What happened Monday 2 June 2025
With that, we’ll end our live coverage of the day’s news. Here’s a summary of the main developments:
Greens senator for Western Australia, Dorinda Cox, has announced she’s defecting to the Labor Party to serve in the Albanese government.
Lawyers for Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming have initiated bankruptcy proceedings against former state opposition leader John Pesutto after he failed to meet a deadline to pay her $2.3m in legal costs.
Erin Patterson has described her “never-ending battle” with low self-esteem, her weight and her religious conversion in emotional evidence to her own triple murder trial.
Anthony Albanese has again sidestepped US calls for Australia to drastically increase its defence budget, now by about $40bn each year, amid warnings from the Trump administration over China’s plans.
Queensland’s premier says there will be a full investigation into the death in custody of a Bundaberg mother accused of fatally stabbing her three-year-old daughter.
Thanks for reading. Have a pleasant evening.
Updated
Man arrested after body found with stab wounds, in Sydney’s Croydon Park
Police have arrested a man after a body was located at a home in Sydney’s inner west.
Just after 5pm on Monday, emergency services were called to a home on Kembla Street, Croydon Park, after a concern for welfare report.
Officers attached to Burwood Police area command found the body of man who is yet to be formally identified. The man, who is believed to be aged in his 50s, was found with stab wounds, New South Wales police said.
A 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene and taken to Burwood Police station.
Police have established a crime scene and started investigations. A report will be prepared for the Coroner, police said.
Updated
Dorinda Cox leaves Greens to join Labor
Senator for Western Australia, Dorinda Cox, has announced she’s leaving the Greens to join the Labor Party and serve the Albanese government.
Cox, appearing alongside Anthony Albanese in Perth on Monday, said “I am very, very grateful for this opportunity and I want to thank the Labor team for welcoming me”.
The prime minister said Cox approached Labor about joining, and that “I engaged very constructively with Senator Cox after that approach was made”. He said she “didn’t ask for anything” to join the party.
Albanese was asked about bullying allegations levelled at Cox during her time as a senator for the Greens. He said the Labor party had “examined everything that had been considered in the past” and felt that the “issues were dealt with appropriately”.
It leaves the Greens with even fewer numbers in the federal parliament following their poor vote at the federal election last month.
Cox spoke of the appeal of being in a better position to do more for Western Australia by joining the government. “What you can’t do from the crossbench is make change”.
Cox was elected to the senate at the 2022 election, with her term to expire at the next federal election.
She ran for the deputy leadership of the Greens last month – at the party elections in which Larissa Waters was voted to replace Adam Bandt after he lost his seat – but she failed in her push to take the title from New South Wales Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, who was re-elected as deputy leader.
Cox lost the deputy leadership vote nine votes to three. She then ran for the position of deputy whip, but was unsuccessful.
Updated
Australian shares close lower on US and China tensions and other bleak news
Australian shares closed slightly lower today as a series of bleak headlines sent jitters through equity markets.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 20.60 points, or 0.24%, to 8,414.10 on Monday and the broader All Ordinaries lost 22.80 points or 0.26% to close at 8637.50.
The fall followed multiple escalations in global risk, including the US and China accusing each other of breaking tariff agreements, Ukrainian drone strikes deep within Russian territory and reports Iran has boosted its weapons-grade uranium production.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.60 US cents, up from 64.23 US cents at 5pm on Friday.
AAP
Updated
The bizarre and the banal: Sydney airport’s annual lost property auction
Violins, frying pans, vacuum cleaners and lots and lots of belts.
The terminals of Australia’s busiest airports may provide a cross-section of society, but Sydney airport’s annual lost property auction gives a glimpse into the bizarre items travellers take with them – and the traps of forgetfulness that unite us.
More than 40 million people passed through Sydney airport’s terminals last year, losing thousands of possessions. More than 7,000 of these items were reunited with their owners but about 2,000 remained unclaimed, and are now being auctioned in a fundraising drive for charity that the airport conducts each year.
Much of the list of lost property is unsurprising: clothing, laptops, duty-free purchases, and a vast range of objects containing metal that many travellers had to remove when they passed through airport security screening.
Read more:
Updated
Sydney University adopts policy that will ‘chill’ political expression on campus
University of Sydney staff and students will be banned from holding banners on campus without permission and staff won’t be allowed to send political emails unless prior interest has been expressed as part of five revised policies that have been officially adopted by the institution.
In January, the university released the draft policy revisions to staff, providing them until 13 February to make submissions. Academics told Guardian Australia that the changes would curb freedoms and chill “all forms of political life”.
In a letter to students sent on Monday, the vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, Prof Mark Scott, confirmed the policies would be implemented.
He said they balanced the university’s commitments to campus safety with academic freedom and freedom of speech, and “set clear standards for what is and isn’t acceptable”.
“We want to be a place where all members of our community feel welcome … I thank everyone who took the time to contribute their views.”
The changes follow an independent report commissioned by Bruce Hodgkinson AM after the disbanding of a longstanding pro-Palestine encampment and a review of the university’s policies and processes.
Updated
Optus becomes first Australian provider to offer AI subscription with plans
Millions of Australians will be offered unlimited access to an AI-powered search engine in a move that could spark fresh competition among artificial intelligence platforms.
Optus launched the deal with US firm Perplexity on Monday, becoming the first local telecommunications provider to package premium AI subscriptions with its plans.
The move mirrors deals in other countries but also comes after the Business Council of Australia called for action to boost the development of AI regulation, support and training to turn the nation into a global AI leader by 2028.
Optus will give small business and individual customers access to Perplexity Pro for 12 months under the deal, which chief customer officer Anthony Shiner said could boost the number of Australians using the technology.
“AI take-up in Australia is quite low,” Shiner told AAP. “Knowing that AI, in some parts of the world, is being offered free to all citizens ... the time is right here in Australia for us to partner with a high-quality product and start the journey of revolution that we think AI will bring into everyday lives.”
More than half of Australians have used generative AI services (54%), according to a survey by Deloitte Insights, but its reach is significantly higher in the Asia-Pacific region (67%).
Rather than offer a chatbot service like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini, Perplexity will deliver a web search engine that can tap into other AI models for answers.
AAP
Updated
Bankruptcy proceedings launched against John Pesutto
Lawyers for Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming have initiated bankruptcy proceedings against former state opposition leader John Pesutto, as he failed to meet a deadline to pay her $2.3m in costs after defaming her.
Pesutto has confirmed he had been issued with a bankruptcy notice to pay the costs ordered by the federal court in May after missing Friday’s deadline.
The notice provides Pesutto with a further 21 days to pay the remaining amount, enter into a payment agreement or face bankruptcy.
If he is bankrupted, it would disqualify him from being a member of parliament and trigger a byelection in his seat of Hawthorn, which the Liberal MP holds by a slim margin of 1.74%.
Pesutto wrote on X:
With the issuing of a bankruptcy notice today, I will be doing everything possible over the next 21 days to pay the amount ordered by the federal court. I will continue performing my work as the member for Hawthorn, and I reiterate my wish to do so for as long as the people of my electorate will have me.
Updated
That’s it for me today, I’m going to roll out of here like the fog in Sydney this morning. Elias Visontay will take you through the afternoon’s news.
More details about the missing fisherman in Port Kembla
As reported earlier, a search is ongoing for a missing man after his boat capsized in the water near Port Kembla, NSW. Police say two people, an 18-year-old man and a 78-year-old man, were in the vessel before it overturned around 1pm yesterday.
The younger man was able to swim to shore and alerted members of the public to find help, but the second man was unable to be found. Part of the vessel thought to be that of the missing fisherman was retrieved from the water this morning.
The search continues for the missing man.
Australians lose at least $119m to scammers in first four months of 2025
Australians have lost at least $119m to scams in the first four months of 2025, as phishing cons almost tripled in value, AAP reports.
The consumer watchdog’s National Anti-Scam Centre is calling on businesses to join forces to share data to combat increasingly sophisticated frauds. Phishing scams – where criminals use trusted channels to trick people into revealing personal information – accounted for $13.7m in losses.
The use of social media to target victims is on the rise, while phone scams are on the decline.
The watchdog urged Australians never to give away personal information if uncertain and noted scammers would try to create a sense of urgency.
Police find man’s body in bin near Hobart
Police are investigating after they discovered a man’s body in an industrial-type bin in Bellerive, Tasmania, near Hobart, this morning.
Authorities said the body of a 45-year-old man was found behind a business around 9am. Detectives and forensics experts have been on scene conducting investigations, and say there is no danger to the public.
Bradfield isn’t over (Boele’s up by 18). What happens when a seat count is ultra close?
At the time of writing, the count in the seat of Bradfield is still on a razor’s edge. Independent Nicolette Boele holds an 18 vote lead over Liberal Gisele Kapterian, according to the AEC.
So what are the processes for resolving ultra-marginal results? And, more broadly, what accountability is there for problems in campaigning or the running of the election, such as the allegation that voters in one New South Wales town were misled about how to vote?
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has until 9 July to declare the result. It then certifies a list of successful candidates, which it “returns”, attached to the original writ the governor general used to formally begin the election.
Read more about that intense process here:
Updated
Hegseth’s defence demand would equate to about $40bn more a year
Australia currently spends about $53bn a year on its defence budget, a figure that’s expected to grow to an estimated $100bn by 2033-34 under plans announced last year by the Albanese government.
But were Australia to follow-through on US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s demand for an increase in spending to 3.5% of GDP “as soon as possible”, that would mean a dramatic hit to the nation’s budget.
Calculations show that would equate to spendings of about $40bn more each year on Australian defence.
22-year-old woman dies after alleged domestic violence incident
NT police say a 22-year-old woman has died in hospital after an alleged domestic violence incident last month.
Police initially responded to reports that a man was assaulting the woman in Palmerston near Darwin on 21 May. They arrested the man and transported the woman to Royal Darwin hospital in critical condition.
Officials said this weekend she had died, although police said the cause of death remains unknown and an investigation was ongoing. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The alleged offender, a man who is also 22, was charged with aggravated assault and recklessly endanger serious harm. He appeared in court before her death on 26 May and is scheduled to appear again in late July.
Updated
The 2025 Mullewa muster and rodeo – in pictures
Thousands gathered at the Mullewa recreation grounds in Western Australia’s midwest region for the town’s annual muster and rodeo. The event showcases traditional rodeo contests including bull riding, saddle bronc and barrel racing, alongside live country music.
Check out some photos below, and see more here:
Home prices to grow up to 6% this year, analysts say
Earlier today this liveblog reported on Australia’s median home price climbing a few thousand dollars in May to reach a new high of $831,288, Cotality data showed.
That 0.5% national rise was broad-based, with housing costs rising at least 0.4% in every capital city last month. In fact, if you split each state into metro and regional markets, the only area where prices aren’t rising is regional Tasmania.
Separate Cotality data showed further momentum in the market, with nearly 3,000 homes hitting the market in the last week of May, the second highest figure for 2025. The auction clearance rate reached 65.1% the week before that, the highest since July 2024, which Cotality attributed to the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut in mid-May.
The market slowed at the end of last year but that’s been offset by rate cut-fuelled bidding since February, driving home prices up nationally by 3.3% over the last 12 months. That’s close to the current pace of wage growth, which was 3.4% annually in March and should sit at 3.3% over 2025 on Reserve Bank forecasts.
But analysts expect price growth will speed ahead of wages by the end of the year. Commonwealth Bank is predicting an increase of about 4%, as long as the RBA cuts interest rates twice more this year, while Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP, thinks it could be more. Oliver wrote this morning:
With the RBA looking like it might cut rates faster than we had been expecting, it now looks like home prices will rise around 5 or 6% this year, up from our expectation for a 3% rise.
Updated
Likely meteor flashed blue-green across Sydney sky last night
A likely meteor flashed across the sky over parts of Sydney and NSW last night. Video footage shows a bright green light streaking across the dark sky for several seconds. Tom McCallister had this to say on Instagram:
How amazing to capture this incredible #meteor on the way back to my hostel in Sydney. I was lucky to be able to capture the last few seconds as I had my phone to hand.
Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist with Australian National University, told ABC News it was almost certainly a meteor. The space phenomenon have “lots of iron and nickel”, which light up blue-green in the atmosphere when they burn up. He told the ABC:
It would have been a good-sized meteor, maybe anywhere between a tennis- and basketball-sized.
Time-lapse video shows fog rolling over Sydney harbour this morning
Updated
Former AFR editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury to lead centre-right thinktank
The former editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review Michael Stutchbury has been appointed chief executive of centre-right thinktank the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS).
A former editor of the Australian, Stutchbury, 68, has been in a writing role at the Financial Review since stepping down as editor-in-chief in July.
He told staff, in a note seen by Guardian Australia, that the Financial Review and the CIS have a long association and “have mostly shared an intellectual worldview which I am keen to continue at my new digs”.
“Since being founded nearly 50 years ago, the CIS has had an association with the Financial Review, from Paddy McGuinness and Bert Kelly to more recent oped editors and leader writers including outgoing CIS chief executive Tom Switzer, Luke Malpass, Jeremy Sammut and Anjali Nadaradjane,” he said.
The CIS mission says its mission is to promote free choice and individual liberty, and defend cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas.
Switzer, a former opinion editor for the AFR, is executive director of the CIS.
Updated
NSW expands prison funding as number of people on remand increases
The NSW government is expanding funding for prisons after the number of people on remand increased in the wake of Labor’s bail reforms.
On Monday, the government announced as part of a broader $500m justice package that $100m of that would go towards addressing the rising demand in the correctional system.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the remand population had jumped by about 1,000 since Labor won power in 2023. It introduced laws that make it harder for DV offenders to get bail after Molly Ticehurst was allegedly murdered by a former partner while he was on bail.
The corrections minister, Anoulack Chanthivong, said part of the money would fund the hiring of 80 more community corrections officers.
He said it would also go towards an increase in operational expenses for the department that oversees prisons, and that:
This funding of over $100m will ensure that Corrective Services has the resources it needs to keep those that should be off the streets behind bars, for the benefit of the whole community.
The package also included more than $270m for domestic violence services.
This will include money for the justice system to implement Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders, which will allow the courts to impose strict monitoring and supervision conditions on offenders.
It also includes a reform package to develop a DV workforce strategy, a data strategy to analyse gaps in funding, and an Aboriginal Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence plan.
Advocates have criticised the announcement as “once again” overlooking the urgent needs of the sector.
Delia Donovan, the chief executive of Domestic Violence NSW, said:
For over five years, we have consistently called for a 50% increase to baseline funding to enable frontline services to meet demand, retain staff, and deliver safety and healing to those in crisis.
Yet this announcement once again overlooks that urgent need.
Updated
Albanese says Australia will decide what it needs on defence spending
The prime minister was asked about US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s call that Australia increase its military spending to 3.5% of the country’s GDP, as we reported earlier. Albanese reiterated Australia would make its own decisions on how best to invest in defence. He said:
What you should do in defence is decide what you need, your capability, and then provide for it. That’s what my government is doing. Investing to our capability and investing in our relationships. That’s what we’re doing.
That’s what we’ll continue to do.
Updated
Albanese: ‘Climate change is real and we need to respond to it’
The prime minister has said that while Australia has always had droughts and flooding rains, “the truth is that there are more extreme weather events, and they’re more intense now”. He went on:
Science told us that that was the case. The science has been proven, unfortunately, to be playing out …
The thing is that climate change is real and we need to respond to it. And we need, I think, to respond to it across the board. That’s why my government has a comprehensive plan to deal with climate change.
Updated
SA premier on ‘the driest start of any year’ in the state
SA premier Peter Malinauskas has said the state’s farmers are struggling after yet another dry year. He said:
We haven’t just seen the driest start of the year, we’ve seen the driest start of any year on the back of a very dry year last year. In fact, in many places it’s the driest on record.
So this is a combination of a bad run for a couple of years in a row.
Updated
Albanese government will boost counselling support for farmers amid drought in SA
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, just announced the government will provide more funding for the Rural Financial Counselling Service to support farmers affected by drought in South Australia and other southern regions. Parts of the state have recorded record-low rainfall on the back of another extraordinarily dry year, with some farm dams drying out.
Albanese spoke to the media from Fischer, SA:
We know that at times like this, it has a real impact on mental health, and that is understandable. People put their heart and soul into their farms.
It’s not just a business, it’s a way of life.
Updated
Coles to cut prices of hundreds of items after Woolworths reductions
Coles has announced it will reduce the prices of 307 grocery items from Wednesday in categories including meat, cleaning products and frozen goods.
In addition to expanding the number of products included in its “Down Down” promotion, the supermarket giant has also said its customers will collect 10x bonus Flybuys points every time they shop from a selected range of more than 800 products in June.
Coles’ announcement comes about a fortnight after rival Woolworths announced it would cut prices on hundreds of items.
The Woolworths announcement raised hopes the supermarket sector could be entering a new period of intensifying competition, after intense public scrutiny amid the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s inquiry into the sector.
Some media outlets have reported the Coles and Woolworths announcements as a “price war”. But, as Guardian Australia has previously reported, the issue is more nuanced:
Updated
Smartraveller site updates advice for travel to Indonesia to address drownings, drinks and crocodiles
The Australian government has updated warnings for travel to Indonesia, urging tourists to be wary of rough seas and strong rip currents, as well as dangerous drinks.
The updated guidance on the Smartraveller website – which lists Indonesia as a destination to exercise a “high degree of caution” over – notes many beaches are not patrolled, including in Bali. Australians have drowned in coastal areas and saltwater crocodiles are in rivers throughout Indonesia.
Officials also note that drinks may be spiked or mixed with toxic substances and urged travellers to be alert to the risks of methanol poisoning via alcoholic drinks.
Cases of methanol poisoning in drinks have previously been reported in Indonesia, including in Bali and Lombok.
Updated
Lambie says it would be ‘nice’ to lift military spending but focus should be on waste
Tasmania senator Jacqui Lambie told Sky News this morning that it would be “nice” to lift defence spending after the US Pentagon secretary called on Australia to up funding to 3.5% of the country’s GDP. But Lambie said it would be better to focus on the way money is already being spent on the military here.
I think it’s about waste. We waste so much money. We have a lot of waste going on in defence.
She pointed to the ongoing cost to buy nuclear submarines as one example.
You’ve only got to see those submarines mate. Four billion dollars so far and we haven’t got one scrap of bloody steel sitting in a harbour yet ready to go. I mean, that is just disgusting waste at its best.
Updated
Raising cigarette taxes and the tobacco wars
In an effort to stop people from smoking, the Australian government has steadily increased the tobacco tax in recent years.
While it has effectively curbed the rates of smoking, it has contributed to a separate problem. As the price of cigarettes has increased during a cost-of-living crisis, criminals have sold illicit tobacco at lower prices, undercutting the legal market. Rival gangs have competed to control the black market trade.
My colleague Henry Belot has an explainer here on how money going to government coffers has dropped as people buy cheaper and illegal cigarettes:
Updated
Minns calls out federal tobacco tax for driving illegal sales
The NSW premier has called out the federal government’s tobacco tax, saying the biggest supporters of it are “probably organised crime figures”, given it is driving consumers to purchase illegal tobacco.
Chris Minns told reporters a little earlier he did see the public health benefit of the tobacco excise, but he said the “massive increase” had not stopped people from smoking. He said:
The federal government’s not getting the excise that they thought they would …
The massive excise increase to tobacco has meant that people haven’t stopped smoking. They’ve just transferred their sales into illegal tobacco sales, which I don’t think is helping New South Wales or any other state. So my view is, let’s have a look at this policy, and is it working.
I understand the reasons for it. I’m completely in support of public health messaging, but you’d be crazy to just turn a blind eye to the proliferation of illegal tobacco sales and think to yourself, isn’t there a better way of allocating public [money].
Updated
Transparency can help build trust in AI, Business Council says
AI fears must not be dismissed, BCA said, but trust must be built through transparency, robust governance and regulatory frameworks, clear ethical guidelines and demonstrating how risks are identified and managed.
We need a national conversation, grounded in facts, that addresses fears while focusing on the massive potential for positive transformation.
To that end, the BCA has suggested the development of an AI safety institute. BCA chief executive Bran Black said:
We need to be training more AI specialists, data scientists and engineers, while also educating the entire workforce on how we can improve the day-to-day work experience.
Even if we apply AI to just the ‘boring but essential’ parts of our economy – like payroll processing or document analysis – the dividends to consumers and businesses could be significant.
Updated
BCA calls for regulations on artificial intelligence but says Australia has ‘AI anxiety’
The Business Council of Australia has called on the government to regulate AI, but has warned that fear of AI in Australia risks over-regulation of the technology.
In a report released on Monday, BCA called for “clear, practical and risk-based” regulation to encourage AI innovation, as well as making it easier for datacentre constructions to be approved, stating that Australia has “vast land resources” that can be used for datacentres for AI.
The report notes, however, that Australia has “AI anxiety”, which the lobby group argues could lead to over-regulation.
The report states:
Crucially, we must confront Australia’s AI anxiety head-on. Australians, more than people in many other countries, express nervousness about AI. Australians are the least optimistic in the world about AI, and we struggle to believe its rewards will outweigh the risks.
Updated
Queensland premier won’t walk away from net zero targets despite some Coalition hand-wringing
Queensland premier David Crisafulli said he will not walk away from net zero targets and instead support a sustainable approach to support both the state’s agriculture industry and invest in renewable energy.
Crisafulli spoke to the ABC this morning, as some in the Coalition are debating support for net zero, and addressed questions about how he could support the tourism industry – centred on the Great Barrier Reef – and gas exploration. The premier stressed his government would ensure there were “hard no-go areas” to protect the environment, but said he believes Queensland can do things “environmentally sustainably.” He told the ABC:
We do believe there is a way we can do our energy transition in a calm and methodical way. … We are very, very ambitious about gas as a transition fuel and we are looking at storage options to make sure we bring renewable energy into the grid. That is part of an affordable energy mix.
Updated
Chalmers says natural disasters will be $2.2bn hit to federal budget
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says recent natural disasters – including the New South Wales floods and Cyclone Alfred in Queensland – will deliver a $2.2bn hit to the federal budget.
Treasury analysis released this morning shows the overall immediate loss in economic activity, which is expected to affect the March quarter ahead of Wednesday’s National accounts data release.
Partial data for the March quarter showed the impact in retail trade and household spending. Nominal retail trade in Queensland fell 0.3% in February and 0.4% in March. Chalmers said:
Our government’s first priority is helping to fund the recovery and rebuild for communities hit hard by all the heavy weather we’re seeing more and more frequently.
The human impacts matter to us most, but the economic cost is very significant too and we’ll see that in Wednesday’s national accounts.
Because of the progress Australians have made together in the economy, with inflation down, debt down and unemployment low, we’re in a stronger position to provide support when communities need it most.
You can read more here:
Updated
Pedestrian in Perth in critical condition after collision with e-scooter
A 51-year-old man is in critical condition after a collision with an e-scooter this weekend.
WA Police have charged a woman, 24, with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, under the influence of alcohol. She was treated by paramedics for minor injuries after the collision, but did not require hospitalisation. Another passenger on the scooter was also treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the hospital.
The woman is set to appear in court later today.
Football Australia set to reveal new Matildas coach
Football Australia is set to end 10 months of uncertainty by appointing widely respected Melbourne-born women’s football specialist Joe Montemurro to lead the Matildas towards next year’s home Asian Cup.
FA has called a press conference for Monday morning when the interim chief executive, Heather Garriock, is expected to be joined by Montemurro.
The 55-year-old Montemurro has won trophies with Arsenal, Juventus and Lyon in a distinguished career in Europe, having broken through in the professional coaching ranks with stints at Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the W-League more than a decade ago.
Updated
Queensland woman charged over daughter’s murder dies in hospital
A mother accused of fatally stabbing her three-year-old daughter has died after being found unresponsive while in custody.
Lauren Ingrid Flanigan, 32, died in hospital on Sunday after being found unresponsive in her cell at Brisbane Women’s correctional centre, Queensland police confirmed.
Flanigan suffered a medical emergency in her cell on Friday night and was rushed to Princess Alexandra hospital in Brisbane.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Read more here:
Surf lifesavers still searching for possible missing person at Port Kembla
Surf lifesavers will continue to search for a possible missing person after hearing reports of a person in distress in the water at Port Kembla on Sunday.
Surf Life Saving NSW helped respond to reports of an overturned vessel in the area and were advised a person was face down in the water. A second person managed to escape the water on their own, but officials were unable to locate the first individual.
Both were wearing lifejackets, but the potential missing person had theirs knocked off by the surf.
Officials warned of strong, dangerous conditions this weekend across the state and volunteers responded to a number of incidents with people requiring assistance. SLSNSW’s CEO, Steve Pearce, said in a statement:
I implore the public to really think before heading to the coastline at the moment. We’re seeing some really dangerous conditions and it’s making activities, particularly rock fishing, unsafe.
Updated
Independent senator calls on Labor to change timing of Help/Hecs indexation
The independent senator for Tasmania, Tammy Tyrrell, has urged Labor to change the timing of indexation on Help/Hecs debts after they rose by 3.2% on Sunday.
The education minister, Jason Clare, said yesterday that Labor’s policy to reduce Hecs debts by 20% would be backdated to before indexation was applied.
Wiping 20% off every student debt is the very first piece of legislation Labor will introduce when parliament returns in July. To deliver on our promise and make sure you get the full benefit of this 20% cut, once we pass this legislation it’ll be backdated to this Sunday, 1 June, before that indexation was applied.
But Tyrrell took aim at Labor’s unwillingness to structurally reform the increase of debts before annual repayments were processed, as was recommended in the Universities Accord:
Banks reduce your loan before charging interest. Credit unions do too. Just not the government, who pretend someone’s repayments don’t exist. It’s costing students thousands of dollars all because Labor is too lazy to fix its accounting.
Labor’s Help debt changes are one-off sugar hits. If they’re genuine about making a difference for students, they could fix this rigged system when parliament returns. Just count someone’s payments before interest is charged.
Updated
Sydney’s ferries beginning to resume after heavy fog
Transport NSW says Sydney’s ferries are beginning to run again after being sidelined due to heavy fog this morning. The agency is still advising travellers to leave plenty of extra time for their journey.
These photos explain a bit about why the ferries weren’t running this morning.
Updated
More on Australia’s housing prices
The median dwelling in Australia was worth $831,288 in May – a 0.5% jump on the month before – data released by property analytics firm Cotality on Monday showed, AAP reports. Every capital city, as well as the combined regions, exhibited growth of 0.4% or more
Sydney remains the most expensive market in Australia, with median dwelling values – meaning units and houses combined – hovering just over $1.2m. Brisbane comes in second with median prices just below $918,000, followed by Canberra ($855,663), Adelaide ($829,695) and Perth (813,210).
Cotality’s research director, Tim Lawless, told AAP:
Undoubtedly, interest rates have had a positive flow through to housing markets since February.
But I certainly wouldn’t call the rate of growth shooting the lights out. A 0.4% to 0.5% growth rate is much more sustainable than what we were seeing, say, in early 2023 up to mid-2024.
Updated
Bradfield margin now 12 votes in favour of Boele but thousands left to count
Independent Nicolette Boele’s margin in the race for the seat of Bradfield is now up to 12 votes ahead of Liberal Gisele Kapterian.
The count will still take time to finalise, with election-watcher Kevin Bonham advising patience this weekend as thousands of booth votes likely still need checking.
Take a look inside the Bradfield recount with the Guardian’s Ben Raue here:
Updated
More on Hegseth’s call on Australian defence spending
The Pentagon said this morning defence secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Australia to dramatically increase its military investment in the Indo-Pacific to better align itself with America. The US defence department said the plan would help “maintain peace through strength” in the region, adding:
On defense spending, Secretary Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defense spending to 3.5% of its GDP as soon as possible.
Australia plans to grow its defence budget to more than 2.3% of gross domestic product by 2033-34, with the Albanese government promising billions in new investment last year.
Albanese responded to the calls this weekend, saying Australia would determine its own defence policy. The prime minister said:
What we’ll do is continue to invest in our capability but also our relationships in the region.
Updated
No Sydney ferries running due to heavy fog
Transport NSW says no ferries are currently running in Sydney due to heavy fog that blanketed the city this morning.
No Sydney ferries are running at all due to the heavy fog. Make alternative travel arrangements.
Updated
Tim Wilson says he looked to ‘reverse engineer’ win against teal Zoe Daniel
Liberal Tim Wilson said his rare flip of the Victorian seat of Goldstein during the election came after a concerted campaign to appeal to voters and promise a big vision for the future while trying to “reverse engineer” the strategy that propelled teals to victory in 2022. Wilson finished 175 votes ahead of teal independent Zoe Daniel. He told RN Breakfast this morning:
I think we were speaking to people’s sense of hope and ambition … we weren’t playing small, we were going big. We talked very optimistically about a hopeful future.
Wilson added he believed his campaign had “brought together a lot of people who wanted to have a shared vision for the community and the country”.
After the 2022 election, we looked very closely at, well, what do we need to do to change and adjust to fight a new political threat? And what is it that’s driving voters to support the teals? …
We worked on it for a very long period of time.
You can read more about his victory here:
Updated
Sprint sensation Lachie Kennedy broke the 100m 10-second barrier this weekend
21-year-old Lachie Kennedy became just the second Australia in history to run the 100m in less than 10 seconds this weekend. Kennedy won the event against a strong field in Nairobi on Saturday night, finishing with a time of 9.98 seconds, AAP reported. Kennedy said:
I was there to win today and bring it home, and I am super-stoked to get the win and the time. It’s so good. I can finally say I have run nine.
How about that ‼️
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 31, 2025
🇦🇺's Lachlan Kennedy rules at the @KipKeinoClassic 🔥
9.98 PB to win the 100m and move up to 2nd on the Australian all-time list 👏 #ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/0aP4dxKMls
The only other Australian to achieve the celebrated feat was national record holder Patrick Johnson, who ran a sizzling 9.93 in Mito, Japan in 2003.
Read more here:
Updated
Queensland premier hopes to find resolution with nurses union
Queensland’s premier, David Crisafulli, says strike action is the last thing he wants as the state’s union for nurses prepares to take industrial action this week.
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union’s secretary, Sarah Beaman, said industrial action is “likely” this week. The union is locked in negotiations with the state government for a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
Crisafulli said he is confident there will be an agreement this week, noting on Sunday:
I hope it’s the last thing that the union wants as well.
The minister has engaged in good faith and in response, so too have the nurses’ union. And I do think we can get a deal. I do think there’s been a pretty good offer put forward, and it honours the commitment we’ve made. Now it’s important that we negotiate in good faith with them, and we will do that.
The government promised before last October’s election to guarantee “nation-leading” wages and conditions for nurses.
Beaman said they will conduct only relatively non-disruptive industrial action this week like wearing union pins and campaign shirts. About 96% of union members who took part in a recent strike ballot voted to walk off the job.
She described an updated government offer as “subpar”. The health minister, Tim Nicholls, said the union had yet to make a counteroffer, on Friday.
The QNMU’s 55,000 members have not been on strike since 2002.
Updated
Good morning
Happy Monday, Nick Visser here to take you through this morning’s breaking news. First up today:
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has asked Australia to increase its defense spending to 3.5% of its gross domestic product during a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles. Anthony Albanese pushed back against those calls at the Shangri-La Dialogue this weekend, but we didn’t know just how much Hegseth was asking for until this morning.
House prices have surged after the RBA’s rate cut in May, with the median price across Australia sitting at $831,288 last month, AAP reports. Every capital city saw growth of 0.4% or more, largely due to buyers feeling better about their purchasing capacity.
Stick with us throughout the morning for more on these stories and whatever else the day brings.
