Key events
The agriculture minister, Julie Collins, says the arrival of the H5 bird flu was “not unexpected” as it travels through migratory birds (that can’t be stopped at our borders).
Speaking to the ABC’s News Breakfast this morning, she reiterates that the bird flu hasn’t infiltrated poultry system and authorities are still determining “whether or not this is widespread in Australian wildlife or whether it is just a few isolated cases”.
She says Australia has eradicated the H7 strain of the bird flu, but concedes that overseas it’s been very difficult to stop.
double quotation mark We’re still in the investigation stage and [I] reiterate that it’s not in poultry or agriculture systems at this this point in time.What we have learned from overseas is that we cannot prevent is it from spreading and we’ve been very clear about that. We cannot stop it from arriving. It would come
We can have preparations and plans in place to mitigate some of that.
Asked whether there are any vaccines being produced to stop the spread of this bird flu, Collins says the CSIRO is helping lead work for a vaccine. For humans the H5 is “low risk” but there are some vaccines.
Good morning
Krishani Dhanji
Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
There will be plenty of reaction in Canberra this morning to UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s resignation.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, has been tapped on the shoulder to do the morning media rounds today, to spruik a $2.5bn defence export deal signed with Canada yesterday. And the government will continue to be on the alert over an outbreak of bird flu in Australia, with confirmation a second bird was infected and died from the H5N1 virus.
As all of that happens, of course, the government is trying to get a deal over the line to pass its tax changes to CGT and negative gearing as well as an overhaul of the national disability insurance scheme.
It’s going to be a big one, let’s get cracking!
Revamped Australian War Memorial to be revealed tonight
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The centrepiece of the revamped Australian War Memorial will officially open tonight in an event set to be attended by alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
The former SAS soldier last week successfully varied his bail conditionsso he could attend the ceremony at the Anzac Hall galleries. Roberts-Smith was invited as a Victoria Cross recipient.
Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
In a statement in April, Roberts-Smith said he categorically denied all allegations against him and that he had “always acted within my values, within my training and within the rules of engagement”.
Roberts-Smith is not allowed to discuss the prosecution against him or the prosecution against another alleged war criminal, Oliver Schulz, while in Canberra, under the revised bail conditions.
Andrew Messenger
Janetzki says budget will ‘build Queensland’s future’
Janetzki said on Monday that he had budgeted “a record” $119.2bn for infrastructure over the next four years, including $55.9bn for roads and transport upgrades, while announcing a bus would replace a light rail project on the Gold Coast planned under Labor.
“Our first budget laid the foundation for a fresh start, and tomorrow’s budget will strengthen them because we need to build Queensland’s future,” Janetzki said yesterday.
One reason for fiscal caution: the state government’s finances have been teetering on the edge of a
Rating agency S&P Global last October forecast the state will owe 150% of its revenue by 2028, up from 100% in 2023, due to a historically large infrastructure spend, partly thanks to the 2032 Olympics. Janetzki responded at the time that a downgrade was “inevitable”.
He will hand down the budget this afternoon at 2pm.
Queensland treasurer to hand down his second budget today
Andrew Messenger
The Queensland treasurer, David Janetzki, will hand down his second budget today, tipped to be a cautious rather than reformist plan for the state’s future.
There have been few major announcements in the lead-up to the budget, though the premier, David Crisafulli, and Janetzki promised at the weekend to introduce “no new or increased taxes” and vowed to continue funding the state’s 50c public transport fare scheme introduced under Labor’s Steven Miles.
The premier hasn’t repeated his 2025 vow of “no austerity” but it’s not expected to feature the sort of massive, unpopular cuts that cruelled the last non-Labor Queensland government, that of Campbell Newman, in a single term.
But the opposition has predicted cuts to the public service nonetheless.
The Labor leader claimed on Monday that infrastructure projects will be deferred or downgraded, such as the Coomera Connector highway project, a new road tunnel under Gympie Road in northern Brisbane, and rail projects in the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
“These are all projects that he promised would be funded and delivered in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olymes said.
Yesterday Crisafulli announced that the scrapped stage 4 of the Gold Coast light rail would be replaced by a “metro bus” route dubbed the Surfer.
NSW toll cap to lower to $50 under budget measures handed down today
Penry Buckley
The New South Wales government will lower the weekly road toll cap from $60 to $50 for one year as part of cost-of-living measures handed down today in the 2026-27 state budget.
In advance of today’s budget, the Minns government has announced that the threshold for the cap, under which drivers can claim back from the government after they spend $60 per vehicle, will be lowered to $50 for the 12 months from 6 July, a saving of $10 a week for motorists who already claim toll relief. Tolls on multiple roads managed by private operator Transurban will rise on 1 July, leaving them on average more than 4% higher since July 2025.
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, says:
double quotation mark Almost 950,000 toll account holders have sought and received cash back under the … $60 toll cap and by reducing the cap to $50 there will be 200,000 more joining them.
In addition, the government has confirmed the scrapping of tolling administration fees – issued by post to people without a tolling account when they drive on a toll road – will take place in July after the policy was announced in December last year, following a commitment before the March 2023 election.
The state’s treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, has told Guardian Australia this year’s budget will include public transport fare relief. The state did not follow Victoria in making fares free amid the fallout from the US and Israel’s war in Iran, despite pressure from the NSW opposition, who have also repeatedly called on the government to fund new metro rail projects.
Mookhey says this year’s budget will be about “relief, reform and discipline” after the state’s growth forecast for 2026-27 dropped from 2.5% to 1% amid rising inflation and the global oil shock. We have reporters inside the budget lockup this morning and will bring you the rest of the key announcements when the treasurer gives his speech at 12.30pm.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
It’s a busy day for political types. Canberra is hurtling towards its winter break as Labor scrambles to do deals to get its major tax and NDIS reforms through the Senate.
And it’s budget day in two big states: Queensland and New South Wales. We’ll bring you all the news once the lockups end but, in the meantime, as usual, there are pre-announcements and promises to pore over: a little toll relief in Sydney, sometimes dubbed the world’s most tolled city, and a hint to expect a lot of hard hats in Queensland with an infrastructure-focused plan.
