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32m agoAdvocates fear harm to First Nations children as new child protection laws pass NT parliament
53m agoVulnerable people warned to keep concealed phones turned off for 24 hours during national alert test
1h agoEmergency management minister provides update on national AusAlert test
1h ago16-year-old WA boy charged with murdering his mother
2h agoBarnaby Joyce says he is ‘incredibly sorry’ for ‘verbally assaulting’ his dog
2h agoBill Shorten says there’s a ‘national appetite’ for gas export tax
3h agoNSW Labor under threat from One Nation, Chris Minns says
3h agoShorten and Pyne cast doubt on One Nation's staying power
3h agoPenny Wong and Wang Yi meet in Manila
Karen Bentley, the CEO of Wesnet, the national peak body for specialist women’s domestic and family violence services, is providing advice for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, who may have hidden phones as part of their safety plan.
The national test will be a critical alert, meaning it will sound through a device that is on silent or do not disturb.
Wesnet’s recommendation is that on Monday, if you do have a concealed or hidden phone, to support your safety, that you consider turning that device off or switching it into airplane mode, one hour before the national test on Monday, and to keep it off or in airplane mode for 24 hours … Once the national emergency alert system is officially in place from October, people using hidden phones, as part of a safety plan, will need to make their own decision about the risks of having their phones on, on a permanent basis or whether it’s safer for them to keep their hidden phones off when they’re not in use.
Wesnet’s recommendation is that on Monday, if you do have a concealed or hidden phone, to support your safety, that you consider turning that device off or switching it into airplane mode, one hour before the national test on Monday, and to keep it off or in airplane mode for 24 hours …
Once the national emergency alert system is officially in place from October, people using hidden phones, as part of a safety plan, will need to make their own decision about the risks of having their phones on, on a permanent basis or whether it’s safer for them to keep their hidden phones off when they’re not in use.
Some depressing news for your morning. The likelihood of a Reserve Bank interest rate hike has doubled according to market forecasts, as the escalating Middle East crisis once again drives fuel prices higher amid dwindling global oil reserves.
The total breakdown in the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has sent the international Brent crude benchmark surging by 23% over the past two weeks and back within reach of $US90 a barrel.
International student charged over alleged $5m luxury watch fraud
A 28-year-old international student has been charged with allegedly exploiting the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) at Australian airports by lodging more than $5m in fraudulent claims on luxury and counterfeit watches.
In Australia, international travellers can claim a GST refund for purchased goods worth more than $300, provided they’re not brought back into Australia.
The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force allege the man travelled more than 20 times to Chengdu Tianfu Airport in China between February last year and May, often remaining overseas for less than 24 hours, and deposited more than $1.1m in cash into Australian bank accounts.
They allege the man edited bank documents and made repeated claims for items not eligible for the TRS.
Warrants were executed in May and about $270,000 in cash was seized. He was charged with dishonestly intending to obtain a gain, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted. He is due to appear before Downing Centre Local Court today.
Controversial new child protection laws passed by the Northern Territory government have been greeted with dismay by First Nations advocates and concern from other national and state leaders, Australian Associated Press reports.
The NT legislative assembly passed the Every Child Matters bill late Tuesday night, in what it said was the most significant overhaul of its child protection system in a generation. The new law abolishes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children placement principle, which accords that First Nations people who are removed from their homes are kept within their own culture.
The government claimed that the reforms tackled the root causes of crime, protected children, strengthened families, and would break the cycle that saw young people fall through the cracks of the child protection system.
The children placement principle emerged in recognition of the profound harms caused to the Stolen Generations and has been recognised in child welfare legislation since the early 1980s.
The new laws were passed on the same day as an interim report was handed down into the territory’s child protection laws in response to the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, who was abducted from a town camp in Alice Springs in April.
The legislation from the ruling Country Liberal party has been condemned by the federal government, state leaders and First Nations leaders. The federal Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle is based on evidence and partnership and should not be disregarded”.
Catherine Liddle, CEO of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, said the laws would cause further harm to First Nations children.
AI an ‘existential challenge’ for journalism, warns Reuters editor-in-chief in Andrew Olle media lecture
Journalism faces an existential challenge from AI as news consumers bypass journalists in favour of chatbots to find information, the editor-in-chief of Reuters, Alessandra Galloni, has warned in her Andrew Olle media lecture.
After two decades of battling the advertising drain of social media platforms and algorithms, the scourge of misinformation, and the slow creep of news avoidance, we now face a new, potentially existential challenge.
Galloni’s comments came on the same day Australia’s biggest media company, Nine Entertainment, blamed the “extreme state of disruption” from AI for its decision to cut another 30 newsroom jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age
Galloni, who oversees Reuters’ global editorial operations, said AI is reshaping how we seek, consume and monetise information”
Today, 10% of news consumers globally use AI chatbots to get their news. That is nearly 50% more than a year ago, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026. Among people under 35, that figure is 16% – and these numbers are almost certainly undercounts, as they do not include AI-generated summaries in Google, embedded AI in news apps, or the AI your phone surfaces before you even open a browser.
Named in honour of the late ABC broadcaster Andrew Olle, the lecture is an annual forum for examining the role and future of journalism. The 2026 Andrew Olle Media Lecture is available on ABC iview.
The minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, is holding a press conference in Melbourne as she meets with her counterparts to discuss the AusAlert warning system test this coming Monday at 2pm AEST.
McBain said AusAlert was a “modern, more capable system that will deliver emergency alerts to more people in a more timely manner than the existing text-based emergency alert system”.
The system was developed in response to the 2020 royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements, which identified the need for a more modern, reliable, and nationally consistent public warning capability. Cell broadcast technology, which is used successfully in 35 other countries, is that technology, especially during fast moving and unpredictable emergencies.
She said nine community-based trials had been undertaken across Australia which had been “successful” and provided “valuable insights”.
The national test is a significant project milestone … The national test will assess system-wide performance, checking the system can broadcast at scale to compatible devices in near real time without network congestion.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of his mother after he allegedly stabbed her at a home in Perth, Western Australia, and seriously injured his 12-year-old sister who managed to flee to get help.
About 6.15am on Tuesday, WA police were called to a home in Bentley, 8km south-east of the Perth CBD, where they found the deceased woman.
Soon afterwards, the girl was found with serious injuries nearby on the Albany Highway in Cannington, police said. She was given emergency first aid and transported to hospital where she is receiving medical treatment.
WA Police acting inspector Jessica Securo said the incident had shocked the community.
This incident will have a significant impact on the family, friends and loved ones of all those involved. Our thoughts are with them all, particularly the 12-year-old girl.
The boy has been charged with murder and attempted unlawfully to kill. He is due to appear before the Perth children’s court today.
‘No reason’ for discussions about a Liberal and One Nation coalition, Ted O’Brien says
The shadow foreign affairs minister, Ted O’Brien, has told Sky News that he doesn’t “go to bed every night thinking about One Nation” and said there’d be no deals to form a coalition.
Appearing on the program this morning, O’Brien was asked about the opposition leader, Angus Taylor’s confirmation there would be no cooperation between the two parties. The new Liberal president, Tony Abbott, has backed preference deals.
O’Brien said “there’s no reason for discussions to be had about forming a coalition with One Nation”.
I know that we get asked a lot of questions about One Nation, including in this interview, Pete, and I’d prefer to have fewer questions about One Nation because our focus is the Australian people … People are struggling out there right now, and it’s only going to get worse. This government has given the Australian people no confidence. And that’s why we need to keep talking about our plan, talking about the team that’s going to deliver it. Sure, other people might want to talk about One Nation, all those sort of things. To be honest, I don’t go to bed every night thinking about One Nation. I think about the Australian people.
I know that we get asked a lot of questions about One Nation, including in this interview, Pete, and I’d prefer to have fewer questions about One Nation because our focus is the Australian people … People are struggling out there right now, and it’s only going to get worse.
This government has given the Australian people no confidence. And that’s why we need to keep talking about our plan, talking about the team that’s going to deliver it. Sure, other people might want to talk about One Nation, all those sort of things. To be honest, I don’t go to bed every night thinking about One Nation. I think about the Australian people.
D-day for Rebel Wilson’s fiery court feud with co-star The stage is set for the final curtain to fall on a fiery defamation battle between A-lister Rebel Wilson and her up-and-coming co-star, Australian Associated Press reports. The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes, who played the lead role in Wilson’s directorial debut film The Deb. MacInnes claims Wilson defamed her in a series of social media posts that implied she was a liar and a sellout who walked back a sexual harassment complaint to further her career. The posts claimed the young actor confided in Wilson – and later recanted – that she felt uncomfortable when the film’s co-producer Amanda Ghost asked to have a shower and a bath together. MacInnes denies making or retracting a complaint, insisting she had not been uncomfortable when the pair shared a bath in their swimwear after Ghost suffered a medical episode in September 2023. Both she and Wilson were branded liars during the fiery weeks-long court battle in the NSW federal court that pitted actor against actor in a fight for their reputations. More than two months after the hearing concluded, Justice Elizabeth Raper is set to hand down her decision on Wednesday afternoon. Both MacInnes and Wilson denied lying, but Justice Raper will have the final say on credibility.
Serious assaults on health workers double in a decade
Health care workers are increasingly at risk of being assaulted at work, according to figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released today.
Over the past decade, the number of health workers admitted to hospital due to an assault has doubled, becoming the second most common cause of workplace injury for those in the field.
The figures don’t include those who didn’t seek treatment or visited a GP, meaning the number of assaults overall is likely much higher. There were 7,416 injury hospitalisations recorded among health care workers in the 10 years between 2015/16 and 2024/25 – with the leading cause being a fall.
Women made up the vast majority of those hospitalised, reflecting their higher representation in the workforce, of which they make up around three-quarters.
The Health Services Union national secretary, Dustin Halse, called the trend concerning:
Violence and injury are often treated as an unavoidable part of caring for others, but they are not – they are workplace risks that can and must be prevented.
– AAP
Barnaby Joyce rejects Covid misinformation from One Nation senator Malcom Roberts
Barnaby Joyce was also asked about Covid misinformation spread by One Nation senator, Malcom Roberts. In a video interview published in 2025 and first reported by the Nine newspapers, Roberts questions the extent of deaths during the early days of the pandemic.
“Major news broadcasters had these videos of people dying in their droves in makeshift morgues in the streets of New York, the streets of Beijing, the streets of Italy,” Roberts told a forum hosted by podcaster Sam Hope, adding they were “all staged” and “bullshit”.
Joyce said he didn’t think the videos were staged and families had lost loved ones in “tragic circumstances”.
It’s a serious issue and … I believe that people don’t stage their family members’ deaths. And it did bring deaths of masses of people.
He went on to question if the Australian government went “too far” with Covid restrictions at the time and its stimulus package.
Barnaby Joyce has appeared on the Today Show this morning to the backing track of “who let the dogs out”, to clear the record on a bizarre tirade against his dog on Monday evening.
If you missed it, the One Nation MP went viral after beaming into the ABC’s 7.30 program from his home in New South Wales and having an aggressive confrontation with his dog, Stella.
About halfway through the tense interview, Sarah Ferguson put to Joyce that his defection to One Nation was “dragging” him “further into a place of intolerance and racial discrimination”. Joyce’s eyes could be seen darting off-screen during the question. He began answering before suddenly yelling: “Sit down! Sorry. It’s the dog”.
Joyce appeared alongside his dog, Stella, on Wednesday morning, and was treating her remarkably differently, telling her in a high pitched voice: “Oh, Stella, you’re famous darling, aren’t you! Yes. Sit down politely.”
He said Stella had been “right underneath my feet underneath the deck” and “continually barking”.
I’m getting really angry. And then I verbally assaulted the dog, which I’m incredibly sorry for.
PETA was not amused, with its executive agent, Mimi Bekhechi, telling Guardian Australia “dogs bark because it’s how they communicate, and screaming at them for doing so is a form of intimidation”.
Tobacco excise is ‘too high’, Chris Minns says
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, was also asked about the Australian Border Force’s efforts to disrupt illicit tobacco supply chains when appearing this morning on ABC Radio National.
On Tuesday, NSW Labor’s health minister, Ryan Parks, said the issue had gotten away from authorities and more needed to be done.
Minns said NSW was “doing a lot” and had implemented “massive increases” in fines but the tobacco excise was “too high”.
It feels sometimes like we’re standing on a beach trying to stop the tide from coming in … The drive to illicit tobacco in Australia is being driven by the massive excise on legal cigarettes and it’s … driving otherwise lawful people into an illicit black market. It’s making cheap cigarettes available and plentiful, particularly for young people, and it’s fuelling organised crime in Australia. So I just think we needed a rethink on the excise. It’s just too high. Before people jump on me and say “that means that you’re pro-smoking”, I’m not – I can’t stand the tobacco companies – but this is just a policy that’s not working.
It feels sometimes like we’re standing on a beach trying to stop the tide from coming in … The drive to illicit tobacco in Australia is being driven by the massive excise on legal cigarettes and it’s … driving otherwise lawful people into an illicit black market. It’s making cheap cigarettes available and plentiful, particularly for young people, and it’s fuelling organised crime in Australia.
So I just think we needed a rethink on the excise. It’s just too high. Before people jump on me and say “that means that you’re pro-smoking”, I’m not – I can’t stand the tobacco companies – but this is just a policy that’s not working.
Circling back to last night’s 7.30 program, the former Labor leader and current University of Canberra vice-chancellor, Bill Shorten, also supported the government enacting a tax on gas exports.
Asked about “rumours” Labor may return to the “once very popular issue”, he said the time had arrived to “consider reviewing the taxation on gas”.
I think there’s a national appetite. I mean, the government’s paring back on things like the NDIS … But I think there’s a lot of people saying, what about the gas companies? And I think the timing for a future gas tax, not one which rips up previous contracts, that would be sovereign risk. But I think in the future, Aussies are saying, how is it fair that gas companies are making such a big profit and why don’t they share more of it with the people? So I think probably the time is right to have that discussion.
I think there’s a national appetite. I mean, the government’s paring back on things like the NDIS … But I think there’s a lot of people saying, what about the gas companies? And I think the timing for a future gas tax, not one which rips up previous contracts, that would be sovereign risk.
But I think in the future, Aussies are saying, how is it fair that gas companies are making such a big profit and why don’t they share more of it with the people? So I think probably the time is right to have that discussion.
