Opposition pledges to undo Labor's tax-break reforms and net-zero commitments; the federal government secures extra diesel supplies to address shortages in Queensland; Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova criticises players participating in a Russian sponsored tennis tournament.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The opposition leader Angus Taylor has fronted a Liberal Party federal council meeting in Melbourne today after taking the top job in February.
- Key party policies, including stemming migration and opening the door to nuclear power, were passed by delegates with almost no opposition.
- Plans to undo Labor's tax-break reforms and net-zero commitments have dominated a key address by Mr Taylor.
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The opposition leader Angus Taylor has fronted a Liberal Party federal council meeting in Melbourne today after taking the top job in February.
Key party policies, including stemming migration and opening the door to nuclear power, were passed by delegates with almost no opposition.
Plans to undo Labor's tax-break reforms and net-zero commitments have dominated a key address by Mr Taylor.
"Anthony Albanese has started a war on aspiration. A war on the very essence of being Australian. A war on the essence of being Australian. A war on the soul of our nation. We are going to fight like hell and win this war. We are going to fight like hell and defeat this rotten Labor government."
Since his ascension, Pauline Hanson's One Nation has claimed a historic victory in the Farrer by-election and the outspoken right-wing senator has surged in popularity.
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The federal government has secured an extra 40 million litres of diesel to address a shortage of supplies in parts of Queensland.
An agreement between Export Finance Australia and independent supplier Freedom Fuels should see the shipment arrive in Brisbane in coming days.
It will then be distributed across the state to meet supply constraints in regional and independent service stations from June onwards.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the fuel is in addition to 16 shipments already secured with help from Ampol, BP, IOR and Viva Energy in response to global supply instability triggered by the Middle East conflict.
"This is the first, EFA contract we've supported through Freedom Fuels, and they will supply Woodhams, who are a distributor who exclusively focus on regional Australia. This cargo will come into Brisbane during June and will be targetted for regional Queensland. Again, that extra buffer if things get even tighter internationally, that Australia will have on hand."
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Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi has defended the Trump administration's actions in the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files before House lawmakers in Capitol Hill.
Bondi has refused to answer questions about President Donald Trump's involvement in the release of the case files, describing their release as a complicated process.
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Democrat Senator Robert Garcia California has questioned why the interview with Bondi will not be made public.
"It is a shame and a disservice to the American people that this interview is not being recorded, videotaped, and then released to the American public, and that she was not brought in under oath. We continue to say that this should be recorded by video and released to American public. And we're also asking that Chairman Comer immediately release the transcripts that right now are being done throughout today."
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Hundreds of volunteer citizen scientists are participating in New South Wales' first dolphin census.
Delivered by New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service and Dolphin Research Australia, the census aims to map dolphin populations across the state's beaches, headlands, estuaries, bays and coastal waterways.
Around 500 volunteers have already signed up to workshops conducted at various locations such as Forster, Coffs Harbour, Lennox Head, Hastings Point, the Tweed Shire, and online.
Marine Widlife Project Officer Andy Marshall says the information gathered will be highly valuable for future marine research and conservation.
"The census is taking a look at trying to fill some knowledge gaps for what most people I guess regard as a relatively common or abundant species, lots of people see dolphins when they're on the coast. But we actually have a lot of knowledge gaps. So our data which shows the distribution across the coast is actually quite limited."
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The Bureau of Meteorolgy is warning residents of Western Australia to prepare for destructive wind gusts and possible heavy downpours, flash flooding and damaging surf this weekend.
A strong cold front is forecast to sweep over western districts this evening [[Sat 30]], affecting the Central West of the state before extending southwards to parts of the Lower West and South West, including Perth
The Bureau is warning residents to tie down loose items, with the major storm system expected to bring damaging wind gusts that could exceed 125 kilometers per hour.
Senior Meteorologist at the Bureau Ilana Cherny says a second burst of strong winds is expected in coming days, along with possible thunderstorms.
"Now again that risk of thunderstorms continues into tomorrow, extending further south through the south-west tomorrow morning, then further east throughout the day. Now again we have that risk of severe thunderstorms, in particular, south west of about Perth to Albany, with that ongoing risk of damaging wind gusts, destructive wind gusts, heavy falls, and even a possible isolated tornado."
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Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova has hit out at her French Open third round opponent Diana Shnaider for competing in an exhibition tournament sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom.
State-owned Gazprom is the world's largest natural gas company and Oliynykova says their supplies support Russian attacks in Ukraine.
Shnaider participated at the St. Petersburg event in the 2024 and 2025 offseasons along with former men's World Number one Daniil Medvedev.
In response to past criticism Medvedev has previously said that individual players were entitled their own points of view.
