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Australia news live: Petrol prices drop nearly 32 cents in a week after fuel tax cuts; BoM says Cyclone Maila may approach Queensland | Australia news
Petrol prices fall nearly 32 cents in a week
Luca Ittimani
Petrol prices have now fallen at least 31 cents in every capital city over the last week, as retailers rush to pass on state and federal governments’ 32-cent fuel tax cut.
After a month where petrol prices rose nearly 100 cents in some cities, the federal government decided to cut tax by 26.3 cents last Monday. The states agreed to give up an extra 5.7 cents’ worth on Thursday by foregoing some GST revenue on fuel.
That 32 cents has now been fully passed on to motorists in Australia’s cities, with service stations trimming the 5.7 cents off their retail prices, as shown by today’s average unleaded petrol prices on Motormouth:
Sydney is at 226.3 cents, down 31.6 cents from last Monday;
Melbourne at 225.8 cents, down 33.6 cents;
Brisbane at 226.8 cents, down 32.4;
Perth at 222.9 cents, down 32.9;
Adelaide at 224.1 cents, down 35.4;
Hobart is at 226.1 cents, down 31.7;
Canberra at 223.9 cents, down 34.9;
Darwin at 229.5 cents, down 34.7.
You can read about where that extra 5.7 cent discount came from here:
Key events
Artemis II astronauts approaching far side of the moon
Deborah Cole
Astronauts on the historic Artemis II mission are expected to reach the far side of the moon later on Monday, venturing deeper into space than any humans before.
Nasa has reported satisfaction with progress toward the lunar fly-round since the team’s launch on Wednesday, with the three Americans and one Canadian on course to break the record for maximum range from Earth just as a total solar eclipse awaits.
“The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,” the pilot Victor Glover reported after Artemis fired a key thruster to exit Earth’s orbit.
The crew are the first astronauts bound for the moon in more than half a century, picking up where the Apollo programme left off in 1972.
Read more here:
Watch American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson win her Stawell Gift heat
The Paris Olympic 100m silver medallist started from scratch but powered past the field with ease.
Organisations say social media giants are taking down posts meant to warn about harmful substances in party drugs
Warnings about potential harmful substances circulating as party drugs are being taken down by social media companies Meta and TikTok, advocates say.
AAP reports a number of organisations have reported the same issue of posts being taken down and their users being blocked or banned. The advocacy group Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League is urging Australia’s eSafety commissioner to step in.
In one instance, a warning about strong MDMA and nitazenes – a synthetically produced opioid more potent than fentanyl – was removed three days before a major summer festival and an appeal to have the post reinstated was rejected.
Other flagged posts by Meta include harm-reduction advice to prevent accidental overdoses, including warnings about “double-strength” MDMA, and recommendations to reduce dosage if testing isn’t available.
Meta and TikTok have been approached for comment.
More on Bowen’s fuel comments this morning, with reserves in ‘pretty good’ condition
As we reported earlier, the energy minister, Chris Bowen, spoke to RN Breakfast this morning about the state of the nation’s fuel supply.
The minister said 3.7bn litres of different types of fuel are on their way to Australia this month. Bowen said the country’s fuel reserves remained “pretty good”, despite ongoing issues with transport through the strait of Hormuz.
He said Australia had 39 days worth of petrol in reserve, 29 days of diesel and 29 days of jet fuel.
“That’s pretty flat, that’s been pretty consistent all the way through,” Bowen added.
BoM tracking tropical cyclone in Solomon Sea that could move towards Queensland coast
A tropical cyclone in the Solomon Sea could move closer to the Queensland coast later this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology is tracking severe tropical cyclone Maila, which is now a category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 km/h and gusts of up to 165 km/h.
The storm is now expected to be slow moving through the middle of the week in the region, before it’s forecast to head south-west. It’s not expected to directly affect the Queensland coast before the middle of the week, but may move closer to north Queensland afterwards.
Long weekend sees spate of road fatalities across Australia
The Easter long weekend was marred by a string of road fatalities across the country, with many involving motorcyclists, AAP reports.
In the latest incident, police found a car crashed into an embankment after leaving the road in the NSW upper Hunter area on Sunday night. Paramedics attempted to treat a man but he died at the scene.
A few hours earlier, emergency services were called to South West Rocks on the NSW mid-north coast on Sunday afternoon. They found a motorbike rider had crashed on the road before becoming trapped under a nearby vehicle. The rider died at the scene.
The same day, in far north Queensland, a 31-year-old man lost control of his quad bike on a local road in East Palmerston, a rural farming area near Innisfail, on Saturday. His green Kawasaki bike struck a pole and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
More than 1,336 people have died on Australia’s roads in the 12 months to February, according to the federal government figures, marking a 4.4% increase from the same time the previous year.
TGA opens public comment period on improved sunscreen regulations
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is asking for public comment on a proposal to improve the regulation of sunscreens in Australia.
The agency said interested parties have until 23 May to comment on a range of options, including improving the reliability and transparency of SPF testing and simpler labels on sunscreens. The TGA said:
These proposals are intended to strengthen confidence in sunscreen performance. If accepted, options presented in this paper would be implemented in a proportionate and targeted manner, with appropriate transition periods incorporated. …
Given Australia has the highest rates of skin cancer and melanoma in the world, with around 2,000 people dying each year, it is critical that the regulatory settings are appropriate to ensure consumer confidence in sunscreens.
Bowen says Australian fuel supplies ‘OK’ through April and into May
Bowen said he’s been encouraged by how fuel retailers have passed on cuts to the fuel excise.
He told RN Breakfast:
We’re encouraged by how quickly that’s been passed on. Obviously, the ACCC is monitoring closely any particular service stations or suppliers that might not do the right thing. I’ll leave them to comment on their own actions and independent activities.
Bowen added that Australia’s fuel supplies were “OK” through the end of April and into May, saying orders were “locked in”.
Bowen won’t comment on Trump’s Iran tirade but agrees strait of Hormuz should re-open
Chris Bowen, the minister for climate change and energy, said he wouldn’t comment on US president Donald Trump’s expletive-laden social media posts, but noted Australia, too, wanted the strait of Hormuz to reopen.
Bowen was asked about Trump’s remarks, where the president called on Iran to let ship through the strait while threatening further attacks on Iranian infrastructure. Bowen told RN Breakfast this morning:
Well, for the last 10 years, I haven’t made a habit of commenting on every social media comment of president Trump, and I don’t intend to start now because we’d all keep ourselves very busy. We want to see the strait of Hormuz open.
When pressed if that level of retort from Trump warranted a comment from the Australian government, Bowen added:
We are not participants in this war. We didn’t participate in the decision to begin the war, but we are, like many like-minded countries, calling for it to end in the best interest of the people of the Middle East, obviously, but also in the best interest of the world economy.
Read more here:
Moira Deeming endorsed for top spot on Victorian Liberal ticket
An outspoken state Liberal MP, who was previously ejected from her party, has made a shock comeback after winning a bruising internal battle, AAP reports.
Moira Deeming secured endorsement for the top spot on the party’s Victorian upper-house ticket for the Western Metropolitan Region after the other candidates withdrew from the running.
She previously dropped her candidacy after the party overlooked her for businessman and Indian community leader Dinesh Gourisetty, who garnered support from the party’s moderate wing.
But he was forced to step aside after it was revealed he previously provided a character reference for a now-convicted child sexual abuse offender, triggering another preselection contest.
Deeming was the only eligible nominee remaining for the position.
On Sunday, she thanked everyone who had supported her – including state Liberal leader Jess Wilson – adding she looked forward to exposing “Labor’s callous betrayal of hard-working families” ahead of the November election:
When we win, I will work tirelessly to restore good governance to this great state of Victoria.
Good morning
Good morning, and happy Monday. Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news. Let’s dive in.
