AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 13 at 0430
NDIS (MELBOURNE)
Autistic teenagers are caught in the middle of a buck-passing exercise between the federal government and states and territories over the future of disability support.
One of the most vulnerable and crucial periods for an autistic person is adolescence, as they navigate a world of changes and the transition to adulthood.
Eliza Tait, who was diagnosed with autism at 14, describes it as having to take on a full-time self-advocacy role.
"I really had that period of struggle," the now-18-year-old told AAP.
"Part of autism being that I really struggled with my emotional regulation."
For Eliza and many like her, the challenges can become too much, with the university student ultimately finding herself hospitalised with anorexia.
"When you hear the same story over and over, and when policy could stop that, it's really heartbreaking," she said.
Housing (CANBERRA)
Investors are prematurely offloading their properties before tax changes even hit the market, resulting in a listings boom but fewer rentals.
Rental listings across the country have shown large annual falls, with the steepest downturn so far in May.
All capital cities were part of the trend, with Hobart losing just 0.3 per cent of listing volume, but Darwin was down 2.1 per cent and Melbourne 1.7 per cent.
Sydney was hit hardest in the past year, down 1.5 per cent in May and 9.8 per cent annually, data from Neoval shows.
The figures suggested some of the nation's more vulnerable people were at risk of not finding affordable homes, Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.
"A home listed for sale does not help someone looking for a lease. Rental availability is what determines how much choice renters have," she said.
Fuel (CANBERRA)
Australian motorists are unlikely to get the benefits from any deal to end the Iran war because of the looming end of the fuel tax cut.
US President Donald Trump has been touting an imminent peace deal with Iran, although fighting in the Middle East has continued and officials in Tehran have been more circumspect.
Mr Trump's announcement that the agreement to end the war was "just about done" sent global oil prices plunging, but analysts said even if such a deal were reached, the impact on Australian petrol and diesel prices would be minimal.
While fuel prices spiked in the immediate aftermath of American and Israeli strikes on Iran, in most states and territories they are now lower than before the war, mainly because of a halving of the fuel excise.
SpaceX (NEW YORK CITY)
SpaceX has jumped more than 20 per cent in its Nasdaq debut as investors piled into the world's largest initial public offering and bet on Elon Musk's sprawling empire spanning rockets to AI.
The stock opened for trading at $US150, compared with the IPO price of $US135 per share.
It was last trading at $US164, lifting SpaceX's valuation to more than $US2 trillion ($A2.8 trillion) and making it the sixth largest US company by market value, behind only Nvidia, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.
The deal was being closely scrutinised because of the stakes for the IPO market, which some bankers said could face difficulties if SpaceX shares closed below Thursday's pricing level.
The company's market debut is widely viewed as a dress rehearsal for a new generation of mega-listings, with market participants watching for signals on investor appetite ahead of forthcoming IPOs for AI heavyweights Anthropic and OpenAI.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US President Donald Trump has rejected the suggestion the United States has made major concessions to Iran while a senior US official called an emerging pact "performance-based" with Iran getting no frozen assets until its part of the agreement is fulfilled.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Iran's leaked comments on a deal with the United States do not represent what has been agreed to in writing.
"What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonourable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. AMAZING!," he wrote on Truth Social.
Iran's version of the deal as outlined by the IRNA news agency said the United States will release part of Iran's frozen assets immediately after the deal is signed with the remainder freed gradually during further negotiations.
SpaceX (NEW YORK CITY)
SpaceX is set to begin trading on Nasdaq after investors poured $US75 billion ($A106 billion) into the world's biggest IPO ever, betting that Elon Musk's lofty space, communications and AI ambitions can justify a $US1.77 trillion valuation.
The landmark listing cemented Musk's status as the first trillionaire and propelled SpaceX into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies - even though the firm posted a loss of nearly $US5 billion in 2025 and generated only a fraction of the revenue brought in by similarly valued tech giants.
The stock's performance will be a test for the so-called "Musk premium", which has been the force behind Tesla's $US1 trillion-plus valuation.
It will also be closely watched for signals on investor appetite before IPOs for AI heavyweights Anthropic and OpenAI.
Legal: Tito (MELBOURNE)
The mother of a man who gunned down gangland figure Gavin Preston has called her killer son respectful, caring and kind as prosecutors pushed for him to be jailed for life.
Jaeden Tito's mother Levi took the unusual step of reading her character reference aloud in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday as her son faced a pre-sentence hearing.
Tito, 25, and his co-offender Rabii Zahabe, 26, were in May found guilty of murdering Preston, 50, in Melbourne's northwest on September 9, 2023.
Footage played to the jury showed Preston and his friend Abbas Maghnie seated outside Sweet Lulus cafe in Keilor when two men dressed in black jumped out of a car and fired shots.
Preston was fatally struck while Mr Maghnie was also hit but survived, with Tito and Zahabe also convicted of his attempted murder.
Legal: Koletti (SYDNEY)
An exclusive interview with a woman claiming to have been shoved by the husband of deceased fraudster Melissa Caddick has turned into a headache for one journalist.
Hair stylist Anthony Koletti is accused of shoulder-barging 73-year-old Julie Brandon and knocking her to the ground at a cliff-side reserve in Vaucluse in Sydney's prestigious eastern suburbs in July 2025.
In September of that year, Ms Brandon arrived home from dog training to find Daily Mail reporter Candace Sutton waiting to interview her.
"She caught me off guard," Ms Brandon told Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Friday.
"I chatted to her, I probably shouldn't have."
Koletti, 44, was in court as he fights a charge of common assault in relation to the incident.
In finance ...
SpaceX Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's biggest retail brokerage is keeping its call centre open overnight as tens of thousands of investors wait to see their allocation for the world's biggest-ever initial public offering.
Elon Musk's SpaceX will go public on the US Nasdaq exchange on Saturday morning, Australia time, after raising $US75 billion ($A106 billion) to advance Elon Musk's grandiose vision of making human life multi-planetary.
Commonwealth Bank's CommSec share-trading platform said its contact centre would be open overnight Friday until 6am, and then again from 9am to 5pm on Saturday to respond to queries related to the IPO.
Reuters reported on Wednesday the float was nearly four times oversubscribed, meaning that would-be investors would likely have their allocations scaled back and offered refunds.
UK Economy (LONDON)
Britain's economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in April, its first monthly drop since August 2025 as the Iran war's cancellation of Formula 1 Grand Prix races and other Gulf sporting events delivered a blow to the British entertainment industry.
Friday's data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the first clear signs of an impact from the US-Israeli war on Iran in terms of British economic growth.
Output in the dominant services sector declined in April by 0.2 per cent, dragged down by administration and support services, as well as the arts, recreation and entertainment sectors.
An ONS official said there were reports that cancellation of sporting events in the Middle East had hit related British firms.
The outbreak of war resulted in the cancellation of Formula 1 Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which had been due to take place in April.
In entertainment ...
Obit Hockney (LONDON)
Artist David Hockney, whose paintings of pools shimmering in the Los Angeles sunshine became icons of 20th-century art, has died at age 88.
Hockney was born in the north of England but lived much of his life in southern California, making its sun-drenched suburban views a major motif.
Later in life he returned to Europe, finding renewed inspiration in the wooded hills of his native county of Yorkshire and the fields and trees of France's Normandy region.
He became one of the UK's most treasured artists, his works selling for record prices at auction.
Historian Simon Schama said "the popularity and durability of David Hockney's art, through all his shape-shifts and restlessly inventive experiments, are really no mystery".
"His work is admired - loved is not too strong a word - by the millions who, worldwide, flock to see it because it presupposes an expectation of pleasure," Schama wrote in an essay accompanying a 2025 Hockney exhibition in Paris.
Obit Hockney Quotes (LONDON)
SADIQ KHAN
"A true icon and revolutionary of British art who never stopped reinventing his work," the mayor of London wrote on X.
"From his training at the Royal College of Art in the early 60s to blockbuster London retrospectives, David Hockney has inspired millions. His vivid paintings of our changing seasons helped me see the beauty and fragility of our natural world - and why it must be protected. I know his legacy will live on for centuries to come."
LISA NANDY
The UK's culture minister called Hockney "a true titan of British art".
"Born and educated in Bradford, his paintings have inspired people across the world ever since his first exhibition in 1963," she added on X. "His boundless creativity and restless spirit leave behind a powerful legacy."
In sport ...
Wc26 Aust (VANCOUVER)
The Socceroos believe they are capable of winning a World Cup knockout game and going further then they ever have before.
But first, they need to try to achieve something they haven't done since Kaiserslautern in 2006: win their opening game.
Friday marked 12 years since Tim Cahill's heroics steered Australia to a 3-1 comeback victory over Japan in their opening match.
Veteran Aziz Behich experienced losses in opening matches against France in both 2018 and 2022.
The defender is desperate for Australia to get off the mark quicker this time around Turkey at Vancouver's BC Place on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
"We've got no limits. We've set no bars - the bar's got to be high," Behich told AAP.
"Obviously, what we did in the last campaign, set the standard, but I think we have a squad now to surpass that. And why not?
AFL Cats (GEELONG)
Gold Coast's slide has continued, thrashed by Geelong in a 45-point procession at GMHBA Stadium.
Expected to be a premiership contender following their maiden finals appearance last season, the Suns slumped to a third-straight defeat in another listless performance away from home.
Up by 12 points late in the first quarter, Gold Coast conceded the next seven goals as Geelong celebrated their 'White Out' night with a 15.15 (105) to 8.12 (60) win in front of 30,276 fans.
The scoreboard might have remained respectable until late in the game, but the Suns never looked like challenging a team they destroyed by 56 points in March.
Star Jeremy Cameron and unheralded forward Oliver Wiltshire made the most of their limited possessions by kicking three goals each.
Ends Bulletin
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