Country
Australia
- Australia's September inflation rises to 4.3%, above expectations, ahead of RBA rate decision on Nov 3
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, Oct 28, that the consumer price index rose 0.8% in September from the previous month, after 0.4% in August, lifting annual inflation from 4% to 4.3%, higher than expected. Housing was the biggest driver, up 5.2% year on year, and fuel prices rose 9.4% in September, pushing up transport costs. Trimmed mean inflation, which strips out volatile items, rose to 3.6%, with August revised to 3.5%. Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser told a Senate hearing on Wednesday the figures were 'too high'. The cash rate is 4.6%, the highest in 15 years after four hikes this year, and the RBA will announce its decision on Nov 3.
Oct 28, 2026 Afternoon - Star Entertainment fined A$260 million for anti-money laundering breaches linked to Asian junket operator
A Federal Court judge ruled on Wednesday, Oct 28, that casino operator Star Entertainment Group be fined A$260 million for repeated breaches of anti-money laundering laws. Financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC sued Star in 2022, alleging it failed to adequately deal with money laundering risks in its dealings with Asian junket operator Suncity and its financiers, continuing those dealings after reports of their criminal links. AUSTRAC had sought A$400 million, while Star said a penalty above A$100 million would push it into liquidation. The judge said the penalty weighed the need for deterrence against the company's finances. The breaches had led to suspension of Star's casino licences in New South Wales and Queensland.
Oct 28, 2026 Afternoon - About 2.8 million deep-sea eels found gathering to spawn off Tasmania, the only known purely marine eel spawning site
A study led by Australia's CSIRO, published in Royal Society Open Science, found through marine acoustic surveys that about 2.8 million basketwork eels, weighing some 3,500 tonnes in total, gather each year on a ridge beside Patience Seamount in the Huon Marine Park off Tasmania to spawn over several months. It is the only known spawning aggregation of a purely marine eel species in the world. The eel is a top deep-sea scavenger that can grow to about 1.8 metres and is named for the criss-cross, woven-basket pattern on its skin. Researchers hope to find out where the eels come from and where the young go.
Oct 28, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Australian Federal Police received nearly 800 security complaints from federal MPs in six months
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Oct 27, that the AFP received nearly 800 security complaints from federal MPs in the first half of this year. After the attack on independent MP Helen Haines last week, the government is speeding up its review of MPs' security, and members can receive stronger protection, including wider use of emergency alarms.
Oct 28, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Albanese fast-tracks review of MPs' security after attack on independent MP Helen Haines
Independent federal MP Helen Haines was seriously injured after being hit by a car last week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Labor caucus on the morning of Tuesday, Oct 27, that the government will accelerate a review of MPs' security that was originally due to report next year, calling last week a turning point, and said options including emergency alarms are being considered. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that MPs from all parties met intelligence agencies after the attack, many complaining that security requests were processed too slowly, and that the government is weighing a large-scale upgrade of security at MPs' homes.
Oct 27, 2026 Afternoon - Scientists film REM-like sleep in an Australian jumping spider for the first time
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that the Australian jumping spider Portia fimbriata has at least two sleep stages, including one resembling rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, with video capturing subtle eye twitches and leg curling. Co-author Daniela Rößler, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Bonn, said the similarity of the spiders' sleep structure to key features of vertebrate sleep was far greater than anyone expected. The team is now studying how the spiders sleep in the wild.
Oct 27, 2026 Afternoon - US names nuclear attack submarine USS Colorado as first to deploy to Western Australia under AUKUS
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the US has announced the nuclear-powered attack submarine Colorado will be the first submarine to rotate to Western Australia under the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US. On the same day, Australia's federal Parliament suspended normal debate to pay tribute to independent MP Helen Haines, who lost both legs after being hit by a car, putting MPs' personal safety at the centre of attention.
Oct 27, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Helen Haines's first words after waking were concern for staff and thanks to bystanders; Parliament pauses for tributes
After independent MP for Indi Helen Haines was hit by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta last week and had both legs amputated, federal Parliament resumed on Monday, Oct 26, and suspended normal business to pay tribute to her. The independent MP for Wentworth relayed that Haines's husband said her first words after waking were to ask whether her staff were safe and to thank the bystanders and doctors who helped her. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other leaders spoke, security in public areas of Parliament House has been tightened, and police are still investigating it as a deliberate attack.
Oct 26, 2026 Afternoon - Australian Ombudsman calls aged care assessment algorithm 'unreasonable and unfair', urges law change to allow human override
An investigation by the Commonwealth Ombudsman found that the algorithm the federal government uses to decide the level of care older people receive is 'unreasonable and unfair' and lacks effective human oversight, and said the 'black box' technology had not implemented the transparency recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt scheme. The Ombudsman called for the law to be changed so that automated decisions can be overridden by a human. The Labor government faces pressure to respond on transparency and accountability.
Oct 26, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Independent MP Helen Haines loses both legs after being hit by car; Australian Parliament returns with tighter security
Helen Haines, the independent federal MP for Indi, was hit by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta last week, and police are treating it as a deliberate attack. The 65-year-old mother of three suffered severe lower-body injuries, had both legs amputated and is in a serious but stable condition. As federal Parliament returns this week, the Prime Minister will move to suspend normal business so MPs can express support for her, security in public areas of Parliament House has been increased, and police warned that inflammatory political rhetoric is directly linked to threats against politicians.
Oct 26, 2026 Morning - Drive-by shooting outside Brisbane boxing event leaves 4 shot, 19-year-old woman critical; shots fired into Sydney home with 7 children inside
Queensland police said multiple shots were fired outside Fitzy's on Bryants Road in Loganholme, south of Brisbane, at about 8:15pm on Saturday, Oct 24, while a boxing event was under way. A 19-year-old woman from Jimboomba was hit in the head and neck; police said she appeared to be an innocent bystander and was in a critical condition at Princess Alexandra Hospital. Three men aged 38, 37 and 27 were shot in the abdomen and were stable. NSW police said several shots were fired into a home on Shoreline Road in Moorebank, south-west Sydney, at about 2:30am on Sunday, Oct 25, and a car on the driveway was set alight; a 32-year-old woman and seven children aged 3 to 10 inside were unhurt. The gunman fled in a white car and police are searching for him.
Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: AFP commissioner says politicians' heated rhetoric is fuelling threats against MPs; Nationals MP says his children were threatened
Independent MP Helen Haines was seriously injured outside her Wangaratta electorate office in Victoria this week in a suspected deliberate attack and had both legs amputated; she is in a serious but stable condition at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told ABC's Insiders on Sunday, Oct 25, that the threat environment facing politicians had clearly changed, that her first task each morning was to read a summary of threats reported to the AFP in the previous 24 hours — 'some days several pages long' — and that she linked politicians' rhetoric directly to threats against MPs. She said she did not intend to police free speech or intervene in political debate. A Nationals MP said his children had previously received violent threats.
Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon - Multiple flood warnings in Queensland after days of heavy rain; Mary River north of Gympie may reach major flood level
Days of heavy rain have brought flood warnings across Queensland. The Mary River at Tiaro north of Gympie in the south-east has risen quickly past moderate flood level and may reach major flood level; more than 300 mm has fallen in parts of the Mary catchment over the past week and more than 400 mm in parts of the Sunshine Coast. Gympie's mayor said the river level was being watched closely. A 'watch and act' flood warning covers the Theresa Creek Dam catchment in the Central Highlands. An inland severe weather system is expected to move towards the south-east on Monday with more heavy rain.
Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Western Sydney International Airport opens to passengers, Australia's first major new airport in over 50 years
Western Sydney International Airport at Badgerys Creek opened to passenger traffic on Oct 25, with the first commercial flight, Jetstar JQ362, departing for the Gold Coast at 11am on a sold-out service and a first flight to Melbourne at 6pm. It is Australia's first major new airport in more than 50 years, 45 km from central Sydney and operating 24 hours a day, separate from the existing airport at Mascot. The airport began cargo operations in July, and its chief executive said annual passenger numbers could reach 82 million by the 2060s.
Oct 25, 2026 Morning - NSW Premier Chris Minns scraps Sydney train timetable changes on T4, T8 and South Coast lines after public backlash
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced on Saturday, Oct 24, that timetable changes on the T4, T8 and South Coast lines, due to take effect on Nov 15, had been scrapped; they would have affected about a quarter of Sydney train passengers. Some commutes would have become longer, for example by up to 14 minutes on the T4 line between Waterfall and the city.
Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon - Australia sanctions two North Korean individuals and two entities over 'fraudulent' IT workers funding nuclear and missile programmes
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Oct 23 that Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on two North Korean individuals and two entities accused of placing North Korean IT workers in remote jobs overseas and sending the earnings home to fund nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, in breach of UN Security Council resolutions. The two men, Sim Hyon Sop and Yu Py Ung, have been identified by US authorities as key financial intermediaries. The action was coordinated with partners including the European Union.
Oct 23, 2026 Afternoon - Australia offers astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg for International Space Station mission around 2028
The Guardian reported that the Australian government has proposed to the European Space Agency that astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, 2026 Australian of the Year, join an International Space Station mission around 2028. If it goes ahead she would be the first qualified astronaut to fly to space under the Australian flag. She has trained within the ESA system; the timetable and final crew still need confirmation by ESA and Australia.
Oct 23, 2026 Afternoon - Endangered bogong moths show strong rebound along Australia's east coast, citizen science records suggest
The Guardian reported signs of a marked recovery of the bogong moth in several states along Australia's east coast, with sightings and numbers recorded on citizen science platforms well up on recent lows. Comparable surveys led by ecologists have not yet been published. The species has been listed as endangered, and its migration is an indicator for alpine ecosystems.
Oct 23, 2026 Afternoon - Australia's Federal Court orders Apple to open iOS to alternative app stores; Fortnite returns to Australian App Store
CNA reported Epic Games said Fortnite would return to Apple's Australian App Store on Oct 22 after the Federal Court found Apple breached competition law and ordered iOS opened. The judgment found Apple had breached section 46(1) of the Competition and Consumer Act since Nov 6, 2017, and ordered alternative app stores, sideloading and third-party payments for the Australian App Store. An Apple spokesperson told Reuters the company disagreed with many of the findings and would seek a stay and appeal.
Oct 22, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after Wangaratta car attack; husband says she is alive and stable
Independent federal MP Helen Haines was hit by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria, on Monday, Oct 19. The Guardian reported that her husband told media on Oct 21 on behalf of the family that doctors had amputated her left leg on Monday and had hoped to save the right leg but could not, so she has now lost both legs; he said 'she is alive, she is stable, and that is what matters most to our family.' He said the couple mark their 40th wedding anniversary next month, and the family said donating to Save the Children is the best way to support her.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Australian Federal Police warn AI is shrinking youth radicalisation from months to days
The Guardian reported that an acting deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police told a parliamentary inquiry on Oct 21 that Australia faces a 'tsunami' of youth crime and that artificial intelligence is accelerating the speed and scale of radicalisation. She said radicalisation used to take years or months but can now happen within days, driven by AI, spreading grievances, young people searching for purpose and belonging, and increasingly sophisticated online groups; AI has lowered the technical barrier to manipulating and radicalising victims online. She said that without serious intervention Australia's mental health, education and justice systems could be overwhelmed.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Sydney Metro Southwest extension to open Oct 30, ending more than two years of replacement buses
The Guardian reported that NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Instagram on the morning of Oct 22 that the Sydney Metro southwest extension will open on Friday, Oct 30, with the first train at 4:31 am. The former T3 heavy-rail line through 10 stations from Marrickville to Bankstown closed in September 2024 for conversion to a driverless rapid-transit system, and residents have used replacement buses for more than two years. Once open, a continuous 66 km metro line will run from Tallawong in the northwest through the CBD to Bankstown in the southwest.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: alleged Helen Haines attacker denied bail; AFP says nearly one person a week charged over threats to MPs
Independent federal MP Helen Haines was hit by a car in Wangaratta, Victoria, on Oct 19. The Guardian reported that 43-year-old Brendan Nugent appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates' Court on Oct 21, was denied bail, and faces charges including dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and harming a Commonwealth public official, plus cannabis possession. Haines has had one leg amputated and remains in a critical but stable condition at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital. AFP commissioner Krissy Barrett said authorities charge almost one person a week over threats to federal MPs or senior officials; ABC Australia reported threats against MPs have roughly tripled since 2020. Federal and Victoria police said they had no prior intelligence that Nugent would attack, and Victoria announced new measures to protect politicians.
Oct 21, 2026 Afternoon - RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser says inflation outlook 'materially worse'; Nov 3 hike odds rise
The Guardian reported that Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser told an investment-bank conference in Sydney on the morning of Oct 21 that the central bank faces 'hard choices' and the inflation outlook is 'materially worse'; the board must weigh a slowing economy against fears the public no longer believes it can bring inflation back to the 2.5% target. He said inflation had been high for a long time and some in the community were unsure the bank could return it to target. After the speech, markets raised the odds of a rate rise at the Nov 3 Melbourne Cup-day meeting, which would be the fifth hike this year.
Oct 21, 2026 Afternoon - Brendan Nugent, 43, charged with three offences over alleged attack on MP Helen Haines, faces Wangaratta court
Australian federal independent MP Helen Haines was hit by a Toyota Landcruiser outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria, on Oct 19. Victoria Police said on the evening of Oct 20 that 43-year-old Tarrawingee man Brendan Nugent was charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and a federal offence of harming a Commonwealth public official, and would appear in Wangaratta Magistrates' Court on Oct 21, where police will allege a targeted attack. Haines is in a critical but stable condition at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne and has had a leg amputated; police said highway patrol officers reached the scene 8 seconds after the call, and Nugent's family said they had been friends with Haines for more than 20 years.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - ASIC probes Sydney licence holder linked to Main Group FX scheme; investors fear A$138 million lost
An ABC investigation found that more than a dozen Australian investors say they lost money to an investment scheme called Main Group FX, with total losses feared to reach A$138 million. The scheme appeared legitimate because it was an authorised representative under a Sydney firm's Australian financial services licence; the ABC found its registered address traced to a shell address in the Caribbean, a well-known Australian cricketer had been its ambassador, and its chief executive allegedly has terrorism links. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is investigating the Sydney licensee, which denies any failure in due diligence.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: MP Helen Haines loses one leg after Wangaratta car attack; doctors fight to save the other
Australian federal independent MP Helen Haines, hit by a white Toyota Landcruiser outside her electorate office on Murphy Street in Wangaratta, Victoria, on the afternoon of Oct 19, has had one leg amputated at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital; doctors are still trying to save the other, and she remains in a critical condition. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack 'deliberate'; Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the car struck her twice, and federal police called it an 'isolated incident' while considering charges including harming a Commonwealth public official, which carries up to 10 years in prison. Local media named the arrested man as 43-year-old Brendan Nugent of Tarrawingee; a passer-by barber dragged him from the car and took a knife.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - NT tables Kumanjayi Little Baby child-protection review with 45 reforms, all accepted
Northern Territory Children and Families Minister Robyn Cahill on Tuesday tabled an independent review by former NSW police commissioner Karen Webb and senior public servant Greg Shanahan into the child-protection system before the death of five-year-old Warlpiri girl Kumanjayi Little Baby. She was allegedly abducted from an Alice Springs town camp in April and found dead five days later; 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis has been charged with murder and has not yet entered a plea. The report said the department had known the family since the mother's pregnancy, received 14 domestic-violence-related notifications over six years, and still had 'serious gaps' such as failing to background-check carers; it proposed 45 reforms for a 'whole-of-system reset', all of which the government accepted.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - Sydney trial: former officer Beau Lamarre-Condon had minor surgery while charged over double killing
The NSW Supreme Court heard that former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, charged with shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his service weapon in Paddington on Feb 19, 2024 — charges he denies — underwent a pre-arranged minor procedure at St Vincent's Hospital at 7:30 am on Feb 21, was discharged about two hours later without stitches and with no obvious mobility limit; a doctor said his manner was 'not unusual'. CCTV showed him travelling between the crime scene and a Bunnings store to buy supplies. The trial continues.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - Independent MP Helen Haines critically injured after being hit by car outside Wangaratta office; PM calls it 'deliberate act'
Australian federal independent MP Helen Haines, member for Indi, was hit by a white Toyota Landcruiser outside her electorate office on Murphy Street in Wangaratta, north-east Victoria, at about 3:35 pm on Oct 19; she is in a critical condition and underwent surgery in Melbourne. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the car did a U-turn and hit her in a 'deliberate act'; federal police and the security intelligence organisation are investigating the motive and counter-terrorism police are involved. Victoria Police arrested a 43-year-old man from nearby Tarrawingee at the scene and found a knife in the car; a local barber took the knife and held him until police arrived, and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said reports of threats or harassment against politicians rose from 951 to 1,067 in the past year.
Oct 20, 2026 Morning - Western Sydney International Airport opens with no more than six daily flights for the next year
Western Sydney International Airport, a A$5.6 billion (about $4 billion) project 50 km west of Sydney's city centre, began commercial operations with a Jetstar flight to the Gold Coast as its first passenger service. Aviation data firm Cirium said it has attracted only a handful of airlines and has six or fewer scheduled flights a day for the next 12 months. Australia's biggest aviation infrastructure project in decades opened after more than half a century of political delay, environmental protests and funding shortfalls, as the Iran war pushes up fuel costs and fares and carriers including Qantas cut domestic capacity.
Oct 20, 2026 Morning - One Nation cartoon mocks Senator Jacqui Lambie's prolapse; PM and parties back Lambie
The latest episode of One Nation's 'Please Explain' political cartoon series depicts Tasmanian independent Senator Jacqui Lambie saying she 'can't laugh because of vaginal prolapse', with crude sound effects. Lambie told the Senate in August she has vaginal and bladder prolapse, needs surgery and would take five months' leave. In a statement on Oct 19 she said disclosing her condition did not make her health fair game, and that One Nation was also mocking many women with reproductive health problems. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commented 'thank you for your courage' under her Instagram statement; the Coalition and independent Senator Pocock also backed her. The Sydney Morning Herald reported One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said Lambie should 'get over it' and 'have a laugh'.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon - Sydney man arrested after allegedly telling AI chatbot Claude he planned a childcare shooting
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 29-year-old Sydney man David Lan Thackray allegedly told Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude he planned to shoot several children at a childcare centre near his home in Hurstville in southern Sydney, and referred to alleged Bondi Beach attacker Naveed Akram. Interpol flagged the chat content; he was arrested on the morning of Oct 18 and charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. Sutherland Local Court remanded him on Oct 19 for a mental health assessment; prosecutors said a bail breach would have 'catastrophic' consequences.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon - NSW government legislates Hunter Valley Mount Pleasant coal expansion after High Court voided approval
Australia's High Court had voided the expansion approval for the Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales' Hunter Valley because the assessment ignored emissions from burning Australian coal overseas. Premier Chris Minns announced on Oct 19 that the state would legislate approval for MACH Energy to raise the mine's annual output cap from 12.5 million to 16.5 million tonnes through 2032. Minns said MACH Energy had told the government that without an expanded approval it would cut about half its workforce — around 400 jobs — before Christmas.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon