AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 21 at 0400
Fuel (MELBOURNE)
Cost relief at the bowser has been extended for another month, although the savings won't be as substantial.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a limited extension of the fuel excise, making petrol and diesel 16 cents per litre cheaper than the full price in July.
The current saving is 32 cents a litre after it was cut three months ago, following the outbreak of war in the Middle East and ensuing strangulation of global oil supplies.
That discount is scheduled to expire on June 30, by which time it will have cost the federal budget an estimated $2.9 billion in foregone revenue.
"(The) decision recognises that despite the welcome and substantial drop in the price of petrol recently, we know people are still under pressure," Mr Albanese said.
Flu (SYDNEY)
Australia has been urged to stick to its guns and resist panic as a deadly avian disease arrives on the mainland.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected on mainland Australia for the first time, with a sick brown skua found on a remote beach near Esperance, about 700km southeast of Perth, confirmed to be carrying the disease.
The discovery has fuelled fears among scientists, conservationists and agricultural groups, who point to mass mortality events and species-level population reductions in overseas outbreaks.
"It's a really serious concern," UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science ecologist Simon Gorta told AAP.
"But it's important to remain calm about this.
"There are absolutely measures in place to deal with this as best as we can, we've just got to stick to our guns."
Iran (ZURICH)
US Vice President JD Vance says he expects to go to Switzerland soon for talks with Iran even as the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut, alleging US and Israeli truce violations.
The move by the hardline IRGC appeared to raise the stakes ahead of the talks that Pakistani officials said will begin on Sunday as both sides seek to advance the interim deal signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end their almost four-month war.
The IRGC warned ships not to approach the waterway, a vital conduit for global oil and gas supplies, citing what it called Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon and a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire.
Flu (SYDNEY)
A deadly avian disease that has wreaked havoc on wildlife across the world has been confirmed on mainland Australia for the first time.
Detection of the H5 strain of bird flu was announced on Saturday after a sick brown skua was found on a remote beach in Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance, about 700km southeast of Perth.
This strain has already killed millions of animals and could threaten Australia's native wildlife and farmed animals but Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the government had been planning for its spread.
"We all knew that we couldnt be (H5) bird flu free forever," she told reporters.
"Whilst disappointing, this is not unexpected given the global spread of the H5 bird flu virus.
UK Vote (LONDON)
Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to set out plans to quit Downing Street over the weekend after Andy Burnham stormed to victory in the Makerfield by-election.
The British prime minister has repeatedly vowed to fight any leadership challenge, insisting he will not "walk away".
But Burnham's by-election victory has prompted more backbenchers and Labour grandees to call for Starmer to stand down.
Some MPs who had signed a statement rejecting calls for a leadership election in May have now reversed their position while former home secretary Alan Johnson told LBC his message to the prime minister would be: "It's over, Keir."
Starmer is understood to have spoken to a number of cabinet ministers on Friday, some of whom are reported to have told him he should set out a timetable for his departure.
KPMG (SYDNEY)
Australians are being told they have a right to be deeply suspicious about trusting big accounting firms after a second consultancy scandal.
KPMG Australia executives were grilled by members of a parliamentary committee in Canberra on Friday over allegations the company misused confidential documents from its client Lendlease to develop audit pitches for Westpac and Dexus.
The hearing comes after another major accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia (PwC), was found to have leaked secret Australian government tax plans to corporations to help avoid a law PwC had helped write.
"Two of the big four firms have the dubious honour of having united the Australian parliament across all political divides around the failure to be honest and to act appropriately," Greens senator Barbara Pocock told KPMG Australia's former chief executive Andrew Yates at a hearing on Friday.
BudgetNSW (SYDNEY)
Despite the World Cup match playing in his office, Daniel Mookhey is more comfortable trying to balance his state's budget than a soccer ball.
The NSW treasurer will be delivering his fourth budget for the nation's largest state economy on Tuesday - and potentially his last, pending the outcome of the election scheduled for March.
It comes at a time of multiple economic headwinds, including rising interest rates and a stalled property market, and the fallout from the war in the Middle East putting a further brake on the already sluggish Australian economy.
While the NSW economy was expected to grow by 2.5 per cent in the coming financial year, that forecast has been downgraded to a meagre one per cent, Mr Mookhey revealed in a recent speech.
Iran (WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ZURICH)
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon after an escalation in fighting there jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting Middle East peace deal.
US-Iran talks in Switzerland planned for Friday were cancelled as fighting flared in Lebanon, creating new uncertainty about the timing of negotiations vital to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping.
US President Donald Trump later told NBC News that he had spoken with Israel and asked it to agree to the ceasefire.
"You just gotta calm down sometimes and use your head," Trump was quoted as saying by an NBC reporter on X, who added that the president had declined to specify whether he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly.
In entertainment ...
Arts Beetlejuice (MELBOURNE)
The juice is no longer on the loose after rising costs forced a major musical to end its Australian run early despite rave reviews.
Beetlejuice The Musical will play its final show on July 5 at Brisbane's QPAC Theatre, with all remaining dates of the national tour in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney cancelled.
The call comes amid high costs, despite a stellar cast, outstanding production values and excellent reviews, a Michael Cassel Group spokesperson told AAP.
"For a production of this scale, the current logistical realities of touring across vast distances between Australian cities have created increasing cost pressures that ultimately made continuing the run unsustainable," the spokesperson said.
"While audience enthusiasm for the show has been encouraging, a more cautious consumer environment combined with the economics of moving a production of this magnitude could not be justified.
Arts Impressionists (MELBOURNE)
It seems hard to believe these days, but impressionists such as Claude Monet were once reviled by critics and their paintings were impossible to sell.
But one art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, championed the likes of Monet, Renoir and Pissarro for decades, ultimately transforming artistic taste in Europe and the United States.
"Without Durand, we would have died of hunger, all of us impressionists," Monet is quoted as saying.
"We owe him everything."
"He was stubborn and relentless, risking bankruptcy a dozen times in order to support us."
At Geelong Gallery, Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel, Art Dealer Among the Artists, features more than 70 paintings, the majority from private collections in France.
With eight artworks by Monet, the show marks the centenary of the painter's death, as well as Geelong Gallery's 130th anniversary.
In sport ...
RL Titans (GOLD COAST)
Gold Coast have shocked competition leaders Penrith 19-18 in one of the best and bravest wins in their history as rising half Zane Harrison announced himself as a star.
The 20-year-old's winning field goal at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night, with 19 seconds left on the clock, was a composed cracker after he set up two second-half tries.
Harrison, playing just his sixth NRL game, was part of a starting side where all 13 players have only played for the club.
More than 70 old boys of the Titans and former Gold Coast franchises formed a guard of honour as the players ran on the field. The club celebrated their own retro round with iconic mascot Captain Charger making an appearance for the first time in 19 years.
AFL Crows (ADELAIDE)
Adelaide, the AFL's great escape artists, have come from behind to pip Melbourne by 17 points and climb to fifth on the ladder.
The Crows, after trailing for most of Saturday afternoon's thriller at Adelaide Oval, booted the last two goals for a precious 11.13 (79) to 9.8 (62) victory.
With a fourth win by 17 points or less this season, Adelaide stole fifth spot from the Demons, who slip to sixth.
Melbourne led at the quarter breaks by eight, one and two points, but key Crow Riley Thilthorpe kicked the go-ahead goal 22 minutes into the final term.
And Josh Rachele slotted his third major on the final siren to steer the Crows to a 9-5 win-loss record - the same as the Dees.
Ends Bulletin
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