AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 21 at 1000
Budget (CANBERRA)
Former prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating has come to the defence of tax changes in the federal budget, as a Labor premier says workers are still paying too much.
Mr Keating said capital gains tax changes in the budget were "structurally sound", despite concerns from business owners it could stifle investment.
The Albanese government's fifth budget replaces the 50 per cent discount on capital gains held for more than a year with a rate based on inflation.
Real gains would be taxed at a 30 minimum rate, prompting concerns from businesses and start-ups.
Mr Keating said the changes were necessary in order to make housing more affordable, dismissing concerns it would hamper businesses in the process.
"Punters with a big idea won't be put off by some marginal change to the tax rate. The rush of entrepreneurial blood to the brain always dominates," he said in a statement.
Mideast Aust (CANBERRA)
Australia has condemned the actions of an Israeli minister as "shocking and unacceptable" after he posted a video of himself berating detained pro-Palestine activists, which may include Australians.
In a clip posted to social media and captioned "Welcome to Israel", national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is shown hurling abuse at the activists - who had been detained after trying to sail to Gaza with aid - while their hands were tied behind their backs and faces on the ground.
"They came with a lot of pride like great heroes. Now look at them. See how they look now. Not heroes, terror supporters," he says at one point, according to a translation by CNN.
More than 400 activists, including 11 Australians, had been trying to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza when their boats were intercepted and boarded by the Israeli Defence Forces off the coast of Turkey.
Ebola (GENEVA)
The Ebola outbreak linked to more than 130 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo likely started two months ago and is expected to continue to grow, the World Health Organization says.
The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine, was declared last Friday and has alarmed experts because of how long it went undetected while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals.
The WHO had previously pointed to "a critical four-week detection gap" between when the first known case started showing symptoms and laboratory confirmation of the outbreak.
"Investigations are ongoing to ascertain when and where exactly this outbreak started," Anais Legand, WHO technical officer for viral threats, told reporters in Geneva.
SpaceX (NEW YORK)
SpaceX has taken the wraps off its initial public offering, opening the books of the company that has already revolutionised rocket technology, with even larger ambitions to colonise Mars and build AI data centres in space.
The listing is poised to become the first-ever trillion-dollar US market debut and could set the stage for a number of monumental IPOs in coming months, among them potentially technology giants OpenAI and Anthropic.
The sale would immediately cement SpaceX as one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies, the second in Elon Musk's sprawling business empire to surpass $US1 ($A1.4) trillion in market value.
"We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs," the filing stated.
SpaceX has grown into the world's largest space business since its founding in 2002 by launching thousands of Starlink internet satellites.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US President Donald Trump says negotiations with Iran are "in the final stages," while warning of further attacks unless Iran agrees to a peace deal.
Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have shown little progress.
Trump said this week he came close to ordering more attacks but held off to allow time for negotiations.
"We're in the final stages of Iran. We'll see what happens. Either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen," he told reporters.
"Ideally I'd like to see fewer people killed as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way."
Speaking later at the US Coast Guard Academy, Trump reprised his either/or rhetoric - "We may have to hit them very hard ... but maybe not" - and reiterated his determination not to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Economy (CANBERRA)
An uptick in Australia's unemployment could scare the Reserve Bank off more rate hikes as fears grow about the impact of the Iran war on the economy.
The jobless rate is expected to remain at 4.3 per cent, with another 20,000 jobs added for April, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases the results of its latest Labour Force survey on Thursday.
"A resilient outcome in line with expectations would support the case for further RBA rate hikes in the months ahead," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"A noticeably softer result, however, especially one that sees the jobless rate edge toward 4.5 per cent, would see the rates market dial back expectations for additional rate hikes later this year."
BudgetTas (HOBART)
One question and one question alone will dominate Tasmania's budget day.
Having pledged to tackle the state's spiralling debt, how will the government do it?
This question has dominated Tasmania's politics for the past two years, intertwined with the billion-dollar stadium to be built on Hobart's waterfront.
Last May, the picture of deficit and debt - which hit $5 billion in 2025 and was forecast to double by 2029 - was so alarming, the parliament voted to have no confidence in Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
Having won the snap election off the back of that vote, Mr Rockliff's government has regrouped and with a new treasurer at the wheel - Eric Abetz - will reveal its pathway to sustainability.
It's likely to be a long, hard road.
Mideast (JERUSALEM)
Israel's police security minister has drawn a sharp rebuke from his boss and triggered a backlash abroad after releasing videos taunting and telling detained activists from a flotilla that tried to get past the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip that they should be imprisoned for a very long time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said although Israel has every right to stop "provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters," the way that Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists "is not in line with Israel's values and norms".
Ben-Gvir on Wednesday released the videos of himself walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees, after their arrival on navy ships.
One video shows activists with their hands tied behind their backs kneeling with their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area at Ashdod port and on the deck of a ship.
In finance ...
Budget (CANBERRA)
The treasurer has hit out at "misinformation" fuelling a backlash against the government's budget tax changes.
Jim Chalmers has been forced onto the defensive by a growing campaign, led by young startup founders, who claim Labor's move to pare back the 50 per cent capital gains discount will effectively double their tax bill when they sell their companies.
"By removing the CGT discount on shares, and replacing it with a cost base indexation scheme, you have clocked us with a massive tax hit and then come up with a replacement that will make things even worse," 40 business owners under 40 said in an open letter to the prime minister.
"Rather than back us, you have ambushed us with a massive tax increase, a tax that will hit us, the Australians we hire, and the investors who believe in us, the hardest."
Webjet (SYDNEY)
Australia's online travel market is undergoing momentous change as the cost of living bites and more customers use artificial intelligence to make their itinerary.
But one agency, which has been hit with a triple whammy of millions of dollars in potential lost revenue, lacklustre bookings and leadership changes at a sensitive time, believes it can recover.
"This is placing significant pressure on our industry, but travel is like water," outgoing Webjet chief executive Katrina Barry said on Wednesday.
"It finds a way."
The potential takeover target stands to lose millions of dollars in annual revenue after Virgin Australia revealed plans to set up its own online travel package offering, thereby reducing its commissions.
The decision left Ms Barry disappointed, although she said the carrier remained a "valued partner" through other commercial agreements, ahead of the change taking effect on July 1.
In entertainment ...
Minogue (LONDON)
Kylie Minogue battled cancer for a second time in secret after being diagnosed in 2021.
The Australian pop star, 57, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 - prompting her to cancel a tour and a headline slot at Glastonbury festival - and she went on to make a full recovery after undergoing treatment, but Minogue has now revealed she suffered another health scare five years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time.
Minogue finally lifted the lid on her secret cancer battle in her new self-titled Netflix documentary, saying: "My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself ... Not like the first time."
Minogue did not give details about her diagnosis or treatment, but assured fans she was healthy.
In sport ...
Ten Open Aust (LONDON)
Australia's French Open challenge has been boosted by hugely encouraging wins in warm-up events for their top two men Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin, while comeback star Thanasi Kokkinakis has been confirmed as a definite starter in Paris.
The good news, though, after a difficult clay-court season for Aussie players was offset by the last three Australians in qualifying at Roland Garros all getting knocked out on Wednesday.
De Minaur, grittily, picked himself off the floor at the Hamburg Open, dusted off the clay caking his kit, got some medical attention and then battled to defeat tough Spaniard Alexander Davidovich Fokina 6-2 4-6 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals.
It was just the tonic the world No.9 needed after first-match exits in his previous two tournaments in Madrid and Rome, with the Paris grand slam kicking off on Sunday.
Ath Oceania (DARWIN)
Josh Azzopardi's decision to prioritise the defence of his Oceania 100m title has paid off in a big way, with the Australian making an increasingly compelling case for an individual spot in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games team.
Azzopardi overcame a sluggish start to storm home and claim the win in 10.21 seconds at Arafura Stadium on Wednesday.
It was two hundredths of a second slower than the 26-year-old Sydneysider had run in the semi-final earlier in the day, but the victory was the main thing with the Commonwealth Games squad to be named in early June.
Sub-10 second man Lachie Kennedy earned automatic Games selection off the back of his 100m national title triumph in April, with Azzopardi right in the frame to also be picked in the individual event as well as the 4x100m relay.
Ends Bulletin
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