What we learned today, Wednesday 15 April
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Have a lovely night, we’ll be back first thing tomorrow as the prime minister travels to Malaysia for more petrol and diesel supply talks with his counterpart in Kuala Lumpur.
Until then, here were today’s largest developments:
The Sultan of Brunei welcomed Anthony Albanese to his palace for formal talks on fuel supplies today, telling the prime minister that he considers Australia to be a close friend and trusted partner. The two nations signed a joint statement on energy and food security, with the PM welcoming the “very positive discussions”.
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has lost its bid to retain royalties from the mammoth Hope Downs iron ore project and will be forced to pay Wright Prospecting half of its royalties from the project. However the company is declaring victory against Rinehart’s children after retaining ownership of a major mine in a landmark court case.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan has sworn in her new cabinet at Government House in Melbourne after the resignation of three ministers.
Virgin Australia has lifted air fares and reducing flights to offset the high costs of jet fuel caused by the Middle East conflict.
Part of Australia’s east coast has been shaken by an earthquake that could be felt hundred of kilometres away. A 4.5-magnitude quake hit at 8.19pm last night at a depth of 5km about 30km south-west of Orange in central-west NSW.
And Northern Territory police are investigating the death of a 26-year-old man after a violent disturbance in Milingimbi on Tuesday.
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Usman Khawaja condemns 'appalling' immigration comments from Coalition
Still on the opposition’s migration policy, and former Australian test cricketer, Usman Khawaja, has posted a strong rebuke of it on social media, describing comments made by the Coalition as “appalling”.
He wrote on Instagram:
Firstly just come out and say you want to discriminate against those of Islamic faith. Don’t beat around the bush by using words such as ‘extremist, ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘dictators’. Most of the world shares the same values as Australia, presumably the most important in any democracy, respect everyone and don’t break the law.
Don’t judge individuals based on their governments or government representatives. If we did that you wouldn’t be allowed anywhere at this moment.
Khawaja, who was the first Muslim to play for Australia, was not afraid to weigh in on political, social and cultural debates during his time on the squad.
Read more here:
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Anne Aly says Coalition’s migration policy designed to win votes from ‘certain cohort’ of Australia
The minister for multicultural affairs and small business, Anne Aly, has called the Coalition’s newly released migration policy a “not-so-subtle dog whistle”.
Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Aly was asked about the policy, which would end Australia’s non-discriminatory immigration program and introduce Trump-style social media vetting for visa applicants. The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, says it is “non-discriminatory on race or religion”.
Aly said calling it a policy was “very gracious”:
That was not a policy, that was an ideological proposition designed to win votes from a certain cohort of Australia.
Angus Taylor needs to come out and actually give us a policy that states where does he want to stop people from coming? What does he want to do? Does he want to stop doctors coming to Australia? Does he want to stop nurses coming to Australia? What about teachers? What about aged care workers? Yesterday was not a policy, yesterday was, at best, a not so subtle dog whistle …
You cannot predetermine whether or not somebody is going to contribute to Australia based on where they come from.
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Antisemitism royal commission to hold first public hearings in May
The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion will begin holding public hearings from 4 May, and will focus on defining antisemitism and the lived experiences of antisemitism.
The first block of hearings will run between 4 May and 15 May, after the commission is scheduled to hand down its interim report to the government at the end of April.
The first hearings will also focus on the nature of antisemitism now and historically, the impacts of antisemitism and assessing the prevalence of antisemitism in institutions and society.
The commissioner, Virginia Bell, thanked those who have already made submissions to the commission.
It is vital for the work of the royal commission that we hear directly from Australians who have experienced antisemitism first-hand.
The hearings will be live streamed on the royal commission’s website.
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AMA warns health system cracks ‘impossible to ignore’
There are no more efficiencies to be gained in the Australian health system, a peak body warns, as burnt-out healthcare workers battle ongoing hospital logjams.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is calling for longer and better quality access to GPs and more funding to address hospital overcrowding, as well as a string of other reforms, in a pre-budget submission revealed on Wednesday.
The AMA president, Danielle McMullen, said pressures facing the healthcare system were cumulative and creating stress across the sector.
She told the National Press Club patients were being treated in corridors and stuck in hospital beds due to having nowhere safe to go, with rosters being held together by the goodwill of burnt-out staff:
The hospital logjam is not a hospital problem, it’s a system-wide issue reflecting failures in aged care, disability support, community care. It’s costing patients time and dignity, and sadly, in some cases, their lives.
In January, national cabinet agreed to a $25bn additional public hospital funding deal to address growing pressures on the health and aged care systems. But it is not enough to clear logjams that have plagued the public system for years as the Australian population continues to grow.
– Australian Associated Press
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One Nation ‘driving fear’ into the opposition, Victoria’s attorney general says
Circling back to our post earlier, and Victoria’s attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, has weighed in on the opposition’s new policy.
Asked about it earlier today, she said the Coalition wanted to appear tough on crime as they faced a challenge from One Nation at the upcoming Nepean by-election.
She said:
What we’ve got is One Nation driving fear into Jess Wilson as she faces a pretty tough by-election down in Nepean after Sam Groth abandoned his community and cut and ran down there. The first thing that comes to mind is this is an outfit that actually doesn’t understand the justice system.
They do not understand the significant reforms that we have already introduced, both to bail, but also with the introduction of adult time for violent crime.
Kilkenny said the government’s changes led to bail revocations increasing by a third in the children’s court and 84% in the magistrates court. She said bail refusal had also increased by 70% and that there had been a drop in the number of young males who offending.
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Climate pollution from biggest industrial sites falls
Climate pollution from Australia’s biggest emitting industrial sites dropped 2.3% last financial year, according to data released by the Albanese government.
The data is from one of the government’s main climate policies, the safeguard mechanism. It requires the owners of facilities that pump out more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year to make an annual 4.9% cut in emissions intensity.
They can do this either through changes onsite or by buying carbon offsets said to represent cuts made somewhere else.
The drop in total direct emissions is hard to quickly assess as there were fewer facilities covered by the scheme. While total emissions were down 3.2m tonnes, the number of facilities that emitted enough to be included was also down: from 219 to 208.
The government said the total cut in emissions was 5.5% if carbon offsets bought by emitting companies were counted as part of the reductions. The use of offsets is contentious, with some experts having sharply criticised some methods used to create them.
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said the data showed the safeguard was a “good policy, working well”. He said it provided investment certainty for industry “to make sure that their operations are viable on an ongoing basis” while reducing emissions.
Some climate analysts said the data was not doing enough to cut emissions, and was too reliant on offsets.
There will be more on this story as we dig into the data.
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Victoria’s opposition leader promises tougher crime laws ahead of state election
The Victorian opposition has pledged to further toughen the state’s bail and sentencing laws if it wins government at the state election later this year.
The Coalition leader, Jess Wilson, and shadow attorney general, James Newbury, held a press conference earlier today to announce their new policy. This policy expands on the government’s “adult time for violent crime” bill, which moved serious crimes committed by children as young as 14 from the children’s court to adult courts.
Under the opposition’s proposal, twelve further offences, including burglary, serious assault and attempted murder, would also be uplifted to adult courts.
They have also proposed introducing a “one-strike bail rule,” meaning offenders who reoffend would be automatically denied bail. An exemption for youth offenders from the offence of breach of bail would also be scrapped.
It’s not the first election the Coalition has run on a tough-on-crime agenda. Asked why the opposition continues to pursue the issue, Wilson said she would “never apologise for doing everything I can to keep Victorians safe”.
She went on:
I’m sick and tired of hearing that people don’t feel safe in their own homes. A person’s home should be their sanctuary. It should be the place they feel the safest. And under premier Jacinta Allan and Labor, that is simply not the case in Victoria.
Joint statement emphasises importance of food security through ‘stable and efficient supply chains’
As we mentioned, after formal talks in Brunei’s Royal Palace, Albanese has signed a joint statement with the Sultan noting the two nations’ “commitment to the peace, stability and prosperity of our region”.
It also emphasises the importance of food security through “stable and efficient supply chains”.
It says:
Brunei Darussalam and Australia share deep concern over the situation in the Middle East and its consequences for our region … We also underscore the importance of food security through stable and efficient supply chains to promote economic growth and stability in our region. Acknowledging our complementary efforts in the agriculture and agri-food sector, we are committed to maintaining open, secure and resilient supply chains to ensure long-term food production.
In this context, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthen energy and food security, to support the flow of essential goods between our two countries, including petroleum oils, such as diesel and crude oil, as well as agriculture and agri-food essentials and key agricultural inputs such as urea, to avoid unjustified import and export restrictions and to notify and consult each other on any disruptions with ramifications on the trade of energy and food related supplies.
We call on other trading partners to join us in ensuring global energy supply chains are kept open, for the benefit of the security and prosperity of our people.
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PM fields question on Brunei’s ‘somewhat chequered’ human rights record
Brunei, a reporter noted, has a “somewhat chequered” human rights record, including death by stoning being prescribed as the penalty for homosexuality and insulting the prophet Muhammad.
Asked how the PM “squared” this with the need for more supplies from Brunei and Australia’s obligations to uphold human rights, Albanese said:
Australia engages constructively in our region, including with Brunei. We continue to do so and Australia speaks up on human rights issues in global forums.
What we discussed today was the fuel needs and security needs of Australia as shown in the statement that we released.
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Fuel shipments to continue ‘well beyond’ weekend, PM says
On to questions. The prime minister was asked what the joint statement signed today with Brunei actually guaranteed.
He replied that Brunei was “not looking at imposing export restrictions on Australia”.
What Australia has done is to not only speak about today about existing supplies coming, we spoke about additional supplies as well.
On reports today that Australia was due to receive its final prewar shipment of fuel from the Middle East this weekend, Albanese said there were shipments due to continue “well beyond” the weekend.
We’ve made very clear and transparently, there were six ships that were cancelled for April that were due to arrive and of those, they have been replaced by nine …
We continue to monitor on a regular basis and we are doing what we can right across the board to shield Australia as best as we can from the impact of this global action. But we’re not immune from it.
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Penny Wong: ‘Global supply pressures will continue for some time’
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, also briefed reporters on her first visit to Brunei since 2022, warning Australians the economic implications of the war in the Middle East may outlast the conflict.
She said:
I want to make a couple of comments about the context of this visit which obviously is energy security and energy security is central to our cooperation.
What this visit is about is recognising the challenges that the world faces and the region faces as a consequence of the conflict in the Middle East and the continued closure of the strait of Hormuz …
Even if the ceasefire does return and we do call for that, that global supply pressures will continue for some time, so the prime minister’s engagement here in Brunei and in Singapore and in Malaysia is about making sure we have strong, reliable and trusted partnerships, for us to navigate what may be a longer economic tail of this conflict.
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Australia and Brunei sign joint statement on energy and food security
Anthony Albanese, is addressing the media now from Brunei, where he has been holding formal talks on fuel supplies.
He told reporters he and the Sultan of Brunei had “very positive discussions” about the potential for an increase in fertiliser imports to Australia, adding discussions would continue. Australia and Brunei also signed a joint statement on energy and food security today.
Albanese said there was “no more important time to engage with our neighbours” owing to the fallout in the Middle East and disruption of supplies through the strait of Hormuz.
He said:
Australia wants to see a de-escalation. We want to see talks between the United States and Iran resume and we want to see a resumption of normal economic activity that is so important for the global economy.
Albanese said Australia and Brunei have a “very positive relationship” as Brunei’s largest trading partner and he and the Sultan of Brunei both felt there was “a lot to benefit from engaging with our neighbours in this region”.
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That’s all from me. Caitlin Cassidy will guide you from here. Take care.
NT police investigating death of man after violent disturbance in Milingimbi
Northern Territory police are investigating the death of a 26-year-old man after a violent disturbance in Milingimbi on Tuesday.
Police said emergency services received reports of a large-scale fight in the community between 2pm and 4pm. Some of those involved in the fight were allegedly carrying edged weapons.
On arrival, police found a man dead with injuries. Fighting has since ended and additional police have been deployed to the Top End area, which is about 450km east of Darwin. Investigations are ongoing.
The ABC reports NT police acting commander Mark Grieve said community members in the area had been meeting to address recent unrest there before the disturbance broke out.
“We’re going to be heavily reliant on our cultural reform command to do a lot of liaising with the community to make some insight into those enquiries,” Grieve said, per the outlet.
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156 service stations without diesel across Australia
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, spoke earlier about the ongoing fuel shortages, saying things are still improving.
156 service stations are now without diesel, 2% of the nation’s total.
I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get those numbers down, the truck drivers, the refinery workers… up and down the supply chain dealing with high demand, particularly in regional Australia and making sure those service stations that have fuel, have diesel in particular.
Albanese heads to Kuala Lumpur after signing joint statement in Brunei
Australia and Brunei have expressed “deep concern” over the war in the Middle East with the leaders of both nations pledging to work together on strengthening energy supply chains and maintaining open trade.
After formal talks in Brunei’s Royal Palace, prime minister Anthony Albanese has signed a joint statement with the Sultan.
“We are committed to working together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience, including by deepening regional cooperation, accelerating alternative energy resources including renewable energy, and maintaining open trade flows,” the document says.
The monarch said it was good to speak with Albanese in person after a phone call last week and remarked on the prime minister’s busy travel schedule.
“Australia has always been a trusted friend and partner. Over the years, our relations have continued to prosper,” he told Albanese during a bilateral meeting.
The PM will depart Brunei on Wednesday for talks with his Malaysian counterpart in Kuala Lumpur, also focused on fuel security.
Gina Rinehart’s son says he wants family to reunite
Gina Rinehart’s son, John Hancock, said he wants to reunite his family and end fights over ownership of mines and companies in the next three weeks.
John and his sister, Bianca, have been fighting for ownership stakes in their mother’s company, Hancock Prospecting, and a number of its mines in a private arbitration separate to today’s case.
The children and Hancock Prospecting have each declared partial victories against each other in the wake of today’s landmark court case, which confirmed the company will retain ownership of its Hope Downs mines.
But John’s statement responding to the judgment also offered an olive branch to his mother:
Rather than continuing disagreements about the validity of Agreements from the 1980s, perceptions of events from decades ago or the pain this conflict has caused all parties over the years, I would much prefer to focus on the positive, and find a fair and reasonable way forward for the whole family.
My primary focus for the next 21 days is an attempt at that reunification, and a return to the close family we had at various times in the last 50 years of my life.
I hope we can finally put these events from decades ago behind us, and as a united family, celebrate and continue the contribution we have made to Australia.
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Gina Rinehart’s children still fighting for half her company
Gina Rinehart’s son, John Hancock, says today’s landmark judgment supports his claim that he and his sister should control 49% of her mining company, Hancock Prospecting.
John and his sister, Bianca Rinehart, joined today’s court case that argued against Wright Prospecting’s claim to mines owned by Hancock Prospecting.
Justice Jennifer Smith made this call on a contentious deed from 1988 that John has asserted would give Rinehart’s children a shareholding in the company:
[T]he 1988 Plan if adhered to, would give Gina Rinehart after the death of Lang Hancock the right to control [Hancock Prospecting], and give her children when the youngest turned 25 the control of [a separate foundation], and that she and her children would be the sole shareholders of [Hancock Prospecting] in the portions of 51% by Gina Rinehart and 49% by the Children.
However, that wasn’t key to today’s case and the judge left many of Gina’s childrens’ claims to an ongoing private arbitration:
Whether the Children acquired a beneficial interest in any other assets of any kind … is not a matter that the court should determine in these proceedings because it is not necessary to do so to dispose of either [Wright Prospecting] or Rhodes’ claims in these proceedings. These are matters that may well be the subject of binding determinations as between [Hancock Prospecting] and others and the Children by an award in the Martin Arbitration.
John has released a statement now the judgment has repudiated Wright’s claim of ownership. He said:
Bianca and I were not claiming anything in this litigation so we did not expect any award. Our claims were referred to a private arbitration.
What we did receive from Her Honour were findings and remarks which are in line with my initial approach to my mother Gina … and consistent with our case.
The arbitration has been ongoing separate to the court case.
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Gina Rinehart’s company declares victory over her children in battle for mine
Gina Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, is declaring victory against Rinehart’s children after retaining ownership of a major mine in a landmark court case.
Hancock has been ordered to give up half its revenue royalties from the Hope Downs mine but it has held on to ownership of the mine, against separate claims of ownership from Rinehart’s children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, and Wright Prospecting.
Justice Jennifer Smith wrote in her 1,656-page judgment:
It is not necessary to consider any of Bianca Rinehart and John Hancock’s defences in these proceedings as they fail at the first hurdle.
Jay Newby, the executive director of Hancock, has released a statement:
Justice Smith’s decision, which rejected John and Bianca’s ownership claims over the Hope Downs and East Angelas tenements, demonstrates that the assertions contained in the extracts below from earlier media reports, including wrongful assertions of fraud in relation to the ownership of Hope Downs and East Angelas, are plainly wrong. …
Over approximately four decades, John, Bianca, [and companies Wright Prospecting and DFD Rhodes] took no risk and made no meaningful contribution to developing the Hope Downs and East Angelas iron ore mines and infrastructure.
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Albanese talks up fuel cooperation in diplomatic push
The Sultan of Brunei welcomed Anthony Albanese to his palace for formal talks on fuel supplies today, telling the prime minister that he considers Australia to be a close friend and trusted partner.
After a visit to a fertiliser plant on Wednesday morning which supplies Australian producers, Albanese held a bilateral meeting with the monarch, who has ruled the oil-rich Asian nation since 1967.
“At a time of deepening uncertainty and global conflict, cooperation in our region is more important than ever before,” Albanese told Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
Our prosperity, security and economic future are intertwined, and we saw that this morning when I visited the fertiliser plant, looking at the cooperation that we have and how it is of mutual benefit to the people of both our nations.
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Albanese to meet Sultan of Brunei
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has visited a fertiliser plant in Brunei Darussalam which produces nearly 10% of Australia’s urea supplies.
The PM was clad in a grey and green safety jacket, tan pants and black lace up boots for the visit alongside Harri Kiiski, the chief executive of Brunei Fertiliser Industries.
Along with securing Australia’s long-term fuel supplies, Albanese is hoping to use his visit to Brunei to boost imports of fertiliser-grade urea, which have taken a hit as trade disruptions from the war in the Middle East ripple around the world.
Kiiski explained the chemical process by which ammonia is produced before being converted into fertiliser-grade urea. The product is then loaded into specially designed green shipping containers for export.
Albanese was shown to the plant’s control room where he viewed samples of urea, destined for Australia.
Approximately 600 workers are employed at the plant, which started production in 2022 and at maximum capacity can produce 1.365m tonnes of fertiliser every year.
Albanese will visit Brunei’s royal palace for an audience with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world’s richest men and also the world’s longest-serving head of state.
Later the prime minister will fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for further fuel supply talks.
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Judgment comes more than two years after case went to court
The judgment in the case is anticipated to be more than 1,600 pages long and comes more than two years after the complex legal case went to trial in Perth in mid 2023.
Hancock Prospecting senior executives Sanjiv Manchanda and Garry Korte were in the courtroom for the hearing.
At the centre of the claim was rights to the Hope Downs mining complex near Newman in north-west Western Australia which is a joint venture between Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto, and which delivered an $832m profit to Hancock Prospecting in 2025.
Wright Prospecting first launched legal action more than 15 years ago, arguing that the family business should share in the spoils arising from tenements that had been pegged out by prospectors Peter Wright and Gina Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, in the 1950s. The Wright family heirs, including billionaire Angela Bennett and her nieces Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt, claimed they were entitled to an equal share of the 2.5% royalties coming from Hope Downs to Hancock Prospecting, saying Wright Prospecting never relinquished the assets to Hancock Prospecting.
Hancock Prospecting rejected the claim for both past and future royalties, arguing it undertook all the work, bore the financial risk of development and is the legitimate owner of the Hope Downs assets.
Gina Rinehart loses bid to retain royalties from Hope Downs iron ore project
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has lost its bid to retain royalties from the mammoth Hope Downs iron ore project and will be forced to pay Wright Prospecting half of its royalties from the project.
In a landmark ruling in the WA supreme court on Wednesday, justice Jennifer Smith said that Wright Prospecting had successfully made out its contractual claim to 50% of past and future royalties paid from the project.
But the court has dismissed Wright Prospecting’s claim to ownership in other mining assets held by Hancock Prospecting.
“It could be found that Wright Prospecting won half of its case and lost half of its case,” Smith said.
A spokesperson for Wright Prospecting said it “welcomes the decision of Justice Smith delivered in the supreme court today.”
Wright Prospecting commenced this action to recover our share of royalties from the Hope Downs 1 -3 mines. That claim has been upheld. WPPL also sought either a proprietary interest or a royalty in the Hope Downs 4-6 mines and has been successful in its royalty claim.
These proceedings were commenced in 2010 and, after many delays, we are pleased to finally receive a result in our favour. The decision is lengthy and complex. We will review it in detail before determining if any further steps need to be taken.
• This post was amended on 15 April 2026 to reflect that Hancock Prospecting must pay Wright Prospecting half of its royalties from the Hope Downs project, not half its earnings as a previous version stated.
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Marles to tout extra defence spending after ‘tough decisions’
Richard Marles will use his National Press Club speech on Thursday to tout an additional $11bn in defence spending over the last four years since taking over government from the Coalition.
The defence minister will use the address to forewarn of tough future decisions to cancel, divest, delay or re-scope projects failing to be delivered on time, within budget or no longer prioritised.
Priority areas for defence’s multi-billion dollar budget are mapped out within its integrated investment program (IIP), which allows funding to shift between projects depending on priority.
The IIP was last updated in 2024 and a revised version for 2026 will be released this week.
Marles already flagged the government will spend between $2bn and $5bn more on drones as part of Australia’s new national defence strategy.
Ahead of his announcement on Thursday, Marles said this morning:
We have already done so much of the hard work to make sure we can invest where it is needed, but this work does not end with the 2026 Integrated Investment Program.
While these are not easy decisions, they are necessary to ensure that the ADF and its people have the capabilities needed, as soon as possible to meet our strategic circumstances and keep Australians safe.
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Key event
Judgment day as Gina Rinehart and rival heirs await court ruling on claim to mining riches
We are expecting a court verdict in the coming hour or so on whether Gina Rineheart must share the spoils of some of Hancock Prospecting’s most lucrative iron ore projects with the family of her late father’s business partner.
Australia’s richest person faces the possibility of losing billions of dollars in riches from her Pilbara iron empire if the Western Australian supreme court rules against her.
We will bring you the outcome when it is handed down, but in the meantime, you can read more about the case here:
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Uber fuel surcharge kicks in from today for non-EV rides
Uber’s fuel surcharge has arrived today, adding an extra fee of 5 cents a kilometre on trips in petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles.
Battery electric vehicles are not attracting the surcharge and now we can see how it looks in practice.
A 15km trip from the Sydney Opera House to Burwood, Australia’s coolest neighbourhood, this morning costs $41.69 in UberX but $40.94 in the Uber Electric option. However, electric riders face a longer wait time of eight minutes, compared to just two minutes for UberX, likely because there are more fuel-powered Ubers roaming the streets.
A 7km trip from Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station to St Kilda’s Luna Park costs $21.97 in an UberX but $21.60 in an Uber Electric, again with a two minute wait compared to a seven minute wait, respectively.
Customers will be weighing up whether the extra wait time and reduced emissions are worth saving a few cents.
You can read more about the changes here:
Petrol prices fall every day for two weeks in biggest cities
Petrol prices have fallen for two consecutive weeks in Australia’s biggest cities, data this morning shows.
Average unleaded prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on MotorMouth have fallen every day since the fuel excise was cut on 1 April, sitting at 215.2 cents a litre in the two biggest cities and 218.5 cents in Brisbane.
Adelaide’s unleaded prices picked up on 9 April but have otherwise been falling steadily, while prices in Perth are easing but have bounced each Wednesday (including today) thanks to the city’s unique price cycles.
Diesel prices have been falling steadily since 9 April, to less than 311 cents a litre in Sydney and Melbourne and 316.4 cents a litre in Brisbane.
Strangely, Brisbane retail fuel prices are higher than Sydney’s and Melbourne’s even though Brisbane’s wholesale prices are consistently cheaper. A Brisbane premium appears to be emerging in average pricing.
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Telstra legal chief, consumer group fire off letters over triple zero survey
The Australian Communication Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) earned the ire of Telstra and the telco network industry group last month when it released the findings of an Essential survey reporting that “1 in 10 Australians (10%) reported that they or a member of their family were unable to reach triple zero from a mobile phone in the last 12 months due to a mobile outage.”
In letters tabled in the Senate inquiry into the triple zero outage overnight, Telstra’s group general counsel, Lyndall Stoyles requested ACCAN chief executive Carol Bennett remove the media release, cease claiming that “10% unable to connect” and publish a corrective statement.
In her letter, Stoyles noted that 97% of triple zero calls are answered within five seconds, with 98% answered within 10 seconds. If referring to mobile network outages, Telstra said ACCAN’s figure would mean at least 6m calls were failing per day:
We are disappointed you would mislead consumers in this manner.
The press release is still up, and Bennett replied to Stoyles the figures do not represent extrapolated figures, and Telstra was misrepresenting ACCAN’s comments.
“In the release we make clear that the 10% figure represents the ‘level of concern’,” Bennett said.
The Australian Telecommunications Alliance chief executive Luke Coleman accused ACCAN of being “more interested in scoring cheap points in the media” than being part of the solution, and rejected Bennett’s suggestion that Coleman’s criticism of the release was “shooting the messenger” in a letter tabled in the Senate inquiry.
The inquiry into triple zero has delayed its reported to the end of June.
Israeli ambassador says country feels sorrow at death of Australian aid worker, but says blame for her death ‘complex’
Hillel Newman, Israel’s ambassadors to Australia, said the country has “deep sorrow” over the death of Zomi Frankcom, an Australian aid worker killed in a humanitarian convoy in Gaza in 2024, but would not condemn the attack until a full investigation is complete.
Newman spoke to RN breakfast earlier this morning, saying the issue remained “complex”.
The complex issue here is that, first of all, Zomi, we’re sorry about Zomi and the family, but Zomi was in a convoy from which there were shots, they were shooting against Israel.
It brings a complexity to the judicial process. Because you have soldiers who were shot upon and they responded. So you can’t always give punity to such soldiers. Therefore, it’s under very prudent research.
Newman added:
We express deep sorrow for the family, but you must understand that while we [are] still checking this issue, there’s a problem in implicating the soldiers themselves until we know exactly what happened and what the findings of the investigation are.
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Victoria’s election donations laws are unconstitutional, high court rules
The high court has ruled that Victoria’s election donations laws are unconstitutional.
The case was brought by Paul Hopper and Melissa Lowe, two independent candidates who contested the 2022 state election. They had argued the major parties’ exemption to electoral laws – that allowed them to access unlimited funds via their “nominated entities” – was a breach of the constitution’s implied freedom of political communication.
This morning, all seven judges of the court agreed the section of the electoral act “impermissibly burdens” freedom of political communication.
Hopper and Lowe said:
This is a victory for all Victorian voters and for the quality of our democracy, ensuring a more level playing field so that they are more likely to have the representative in parliament that they would prefer.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, said the government would need time to consider the decision:
The decision has just been handed down, whilst we’ve be addressing you here today, so it would not be appropriate for me to comment.
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Taylor followed up that line noting there won’t be discrimination based on country by saying:
We don’t want people coming to this country who are a threat to our country.
We saw over 1,000 people coming from Gaza recently, many on tourist visas. And there are serious questions about whether some of those people don’t believe in what we believe in as a country. Were they screened? Well, these are questions for the government.
All Palestinians granted Australian visas have undergone standard security checks, the federal government has confirmed.
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Taylor is sticking with his discrimination line from yesterday, which an interviewer noted at the time would be one of the key lines from his announcement.
He said just now of his immigration plans:
It will be a discriminatory policy, but based on values. We won’t discriminate based on race or religion or country.
Taylor says Australia should do ‘whatever’ it can to support opening of strait of Hormuz
Taylor added:
Australia should be providing whatever support we reasonably can to get the strait of Hormuz opened up. … And we want it done as quickly as possible as that will put downward pressure on the bowser for all Australians.
Taylor says Labor government ‘has not got control of the economy’
Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, is holding a press conference in Brisbane. He’s speaking about his immigration plans, announced yesterday, saying the country needs more from the government on housing and migration.
He said today’s report from the IMF on the risk of a global recession was troubling:
We see reports out today about what the economy might look like in the coming years, and it tells us what we already knew. Inflation is out of control. Interest rates are going up, not down.
This is a government that is has not got control of the economy.
Taylor added the upcoming budget needs to be responsible to deal with inflation.
Read more here:
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Victoria premier says new cabinet has ‘tremendous energy’
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference after her cabinet reshuffle. She said the “new team” has “tremendous energy and a singular focus on driving new solutions”. She went on:
We are united in that purpose of making life easier for Victorians and working people, making our community safer, and also to making things more affordable for working people and Victorian families.
Paul Edbrooke, who was elevated to cabinet yesterday, was also handed the new portfolio of men and boys. He says as a former educator he’s seen a “definite change in how young boys become men,”:
This portfolio is firmly focused on how we make young boys into healthier men, and that has so many repercussions across our whole community, whether it be family violence, whether it be suicide rates, there’s a lot of work to be done there, and I look forward to that opportunity.
Allan added:
For a long time, we’ve had a minister for women sitting around the cabinet table, recognisingthat women needed not just equal representation, but there were some structural changes that needed to be broken through to give women a greater equality of opportunity.
We now need to take an approach with men and boys … we cannot deny that there has been societal change with the way we support young boys to become good, strong men, and there are some real challenges and pressures that men and boys are facing today that weren’t there five or 10 years ago.
Victorian premier unveils her new cabinet
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is about to hold a press conference after the swearing-in of her new cabinet at Government House in Melbourne this morning.
Among those receiving promotions are several of Allan’s most loyal ministers, including Harriet Shing, who will become the new health and ambulance services minister and return to the water portfolio, Nick Staikos, who takes on housing, building and the Suburban Rail Loop and attorney general and minister for planning, Sonya Kilkenny, who adds finance to her already hefty responsibilities.
Ingrid Stitt gains government services and “special minister of state” – a role absent from the ministry for some time – while Ros Spence takes on roads and road safety and First Peoples. Gabrielle Williams adds the role of minister for “women and girls” – a portfolio that used to be named just minister for women.
Enver Erdogan gains the environment and outdoor recreation portfolios, and Natalie Suleyman gains tourism – the three are Steve Dimopoulos’ former responsibilities. Dimopoulos gets economic growth and jobs.
The four new cabinet entrants were also handed their portfolios, with Paul Edbrooke given consumer affairs as well as three new portoflios – renters, cost of living and “men and boys”. Luba Grigorovitch takes on youth, carers and volunteers, Paul Hamer gets local government, youth justice and corrections and Michaela Settle, regional development and agriculture.
The reshuffle followed Monday’s announcement by ministers Mary-Anne Thomas, Danny Pearson and Gayle Tierney that they would not recontest at the November election and would immediately step down from cabinet. They joined Natalie Hutchins, who moved to the backbench in December.
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The non-royal visit continues, with Prince Harry speaking about mental health
At the home of the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne’s west the non-royal visit continues this morning.
Prince Harry has been speaking at the Movember launch of the report More Than a Provider – a look at mental health of new fathers.
The prince, who has been open about seeing a therapist, has talked about how important it was for him to do therapy before he became a father.
I knew I had stuff from the past I had to deal with.
Harry said he needed “to cleanse” himself from his past before he became a dad.
For so many years it’s been deemed as a weakness to put your hand up and ask for help.
The more grief I get, the more I want to stand up and talk about it. I know if I go quiet, what does that say to everyone else?
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Virgin lifts air fares and cuts capacity
Virgin Australia has lifted air fares and reducing flights to offset the high costs of jet fuel caused by the Middle East conflict, the company announced this morning.
The airline’s response to the oil crisis is similar to changes announced by Qantas yesterday, although Virgin has a smaller network and its capacity is only reducing by 1% over the coming months.
Its fuel costs are expected to increase by between $30m and $40m in the second half of the financial year, compared with previous forecasts.
Virgin says it adjusted air fares and capacity to “offset the impact from increased fuel and other operating costs”.
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Anthony Albanese in Brunei on fuel diplomacy mission
Anthony Albanese has laid a wreath in honour of Australian soldiers who died liberating much of Brunei and then-British Borneo from the Japanese at the end of the second world war.
After arriving last night, Albanese said it was a great honour to pay his respects to the 127 Australians who died in the area during Operation Oboe in 1945.
The PM and Pehin Halbi, the country’s second minister of defence and minister at the prime minister’s office, laid a wreath at the monument, accompanied by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong.
In 1945, Australians landed at Muara Beach, now the site of the memorial, in the dying months of the second world war.
They then moved inland, freeing Brunei’s oilfields, rubber plantations and production facilities. After the military action, they worked with locals and allies to restart production at Brunei’s oilfields, allowing the country to resume oil trade in March 1946.
“The efforts that Australian servicemen made during world war two, the incredible sacrifice … we’re here paying our respects,” Albanese said.
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Latitude to engage independent expert on spam processes
Earlier in the blog, we reported that Latitude Financial had paid a nearly $4m fine over spam law breaches related to text messaging to customers.
A spokesperson for Latitude said the company had immediately reported the matter to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) after becoming aware it had sent potentially noncompliant SMS messages, and immediately strengthened its spam compliance processes.
The spokesperson said:
As part of the enforceable undertaking, Latitude will engage an independent expert to confirm that its strengthened spam processes are operating compliantly.
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NSW pharmacists will be able to prescribe the pill directly to women over 18
The NSW government will invest $4.5m to make it easier for women to access the pill, allowing pharmacists to prescribe it directly to those over 18 without a GP visit.
The reform, the government says, will take pressure off GPs and give women faster, easier access to care. The government will pay for the first 5,000 consultations with a trained pharmacist, but once that service is exhausted, women should only expect to pay between $20 to $60.
To date, 773 pharmacies are registered to provide the resupply service in NSW. The premier, Chris Minns, said in a statement:
This is basic healthcare for millions of Australian women – and this is about making it easier to get that care, without extra cost or hassle.
Just because something’s always been done a certain way, it doesn’t mean it’s the best way to keep doing it – it’s not working for busy women to access a doctor to get a script.
Victoria unveiled a similar program last month, which will begin in July.
Man charged over alleged sexual assault on international flight to Perth
A man has been charged in Western Australia after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman seated next to him on an international flight.
The Australian federal police said police met the man upon the plane’s arrival in Perth and later charged him with one count of sexual intercourse without consent and three counts of an act of indecency without consent.
The woman reported the alleged assault to airline staff, who moved her to another seat and reported it to police.
The AFP acting Supt Peter Brindal said:
Every passenger has the right to feel safe when travelling, especially when confined in an aircraft close to other passengers.
No act of indecency on an aircraft or at an airport is appropriate, and any travellers who break the law will be dealt with swiftly.
The man, who is an Indian national, appeared before Perth magistrates court yesterday.
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Some context on the scale of travellers to and visa holders in Australia
For a bit of context about the scale of monitoring incoming travellers’ social media accounts:
Abul Rizvi, the former deputy immigrations secretary, suggests there are about 500,000 visa applications per month into Australia that need to be processed, about 3 million temporary entrants, and about 4 million permanent residents.
“So, are we going to use this taskforce to analyse the social media of all of those people to identify whether they are in breach of Australian values?” Rizvi questioned on RN earlier.
Jonno Duniam responded to criticisms of the scale of monitoring all those people by saying a Coalition government would “triage efforts” based on where people came from.
Some countries would have a lower bar, while others would face more scrutiny, he told RN:
There are certain jurisdictions, like we’ve talked about, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, for example, where perhaps because of the nature of society in those countries, there is a lower risk.
There would still be an assessment, but it would be a different one to countries where, for example, they do not share our approach to democracy, rule of law.
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Chalmers says Taylor’s immigration plans ‘pretty strange’
Back to Chalmers, who said earlier Angus Taylor’s immigration speech yesterday was a “pretty strange and pretty disappointing” contribution.
I think what he’s doing is he’s plagiarising the politics and the rhetoric of other countries and another time.
A lot of the rhetoric he uses, and the divisive politics that he is trying to play, we’ve seen in other parts of the world. And in Australia we should be taking the right decision for the right reasons.
Chalmers added that, to him, it seemed Taylor was playing internal politics with three rightwing parties, rather than reflecting the will of Australians.
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Duniam says Coalition’s immigration plans not about stopping people from ‘expressing an opinion’
Jonno Duniam, the shadow minister for home affairs, is speaking to RN now about the Coalition’s immigration plans. He said:
This is not about stopping people from expressing an opinion. There are people who hold certain views and values, aligned with faith, political views and the like.
But when you start inciting hatred, inciting political or communal violence, inciting harm, those sorts of things … They’re the kinds of things that would trigger what we’re talking about here.
Duniam said the target of the hardline policy would be those who are preaching hatred, or in Australia to “cause harm and undermine our way of life”.
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Budget plans have ‘obviously’ changed due to Middle East war, but still ambitious
Chalmers said the budget, coming next month, will still be ambitious but had “obviously” changed in the wake of the ongoing war. He told RN:
It will be a responsible budget. There will be savings in the budget, to get the budget into better position, including, to put in a position to be able to respond, if we see some of these more serious scenarios, play out.
Obviously, the budget that we contemplated in February won’t be identical to the budget that I hand down on the 12th of May, but it will still be ambitious.
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Chalmers says latest IMF findings reflect ‘really dangerous time for the global economy’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to RN Breakfast after the IMF warned of the potential for a global recession, including high inflation and elevated fuel prices through to 2027.
He said the IMF was “really sounding the alarm here” about some of the potentially severe scenarios. He told RN:
This is a really dangerous time for the global economy. The international monetary fund is expecting slower growth and higher inflation, and we are too …
What it tells us once again is that from an economic point of view, the end of this war can’t come soon enough. Australians didn’t choose the circumstances of that war, but they are paying a very hefty price for it.
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Monitoring social media of all incoming travellers ‘herculean’, Rizvi says
Rizvi said the practicalities of monitoring the social media accounts of anyone coming into Australia as a “herculean” effort. He told RN:
Are we going to use this taskforce to analyse the social media of all of those people to identify whether they are in breach of Australian values? Sounds like a herculean task to me.
I presume they’re going to target whose social media they’re going to check. But then, the more they talk about targeting and using social media in a targeted way, that doesn’t seem all that different to what the government does now.
Rizvi also said claims that Labor had opened the door to massive immigration were misleading. He noted there was an all-time record in the year immediately after the Covid pandemic restrictions – under a function of policies from the Coalition.
It was the Coalition that opened the floodgates. They have not identified a single policy in relation to students and working holidaymakers that Labor changed to give us that huge surge that occurred in 22-23. But there are lots of Coalition policies that drove it.
He said Labor had been slow to tighten net migration, but added numbers have been returning more towards normal in the years after Covid lockdowns.
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Former deputy immigration secretary ‘surprised’ Angus Taylor unable to identify a single example of ‘someone breaching an Australian value’
Former deputy immigration secretary Abul Rizvi has been speaking on ABC radio about the Coalition’s new hardline immigration plan, which opposition leader Angus Taylor unveiled yesterday – to significant backlash.
“I don’t think anyone can argue that it’s good that migrants adopt Australian values. I think that’s fine,” Rizvi said. “The practicalities of this, however, is going to be a lot more difficult than … the rhetoric.”
I was surprised that Mr Taylor and his colleagues were unable to identify a single example, either an actual example or a hypothetical example of someone breaching an Australian value. I assume they’ll come up with some soon, but I was surprised they didn’t initially.
You can read Rizvi’s take on the plan for Guardian Australia here:
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Good morning, Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s see what Wednesday holds, shall we?
Final masterplan for Callan park in Sydney’s inner west
The NSW government has revealed its final masterplan for Callan Park in Sydney’s inner west, although questions remain about how the revitalisation of the site of the former psychiatric hospital will be funded.
The 10-year plan, which proposes restoring the heritage buildings for lifestyle and cultural uses, but not housing, while rejuvenating 61 hectares of parklands to create another Centennial Park-style green space for the city, was announced at the end of last year, after years of disagreement over the space.
It has now been finalised after going on public exhibition, with the first phase of the plan expected to include changes and access improvements to the popular Bay Run, which the former Coalition government itself previously spent millions revamping. Other projects are already under way – the inner west council last week announced it had confirmed a builder for tidal baths slated for completion in the summer of 2026/27.
The NSW planning minister, Paul Scully, says:
Callan Park already attracts millions of visitors every year and improvements like the tidal baths, Bay Run upgrades and removal or renewal of previously abandoned buildings will only enhance its appeal to locals and visitors alike.
The plan acknowledges the need to find a way to fund the project, including the revitalisation of former heritage buildings within the Kirkbride and Broughton Hall precincts. But it does not provide a detailed proposal beyond identifying state and federal grants, and “revenue-generating opportunites” such as arts events and commercial leases, including a potential waterfront cafe.
The masterplan relies on a bill which is before parliament passing later this year. Among the changes proposed is the removal of provisions that currently limit development at the park to not-for-profit purposes.
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Latitude Financial pays nearly $4m for spam law breach
Latitude Financial has paid a $3.96m fine after the Australian Communications and Media Authority found the company had breached spam laws more than 2.7m times, including 2.3m marketing messages without accurate contact information, and 344,416 messages that lacked an unsubscribe function.
It’s the second time the financial institution has been fined, after a $1.55m penalty was paid for similar contraventions.
The breaches occurred during March 2024 and April 2025, and was identified by Latitude through mandatory compliance reporting entered into after the last fine was issued.
The messages related to credit card products and financial services. While recipients were told they could reply “STOP” to opt out, many of the messages were not able to be replied to.
Acma member Samantha Yorke said:
Latitude is now a two-time offender and it is disappointing that it let consumers down again.
The spam laws have been in place for more than 20 years, and there is simply no excuse for ongoing noncompliance, particularly after a prior enforcement action.
Latitude was approached for comment.
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Chalmers travels to Washington
Jim Chalmers will travel to Washington DC this morning to meet finance ministers, treasurers and central bank governors from around the world as the US-Israeli war on Iran wages on.
The treasurer said he will continue to call for an enduring ceasefire, an end to the conflict and the immediate re-opening of the strait of Hormuz after peace talks between the US and Iran failed over the weekend.
Before the G20 finance ministers’ meeting, Chalmers said:
From an economic perspective, a proper end to this war can’t come soon enough. Australians are paying a hefty price for events on the other side of the world.
Chalmers said he will work to strengthen partnerships and supply chains during his short trip to the US capital. The treasurer will meet with key figures from Australia’s major fuel suppliers, including South Korea, Singapore and China.
The world is predicting slower growth, higher inflation and extreme volatility as a result of the ongoing conflict, Chalmers said.
The trip comes as Chalmers prepares his fifth budget amid turbulent times. Tax cuts passed last year will form a part of the government’s relief package for struggling households but the government has left the door open for further announcements as the conflict continues to wreak havoc.
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PM touches down on fuel diplomacy visit
Anthony Albanese has arrived in Brunei Darussalam, the first Australian prime minister to fly to the oil-rich country for a meeting with the sultan, where he’ll discuss fuel supplies with the world’s longest serving monarch, Andrew Greene has reported from the travelling media pool.
Arriving in Bandar Seri Begawan yesterday for his second trip to Asia in a week, Albanese was officially welcomed on the tarmac before making his way to the Brunei Darussalam-Australia memorial to lay a wreath.
He is being accompanied by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, for the overnight visit where he’ll meet Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah today to discuss fuel and food trade between both countries.
Brunei Darussalam provides 9% of Australia’s annual diesel imports as well as 11% of annual crude oil imports and 11% of annual fertiliser-grade urea imports.
The last Australian leader to travel to Brunei Darussalam was Tony Abbott in 2013 to attend the East Asia summit but Albanese is the first prime minister to be invited for a bilateral visit.
After his talks with the sultan, who has ruled Brunei Darussalam since 1967 and is one of the world’s richest people, Albanese will fly straight to Kuala Lumpur to discuss fuel supplies with his Malaysian counterpart.
Australia was one of Brunei Darussalam’s first diplomatic partners after the country’s full independence in 1984 but historic links date back to 1945, when Australian forces landed there as part of an allied campaign to liberate Borneo.
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Central-west NSW hit by region's largest earthquake
Part of Australia’s east coast has been shaken by an earthquake that could be felt hundred of kilometres away.
A 4.5-magnitude quake hit at 8.19pm last night at a depth of 5km about 30km southwest of Orange in central-west NSW, near the Cadia gold mine.
Geoscience Australia received more than 2,000 reports of tremors in the region, which a senior seismologist said were weak to light and felt as far as hundreds of kilometres southeast in Batemans Bay.
Phil Cummins told AAP only five quakes of a similar scale had been recorded within 50km of the quake site since 1977, with the previous one in a 4.3 magnitude in 2017.
“This is a large earthquake for this area,” Phil Cummins told AAP. The ABC reported this morning that it was “record-breaking” for the region.
Cummins expected aftershocks but said they would likely be much lighter and felt in a smaller area.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before Nick Visser picks up the reins.
Anthony Albanese will meet the sultan of Brunei today to discuss the fuel supply crisis, having touched down in the tiny nation yesterday as part of his ongoing diplomatic offensive in south-east Asia. Later he will fly to Malaysia. We’ll have more details in a moment.
As the prime minister has his discussions in Brunei, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will be flying to Washington to join the G20 finance ministers’ summit, where – after the IMF’s warning overnight – the main topic of conversation will likely be how to prevent the world sliding into recession as a result of the war in the Middle East. More coming up.
