The regulator asked to investigate energy price increases, A mission to evacuate stranded sailors in the Strait of Hormuz, A goalless draw in the World Cup game between England and Ghana.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The regulator asked to investigate energy price increases...
- A mission to evacuate stranded sailors in the Strait of Hormuz...
- A goalless draw in the World Cup game between England and Ghana.
Energy minister Chris Bowen says he has asked power companies to explain why some prices are set to increase from July 1 - and whether that is a breach of misconduct laws.
Notices sent to customers by energy retailers foreshadow increased rates from July, including a rise in the daily fixed charges for some customers of up to 86 per cent.
According to the Australian Energy Regulator’s final offer for 2026-27, households in most parts of the country are supposed to see prices fall up to 10 per cent.
Mr Bowen says he has asked the regulator [[the Australian competition and consumer commission]] to investigate whether there has been any legal breaches.
"We have seen some companies - not all - far from it, some companies choose to fixed supply costs, while reducing their per kilowatt hour cost. Now, what I have asked the regulators to do is to have a look at - and ensure that complies particularly with misconduct and energy market laws, which requires companies to pass on sustained reductions in energy costs in their bills. And also to look at the way companies are communicating this."
Social services minister Tanya Plibersek says paid parental leave is a policy that would not be in safe hands of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
Ms Hanson has clarified her controversial remarks on paid parental leave after appearing to oppose it during her first National Press Club address.
The Queensland senator says her comments have been taken out of context and she has no intention of getting rid of it.
In a week government-funded paid parental leave will be expanded from 120 days to 130 days.
Ms Plibersek says she is proud that Labor introduced Australia's paid parental leave scheme in 2011 - and it is important that it is protected.
"Well you know there was no paid parental leave before Labor introduced it. And since coming to government in 2022 we have more than doubled paid parental leave. What I would say is that there is a risk to paid parental leave. If you look at the way the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation have responded to paid parental leave over the years; we need to protect what we already have."
The International Energy Agency says UAE oil exports have increased to 85 per cent of pre-war levels, as the broader outlook for Gulf region and the globe remains grim.
The data for early June says oil exports for the country amount to 4.3 million barrels per day - compared to 1.9 million barrels per day in March.
The report by the IEA attributes the turnaround to measures, including bypassing the Strait of the Hormuz with another transport route: a pipeline that originates at Abu Dhabi's main field and ends at a reservoir in Fujairah in the UAE.
The UAE announced its decision to withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in April, ending nearly 60 years of membership of the oil cartel.
A United Nations agency says an evacuation plan is starting that will see 11,000 stranded sailors transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The International Maritime Organization announced the plan, which includes instructions from Oman on how ships could travel through the strait.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric says the operation will be carried out with the cooperation of Iran, Oman, the United States and the maritime industry.
"The IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, said IMO secured the necessary safety guarantees and thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations. The operation marks a significant step towards alleviating the humanitarian impact of the crisis on thousands of seafarers who've endured months of uncertainty, months of unrestricted movements, and mounting welfare concerns."
Australian musicians are paying tribute to Daryl Braithwaite's career of almost six decades, after he announced he will no longer perform live.
Braithwaite became an industry legend first with Sherbet and then as a solo act, best known for his version of Rickie Lee Jones' The Horses as well as the hits As The Days Go By and One Summer.
He was inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 2017 and says the physical challenges of singing and performing live played a part in his decision to retire.
Neither England nor Ghana were able to score a goal in their World Cup match, but both teams will each earn a point to lead group L.
England had 78.8 per cent possession against Ghana, the highest figure by a side who failed to score in a game since records began.
England coach Thomas Tuchel says it was a tough match - and he regrets the missed chances.
"If it should drop to anybody. It should drop to Harry. That's normally a clear goal for us. It was a big chance and then a double chance. It would have been deserved, but it was difficult. We knew it before that it cane be difficult. If you don't open it up with a goal. It is a game of patience. And it is difficult to inject intensity because it is such a low block. I think at the end of each half, we had them. We found our rhythm, found our intensity. The longer the half went, we could not just get the reward."
