become a digital-only bank—closing its remaining 45 branches in Western Australia and transitioning 15 to Commonwealth Bank branches—had readers heartily debating the decision.
Bankwest explained its decision had come about because only 2 percent of customers actually visited physical branches, while admitting the change would be “difficult news” for some.
The Finance Sector Union criticised the move, saying it would disadvantage older or regional customers.
Australian banks closed 424 branches and 718 automatic teller machines (ATM) during the 2023 financial year, proving the cashless trend is moving full steam ahead.
April: School Girls Subjected to Shocking Content
It was a story that had readers concerned and saddened when Year 9 girls at a South Australian school were revealed to have been subjected to a disturbing sex education session.
Renmark High School, in the Riverland region, had brought in a third-party presenter from mental health clinic Berri.
The presenter ushered the girls into a room and proceeded to swear and talk about bestiality and incest, and how those things were accepted under the LGBT banner.
The Epoch Times reported some girls had been so upset they had to fake the need for bathroom breaks.
It was understood the session happened without parental approval, and without teachers present.
Ben Hood, shadow assistant minister for regional South Australia, said he had spoken to many parents about their growing concerns and determined that Renmark may not have been an isolated incident.
May: Woman Wins Court Case Over Vaccine Mandates
In May, the most read story on the Epoch Times Australia edition was that of Xin Yin Ooi, lead data analyst at the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Planning and Environment.
A court found it was “unreasonable” to demand Ooi get vaccinated because she had a valid work-from-home agreement in place.
June: Action on CCP Organ Harvesting ‘Slow’
International human rights lawyer David Matas remarked that Australia’s progress towards trying to end the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) practice of forced organ harvesting was “very slow.”
“I’ve been on this file since 2006. It’s 18 years,” he told The Epoch Times on June 4, during his visit to the Australian Parliament. “That’s slow.”
Matas and fellow human rights lawyer David Kilgour authored a report in 2006 that confirmed state-sanctioned organ harvesting was occurring in China.
The investigation found the main source of organs was from practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice from the Buddhist tradition.
July: Complex Blood Cancer on Rise
A story about a complex blood cancer being diagnosed in Australians was the most read story in July.
The cancer, myeloma, is expected to affect 80,000 people by 2043.
Myeloma affects plasma cells found inside bone marrow, which creates antibodies to kill viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
When a person has myeloma, the cells do not fulfil their function and crowd the marrow so there is not enough room for new working cells to grow.
Symptoms include fatigue, prolonged infections, and unexplained bone aches or bruising, but the signs can be subtle and often go undetected for some time.
August: Court Rules in Favour of Trans Woman in Discrimination Case
It was big news in August when the Tickle v Giggle case concluded in Federal Court.
Male-to-female trans woman Roxanne Tickle brought legal action against the founder of the Giggle for Girls app Sall Grover after she blocked Tickle from joining.
In Grover’s judgement, Tickle was not a biological woman.
However, Justice Robert Bromwich found Grover had committed an instance of “indirect gender identity discrimination,” but not direct discrimination—a broader ground.
Grover was ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation and legal costs—a fraction of the $200,000 claimed by Tickle.
During the proceedings, the court found that “sex is changeable.”
CEO Rachael Wong said the case was a let-down for women across the nation.
September: EV Recall Due to Battery Software Defect
In September, it was electric car recalls that captivated readers.
Consumers were advised to go to their nearest MINI dealer for a free software upgrade at no cost.
The story was one of many during the year highlighting the potential dangers of lithium batteries.
October: Musk Loses Case to eSafety Office
Elon Musk’s X Corp suffered a defeat in the Australian Federal Court in October, being ordered to comply with a “safety notice” issued by the eSafety commissioner.
The court ruled that the company cannot avoid responsibility for a fine or daily penalty for non-payment and must also pay the commissioner’s court costs.
In October 2023, the Office of eSafety fined what was then Twitter $610,500 after it failed to satisfactorily answer questions about harmful content on its platform, particularly child sexual abuse material.
This fine, issued under Australia’s Online Safety Act, could incur daily penalties of $780,000 for each additional day the company does not respond.
The notice, issued in February 2023, required the platform to prepare a report about the extent to which it had complied with eSafety’s expectations for the year leading up to January.
The deadline for submission was March 29, and the required form included 31 numbered questions, many with sub-questions.
November: Analysis of Alan Jones Case
The news of indecent assault charges against veteran radio broadcaster Alan Jones caused shockwaves across Australia.
The conservative commentator, aged 83, faces a total number of 34 charges against him.
Jones has always insisted he is innocent throughout the process, and has an active defamation case against Nine Entertainment newspapers that will likely be put on hold until the criminal trial takes place.
December: Aboriginal Group Discontinues Welcome to Country
The Indigenous “Welcome to Country” once again became the subject of debate when a group of Indigenous elders in Queensland voted against continuing the practice.
The Juru people of the Burdekin region said the ceremony had become commercialised and were practiced divorced from their original traditional context—to ensure people were safe on the “country.”
“What I can see today is Welcome to Country has become a bit of, it’s a business that supports some individuals and that’s where, again, they’re losing the cultural insight of what the Welcome to Countries are about,” Juru Indigenous elder Randall Ross told 4BC Radio.
