ABF seizes illicit tobacco manufacturing machine able to making as much as 3.6m cigarettes a day
The Australian Border Power seized a big tobacco manufacturing machine able to producing as much as 3.6m cigarettes a day throughout a raid in Sydney on Thursday.
The ABF mentioned it carried out the operation at a self-storage facility within the suburb of Rouse Hill, executing two warrants to uncover gear allegedly used within the manufacture of illicit tobacco. The company additionally seized greater than 7.5kg of loose-leaf tobacco, practically 6,000 vaping gadgets and eight bins of suspected counterfeit tobacco packaging.
Samuel Harnden, the performing superintendent of the ABF’s illicit tobacco taskforce, mentioned the company was concentrating on such merchandise at “each degree – importation, manufacturing, distribution, and provide”. He added:
There are clear and established hyperlinks between native illicit tobacco manufacturing in Australia and organised legal syndicates.
Each illicit tobacco buy gives funding to those legal syndicates, giving them the funds that drive additional violence and critical legal exercise.
Key occasions
Patrick Commins
Authorities publicizes $600m for First Nations housing
The federal government has launched the third spherical of its Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), which can embrace $600m to enhance housing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
By the HAFF, Housing Australia gives loans and grants for tasks that enhance the provision of social and inexpensive housing.
The newest spherical will ship 21,000 properties by mid-2029, as a part of a much bigger dedication of 55,000 properties by the top of the last decade.
New figures launched final night time confirmed social housing as a share of all properties fell to a document low of three.6% in 2025, as waitlists for inexpensive properties blew out amid climbing homelessness.
The chief govt of Australian Group Housing, Mark Degotardi, mentioned “the dimensions of Australia’s housing problem is important, however we now have a commonwealth authorities that’s critical about constructing its means out of it, moderately than simply speaking about it”.
In what Labor is looking an “historic” second, the $600m devoted funding deal introduced this morning can be designed in partnership with indigenous communities and embrace a ten% First Nations tenancy goal throughout all social housing delivered underneath the third spherical of the HAFF.
Christopher Knaus
Human rights advocates and Greens name for evaluation into immigration detention contracts
Advocates and the Greens have known as for a evaluation of the Australian authorities’s immigration detention contracts with a personal jail operator following revelations of their involvement in Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.
Administration and Coaching Company (MTC) is a significant participant in america’ personal jail trade and is holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at a handful of enormous detention services throughout California, Texas and New Mexico. The corporate’s therapy of detainees has attracted a string of complaints – together with over the usage of solitary confinement as a retaliatory measure, extreme overcrowding, and a dying in custody – and prompted concern from teams just like the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Asylum Seeker Useful resource Centre and Greens senator David Shoebridge have each known as for a evaluation of Australia’s contracts MTC, which give it duty for the offshore processing facility on Nauru and Australia’s onshore detention community.
Shoebridge mentioned:
MTC’s observe document in america, together with documented stories of abuse and deaths in custody, makes it clear they aren’t, and by no means have been, acceptable to run detention services in Australia.
No firm that earnings globally from immigration crackdowns and mass detention ought to be entrusted with the care of susceptible folks in Australian authorities custody.
ABF seizes illicit tobacco manufacturing machine able to making as much as 3.6m cigarettes a day
The Australian Border Power seized a big tobacco manufacturing machine able to producing as much as 3.6m cigarettes a day throughout a raid in Sydney on Thursday.
The ABF mentioned it carried out the operation at a self-storage facility within the suburb of Rouse Hill, executing two warrants to uncover gear allegedly used within the manufacture of illicit tobacco. The company additionally seized greater than 7.5kg of loose-leaf tobacco, practically 6,000 vaping gadgets and eight bins of suspected counterfeit tobacco packaging.
Samuel Harnden, the performing superintendent of the ABF’s illicit tobacco taskforce, mentioned the company was concentrating on such merchandise at “each degree – importation, manufacturing, distribution, and provide”. He added:
There are clear and established hyperlinks between native illicit tobacco manufacturing in Australia and organised legal syndicates.
Each illicit tobacco buy gives funding to those legal syndicates, giving them the funds that drive additional violence and critical legal exercise.
Penry Buckley
Last V-set service welcomed by crowd of 1000’s at Sydney’s Central station
The ultimate service on the oldest electrical prepare in operation on NSW’s rail community, the V-set, has been welcomed by a crowd of 1000’s at Sydney’s Central station this morning.
Tons of gathered at 5.47am this morning within the Blue Mountains at present, with some sleeping on the platform in a single day to safe a spot on the prepare. Much more welcomed passengers akin to John Graham and Sydney Trains’ CEO, Matt Longland, because it pulled into Platform 2 performed in by a brass railway band.
True to kind, the 8.32am service from Lithgow arrived about quarter-hour late. The driving force of at present’s service, Peter Gunczy, mentioned it was becoming the ultimate V-set had been barely delayed:
I’m really humbled by at present. I actually am. This can be a actual massive turnout. I’ve spent the very best a part of 41 years driving these V-sets, and it’s actually, actually emotional for me personally, and I’m making an attempt actually exhausting to not nicely up, however we’re going all proper.
The V-sets have been first commissioned within the Sixties, and inbuilt Australia by Comeng, previously Commonwealth Engineering, at its Granville manufacturing unit in Sydney earlier than it ceased operations in 1989. The primary V-sets debuted in 1970, though the remaining units date from 1977.
They’re being absolutely changed by the $4bn Mariyung trains, which have been delivered 5 years late following a critical of union disputes together with over the necessity to widen tunnels on the Blue Mountains line.
4 folks injured in canine assault close to Melbourne
4 folks have been critically injured in a canine assault in Melton West on Thursday night.
Victoria police mentioned emergency officers responded to an deal with simply earlier than 10pm. Paramedics handled a person in his 20s, a male in his late teenagers, a girl in her 30s and a feminine in her late teenagers on the scene earlier than all have been transported to the hospital in critical however secure situation.
A council ranger was known as to apprehend the canine, which belonged to the injured events. A second canine on the deal with was additionally seized.
9 Leisure offloads radio community for $56m
Amanda Meade
9 Leisure has offered its radio community for $56m and purchased an outside media platform for $850m and transformed its wholly-owned regional tv station NBN in northern NSW to an affiliate station.
Matt Stanton, 9 Group’s chief govt officer, mentioned:
In the present day’s bulletins mark a vital milestone in our Nine2028 transformation. These transactions will create a extra environment friendly, higher-growth, and digitally powered 9 Group for our shoppers, advertisers, shareholders and folks.
9’s broadcast radio property – 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH can be offered to the Laundy Household Workplace on a money and debt free enterprise worth of $56m, the corporate informed the ASX.
Arthur Laundy, a billionaire publican, owns greater than 40 venues throughout NSW.
Patrick Commins
Australia spends extra on tax breaks for landlords than social housing, homelessness and hire help mixed
Australia spends billions of {dollars} extra on tax breaks for property traders than on social housing, homelessness and hire help mixed, in response to analysis by the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss).
The evaluation comes as new knowledge from the Productiveness Fee reveals the share of properties devoted to social housing has dropped to a document low 3.6%, from 5.7% within the Nineteen Nineties.
The collapse in accessible properties for low-income households coincides with an affordability disaster that has seen rents soar, waitlists for social housing blow out and rising homelessness.
Every week after the OECD known as on the Albanese authorities to spice up its funding in social housing, analysis by Acoss reveals that tax concessions for landlords value $12.3bn in 2025.
In distinction, whole expenditure on the important thing housing help applications totalled $9.6bn.
Learn extra right here:
Heatwave continues throughout Australia
Daisy Dumas
The heatwave affecting a swathe of Australia continues to topple temperature information.
Yesterday, three cities in South Australia set new all-time document highs. Marree reached 49.8C, Roxby Downs, 49.6C, and Leigh Creek, 48.2C, Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore mentioned.
Ballera in Queensland set a brand new document of 48.1C, whereas New South Wales’ highest temperatures have been in Smithville, 48.9C, and Wilcannia, 48.3C.
It’s the newest in a run of record-breaking sizzling days. On Wednesday, three NSW cities recorded new all-time information, with Tibooburra reaching 48.7C, White Cliffs, 48.3C, and Hay 48.4C.
Narramore mentioned one other extraordinarily sizzling day with temperatures of as much as 48C was anticipated within the SA inside at present. Heatwave circumstances can even stay in western NSW and northern Victoria till Saturday, he mentioned.
By Sunday, southern Queensland will bear the brunt of the warmth – on Monday, cooler circumstances are anticipated to ship reprieve to the entire of Australia’s south-east.
Queensland well being minister mentioned federal authorities nonetheless has to bridge the hole on funding deal
Tim Nicholls, the Queensland well being minister, mentioned he nonetheless thinks there’s a “little bit of water to movement underneath the bridge” in discussions between states and the federal authorities over hospital funding.
Nicholls spoke to RN Breakfast this morning;
There’s fairly a bit of labor for the commonwealth to do to step on top of things as a result of the final provide that was put ahead was rejected by states. As a result of it was insufficient and failed to handle the burgeoning issues that now we have.
We’re negotiating respectfully with them, however fairly frankly, the latest provide wasn’t as much as scratch, and we hope to see some enhancements on it.
Butler says Australia intently monitoring unfold of Nipah virus abroad
Butler was requested concerning the unfold of Nipah virus in India, which has had confirmed two circumstances over the previous month. The lethal virus has prompted airport screenings throughout elements of Asia, though Indian officers mentioned there had been “well timed containment” of circumstances.
The virus has low human-to-human transmission, nevertheless it has a excessive fatality fee of 40% to 75%. There isn’t a vaccine.
Butler informed RN earlier:
It’s not transmissible in the best way that your listeners would perceive Covid or the flu to be transmitted in an airborne means. It requires very shut private contact between people and the alternate successfully of bodily fluids. So there’s motive to hope that this has been contained.
However we’re monitoring it very, very intently. We don’t have any recommendation in the intervening time to alter our current protocols for sick travellers who arrive in Australia. There already are protocols for that, however we’ll proceed to look at the state of affairs intently.
Liberal senator stands by Sussan Ley
Liberal senator Maria Kovacic mentioned she doesn’t consider there can be a problem to Sussan Ley’s management within the subsequent fortnight.
Kovacic, the shadow assistant minister to the opposition chief, mentioned she believes Ley has saved her commitments and that she continued to again her, telling RN:
I assist her, she is working exhausting.
She’s protecting her dedication that she made to our get together room and the dedication that she made to Australians.
The senator was requested a couple of assembly of Liberal males yesterday earlier than a funeral for a late colleague, and if was acceptable that members of Lee’s management group appeared to be discussing her future.
Kovacic mentioned she wouldn’t touch upon the supposed assembly, saying she was targeted on the traditional time period of parliament, which begins subsequent week. She added Australians anticipated the opposition to steer:
They anticipate us to steer they usually anticipate us to serve. And management isn’t a title. True management relies on a tradition of service and selflessness.
Butler: value of failure on well being funding deal could be ‘very important’
The federal well being minister, Mark Butler, mentioned he’s “cautiously optimistic” the federal authorities will attain a cope with states and territories on well being funding and the timing of modifications to the NDIS, though he mentioned the nation was “working out of time” to succeed in one.
Butler informed RN Breakfast:
I believe everybody understands at present is vital. … The price of failure can be very important as a result of there’s a shared dedication not solely to make sure our hospitals run nicely and cope with some modifications within the inhabitants … but additionally I believe all jurisdictions recognise the necessity to get the NDIS again on observe and be sure that it meets its authentic targets.
Nationwide cupboard assembly at present to hash out hospital funding and gun buyback particulars
Nationwide cupboard will meet at present in Sydney after the Albanese authorities provided to delay the beginning of the brand new program for early intervention autism companies, a part of a proposed deal to safe an settlement on hospitals and incapacity funding.
Premiers and chief ministers from throughout the nation look prone to conform to the deal, which might push again the beginning of the brand new $2bn Thriving Youngsters scheme to October. It had been attributable to begin on 1 July, however state governments mentioned they weren’t able to take the duty for this system but.
Further particulars meant to attraction to states and territories embrace price range funding “changes” that will profit some smaller areas as they wrestle with rising prices for well being and hospital companies.
Albanese can even press for a dedication to the brand new gun buyback program, set to value tons of of tens of millions of {dollars}. Queensland and the Northern Territory have to this point refused to enroll.
Teenager’s physique present in NSW Blue Mountains
NSW police discovered the physique of a 16-year-old boy yesterday who had gone lacking within the Blue Mountains.
Officers mentioned two boys, aged 16 and 17, had traveled to the world on Tuesday for a three-day tenting journey close to Mt Hay. The older boy activated his private locator beacon on Wednesday night after the pair grew to become separated.
A land and air search later discovered the 17-year-old and he was winched from a campground within the space, though the rescue groups couldn’t discover the youthful boy.
Officers continued looking, and located the physique of the 16-year-old in a creek in Blue Gum Forest, within the Blue Mountains nationwide park.
A autopsy examination can be carried out and a report can be ready for the coroner.
Greater than 2.3m stories of unauthorised practices in opposition to NDIS individuals in 2024-25
Cait Kelly
In 2024-25, there have been greater than 2.3m incidents of unauthorised use of restrictive practices in opposition to NDIS individuals, together with locking folks in rooms, sedated with drugs, or bodily holding them down.
Throughout the 12 months 739,418 folks have been affected by unauthorised restraints, which have been then reported to the NDIS High quality and Safeguards Fee (NQSC).
On prime of this, there have been 34,104 different reportable incidents throughout the 12 months, largely regarding the alleged abuse and neglect (43.6%), adopted by critical harm, together with accidents (33.4%).
In 2024-25, whole expenditure on incapacity companies was $51.1bn, a rise of 5.5% in comparison with 2023-24 and a median annual development fee since 2019 of 16.2%.
Cait Kelly
In response to the aged care knowledge, the Greens spokesperson for older folks, senator Penny Allman-Payne, mentioned:
This can be a nationwide disgrace. Eight months is way too lengthy for somebody of their 80s or 90s to have to attend for assist.
The scarcity of aged care is the direct and meant consequence of Labor’s resolution to ‘ration’ care by means of the restricted launch of residence care packages.
Older Australians are dying ready as much as a 12 months or extra for care, and the key events would moderately fund nuclear submarines and handouts for giant firms than be sure our dad and mom and grandparents are sorted in these closing levels of life.
When the Greens opposed Labor’s new Aged Care Act within the Parliament, we warned the federal government that that is what would occur.
In a rich nation like ours, our dad and mom and grandparents ought to be capable of get the care they want on the time that they want it.
Wait-time blow-out for at-home aged care companies
Cait Kelly
The median wait time between older Australians getting accepted for in-home care packages and the assist beginning has blown out to 245 days, up from 118 days in 2023-24, in response to knowledge launched by the Productiveness Fee.
On prime of this, the median time to obtain an aged care evaluation elevated by 22.7% (from 22 to 27 days) in 2024-25.
The proportion of residential aged care companies that met whole care minute targets was nonetheless underneath 50%, however elevated between 2023-24 (34.0%) and 2024-25 (45.9%).
The information comes simply after the Division of Well being and Ageing revealed in Senate estimates final 12 months that, as of 31 October 2025, there have been 266,352 folks ready for aged care.
This included 113,150 folks ready for an aged care wants evaluation, 107,281 folks on the Nationwide Precedence System ready for a bundle at their accepted degree, and an extra 45,921 folks ready for a Easy Evaluation for CHSP (commonwealth residence assist program).
Good morning
Whats up, it’s Nick Visser right here, able to take you thru at present’s information because it occurs.
Nationwide cupboard is assembly at present in Sydney, the place premiers and chief ministers look prone to conform to a deal from the federal authorities providing to delay the beginning of a brand new program for early intervention autism companies underneath modifications to the NDIS, and supply price range top-ups for smaller states, a part of efforts to safe an overdue deal on hospitals and incapacity funding.
Anthony Albanese can even push nationwide cupboard to thrash out particulars of the federal authorities’s looming gun buyback program, set to value tons of of tens of millions of {dollars}, whilst Queensland and the Northern Territory refuse to enroll.
Let’s get into it.
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