At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Sri Lanka has named Nalin Perera as its new Honorary Consul in Brisbane, with responsibility for the state of Queensland. The official appointment was presented on February 19 by Yasoja Gunasekera at the Sri Lanka High Commission. Perera is a healthcare-sector businessman and philanthropist. He is actively involved in professional, community and Buddhist organisations across Australia, according to the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner highlighted the importance of deepening Sri Lanka’s ties with Queensland, noting that Perera’s strong business networks would help boost trade, investment and tourism links. Perera said he looks forward to supporting consular services for around 20,000 Sri Lankans living in Queensland, working closely with the High Commission in Canberra. 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 unemployment rate held steady in January 2026, defying expectations and strengthening the case for another interest rate rise later this year. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the jobless rate remained at 4.1 per cent, instead of edging up as forecast. Employment increased by 18,000, driven by a strong gain of 50,000 full-time jobs, even as part-time roles declined. Workforce participation eased slightly to 66.7 per cent, down from last year’s record high. Underemployment ticked higher to 5.9 per cent, while overall labour underutilisation rose to 10 per cent. Youth underemployment also climbed to 14.8 per cent, reversing last month’s improvement. The solid jobs result adds pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia, which meets next in mid-March and is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 3.85 per cent. However, most major banks are tipping a rate increase to 4.10 per cent in May, when fresh inflation data becomes available. Economists say the labour market remains resilient. Oxford Economics notes that while one strong report won’t force immediate action, continued strength in jobs and wages could push the RBA toward further tightening later in the 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 Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආගමන හා විගමන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව දැනට විද්‍යුත් සංචාරක අවසර පත්‍ර (ETA) සඳහා අනුමත කිරීමේ නිවේදන නිකුත් කිරීමේදී තාවකාලික බාධාවක් අත්විඳිමින් සිටී. නිල නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති කාර්යාලය තහවුරු කළේ බලධාරීන් දැනට “ETA අනුමත කිරීමේ නිවේදන නිකුත් කිරීමේ තාවකාලික ප්‍රමාදයකට” මුහුණ දී සිටින බවයි. එක්සත් රාජධානියේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති කාර්යාලය පැවසුවේ “මෙම බාධාව අනපේක්ෂිත තාක්ෂණික තත්වයන් නිසා ඇති වූවක් වන අතර ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අදාළ බලධාරීන් විසින් ප්‍රමුඛතාවය මත විසඳනු ලැබේ” යනුවෙනි. වියට්නාමයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති කාර්යාලය එම පණිවිඩයම ප්‍රතිරාවය කරමින් “නියමිත වේලාවට විසඳනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂා කරන” “අනපේක්ෂිත තාක්ෂණික ගැටළුවක්” ගැන සඳහන් කළේය. මෙම පරිපාලන ප්‍රමාදයන් තිබියදීත්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික දූත මණ්ඩලවලින් ලැබෙන පණිවිඩය පැහැදිලිය: eta.gov.lk නිල ද්වාරයෙහි ETA අයදුම්පතක් සඳහා දැනටමත් ඉදිරිපත් කර මුදල් ගෙවා ඇති මගීන්ට තවමත් විධිමත් අනුමැතිය ලැබී නොමැති වුවද ගමන් කළ හැකිය. “ETA අනුමත කිරීමේ දැන්වීමක් නොලැබුණත්, දැනටමත් ETA සඳහා ඉල්ලුම් කර ඇති සංචාරකයින්ට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ඔවුන්ගේ ගමන දිගටම කරගෙන යා හැකිය,” ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති කාර්යාල තහවුරු කළේය. අනුමැතිය පිළිබඳ නිවේදනයක් නොමැති වුවද, බලපෑමට ලක් වූ මගීන් සඳහා ගොඩවීමට පහසුකම් සැලසීමට ගුවන් සමාගම්වලට නිල වශයෙන් දැනුම් දී ඇති බවත්, උපදෙස් දී ඇති බවත් බලධාරීන් පැහැදිලි කරයි. බලපෑමට ලක් වූ සංචාරකයින් සඳහා, කොළඹට පැමිණි පසු ක්‍රියාවලිය විධිමත් කරනු ලැබේ. බලධාරීන් පවසන්නේ “ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළට (BIA) පැමිණි පසු ETA සත්‍යාපනය සහ අවශ්‍ය පහසුකම් සපයනු ලැබේ” යනුවෙනි. වෙනත් වචන වලින් කිවහොත්, රටට ඇතුළුවීම අත්හිටුවා නැත; සංචාරකයින්ට දඬුවම් කිරීම වළක්වා ගැනීම සඳහා ක්‍රියාවලිය තාවකාලිකව සකස් කර ඇත. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රවේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තියේ මෑත කාලීන වෙනස්කම් මධ්‍යයේ මෙම බාධාව ඇති වේ. ඔක්තෝබර් 15 වන දින, පිටත්වීමට පෙර ETA ලබා ගැනීම බලධාරීන් අනිවාර්ය කළ අතර, කලින් ලබා ගත හැකි ඇතැම් පහසුකම් අවසන් විය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, සංචාරක අංශය විසින් මතු කරන ලද මෙහෙයුම් අභියෝග සහ ගැටළු වලට ප්‍රතිචාර වශයෙන් දින කිහිපයකට පසුව මෙම පියවර අත්හිටුවන ලදී. ඒ සමඟම, නොමිලේ ETA සඳහා සුදුසුකම් ලබන රටවල් ලැයිස්තුව පුළුල් කිරීමේ සැලැස්මක් මත කොළඹ මාස කිහිපයක් තිස්සේ කටයුතු කරමින් සිටී. වර්තමානයේ, රටවල් හතක් (චීනය, ඉන්දියාව, ඉන්දුනීසියාව, ජපානය, මැලේසියාව, රුසියාව සහ තායිලන්තය) මෙම ගාස්තු නිදහස් කිරීමෙන් දැනටමත් ප්‍රතිලාභ ලබයි. මෑත කාලීන නිවේදනවලට අනුව, පහත සඳහන් රටවල් 33 ඉක්මනින් ලැයිස්තුවට එකතු විය හැකිය (තහවුරු කිරීම බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන්): ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව, ඔස්ට්‍රියාව, බහරේනය, බෙලරුස්, බෙල්ජියම, කැනඩාව, චෙක් ජනරජය, ඩෙන්මාර්කය, ෆින්ලන්තය, ප්‍රංශය, ජර්මනිය, ඉරානය, ඊශ්‍රායලය, ඉතාලිය, කසකස්තානය, කුවේට්, නේපාලය, නෙදර්ලන්තය, නවසීලන්තය, නෝර්වේ, ඕමානය, පකිස්ථානය, පෝලන්තය, කටාර්, සෞදි අරාබිය, දකුණු කොරියාව, ස්පාඤ්ඤය, ස්වීඩනය, ස්විට්සර්ලන්තය, තුර්කිය, එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යය, එක්සත් රාජධානිය සහ එක්සත් ජනපදය. මෙම පියවර සංචාරක කර්මාන්තය විසින් බෙහෙවින් අපේක්ෂා කරන නමුත් එය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම තවමත් ක්‍රියාත්මක වී නොමැත. 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. Australia’s new New Vehicle Emissions Standard (NVES) is already reshaping the car market — and many buyers may end up paying more. The policy penalises car makers if new vehicles exceed fuel and emissions targets. The government says it will lower prices over time. So far, the opposite is happening. Several brands have dropped cheaper models because the penalties are too high. Kia has ended V6 petrol versions of the Carnival and Sorento, pushing buyers toward costlier hybrid or diesel options. Ford removed lower-priced Everest variants, lifting prices by about $5,000. Isuzu’s MU-X rose by roughly $7,000. At Toyota, the shift to greener drivetrains has helped push the price of its cheapest model from about $15,000 in 2020 to nearly $29,000 today. Industry leaders warn higher prices are coming. Hyundai Australia says NVES will likely drive up new-car prices and push more buyers into used vehicles. Performance cars are also under pressure. The V8 Mustang is already thousands more expensive, and analysts at Pitcher Partners say emissions penalties could double by the time costs reach customers. Overseas examples offer a warning. In the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and France, emissions taxes have pushed some petrol models out of reach — or off sale entirely. In France, policies under Emmanuel Macron add massive environmental charges to high-emission cars. Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales are growing slower than expected, leaving buyers stuck between fewer choices and higher prices. The takeaway: Australians replacing a car may soon face fewer options, bigger bills, or both — and the impact of NVES is only just beginning to be felt. 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. Inflation has overtaken wage growth for the first time in two years, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Figures show wages rose 0.8% in the December quarter, lifting annual pay growth to 3.4%. But with inflation sitting at 3.8%, real wages slipped by about 0.4% over the quarter. The wage index does not include bonuses or overtime. Public sector pay grew faster than private wages, rising 4.0% compared to 3.4%, driven mainly by government-funded increases in health and childcare. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said inflation remains higher than desired but stressed that wages have been growing above 3% for more than three years. He said the government remains focused on easing inflation, lifting productivity, and managing global uncertainty. Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson took aim at the government, saying inflation is still eroding household incomes and that Australians are falling behind despite working hard. Former Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe also weighed in, warning that weak productivity and ongoing government spending were keeping inflation stubborn. He said if demand keeps rising without stronger supply, interest rates may need to stay higher for longer. The data highlights ongoing pressure on household budgets, even as wages continue to grow. 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. Australia’s title defence at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is over. The 2021 champions have been eliminated at the group stage after the Group B match between Zimbabwe and Ireland was washed out in Pallekele due to heavy rain. No ball was bowled. The abandoned game lifted Zimbabwe to five points, putting them beyond reach of Australia. Even a win in Australia’s final match would only take them to four. Oman were already out, and Ireland’s chances also ended with the no result. Australia’s campaign had already taken a hit a day earlier with a heavy loss to Sri Lanka in Kandy. Spinner Dushan Hemantha starred with the ball, before Pathum Nissanka smashed an unbeaten century to seal an eight-wicket win and Sri Lanka’s Super 8 spot. Australia also suffered a surprise defeat to Zimbabwe earlier in the tournament. Their only victory came against Ireland, with a convincing win in Colombo. It marks a disappointing early exit for the defending champions in a tough World Cup campaign. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians may need to rethink how they live as pressure mounts on the housing market, experts warn. A new report by the Housing Industry Association and Cotality shows land prices have risen about three times faster than building and labour costs since 2000. Land is now the biggest driver of home price growth. The report says land costs reflect more than the ground itself. Before homes are built, land must be rezoned and connected to roads, water, sewerage, power and community facilities. These costs are often passed directly to buyers through fees and levies. HIA chief economist Tim Reardon says government planning, delays and taxes are being built into land prices, leaving new buyers to pay more upfront. Greenfield lot prices have risen more than sixfold since 2000, the report found. Some urban planners disagree with parts of the analysis. Libby Porter from RMIT University says land is naturally limited by geography and environmental risks, warning against weakening planning rules that protect against floods and bushfires. Construction costs did surge after COVID, rising nearly 40 per cent between 2019 and 2024, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. But industry figures say those costs are now stabilising, while land prices continue to climb faster than inflation. Housing researcher Michael Fotheringham from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute says new building methods, such as offsite construction and advanced materials, could help. However, worker shortages remain a major challenge. Governments are starting to respond. The federal government has committed $1 billion to help states fund essential infrastructure to unlock housing supply. New South Wales and Victoria have also moved to allow more medium- and high-density housing. Experts say lasting solutions may require a cultural shift. Most Australian homes are still detached houses, often occupied by just two people. “To fix housing affordability,” Dr Fotheringham says, “we need to build smarter, denser cities rather than endlessly pushing suburbs further out.” Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

The Consulate General of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Melbourne has announced a significant relocation of its offices, moving operations to a new premise on St. Kilda Road later this month. In an official notice released today, the Consulate confirmed that effective Tuesday, 24th February 2026 , all consular services will be conducted from their new headquarters at 432, Level 9 Suite 02, St. Kilda Road, VIC 3004 . Service Interruption Warning For members of the public planning to visit the consulate in late February, it is crucial to note a temporary suspension of operations. To facilitate the complex logistics of the move, the Consulate will remain closed on Monday, 23rd February 2026 . Officials have stated that normal operations will resume immediately on the following day, Tuesday the 24th, at the new location. Accessibility and Contact The move places the Consulate in a highly accessible area of Melbourne. The new offices are situated just 500 meters from the ANZAC Station, with the Toorak Road/St Kilda Road tram stop serving as the nearest direct transport link. Despite the physical move, the Consulate has assured the community that all digital and telephonic contact channels remain unchanged. Phone:  +61 3 9290 4200 Email:   mail@slcgmel.org Website:   www.slcgmel.org Community members with urgent consular matters are advised to plan their visits around the designated closure date to avoid inconvenience. Official Statement:

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ මුල් දින 15 තුළ සංචාරකයින් 159,339 දෙනෙකු මෙරටට පැමිණ ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ (SLTDA) දත්ත පෙන්වා දෙයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ (SLTDA) විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද දත්ත වලට අනුව, ඉන්දියාවෙන් සංචාරකයින් 26,096 ක් පැමිණ ඇති අතර එය 16.0% කි. තවද, පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ දී එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් පුද්ගලයින් 17,807 ක්, රුසියාවෙන් 12,607 ක්, ජර්මනියෙන් 12,309 ක් සහ චීන ජාතිකයින් 11,560 ක් ද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණ ඇත. 2025 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සංචාරකයින් 240,217 ක් පැමිණ ඇත. මේ අතර, පෙබරවාරි සඳහා නවතම සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන නිකුත් කිරීමත් සමඟ 2026 දී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණි සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාව 436,666 දක්වා ඉහළ ගොස් තිබේ. ඒ අතරින් පුද්ගලයින් 78,157 ක් ඉන්දියාවෙන්, 47,347 ක් එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් සහ 39,741 ක් රුසියාවෙන් පැමිණි බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ (SLTDA) සඳහන් කළේය. 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. A fast-moving bushfire in northern Victoria has escalated to the highest emergency level, with homes under threat. The fire started around 1pm near the Goulburn Valley Highway at Trawool and is burning out of control. It is moving south-west toward Fairview Road and the Tallarook State Forest. Residents in parts of Kerrisdale, Tallarook and Trawool have been told it is too late to leave and to shelter indoors immediately. Areas north of the highway, including parts of Granite, Kerrisdale and Trawool, are not under direct threat but have been urged to stay alert. The fire impact zone has expanded to Strath Creek, where people along King Parrot Creek Road between Tehans Road and Strath Creek Road have been ordered to evacuate now. Fire crews are battling extreme conditions, with temperatures around 32.5°C and northerly wind gusts up to 45km/h. A strong south-westerly wind change is expected later tonight, which could worsen conditions on the fireground. A Total Fire Ban is in place across multiple districts, including the South West, Wimmera, Central, North Central and West and South Gippsland. Authorities had warned of heightened fire danger due to dry fuel and strong winds. Several aircraft are supporting ground crews with water bombing. The Country Fire Authority urges residents to follow warnings closely and be ready to act as conditions change. 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. In a night of dramatic contrasts at Pallekele, Sri Lanka surged into the Super Eight stage of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, delivering a crushing eight-wicket victory that has left Australia’s tournament hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads. Powered by a sublime, unbeaten century from Pathum Nissanka, the co-hosts chased down Australia's competitive 181 with two overs to spare. For the Australians, a match that began with explosive dominance ended in a familiar and worrying collapse, marking their second loss in three group games. The Nissanka Show Chasing 182 for victory under the lights, Sri Lanka’s response was nothing short of emphatic. despite losing Kusal Perera early to Marcus Stoinis, the hosts never looked rattled. Pathum Nissanka produced one of the finest innings of his career, anchoring the chase with a breathtaking 100 off just 52 balls *. His knock, studded with 10 fours and 5 towering sixes, dismantled the Australian attack with surgical precision. He found an able partner in Kusal Mendis (51 off 38), and the duo stitched together a match-winning 97-run partnership that broke the back of the chase. By the time Pavan Rathnayake (28* off 15) hit the winning boundary, the capacity crowd in Kandy was already in raptures. The victory not only sealed Sri Lanka's progression but sent a stern warning to the rest of the competition: at home, the Lions are a force to be reckoned with. Australia’s "Great Collapse" Earlier in the evening, such a result seemed impossible. Welcoming back captain Mitchell Marsh from injury, Australia stormed out of the blocks. Marsh (54 off 27) and Travis Head (56 off 29) brutalized the Sri Lankan powerplay bowling, racing to 104/0 in just 8.3 overs . At that stage, a total in excess of 220 looked inevitable. But the introduction of spin turned the game on its head. Dushan Hemantha (3/37) provided the spark, removing Head to trigger a slide that Australia could not arrest. The visitors lost their way completely, crumbling from 104/0 to 181 all out , losing all 10 wickets for just 77 runs. The middle order, including Glenn Maxwell and Tim David, failed to fire against the turning ball, while Sri Lanka’s fielding—highlighted by a spectacular catch from Nissanka to dismiss Maxwell—was electric. What This Means for Group B The result has drastic implications for the Group B standings: Sri Lanka:  Qualified for the Super 8s with a dominant record. Australia:  Now teetering on elimination. They remain on just 2 points. For Mitchell Marsh’s men, destiny is no longer in their own hands. They must now rely on a miracle: they need Ireland to defeat Zimbabwe in the upcoming fixture to keep their slim qualification hopes alive. If Zimbabwe wins, the 2021 champions will be packing their bags early. 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. The spotlight is on Pallekele as Australia face Sri Lanka in a crucial Group B clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. The match will be played Today (February 16), with the first ball at 7.00 pm Sri Lankan time (12.30 am - February 17 Melbourne Time) at the Pallekele International Stadium, one of Sri Lanka’s highest-scoring T20 venues. What’s at stake Sri Lanka are unbeaten and sit near the top of the group. Australia, meanwhile, are under pressure after a shock loss to Zimbabwe. Another defeat could leave them on the brink of an early exit from the tournament. Australia update Australia welcome back Tim David from a hamstring issue, while Marcus Stoinis has been cleared after a hand scare. Captain Mitch Marsh remains under an injury cloud but completed training on match eve. Steve Smith has joined the squad in Sri Lanka but cannot play unless officially added to the 15-man World Cup squad. Australia’s bowling remains unsettled, with selectors weighing changes after expensive outings in earlier matches. Sri Lanka update Sri Lanka suffered a major blow with star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out with a hamstring tear. Spin duties now rest heavily on Maheesh Theekshana, who has been outstanding in the opening games. The hosts’ middle order is in strong form, led by Kusal Mendis, who has scored back-to-back fifties. Sri Lanka may lean on extra pace at Pallekele, where seamers often play a bigger role than at other local venues. Head-to-head Australia hold the overall edge in T20 World Cups, but Sri Lanka won the last meeting between the sides at Pallekele. History suggests a close contest in local conditions. The bigger picture Sri Lanka can all but secure progression with a win. Australia must win to keep their Super Eight hopes firmly alive — and may still need help from other results. All signs point to a high-stakes, high-intensity night in Kandy. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .