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Australia seeks ‘best deal’ on tariffs

Donald Trump’s decision to grant the UK a tariff exemption offers some hope for Australia as the prime minister prepares for talks with the US president. The US president revealed he will double to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on every trading partner except the UK, which will remain subject to the original 25 per cent rate after striking a deal with his administration. As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepares to hold a potential in-person meeting with Trump, the announcement offers a glimmer of hope.

AAP Newswire

Environment

Legal challenge over gas pipeline

A group of farmers has launched a legal challenge over a controversial proposed gas pipeline that would cut through prime agricultural land, arguing the federal government failed to protect water resources. Energy giant Santos plans to construct a 60km transmission pipeline that would connect its Narrabri gas project, in northwest NSW, to the Hunter gas pipeline, allowing delivery to the east coast domestic market.

AAP Newswire

Trade

31 May 2025

Tariff boost puts pressure on Albanese

Pressure is again mounting for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to meet US President Donald Trump in person amid fresh alarm over the US president’s “unjustified” tariff hike on steel imports. Trump has announced plans to increase tariffs on foreign imports of steel from 25 to 50 per cent to “further secure the steel industry in the United States”. The latest decision could impact Australia’s industry, which exported more than $414 million worth of iron and steel to the US in 2024.

AAP Newswire

31 May 2025

Economy

28 May 2025

Inflation rate higher than expected

A jump in the cost of building and renovating homes is not helping the case for more interest rate cuts. Headline inflation remained steady at 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. But the result was higher than expected, with economists having predicted a slowing in price growth to 2.3 per cent.

AAP Newswire

28 May 2025

Election

24 May 2025

Liberal leads ahead of recount

The Liberals are ahead of an independent by a minuscule eight votes in a federal seat on knife-edge, meaning a full recount looms weeks after the election. Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian had pulled ahead of Nicolette Boele by a whisker during preference counting in the Sydney seat of Bradfield, just days after Boele was provisionally declared the winner by 39 votes. After a full distribution of preferences on Friday, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed it would do a recount beginning on Monday and is expected to take two weeks.

AAP Newswire

24 May 2025

Police

23 May 2025

Card-skimming scam nets almost $1m before bust

Two Romanian men allegedly tampered with Australian ATMs to steal bank details before police seized a fake passport and almost $1 million in cash.Gabriel Niculescu-Stoian, 48, and Alexandru Tulba, 41, faced court on Friday charged with dishonestly obtaining financial information and dealing with proceeds of crime.

AAP Newswire

23 May 2025

Health

Australia funding vaccines after PNG polio outbreak

Australia is spending $5 million towards vaccinations in Papua New Guinea after the declaration of a polio outbreak in its close northerly neighbour. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 has been detected in stool specimens of two healthy children in PNG earlier in May. It is the first outbreak of the debilitating virus in PNG since 2018, with the WHO testing centred on the city of Lae, in New Guinea’s north.

AAP Newswire

Politics

Opposition MPs seek united front against Labor

National and Liberal MPs are calling for a united front against Labor as a common enemy despite a growing rift since the parties split. Their coalition fell apart days after Sussan Ley was chosen as Liberal leader, with the Nationals pulling the plug on the decades-long marriage. Now the conservative parties are in a contest for political staff as both prepare to unveil separate shadow ministries in coming days.

AAP Newswire

Politics

Labor strategist takes dig at rivals

A key Labor strategist has unveiled the secrets behind the party’s landslide federal election win and taken digs at both the coalition and the Greens. Labor’s national secretary Paul Erickson has outlined the secret ingredients behind a campaign that delivered one of the largest majorities in Australian history while ousting two rival party leaders. Erickson said Labor had been written off months before the May 3 election due to a global voter movement against incumbents.

AAP Newswire

Charity

17 May 2025

A long, slow journey for a good cause

It will take a fortnight for 10 tractor drivers to make the trip from Bourke to Birdsville going 23km/h, a long and slow journey for a good cause. Richard Jefferay has always been mad about vintage vehicles, even doing up a 70-year-old tractor to mow his lawn. The 1950s Massey Ferguson has no suspension, no cab and a rough old spring under the seat.

AAP Newswire

17 May 2025

Technology

04 May 2025

Why home appliances are getting smart

Lights flick on as you enter the hall, the air-conditioner has pre-chilled the lounge, the robot vacuum has cleaned up, and the fridge sends you a message to let you know your cheese is nearing its expiry date. The artificially intelligent fridge can, if you agree, suggest recipes involving cheese and share them with the oven. This scenario is not from the future but one white goods manufacturers are keen for consumers to embrace now. Samsung Australia this week launched an extensive range of appliances powered by artificial intelligence, from washing machines to ovens, that will compete with similarly smart products from LG, Hisense, Ecovacs, Philips, Electrolux and more.

AAP Newswire

04 May 2025

Technology

03 May 2025

How AI can help native animals

Artificial intelligence is becoming an unexpected aide to Australian wildlife, helping conservationists sort wombats from wallabies and currawongs from quolls. But the technology is also being prepared for another evolution in which it could track individual animals, both friend and foe, across Tasmanian wilderness. The Tasmanian Land Conservancy revealed the unusual technology deployment on Friday after partnering with Ionata Digital and the University of Tasmania.

AAP Newswire

03 May 2025

Protest

Record anti-salmon rally calls for action

Anti-salmon farming protesters have gathered in record numbers as the Greens vow to put the issue at the forefront in any post-election minority parliament. The industry has been under increased spotlight in Tasmania amid mass fish deaths and federal law changes to thwart conservationists’ challenge to aquaculture approvals. More than 6000 people rallied in Hobart on Sunday, heeding a cry to vote against the salmon industry-supporting Labor and Liberal parties. The protest was several times bigger than community action in mid-March at a remote beach in the state’s south.

AAP Newswire

Election

Campaign enters final stretch

Peter Dutton will embark on a last ditch attempt to turn voter sentiment around in the final week of the election campaign in a blitz of dozens of seats across the country. Just days out from the May 3 vote, the opposition leader will visit up to 28 key electorates, mainly held by Labor, as he makes his bid for majority government. Dutton will this evening go head-to-head with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the fourth and final leaders’ debate, to be held by Seven.

AAP Newswire

Weather

Coast on flood watch amid ‘magnet’ weather system

Wet weather will continue to impact coastal and inland communities on Australia’s east coast as a low-pressure system pulls in rain and wind. Severe thunderstorms, flooding and heavy rainfall impacting inland northern NSW areas are expected to move towards the coast on Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology said. The wet weather is being fuelled by a low-pressure system working as a “magnet” along the east coast. ”This system will act as a magnet - it will act as a sink for moisture and strong winds pulling in from out over the ocean and being directed against the NSW coast,“ senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

AAP Newswire

Election

Rural voters set to shape election

Voters in key regional electorates appear set to turn their backs on the major parties, with roads, health, the energy transition and cost-of-living pressures forging a new path in bush politics. Independent candidates are shaping up to claim the battleground seats of Wannon, in regional Victoria, and Calare, in country NSW, according to YouGov polling commissioned by AAP. The coalition has been actively targeting these electorates, with the Nationals using Bathurst’s iconic Mount Panorama race track to announce their policy centrepiece, a $20 billion regional future fund.

AAP Newswire