TRANSCRIPT
The Prime Minister says he has put a strong case for Australian tariff exemptions to the United States, as the start date for a 25 percent duty on steel and aluminium imports draws closer.
The PM has given the reassurance during a visit to Shellharbour on the New South Wales south coast, part of the seat Finance Minister Stephen Jones is retiring from and where around 3000 people are directly employed in steel manufacturing.
Anthony Albanese says he accepts Donald Trump's assurances that an exemption would be given strong consideration.
The PM says he has also taken note of the US President's pronouncement earlier today that the US will also impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners going forward.
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Anglicare Australia has called for the re-introduction of inheritance taxes.
The so-called estate tax was abolished in Australia in the late 1990s, though Former Treasury secretary Ken Henry extolled its benefits in his landmark tax review under the Rudd Labor government.
Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers say it's time to bring it back.
She says Australia's tax burden has increasingly fallen on working Australians through personal income tax, while assets attract generous concessions.
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The Australian Federal Police say they are flipping the script on romance scammers this Valentine’s Day by revealing the real-life dialogue used to target the bank accounts – and hearts – of thousands of potential victims online.
The script has been uncovered during an operation to bring down a scam compound in the Philippines which the AFP says targeted Australians via online dating apps.
AFP Commander Graeme Marshall says the scammers portrayed a kind-hearted Filipino woman living in Australia or a local female in the Philippines, who would subtly introduce cryptocurrency trading into the conversation and frame it as a successful financial venture that helped them achieve significant wealth.
He says he hopes releasing this information helps people to avoid being taken advantage of.
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U-S President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have foreshadowed closer economic and security ties between their two countries.
The two men have met at the White House, with Mr Trump says Mr Modi has agreed to start talks addressing what Mr Trump says is a long-running disparity in trade between the two nations.
Mr Modi says they are targeting nearly 800 billion dollars in bilateral trade between the two nations by 2030.
The leaders also say their two nations will fight Islamic extremism together, and Mr Modi has thanked Mr Trump for allowing the extradition of a person allegedly involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Mr Trump says the U-S will sell its most expensive fighter jet to India.
Mr Modi has also met with Elon Musk in Washington.
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Australian driver Oscar Piastri has declared he believes this is the year he can become the world champion.
If he makes it, he would become the first home world champion since Alan Jones in 1980.
The Australian finished fourth in the Formula One championship last year after winning two grand prix races.
But he says he expects to accomplish much more this year, beginning with a season start at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in a month's time.
