Relief for households with energy prices set to fall; Women linked to the IS group expected to face charges when they arrive back in Australia this evening; And in sport, a key Socceroos player out of the World Cup.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Relief for households with energy prices set to fall
- Women linked to the IS group expected to face charges when they arrive back in Australia this evening
- A key Socceroos player out of the World Cup
Energy bills for households and small businesses are forecast to fall by up to 10 per cent across parts of the eastern states.
That is because the Australian Energy Regulator has decided to set a lower final Default Market Offer, which set out the maximum amount retailers can charge on plans.
Household energy prices will fall by up to 10.7 per cent across South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland's southeast.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says cheaper power is a result of greater uptake of renewable energy.
"It is no coincidence that 50 per cent renewables and 414,396 home batteries installed under the cheaper home batter policy, which are reducing prices for them but for everyone, by reducing reliance on expensive coal and gas in the evening. And one of the biggest impacts on energy prices is those nighttime peaks.”
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The Clean Energy Council has found that while industrial and household battery purchases have more than tripled in a year, renewable energy projects are now generating almost half of Australia's electricity, taking over from coal and gas.
But the annual report found investment in new large-scale projects has halved to just $4.4 billion, with onshore wind backing falling 57 per cent.
The findings are raising fears the clean energy transition could stall just as it gains momentum.
The council is calling for faster approvals and less red tape, with renewable projects currently taking an average of 131 weeks to approve.
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US forces have struck missile sites and boats laying mines in southern Iran, threatening an already fragile ceasefire, even as top Iranian negotiators have arrived in Doha for peace talks.
Hopes for an agreement have been dealt another blow by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to "crush" Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to the fighting in Lebanon as well.
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In yet another hurdle to a peace agreement, Donald Trump has demanded Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye and Jordan normalise ties with Israel as part of efforts to reach a deal with Iran.
The US President says the host of Middle Eastern Muslim-majority nations should sign onto the Abraham Accords as a condition of any agreement.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed the deal in 2020, the first such major agreements between an Arab nation and Israel in 25 years.
But the accords are deeply unpopular across much of the Middle East because they normalise relations with Israel without resolving the Palestinian question.
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A second cohort of women linked to the Islamic State group are expected to face charges when they arrive back in Australia this evening.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the seven women - and 12 children - have made plans to travel from Syria to Australia after spending years in a Syrian refugee camp.
He has confirmed the government is providing no assistance to the group and members of the cohort would face the full force of the law.
An earlier group of four women and nine children returned to Australia at the beginning of May, with three women in that group arrested on arrival and now in custody.
Two face charges relating to slavery, and the other was charged with joining a terrorist organisation and travelling to a declared conflict zone.
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The Federal Government has announced an additional $2.6 million in funding to support survivors of the Stolen Generations.
Nearly 30 years on from the landmark Bringing Them Home report, only 5 of 83 recommendations have been implemented.
While the government has announced additional funding, advocates say redress is about more than just financial compensation.
Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung Senator, Lidia Thorpe, says the government needs to implement the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report.
"Sorry means you don't do it again, but what do you know? We have 24,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care in 2026 It is still happening. It is still real, and babies are still being ripped out of their mother's arms."
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Pivotal Socceroos attacker Riley McGree has been ruled out of the World Cup after tearing his hamstring.
The 27-year-old, who is among Australia's most creative and influential players, hurt his left hamstring in Middlesbrough's loss to Hull City in the English Championship playoff on Saturday.
It's a crushing blow to Australia just three weeks from their opener against Türkiye.
Australia must submit its final 26-man squad to FIFA by June 1, with their World Cup campaign opening in Vancouver on June 14.
