News and politics live updates: Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomes inflation slowing to 3.8 per cent in June

Angus Taylor has not yet reached six months as Liberal leader and is now facing uncomfortable questions about links to a right-wing Christian group under investigation by the corruption watchdog in New South Wales.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption has this week begun public hearings into alleged Liberal party branch stacking and donation breaches, by examining the workings of a shadowy conservative faction known as the “NSW Reformers”.

During sensational evidence on Tuesday, Mr Taylor’s name emerged in text messages sent between Reformers members in 2021 which detailed his apparent agreement to hand over large donations.

“No payment was made,” the Opposition Leader insisted during a visit to Queensland on Wednesday when he was repeatedly questioned about the claims made in the ICAC hearing.

On five occasions the federal member for the New South Wales seat of Hume denied making donations to the group led by his close associate and Catholic Schools boss Dallas McInerney.

“I’ll let the commission do its job,” Mr Taylor told reporters, again insisting he was “not a party to proceedings” and would not be giving a “running commentary”.

Read the full story here.

A military prosecution of a senior Australian naval figure is prompting concerns across global defence companies with industry figures revealing the sensitive matter is now being discussed at international crisis meetings.

The Nightly this month revealed details of the case involving a “star ranked officer” and lucrative contracts in Western Australia which transparency experts warn could remain hidden from public view.

Over the weekend The West Australian revealed the corruption watchdog had also been asked to examine the allegations, but the matter was ultimately handed back to the Defence Department for investigation.

A trial period of up to six weeks has been set down for the court martial which is scheduled to begin at a Canberra defence facility in September and be heard before the ADF’s Chief Judge Advocate, Maj-Gen. Michael Cowen KC.

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Federal authorities have confirmed local transmission of bird flu in South Australia, as testing continues on suspected cases of the H5N1 virus.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said 11 further greater crested terns (large sea birds) from South Australia had returned “suspect positives” for the H5N1 virus following testing at a state laboratory.

The samples have now been sent to the CSIRO for confirmatory testing.

The update comes after 27 confirmed detections of H5 bird flu across Australia to date, including 10 cases in Western Australia, 14 in South Australia, two in New South Wales and one in Queensland.

While there has been no evidence of mass bird deaths, Ms Collins warned further detections in Australian wildlife are expected.

“While there remains no evidence of any mass mortalities at this point in time, we do expect, with this local transmission, that there will be further detections in Australian wildlife,” she said.

Ms Collins stressed there had still been no detections of bird flu in Australia’s poultry or agricultural industries, and the risk to human health remained low.

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Opposition Leader Angus Taylor denies ever giving money to a conservative Christian group which is under investigation by the New South Wales corruption watchdog over alleged Liberal party branch stacking and donation breaches.

Mr Taylor has again stressed he is “not a party to the proceedings”, while fellow Liberals have sidestepped questions about the inquiry by insisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption should be left to do its work.

The Opposition Leader was dragged into the investigation on Tuesday when the ICAC was shown old text messages referencing Mr Taylor’s apparent agreement to give large donations to a group known as the NSW Reformers.

Read the full story here.

There’s a bloke I once worked with who thinks AI can solve just about anything, from writing his emails and reports to practically telling him what to think. What he doesn’t realise is that every email or report he gets AI to write for him is glaringly obvious.

I’m happy to give AI the boring stuff. But it will never replace human judgement. The Federal Government, it turns out, understands that when it comes to creatives.

But it seems far less interested in everyone else.

A few weeks ago the Government released a policy on protecting Australians from AI, which sets rules for the data centres that power AI, and promises Australian writers, artists and journalists will keep ownership of their work.

It’s a genuine protection, and a great one. But what it missed entirely was the danger of companies using AI to do their own work.

There’s nothing in it about accountability, disclosure, or checking before you sell work done by AI to someone else.

Read more.

Pauline Hanson has laid out the key priorities she says would define the first 100 days of a One Nation government if the minor party were to win the 2028 federal election.

The One Nation leader unveiled the agenda, which includes plans to slash immigration numbers, abolish Welcome to Country ceremonies, wind back government and dismantle climate policies, during an interview on Tuesday night.

Appearing on News24’s Paul Murray Live: Pauline Hanson, Please Explain segment, Ms Hanson revealed details of her vision as she fielded questions directly from voters.

​Read the full story here. ​

American and Saudi armed forces have conducted “precision strikes” on Iran-linked terrorist sites in Iraq.

The terrorists had been instructed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM).

“U.S and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response” to attacks in the last 72 hours, CENTCOM said.

“The unwarranted attacks against U.S. forces were not successful.”

There were more than 600 attempted attacks on US citizens and facilities by Iran-backed militia in Iraq from February through April, it said.

CENTCOM warned: “The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S military response.”

Westpac is calling off forecasts of any more rate hikes in 2026 after inflation fell to levels last seen before the Iran war.

Chief economist Luci Ellis said the big four bank was no longer expecting Reserve Bank increases in August and September that would have taken the cash rate to an 18-year high of 4.85 per cent.

“We no longer expect rate hikes by the RBA this year,” the former RBA assistant govenor said.

“Inflation has been more benign than we feared and the RBA forecast.”

None of Australia’s big four banks are now forecasting rate hikes in 2026, and are all predicting cuts next year.

Headline inflation in June fell to 3.8 per cent, down from 4 per cent in May, to be the lowest since February before the Iran war.

Nonetheless, it still marked the 11th consecutive month above the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target.

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says Labor’s high spending risked sparking another interest rate hike despite inflation falling to the lowest level since before the Iran war.

Economists are still expecting another rate hike in 2026 despite headline inflation for June falling to 3.8 per cent, down from 4 per cent, to be at the lowest level since February before the US strikes on Iran.

But Mr Wilson emphasised how government spending was keeping it above the Reserve Bank’s 2-3 per cent target, citing a luncheon answer from RBA governor Michele Bullock on Tuesday.

“Yesterday the Reserve Bank Governor directly linked government spending to inflation, and this data confirms the Albanese government’s spending addiction risks higher interest rates,” he said.

Ms Bullock on Tuesday confirmed that government spending was adding to overall demand in the economy.

“So, I refrain from offering advice on that, but mechanically you’re right,” she told an Anika Foundation lunch.

“It’s part of aggregate demand and that’s another way to bring aggregate demand, what do you spend less on, that’s for governments.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has welcomed inflation moderating to the slowest level since February before the Iran war.

Headline inflation fell to 3.8 per cent in June, down from 4 per cent in May.

“This is the third consecutive month where annual headline inflation has moderated,” he said.

“It’s an encouraging outcome that shows we’ve made progress on inflation since the Budget, even in the face of intense global uncertainty.”

Dr Chalmers noted inflation was below Treasury and Reserve Bank expectations.

“This means that inflation has come in lower than expected, lower than forecast in the Budget or by the Reserve Bank,” he said.