Servos put on notice over petrol price spike
Jim Chalmers wrote to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb on Tuesday requesting the watchdog be on the lookout for petrol stations attempting to 'do the wrong thing by Australian motorists,' and implement non-justifiable changes on motorists. The treasurer's warning comes as fuel prices are feared to spike due to the conflict in the Middle East. NewsWire/ Dan Peled Credit: News Corp Australia
The Treasurer noted global oil prices had increased by more than 25 per cent since June from about $62 a barrel to about $79 at the start of this week, however they had moderated following a potential ceasefire.
'Recent spikes in the barrel price on international markets and volatility associated with unfolding events should not be used as an excuse for retailers to gouge customers or to increase prices opportunistically above and beyond the impact of events in the Middle East,' Mr Chalmers wrote.
'I would expect the ACCC as the independent regulator enforcing Australia's competition and consumer laws to investigate any concerns arising about misrepresentations regarding petrol prices, false and misleading conduct or anti-competitive conduct in petrol markets, and to take appropriate action.' Jim Chalmers called on the ACCC to monitor for instances where retailers were 'opportunistically' increasing prices. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury warned fuel prices were likely to increase, however not by as much as motorists feared.
On average, he said drivers were likely to pay about 8 centres more a litre at the bowser.
'Our regional benchmark – Malaysian Tapis – closed at $77 a barrel and we do expect it to go higher when the markets open tonight,' Mr Khoury said.
'But to put it in perspective, when we saw those really horrible record high prices back when Russia invaded Ukraine, Tapis was trading at $133 a barrel.'
However the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could send oil prices to more than US$100 a barrel, with the 32km stretch responsible for about 30 per cent of the world's oil supply, and the primary shipping route for exports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, and Kuwait.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Peter Greste on Israel's strike on journalists
Sam Hawley: Earlier this week, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. Israel confirmed it had targeted one of the men it says was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell. His employer denies that. So who's telling the truth? Today, former Al Jazeera journalist and executive director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom, Peter Greste, on the problems that arise when foreign reporters are blocked from covering a war. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. News report: This is Al Jazeera breaking news just coming out. Sad breaking news out of Gaza where Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has just been killed in what appears to be a targeted Israeli strike. Anas was killed after a tent for journalists was hit outside the main gate of the hospital. The 28-year-old was a key source of news from Gaza City and the north for international audiences since Israel's war on the strip began some 22 months ago. Sam Hawley: Peter, in Gaza on Monday, there was a funeral procession for five of them was Anas al-Sharif. Just tell me about him. Who was he? Peter Greste: Anas was one of the most prominent, most recognisable Palestinian journalists and videographers. He was working for Al Jazeera Arabic. He was a 28-year-old journalist, married, he had two kids. He was part of a Reuters team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography. Clearly someone who had a very high profile, but he was also accused by the Israelis of being associated with Hamas. News report: Israel says it deliberately targeted their tent and have accused one of the correspondents, Anas al-Sharif, of belonging to Hamas. The UN, the Al Jazeera network and the Committee to Protect Journalists have condemned the attack and rejected the accusation, saying there is no credible evidence of this. Sam Hawley: Yeah, the Israeli military says that Anas al-Sharif was a Hamas operative who'd previously actually launched rockets at Israel. That's their claim. Peter Greste: That is their claim. We haven't seen any evidence to substantiate that. The Israelis have shown documents that claim to show some kind of connection between Anas and Hamas. Those documents certainly don't support the claim that he was an active member of Hamas. But there are a couple of points I think I really need to make. The first is that any journalist working in a place like Gaza is going to have a relationship with the power that controls a region like that. You can't avoid it. I mean, you're going to have their numbers in your contacts books, you're going to have a record of phone calls to them, of communications with them, you're going to have meetings with them. And particularly when they are the power that controls movement in a place like Gaza. So you're inevitably going to have to have a close working relationship with them. That doesn't make you an active member. And we haven't seen any evidence from the Israelis that he was actively involved in terrorist operations. It seems highly circumstantial at best. And even if he was in some way involved with Hamas, that is not the justification for a bombing, a targeted killing like this. Sam Hawley: He'd even written Anas his own obituary, his own will, I suppose, if you like, fearing that he would be killed, didn't he? Peter Greste: Yes, he did. And that was after the Israeli authorities had already accused him of being associated with Hamas. He knew that there was a very good chance that he would be targeted. It seems that he was right in that regard. I guess the thing is that whatever the Israelis say about Anas in particular, there is a really disturbing pattern of attacks, of strikes against working journalists. There have been bomb attacks on the homes of journalists. There've been attacks on journalists who've been working with clearly marked body armour and in clearly marked vehicles. The Israelis have always accused them of being involved in terrorism in some form. And we don't have any specific evidence, the Israelis have never produced any clear-cut evidence to substantiate those allegations. The Israelis, of course, always deny that they target journalists, always deny that they target civilians. But what we have is a clear pattern of circumstantial evidence that, at the very least, demands independent investigation and independent inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter, because it is very difficult from the outside to look at that circumstantial evidence and to agree that the Israelis are, in fact, simply operating to attack and kill terrorists. Sam Hawley: Well, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in the 22 months of the war, more than 180 Palestinian journalists have actually been killed. Peter Greste: That's a huge number. And again, to be clear, the CPJ's numbers are very, very conservative. Other press freedom organisations put the number at far higher. But regardless of how you do the maths, again, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the Israelis are targeting journalists. Sam Hawley: Mm. Alright, well, Peter, of course, you worked for Al Jazeera leading up to your imprisonment in Egypt. It does so much good journalism, we know that, right around the world, but Israel accuses it of being the mouthpiece of Hamas and it actually banned the network operating in Israel last year. What do we know about the network's perspective, particularly within the Middle East? Peter Greste: Look, I've never seen anything to suggest that Al Jazeera... Certainly, while I was working with them, never saw anything to suggest that the network has a policy of supporting Hamas or Islamist organisations. But having said that, you've got to remember that any news organisation tends to view the world through the lens of the place where its headquarters is. The ABC sees and understands and interprets the world, through an Australian-centric view. The same with the BBC, the same with CNN and The New York Times. They all see the world from the perspective of the country that they're anchored in, and that is the case with Al Jazeera, which understands and interprets the world from Qatar. Now, Al Jazeera also has a really extensive network of correspondents across the Middle East, in particular. They've got very strong relationships with groups all over Gaza. And so, inevitably, it is going to be taking a view from inside Gaza. And remember, too, that if you're sitting... If you're a Palestinian, you're sitting at the sharp end of the Israeli attacks over the past couple of years, you're also going to see and report on the effects of those attacks from a position that's incredibly sympathetic to the people that you're working with. That's just a function of perspective. It does not invalidate the truth of what they're reporting. It does not make them propagandists for Hamas. It simply makes them reporters who are covering the story on the ground as they see and experience it. There are going to be critics, and Israel and a lot of Israeli supporters will accuse them of being involved in promoting Hamas propaganda. But I think that's a pretty long bow to draw, particularly when it seems as though anybody who is creating a narrative that runs counter to the Israeli view of things has been accused of being propagandists or supporters of Hamas in some way. Sam Hawley: Mm. Well, Peter, as we know, the only journalists who are able to cover the war on the ground in Gaza are Palestinian, that is, the people that are actually living there, because Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza. That helps Israel, does it, control the narrative? Is that why it does it? Peter Greste: Well, yeah. It's certainly hard to come to any other conclusion. The Israelis, as you said, have repeatedly refused to let foreign journalists in. And just to be clear, I'm one of the earliest signatories on a petition by almost 1,000 international journalists demanding access for foreign correspondents into Gaza. That's not because we want to diminish the work of the Palestinians or somehow claim that they are inherently biased. But the only way we're going to get information that people will be able to trust, that we'll be able to see as independent of either the Palestinians or Hamas or the Israelis, is if we are able to get foreign correspondents into Gaza, working independently as witnesses and reporters. Now, the Israelis, as you said, have repeatedly refused that. They say it's because they can't give security guarantees to the foreign correspondents. But it also does seem very much to be about controlling the flow of information and the reporting that comes out of there. Sam Hawley: So, without international journalists on the ground, as you say, it does allow doubts to be raised about the legitimacy of the images and the reporting that emerges from there. Peter, we saw that most recently, I guess, with this case with The New York Times, where it published a photo of an emaciated child with its mother, which Israel then claimed was fake. Just tell me about that. The New York Times did have to clarify that image. Peter Greste: That's right. They said that the image was, in fact, of a child with a pre-existing condition that was exacerbated by hunger, by starvation. And I think that underlines the central point, that it's incredibly difficult for news organisations like Al Jazeera, and The New York Times, the BBC, or even the ABC, to report accurately on what's going on there without having people on the ground who are capable of verifying and following up those sorts of images and those sorts of details. Sam Hawley: Benjamin Netanyahu this week accused the international press of having bought Hamas's propaganda hook, line and sinker. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister: Everything that I told you could be verified easily, but it hasn't. And the international press has bought hook, line and sinker. Hamas statistics, Hamas claims, Hamas forgeries and Hamas photographs. Sam Hawley: I mean, he's threatening to sue The New York Times, although the paper does stick by its reporting. It does defend its reporting. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister: I'm looking right now into the possibility of a governmental suit against The New York Times, because this is outrageous. It's the kind of malignant lies that were levelled at the Jewish people in the Middle Ages, we won't suffer. We won't allow it to go unchallenged. And this is the purpose of this press conference. Peter Greste: Yeah, and again, the answer would be simply just for the Israelis to allow foreign journalists into Gaza to work alongside the Palestinians to be able to report freely and unhindered. And that's the easiest way of resolving this crisis. Sam Hawley: Just tell me how it works now, though. How do media outlets like The New York Times or the ABC, for that matter, verify the images that are actually coming out from the journalists on the ground in Gaza? How can they be certain of the veracity of the information or the images that are being provided? Peter Greste: There's a whole host of tools that news organisations will use. They'll use the metadata associated with the images to confirm locations and times of particular shots. They'll also use other clues in the photographs that can confirm the time and location of the shots, position of the sun, shadows, and other details in the background of the photographs and so on. And they can generally do a pretty good job. But that kind of verification, as I said, is never going to be a substitute for being there on the ground and being able to take the photographs yourself. Sam Hawley: Well, Peter, as an international correspondent or a former correspondent, yourself, you have covered a number of conflicts. The work is vital, though, as you found, of course, when you were jailed in Egypt and at other times, it can be incredibly dangerous, can't it? Peter Greste: Yes, and I've not only been in prison myself, but I've also lost friends and colleagues in covering these kinds of conflicts. Journalists who go there know and understand the risks that they're taking. The journalists that are covering these places are highly trained, often highly experienced, and they know full well what is at stake. You've got to let the journalists themselves make informed choices about whether or not they're willing to go. And if they are willing to go, then they need to be given the freedom to do it. Sam Hawley: And history shows us how important that is, right? From Vietnam to Iraq and beyond. Peter Greste: Yeah, absolutely. And we've seen reporting change the way that governments respond to conflicts. We saw the way that the public turned against the Vietnam War over time because of the reporting. We've seen the way that the public has turned against the wars in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. That only comes from good reporting. Sometimes the governments don't always like it, but that's a part of the way that democracy works. Sam Hawley: All right. Well, Peter, as you mentioned, news organisations and journalists across the world, including the ABC, are calling on Israel to allow journalists to move in and out of Gaza to report from there. How important is that at this particular point now? Peter Greste: Look, I think it's increasingly vital. We've got claims and counterclaims about the levels of starvation and malnutrition that are taking place inside Gaza. As you've mentioned earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has repeatedly accused the foreign press of swallowing Hamas propaganda hook, line and sinker. The only way we can get to the truth of the matter is by having independent eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza reporting what they see is taking place. Palestinian journalists are doing incredible work, but they will always be seen as vulnerable to allegations that they are working as Hamas propagandists and not independent eyewitnesses. It's unfortunate, but foreign correspondents are the only ones capable of doing that. Sam Hawley: Peter Greste is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom and a Professor of Journalism at Macquarie University. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Sam Dunn. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. Thanks for listening.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Housing to be a focus at the upcoming economic roundtable
JACOB GREBER, POLITICAL EDITOR: It's one of the biggest challenges facing the country and it's at the heart of the government's reform agenda. JIM CHALMERS, TREASURER: We have got a very big, broad, ambitious housing agenda, which is about building more homes, because that's the best way that we provide more affordable options for people who are trying to get a toehold in a difficult market. JACOB GREBER: But it's in places like the Wollondilly region on the outskirts of Sydney where rhetoric splits from reality. Cassandra Mast and her siblings used an inheritance from their mother to invest in land believing it would be the pathway to building a new, affordable home. CASSANDRA MAST, HOME BUILDER: We wanted to do something that would honour her, and she was always about welcoming people into her home, making sure anyone in trouble had a place to stay. JACOB GREBER: After buying a half-acre block last year almost two years after the previous owners began the process of subdividing it – the project remains mired in red tape. CASSANDRA MAST: We've had to remove so many trees and so many plants for the fire regulation even though the fire rating was downgraded, in between the time first application was made and us starting construction. JACOB GREBER: Anyone doing a renovation or building a home knows exactly how Cassandra Mast feels. CLARE O'NEIL, HOUSING MINISTER: We've got too much red tape and regulation; we are not seeing enough innovation in housing. JACOB GREBER: Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has been touring the country in the leadup to next week's roundtable talking to home builders, who've been telling a familiar story. CLARE O'NEIL: We had a good chat with one of the builders here before and he said to me, you know, a decade ago, the hard part about building a house in this country was the actual building. The problem now sits in the approvals and the delays. JACOB GREBER: Building houses in Australia has become more challenging, tangled in paperwork, and costly. According to a recent study by the Housing Industry Association, almost half the million-dollar cost of a house and land package in Sydney goes into regulatory fees, taxes, and delay. JOCELYN MARTIN, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION: It is made up of cascading taxes like stamp duty and GST. It can take up to almost 12 months for a planning approval to take place and then of course for the build itself to take place. JACOB GREBER: Few dispute that housing has become one of the worst inter-generational fairness issues of our time. But unlike previous efforts to fix the problem via demand-boosting incentives like first-home buyer grants - the benefits of which have often flowed to older generations of sellers - the emphasis today and next week's roundtable is about increasing supply. JOCELYN MARTIN: We are hoping that there will be discussions around how to make the delivery of housing more productive, how to address significant amounts of regulation and red tape, to look at all the things that are holding back the delivery of housing supply. JACOB GREBER: The much-hyped economic roundtable is all about momentum building. Three days of talks have been scheduled. The only problem? The government 's messaging over how ambitious they should be has risen and fallen like the tide. JIM CHALMERS (17 June): I expect, I anticipate, I welcome tax being an important part of the conversation. ANTHONY ALBANESE (7 August): The only tax policy that we're implementing is the one we took to the election. JACOB GREBER: The whiplash has stoked speculation of tension between the Prime Minister and his Treasurer. Though both are denying it today. SALLY SARA, RADIO NATIONAL: Are you and the Prime Minister in lockstep about what this roundtable will ultimately achieve? JIM CHALMERS: Completely. ANTHONY ALBANESE: We talk every week, almost every day. We talked yesterday. We talk every day, either in person or exchange messages. JIM CHALMERS: I think it has been a very worthwhile thing that we are shaking the tree for ideas and the Prime Minister and I are aligned in the way we go about that. ANTHONY ALBANESE: We are up for big reform, whether it's strengthening Medicare, the changes to childcare, the benefit to education. JACOB GREBER: Despite the bold talk and the Prime Minister and Treasurer's media blitz of the last few days – almost pre-budget-like in its intensity - it's far from clear what the roundtable will ultimately achieve. For now, major tax reform is off the table, unions are pushing for regulation of artificial intelligence and a four-day work week. But as we've seen, it's in housing where hopes are highest. JOCELYN MARTIN: It is a slow ship to turn around, but we are seeing some changes. JACOB GREBER: For people trying to build homes now, it can't happen fast enough. CASSANDRA MAST: If we can add a home, and someone else can add a home, and someone else can add a home, we won't have a housing problem. We don't need huge developments.
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Shock sector driving the Aussie economy
Australia's economy is getting a surprising boost from the wellness sector, which has quietly grown to one of the nation's leading sectors. According to a new report by Global Wellness Institute, Australia ranks seventh in the world when it comes to spending on their healthcare. In total this added $194.4bn in 2023, up 10.9 per cent year on year or around $7,402 per person. Wellness now makes up seven per cent of Australia's GDP, placing it behind the construction sector. Currently the construction industry accounts for around 9 per cent of GDP and employs more than 1.3 million people. Australians are spending billions to stay fit. NewsWire/Sarah Matray Credit: News Corp Australia Anytime Fitness managing director Simon Thompson says the results show the wellness economy is doing its share of the heavy lifting when it comes to Australia's economy. 'When you consider our population, Australia is punching above its weight and has pioneered many wellness communities that support healthy lifestyles, vibrant social connections, and sustainable living in its growing housing markets,' Mr Thompson said. Mr Thompson said the push was coming from younger Aussies. 'Gyms, instead of pubs and clubs, are now often the number one choice for weekend outings, and even dates,' he said. 'Gen Z now spends seven times the amount of money on getting fit than Gen X.' According to the report, Australia's overall wellness growth is coming across a number of sub-sectors. Wellness tourism has swelled by 32.9 per cent between 2019 to 2023 while thermal/mineral springs are up 21.5 per cent. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen talk about the benefits of building things in Australia Dan Peled / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Wellness real estate, mental wellness and physical activity round out the top five sectors. The report comes as prime minister Anthony Albanese separately spruiks the benefit to Australia reviving its building and manufacturing sectors. During a doorstop in the electorate of Bonner in Brisbane the prime minster and Energy Minister Chris Bowen talked up the home battery incentive and solar panel uptake. 'It's good for everyone because what it does is take pressure off the grid during peak times, and that's why this is such good public policy, good for households … of course, good right throughout Australia,' Mr Albanese says. According to the ministers, 28,000 Australian homes have installed a home battery under the government's policy. But Mr Albanese wants more Australians to take up the scheme and for the panels to be built in Australia. 'Chris (Bowen) was at the South Australian factory producing solar panels earlier this week, or at the end of last week, that's expanding by nine times,' Mr Albanese said. 'We also want to produce more things here. We have everything that goes into a battery. One of the progress we have is for battery manufacturing.' Mr Albanese went further calling for more large infrastructure projects such as trains and boats to be built in Australia. 'We want things made here and here in Queensland. I want more manufacturing, more jobs to be created here.'
