![\"Krishani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Krishani_Dhanji.png\")
Krishani Dhanji<\/p>\nKrishani Dhanji<\/p>\n
Wilson launches \u2018stand with small\u2019 campaign for small businesses<\/p>\n
Following Angus Taylor\u2019s proposal to index income tax brackets and remove non-citizens from receiving social welfare, Tim Wilson will announce a campaign to support small businesses called \u2026 \u201cstand with small\u201d.<\/p>\n
The shadow treasurer is promising a dedicated federal small business act with a single national definition for the sector and to set up legal maximum payment terms to small businesses from government and big business.<\/p>\n
The Coalition<\/a> will also consult on new minimum requirements for government procurement that must come from small business.<\/p>\n Wilson will tell the National Press Club that the Albanese government has \u201cdeclared war on the self-starters and small businesses of the nation\u201d, but the Coalition will fight for them.<\/p>\n double quotation markOver the past year I have been speaking with small businesses across the country, and particularly about how the rules of the economy increasingly feel rigged against them.<\/p>\n And I have reached a conclusion: we have an economy designed for the 20th century, and I am no longer convinced tinkering at the margins will fix it. We need new economic structures for the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.22 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Israeli foreign ministry has detained 430 people traveling onboard humanitarian flotilla<\/p>\n The Israeli foreign ministry said it had detained 430 people traveling onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was attempting to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza before it was intercepted off the coast of Cyprus yesterday.<\/p>\n Israeli officials wrote on social media that all of those detained had been transferred to Israeli vessels and were making their way to the country, where they will be met by consular representatives. Israel called the flotilla \u201canother PR\u201d stunt \u201cat the service of Hamas\u201d:<\/p>\n double quotation markAnother PR flotilla has come to an end. \u2026 Israel will continue to act in full accordance with international law and will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.<\/p>\n The flotilla had a slightly different figure, saying 428 detained activists from over 40 nations remain \u201cunaccounted for\u201d, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said yesterday the government was engaging with the Israelis on the welfare of the Australians involved in the flotilla and would visit them at the earliest opportunity. The spokesperson said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe want to see all detained Australians released as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Australian officials continue to make clear to Israel our expectation that any detainees receive humane treatment in line with international norms.<\/p>\n Wong\u2019s office said it continues \u201cto encourage those wishing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through established channels\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Victorian Greens rebuke decision to bring weapons expo back to Melbourne in 2028<\/p>\n The Victorian Greens have criticised Jacinta Allan\u2019s government for bringing the weapons expo, Land Forces, back to Melbourne in 2028, saying they are \u201ccompletely out of touch\u201d.<\/p>\n It comes after the government announced it would be bringing the expo back in 2028 on Tuesday afternoon. The expo was cancelled in Melbourne and announced in Perth for 2026.<\/p>\n In 2024, there was a public outcry and protests at the conference and allegations of excessive police tactics and force used against protesters. <\/p>\n Greens spokesperson for peace and disarmament, Gabrielle de Vietri, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe public have made it very clear that they do not want this weapons trading expo in our peaceful city. Jacinta Allan\u2019s Labor Government would prefer to prop up an industry designed to kill than listen to the people they are supposed to represent.<\/p>\n Jacinta Allan\u2019s Labor Government couldn\u2019t be more transparent \u2013 they moved Land Forces to Perth in an election year to avoid scrutiny and mass protests just before an election but are happy to keep dealing in war and weapons in plain sight once the election is done and dusted.<\/p>\n Victoria police attempt to extinguish a fire during a rally against the Land Forces international land defence exposition in Melbourne in 2024. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.15 EDT<\/p>\n NSW upper house establishes inquiry into dingo management<\/p>\n The New South Wales<\/a> upper house has agreed to establish a parliamentary inquiry to examine the treatment of dingo populations in the state\u2019s national parks.<\/p>\n The probe will consider the genetic status of dingoes and legislation and policies that inform their management.<\/p>\n Animal Justice Party MLC Emma Hurst said it was \u201ca chance to hear from voices that want to change the way dingoes are managed within national parks\u201d with the species currently exempt from protection under the state\u2019s biodiversity conservation laws.<\/p>\n Humane World for Animals Australia said it was \u201ca milestone in the effort to end persecution of the species\u201d and the organisation was \u201cparticularly glad that this inquiry will examine the genetic status of dingoes in New South Wales and the distinction between dingoes and wild dogs\u201d.<\/p>\n Alix Livingstone from Defend the Wild said the state\u2019s management of dingoes did not reflect the important role they played in ecosystems and the inquiry was a chance to \u201cbring together a growing body of evidence, on-ground experience, and Traditional Owner knowledge to better understand the role dingoes play on Country\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Kylie Minogue announces she had second cancer diagnosis in 2021<\/p>\n Kylie Minogue has revealed that in early 2021 she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, after diagnosis and successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005.<\/p>\n The pop star discussed the previously unannounced diagnosis in a new Netflix documentary entitled Kylie, available from today. \u201cMy second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself \u2026 Not like the first time,\u201d she said, referring to her highly publicised first treatment.<\/p>\n double quotation markThankfully, I got through it. Again. And all is well. Hey, who knows what\u2019s around the corner, but pop music nurtures me \u2026 my passion for music is greater than ever.<\/p>\n Minogue said that after her treatment, she struggled \u201cto find the right time\u201d to announce it publicly, including after the huge success of her Grammy-winning 2023 single Padam Padam.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Kylie Minogue at the launch event for a Netflix documentary. Photograph: John Phillips\/Getty Images for NetflixShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.23 EDT<\/p>\n Hanson says office staff cuts are \u2018serious issue\u2019 for staffer health<\/p>\n One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called on the Albanese government to allocate more staff to her party, stating she had begged and pleaded for more employees to deal with the \u201cheavy workload\u201d.<\/p>\n Hanson said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that her office has been \u201cinundated with thousands of calls, emails and messages every week and it\u2019s not possible to respond to all of them\u201d.<\/p>\n She said the federal government cut staff allocation to One Nation after the last election, and despite requests to restore staffing levels, the government \u201chasn\u2019t even responded and couldn\u2019t care less\u201d.<\/p>\n She said:<\/p>\n double quotation markMy staff have continued out of loyalty, and they want to help the Australian people but their health has now become a serious issue.<\/p>\n As the leader of One Nation, I have 5 electorate officers and just 2 Parliamentary Advisers.<\/p>\n The leader of the Greens, Larissa Waters, has 5 electorate officers and 15 advisers.<\/p>\n The prime minister has 59 personal advisers. Adding his other ministers, the Government employs a total of 504 personal advisers.<\/p>\n This is the prime minister using his powers to disadvantage his political opponents who don\u2019t agree with his agenda.<\/p>\n Hanson said she didn\u2019t want to air the issue publicly, but the government had given her no choice.<\/p>\n double quotation markI am the leader of a political party that is polling more than major political parties. The government has failed to staff One Nation anywhere close to a functional level. This is pure, bloody-minded politics by the Labor party.<\/p>\n One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.21 EDT<\/p>\n No indication new group with links to Islamic State have plans to leave Syrian camp, sources say<\/p>\n Government sources say there is no indication a group of women and children linked to IS fighters have made plans to leave a camp in northern Syria.<\/p>\n Media reports today suggest six Australian women, their children and grandchildren, look likely to leave the al-Roj camp in Syria very soon.<\/p>\n But so far the federal government has not had any information to suggest any of the group have made plans to come to Australia.<\/p>\n If and when they come home, the group is certain to face scrutiny from law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.55 EDT<\/p>\n Vanuatu says it is ready to sign economic and security deal with Australia<\/p>\n Vanuatu will sign a major cooperation agreement with Australia after renegotiating the deal, prime minister Jotham Napat told the Pacific island nation\u2019s parliament on Tuesday, according to AFP.<\/p>\n Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese travelled to Vanuatu in September in the expectation the leaders would sign the $500m Nakamal Agreement to strengthen security and economic ties, but a ceremony was cancelled at short notice after concerns from some Vanuatu lawmakers.<\/p>\n Vanuatu has maintained a non-aligned foreign policy since independence from France and Britain, and fiercely protects its position of \u201cfriends to all and enemies to none\u201d amid jostling for influence by China, Australia and the United States in the strategically located Pacific.<\/p>\n Napat said the agreement with Australia was not a security pact, but contained a security clause where Vanuatu agreed not to allow any outside force in its territory.<\/p>\n Australia is wary of China\u2019s police presence in the nearby Solomon Islands, and has struck a series of treaties with Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Nauru seeking to curb Beijing\u2019s security inroads to the region.<\/p>\n Vanuatu prime minister Jotham Napat and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. Photograph: The Office of The Prime Minister of AustraliaShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.39 EDT<\/p>\n More IS-linked families preparing to return from Syria Authorities are preparing for another six Australian women, along with their children and grandchildren, to return home from Syria, with the group expected to leave in the coming days.<\/p>\n The group \u2013 linked to IS fighters and stuck in the al-Roj camp in the country\u2019s north \u2013 will be closely watched by government and law enforcement agencies if they do return home.<\/p>\n Their arrival is expected as soon as next week.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, four women and nine children took commercial flights to Sydney and Melbourne. The Australian federal police arrested and charged three of the women.<\/p>\n The assistant minister for multicultural affairs, Julian Hill, told Sky News this morning he had no information about the group, though added intelligence agencies and police were monitoring their movements.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to prejudge the operations of law enforcement agencies or security agencies but I\u2019ll say this very clearly and very deliberately to anyone who\u2019s listening,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n double quotation markLaw enforcement agencies are well aware of this cohort \u2026 including those who\u2019ve come back over many, many cycles, including under the Morrison government.<\/p>\n Hill would not be drawn on whether members of the group would face arrest on return to Australia.<\/p>\n double quotation markAgencies are prepared \u2026 and we don\u2019t want these people back in.<\/p>\n The assistant minister for multicultural affairs, Julian Hill. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.55 EDT<\/p>\n AI nudify service ordered by eSafety to prevent children\u2019s access<\/p>\n The eSafety commissioner has issued a direction to comply to restrict Australian children\u2019s access to an unnamed nudify service that uses AI to generate sexually-explicit deepfakes of people based on uploaded images.<\/p>\n The regulator \u2013 which declined to name the platform so as to not add to its growing popularity \u2013 issued the direction to comply with age verification requirements after seeing the traffic from Australian users growing in the past few months, with 40,000 Australian visitors per month as of March this year.<\/p>\n Using recently introduced codes requiring age verification for adult content<\/a>, eSafety initially had sought to engage with the Argentina-based company about compliance, but it failed to respond, leading to the formal warning.<\/p>\n The company now has 14 days to meet the requirements, after which eSafety has flagged it could seek fines of up to $49.5m against the company, and issue delisting notices to search engines.<\/p>\n In September last year, the Albanese government pledged to pass legislation banning nudify services being used to generate non-consensual content, but without that in place, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant indicated she was using her existing powers to take the action she could for now.<\/p>\n Inman Grant said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI like many others struggle to see a positive use case for such services as it is, and services like these demonstrate where AI is causing irreparable harms today.<\/p>\n Thankfully, eSafety was able to ensure our world-leading codes required the purveyors and profiteers of such services to put measures in place to, at the very least, prevent children from accessing their platform.<\/p>\n The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.24 EDT<\/p>\n $1m reward for information surrounding unsolved opal miner\u2019s death<\/p>\n A $1m reward has been announced for information relating to the suspicious death of an opal miner more than 30 years ago, AAP reports.<\/p>\n Paul Murray was last seen alive on the outskirts of Lightning Ridge, an outback town in north-western NSW, on 19 March 1995.<\/p>\n Murray, then aged 40, owned an opal mining field about 8km north-west of the town and lived in a camp at the site. A local resident had picked him up and dropped him off at the edge of town, becoming the last known person to see him alive.<\/p>\n Murray was reported missing one week later. After an extensive search, two graziers found his body in scrubland, about 2km from his campsite. A postmortem examination found no obvious cause of death and no signs of trauma.<\/p>\n Authorities will again lift the reward on Wednesday, more than three decades on from Murray\u2019s death, to $1m.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.17 EDT<\/p>\n Consultation with tech sector on CGT changes about \u2018unique arrangements\u2019, finance minister says<\/p>\n The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, says tech companies and startups have \u201cunique arrangements\u201d that required the government to consult with them on proposed changes to capital gains tax in last week\u2019s federal budget, but the government had not taken a position on whether the sector will get a carve out from the changes.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2953.jpg\")
The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Cait_Kelly.png\")
Cait Kelly<\/p>\n![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Lisa_Cox.png\")
Lisa Cox<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ben-Beaumont-Thomas,-L.png\")
Ben Beaumont-Thomas<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Josh_Taylor.png\")
Josh Taylor<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Tom_McIlroy.png\")
Tom McIlroy<\/p>\nTom McIlroy<\/p>\nJosh Taylor<\/p>\nJosh Taylor<\/p>\n