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 production costs. Olive oil prices have surged after poor harvests in major producing countries, with a 1-litre bottle that once sold for around $12–$14 now often costing more than $24. Popular snacks have also become more expensive. Products like Tim Tams and potato chips have nearly doubled in price, while some pack sizes have become smaller. Egg prices jumped following avian influenza outbreaks that reduced poultry numbers across parts of Australia, creating supply shortages that pushed prices higher. Chocolate and coffee have also been affected by global shortages and adverse weather in key growing regions. Consumers are now paying considerably more for chocolate blocks, coffee beans and instant coffee than they were a few years ago. Dairy products, including milk and cheese, have risen steadily due to increased farm, labour and transport costs. Meat prices have also climbed, with beef, lamb and chicken becoming more expensive for many households. While some global commodity prices have started to stabilise, industry experts say ongoing production, packaging and freight costs mean shoppers are unlikely to see major price reductions anytime soon. Source : 9 News 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. Sri Lanka has taken a major step towards joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade agreement, according to Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath. Speaking at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra following his official visit to Australia and New Zealand, the Minister said both countries have pledged their support for Sri Lanka’s bid to become a member of the regional trade bloc. RCEP brings together 15 economies, including the 10 ASEAN nations, as well as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea. The agreement is designed to strengthen trade and economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. Minister Herath said the visit helped build strong momentum for Sri Lanka’s efforts to expand trade opportunities and deepen economic ties with key regional partners. Another significant outcome of the visit was progress on air connectivity between Sri Lanka and Australia. The Minister announced that direct flights between the two countries are expected to begin from August 2026, creating new opportunities for tourism, business and people-to-people links. The developments mark an important step in strengthening Sri Lanka’s economic engagement with the wider Asia-Pacific region. Source : Srilankamirror News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

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 two years. The ABS said higher interest rates, rising fuel costs and disruptions caused by cyclones affected household spending, mining activity and exports. Household spending rose modestly by 0.5 per cent, with families spending more on essential services such as electricity and fuel following the end of government rebates. Despite the slower growth, business investment remained a bright spot. Private sector investment increased by 6 per cent, driven by a strong rise in spending on machinery and equipment, marking the biggest increase in that category in three decades. Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the economy as resilient despite global uncertainty, highlighting strong private investment and annual growth that remains ahead of many advanced economies. Meanwhile, the Opposition argued the figures show ongoing pressure on households and businesses, pointing to weaker productivity, falling GDP per person and rising cost-of-living challenges. The latest data reflects an economy that is still growing, but facing continued pressure from higher living costs and a challenging global environment. Source : PS News 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 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. Woolworths and Coles improved slightly compared to previous rankings, although both supermarkets still remain among Australia’s most distrusted brands. Other companies appearing in the bottom 10 include Tesla, Qantas, Telstra, Shein and X. At the other end of the rankings, Bunnings retained its position as Australia’s most trusted brand for the 10th consecutive quarter. Aldi and Kmart secured second and third place, while Commonwealth Bank, Apple, Big W, Myer, Toyota, JB Hi-Fi and Australia Post rounded out the top 10. The survey also highlighted broader industry trends. Retail remained Australia’s most trusted sector, while telecommunications continued to rank as the least trusted. Social media platforms also faced ongoing public scepticism, driven by concerns surrounding brands such as Facebook, X and TikTok. Meanwhile, trust in artificial intelligence companies appears to be declining. Google, OpenAI and ChatGPT all recorded weaker results, reflecting growing public concerns about AI development, business practices and transparency. Source : 9 News 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. මැයි මාසයේදී සංචාරකයින් 145,745 ක් මෙරටට පැමිණ ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ (SLTDA) දත්ත පෙන්වා දෙයි. සංචාරක හා සංචාරක කර්මාන්තයට බලපා ඇති මැද පෙරදිග ගැටුම් මධ්‍යයේ වුවද මෙය සිදු වේ. SLTDA විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද දත්ත වලට අනුව, ඉන්දියාවෙන් සංචාරකයින් 60,342 ක් පැමිණ ඇති අතර එය 41.0% කි. තවද, මැයි මාසයේදී එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් 9,248 ක්, චීනයෙන් 9,156 ක්, ජර්මනියෙන් 6,734 ක් සහ චීන ජාතිකයින් 6,414 ක් ද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණ ඇත. 2025 මැයි මාසයේදී මෙරටට සංචාරකයින් 132,919 ක් පැමිණ ඇත. මේ අතර, මැයි මාසය සඳහා නවතම සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන නිකුත් කිරීමත් සමඟ 2026 දී මෙරටට පැමිණි සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාව 1,022,022 දක්වා ඉහළ ගොස් තිබේ. ඒ අතරින් පුද්ගලයින් 250,260 ක් ඉන්දියාවෙන්, 98,093 ක් එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් සහ 76,073 ක් රුසියාවෙන් පැමිණි බව SLTDA සඳහන් කළේය. Source : Adaderena News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

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 the country, expanding by 2.2 per cent between September 2024 and September 2025. Tasmania experienced the slowest growth, with its population rising by just 0.3 per cent. Looking ahead, population growth is expected to slow. The Centre for Population forecasts national growth of 1.3 per cent in 2025–26 as overseas migration eases and birth rates continue to decline. Australia’s fertility rate is projected to fall to a record low of 1.42 children per woman, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain population growth through births alone. Net overseas migration is also expected to return to more typical pre-pandemic levels, driven by fewer temporary arrivals, particularly international students and visitors. For 2025–26, net overseas migration is forecast to reach around 260,000 people. Source : News.com 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. 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 dropped from 90th to 93rd. ANU has faced months of controversy, including leadership resignations and major cost-cutting plans. The University of New South Wales remained Australia’s highest-ranked university at 52nd globally, while the University of Melbourne held steady at 64th. The University of Technology Sydney improved by six places despite recent job cuts and course reductions linked to financial challenges. Western Sydney University also moved down slightly as it continues recovering from last year’s major data breach affecting thousands of students. Australian universities have faced growing scrutiny in recent months, including concerns over governance, financial management and campus culture. Globally, United States universities dominated the rankings, with Harvard, MIT and Stanford taking the top three positions. Cambridge and Oxford in the United Kingdom completed the top five. Source : 9 News 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. බහාලුම් ප්‍රවාහන හිමියන්ගේ සංගමය නිවේදනය කළේ බහාලුම් ප්‍රවාහන ගාස්තු 5% කින් වැඩි කර ඇති බවයි. ජුනි 1 වන දින සිට ක්‍රියාත්මක වන පරිදි බහාලුම් ප්‍රවාහන ගාස්තු වැඩි කර ඇති බව සංගමයේ සභාපති සනත් මංජුල මහතා පැවසීය. මාධ්‍ය අමතමින් ඔහු මේ බව නිවේදනය කළේය. Source : Newswire More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

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 million employees who rely on award wages. Many of these workers are employed in industries such as hospitality, retail, healthcare and support services. The Fair Work Commission said the decision was made during a difficult economic period, with rising inflation, higher fuel prices and global uncertainty continuing to affect households and businesses. Unions welcomed the increase, saying it would help lower-paid workers manage growing living costs and provide some financial relief. Business groups, however, warned the higher wages could add pressure to struggling businesses already dealing with rising expenses, interest rates and weaker economic conditions. The Commission also confirmed it will phase out the lowest ongoing award classification, lifting the minimum base pay level for permanent employees. Economists remain divided on the broader impact. Some believe the wage rise will have little effect on inflation, while others warn it could increase business costs and keep pressure on interest rates later this year. Source : ABC News 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. 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 posted a small drop. Cotality research director Tim Lawless said affordability pressures, higher borrowing costs and uncertainty around the economy were all weighing on the market. Sales activity has also slowed, with fewer buyers entering the market compared with last year. Industry experts say many buyers are becoming more cautious amid concerns prices could fall further. Despite the softer national trend, some cities continued to perform strongly. Perth and Darwin recorded the biggest monthly gains, while Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart also posted modest growth. Regional housing markets remained more resilient than capital cities, although growth has also started to slow. Economists say Sydney remains vulnerable due to high property prices and affordability challenges, while Melbourne continues to face weak confidence and softer demand. The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates three times this year, pushing the cash rate to 4.35 per cent. Ongoing inflation pressures have also increased the possibility of another rate rise later this year. Proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax are also expected to reduce investor activity, with some forecasts predicting slower price growth and weaker market conditions over the next 12 months. While analysts expect housing prices to soften further, most believe a major market crash remains unlikely unless unemployment rises sharply. Real estate agents in Sydney are already reporting fewer buyers attending inspections and a more cautious market compared with last year. Source : ABC News 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. 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 members from the state of Victoria, during an official regional visit covering Australia and New Zealand. Both sides highlighted the importance of stronger parliamentary and government-to-government cooperation to support long-term diplomatic ties and policy coordination. Economic growth and trade opportunities were key topics during the discussions, with both countries exploring ways to expand investment, strengthen business links and improve economic cooperation in a changing global environment. Tourism collaboration was also identified as a major priority. Discussions focused on promoting Sri Lanka as a destination for Australian travellers while encouraging greater people-to-people connections through travel and cultural exchange. The Sri Lankan community in Australia was recognised for its role in strengthening social, cultural and economic links between the two countries. Officials also discussed the importance of deeper diaspora engagement in areas such as education, trade and community relations. The meetings further reinforced Sri Lanka’s broader Indo-Pacific diplomatic outreach, with both nations expressing interest in maintaining closer engagement across multiple sectors in the years ahead. The discussions reflected a shared commitment to building a stronger and forward-looking partnership between Sri Lanka and Australia through continued cooperation and regional collaboration. Source : Travelandtourworld News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

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, with damaging winds, heavy showers and possible flash flooding expected across several regions, including Adelaide, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Ceduna and Mount Gambier. Residents are being urged to stay indoors during the worst conditions, avoid windows and move vehicles away from trees. Meteorologists say the same low-pressure system is now moving east and could bring severe weather to Victoria and NSW later this week. In WA, wind gusts reached as high as 135km/h in some coastal areas. Emergency crews responded to fallen trees, damaged roofs and washed-up boats, while thousands of properties remain without power. Forecasters also warned of dangerous surf and unusually high tides along parts of the WA coast. Sydney is expected to experience stronger winds from Tuesday as the weather system continues moving across the country. Source : Sky News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.