What we learned today, Tuesday 17 March
Thanks for joining us today. We’ll be back with more live news tomorrow morning. Here’s a reminder of today’s top stories:
The Reserve Bank of Australia has increased interest rates amid a global energy shock that threatens to push Australian inflation towards 5%.
The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, says higher petrol prices were “not the reason” for the cash rate hike.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says pressures are real on Australians and more savings will be delivered in the May budget.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, and his New Zealand counterpart, Judith Collins, signed a statement of intent, “operationalising the Australia and New Zealand alliance, with a focus to vision of Anzac 2035”.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has issued an urgent call for Australians to stop panic buying fuel amid the Middle East conflict.
The consumer watchdog has summoned major fuel suppliers and retailers to an emergency meeting to demand explanations for the recent surge in petrol prices.
The federal government is widening its crackdown on dodgy immigration agents.
The NSW government has introduced measures it says will toughen penalties and lead to more prosecutions for hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community.
The South Australia opposition leader, Ashton Hurn, says the Liberals will preference One Nation over Labor in her seat of Schubert in the upcoming state election.
Updated
Jacinta Allan responds to allegations she was warned about wrongdoing on construction sites in 2023
The fallout from the CFMEU saga that continues to threaten the Victorian premier Jacinta Allan’s leadership has continued at state parliament this morning, with allegations a top infrastructure executive warned her of serious wrongdoing on Labor’s $100bn Big Build well before the scandal emerged in 2024.
A report in the Age this morning alleges that Kevin Devlin, director general of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, which oversees much of the Big Build, repeatedly raised concerns about the construction union with Allan when she was transport infrastructure minister in 2023.
Speaking this morning, Allan confirmed Devlin had raised allegations of criminal activity on work sites at a meeting in June 2023. She said she then referred the allegations to the Department of Transport:
When Kevin Devlin, raised with me in a meeting in June 2023 that ... the authority at the time was aware of anecdotal claims of alleged criminal behaviour, I ordered for those claims to be investigated by the agency with the Department of Transport at the time. They came back and provided advice that there was no evidence that there was systematic behaviour.
She said she was “still concerned”, so referred the matter to police:
I was concerned that this needed to be investigated further, which is why, in addition to the authority referring this matter to Victoria police, I also, too in June of 2023 wrote to the chief commissioner of Victoria police.
Allan was asked multiple times how many allegations of CFMEU misconduct were raised with her but she refused to provide a figure.
It wasn’t until mid 2024 that the Age’s Building Bad investigation was released, triggering state secretary John Setka’s resignation and the union being placed in administration.
Updated
Anzac 2035 deal signed in ‘deadly serious’ meeting
The defence minister, Richard Marles, and foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, have spoken live from Canberra about the ANZMIN meeting this afternoon, with their New Zealand counterparts.
Marles confirmed he and NZ minster of defence, Judith Collins, had signed a statement of intent, “operationalising the Australia and New Zealand alliance, with a focus to vision of Anzac 2035.” He said:
Today’s ANZMIN meeting happens against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East but also a very volatile world. Both minister Collins and myself have been very focused on building our defence forces together, over the course of the next decade.
Winston Peters, NZ minster of foreign affairs, said the meeting covered how NZ and Australia will “work together on issues that matter most to our countries”.
He said some of the topics discussed include: the Middle East, Pacific partners, instability in the Indo-Pacific region and upholding the Antarctica treaty system.
Peters said:
The difference about these meetings of late, they’re deadly serious, and we’re conducting them with our eyes wide open and endeavour to work together to get the best possible outcomes.
Updated
Last week, the union announced teachers would stop work for 24 hours on 24 March after 98% of members voted yes to take stopwork action.
Carroll told reporters he was confident the government had the workforce to keep schools open during the action:
We think we still will have a teaching workforce, because there will be some teachers who particularly don’t want to go out on strike and lose a day’s wages, because you do lose a day’s wages … We’ll work with the principals and the schools and education staff to ensure that our schools remain open.
He said students of similar ages may be grouped together and participate in different activities than usual:
It could be a mixed curriculum. It could be a range of different activities. Obviously, a homeroom teacher might not be there, there may be a substitute teacher, there may be a casual relief teacher. So be a range of options that we’re working through.
I’ve been with the secretary, we are planning ahead, but we don’t want this disruption to go ahead. We want to prioritise dialogue and do a deal.
If the strike goes ahead it will be the first time in 13 years that teachers have walked off the job in Victoria.
Updated
Victorian education minister offers teachers 18% pay rise to avoid strike
The Australian Education Union has rejected a pay offer made by the Victorian government as it attempts to prevent a statewide teachers’ strike next week.
The education minister, Ben Carroll, held a press conference this morning to confirm the government had made an 18.5% offer to teachers, which he described as the highest in the country:
I’m not the only education minister negotiating with teachers and unions. At the moment, Queensland are offering 8%, Tasmania 8%, Catholic education offered 13% just recently. This is 18.5% – $2.6bn in wages directly into teachers and support staff pockets.
Carroll also said the government had committed to an extra student-free day and a trial of flexible work arrangements.
However, the union said the offer was well below the 35% pay increase over four years that would bring Victorian teachers’ salaries in line with their NSW counterparts.
It said the 18.5% offer was actually 17%: an 8% pay rise for teachers and a 4% rise for education staff to take effect in April, followed by a 3% rise each year for the following three years, as well as a 1.5% overtime allowance.
The Australian Education Union Victorian branch president, Justin Mullaly, said the offer “does not go far enough to keep experienced teachers in the system nor attract the next generation who are the future of the profession”.
He said:
This offer is completely unacceptable to hard-working teachers, principals and education support staff. I don’t think the premier and education minister could in good conscience look Victorian parents in the eye and say they are doing their best to support the workforce who teach their children.
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Capital gains tax discount ‘skewing home ownership’ towards investors, inquiry finds
A much anticipated parliamentary inquiry has called for reform of the capital gains tax discount, in a bid to help first home buyers improve their access to the market over investors.
The Greens-led inquiry considered settings in place since 1999 ahead of the May federal budget.
The inquiry found the capital gains tax discount, in combination with negative gearing, has “skewed the ownership of housing away from owner-occupiers and towards investors”.
“The benefits of the capital gains tax discount are also unequally distributed, with implications for income and wealth inequality and intergenerational inequality,” it said.
The inquiry chair and Greens treasury spokesperson, Nick McKim, said the CGT discount was helping fuel Australia’s housing crisis, and building more intergenerational inequity.
He said:
Labor has now been handed a historic opportunity to pass genuinely ambitious and progressive tax reform in this parliament.
The only limits are Labor’s level of ambition and courage.
Coalition senators did not agree changes to CGT were necessary, instead calling for additional housing supply options to help newcomers access the market.
Updated
BoM releases first track map of likely cyclone
The Bureau of Meteorology has released a first track map of the likely route that tropical low 34U is likely to take in the coming days.
The bureau is forecasting the tropical low, now south of Solomon Islands, could become a cyclone as early as this evening and will likely move west, crossing the Queensland coast north of Cooktown on Friday morning.
Once the cyclone forms, it will be called Narelle.
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Bullock has conceded some people might have to make tough decisions:
That is also effectively affecting people’s cashflow, so it’s going to impact demand in some way, to the extent that people have got constrained budgets, and many people do, I know. So that is going to be hard.
Some people might have to make tough decisions on what they do.
Bullock also says people on low and fixed incomes, especially renters, are “particularly badly hit by inflation”.
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Bullock says 'if we have to change tack we will' on raising rates
Michele Bullock says she understands the rate rise will be “tough for some people” – but “it’ll be much worse if inflation gets built into the fibres”.
“Then we will see the costs of everything going up, and that will be a much worse outcome,” she says.
Asked about a looming risk of recession, particularly as global conflict continues, she says:
There’s been lots of predictions that the world economy would [go into recession] particularly after the tariff problems in early 25, that the world would go into recession … and the world economy actually ended up doing OK, doing quite well in some cases.
It’s still possible if this resolves that everything will turn out OK.
Having said that, the board is alert to risks of that nature …
If circumstances change and if it does look like the world economy is in big trouble … then that will have different implications for inflation and we will be looking very hard at what we need to do in those circumstances.
The board is going to be monitoring this stuff very closely and if we have to change tack we will.
Updated
Bullock says higher petrol prices 'not the reason' for RBA's decision to hike cash rate
Now the Reserve Bank of Australia governor, Michele Bullock, is speaking live.
She says:
Higher petrol prices will add to inflation but they’re not the reason for today’s decision …
If the Middle East conflicts get worse or are not resolved soon, higher fuel costs will push inflation here even higher …
All members agreed that another rate increase was needed to address domestic inflationary pressures.
Domestic inflation remains too high and high inflation hurts all Australians.
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Wilson says it is a 'devastating day' for Australian households
Now we hear from the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, speaking live from Melbourne.
He calls it a “devastating day for Australian households” and says:
And even more devastating, the only response the Albanese government seemed to have in the face of increased market prices, increased petrol prices and increased interest rates, is to see where they can add more taxes on Australian households.
Updated
Chalmers says 'pressures are real' on Australians and 'more savings' to be delivered in May budget
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking live from Canberra.
He acknowledges the RBA decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.1% comes in the face of “substantial global economic volatility and uncertainty”.
He says:
The main point from this decision is that we know we had an inflation challenge already in our economy. Developments in the Middle East are already making that challenge harder rather than easier …
We say to Australians around the country who are hearing about this news of an interest rate increase, who are dealing with some of these global pressures at the petrol bowser, that we know that those pressures are real and that we will do what we responsibly can to respond to them.
We take into consideration the pressures on people, the economic circumstances …
I’m going to get into this in some detail on Thursday at the Australian Business Economists, because that’s an important factor in these considerations and in the government’s work.
I meant it when I said there’ll be more savings in the budget in May.
Updated
That’s all from me. Ima Caldwell will take things from here. Enjoy your arvo!
NSW expands free access to Japanese encephalitis vaccine
NSW Health will expand free access to the Japanese encephalitis vaccine for people who plan to visit high-risk local government areas for outdoor recreation.
People living or working in eight extra LGAs will now be eligible to access the free vaccine, including Armidale, Ballina, Bathurst, Byron, Oberon, Tweed, Walcha and Yass Valley.
Vaccination is also now available until the start of winter for anyone in the state who plans to visit any defined high-risk LGAs.
Japanese encephalitis is a rare but serious illness spread by infected mosquitoes. Infection only causes mild illness for many people, but for some it can cause severe neurological symptoms and, in rare cases, can be fatal.
There is no specific treatment, so prevention is the main target of health initiatives.
Updated
More on the RBA’s decision
Australia’s RBA was the only central bank expected to hike so soon, with its counterparts in the US, UK, European Union, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Sweden all expected to leave rates on hold this week.
Even before the US and Israel struck Iran, Australian inflation had been elevated at 3.8% – well above the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target.
The economy has been growing at its fastest pace in almost three years and unemployment has fallen since September.
The week before the decision, predictions of a rate hike firmed when the central bank’s deputy governor, Andrew Hauser, said data had “confirmed even more decisively … that our economy currently has limited spare capacity”.
Some economists, though, had warned the RBA needed to leave interest rates on hold for fear of a downturn in consumer spending.
Read more here:
Updated
RBA hikes official interest rate to 4.1%
The Reserve Bank has increased interest rates amid a global energy shock that threatens to push Australian inflation towards 5%.
The hike takes the RBA’s cash rate target from 3.85% to 4.1%, back to where it was in February 2025, wiping out the relief offered by two cuts last year.
Household budgets, already under pressure after a rate rise in February and soaring petrol prices, will face higher mortgage costs.
Someone with a $600,000, 30-year mortgage will see their weekly repayments rise by another $95 a month, once their bank passes the hike on.
Updated
Victorian premier pushes plans to ensure fuel stability across the state
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, also held a press conference at parliament this morning, alongside consumer affairs minister, Nick Staikos, to announce a plan to ensure fuel stability across the state.
She said last week the government’s daily fuel price caps came into effect to prevent price-gouging at the pump. So far, she said Consumer Affairs Victoria has carried out 289 inspections to ensure all petrol stations complied with reporting their fuel prices, finding 23 unregistered stations and 16 that were not reporting.
Allan announced an additional $4.6m will be provided to Consumer Affairs Victoria to carry out more inspections, while the agency will also immediately begin handing over the data it gathers to the ACCC.
The premier also convened an emergency cabinet subcommittee, which met last night to monitor the fuel supply situation. She says she will also chair an industry forum this afternoon with fuel suppliers, business groups and agricultural representatives to understand the situation on the ground and outline the actions the government could take.
The government has also established an “energy controller” position at the State Control Centre.
Updated
RBA decision in 15 minutes
We’re expecting an interest rate decision from the RBA in about 15 minutes. We’ll bring you the news as soon as it happens.
The press conference follows the release of a video of members of Liberal party competing in the “Games that Victoria never hosted”, which has gone viral on social media.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, described the video as “petty politics” but Wilson said her MPs were “communicating and meeting Victorians where they are”. She said:
We know that Victorians think this state is headed in the wrong direction, and what I’m committed to is making sure that we’re communicating on every platform … So it’s my job to highlight that and to make sure we’re communicating that across different platforms.
Brad Battin, the party’s spokesperson for sport, also confirmed he doesn’t usually bicep curl 20kg:
All my friends at the gym will tell you, no, I don’t normally lift 20 kilos, but I wasn’t going on TV lifting 10.
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Victoria Liberals say regions missed out after Commonwealth Games cancelled
The Victorian Liberals held a press conference outside the MCG this morning to mark what would have been the day of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, had the state government not cancelled them.
The Games – which would have been hosted in regional Victoria – were first announced by then premier Daniel Andrews in 2022, ahead of the state election, before he cancelled them in 2023, costing the state almost $600m.
The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, says Labor had made a “hollow promise” they “never intended to deliver”. She said:
The consequences isn’t just the $600m, the opportunity cost of that and the $200m that has gone to Glasgow to host these games. But it’s the regional communities that are missing out – missing out on the sporting infrastructure, missing out on the housing infrastructure.
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Conservation groups call for LNG levy
Australia’s state conservation organisations have called on the federal government to introduce a 25% levy on all Australian liquified natural gas exports.
They say the unfolding conflict in Iran is creating turbulence in energy markets, and multinational gas companies will profit, while everyday Australians face soaring energy bills.
The groups – which include the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Environment Victoria, Queensland Conservation Council, Conservation Council SA, Environment Tasmania, the Conservation Council of WA, Environment Centre NT and the Conservation Council (ACT) – say the revenue raised could be used to provide compensation to Australian households and invest in the necessary transition to a renewable energy economy.
Jacqui Mumford, chief executive officer of the NSW Nature Conservation Council, said:
For decades, these companies have polluted our planet and contributed to the devastating climate disasters we are now facing. Now they are profiteering from a global energy shock.
Anthony Gough, acting director of the Queensland Conservation Council, said:
The logic is simple: polluters should pay for the damage they are causing. Households across Queensland are grappling with the double whammy of a summer of floods and a cost of living crisis, while fossil fuel companies rake in massive profits and send our gas overseas.
NSW government undecided on expanding hate speech offences to protect LGBTQ+ community
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says his government has not made a decision about expanding hate speech offences to protect the LGBTQ+ community, rejecting the idea he is “brushing under the carpet” the recommendations of an unreleased independent review.
As we reported earlier, the NSW government is introducing measures to toughen penalties for hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community and create a new offence for luring a person under false pretences in order to rob or violently assault them.
Today’s changes raise the penalties for inciting violence against vulnerable groups, but do not make changes to a controversial offence – section 93ZAA of the NSW Crimes Act – for inciting hatred on the grounds of race, introduced last year against the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission.
A six-month independent review on whether it should be expanded to cover religion, gender identity and sexual orientation, authored by former supreme court justice John Sackar, was tabled in November, but the government has not released it. The Independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, who has welcomed the changes announced today, has called on the government to share the report and follow its recommendations.
At a press conference this morning, Minns would not say if Sackar recommended the expansion of 93ZAA to cover offences against the LGBTQ+ community. He said:
We haven’t made a decision about it yet. The report’s been to cabinet and I don’t want to release before we make a call. Codifying vilification legislation is really difficult … primarily because it’s a clash of rights, but we’re considering it seriously and looking at the next steps. And I don’t want the report released before we made a decision in relation to it, so it’s not something that we’re brushing under the carpet.
Updated
Stonewall Hotel, iconic queer Sydney venue, closes doors on Oxford Street
The Stonewall Hotel, a mainstay of Sydney’s Oxford Street and the queer community, has closed its doors after 28 years. Craig Bell, a co-owner of the venue, said the move was a “sad and difficult decision” after the hotel took over an empty bank nearly three decades ago and made “something truly special”. An Instagram post announcing the decision reads:
Over the years, we have employed wonderful people, connected with remarkable customers, and forged friendships that will last a lifetime. My sincere thanks go out to every one of you who contributed to our story.
It seems that nearly everyone you meet who knows Stonewall has a story to share, a tale to boast about, or a cherished experience linked to our venue.
Stonewall recently opened a new venue in nearby Newtown, saying:
Change is constant, and Stonewall’s story is far from over. The party will continue as we embrace our new home in Newtown, carrying forward the spirit and community that has defined us for so long.
Bowen won’t speculate about fuel rationing, says the government working ‘non-stop’ to deal with supply issues
The energy minister added:
I have said many times since the beginning of the bombing of Iran and the subsequent events, we can’t guarantee that international times won’t be uncertain. We can guarantee the government will be working non-stop to ensure we are as prepared as you possibly can be and that the impact on Australians and Australia is as little as it can be.
Every ship that we have expected to arrive has arrived, whether it is diesel, petrol or jet fuel. All the companies say to me that they fully expect deliveries into March and well into April but we are in internationally uncertain times.
Updated
Energy minister urges Australians to only buy fuel they need
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, issued an urgent call for Australians to stop panic buying fuel, saying the country is well placed to weather the war in the Middle East but that the situation will only get harder if people hoard more than they need.
Bowen is speaking to reporters in Canberra, where he said:
As I’ve said, what we want is Australians to buy as much fuel as they need, not more not less. That is the best answer for everyone.
Because the fuel continues to arrive in Australia, as expected, because the refineries are working very well … and supplying the regions as quickly as they can … if Australians respond in the spirit of all coming together, and not panic buying, then that maximises our chances of getting through this situation.
Panic buying does not help the situation, panic buying very much causes the situation. I completely understand the concerns of Australians who might be thinking, we will buy a bit of extra fuel. Separately, people going to Bunnings and buying out all the Bunnings jerry cans – that is unhelpful. That is unAustralian. If they’re trying to maximise profits on Facebook marketplace …
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NSW premier says arts organisations 'can't expect the taxpayer to step in' if corporate sponsors withdraw support over programming decisions
The premier, Chris Minns, says arts organisations shouldn’t expect a government bailout if they have alienated corporate sponsors by making certain programming decisions.
His comments come as PwC confirmed it has withdrawn its sponsorship from the Biennale of Sydney, after complaints over alleged antisemitic content during the event’s opening night on Friday.
A statement from PwC said the company was disappointed that it had to withdraw from the biennale:
We entered this partnership to support an experience and series of arts and creative culture events which would be welcoming and inclusive for everyone. Following comments made by a performer at the opening night event, we no longer have confidence that the festival can meet our expectations.
A performance by US artist DJ Haram at the Lights On opening concert on Friday has attracted widespread criticism for invoking a “Zio-Australian-Epstein empire” that she claimed was responsible for silencing dissenters. She also praised the Palestinian martyrs of the Gaza conflict and suggested Australia was complicit in genocide against the Palestinian people.
Minns said he underwood how it could be tempting for festival programmers to engage such artists.
But it has big implications for the launch and the viability of the organisation from a financial perspective.
You can’t expect the taxpayer to step in two or three years down the line, because you’ve turned away all your funding and all your supporters and all the ticket sales, and then come to the taxpayer and say: ‘Can you bail us out?’
These are public conversations. They’re not held in private. Everybody’s got an obligation to either lower the tone, and try not to put on a pedestal people who are determined to rip the social fabric of our community apart.
DJ Haram has not responded to the Guardian’s request for comment. She has already left Australia. The biennale says it is conducting an internal review into the matter.
PwC has demanded the biennale remove all its logos and branding from event material and has cancelled an associated event for its clients scheduled for Thursday night. A spokesperson said PwC’s support had been both financial and contra, but the company was not the biennale’s auditor.
Updated
Aboriginal woman dies in custody in Perth prison
The WA Department of Justice has confirmed that a 35-year-old Aboriginal woman has died in custody at the Bandyup women’s prison in Perth’s outer north.
Staff found her unresponsive in her cell early Monday morning and provided first aid before emergency services arrived.
The Department of Justice says the woman was declared deceased on site and early investigations indicate no suspicious circumstances in the woman’s death.
WA police are preparing a report for the state coroner.
In response to the woman’s death, the National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls said they were devastated by her passing.
The advocacy group said overcrowding, punitive policies, and a lack of support for vulnerable women are contributing to the growing incarceration of First Nations women.
Lorraine Pryor, National Network member and the founder of WA-based organisation Voice of Hope, said many are survivors of violence and abuse.
These conditions are not incidental, they are the predictable outcome of policies that continue to expand policing and imprisonment, including increasingly punitive bail laws that are driving the imprisonment of more women, many of whom are themselves survivors of violence and poverty.
Aboriginal women are particularly impacted by these policies. They are the fastest growing prison population in Australia, and their deaths in custody continue to expose the ongoing violence of a system that was never designed to care for them.
Updated
Nearly two-thirds of Australians not getting enough calcium in their diets, ABS data shows
Dairy, tofu and leafy greens need to up their game as Australians aren’t getting enough calcium from the food and drinks in their diet, new data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests.
The first analysis on nutritional requirements for vitamins and minerals in a decade found more than 60% of Australians fell short of meeting their calcium needs in 2023, which hadn’t changed since 2011-2012.
Linda Fardell, ABS head of health statistics, said diets that are low in calcium are linked to an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.
Over three-quarters of females and over half of males didn’t meet their calcium requirements, increasing to about 90% for females aged 12–17 years and 50 years and over.
Fardell:
Iron and folate are other nutrients where females have higher requirements and lower intakes in some age groups.
For example, 48 per cent of females aged 18–29 years did not meet their iron requirements compared to 8 per cent of males in the same age group.
Updated
‘Iranian women’s footballers shouldn’t have to choose between their sport and their safety’
Nos Hosseini is a spokesperson for the Iranian Women’s Association. In an opinion piece for Guardian Australia, she writes:
When seven members of Iran’s women’s national football team sought protection in Australia, it appeared they had finally found safety. Within days, some made the difficult decision to return to Iran despite the risks.
For many Iranian athletes, the most powerful opponent they face is not across the field. It is the regime that controls their lives.
To compete internationally, they must submit to a system that demands obedience, restricts their movement and punishes dissent.
Read more here:
Updated
Body found in Hobart after man falls overboard on research ship
Divers have recovered the body of a man who is believed to have fallen from a French Antarctic research vessel docked in Hobart, AAP reports.
The man, aged in his 20s, was reported missing by crewmates of the Perseverance at 3.55am on Tuesday. Police searches were conducted at the Sullivans Cove waterfront, with his body discovered shortly before 7.45am.
The Perseverance is a 42m French ocean-going sailing vessel designed for scientific research and supply missions in polar waters.
The ship set sail from New Zealand on 20 January on a mission to study breeding patterns of species in Antarctic waters. Tasmania Police are expected to provide more information later on Tuesday.
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Far north Queensland on cyclone watch
Communities in far north Queensland have been asked to be on alert with the latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast suggesting a tropical low in the Coral Sea could become a cyclone as early as tomorrow evening.
The timing of a likely declaration has shifted with tropical low 34U now being given a high chance of becoming a cyclone – which will be called Narelle if it eventuates – earlier than was forecast yesterday.
Current weather models suggest a landfall somewhere north of Cooktown late on Thursday or on Friday morning when the system is expected to track west over the Gulf of Carpentaria.
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Angus Taylor says we need to ‘drill more, 100%’
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is speaking in New South Wales about the ongoing fuel issues linked to the war in the Middle East. He said he thinks we need to “drill more, 100%”.
Taylor said:
We’ve got great resources. Bass Strait is an old source of oil and gas, but an important one, and we need to get the most out of it, and we’ve got new emerging sources in the north in the Beetaloo basin.
So we need to see that drilling happen at pace. This is a government that’s made it very hard for resources companies to get the approvals they need … to get resources, oil and gas, out of the ground.
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NSW becomes first state to launch digital birth certificates
People aged 16-21 in New South Wales are the first Australians to be able to set up digital birth certificates.
The state government said the digital documents, launched today, were designed to international security standards and could be set up via the Service NSW app.
Sixteen to 21-year-olds born in NSW and who hold a NSW photo card or driver licence are eligible to apply.
The government said digital birth certificates can be used to verify identity and apply for licences and certifications needed to start a job – and that, over time, the move will give people greater control over what information they share.
Jihad Dib, the minister for customer services and digital government, said:
I’m proud that NSW is the first place in Australia where young people across the state can carry their birth certificate securely on their phone – instead of having to rummage through drawers or call mum and dad!
He said the technology was “the same as having a birth certificate in your pocket – but much more secure”.
Households struggle with confidence as cash rate rise looms
A parade of bad news overseas, soaring petrol prices and expectations of higher interest rates have left households the gloomiest they have been since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.
ANZ’s weekly consumer sentiment survey revealed a severe confidence hit to Australians still struggling to cope with the high prices left by the pandemic inflation outbreak.
Sophia Angala, an ANZ economist, said “households are increasingly pessimistic about the one-year and five-year outlooks for the economy, likely driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the shifting outlook for inflation and rates”.
The Reserve Bank is expected to lift its cash rate target to 4.1% at 2.30pm today, in a double blow to households facing a 30-40% jump in fuel prices since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
“With inflation above target and the labour market viewed as tight by the RBA, there is likely to be less tolerance than usual to an external inflation shock, in this case from higher oil prices,” Angala said.
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More on police operation at Lidcombe
We have more details from Lidcombe, where a major police operation ended a short time ago.
Police say an investigation is now under way after a woman was threatened by a man armed with a gun at a multi-level car park on Uhrig Road at about 7.20am.
The man, who was not known to the woman, left the scene in a white Subaru SUV with cloned number plates, police said. The woman was shaken but not physically injured.
A perimeter was established and specialist officers were called to assist. An extensive search of the area was conducted, police said. No shots were fired, they said.
Police are appealing for any information or dashcam vision related to incident.
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Confidentiality clauses ‘silence’ students’ complaints, ombudsman says
Students may be choosing not to seek support from their universities over sexual harassment and assault complaints because of confidentiality clauses preventing them from speaking with anyone about their experience, a new report has found.
The National Student Ombudsman’s first report, published on Tuesday, found 21 universities used confidentiality clauses in their complaints – applying to around 770,000 students. The clause often automatically apply to students when they lodge a complaint, preventing them from speaking with anyone outside of the university about their experience or the complaint’s outcome.
In some instances, student wellbeing and recovery were put at risk, including a university beginning misconduct proceedings against a student when it alleged they breached confidentiality after reporting sexual harassment to their university.
The ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said students “should have the right to talk to others for support and seek external advice after they have made a complaint to their higher education provider”.
Excessive confidentiality can cause a complainant to feel silenced or disempowered … I am concerned that students … could be left unable to discuss the situation with a support person, seek legal advice, contact a health professional for support, or take ownership of how they talk about a traumatic experience including gender-based violence.
The ombudsman was established last year to tackle gender-based violence on university campuses.
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No arrests after police operation in Sydney’s west
A police operation in Lidcombe has ended with no arrests, no injuries and no shots fired, police say.
As we reported a short time ago, police were called to a unit block in Lidcombe at about 7.20am after numerous reports to triple zero of a man acting suspiciously following an argument between a woman and a man at the address.
A perimeter was established, and the public was urged to avoid the area.
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Victorian farmers urge commuters to swap cars for public transport
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has asked commuters to leave their cars at home and use public transport to relieve pressures on fuel supplies.
VFF president Brett Hosking said that for most Victorians, a fuel shortage means “cancelled plans, longer queues and a tighter weekly budget”, but that for farmers, “timing is everything”:
Farming runs on narrow weather windows, and if the tank is empty at the wrong moment you can’t just wait for prices to settle, you lose the opportunity, and sometimes the entire crop.
Keeping farmers moving is in everyone’s interest. Victorian farmers grow almost a quarter of Australia’s food and feed millions more across the globe.
Should just one in five Victorian car commuters adopt public transport, it would save enough fuel to plant roughly half of Australia’s wheat, barley, canola and lentil crop, he said. He continued:
A little would go a long way. Even taking one or two trips a week on the train, tram or bus instead of driving can leave more fuel in the system for the jobs that keep supermarket shelves stocked.
The VFF is calling on the state government to temporarily make public transport free across Victoria and to run services more often.
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Peak bodies urge federal government to rebuild Australia’s research sector after strategic review paints a dire picture
Australia’s leading scientists say “urgent attention” is needed to reform the nation’s Research and Development (R&D) system after a strategic review, commissioned by the federal government and released on Tuesday, found the system was underfunded, underperforming and under-coordinated.
Among its 20 recommendations were lifting the PhD stipend to $50,000 in priority areas, which currently languishes at $34,315 (below the Henderson Poverty line of $690.50 per week) and better supporting and funding the CSIRO.
Australian Academy of Science president Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC said the government should have been prioritising R&D decades ago:
Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Minister for Science, has recognised that business must play a greater role if Australia is to lift overall investment in R&D. They must. However, the Australian Government must also reverse its own underinvestment. Putting research at the centre of the Government’s productivity agenda is essential for our future prosperity. Rebuilding Australia’s research system will take multiple budgets – but it must start with this one.
The chief executive of Universities Australia, Luke Sheehy, said for “too long Australia has been falling behind in the global race for research and innovation, while our economy remains heavily reliant on digging things out of the ground instead of building new industries”. He continued:
It’s now up to the government to make the most of this opportunity and respond with ambition.
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Major police response in Sydney’s west after reports of man acting suspiciously
Heavily armed police have swarmed a unit block just a day after a man was killed in a gangland-style shooting nearby, AAP reports.
Police were called to a unit block in Lidcombe about 7.20am after numerous reports to triple zero of a man acting suspiciously.
Heavily armed police, some carrying semi-automatic weapons and wearing camouflage, set up a perimeter around the block of units, located near Stadium Australia.
The public is urged to avoid the area. Police said there had been no reports of injuries.
Tuesday’s dramatic police presence follows a fatal shooting inside a Lidcombe unit on Monday. There is no reported link between the two events.
NSW police have been approached for comment.
Brisbane Roar football club welcome two Iranian women’s team players
The Brisbane Roar welcomed two Iranian women’s team players this morning, saying the pair had been invited to the club’s training facilities to train with its squad.
The club wrote on X:
Welcome, Fatemeh and Atefeh 🦁
Today, Brisbane Roar officially welcomed both Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh to the club’s training facilities to take part in training with our A-League Women squad and remain committed to providing a supportive environment for them whilst they navigate the next stages.
Welcome, Fatemeh and Atefeh 🦁
— Brisbane Roar FC (@brisbaneroar) March 16, 2026
Today, Brisbane Roar officially welcomed both Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh to the club’s training facilities to take part in training with our A-League Women squad and remain committed to providing a supportive environment for them… pic.twitter.com/p0BNohIT21
Bluesfest collapse leaves punters, suppliers reeling
Ticketholders are not the only ones dudded by the sudden collapse of music festival Bluesfest, with one small business left $90,000 out of pocket, AAP reports.
Uniform Print Lab was supplying merchandise for the Byron Bay festival and spent six weeks printing about 15,000 items including T-shirts, stubby holders, hats and lanyards. The family business in the NSW town of Tweed Heads was organising to deliver it all on Friday when they heard the festival had entered liquidation.
Bluesfest is one of a string of Australian music festivals to hit the wall in recent years, along with Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo.
Promoter Peter Noble had advertised 2025 as the final year of Bluesfest, but when it attracted more than 100,000 patrons across four days, he decided to return in April 2026.
The festival’s collapse has left an estimated $23m in ticket sales in limbo, with appointed liquidators warning ticketholders are unlikely to be refunded.
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Regulator summons fuel giants over price hikes
The consumer watchdog is calling major fuel suppliers and retailers to an emergency meeting today to demand explanations for the recent surge in petrol prices.
Fuel prices have surged in recent weeks and some regional retailers have even run dry, with customers panic-buying petrol over concerns the Middle East conflict will lead to shortages.
Representatives of major fuel suppliers and retailers, including Chevron, BP and Ampol, have been called in to the meeting run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said:
Today the regulator will get a chance to make the retailers and suppliers justify their prices. I’ve made it very clear that if they find evidence of misconduct, we expect the ACCC to throw the book at them.
Petrol prices have started to push past 230c per litre in most state capitals.
Global oil prices have surged by about 40% in March in response to the Middle East conflict and closure of the crucial strait of Hormuz, prompting fears of a breakout in global inflation.
Determining the direct impact of global oil prices on pump prices has historically proven difficult due to the supply chain’s complexity.
Donald Trump has called on regional partners to assist in securing the strait, which is largely controlled by Iran.
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Scientists have welcomed a 'pivotal' review of Australia’s research sector
The final report of the federal government’s Strategic Examination of Research and Development (SERD) in industry was released last night. It recommends a simplified system focusing on six priority areas: health and medical, agriculture and food, defence, environment and energy, resources, and technology.
The review, chaired by Robyn Denholm, pushes for a “move away from an underperforming system that is the result of often trifling, incremental improvements, risk aversion and Band-Aid solutions”, and recommends more investment in competitive grant schemes to better fund science research.
The minister for science, Tim Ayres, said:
Meeting Australia’s big collective challenges – food and agriculture, energy security, new industrial and tech processes, water security and dealing with the human, animal and plant diseases of the future, to name just a few – requires a modern and fit for purpose research and development system. This report charts out a long-term reform roadmap for me, and for the government to consider over coming months.
Jas Chambers, the president of Science and Technology Australia, said:
This is the first pivotal step in tackling the longstanding challenges facing Australia’s research, development and innovation system that will lead to lasting and intergenerational opportunity.
Our sector is hurting. An STA survey last year found nearly half of Stem professionals are thinking about leaving their role. Action is needed to improve job security and pay, which are the main reasons behind low morale.
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SA opposition leader says Liberals will preference One Nation in her home seat
Ashton Hurn, the South Australia opposition leader, said the Liberals will preference One Nation over the Labor party in her seat of Schubert in the state’s upcoming election.
Hurn spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying there were a “number of different scenarios” the Liberals had planned across dozens of seats, but the priority was “getting rid of the ALP”.
She said:
We’re in the business of getting rid of the ALP. The ALP are a bad government here in South Australia. They have proven time and time again that they’re more interested in PR and politics than they are on delivering practical outcomes for South Australians.
But this is not a vote of confidence in One Nation. In fact, far from it. But you’ve got to put people somewhere on the ballot. That’s the decision that we’ve made. And this is a vote of no confidence in the government. And that’s who I’m focused on defeating at the election on Saturday.
Hurn said she wasn’t concerned about One Nation becoming the opposition party in SA.
Read more about the swing to One Nation here:
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Details of revamped disability community program released
The federal government has announced its revamped disability community program will deliver $90m to 62 disability support and advocacy organisations in its first year.
The NDIS minister, Jenny McAllister, will announce today $50m will be given to 38 organisations to support people with disabilities, their carers and families with workshops, mentoring programs and referral services.
Another $40m will be shared between 24 groups aimed at offering information and advice to help the disability community access relevant supports and services.
It comes as the NDIS undergoes a number of changes while the start date for the Thriving Kids program has been delayed to October.
McAllister said:
We want to make sure that people with disability and their families are empowered by a broad network of supports and services on the ground in their communities.
It’s essential for the ILC Program to reflect the genuine needs of the disability community to provide quality, targeted supports to those who need them most.
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Two men charged with murder after man fatally shot in Sydney unit
Two men have been charged with murder after a gangland-linked shooting at a suburban apartment complex that left one man dead and another injured, AAP reports.
A 38-year-old man was rushed to hospital about 4am on Monday after being found with gunshot wounds inside a unit in Lidcombe, in Sydney’s west, but died a short time later. A second man was found at the scene with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers arrested a 21-year-old man on Monday afternoon after a car crashed into a parked vehicle, NSW police said. Police allegedly found a firearm in the car and later charged the man with murder and wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Detectives then raided a home in Ermington, near Lidcombe, about 8pm and arrested a 22-year-old man. He was also charged with murder.
Both men were refused bail and are expected to face court on Tuesday.
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NSW crossbenchers push for human rights bill inquiry
A bill requiring government bodies to consider the impact of human rights on all decisions, laws and policies they make may be a step closer in NSW after a crossbench push for an independent inquiry.
The Greens MP for Newtown and human rights spokesperson, Jenny Leong, has written a letter to the NSW premier, Chris Minns, asking for an inquiry into a bill she introduced for a human rights act in October last year.
It has the support of more than 120 organisations, including Amnesty International, as well as five crossbench MPs who often vote with the Labor minority government, some as part of “confidence and supply” agreements allowing it to pass legislation in the lower house. Their support could see the government allow an inquiry into the bill, as it did with Leong’s move to end no grounds evictions, which preceded its own legislation to end the practice.
As Australia does not have its own bill of rights, individual states have moved to legislate their own human rights acts or charters, including Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. Leong says a similar act in NSW would be “a powerful tool to ensure people are the priority for decisions made”.
Earlier this year, the ACT supreme court used the ACT Human Rights Act to find in favour of public housing tenants who were challenging evictions handed to them by the government – and they were allowed to stay in their homes. It’s more evidence that a human rights act is far from a lofty, feelgood document: it’s a powerful tool for people in tough positions to access their basic rights like the right to a secure and safe home.
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Marles says Australia has not received request from US on ships to strait of Hormuz
The defence minister, Richard Marles, is speaking about Australia’s plans when it comes to the strait of Hormuz. He said the US has not requested Australia send any ships to the region.
The point to make here is we’ve not received a request from the United States in respect of the strait of Hormuz.
Clearly, it is in the global interest to see the strait of Hormuz open. I mean, we just need to work through this in a methodical way. And, at this point, we’ve not received any request.
He said the government is doing “everything in our power” to see fuel get where it’s needed, encouraging Australians to go about “their business as they usually would”.
Marles added were the US to formally request Australian assistance, the government would work through it “in terms of what is the best way in which we can contribute”.
Obviously all the requests that we receive, we firstly look to from the perspective of what is Australia’s national interest.
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Taylor hammers energy minister over fuel prices
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is continuing to hammer the federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, over rising fuel prices this morning.
Taylor said the government “absolutely should have” taken more actions to rein in energy prices amid the fallout from Iran’s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz. He told RN Breakfast:
Last week, on Tuesday, there was no problem at all. By Thursday, it was a national crisis. He simply hasn’t been on top of it. The result is out here in regional areas, we’ve got farmers and truckies and others deeply concerned.
Taylor was asked about Bowen’s point that petrol prices reflect global oil prices, which are set by the market. The federal government has maintained for days that Australia is well placed to weather the economic turmoil linked to the Middle East, including the recent release of about 20% of the country’s fuel reserves.
The opposition leader said:
Of course, but shortages are not part of that. And there’s a role for the government to play in dealing with shortages.
Taylor didn’t suggest how the Coalition would do things differently.
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Labor widens crackdown on dodgy immigration agents
The federal government is expanding its crackdown on dodgy immigration agents, toughening ethical standards and training requirements for the industry, with one agent losing their registration after 20 years for supplying misleading information on visa applications.
Julian Hill, the assistant minister for citizenship and multicultural affairs, said the changes are designed to ensure would-be visa holders receive only high-quality immigration assistance.
Changes due to come into force from 1 April include updates to the list of providers who can deliver the mandatory courses required for registration for new providers. Existing operators will have to undergo new training in ethical standards and obligations under the code of conduct.
Hill said 61 agents have been sanctioned for breaches since 2021/22.
While most registered migration agents act with professionalism and integrity, those who engage in wrongdoing will be caught – it’s not a matter of if, but when. Anyone concerned about agent behaviour is encouraged to raise a complaint.
One veteran operator had their registration cancelled for five years due to significant breaches of the code, includinging knowingly supplying false and misleading information in visa applications and using templated statements that didn’t reflect each applicant’s individual circumstances.
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Good morning, it’s Nick Visser here with you again to see what the day in breaking news holds. Let’s get to it.
Tougher penalties and new offence for hate crimes against LGBTQ+ community in NSW
The NSW government will today introduce measures it says will toughen penalties and lead to more prosecutions for hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community.
They include a new offence which responds to a series of attacks revealed by an ABC investigation, some allegedly IS-inspired, in which teenagers lured victims on dating apps before robbing or assaulting them, in some cases filming them.
The offence for procuring a person by making false or misleading representations with the intent of committing a serious assault or robbery will not only apply to offences against the LGBTQ+ community.
Under the changes, existing “post and boast” offences for when criminals share footage of their crimes online will be expanded to cover serious assaults and robberies committed against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The sentence for threatening or inciting violence on the grounds of a protected attribute such as sexual orientation or gender will be increased from three to five years, but the government has not moved to expand a controversial offence for inciting hatred on the grounds of race to include gender identity or sexuality. The government has been sitting on a six-month review to determine if the laws should be expanded, which was tabled in November.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says:
The attacks we have seen targeting members of the LGBTQIA+ community are sickening and completely unacceptable.
These laws send a clear message that if you target someone out of hatred, or try to lure someone into harm, you will face serious consequences.
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Reserve Bank poised to hike rates at 2.30pm
The Reserve Bank board is widely expected to increase rates at 2.30pm today amid a global energy shock that threatens to push inflation towards 5%.
A hike would take the RBA’s cash rate target from 3.85% to 4.1%, marking the second consecutive increase after the February move.
If the economists and analysts are right, someone with a $600,000 mortgage and 25 years will see their repayments rise by another $91 a month.
Central bankers worldwide are recalibrating their plans after a broadening Middle East conflict that has sent petrol prices soaring and triggered fears of fuel shortages.
The RBA would normally look past a short-term hit to energy prices.
But inflation is already elevated at 3.8% – well above the bank’s 2-3% target – and that has left the central bank with little wriggle room and worried that rapid price increases will start to become embedded in Australia’s collective psyche.
Economists will be looking at whether the decision was unanimous, and for any indication in the board’s statement and Bullock’s press conference (at 3.30pm) that there could be a third straight hike at the May meeting.
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Chris Bowen says petrol reserves won’t ease shortages straight away
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says it will take “some time” for the petrol and disesel released from Australia’s domestic stockpile to reach areas hit by shortages.
On Friday, the Albanese government directed fuel companies to release nearly a fifth of reserve petrol and diesel supplies. Dozens of service stations across the country have run out of petrol as retailers struggle with customers panic-buying in response to skyrocketing prices from the Middle East conflict.
In an interview with ABC’s 7.30 last night, Bowen said companies had assured the government the released supply would reach regional areas:
There will be some time for it to flow through. There’s a very complicated supply chain.
But it is going to have an impact. Some companies have said it will start to have an impact in coming days, to some degree. But there will be some time before it’s all released.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser to guide you through the news day.
The economy and cost of living will be one of the big stories today with the Reserve Bank expected to raise interest rates when it announces the outcome of its monetary policy meeting at 2.30pm. The main reason is persistent inflation, further fuelled by war-boosted petrol prices.
Speaking of which, we have Chris Bowen’s comments on fuel shortages coming up – he says the nation’s fuel reserves are being poured into the market but may not have an immediate obvious effect.
