December 2, 2025 – Australia Headlines

Story gist: A review released by the Australian Labor government examined appointments to government boards. It found routine favoritism in those appointments, termed ‘jobs for mates’.

Bias summary: Left-leaning Guardian stresses ‘routinely abused’ appointments, emphasizing scandal severity. Center ABC.net.au uses milder ‘look like nepotism,’ focusing on review findings without strong condemnation. Right-leaning Australian highlights ‘Labor finally releases,’ implying government delay and shifting scrutiny to current administration’s handling over past practices.

Story gist: The Australian government unveiled reforms to the Department of Defence’s capability development and delivery processes. The changes address reported delays and cost blowouts.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like The Guardian provided no coverage of the story, omitting the defence reforms entirely. Center outlets such as ABC.net.au framed it neutrally as government unveiling overhauls amid delays and blowouts, emphasizing context without judgment. Right-leaning The Australian dismissed the reforms skeptically, highlighting superficial title changes for executives with no substantive results.

Story gist: First weekday passengers traveled on Melbourne’s new Metro Tunnel services. Firefighters’ union responded to trespassing claims at the tunnel.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like The Guardian frame the story positively, emphasizing passenger enthusiasm and celebrating the tunnel’s opening through personal endorsement. Center outlets like abc.net.au highlight criticism of firefighters for a ‘potentially deadly’ trespassing incident. Right-leaning coverage is absent, omitting any conservative perspective on the event.