What we learned, Tuesday 16 June
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
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The Australian federal police will begin conducting “inquiries” into abuse and sexual assault allegations made against Israeli authorities by Australian members of the Global Sumud flotilla after meeting Penny Wong yesterday afternoon. The AFP confirmed it had met members in the group at Parliament House and “begun inquiries into allegations made by a representative of the group”.
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Australia Post issued a renewed call for people to secure their dogs after reporting more than 1,200 dog-related incidents affecting its posties over the last six months, an average of nine incidents a day.
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The Reserve Bank left its official interest rate on hold at 4.35%, after economic activity slowed and unemployment hit a four-year high. The widely expected decision on Tuesday will bring little relief to mortgage holders, already strained by the RBA’s three consecutive rate hikes earlier in 2026.
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The Bureau of Meteorology officially declared an El Niño – the phenomenon linked to hotter and drier conditions for Australia – is now locked in place in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In an update, the bureau said El Niño was now “under way in the tropical Pacific” and that the higher than average sea surface temperatures were coinciding with changes in the atmosphere.
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Police in NSW and Victoria have arrested two men as investigations continue into Dezi Freeman’s movements following the Porepunkah shooting of two police officers last year.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow to do it all again.
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Business and property groups urge Victorian government against legislating right to work from home
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and other employer groups held a press conference this afternoon to urge the state government not to legislate a right to work from home two days a week.
As we reported earlier, the premier, Jacinta Allan, introduced legislation to parliament today, which if passed will enshrine the right to work from home for those who can reasonably do so in the Equal Opportunity Act.
But Sally Curtain, the chief executive of VCCI, says the government shouldn’t go ahead with the bill. She told reporters:
There are much higher order priorities to introduce in our legislative program today than mandating work from home. That is already working incredibly well. What we’re seeing from our members and businesses is that they are making decisions on where they are going to employ or whether they’re going to grow their business in Victoria based on this sort of legislation. Adding more red tape today is the worst possible outcome for jobs in this state.
Cath Evans, from the Property Council, said a “large proportion” of workers were already being offered flexible work, while Keith Ryan from the Housing Industry Association called the bill a “complete waste of time” and a “massive distraction.”.
Allan however, has defended the policy, saying rightwing political parties across the country were keen to “wind back people’s opportunities to work from home” so it needed to be enshrined in law.
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Queensland government clears way for convicted paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith to be extradited to NSW
Ashley Paul Griffith, often dubbed Australia’s worst paedophile, will be able to be extradited to NSW “soon”.
Last week he lost an appeal against his life sentence for 307 sex offences against 73 Queensland victims between 2003 and 2022.
He is also alleged to have offended in NSW.
The Queensland attorney general, Deb Frecklington, said she had received correspondence from both the NSW and federal attorneys general about extraditing Griffith to face additional charges.
She said:
He will be able to be removed to New South Wales to face those charges.
Frecklington said the extradition could happen “soon”.
The matter goes through the court to be determined, so I need to be careful with that, but to say the federal Attorney General, the NSW Attorney General, and I have actioned what we can do to get him moved, but it is up to the court to make that final signoff.
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RBA governor says jobs still top of mind in inflation fight
Michele Bullock, the Reserve Bank governor, says the central bank “has not lost sight of the jobs market” in its battle to bring inflation back to target.
Unemployment unexpectedly jumped to 4.5% in April and the highest since late 2021, but Bullock said she expected it to “drift” up towards 4.7%.
“We are not forecasting recession,” she clarified, reprising earlier comments that the economy would not shrink this quarter.
She added that even though the jobless rate was “higher than we were expecting”, the labour market was “still a little bit tight”.
I want to make sure people understand we still have in mind the labour market.
But Bullock was also clear about the trade-offs the RBA was trying to manage.
If lowering interest rates or easing monetary policy to stimulate the labour market results in inflation, that will just be a bad outcome all round.
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RBA governor says economy will slow, not shrink
The RBA does not expect the economy to shrink in the three months to June, Michele Bullock says.
Growth slowed sharply at the start of the year, amid rising interest rates, higher inflation, and the start of the US-Israel war on Iran at the end of February.
Since then, consumer confidence has fallen off a cliff as surging fuel costs bit into household budgets, and there has been desultory talk that a recession may be on the cards.
But the RBA governor, during her press conference, said “we’re not forecasting that the economy is going to shrink in this quarter”.
We are forecasting that growth is going to slow, but growth has to slow. And the key reason for that is that we have excess demand.
And unless demand grows more slowly than the supply side of the economy for a time, we’re not going to get inflation down.
We think it will grow slowly, but that’s what’s needed to try and get inflation down.”
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Rate rises have been ‘tough’ for households, Bullock says, but RBA prepared to hike again
Three interest rate hikes this year “are tough for households”, the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, says, as she warned it could “take some time” for oil to begin flowing freely through the strait of Hormuz again despite the announcement of a ceasefire.
The RBA monetary policy board held rates steady at 4.35% today, as widely expected. But as in the statement accompanying that decision, Bullock warned that the bank could still hike again.
She said:
I want to be very clear that inflation remains too high.
Today’s decision does not rule out further tightening in monetary policy if that is what is required to bring inflation down.
Leaving rates on hold today will allow the board to assess how these previous increases are flowing through the economy.”
She told assembled journalists that “reports that an agreement has been reached to end the conflict in the Middle East are welcome”.
If the conflict does end and the strait of Hormuz is reopened, this should support the flow of commodities and lower prices.
But this could take some time, and an orderly resolution is still not assured, meaning there are still upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth.”
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Ombudsman finds prisoners unlawfully locked in cells for up to three months in NSW centre
An ombudsman investigation has found that prisoners at a correctional centre on the New South Wales south coast were unlawfully locked in their cells alone for 24 hours a day for up to three months, depriving them of contact visits and daily exercise.
The NSW ombudsman released its investigation into the management and treatment of prisoners in protective custody at South Coast correctional centre in Nowra finding their treatment was “unlawful and oppressive”.
It found that prisoners who were in protective custody for their safety were locked in their cells for 24 hours a day for periods ranging from two weeks to three months.
The investigation, which was launched after complaints were made by four prisoners to the ombudsman in April last year, uncovered that about 30 prisoners had faced this treatment.
It also found that protective custody prisoners at Parklea correctional centre, the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre and Shortland Correctional Centre had been locked in their cells without their daily entitlement to exercise between January and April 2025.
The state is legally required to give prisoners a minimum of 2 hours of access to outdoor exercise daily.
The report said:
Prolonged confinement to a cell, without access to exercise, can lead to significant physical deterioration and psychological harm, and compound the challenges inmates face when reintegrating into society upon release.
The ombudsman, Paul Miller, said the issue was “foreseeable and avoidable” after arose from policy changes. This included a change in 2020 which saw prisoners in protected custody held in isolation rather than held together with other vulnerable prisoners.
The report also found Corrective Services NSW’s conduct during the investigation was “unlawful and wrong” after it failed to provide the requested documentation within the required timeframes.
Miller said:
Had we not received any complaints, it is not clear how long the situation at South Coast Correctional Centre and the other centres would have persisted.
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That’s all from me. Cait Kelly is here to guide you through the rest of the arvo. Take care!
Two men arrested as police investigate Dezi Freeman's movements after Porepunkah shootings
Police in NSW and Victoria have arrested two men as investigations continue into Dezi Freeman’s movements following the Porepunkah shooting of two police officers last year.
Victoria police said in a statement:
Police have executed seven warrants this morning at properties across Victoria and New South Wales as part of the ongoing investigation by Taskforce Summit into the movements of Desmond Freeman after he fatally shot two on-duty police in Porepunkah last year.
Warrants were executed by Victoria Police at three rural properties in Buckland, Stanley and Lucyvale from just after 6.20am on Tuesday, 16 June.
At the same time, warrants were executed by NSW Police as part of Strikeforce Namberta, in coordination with Taskforce Summit investigators, at four residential properties in Greenwich Park, Tarlo, Wombeyan Caves and Umina Beach.
Searches of those properties remain underway, and police have seized a range of electronic devices from the addresses.
A 64-year-old Lucyvale man was arrested in Wodonga and will be interviewed by police.
A 47-year-old Wombeyan Caves man was also arrested in Greenwich Park on unrelated outstanding warrants.
There are no further arrests at this time, however police are speaking with a number of occupants at the various premises.
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Michele Bullock from the RBA is up at 3:30. We will bring you that when she is on.
BoM declares El Niño is now in place in Pacific Ocean
The Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared an El Niño – the phenomenon linked to hotter and drier conditions for Australia – is now locked in place in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
In an update, the bureau said El Niño was now “under way in the tropical Pacific” and that the higher than average sea surface temperatures were coinciding with changes in the atmosphere.
The east to west trade winds were weakening and pressure and cloud patterns were also consistent with El Niño, the bureau said.
Forecasts were pointing to a strong or very strong event, the bureau said, adding the strength did not “necessarily mean strong impacts on Australia’s climate”.
El Niño events are linked with extreme weather events around the world and, for Australia, tend to bring warmer and drier conditions in winter and spring to the south and east.
The US and Japan’s meteorological agencies have already declared the El Niño as being in place, but both use slightly different methods and thresholds for making the declaration.
Climate experts have warned the weather extremes linked to El Niño are being supercharged by global heating, with hotter extremes, fiercer droughts and worse flooding.
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Chalmers is asked whether, if the government can’t control inflation and the RBA doesn’t cut rates, we will see more voters going to One Nation.
Chalmers:
We understand that the global uncertainty is intensifying and people have got legitimate concerns about where they fit in that story of churn and change.
And governments have got a choice whether to dismiss those legitimate concerns, whether to deny those legitimate concerns or to try and act to address them.
And we’re trying to attract trying to act to address them.
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Labor reviewing fuel excise relief on weekly basis, Chalmers says
Asked about the fuel excise, Chalmers says:
Look, we’ve made it really clear that the fuel excise relief won’t go on for ever, but that we will review it week-to-week basis to make sure that we’re providing the support that we can responsibly provide.
We’ve always said that that fuel excise relief will be temporary.
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Chalmers welcomes RBA’s decision, but says world still faces economic uncertainty
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking in Brisbane now after the RBA’s decision. He said the global economy was still in a difficult place.
He said the government welcomes the decision from the RBA to keep rates on hold, the first decision since the latest budget was revealed. He went on:
We’re pleased with developments in the Middle East but we’re realistic about how long it will take for the global economy to normalise and what that means for us.
The end of this war can’t come soon enough. Australians have already paid a really hefty price for this conflict on the other side of the world.
Chalmers said he knows Australians are still under pressure, pointing to a slate of cost-of-living measures.
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RBA says inflation still too high as it waits for rate hikes to hit
The Reserve Bank board says its unanimous decision to leave interest rates on hold today should not be taken as a sign it is done raising rates, as economic activity needs to slow even further.
In its statement accompanying the decision to leave the cash rate at 4.35%, the board said it was being proven right in its predictions and higher fuel prices have started pushing up the prices of some goods and services.
The board said it was determined to ensure that those initial price rises don’t convince more businesses and workers to start asking for higher prices and wages. It said:
To achieve this, growth in demand needs to slow to reduce capacity pressures and help bring inflation back to target … There are signs that the economy is slowing as expected. But inflation is still too high and the Board judged that it was appropriate to leave the cash rate target unchanged while it assesses the response to previous interest rate rises and the impact of the oil supply disruption.
While economists widely expected the RBA to hold as the economy slows, the board said it had expected consumer spending to slow and it was unworried by the higher unemployment rate given other measures suggest the job market is “more resilient”.
It also didn’t put much faith in Donald Trump’s latest “deal” with Iran to end his war:
Resolution of the conflict in the Middle East is at an early stage, and there are plausible scenarios where inflation is higher and activity lower than envisaged under the May baseline forecasts.
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Refugee who was sent from Australia to Manus more than a decade ago now dangerously unwell in PNG
Hatam Yekta, a 36-year-old refugee first sent by Australia to Manus Island 13 years ago, is dangerously unwell in a Port Moresby hospital, advocates say, arguing he needs to be medevaced to Australia for life-saving treatment.
He is one of about 50 refugees and asylum seekers who remain held in Papua New Guinea, a decade after Australia’s illegal offshore detention centre on Manus Island was ordered shut by PNG’s supreme court.
Yekta, formerly a bodybuilder, is emaciated, weakened and unable to care for himself. He is also acutely mentally unwell and unable to engage in any resettlement process.
He is understood to have been at Port Moresby’s Paradise hospital for a number of months. But friends visiting him say his condition is deteriorating rapidly.
Behrouz Boochani, Yekta’s former roommate in the Manus Island detention centre, said it was very possible that his friend would die without transfer.
He was among the most physically strong men on Manus. [He was] very athletic and was 90kg, but now he is 45kg or 46kg.
He has been sick for a long time but after he got rejected by New Zealand last year he has become worse.
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Reserve Bank holds official interest rate at 4.35% as economy slows and unemployment rises
The Reserve Bank has left its official interest rate on hold at 4.35%, after economic activity slowed and unemployment hit a four-year high.
The widely expected decision on Tuesday will bring little relief to mortgage holders, already strained by the RBA’s three consecutive rate hikes earlier in 2026.
We’ll bring you more details in a moment.
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RBA decision coming at 2.30pm
It’s Reserve Bank interest rate decision day once again. We’ll bring you updates on what the latest figure is in just a short time, at 2.30pm eastern.
Stick with us.
NDIS still top budget pressure as Labor struggles to cut, ratings agency says
A top ratings agency has predicted the NDIS will still be one of the biggest budget pressures as the government could fail to carry out its planned cuts to eligibility and spending growth.
Jeremy Zook, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, said Australia had kept its AAA credit rating with higher economic growth but higher debt than other top-rated economies, speaking to reporters in Sydney on Monday.
Governments are typically charged lower borrowing costs when they are awarded the strongest credit ratings as agencies believe they are least likely to default on debt.
But Zook said Australia’s ability to manage its budget challenges would be the “key rating factor” as Fitch weighed the country’s AAA rating in future, singling out the NDIS. Zook said:
The government has taken some steps, of course, to try to rein in the increase in costs there, but we think that there could still be some challenges over the long run. …
The program itself generated more sort of fiscal challenges than what was expected at its inception, right? And I think some of those challenges could re-emerge despite some of the recent reforms, over time.
The government’s modelling indicates about 241,000 people would be removed from the scheme by mid-2031 under its proposed overhaul. Zook said the government would have to stick to that aim to stop NDIS costs from being the main budget pressure.
It depends how well eligibility, I suppose, can continue to be kind of narrowed down for …[the] NDIS, and yeah, whether this really caps some of that growth that we’ve seen more structurally.
A branch of Labor’s youth wing has told a parliamentary inquiry the overhaul “will cost lives” and should be halted. The inquiry will report on Friday.
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Queensland announces plan to create new child protection agency for better coordination
Frecklington said the government will also create a new organisation, the Queensland child protection commission, to respond to a lack of coordination between investigating agencies, which had allowed offenders to slip under the radar.
The new body will be responsible for the blue card, Queensland’s working with children check system, disability worker screening checks, the reportable conduct scheme and child safe standards.
“The Queensland protection commission will provide a single point of leadership, coordination and accountability for child safety and wellbeing across the state,” she said.
It will also host an intelligence hub targeted at proactive investigations.
“Complaints will no longer be treated in isolation but as part of broader demonstrative picture of predatory behaviour and risk to children,” Frecklington said.
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Queensland attorney general announces government response to report into man dubbed Australia’s worst pedophile
Queensland’s attorney general, Deb Frecklington, has announced the state government’s response to a report into the offending of Ashley Paul Griffith, often dubbed Australia’s worst pedophile.
Griffith, a childcare worker, was convicted of 307 sexual offences against 73 victims, mostly young girls aged between three and five between 2003 and 2022, in Queensland. He was sentenced to life in prison.
A report by the Queensland Child Death Review Board released last year found there were 18 points where his offending could have been detected earlier, and five “missed opportunities” where action could have been taken to halt him.
Frecklington has told the media club that the government will create a reportable conduct scheme, as recommended by the report.
The government has accepted in full or in principle “a majority” of the inquiry’s recommendation, she said.
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Australia won’t ‘baby’ players about social media use before USA World Cup clash
Australia’s players are mature enough to handle the hype ahead of their high-profile World Cup match against co-hosts the United States and do not need staff to tell them to get off social media, assistant coach Hayden Foxe has said.
Reuters reports the Socceroos will meet the USA in Seattle on Friday, with both sides pumped up by home media and football pundits after winning their Group D openers against Turkey and Paraguay respectively.
Several US commentators have written off Australia as a problem for the co-hosts, including former centre back Alexi Lalas who judged them an “average team by any measure” in his pre-tournament rankings of the 48 participating nations.
Foxe said there was no need to shield Australia’s players from the outside noise.
We can’t baby them. They’re their own selves, we want them to be their own selves. Social media’s out there, they’re aware of media and the comments and what’s being said.
But we’re concentrated on us. They’re old enough and mature enough to understand what gets said and what doesn’t get said.
Small business tax reform fears overblown, leading tax expert says
Miranda Stewart, a law professor and leading tax academic, says business groups have failed to make a convincing case for how they will be worse off under the tax reforms introduced into parliament.
Speaking at the second of a two-day committee hearing into the legislation, Stewart said while nobody will be “100% happy”, the changes “improve fairness and equity in the system”.
Lobby groups say that the reforms, especially the move to an inflation-linked CGT discount, will hurt businesses, particularly small firms.
But Stewart said “it’s not entirely clear to me what the concerns are“
In fact most small and medium businesses in Australia either are going to benefit from lower personal income tax rates [through the working Australian tax offset] or are benefiting from the 25% corporate tax rate that will be lower than the rates on capital gain.
Stewart also dismissed claims the tax reforms would trigger a flight of entrepreneurs to lower tax jurisdictions, reminding the committee that the founder would have to physically relocate.
It’s not about mobility of capital, it’s about mobility of people, it is a very different question. I don’t know about you, but I would not choose at the moment to live in Dubai, but others may.
If Australian innovative businesses want to establish in New Zealand because capital gains tax is zero there – all power to them. Why aren’t they there already?
The empirical evidence is of course some people move in response to tax rates, the majority do not.
Westpac economist backs extension to fuel excise relief
A senior economist at Westpac has backed a three-month extension to the 26-cent cut to the fuel excise beyond 30 June, saying it was “reasonable” to redistribute the extra tax revenue from high export prices to households.
Pat Bustamante told journalists earlier today that “higher commodity prices are actually improving our terms of trade and government revenue”.
“So how can the government spend that or use that? A way to do that is by extending this excise cut. So we actually think it’s a reasonable policy,” he said, adding that it “needs to be temporary”.
Bustamante added that extending fuel price relief would help temper the inflation “imported” from the global oil crisis.
Fuel prices have retreated to their pre-Iran war levels (including excise and GST relief), and global oil prices have retreated to about $US83 a litre from a high of about $US120.
Nevertheless, Anthony Albanese today said the government is considering an extension.
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Labor threw process ‘out the window’ with its tax reforms
A peak accountancy body has criticised the government for a lack of consultation in developing its tax reform and legislation, saying Labor “pretty much threw the book out the window when it comes to process”.
Tony Greco, a senior tax adviser at the Institute of Public Accountants, told the Senate committee hearing into the proposed changes, including changes to CGT, “bad process invariably leads to bad outcomes”.
He said a lack of averaging and the 30% minimum tax rate meant we were not returning to the pre-1999 system, when the current 50% capital discount was introduced.
Like other expert witnesses yesterday, Greco said investors selling assets should be able to spread their capital gains over a number of years for tax purposes so as to not be penalised with a very high marginal rate for a single windfall year.
He also had worries that investors were taxed on real gains, but did not receive any relief from real losses (that is, when the rates of return were below inflation).
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NDIS inquiry report delayed
The parliamentary inquiry into sweeping changes to the national disability insurance scheme has delayed handing down its final report.
The findings were due to be tabled on Tuesday following three days of public hearings, which heard dire warnings about a proposal that is expected to force more than 240,000 participants off the NDIS by 2031.
The committee has now extended the reporting date until Friday, 19 June, to allow senators extra time to consider the evidence.
South Australia's electoral commissioner to resign
Back to South Australia, where the electoral commissioner, Mick Sherry, has written to Her Excellency the Governor to advise he will resign effective 24 July 2026.
The deputy electoral commissioner, Leah McLay, will continue as acting electoral commissioner once Sherry’s resignation takes effect.
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Specialty chain Lincraft to close stores after more than 80 years
After more than 80 years, Lincraft has announced it is closing its doors. In an email to members, a spokesperson for the store said:
This decision has not been made lightly. We understand that Lincraft holds a special place in the hearts of many customers, and we know this news will be disappointing for those who have shared our love of creativity, crafting, sewing, knitting, and home projects.
Our stores will not close immediately. The closure process will occur progressively. We remain committed to serving our customers throughout this period and helping you continue the projects and passions you love.
Importantly, Lincraft will continue to operate online, allowing customers to shop with us as the transition unfolds.
On behalf of everyone who has been part of the Lincraft family over the past eight decades, thank you. Thank you for your loyalty, your friendship, your creativity, and for allowing us to be part of your homes, your families, and your lives. You have helped make Lincraft what it is, and we will always be proud of the role we have played in inspiring creativity across Australia and New Zealand.
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South Australia to legislate to delay local elections by five months after request from electoral commissioner
The South Australian Government will introduce legislation to this week to defer the 2026 periodic local government elections by five months, in response to a request from the acting electoral commissioner to delay the vote.
A statement released by the deputy premier, Kyam Maher, said:
In the plainest of terms, the Acting Electoral Commissioner has said that the Electoral Commission is simply not equipped to manage the local government elections should they proceed this year.
It’s a warning we cannot ignore, and we have moved swiftly to respond to the Commissioner’s concerns and propose a sensible, pragmatic way forward.
This is a sensible response to ensure local government continues to function and that the Electoral Commission has additional time to prepare for an efficient, effective rollout of the next council elections.
It is now up to the Parliament to decide.
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PM to ‘give consideration’ on extended fuel excise
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking on the Bellarine peninsula in Victoria. Asked if there will be an extended fuel excise on diesel, he said:
We will give consideration to those matters.
The peace deal in the Middle East, we welcome.
We welcome the fact that the [memorandum of understanding] has now been signed, but the signing of the agreement will take place in Switzerland on Friday. We want to see this hold.
We have called for de-escalation for some time.
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Victoria premier says she will ‘absolutely’ lead Labor to election as deputy calls for end to ‘internal politics’
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has emerged unscathed from the last Labor caucus meeting before the winter break, telling reporters she will “absolutely” lead the party to November’s state election.
Briefly speaking to reporters on the way out, she said the meeting was “fantastic,” with MPs discussing the week ahead in parliament and the need to focus on the working people they represent.
The deputy premier, Ben Carroll, considered her most likely challenger, walked into the meeting with Allan. Afterwards, he told reporters that “no one” had spoken to him about a leadership spill:
It’s not coming from me, I’ve been a loyal deputy to Jacinta Allan for three years, and that remains the case.
He said the premier told the room to be “united and disclipined”. When asked whether he wanted MPs to start focusing on the election and the challenge ahead, Carroll said:
Yes because internal politics is not what Victorians want. As we’ve seen, Labor is leaking to One Nation, the conservatives are hemorrhaging to them.
While he conceded Labor was polling poorly, he said the party could “turn it aroud” and win in November:
We’re in the fight of our lives and we’re going to win the election in November … you wacth the papers the next day. We will turn this around and we will win in November.
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Pauline Hanson says she hasn’t spoken to Angus Taylor since 2019
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson spoke to 2GB earlier this morning, where she was asked about her relationship with opposition leader Angus Taylor. She had this to say:
I haven’t spoken to Angus since 2019 when he [was] environmental minister.
Hanson was asked if Taylor had reached out after the Coalition leader said he would do so, but she said he hadn’t so far. When pressed about any future deal between the two should the next election give them enough seats to form government, Hanson added:
We’re not going to count our chickens before they hatch. There’s a lot of work to do, but I’ve offered supply and confidence to Angus Taylor to the Coalition government so that we can get rid of this toxic Labor government.
That’s my main aim.
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Grill’d says promotion ‘undertaken with positive intent’
Grill’d has issued a statement responding to the ACCC announcement that it is taking the burger chain to court over alleged greenwashing.
In its statement, Grill’d said its Tree Day Tuesday promotion was “undertaken with positive intent” and that it donated more than $250,000 to plant more than 100,000 trees and restore more than 40 hectares of forests.
It continued:
Grill’d has a proud history of supporting and donating to thousands of community groups across Australia.
Local Matters has raised over $7 million for thousands of community groups, including local charities, schools and sporting clubs across Australia.
We are an Australian business, and supporting Australian communities and those in need has and will always be part of who we are.
Grill’d takes Australian Consumer Law very seriously, and our reputation is forged in trust and doing the right thing in the communities where we live.
Grill’d has worked internally and with all stakeholders, including the ACCC, to ensure that brand and sustainability initiatives undertaken are clear and cause no confusion in the eyes of the Australian public.
ACCC takes Grill’d to court over alleged greenwashing of tree planting donations
The consumer watchdog has launched legal action against Grill’d for alleged “greenwashing”, accusing the burger chain of misleading customers by greatly overstating how much money it was donating to environmental causes.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced this morning that it had taken Grill’d to the federal court, alleging the company broke consumer law by misrepresenting its Tree Day Tuesday campaign.
The ACCC alleges Grill’d made various representations to customers during the campaign, which it ran between January 2021 and April 2024, including that it would donate $1 from every burger purchased on a Tuesday towards the planting of trees.
However, the ACCC says that while Grill’d sold more than 5m burgers on a Tuesday during the campaign, only about 4% of those resulted in the company making a Tree Day Tuesday donation.
This is because the fine print imposed strict terms and conditions on which orders would qualify for a donation, which the ACCC alleges Grill’d did not adequately disclose to customers.
Some conditions required customers to be members of Grill’d’s Relish loyalty program, and only dine-in orders made at the front counter of one of the stores qualified; online orders or those made via table QR codes did not.
In a statement, the ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said:
We consider this to be a form of greenwashing … Grill’d is a large fast-food chain and operates across Australia, meaning that its conduct had the potential to mislead many consumers nationwide about the environmental benefits of their purchase.
Guardian Australia has contacted Grill’d for comment.
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Allan suggests Labor would never preference One Nation above the Coalition
Allan said the biggest risk to working people was a “One Nation show that’s opposed every wage rise for workers” and a “Liberal outfit that can’t govern without One Nation, indeed, would be the junior partner to One Nation”:
That means cuts to services, cuts to wages, and what we need now more than ever before at this time is a government that steps in.
She also lashed the Liberal party for failing to rule out a preference deal with One Nation. Allan suggested Labor would never preference One Nation above the Coalition:
The Labor party’s views on One Nation have never changed. We’ve always fought them because they are about cuts to workers’ wages, cuts to services, and they don’t believe in a government that steps in and helps working people.
What we are seeing, though, is that it’s the Liberal party who’s changed. The Labor party has been consistent and clear for decades on this question. We are now seeing the Liberal Party abandon any sense of decency and principle … They had it in the 90s … Now, in a desperate attempt to save their own skin, they are talking about doing a deal with One Nation.
Momentum for leadership spill in Victoria fizzles
Victorian Labor MPs are about to hold their final caucus meeting before the parliamentary winter break – a gathering that was considered the final oppourtunity to launch a leadership spill against Jacinta Allan.
However, the momentum for a spill fizzled out after her most likely contender, the deputy premier, Ben Carroll, told reporters yesterday he wanted his daughter to grow up “knowing that I supported Jacinta Allan to be a world-class premier and get re-elected in her own right”.
There was also an awkward moment during yesterday’s press conference when Carroll looked the premier in the eye and told her he would not launch a challenge against her on Tuesday.
Asked if Carroll’s comments yesterday meant there would be no challenge today, Allan told reporters this morning:
You heard very clearly from the deputy premier yesterday, myself and other colleagues. We are a strong and united team who understand very clearly who we are here to represent.
She said “working people and families need a Labor government that is focused on them”. Allan went on:
[I am] not interested and focused on anonymous gossip. We’ve got to get on and do the hard work. I do acknowledge that we are in times where families and working people are feeling more challenging than ever before. There’s a confluence of factors that are being experienced today here in Victoria and around the world that is putting huge pressure on household budgets.
Government will let KPMG extend contracts despite new work blacklist: Gallagher
The Albanese government will let KPMG receive extensions on its hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of contracts even though the firm is barred from bidding for new work.
Katy Gallagher yesterday said she expected the Australian government would not engage KPMG “on any new contracts” and her department had asked the firm not to apply after allegations KPMG partners had leaked confidential client information to colleagues.
But Gallagher today confirmed existing contracts could be extended. She told Radio National:
They’re stopping bidding for work. That doesn’t extend to current contracts with KPMG, for reasons that are under contract, essentially.
Extensions would be applicable for some active KPMG contracts expiring on 30 June, worth $331m, and another $94m expiring by 30 September, when the blacklist is set to lift. Government tender data shows a further $203m in federal contracts with KPMG will not expire until after September.
The government has executed, or will execute, at least 32 contracts with KPMG, since the allegations became public on 24 March, tender data shows.
Read more about the allegations here:
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Australian World Cup official cleared by Fifa over hand gesture
Australian video assistant referee (VAR) Shaun Evans has been cleared by Fifa of any wrongdoing after saying he did not intentionally make a hand gesture used by white supremacists.
AAP reports Evans made an upside down “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg. It was interpreted by some as a reference to the “circle game” – in which the aim is to trick other people into looking at a specific hand gesture – but others believed Evans had made a gesture referencing white supremacy.
Fifa found Evans had not breached its disciplinary code.
“FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA disciplinary code,” the game’s governing body said in a statement.
The disciplinary committee has also taken note of Mr Evans’ statement.
As we reported in the blog earlier, Evans said he did not make the gesture intentionally, saying it was an “involuntary, subconscious twitch”.
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Australia Post reports 1,200 dog-related incidents for posties in first half of 2026
Australia Post issued a renewed call for people to secure their dogs after reporting more than 1,200 dog-related incidents affecting its posties over the last six months, an average of nine incidents a day.
The agency said that figure is a 5% increase on the same period last year, which raises serious concerns about the safety of its frontline workers. New South Wales is the worst offender, accounting for more than a third of all cases.
Russell Munro, the general manager of safety for AusPost, said in a statement:
Posties encounter multiple dogs every day while delivering, and some can pose a real safety risk. What seems like a routine delivery can quickly escalate, and our posties can’t predict how a dog may react, regardless of breed or temperament.
Posties are now equipped with citronella spray as a last line of defence measure, a non-toxic effort to briefly distract dogs. Munro added:
If you’re expecting a delivery, make sure your dog is securely contained in another room, behind a locked gate or safely restrained. If you’re unable to do so, we encourage customers to consider using a 24/7 free and convenient parcel locker as a safer alternative.
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Butler defends NDIS changes
Asked directly on Sunday if people would die as a consequence of the changes, the health minister, Mark Butler, said: “No, they won’t.”
He told ABC’s Insiders program:
The NDIS is probably the most significant social reform this country has made since Medicare in the 80s. It’s transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians for the better and I completely understand why they’re desperately concerned to hang on to that reform. I’m desperately concerned to do that as well but the truth is the NDIS has got way off track.
It’s worth noting that the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the NDIS minister, Jenny McAllister, are members of the Labor left faction in New South Wales.
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Labor’s youth wing lashes government’s ‘harmful’ NDIS changes
A branch of Labor’s youth wing warned the Albanese government’s planned overhaul of the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) “will cost lives” and should be halted.
In its submission to a Senate inquiry into the changes, Young Labor Left New South Wales argued that the proposal framed people with disabilities as “financial burdens”.
The submission has been published online ahead of the scheduled release of the inquiry’s final report on Tuesday.
More than 240,000 participants are expected to be forced off the scheme by 2031 under contentious changes designed to contain the ballooning cost of the $50bn-a-year disability program.
The government also wants to slash the stream of funding that participants use to hire support workers to allow them to engage with the community, in a move advocates warn will lead to more isolation and segregation.
The inquiry’s public hearings last week heard from several witnesses who feared that participants would die as a result of the changes, which are intended to save $38bn over four years.
The Young Labor members echoed those warnings in their written submission:
Young Labor Left NSW is deeply opposed to this Bill. We consider the Bill, in its current form, harmful to the disabled community and should not be passed. The reckless removal of support will cost lives.
Young Labor Left NSW is not opposed to reforming the NDIS and measures to safeguard the integrity of the NDIS. However, the Bill in its current form seeks to bar and remove people from accessing the NDIS as a cost-saving measure. The framing of people with disabilities as financial burdens that must be alleviated for the sustainability of the scheme is deeply dehumanising and erodes the trust the community has in the Government to safeguard and the rights and dignity of the disabled community.
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Family reels from ‘tragic situation’ as Coogee shark attack victim loses arm
The family of the woman critically injured in Saturday’s horrific shark attack at Coogee beach is still coming to terms with the catastrophic scope of her injuries and the heartbreaking impact on her toddler.
Leah Stewart, a 35-year-old primary school teacher, mother and dedicated ocean swimmer, remained on life support in the intensive care unit at St Vincent’s hospital after being mauled by a suspected 3.5-metre great white shark.
“It’s such a tragic situation,” her older brother Joshua Stewart told the Guardian.
Leah is so full of life, she’s so energetic, she loves the ocean, she was a keen swimmer, she was swimming in the flags, really close to the shore when it happened on a crystal-clear Saturday morning. She’d done all the right things.
He confirmed Leah had undergone an arm amputation and remained in a critical condition, with the family bracing for further possible life-altering news regarding injuries to her legs.
Read more here:
Victorian Labor’s new laws to force opposition to show their hand on work from home rights
Last year, the Victorian premier announced that her government would legislate the right to work from home two days a week for those who can “reasonably” do so. She has said the plan would boost productivity via increasing participation of women, particularly new mothers, in the workforce.
The policy was also designed to wedge the opposition after the issue became a flashpoint in the 2025 federal election campaign, when Peter Dutton was forced to back down on a policy to restrict work-from-home arrangements for public servants due to backlash.
Opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has refused to outline the Coalition’s position on the bill until the legislation is introduced to parliament. Now they will be forced to show their hand.
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Australian politics now contest of ‘practical versus populist’, Labor MP will say
Australian politics is now defined by a contest of “practical versus populist”, according to a Labor MP who claims his party are the only ones left in the sensible centre.
The assistant minister to the prime minister, Patrick Gorman, will use a speech to the McKell Institute on Tuesday to argue that the domestic political landscape is no longer shaped by a divide between left and right.
Gorman will lump the Liberals, Nationals and the Greens in the same category as One Nation, accusing all four parties of pursuing populism over practical policy solutions.
He will argue that Labor, in contrast, is the “only practical party of the centre remaining in Australian politics”.
The Perth MP will say:
The other thing populism does is create a wall of noise behind which unpopular policies are hidden. These parties are loud on populism and then quiet on their true agenda.
The comments follow a string of national opinion polls that show One Nation is now ahead of Labor, making it the most popular party in the country.
As we reported last week, Labor has begun targeting Pauline Hanson’s record of opposing cost-of-living relief for workers as it attempts to stall One Nation’s momentum.
Updated
Australian World Cup official denies he intentionally made hand gesture
Australian Shaun Evans has denied he intentionally made a hand gesture used by white supremacists in a clip of the VAR officials prior to Germany’s match against Curacao match on Sunday, Press Association reports.
Evans appeared to make an upside down “OK” symbol with his right hand as the broadcast feed cut to the “meet the team” section for the VARs before kick-off.
The gesture is used in the completely harmless “circle game”, but has also been used by far-right supporters and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added it to a list of hate symbols in 2019.
Fifa is understood to be aware of the incident and seeking answers from Evans as to why he made the gesture, although the governing body subsequently said no evidence of any disciplinary code breaches had been established.
Evans released a statement this morning, saying:
I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind.
The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.
The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested.
Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honour of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament.
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Gallagher on One Nation: ‘Opinion polls will come and go’
Katy Gallagher was also asked about the surge in One Nation, saying there was an obvious “reorganisation on the conservative side of politics”.
The finance minister said she wouldn’t comment too deeply on opinion polls, but the Labor government had attempted to address broad concerns from Australians with its latest budget.
She said:
I think there is a lot of uncertainty and worry about events that are happening across the world, the impact that has here. Cost of living is the No 1 issue with anyone you talk to right now, and the government just has to remain focused on that, and that’s what we intend to do.
Opinion polls will come and go, they do. Our job is to make sure we’re making the right decisions for the right time and that it’s focused on the Australian people. And when there’s controversy about that, and we know we’ve had a lot of feedback around the budget, you know, our job is to front up and explain why we’ve taken those decisions.
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Finance minister says fuel excise cut always meant to be ‘temporary’
Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, has said the cut to the fuel excise was always meant to be temporary but confirmed the government is still monitoring oil prices despite a preliminary deal for a ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Gallagher spoke to RN Breakfast, saying the government welcomed the end to the conflict in the Middle East. She said of any extension to the fuel excise cut:
It was meant to be a temporary relief during this conflict.
We know that there will be a tail to this conflict in terms of how that impacts on prices and households remains to be seen. So, this is something I think the PM said yesterday [that] we keep under consideration. And if we make a decision that changes, that will be relayed to people.
The finance minister said the government wanted to help people deal with “sharp hits” to the household budget, hence the cut over the last three months. The temporary relief is set to expire at the end of June.
We’re monitoring events in the Middle East and what’s happening with the price of petrol, and if there, you know, if there’s anything to add to this, I’m sure we’ll do so in good time.
Updated
NSW to spend $100m on large-scale battery projects
The NSW government says it will spend $100m on four large-scale batteries in Sydney, Newcastle and on the central coast to help ensure grid reliability as coal-fired power stations shut.
It is the inaugural investment by the NSW Energy Security Corporation, which was created by the Labor state government two years ago to help renewable energy projects get off the ground.
The funding is promised to help support the construction of 500 megawatts of storage by early 2029, when the large Eraring coal-fired power plant is scheduled to close.
Another 150MW is promised later that year. The government said work on the first battery, at Steel River industrial estate in Newcastle, is expected to start next month.
The state minister for climate change and energy, Penny Sharpe, said:
Large-scale batteries are revolutionising NSW’s energy grid, delivering greater energy security and helping to drive down prices.
Updated
RBA board expected to leave interest rates on hold today
The Reserve Bank is expected to leave its official interest rate on hold at 4.35% when its rate-setting board wraps up its meeting this afternoon, as the Australian economy weakens.
After three back-to-back rate rises in 2026, economists at most major banks have forecast the RBA will not deliver another increase today. Unemployment has picked up to 4.5% and household spending is weakening, likely to be weighed further in Melbourne and Sydney by house price falls.
Financial markets on Monday were betting there was no chance rates would rise today. Traders have priced in just half of a rate rise by December, implying they believe a hike by then is no certainty but more likely than not.
Taylor Nugent, senior economist at NAB, said analysts would be watching the wording of the RBA’s announcement. Nugent predicted the RBA will not rule out another hike because inflation is still uncomfortably high, at 4.2% in May.
The RBA will announce its decision at 2.30pm Sydney time and its governor, Michele Bullock, will explain the board’s thinking at 3.30pm.
Good morning
It’s Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s get to it.
Updated
Superannuation industry underinvested in renewable energy, advocacy group says
Australia’s superannuation industry is underinvested when it comes to the nation’s renewable energy transition, an environmental advocacy group claims.
The 30 largest super funds directly contributed $771m of the $99bn invested in Australian clean energy projects since 2020, roughly 0.03% of the $2.5tn in retirement savings managed by those funds, a Market Forces report shows, as reported by Australian Associated Press.
Local and foreign commercial banks provided more than half the cash flowing to Australian renewable projects, followed by developers and operators, government agencies and public authorities.
Canadian pension funds directly invested $408m more in Australian renewable energy projects over the period than the top-30 funds, said report author and Market Forces Australian campaigns head Brett Morgan.
Just six of the top-30 super funds had direct investments in Australian renewable energy or battery storage projects: Aware Super, Cbus, HESTA, NGS Super, Prime Super and Rest.
Updated
Victorian law set to enshrine right to WFH
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, will today introduce legislation to parliament to guarantee the right to work from home two days a week, including for part-time workers and regular casuals.
As the government previously flagged, the bill will enshrine the right to work from home in the Equal Opportunity Act. If passed, it will take effect on 1 September, though there is a delayed commencement of 1 July 2027 for workplaces with fewer than 15 employees.
A new detail, however, is that regular casual and part-time workers will be covered by the new laws. The government said guidance on how pro-rata entitlements will work will be released before commencement.
The law provides a pathway for dispute resolution and enforcement – first via the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and then the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal if conciliation fails.
Allan said:
Work from home works for families, it saves time and money and it gets more parents working. That’s why we’re protecting work from home in law.
Updated
Outside parliament yesterday, Juliet Lamont, an Australian film-maker who has accused Israeli authorities of abuse, said Wong reiterated she believed the group’s allegations.
You couldn’t hear [a] pin drop in there. It was harrowing. It was acutely emotional. Every woman that was there, and I think it was maybe 10, they all believed us and came up to us at the end and thanked us for sharing our harrowing testimony, said that we were really brave and want to support us in the investigations.
Israel has denied allegations of mistreatment, claiming all prisoners and detainees were held “in accordance with the law”.
Melbourne student Gemma O’Toole said federal police had committed to taking the group’s testimonies, so “that is a process that we will be actioning as soon as possible”.
From there, they [federal police] will be going to Israel to try and get forensic evidence to try and get them to take part in the investigation, which you know they’re not hopeful will happen, and obviously we’re expecting not to happen, and that’s where that will stand … It’s been weeks that we’ve been back. You would have expected that they [the AFP] would’ve wanted this information from us. No, but here we are.
Updated
Police to investigate Gaza flotilla activist allegations
The Australian federal police will begin conducting “inquiries” into abuse and sexual assault allegations made against Israeli authorities by Australian members of the Global Sumud flotilla after meeting Penny Wong yesterday afternoon.
The AFP confirmed it had met members in the group at Parliament House and “has begun inquiries into allegations made by a representative of the group”.
Guardian Australia understands a report of crime has not yet been formally submitted, which would trigger a formal look into the allegations they were abused, tortured and, in some cases, sexually assaulted by Israeli authorities while detained after attempting to deliver aid to the occupied Palestinian territory.
Wong, the multicultural affairs minister, Anne Aly, and senior AFP officers met the group to “listen to them directly about their experiences”, a spokesperson for Wong said.
The minister has condemned the actions of Israeli authorities and the Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has already sanctioned, the spokesperson said.
She raised the allegations multiple times and made clear directly to Israel that Australia expects an “independent, transparent investigation”.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
The Australian federal police will investigate alleged abuse and sexual assault by Israeli security forces against Australian members of the Global Sumud flotilla, it was announced last night. More coming up.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, will today introduce legislation to parliament to guarantee the right to work from home two days a week, including for part-time workers and regular casuals.
Plus, today the Reserve Bank announces its latest decision on which direction interest rates will move: but everyone’s expecting them to stay the same.
