Many may consider Australia a distant country with little significant news.
But several big news events here, from the Wakeley church stabbing to the social media ban for under 16s and Lidia Thorpe’s outburst at King Charles, made international headlines in 2024.
“Many of Australia’s major news events in 2024, like the Queensland election and Cyclone Kirrily, were domestically focused,” Lisa Harrison, communications and media lecturer at Flinders University, told SBS News.
“However, certain stories did gain international traction not because they were unique but because they represented broader global themes.”
Here are some of the Australian news that made headlines around the world in 2024.
Wakeley church stabbing and Elon Musk controversy
On 15 April, , in Sydney’s west, was reported by several major overseas news outlets.
The stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emanuel happened during the live-streamed sermon, and NSW police arrested a 16-year-old boy, charging him with terror offences.
As the video of the attack was circulated on social media, the federal government ordered social media platforms to remove “offensive content”, which led to, owner of X.
Musk raised concerns about free speech, and Albanese called him an “arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law, but also above common decency”.
An end for Julian Assange’s 14-year-long saga
In June, after a 14-year legal Saga, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks,
Politicians from several countries reacted to his release.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said: “I can only say that I am very happy that this case, which was discussed very emotionally all over the world and moved many people, has finally found a solution.”
However, former US vice president Mike Pence wrote on X: “Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration’s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families.”
Australian breakdancer Raygun on Jimmy Fallon show
In August, during the 2024 Paris Olympics, Australian breakdancer Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn’s performance went viral worldwide, something she didn’t expect.
A sketch of her performance was even shown on The Tonight Show, a US late-night talk show starring Jimmy Fallon.
“I did preview some comments and I was like, ‘Oh, no,’ and this kind of sick feeling started, started coming out, I was like, ‘Oh, goodness! What has happened?'”
Right to disconnect: From Australia to the US
In August, the federal government introduced new legislation allowing millions of Australians
This local news got attention from international media outlets. The New York Times wrote: “In Australia, ‘out of office’ may soon take on a whole new level of importance” and asked its audience what they thought about the legislation.
“The key distinction in 2024 was Australia’s role as an initiator rather than a responder to global events, particularly in digital policy, global policy influence and Infrastructure incidents,” Harrison said.
“This represents a shift from Australia’s usual pattern of making headlines by responding to global trends or experiencing natural events to actively shaping global policy discussions and technological impacts.
Aurora Australis painted the night sky
In October This natural light show was named one of Google’s top 10 news events for 2024 in Australia and gained attention internationally.
“Aurora was one of the few ‘good news’ stories that generated high social media engagement and drew international attention to Australia,” Harrison said.
Aurora Australis, the solar event which takes place in the Southern Hemisphere, brought colours to nighttime photos captured by aurora chasers. Source: Supplied / Arun Chandran
Lidia Thorpe, all over the world
In the same month, during his visit to Canberra was one of the headlines of several popular international outlets worldwide.
Thorpe interrupted the royal couple’s reception during the parliamentary event, yelling: “You are not my King!”
“You committed genocide against our people; give us our land back; give us back what you stole from us; our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people; you destroyed our land, give us a treaty, we want a treaty in this country,” she said.
Lidia Thorpe confronted King Charles during his visit to Canberra in October, yelling: “You are not my King.”
This is how some news organisations around the world covered Thorpe’s outburst:
- BBC News — The King and the protester: The challenges of a royal tour
- The New York Times — ‘You Are Not Our King’: Charles III Heckled in Australia’s Parliament
- CNN — Australian lawmaker confronts British royals: ‘You are not my king’
- Deutsche Welle — King Charles heckled by Indigenous MP during Australia tour
Will the world follow Australia’s social media ban?
brought international attention.
Some people asked if their countries should follow the same path, while Elon Musk called it
Just after the ban was announced, the UK’s technology secretary, Peter Kyle, asked for new research into the impacts of social media and smartphone use on British children.
Harrison said that in reaction to the ban: “news outlets worldwide questioned how it could work and whether their countries should follow”.
“UK, France, Denmark, and Norway actively considered following Australia’s lead test case and international media framed Australia as leading rather than following global trends.”
Synagogue attack and Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction
The December was widely condemned, including by Albanese.
“I stand with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemn this attack. There is no place for hatred or antisemitism in our community,” he said.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heavily criticised the Australian government.
“It is impossible to separate the reprehensible arson attack from the federal government’s extreme anti-Israeli position,” he wrote on X.
