What you need to know
Hello and welcome to the national news blog from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Follow along for rolling coverage of breaking news from Australia and around the world.
Here’s what you need to know this morning:
- A top Iranian official has warned Donald Trump’s newly announced mission to guide stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a ceasefire violation, as he took aim at the US president’s “delusional” social media posts. Trump launched “Project Freedom” on Truth Social hours ago – he said US forces would support ships that have done “nothing wrong” through restricted waterways from today. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iran’s parliament national security commission, said the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf were “not a place for rhetoric”, dismissing what Azizi called US “blame game scenarios”.
- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is in Australia today as the world’s middle powers work to bolster relations amid growing uncertainty over the Iran war. Foreign Minister Penny Wong spruiked the bilateral relationship this morning, calling Japan a key economic, diplomatic and defence partner. Takaichi’s visit comes as the Albanese government is urged to consider Japan as a fallback option should the AUKUS pact collapse.
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said next week’s federal budget will be calibrated to address intergenerational inequity and confront inflationary pressures, as speculation swirls over capital gains tax discount and negative gearing reform. He fended off suggestions he was about to break promises in the budget in a press conference this morning, saying “you build trust by taking the right decisions for the right seasons and explaining if you’ve come to a different view over time”. The budget will be handed down next Tuesday.
Inquiry into Australia’s tobacco black market under way
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has questioned how effective a cut to the tobacco excise would be in tackling Australia’s illicit tobacco trade, as stakeholders appear before a Senate inquiry into the multi-billion dollar black market today.
“I am sceptical that cutting tobacco taxes in the way that big tobacco would like us to … would see the sort of change that people are hoping for,” Chalmers told reporters ahead of the inquiry.
Tobacco commissioner Amber Shuhyta told the inquiry that analysis of illicit tobacco markets internationally showed no correlation between the size of tobacco excise and the size of illegal trade.
“Some of the countries with the cheapest tobacco in the world [have] sizable illicit markets,” she said.
Japanese PM welcomed in Canberra
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been welcomed to Australia in a ceremony that included a 19-gun salute, a rendition of the Japanese and Australian national anthems, and Takaichi signing the official guest book in the foyer of Parliament House.
Takaichi, accompanied by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, was greeted in the foyer by schoolchildren waving Australian and Japanese flags, and senior members of the Australian and Japanese governments.
It is the Japanese PM’s first official visit to Australia since taking office, marking 50 years since the signing of the Basic Treaty between the two nations – a document laying the foundations of economic and diplomatic cooperation in place today.
Albanese and Takaichi will now move to an annual leaders’ meeting, before they’re expected to address the media this afternoon. The leaders have previously met on the margins of summits in Kuala Lumpur, Gyeongju and Johannesburg.
Iran official warns Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ would break ceasefire
The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission has warned US interference in the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a ceasefire violation as he swiped at Donald Trump’s “delusional posts”, after Trump announced a mission to help stranded ships out of the Middle East.
Ebrahim Azizi fired the warning shot on X hours after Trump launched “Project Freedom”, which he said would safely guide ships that have done “nothing wrong” from restricted waterways beginning today.
US Central Command said the initiative would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members. The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they would be deployed.
Azizi, writing on X, said the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf were “not a place for rhetoric”, dismissing what he called US “blame game scenarios”.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency called Trump’s announcement part of his “delirium”.
With AP
Chalmers fends off suggestions Labor will break promises in budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has fended off suggestions he is about to break promises in next week’s budget by arguing the government can build trust with voters by explaining the reasons for any new policies.
The budget is expected to contain reforms to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing. A change to negative gearing would be at odds with pre-election comments from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who said they were not on the government’s agenda.
“You build trust by taking the right decisions for the right reasons and explaining, if you’ve come to a different view over time, being upfront and explaining why that has been the case,” he said.
“I’ll refer you, for example, to the necessary and I think warranted steps that we took when it came to the stage 3 tax cuts.
“When we came to a different view, we explained why.”
Germany hails US as ‘most important’ NATO partner after Trump backlash
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has hailed the US as Germany’s “most important partner in the North Atlantic Alliance”, after his remarks blasting the Trump administration’s war on Iran triggered the removal of 5000 American troops from the European nation at the weekend.
The latest comments, posted hours ago on X, strike a conciliatory tone contrasting remarks last Monday, in which Merz said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran and had no clear exit from the conflict.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth announced the removal of a US Army brigade from Germany less than 24 hours after Merz blasted the administration, as Donald Trump threatened retaliation on social media.
Merz promoted the shared strategic goals between the two nations in the Middle East in the X post, saying: “We share a common goal: Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.”
No country in Europe has more American troops than Germany. With 49,000 military and civilian personnel, the country has more American defence service members on active duty than many US states.
Appetite strong but not enough cash for universal childcare
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government would keep pursuing the prime minister’s goal of universal childcare “when we can afford to do so”.
Anthony Albanese has said he wanted to leave a legacy of accessible and affordable childcare for every Australian child, but the war in Iran, rising inflation, and global instability had forced the government to reprioritise.
“From the prime minister right down, there is an appetite to do more in that regard when we can afford to do so,” Chalmers told reporters in Canberra this morning.
“In recognising that it will take time to get to a system which is more universal, we shouldn’t lightly dismiss the steps that we have already taken,” he said, pointing to the government’s three-day guarantee of subsidised care.
Budget to confront inflationary pressures
Staying with Jim Chalmers, he has denied government spending is driving inflation but said Labor would play a “helpful role” in bringing it back down.
Asked whether the pursuit of savings in the budget was a concession that government spending was driving inflation, Chalmers said the uptick in inflation at the end of last year was because of activity in the private sector.
He said the rise in inflation in the month of March was “driven overwhelmingly by higher petrol prices because of what we’re seeing in the war in the Middle East”.
“But we recognise that there are other inflationary pressures as well,” the treasurer said.
“Now we haven’t seen this big uptick in inflation because of government spending, but government spending, as I’ve said on heaps of occasions, is obviously part of aggregate demand, and so where we can play a helpful role … obviously, we look for ways to do that.”
Chalmers flags intergenerational reform
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said spending restraint would be more foundational to next week’s budget than tax reform as he outlined the government’s desire to rebalance intergenerational inequity.
“There will … be more dollars in savings than dollars in tax reform,” Chalmers told reporters in Canberra. “Savings and spending restraint is doing a lot of the heavy lifting.”
Chalmers said the budget would be calibrated to address intergenerational inequity.
“The intergenerational pressures are really serious,” he said.
“Now we recognise and respect the really big contribution that older Australians have made and continue to make to our country and to our economy, but a lot of Australians and particularly younger Australians are finding it really difficult to get into the housing market.”
More savings forecast for federal budget
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said savings would be found in every government portfolio as Labor foreshadows more savings than new expenditure in next week’s budget.
“The budget will include $2.7 billion in savings,” Gallagher told reporters in Canberra.
She said savings from the public service would come from reduced spending on external labour and non-wage spending, such as travel and hospitality.
“This is essentially extending the existing savings measure we have put in place in previous budgets, and it will also have significant savings from unallocated funding across a number of departments. It will also include re-prioritisation within defence … and also an effort around reducing fraud and non-compliance across the NDIS.”
Japanese PM in Australia amid global uncertainty
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi touched down in Australia last night as the world’s middle powers work to bolster relations amid persistent global uncertainty and the oil shock caused by the war in Iran.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia’s partnership with Japan was important for several reasons.
“They’re a partner with whom we work economically. They’re a partner with whom we work diplomatically. We obviously have a defence relationship in terms of procurement from Japan. They’re a very important partner in the region,” Wong told ABC News Breakfast.
This masthead reported today that Australia was being urged to consider Japan as a fallback option to obtain submarines should the AUKUS pact collapse.
Wong said the government was “focused on AUKUS”.
“That’s a capability that is important for Australia. It’s in our national interest. It’s about having a capability that enables us to contribute to both deterrence and assurance, and those are things necessary for peace and stability. So we’re focused on delivering all this.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
