CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 21 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following transcript: Note Subject: Economic Reform Roundtable, tax, productivity, road user charge Jim Chalmers: Thanks, everyone. I wanted to start where I finished the meeting a few minutes ago and say this: it's a real privilege to govern or help govern a country like ours at a time of such rapid and consequential change. And at the front of all of our minds around that Cabinet room table, not just over the last 3days, but e...
CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 21 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following transcript: Note Subjects: Economic Reform Roundtable, tax, road user charge Sarah Ferguson: Jim Chalmers, welcome to 7.30. Jim Chalmers: Thanks Sarah, always happy to be the warm‑up act for Jacob Greber. Ferguson: Well, thank you for that. Now obviously there's a lot to get through, but let me start with tax. You've acknowledged the tax system is fundamentally unfair to younger workers compared to older Aust...
CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 21 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release: This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force Editor's note: Seizure vision and images available via Hightail. The AFP is calling for public assistance after 350kg of methamphetamine, worth an estimated $323 million, was detected and seized from a container in Sydney. The Australian Border Force (ABF) intercepted the container and examined it in April 2025...
CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 21 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release: This is a joint release between the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Editor's note: Vision of search warrant available via Hightail. The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) has charged a second man over the alleged Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack in December 2024. The Meadow Heights man, 20, has been charged with criminal damag...
CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 21 -- Geoscience Australia issued the following news release: Aftershocks are possible A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit south eastern Queensland at 9.49 AM on Saturday 16 August, near the town of Kilkivan and around 40 kilometres west of Gympie. The earthquake was widely felt across the east coast of Australia, with over 24,000 felt reports registered. Seismologist Dr Michelle Salmon said that the earthquake was felt as far south as Wollongong and as far north as Cairns. W...
CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 20 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following transcript: Jim Chalmers: Welcome everyone to day 2 of the Economic Reform Roundtable. I wanted to begin really with my thanks for the way that people engaged yesterday in a really constructive way. Not always reflected in the coverage of yesterday, but don't be deterred by that. Yesterday I think we saw some really welcome signs of developing consensus around a number of really important areas. Whether it be capital fl...
Belconnen, ACT, Aug. 20 -- ACT Policing issued the following media release: ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to a suspicious fire that occurred at a building in Ainslie early yesterday morning. About 4:30am on Tuesday (19 August 2025), police attended a building fire atWakefield Gardens in Ainslie. ACT Fire & Rescue were already in attendance and extinguished the fire. Following an examination of the scene, police suspect that the fire was deliberately lit at around 1:30am that morning. To...
CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 20 -- The Prime Minister of Australia issued the following media release: Game-changing testing for brevetoxins in shellfish will soon be able to be carried out at a new national testing facility in suburban Adelaide, fast tracking results for small businesses impacted by South Australia's algal bloom. As part of the $28 million algal bloom support package jointly funded with the Albanese Government, the Malinauskas Government has engaged local company Agilex Biolabs to dev...
Australia, Aug. 19 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on July 18: 1. Mr Mathew James Cole (also known as 'Matthew Webb'), the offender, is before the Court for sentencing following his plea of guilty to a charge (seq 5) that on 16 October 2023 at Bevendale, he drove at a dangerous speed occasioning death of another person, Lynn Keyworth, contrary to s 52A(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years' impri...
Australia, Aug. 19 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on July 18: 1. It is accepted that, between 24 November 2022 and 13 February 2022, James Terence Rebbeck ("the Offender") born 3 October 2024 engaged in online communications with a number of unknown people over the encrypted messaging Telegram, during the course of which he: 1) Solicited child abuse material from a person between 24 November 2022 and 27 November 2022 (Count 1); 2) Accessed...