Minns calls out federal tobacco tax for driving illegal sales
Jordyn Beazley
The NSW premier has called out the federal government’s tobacco tax, saying the biggest supporters of it are “probably organised crime figures”, given it is driving consumers to purchase illegal tobacco.
Chris Minns told reporters a little earlier he did see the public health benefit of the tobacco excise, but he said the “massive increase” had not stopped people from smoking. He said:
The federal government’s not getting the excise that they thought they would …
The massive excise increase to tobacco has meant that people haven’t stopped smoking. They’ve just transferred their sales into illegal tobacco sales, which I don’t think is helping New South Wales or any other state. So my view is, let’s have a look at this policy, and is it working.
I understand the reasons for it. I’m completely in support of public health messaging, but you’d be crazy to just turn a blind eye to the proliferation of illegal tobacco sales and think to yourself, isn’t there a better way of allocating public [money].
Key events
Albanese says Australia will decide what it needs on defence spending
The prime minister was asked about US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s call that Australia increase its military spending to 3.5% of the country’s GDP as we reported earlier. Albanese reiterated Australia would make its own decisions on how best to invest in defense. He said:
What you should do in defence is decide what you need, your capability, and then provide for it. That’s what my Government is doing. Investing to our capability and investing in our relationships. That’s what we’re doing.
That’s what we’ll continue to do.
Albanese: ‘Climate change is real and we need to respond to it’
The prime minister has said that while Australia has always had droughts and flooding rains, “the truth is that there are more extreme weather events, and they’re more intense now”. He went on:
Science told us that that was the case. The science has been proven, unfortunately, to be playing out …
The thing is that climate change is real and we need to respond to it. And we need, I think, to respond to it across the board. That’s why my government has a comprehensive plan to deal with climate change.
SA premier on ‘the driest start of any year’ in the state
SA premier Peter Malinauskas has said the state’s farmers are struggling after yet another dry year. He said:
We haven’t just seen the driest start of the year, we’ve seen the driest start of any year on the back of a very dry year last year. In fact, in many places it’s the driest on record.
So this is a combination of a bad run for a couple of years in a row.
Albanese government will boost counselling support for farmers amid drought in SA
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, just announced the government will provide more funding for the Rural Financial Counselling Service to support farmers affected by drought in South Australia and other southern regions. Parts of the state have recorded record-low rainfall on the back of another extraordinarily dry year, with some farm dams drying out.
Albanese spoke to the media from Fischer, SA:
We know that at times like this, it has a real impact on mental health, and that is understandable. People put their heart and soul into their farms.
It’s not just a business, it’s a way of life.
Catie McLeod
Coles to cut prices of hundreds of items after Woolworths reductions
Coles has announced it will reduce the prices of 307 grocery items from Wednesday in categories including meat, cleaning products and frozen goods.
In addition to expanding the number of products included in its “Down Down” promotion, the supermarket giant has also said its customers will collect 10x bonus Flybuys points every time they shop from a selected range of more than 800 products in June.
Coles’ announcement comes about a fortnight after rival Woolworths announced it would cut prices on hundreds of items.
The Woolworths announcement raised hopes the supermarket sector could be entering a new period of intensifying competition, after intense public scrutiny amid the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s inquiry into the sector.
Some media outlets have reported the Coles and Woolworths announcements as a “price war”. But, as Guardian Australia has previously reported, the issue is more nuanced:
Smartraveller site updates advice for travel to Indonesia to address drownings, drinks and crocodiles
The Australian government has updated warnings for travel to Indonesia, urging tourists to be wary of rough seas and strong rip currents, as well as dangerous drinks.
The updated guidance on the Smartraveller website – which lists Indonesia as a destination to exercise a “high degree of caution” over – notes many beaches are not patrolled, including in Bali. Australians have drowned in coastal areas and saltwater crocodiles are in rivers throughout Indonesia.
Officials also note that drinks may be spiked or mixed with toxic substances and urged travellers to be alert to the risks of methanol poisoning via alcoholic drinks.
Cases of methanol poisoning in drinks have previously been reported in Indonesia, including in Bali and Lombok.
Lambie says it would be ‘nice’ to up military spending, but focus should be on waste
Tasmania senator Jacqui Lambie told Sky News this morning that it would be “nice” to lift defence spending after US Pentagon secretary called on Australia to up funding to 3.5% of the country’s GDP. But Lambie said it would be better to focus on the way money is already being spent on the military here.
I think it’s about waste. We waste so much money. We have a lot of waste going on in defence.
She pointed to the ongoing cost to buy nuclear submarines as one example.
You’ve only got to see those submarines, mate. Four billion dollars so far and we haven’t got one scrap of bloody steel sitting in a harbour yet ready to go. I mean, that is just disgusting waste at its best.
Jordyn Beazley
Raising cigarette taxes and the tobacco wars
In an effort to stop people from smoking, the Australian government has steadily increased the tobacco tax in recent years.
While it has effectively curbed the rates of smoking, it has contributed to a separate problem. As the price of cigarettes has increased during a cost-of-living crisis, criminals have sold illicit tobacco at lower prices, undercutting the legal market. Rival gangs have competed to control the black market trade.
My colleague Henry Belot has an explainer here on how money going to government coffers has dropped as people buy cheaper and illegal cigarettes:
Minns calls out federal tobacco tax for driving illegal sales
Jordyn Beazley
The NSW premier has called out the federal government’s tobacco tax, saying the biggest supporters of it are “probably organised crime figures”, given it is driving consumers to purchase illegal tobacco.
Chris Minns told reporters a little earlier he did see the public health benefit of the tobacco excise, but he said the “massive increase” had not stopped people from smoking. He said:
The federal government’s not getting the excise that they thought they would …
The massive excise increase to tobacco has meant that people haven’t stopped smoking. They’ve just transferred their sales into illegal tobacco sales, which I don’t think is helping New South Wales or any other state. So my view is, let’s have a look at this policy, and is it working.
I understand the reasons for it. I’m completely in support of public health messaging, but you’d be crazy to just turn a blind eye to the proliferation of illegal tobacco sales and think to yourself, isn’t there a better way of allocating public [money].
Josh Taylor
Transparency can help build trust in AI, Business Council says
AI fears must not be dismissed, BCA said, but trust must be built through transparency, robust governance and regulatory frameworks, clear ethical guidelines and demonstrating how risks are identified and managed.
We need a national conversation, grounded in facts, that addresses fears while focusing on the massive potential for positive transformation.
To that end, the BCA has suggested the development of an AI safety institute. BCA chief executive Bran Black said:
We need to be training more AI specialists, data scientists and engineers, while also educating the entire workforce on how we can improve the day-to-day work experience.
Even if we apply AI to just the ‘boring but essential’ parts of our economy – like payroll processing or document analysis – the dividends to consumers and businesses could be significant.
BCA calls for regulations on artificial intelligence but says Australia has ‘AI anxiety’
Josh Taylor
The Business Council of Australia has called on the government to regulate AI, but has warned that fear of AI in Australia risks over-regulation of the technology.
In a report released on Monday, BCA called for “clear, practical and risk-based” regulation to encourage AI innovation, as well as making it easier for datacentre constructions to be approved, stating that Australia has “vast land resources” that can be used for datacentres for AI.
The report notes, however, that Australia has “AI anxiety”, which the lobby group argues could lead to over-regulation.
The report states:
Crucially, we must confront Australia’s AI anxiety head-on. Australians, more than people in many other countries, express nervousness about AI. Australians are the least optimistic in the world about AI, and we struggle to believe its rewards will outweigh the risks.
Queensland premier won’t walk away from net zero targets despite some Coalition hand-wringing
Queensland premier David Crisafulli said he will not walk away from net zero targets and instead support a sustainable approach to support both the state’s agriculture industry and invest in renewable energy.
Crisafulli spoke to the ABC this morning, as some in the Coalition are debating support for net zero, and addressed questions about how he could support the tourism industry – centred on the Great Barrier Reef – and gas exploration. The premier stressed his government would ensure there were “hard no-go areas” to protect the environment, but said he believes Queensland can do things “environmentally sustainably.” He told the ABC:
We do believe there is a way we can do our energy transition in a calm and methodical way. … We are very, very ambitious about gas as a transition fuel and we are looking at storage options to make sure we bring renewable energy into the grid. That is part of an affordable energy mix.
Tom McIlroy
Chalmers says natural disasters will be $2.2bn hit to federal budget
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says recent natural disasters – including the New South Wales floods and Cyclone Alfred in Queensland – will deliver a $2.2bn hit to the federal budget.
Treasury analysis released this morning shows the overall immediate loss in economic activity, which is expected to affect the March quarter ahead of Wednesday’s National accounts data release.
Partial data for the March quarter showed the impact in retail trade and household spending. Nominal retail trade in Queensland fell 0.3% in February and 0.4% in March. Chalmers said:
Our government’s first priority is helping to fund the recovery and rebuild for communities hit hard by all the heavy weather we’re seeing more and more frequently.
The human impacts matter to us most, but the economic cost is very significant too and we’ll see that in Wednesday’s national accounts.
Because of the progress Australians have made together in the economy, with inflation down, debt down and unemployment low, we’re in a stronger position to provide support when communities need it most.
You can read more here:
Pedestrian in Perth in critical condition after collision with e-scooter
A 51-year-old man is in critical condition after a collision with an e-scooter this weekend.
WA Police have charged a woman, 24, with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, under the influence of alcohol. She was treated by paramedics for minor injuries after the collision, but did not require hospitalisation. Another passenger on the scooter was also treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the hospital.
The woman is set to appear in court later today.
Jack Snape
Football Australia set to reveal new Matildas coach
Football Australia is set to end 10 months of uncertainty by appointing widely respected Melbourne-born women’s football specialist Joe Montemurro to lead the Matildas towards next year’s home Asian Cup.
FA has called a press conference for Monday morning when the interim chief executive, Heather Garriock, is expected to be joined by Montemurro.
The 55-year-old Montemurro has won trophies with Arsenal, Juventus and Lyon in a distinguished career in Europe, having broken through in the professional coaching ranks with stints at Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the W-League more than a decade ago.
Queensland woman charged over daughter’s murder dies in hospital
A mother accused of fatally stabbing her three-year-old daughter has died after being found unresponsive while in custody.
Lauren Ingrid Flanigan, 32, died in hospital on Sunday after being found unresponsive in her cell at Brisbane Women’s correctional centre, Queensland police confirmed.
Flanigan suffered a medical emergency in her cell on Friday night and was rushed to Princess Alexandra hospital in Brisbane.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Read more here:
Surf lifesavers still searching for possible missing person at Port Kembla
Surf lifesavers will continue to search for a possible missing person after hearing reports of a person in distress in the water at Port Kembla on Sunday.
Surf Life Saving NSW helped respond to reports of an overturned vessel in the area and were advised a person was face down in the water. A second person managed to escape the water on their own, but officials were unable to locate the first individual.
Both were wearing lifejackets, but the potential missing person had theirs knocked off by the surf.
Officials warned of strong, dangerous conditions this weekend across the state and volunteers responded to a number of incidents with people requiring assistance. SLSNSW’s CEO, Steve Pearce, said in a statement:
I implore the public to really think before heading to the coastline at the moment. We’re seeing some really dangerous conditions and it’s making activities, particularly rock fishing, unsafe.
