Good afternoon.
The Albanese government has downplayed the prospect of any major restrictions on petrol sales, with Chris Bowen saying the supply of petrol and diesel and oil “will be the same, if not higher” than normal in the coming weeks.
The energy minister joined Anthony Albanese for a lengthy press conference on Friday morning, when the prime minister confirmed national cabinet would convene on Monday to develop a coordinated response.
The Coalition had earlier called for a halving of the fuel excise to help cut ballooning prices, an idea Labor had rejected this week.
The latest consumer watchdog figures showed diesel prices across the five largest cities were up by an average of 10% over the last week, while unleaded petrol was up 8%. And one in seven New South Wales service stations was out of at least one fuel type, according to state government data.
Top news
Australia will be left with no submarines if it abandons Aukus, senior defence official warns
Swastika found scratched into window of Jewish bagel shop in Sydney
Human rights experts raise concerns over Olympics transgender women athlete ban
In video
Footage shows the first big snowfall of the year in the Snowy Mountains in NSW. Thousands of Australians woke without power today after a series of wild autumn storms soaked communities in multiple states.
What they said …
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“There’s something to be said about a screen-based work that is almost impossible to see.” – Dark Mofo festival director Chris Twite
A hallucinatory experimental film starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Rampling that can only be watched by one person at a time is heading to Australia as part of Hobart’s Dark Mofo festival.
Podcast
Guardian Essential report: Australians don’t want the war on Iran
After Australia became one of the first countries to back the US’s war on Iran, this month’s poll shows voters questioning Canberra’s relationship with an increasingly unpredictable Trump. Political reporter Josh Butler and the Essential Media executive director, Peter Lewis, discuss why Australians want the government to broaden its diplomatic relationships.
Before bed read
The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players in the AFL men’s competition is at its lowest in two decades, after an approximate 30% downturn. Writes Sean Gorman, the lead investigator in the AFL’s review of vilification laws: “If this was the decline in pie sales, shit would hit the fan.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: FAN. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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