A brown skua found sick near Esperance tested positive to highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza on June 20, ending Australia's status as the only continental landmass free of the strain. By June 27, confirmed cases had spread to South Australia with a fifth case suspected.
Australia's CPI fell to 4 per cent annually in May, driven largely by an 11.9 per cent drop in fuel prices from the temporary excise cut. But the trimmed mean, which strips out volatile items and is what the Reserve Bank watches, rose from 3.4 to 3.6 per cent.
Fewer than half of homes offered at auction sold last week, with the national clearance rate of 47.4 per cent the weakest reading since the pandemic's first lockdowns in April 2020, as federal budget changes to negative gearing reduce investor appetite.
A unanimous High Court ruling has invalidated Part 12 of Victoria's Electoral Act 2002, leaving the state temporarily without any valid donation disclosure framework after the court found the law unlawfully favoured major parties over independents.
