Suspected H5 bird flu in NSW seabird, first for the state
A sick seabird found near Hawks Nest has returned a preliminary positive for H5 avian influenza, the first suspected case in NSW. Confirmatory testing is under way and no poultry is infected.
National
Page 4 of 4Coles and Woolworths face new price-gouging ban from July 1
A law making it illegal for Australia's two largest supermarkets to charge significantly excessive grocery prices took effect on July 1. Only Coles and Woolworths meet the $30 billion revenue threshold, and the ACCC can pursue penalties of up to the greater of $10 million, three times the benefit gained, or 10 per cent of turnover.
Australia to double fines on Big Tech after children bypass under-16 social media ban
The federal government will raise maximum penalties from $49.5 million to $99 million after the eSafety Commissioner found seven in ten under-16s with existing accounts still had some access to banned platforms, six months after the world-first ban took effect.
Australia records first H5 bird flu cases as migratory seabirds test positive across two states
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.
Headline inflation falls to 4% but the RBA's preferred measure heads the other way
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.
Home auction clearance rates fall to lowest since COVID as buyers pull back
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.
High Court strikes down Victoria's political donations regime, putting federal laws in its shadow
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.
