At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians should prepare for the temporary fuel tax cut to end on June 30, despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East, according to the federal government. The fuel excise was halved on April 1, reducing petrol and diesel prices by 26.3 cents per litre. The measure was introduced to ease cost-of-living pressures caused by global energy market disruptions and has cost the government aroun

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Despite growing predictions of a housing market downturn, new figures show Australian property values are still climbing. According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the total value of residential property across the country increased by $315.9 billion during the March quarter, reaching a record $12.77 trillion. While growth has slowed compared to late 2025, national dwell

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian mortgage holders are being warned that the era of ultra-low interest rates is unlikely to return, with economists saying higher borrowing costs could become the new normal. Oxford Economics chief global economist Ryan Sweet says a series of global disruptions over the past five years including international conflicts and trade tensions have kept inflation elevated and forced cent

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s housing market is showing further signs of slowing, with auction clearance rates falling to their lowest levels since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. New data shows Melbourne recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of just 52.3 per cent over the weekend, its weakest result in five years. Sydney improved slightly to 52.9 per cent but remained well below levels se

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for a more respectful political environment, warning that escalating personal attacks and threats against public figures could have serious consequences. Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said growing economic pressures are contributing to public frustration and the rise of populist politics. He urged media outlets and political leaders to help lower

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to their lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the continued growth of renewable energy and a decline in transport emissions. New national emissions data shows Australia’s emissions dropped by 2.1 per cent in the year to December 2025. The reduction was largely due to wind, solar and battery storage replacing coal and gas-fired

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians can expect chilly nights but generally pleasant daytime weather over the 2026 King’s Birthday long weekend, thanks to a large high-pressure system bringing mostly clear skies across much of the country. Most states and territories will enjoy the public holiday on Monday, with Queensland and Western Australia being the exceptions. Melbourne is set for a welcome break from this we

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian shoppers continue to feel the impact of rising grocery prices, with several everyday essentials costing significantly more than they did just four years ago. Items such as olive oil, eggs, chocolate, coffee, dairy products and some meats have seen some of the largest increases, driven by global supply shortages, extreme weather events, disease outbreaks and higher transport and p

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s economy continued to grow in the March quarter, but at a slower pace than expected, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.3 per cent during the quarter and was 2.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. However, growth slowed from the previous quarter, while productivity recorded its largest decline in

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians have shifted their views on some of the country’s biggest brands, with Optus now ranked as the nation’s least-trusted brand in the latest Roy Morgan survey. The telecommunications giant moved to the bottom of the trust rankings following ongoing concerns, including a major network outage in 2025. Meta (Facebook) and Temu followed as the second and third least-trusted brands. Woo

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s population has officially surpassed 28 million, reaching the milestone on Tuesday according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ population clock. The figure is calculated in real time using estimates of births, deaths and overseas migration, with the population increasing by roughly one person every 75 seconds. Western Australia recorded the strongest population growth in th

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Several leading Australian universities have dropped in the latest global university rankings, adding further pressure to the country’s higher education sector. Out of 39 Australian universities assessed by the Centre for World University Rankings, 21 recorded lower positions this year. The University of Sydney slipped from 94th to 100th place, while the Australian National University dropp

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s minimum wage will rise by 5.97 per cent from July 1, while workers on minimum award wages will receive a 4.75 per cent pay increase following the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review. The new national minimum wage will increase to $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week for full-time workers. The changes are expected to benefit millions of Australians, including nearly 2.8 m

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s housing market lost momentum in May, with national home values remaining largely unchanged as rising interest rates, weaker consumer confidence and proposed property tax reforms continue to affect buyer demand. New data from Cotality showed Sydney and Melbourne recorded the biggest declines, with home values falling 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively. Canberra also poste

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. Sri Lanka and Australia have taken steps to strengthen bilateral relations through a series of high-level diplomatic discussions focused on trade, tourism, parliamentary cooperation and diaspora engagement. The talks were held between Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath and Australian parliamentary representatives, including member

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Powerful winds reaching up to 100km/h are set to hit South Australia on Monday after severe weather caused widespread damage across Western Australia over the weekend. The storm system tore down trees and power lines in WA, triggered hundreds of emergency calls and left thousands of homes without electricity. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for South Australia,

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Heavy rain and storms impacting eastern Australia's coast are expected to ease by this afternoon, leading into a sunny weekend. The Queensland and NSW coasts, along with inland regions, have experienced significant rainfall this week due to a low-pressure system off the coast. Key rainfall amounts include up to 80mm in southeastern Queensland and 70mm in NSW's Central Coast. Weather forecas

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. The Albanese Government has introduced major tax reform legislation to parliament, combining changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, worker tax relief and housing measures into a single bill. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the package aims to reduce taxes for workers, support first-home buyers and reshape how income from assets is taxed. The bill includes the proposed capital gains tax

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. The Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra has officially launched the Sri Lanka–Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, marking another step forward in strengthening ties between the two countries. More than 25 Australian Federal MPs and Senators from across the political spectrum attended the event on 26 May 2026, highlighting strong bipartisan

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A severe weather warning has been issued for parts of New South Wales as heavy rain and thunderstorms impact several regions across the state. The Bureau of Meteorology says the Hunter and Mid North Coast areas could see intense rainfall over the coming hours, with severe storms also possible across the north-east. Rainfall totals of 20mm to 40mm are expected in many areas, while slow-movin