1m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 5:09am
Ayres says today’s wage data still represents pay bump for many workers
Industry and Science Minister Tim Ayres has joined Afternoon Briefing where he has been quizzed about today’s wages data.
The Wage Price Index for the 12 months to December 2025 rose 3.4 per cent — lower than inflation for the same period of 3.8 per cent.
Despite that, the industry minister says the data still represents a wage increase for many workers.
“We want to see wages continue to grow at around the rate they are. We’re seeing that, That’s delivering real benefits for Australian workers,” Ayres says.
“Of course, tackling inflation and those cost of living pressures is and will continue to be throughout the year a key focus of the whole government and in particular the economic team,” he says.
16m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 4:55amAlbanese will speak to Laos PM about methanol poisonings next week
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just phoned into Melbourne’s 3AW where he’s been asked if he’s apologised to the families of two teenagers who died from methanol poisoning in Laos.
Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, died after a mass methanol poisoning incident at the he Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng in 2024.
The families say they learned 10 people linked to the hostel were fined less than $200 after being convicted of destroying evidence.
The prime minister says he’s expressed to the family that the foreign affairs department should have done better in keeping the them informed.
Albanese says the federal government has appointed a special envoy to the case to get to the bottom of what happened.
He says he’ll be talking with the Laos prime minister next week.
“My my heart breaks. No one should lose their child in any circumstance, let alone under these these circumstances,” Albanese says.
27m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 4:44amBreaking: Australian citizen linked to ISIS temporarily blocked from returning home
An Australian citizen linked to ISIS fighters has been temporarily blocked from returning home from a Syrian camp.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has issued an Temporary Exclusion Order (TEO) against one individual in a cohort of Australians seeking to leave the Al Roj camp in north-eastern Syria.
A group of 34 Australians, including 11 women and 23 children, left the camp earlier this week with the intention of travelling to Australia via Damascus.
But they were forced to turn around after Syrian authorities said their journey had not been properly coordinated with officials.
In a statement, Burke says the action against the individual was taken on the advice of Australia’s security agencies.
“At this stage security agencies have not provided advice that other members of the cohort meet the required legal thresholds for temporary exclusion orders,” Burke says.
2h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 3:05am
Chalmers doesn’t have an issue with PM’s criticism of Phillip Lowe
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he doesn’t have an issue with the prime minister’s comments about Phillip Lowe earlier today.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this morning dismissed Lowe’s criticism of government spending, made in an article in the Australian Financial Review, and accused the former Reserve Bank governor of wanting to get his name in the paper.
The treasurer says he respects the former RBA governor, but has backed the PM’s comments.
“He’s the former Reserve Bank governor and has his name in the paper. I don’t have any issue with what the prime minister said,” Chalmers says.
2h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 2:59amChalmers takes a swipe at former RBA governor Phillip Lowe
Former Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has told the Australian Financial Review that federal government spending is contributing to higher interest rates, low wage growth and stagnation in living standards.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he hasn’t engaged in criticism of Lowe’s record as Reserve Bank governor and the decisions he took at the helm of the central bank.
He’s then taken a swipe at the former RBA governor, saying Lowe has aired criticism of the government after not being reappointed as governor.
“Obviously I think it is a matter of public record Phil Lowe would have liked to have been reappointed by the government,” Chalmers says.
“After he wasn’t reappointed he’s become a fairly persistent critic of the Labor government in the pages of the Financial Review and elsewhere. I think to some extent that’s just human nature. I understand that,” he says.
Chalmers has then proceeded to defend the federal government’s handling of the budget.
2h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 2:52am
Jim Chalmers welcomes wage price index figures released today
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has stepped up for a press confernece in Brisbane to talk about wages data released today.
Wages rose 3.4 per cent for the year to December, powered by a 0.8 per cent lift in the quarter, but below inflation.
Chalmers has spruiked the fact that wages have grown higher than 3 per cent for 14 quarters in a row.
“We have seen two years now of annual real wages growth before this quarter, remembering that real wages were falling by 3.5 per cent when we came to office,” Chalmers says.
“We see strong and sustainable wages growth as part of the solution to cost-of-living pressures, not part of the problem,” he says.
2h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 2:42am
Crisafulli says current GST carve-up leaves Queensland short
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli says he thinks the current GST carve-up leaves his state short.
The premier says once population and distance factors are considered, his state has gone backwards in real terms.
Crisafulli says the last carve-up was “really bad” for Queensland, while Western Australia was the biggest beneficiary.
He’s pledged to dial up the lobbying for a bigger share of the GST pie the next time it is negotiated.
“I’m here to say that the pie has not been reflective of our pressures and we’ll make that a big issue front and centre. It’s really important for us. We went backwards to the tune of several billion at the worst possible time,” Crisafulli says.
And that’s where we’ll leave the National Press Club for today.
2h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 2:26am
Why won’t Qld participate in the national gun buyback scheme?
David Crisafulli has been asked why his government has refused to take part in a national gun buyback scheme, announced by the prime minister in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Queensland will not participate in the federal government’s buyback scheme, joining the Northern Territory and Tasmania.
The state has the second-highest rate of gun ownership in the country.
The Queensland premier says he’s determined for the state to go its own way, and prevent high-risk individuals from having guns.
“What we’re doing is we’re making sure that we’re dealing with people who want to print 3-D guns. We’re putting that front and centre,” Crisafulli says.
Asked if he thinks Queensland’s current laws will potentially prevent a future Wieambilla shooting incident, Crisafulli says his government is focused on ensuring on people who shouldn’t have guns don’t have them.
2h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 2:18am
Crisafulli says Hanson’s comments on Muslims are ‘blanket statements’
David Crisafulli says he doesn’t agree with comments made by One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson on Muslims.
In an interview on Sky News on Monday, the One Nation leader said there were no “good” Muslims, and that Muslims hated Westerners.
The senator from Queensland issued a partial apology for those comments this morning on ABC News Breakfast this morning.
The Queensland premier says he doesn’t engage with the extremes of politics, and that Hanson’s comments were “blanket statements”.
But Crisafulli says he does believe there is a reasonable conversation to have about the rate of migration to Australia.
“If you’re asking me whether or not migration is an important part of our story as a country, the [answer] is absolutely yes, but if you’re asking whether or not there should be a conversation around the numbers and the delivery of infrastructure to make sure that Australians can benefit from that migration, of course there is,” Crisafulli says.
3h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 2:03am
Queensland to bid to host Quad leaders summit, Crisafulli says
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli says his state will bid to host the next Quad leaders summit when it’s Australia’s turn.
The Quad is a partnership between Australia, Japan, India and the United States aimed at pushing back against China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
Crisafulli says the Commonwealth will back his bid to host the summit when it’s Australia’s turn.
He says Japan and India have been integral to Queensland’s development, in areas of mining and agriculture.
“The Quad is a relationship we must nurture and Queensland stands to benefit more than any other jurisdictions from it,” Crisafulli says.
3h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 1:58am
Qld premier says he will visit US to push for critical minerals investment
David Crisafulli has announced he’ll lead a trade delegation to the United States to secure investment in critical minerals for his state.
The Queensland premier says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump have “opened the door” to investment.
He says his state is open to 51 of the world’s most sought after critical minerals that are needed for defence industry.
Crisafulli says the state is ready to mine or manufacture critical minerals.
“We are the only state ready and willing to walk through it and capitalise today. It’s big business. We aren’t going to wait for it to come to us. We are sitting on a treasure trove in Queensland,” Crisafulli says.
3h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 1:48am
Crisafulli highlights areas of shared cooperation with Commonwealth
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has started his speech by making his pitch to people and businesses thinking of investing in his state.
But Crisafulli has also been drawn into areas involving shared state and federal government funding responsibility.
He’s pointed to upgrades of the Bruce Highway, which saw the Commonwealth and state split costs for the upgrade 80/20 respectively, as an example.
“I went to the election with that commitment and we were able to secure that and we were very grateful for the way we worked with the federal government in doing it,” Crisafulli says.
“That road, for the most decentralised state in the country, is life or death … and it means so much for the smaller communities being able to connect the services they rely on,” he says.
3h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 1:27am
Qld Premier David Crisafulli to speak at the National Press Club
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli is about to speak at the National Press Club in Canberra.
His address is due to start in a couple of minutes, so stay around if you’re keen to catch some of what he says.
3h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 1:25am
Wages lift 3.4 per cent, below current inflation levels
Wages rose 3.4 per cent for the year to December, powered by a 0.8 per cent lift in the quarter.
The cost of living, measured by the Consumer Price Index or CPI, rose 3.8 per cent for the year to December.
The new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has just been released.
The Wage Price Index (WPI) looks in the economic rearview mirror, showing what happened to pay packets over the three-month (quarter) and full-year periods to December 2025.
See our friends over at the business blog for more on that story.
4h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 12:56am
📹 Navy chief’s speech disrupted after rock thrown at nearby window
4h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 12:51am
Hume tight-lipped on new Coalition agreement
Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume has refused to say whether the Coalition agreement remains the same under new Liberal leadership.
When the Coalition reunited two weeks ago, then-leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud agreed on new terms.
It included a new framework for shadow cabinet, which meant solidarity could only be overturned by the joint Coalition party room, not the National Party alone.
Hume said changes to the agreement were not something that would be discussed publicly.
“I can tell you that David Littleproud and Angus Taylor had dinner together last Friday night just after Angus had been made leader and they’ve spoken to each other every single day since.
“We know that the Coalition works best when we are united, we’re all very excited by the fact we’re coming together and working together.”
4h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 12:16am
Albanese dismisses former RBA governor’s warning
The PM has dismissed a suggestion from the former Reserve Bank governor that government spending is making the economic challenge worse.
Philip Lowe vented his frustration at the government’s action on productivity growth in comments published in the Australian Financial Review this morning.
Asked about the remarks, Anthony Albanese said he hadn’t seen them.
“You have people who are exes, who get their name in the paper. I haven’t seen his comments, but what I’m focused on is today, making a difference today right now,” Albanese said.
“And that is something that we continue to do, and that’s why, when it comes to savings, we’ve produced $114 billion of savings, including $20 billion of savings in the mid-year forecast — that makes a substantial difference.”
5h agoTue 17 Feb 2026 at 11:56pm
Albanese repeats call for calm
Anthony Albanese has repeated his call for the temperature of political debate to be lowered after a speech in Canberra was reportedly disrupted by a rock thrown through a window.
The Chief of Navy was delivering the speech in Canberra when the incident took place, prompting a short scene of panic.
Security at the scene assured them a rock had been thrown through the window, before the speech continued.
“I continue to say people need to turn the temperature down, politicians and people, that does nothing to advance a cause that just alienates people from whatever the supposed cause that this person has done,” the prime minister told reporters in Tasmania.
“People who break the law also should face the full force of the law.”
5h agoTue 17 Feb 2026 at 11:42pm
AFP bomb response team assisting investigations into Hyatt Hotel incident
Turning back to that incident at the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra where a rock was thrown into a window near where the Chief of Navy was speaking.
In a statement, ACT Policing says it is currently responding to an incident at a hotel on Commonwealth Avenue, where the Hyatt is located.
The statement says the Australian Federal Police’s bomb response team is assisting and that investigations into the incident are ongoing.
5h agoTue 17 Feb 2026 at 11:32pm
Albanese says he can’t be ‘clearer’ that he won’t help Aussies with links to IS return
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Northern Tasmania this morning, where he was again asked about the return of Australians with links to Islamic State fighters.
He reiterated the government would not assist to bring the cohort of women and children back from Syria.
When asked if he’s considering the opposition’s call for Temporary Exclusion Orders to be issued to delay their return, Albanese said he’d act based on national security advice.
“We will do what we can to keep Australians safe within the law. We will implement the law to its fullest capacity that we can,” he said.
“These are people who chose to go overseas to align themselves with an ideology which is the caliphate, which is a brutal reactionary ideology, and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
Asked about children in the cohort, the PM said it was “unfortunate” they were caught up in it.
“That’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents, or their mother, and we want to make sure that we continue to be very clear about the government’s position. And I can’t be clearer.”