At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia has seen a wave of protests against mass immigration recently — and while they drew in violent neo-Nazi groups (who were widely condemned), many of the people marching weren’t extremists at all. They were everyday Australians worried about rising house prices, stretched hospitals, and a system they feel can’t keep up. Take 62-year-old Chris Fisher from Queensland. He joined a “March for Australia” rally, even though his own family came to Australia as migrants. For him, the issue isn’t about shutting people out — it’s about whether the country has the housing and healthcare capacity to support both new arrivals and those already here. “I’d happily welcome half a million immigrants a year if the conditions were right,” Fisher said. “But right now? The healthcare system is struggling. Housing prices are through the roof. Vulnerable Australians can’t get the basics.” He’s not alone in feeling that way. But economists and human rights experts say blaming migrants is the wrong target. The economic reality Australia Institute economist Matt Grudnoff says the idea that immigration is the main cause of housing stress and cost-of-living pressures is simply “misdirected.” Here’s why: skilled workers make up about 71% of Australia’s annual migrant intake. If we suddenly stopped bringing them in, businesses would struggle to deliver goods and services, prices would go up, and the Reserve Bank would likely respond with higher interest rates. Cutting migration, he explained, wouldn’t make housing or healthcare cheaper. In fact, if just 25,000 skilled visas were cut — as Peter Dutton once suggested — it could cost the federal budget more than $10 billion a year by the 2040s. That’s about a third of what the government currently spends on public hospitals and health services in an entire year. And when it comes to jobs and wages? The data doesn’t back up the fear. According to the Grattan Institute, regions with higher migrant populations actually report slightly higher wages — about 1.3% higher for every 10% increase in migrant share. So what’s really driving the housing crisis? It turns out the problem isn’t about the number of people versus the number of houses. In fact, between 2001 and 2021, housing supply grew faster than the population. The real issue, says Grudnoff, is who’s buying those homes. Thanks to policies like the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, property has become one of the most attractive investments in the country. Investors are piling in, outbidding first-home buyers, and pushing prices up. “Housing used to be seen as a safe place to live. Now it’s a financial asset, a way to build wealth for retirement,” Grudnoff explained. “That’s what’s driving prices more than migration.” Protests, politics, and scapegoating The March for Australia rallies didn’t just highlight economic concerns. They also created fear. After the protests ended, neo-Nazi groups attacked a sacred Indigenous site in Melbourne and assaulted two Palestinian brothers in Sydney. Australian Human Rights Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said he’d heard from community groups who felt unsafe before and after the rallies. “That’s the problem with marches like this,” he said. “Migrants get scapegoated for much more complex problems — things like tax policy, banking behaviour, even overseas factors like tariffs. These are hard problems to solve, and blaming migrants is the easy way out.” He also pointed out that white supremacists often hijack anti-immigration rhetoric, flooding social media with misinformation, false statistics, and fear campaigns that thrive in echo chambers. That’s why he believes politicians need to tread carefully. “When leaders use divisive language, it gets amplified online — and that makes vulnerable communities feel even less safe.” Foreign Minister Penny Wong has been outspoken on this, blasting the Opposition for “using migrants as a scapegoat for a housing crisis” and stressing that the rallies don’t reflect broader Australian values. “Those protests didn’t represent Australia,” Wong said. “I don’t think Australian values are values of division.” Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Physicist Ivan Maksymov from Charles Sturt University is among the 3,500 university staff across Australia who have lost their jobs as the sector faces a deepening crisis. For Dr. Maksymov, it’s the second redundancy in just three years, and the impact has been devastating. “It derails my career. I’m the only breadwinner, so it’s the only source of income and we have two kids to feed,” he said. It’s a tough fall for a researcher once awarded a prestigious Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. Instead of building on that success, he says his time in academia is now overshadowed by a “humiliating” redundancy process that exposes what he calls the sector’s “ugly underbelly.” “Unis have become like corporations. They have stakeholders — but those stakeholders aren’t the public or the students who come for a quality education. Management thinks in corporate terms. They think about the bottom line,” he said. Like many in his position, Dr. Maksymov is finding it hard to see a way forward. With universities nationwide slashing costs, the chances of finding work in his highly specialised field look slim. And he’s not alone — many staff spend a decade or more studying and working to carve out a career, only to end up facing unemployment. Charles Sturt University is one of 39 public universities tightening belts, blaming a 90% collapse in international student numbers over the past five years. In a statement, the uni said it regretted the impact on staff. “Charles Sturt University deeply regrets the need to reduce its staff numbers and the impact on those whose jobs are proposed to be disestablished, including Dr. Maksymov,” a spokesperson said.“But the necessity of these actions is undeniable.” Dr. Maksymov, however, argues the process was handled poorly, leaving staff distressed and excluded from genuine consultation. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has echoed his concerns, accusing 22 universities across five states and territories of mishandling mass redundancies. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, the union says more than 3,500 jobs were cut. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. 2025 ගෝලීය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී රාජ්‍ය (GSoD) ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම්වල ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කැපී පෙනෙන පිම්මක් ගෙන ඇති අතර එය පසුගිය වසරට සාපේක්ෂව ස්ථාන 15 කින් ඉහළ ගොස් තිබේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පිළිබඳ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය සහ මැතිවරණ ආධාර ආයතනයේ (IDEA) රට පැතිකඩට අනුව, මෙම දියුණුව තේරී පත් වූ රජය, ප්‍රකාශනයේ නිදහස සහ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස ඇතුළු ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී දර්ශක කිහිපයක ජයග්‍රහණ පිළිබිඹු කරයි. ප්‍රගතිය තිබියදීත්, වාර්තාව අභියෝග ද මතු කරයි: සංගමයේ නිදහස සහ රැස්වීමේ නිදහස හා සම්බන්ධ අයිතිවාසිකම් අඛණ්ඩව පහත වැටෙමින් පවතින බව ස්ටොක්හෝම් පදනම් කරගත් ආයතනය විසින් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන ලද වාර්තාවේ සඳහන් වේ. “ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ගෝලීය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී රාජ්‍ය රාමුවේ කාණ්ඩ හතරෙහිම මධ්‍යම පරාසයේ ක්‍රියා කරන අතර සිවිල් සහභාගීත්වය සහ මැතිවරණ සහභාගීත්වය ඇතුළු සාධක කිහිපයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලෝකයේ රටවල් වලින් ඉහළම සියයට 25 අතර වේ. පසුගිය වසර පහ තුළ, තේරී පත් වූ රජය, ප්‍රකාශනයේ නිදහස සහ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස සහ සංගමයේ නිදහස සහ රැස්වීමේ නිදහසේ පහත වැටීම් දක්නට ලැබේ,” IDEA සිය වාර්තාවේ සඳහන් කළේය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, ගෝලීය රටාවන් පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ පසුගිය වසරේ ලොව පුරා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය අඛණ්ඩව දුර්වල වෙමින් පවතින බවයි. වාර්තාවේ, රටවල් 94 ක් - නැතහොත් සමීක්ෂණයට ලක් කළ රටවල් වලින් අඩකට වඩා - 2019 සහ 2024 අතර අවම වශයෙන් ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී දර්ශකවලින් එකක හෝ පහත වැටීමක් පෙන්නුම් කළ බව වාර්තාව පවසයි. සාපේක්ෂව, තුනෙන් එකක් පමණක් ප්‍රගතියක් ලබා ඇත. "ලෝකයේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයේ වත්මන් තත්ත්වය කනස්සල්ලට කරුණකි," IDEA මහලේකම් කෙවින් කැසාස්-සමෝරා පැවසීය. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Dementia has now become the leading cause of death in Australia, and experts are warning that without serious action, one million Australians could be living with the condition within the next decade. A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows just how big an impact dementia is having on families. It’s not just a health issue — it’s an emotional and social one too. Dementia Australia CEO Tanya Buchanan says loved ones often feel the effects just as deeply. “These figures highlight just how many families are impacted by dementia across Australia. Most of us know someone who is or has been affected,” she said.“People with dementia often tell us that friends and family drift away after a diagnosis, simply because they don’t know how to interact anymore.” The report, released ahead of Dementia Action Week (September 15–21), is urging Australians to reconnect with those living with dementia to help fight the loneliness and social isolation so many experience. When it comes to risk factors, the research highlights some key ones that can increase the chances of developing dementia: being overweight, physical inactivity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure in midlife, smoking, and kidney problems. Buchanan says tackling these risks, and staying connected to those living with dementia, will be crucial in easing the burden over the coming decades. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians are being slugged with record-high home and contents insurance bills, with average premiums jumping by as much as $700 in just one year. New figures from Canstar show the average annual premium has risen from $2452 to $2795 — that’s a 14% hike, or about $343 more than last year. But the pain really depends on where you live. Some states and territories have been hit far harder than others: Northern Territory: the steepest dollar jump — up $700 (17%) to a whopping $4814. NSW: the sharpest percentage rise — up 18% ($403) to $2613. Victoria: premiums climbed 17% ($341) to $2299. Queensland (excluding North QLD): up 16% ($431) to $3166. South Australia: up 17% ($287) to $1933. Tasmania: up 17% ($317) to $2155. WA: up 9% ($192) to $2224. North Queensland: the smallest rise — just 2% ($112) to $4624 (though still the priciest in the country). The main culprits? Extreme weather disasters and soaring rebuilding costs.Claims from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred alone cost insurers $1.36 billion after more than 125,000 claims. Canstar’s data insights director Sally Tindall said even though premiums are stinging households, skipping insurance altogether is risky. “Even if you’re not in a high-risk weather region, emergencies like a burst pipe or an overflowing sink can be covered if they weren’t preventable,” she said. Canstar found switching policies could save households up to $766 a year, with providers like AAMI, Allianz, QBE and Westpac flagged as offering some of the best value. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. රජය විසින් නව කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධි වෙබ් අඩවියක් වන aigov.lk සහ බැංකු කාඩ්පත් භාවිතයෙන් මගීන්ට බස් ගාස්තු ගෙවීමට ඉඩ සලසන පද්ධතියක් හඳුන්වා දෙන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය මහත්මිය පැවසුවාය. පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී කතා කරමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය මහත්මිය පැවසුවේ මෙම මුලපිරීම් ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික මාසයේ කොටසක් වන අතර එය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඩිජිටල් ලෙස බලගැන්වූ ජාතියක් බවට පත්වීම වේගවත් කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් ජාතික උත්සාහයකි. ඩිජිටල් මෙවලම් පිළිබඳ මහජන දැනුවත්භාවය ඉහළ නැංවීම සහ අනාගතයට සූදානම් ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකයක් ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා රජයේ කැපවීම පෙන්නුම් කිරීම සඳහා සැප්තැම්බර් මාසය ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික මාසය ලෙස ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. ක්‍රියාකාරකම්වලට මහජන ප්‍රදර්ශන, දැනුවත් කිරීමේ ව්‍යාපාර සහ ප්‍රතිපත්ති සාකච්ඡා ඇතුළත් වේ. රජය අඛණ්ඩ ඩිජිටල් ව්‍යාපෘති පුරවැසියන්ට සහ ව්‍යාපාරවලට සෘජු ප්‍රතිලාභ ලබා දෙනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂා කරයි. 2030 වන විට, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකය දළ දේශීය නිෂ්පාදිතයට ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 15 ක් දායක වනු ඇතැයි පුරෝකථනය කර ඇති අතර, ඩිජිටල් අපනයනවලින් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 5 ක් සහ 200,000 ක ශ්‍රම බලකායක් ඇත. ප්‍රධාන සිදුවීම් අතරට සැප්තැම්බර් 24-25 දිනවල ශ්‍රී ලංකා ෆින්ටෙක් සමුළුව සහ සැප්තැම්බර් 29-30 දිනවල ජාතික AI ප්‍රදර්ශනය ඇතුළත් වේ. අනෙකුත් වැඩසටහන් ඩිජිටල් කුසලතා පුහුණුව, ව්‍යවසායකත්වය, ආරම්භක ප්‍රදර්ශන සහ තරුණයින් සහ වෘත්තිකයන් ඉලක්ක කරගත් අධ්‍යාපනික ප්‍රවේශය කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරනු ඇත. මෙම මාසය සඳහා සැලසුම් කර ඇති අතිරේක මුලපිරීම් අතරට ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ උපාය මාර්ගයක් හඳුන්වාදීම, සහතික කිරීමේ අධිකාරියක්, ඩිජිටල් ගෙවීම් සඳහා පුළුල් කරන ලද රජයේ ගෙවීම් වේදිකාවක් සහ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අත්දැකීම් මධ්‍යස්ථානයක් ඇතුළත් වේ. ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අමාත්‍යාංශය, අනෙකුත් අමාත්‍යාංශ සමඟ සම්බන්ධීකරණයෙන්, රටේ ඩිජිටල් සංක්‍රාන්තියට සහාය වීම සඳහා අධ්‍යාපනය වැනි අංශ හරහා යටිතල පහසුකම් අවශ්‍යතා තක්සේරු කරමින් සිටී. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. NSW is finally set to catch a bit of a break from the non-stop rain — but it’s not all good news. While showers are expected to ease later this morning, the east coast is about to be hit with powerful winds and dangerous surf. The Bureau of Meteorology says the low-pressure system that drenched the state will start moving offshore from mid-morning, dragging most of the rain with it. “By the later part of the day, and certainly going into Friday, we’re looking at much drier conditions across the mainland,” senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury  said. But the bureau has warned the next threat is in the water and along the coast, with large waves and potentially hazardous to damaging surf rolling in from Thursday. Right now, several weather warnings are in place across NSW: Severe weather warnings for the Mid North Coast, Northern Tablelands and Hunter. A coastal hazard warning for Sydney, the Hunter and the Mid North Coast. Flood warnings remain active for the Namoi, Georges, Nepean, Cooks and Macquarie rivers, plus St Georges Basin. According to Weatherzone, gusty southerlies will push through today, with wind speeds of 90–100km/h expected between Batemans Bay and Port Macquarie. Even stronger gusts of up to 110km/h could slam parts of Sydney and the Hunter coastlines. Those winds will also whip up some monster seas. Swells of 5 to 6 metres are forecast between the Illawarra and the Mid North Coast, with some waves surging close to 10 metres. The winds are tipped to gradually ease into Thursday afternoon as the system drifts further away, but conditions along the coast will stay wild and dangerous. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. NAB has become the latest of Australia’s big four banks to announce job cuts, confirming this morning it has axed 410 roles. The redundancies are hitting the bank’s technology and enterprise operations division, with staff told yesterday. Some will be moved into new positions, but many are facing tough news. A NAB spokesperson said the move was about adapting to a changing environment. “Like many businesses, we regularly look at how we work and how we’re structured to deliver the best experience for our customers. These decisions are always difficult, and we understand the impact they can have on our colleagues.” The bank says it will explore redeployment and career transition support for those affected, and some roles may shift to different geographic locations. Reports suggest new positions are being created in India and Vietnam. NAB stressed that while some roles are disappearing, others are being added. “Having a global workforce helps us deliver better outcomes — extending our hours of operation, speeding up processes, and improving turnaround times for customers,” the spokesperson said. The cuts come as all of the big four banks move to shrink their workforces. Just yesterday, ANZ confirmed it would slash 3,500 jobs and 1,000 contractor roles, mostly from its Melbourne Docklands offices. In May, Westpac revealed plans to shed more than 1,500 positions. And back in March, Commonwealth Bank cut 164 jobs in its tech division. With NAB also headquartered in Docklands, Melbourne, the wave of redundancies is hitting Australia’s financial hub especially hard. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. The Bureau of Meteorology is warning New South Wales residents to brace for a wild day of weather, with thunderstorms, heavy rain and even flash flooding on the cards. A huge cloud band is sweeping across Australia, pushed along by a low-pressure system and cold front. It’s expected to move from South Australia across to the east coast today and tomorrow. Some areas could cop a drenching — the Illawarra, northern South Coast and eastern Southern Tablelands are at risk of 60 to 100mm of rain in just six hours from tonight. Over a full day, parts of the coast could see up to 140mm. The Bureau posted on X (Twitter) this morning, warning that storms could be “extensive” and may turn severe, bringing damaging winds, heavy rain and even large hail. “It’s a good day to stay up to date,” the Bureau advised. Right now, severe weather warnings are in place for Lord Howe Island, the Illawarra, parts of the South Coast and the Southern Tablelands, with a minor flood warning active for the Namoi River. In Sydney, between 15 and 45mm of rain is expected today before easing tonight, but meteorologists are warning of damaging gusts and big coastal waves as the system lingers offshore. BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said moisture and strong winds will be pushed up against the NSW coast. “It will linger there … potentially leading to further severe weather for areas between the Hunter and the South Coast,” she said. And it’s not just NSW — over the next couple of days the system will also soak northern Victoria and southern Queensland. Severe thunderstorms are again possible, with the risk of damaging winds and heavy rainfall. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. ANZ has confirmed it will slash about 3,500 jobs by next September as part of a major restructure, with the bank’s boss insisting it’s “the right thing to do.” The shake-up is aimed at cutting down on duplication, internal complexity, and reliance on outside consultants. Around 1,000 contractors who provide managed services are also expected to be affected. The bank says the changes will have only a limited impact on frontline, customer-facing roles. ANZ Chief Executive Mr Matos acknowledged the human toll of the decision. “The most important thing today is to acknowledge that we are impacting some employees and their families … and that’s not good news. We’re very sensitive to that.” But the move has sparked anger from the Finance Sector Union (FSU), which blasted the cuts as a betrayal of workers in the pursuit of bigger profits.FSU president Wendy Streets didn’t hold back: “This is out of control — it’s not strategy, it’s unhinged.” The union also claims many employees first heard about the sweeping job losses not from management, but through news alerts on their phones while getting ready for work or making breakfast. ANZ has pushed back on that, with Matos saying he didn’t believe it was true — though he stopped short of giving a clear answer. While the official timeline stretches to September 2026, Matos suggested the bulk of the cuts will come early next year. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Worlds  in Australia and beyond. Big news out of Russia has caught the world’s attention: a brand-new cancer vaccine called Enteromix  has shown 100% efficacy and safety  in its first human trials. It almost sounds too good to be true—but the early results are extremely promising. So what’s the breakthrough? Patients in the initial trial actually saw their tumours shrink, with no serious side effects reported. Enteromix is built on the same mRNA technology we all became familiar with during the COVID-19 vaccine era, but this time, it’s being used to train the immune system to specifically recognize and attack cancer cells. Unlike chemotherapy—which is often tough on the whole body—Enteromix is designed to be much more precise and gentle. And here’s the truly groundbreaking part: it’s personalized. Every dose is tailored to match the genetic profile of a patient’s tumour. That means a treatment designed just for you, not a one-size-fits-all approach. The first trials involved 48 volunteers and were carried out by Russia’s National Medical Research Radiological Centre together with the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology. The announcement was made at the 2025 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and the vaccine is now just a step away from regulatory approval in Russia. Why Enteromix stands out Cancer vaccines have been around in theory for decades, but most never lived up to the hype. Enteromix feels different for two reasons: Personalization  – Each vaccine dose is built from the unique genetic makeup of a patient’s tumour. mRNA technology  – The same flexible, rapid platform that powered COVID vaccines, now aimed at cancer. That combo of customization and speed could be a game-changer, making it possible to adapt treatments quickly to different cancers and patients. What this could mean for patients If larger trials confirm these results and regulators greenlight it, the ripple effects could be huge. Globally:  It could signal a move away from harsh, broad treatments like chemo toward targeted therapies with fewer side effects. For India:  With colorectal and cervical cancer ranking among the top cancer killers, a personalized vaccine like this could save countless lives— if  cost, infrastructure, and regulatory approval line up. Of course, we need to keep our excitement in check. Early success doesn’t always guarantee long-term results. Plus, producing personalized mRNA vaccines at scale isn’t simple—it requires advanced labs, cold-chain logistics, and genomic profiling capabilities. Still, Enteromix has lit a spark of hope in the oncology world. Whether it turns out to be a revolutionary standard of care or just a promising experiment will depend on how well global health systems, regulators, and innovators work together in the years ahead. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia Post says it’s getting back to business with the United States after a short suspension caused by tariffs introduced under former US president Donald Trump. From September 25, postal services to the US and its territories — including Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands — will resume. Business customers will again be able to send parcels after weeks of disruption. The restart comes thanks to a new partnership with Zonos, one of the few providers approved by US Customs and Border Protection and the Universal Postal Union to meet the latest postal rules. Australia Post was one of nearly 200 global postal providers forced to halt US deliveries when Trump’s customs and tariff changes came into effect. Gary Starr, Executive General Manager of Parcels, Post & eCommerce, said customers had borne the brunt of the suspension. “The real impact has been on exporters relying on our cost-effective service,” he explained. “We’ve been working around the clock to find a solution and get services back up and running as quickly as possible.” Starr added the suspension will be officially lifted on September 25, but if things can move faster, they’ll reopen sooner. Australia Post is also developing a separate solution so parcels can once again be sent via its post office network. For now, gifts under $US100 ($A151), as well as letters and documents, remain exempt from the tariffs. The federal government has already voiced its disappointment with the Trump administration’s measures, saying it will keep pushing to remove trade barriers that hurt Australian exporters. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .