2026 MG 4 spied: Two-car strategy firming for small EV segment
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
30 minutes ago
- The Age
Australia news LIVE: Albanese defends Allan's WFH push; Trump threatens higher tariffs on Australian medications; Rio Tinto mulls sick leave overhaul
Key posts 1.59pm Flying to Sydney from NZ? You might not need to fill out a paper form any more 1.39pm Union alarm as mining giant mulls sick leave overhaul 1.20pm Today's headlines 12.50pm Taxpayers pour $50 million into Gina Rinehart-backed lithium miner 12.20pm Trump threatens DC takeover after staffer known as 'Big Balls' assaulted 11.18am Trump coming after 'utterly core' Labor agenda: Butler 11.16am Butler 'very concerned' about Trump's 250 per cent tariff threat 10.59am Albanese praises 'very constructive' call with Palestinian Authority Hide key posts Go to latest Quick explainer: What is a tariff? By Alexander Darling Good afternoon, Alex here in Melbourne taking over from my colleague, Daniel. While there's all this discussion about US President Donald Trump's tariffs coming into effect today, here's a crash course in what that word means. A tariff is a tax which countries impose on goods and services imported from another country. They are often used to protect domestic industries offering the same goods and services as well as raising revenue. Loading Often importers will pass the costs of tariffs onto their customers in the form of higher prices, making the imported goods more expensive and less attractive to consumers. As an example, US importers will pay a 10 per cent tariff on Australian goods, meaning an order that used to cost $1 million will now cost them $1.1 million. In the past, US President Donald Trump has used tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China as a bargaining chip, to force those countries to change their approach to controlling the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants to the US. Latest posts 2.55pm Trump threatens 100 percent tariff on chips - with a carrot attached By Alexander Darling While Australia is sweating on Donald Trump's threat of a 250 tariff on pharmaceuticals exported to the US, the higher tariffs have already arrived for other countries. In the past 24 hours, the president has announced a plan to impose 100 per cent tariffs on semiconductor imports. Semiconductors are small bits of metal that conduct electricity, needed in everything from smartphones to medical equipment. The president of the Philippine semiconductor industry Dan Lachica said that around 70 per cent of the country's exports are semiconductors, and as such this new tariff plan would be 'devastating' for the Asian archipelago nation. Trump said companies that make computer chips in the US would be spared the import tax. Investors seemed to interpret the potential tariff exemptions as a positive for Apple and other major tech companies that have been making huge financial commitments to manufacture more chips and other components in the US. Loading Big Tech has already made collective commitments to invest about $1.5 trillion in the U.S. since Trump moved back into the White House in January. That figure includes a $600 billion promise from Apple after the iPhone maker boosted its commitment by tacking another $100 billion on to a previous commitment made in February. Meanwhile, Trump has also imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations after trade talks reached a deadlock. You can read more from our Europe correspondent David Crowe at the link here. With Reuters, AP 2.35pm Negative gearing: Greens spruik last election's housing policy ahead of productivity roundtable By Alexander Darling The Greens have welcomed fresh calls from the Australian Council of Social Service to curb the Capital Gains Tax discount and abolish negative gearing, ahead of treasurer Jim Chalmers' Economic Reform Roundtable later this month. ACOSS published its submission to the roundtable earlier today, which is also calling for reform of employment services and support for households and industry to speed the clean energy transition. 'ACOSS joins a chorus of stakeholders, including the ACTU and banks, calling on the government to wind back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount ahead of the [roundtable],' said the Greens in a statement on Thursday afternoon. 'Under the Greens 2025 election policy, both negative gearing and the CGT discount would be grandfathered to one existing investment property and removed on all second and subsequent properties, ensuring 'mum and dad' investors with a single investment property are not negatively impacted, while disincentivising future speculative and unproductive investment in the property market.' The party's housing spokesperson, Senator Barbara Pocock, said the roundtable was 'an ideal opportunity where fixing the housing crisis should be top of the agenda'. Later in the same press conference, Robert Simms, a state Greens member of South Australia's upper house, said he would draft a bill giving SA's public servants the right to work from home one day a week. It follows Victoria's Labor premier announcing last week legislation allowing both public and private sector workers the right to work from home two days a week. The Prime Minister defended Jacinta Allan's push earlier today. Man charged with killing a top Minnesota House Democrat is expected to plead not guilty Minneapolis: The man charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, is expected to plead not guilty when he's arraigned in a federal court on Thursday, his lawyer says. Loading Vance Boelter, 58, of Green Isle, Minnesota, was indicted on July 15 on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty, though prosecutors say that decision is several months away. As they announced the indictment, prosecutors released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the June 14 shootings of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. However, the letter doesn't make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who survived. Boelter's federal defence lawyer, Manny Atwal, has said that the weighty charges did not come as a surprise, but she has not commented on the substance of the allegations nor any defence strategies. 1.59pm Flying to Sydney from NZ? You might not need to fill out a paper form any more By Chris Zappone Sydney-bound Qantas passengers from Auckland and Queenstown can now enter the country without a paper incoming passenger card, thanks to a trial of a digital replacement. How it works Before landing, eligible Qantas passengers can complete their passenger questionnaire on their Qantas app and receive a digital QR code. On arrival, they process through the SmartGate system with their passport. At customs, passengers show the QR code generated on their app to Australian Border Force officials. An official checks the details on the digital card and either clears the passenger or directs them to a luggage inspection. The digital card eliminates the need for the forms to be filled out by passengers before landing. For the affected flights, it's expected to speed up the international arrival process in Sydney which has long been a source of aggravation for passengers. The SmartGate system has been dogged by problems and cost overruns since its rollout a decade ago. The slow adoption of the kiosks have created bottlenecks for exhausted passengers who have often flown for hours before arrival in Australia only to wait in long lines to be cleared for entry to the country. Although Smartgates are typically paid for by the Australian Border Force, Sydney Airport has footed the bill for eight new kiosks at T1 to speed the processing capacity. It will install a further 32 SmartGate kiosks by 2026, the airport says. The trial of a digital incoming passenger card for the Sydney-bound flights from New Zealand follows an earlier trial for all international Qantas flights into Brisbane which began in October 2024. Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the launch of the limited Sydney digital incoming passenger card 'is a significant step forward in simplifying the arrival process into Australia, and the overwhelmingly positive response from our customers in Brisbane has demonstrated just how much demand there is for this innovation'. 1.39pm Union alarm as mining giant mulls sick leave overhaul By Aaron Bunch and Alexander Darling Thousands of iron ore workers could have their sick leave entitlements slashed, unions claim. Rio Tinto has proposed a slew of changes to its sick leave policy, including reducing workers' entitlement of three months a year to 12 days, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union says. The Mining and Energy Union said this amounts to a cut of 33 to 36 days of sick leave in real terms. The proposals raised serious concerns for workers, and the mining giant needed to provide more information, AMWU state secretary Steve McCartney said. 'Rio Tinto is starting with workers' sick leave entitlements — but who's to say wages and broader conditions aren't next on the chopping block?' he said. According to the union, the revised policy includes 10 days of sick leave and two additional days a year, which do not accrue year-on-year. Loading Workers would be eligible for a $1000 annual payment for wellness programs, it said. Rio Tinto said it was consulting with its employees over proposed changes to its sick and carer's leave policy for its iron ore business. 'Safety and wellbeing of our people is our top priority,' a spokeswoman said. 'Prompted by feedback from our people survey, we are conducting a review of the sick and carer's leave policy for Rio Tinto Iron Ore.' Rio Tinto Iron Ore employs about 16,000 people. Under the National Employment Standards, full-time employees are entitled to 10 days of sick leave each year. With AAP 1.36pm Quick explainer: What is a tariff? By Alexander Darling Good afternoon, Alex here in Melbourne taking over from my colleague, Daniel. While there's all this discussion about US President Donald Trump's tariffs coming into effect today, here's a crash course in what that word means. A tariff is a tax which countries impose on goods and services imported from another country. They are often used to protect domestic industries offering the same goods and services as well as raising revenue. Loading Often importers will pass the costs of tariffs onto their customers in the form of higher prices, making the imported goods more expensive and less attractive to consumers. As an example, US importers will pay a 10 per cent tariff on Australian goods, meaning an order that used to cost $1 million will now cost them $1.1 million. In the past, US President Donald Trump has used tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China as a bargaining chip, to force those countries to change their approach to controlling the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants to the US. 1.20pm Today's headlines By Daniel Lo Surdo Good afternoon, and thank you for reading our national news blog. Here's a look at today's biggest stories: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan's controversial work-from-home plan, saying Allan's remote work stance was 'consistent' with the federal government. Allan faced criticism after announcing plans to enshrine the right to work from home into law, with legal experts and business groups both sharing their concern. Albanese said Allan was responding to views in Victoria, and that flexible working arrangements 'help workers, and they help employers'. Health Minister Mark Butler has said he is 'very concerned' after US President Donald Trump threatened a 250 per cent tariff rate on Australian pharmaceuticals amid increasing pressure from American pharmaceutical lobbyists. Butler reiterated the government's refusal to present the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme as a negotiating chip in tariff negotiations, and said he would press for the continuing of free trade with the US on pharmaceuticals. Australia exported a record $5.7 billion worth of non-monetary gold in June, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning. Gold exports enjoyed a spike at the start of the year amid concern from American investors about Trump's trade policy, helping Australia run a rare trade surplus with the US. Australia exported a record $46.9 billion worth of gold in the 2024-25 financial year. Trump has suggested he may use the National Guard to police the streets of Washington in his latest threat to grant a federal takeover of the US capital. It comes after Edward Coristine, the young staffer known as 'Big Balls' who formerly worked for Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency, was beaten and assaulted at the weekend. Trump, who has threatened a federal takeover of Washington on several occasions, said the capital was 'very unsafe', and that 'we have to run DC'. 12.50pm Taxpayers pour $50 million into Gina Rinehart-backed lithium miner By Nick Toscano Australia's national investment fund has taken a $50 million stake in Gina Rinehart-backed Liontown Resources, in the latest sign the Albanese government is doubling down on efforts to help critical minerals producers ride out a long-running price slump. Liontown, a Western Australia-based miner of the electric battery raw material lithium, said on Thursday a $266 million capital raise to fortify its balance sheet would be led by a cornerstone $50 million investment from the federal government's taxpayer-funded National Reconstruction Fund. Rinehart, Australia's richest person, is ASX-listed Liontown's single largest investor with an 18 per cent stake held through her flagship company Hancock Prospecting. The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation – established in 2023 to support priority areas of the Australian economy – said its Liontown investment was in line with the government's strategy to transform Australia into a 'global leader in the critical minerals supply chain'. 'Australia is well-positioned to be a competitive, long-term supplier of lithium to the rest of the world,' the corporation's chief executive David Gall said. Australia is home to some of the richest known reserves of lithium, a metal often called 'white gold' due to its silvery-white appearance and the fact it is an ingredient the world will need in far greater quantities to manufacture lithium-ion batteries to power electric cars and store renewable energy. Since the dawning of the electric vehicle era, automakers across the globe have been scrambling to lock in lithium supplies, striking long-term contracts with producers in WA and the Northern Territory. However, lithium prices have fallen sharply since hitting record highs in late 2022, amid a global slowdown in electric vehicle sales, putting producers' balance sheets under mounting pressure. Liontown managing director Tony Ottaviano described the government's investment as a 'strong endorsement' of the strategic importance of the company's Kathleen Valley lithium project, adding that Liontown was 'well-placed to remain resilient in this low-price environment'. Earlier this year, the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund took a $200 million stake in Arafura Rare Earths, a company aiming to mine and process crucial raw ingredients needed to make high-strength magnets in the Northern Territory. 12.20pm Trump threatens DC takeover after staffer known as 'Big Balls' assaulted US President Donald Trump suggested he may use the National Guard to police the streets of Washington, DC, in his latest threat to take over running the city that serves as the seat of the US government. 'We have a capital that's very unsafe,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. 'We have to run DC.' Trump, who has threatened a federal takeover of the city multiple times, renewed those threats after a young staffer who was part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted over the weekend. Musk, the billionaire former adviser to Trump who once spearheaded the DOGE effort, said the man – Edward Coristine, known by the nickname 'Big Balls' – was beaten and received a concussion. 'It is time to federalise DC,' he wrote. A spokesman for DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment. Violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 was down by 26 per cent in DC compared with last year while overall crime was down about 7 per cent, according to the police department. 12.09pm Australian gold exports hit record high By Shane Wright The great musician Prince may have said that all that glitters ain't gold, but he wasn't singing about Australia's extraordinary golden trade performance of the past year. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released this morning revealed that in June, the country exported a record $5.7 billion worth of non-monetary gold. There was a spike at the start of the year as gold exports from Australia and several other nations to the United States soared on concerns among American investors about Donald Trump's trade policy. So large were our exports that Australia ran a trade surplus with the US for the first time since Harry Truman was president (and Vera Lynn, Bing Crosby and Tony Bennett dominated the music charts). The trade surplus has come to an end, but Australia is still exporting record amounts of gold. In 2024-25, the country exported a record $46.9 billion worth of the shiny stuff, a 42.4 per cent lift on 2023-24. It's almost double the value of gold exports in 2022-23. By contrast, the nation's single large export – iron ore – slid by 15.5 per cent last financial year to $116.5 billion.
Perth Now
30 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Instagram Reposts launches in new app upgrade
Almost 15 years after launching, social media giant Instagram has taken pages out of TikTok and Snapchat's books — adding three new features to their app. The changes were announced by parent company Meta on Wednesday, with roll-outs for the new features within Australia happening on Thursday. The new features have Aussies talking, with Instagram trending as a top Google search in the country throughout Wednesday and Thursday — so what are the new features, and how do they work? Instagram Reposts The new Repost feature allows users to share content in their feed - with a tab on their profile letting them see everything they've reposted. Credit: Meta The biggest change that Australians have seen to their Instagram feeds allows users to share public reels and feed posts with their followers – with the app following TikTok's lead and branding the function 'reposts.' The Meta team behind the update explained friends and followers can see any repost made, with any shared content crediting the original creator. 'Reposts will be recommended to your friends and followers in their feeds, and they'll also be in a separate tab on your profile, so you can always go back to revisit your reposts,' the Meta team explained. Users also have the option of adding personal notes to reposts by typing a message in the thought bubble that appears. New 'Friends' tab in Reels Users can choose to watch only Reels friends have made or interacted with. Credit: Meta Following the success of short-form video content, Instagram has also updated their Reels section. A new 'Friends' tab has appeared on Instagram's Reels page, allowing users to view videos that friends have like, reposted, commented on, and created. 'Friends will help you see which reels the people you care about most are creating and engaging with,' Meta said in relation to the new tab. Officials at the app have also confirmed they are working to upgrade features of the Friends tab over the next couple of weeks, allowing users the ability to hide content they've liked and commented from appearing in this section. Instagram Maps The new Maps feature lets users see what friends are nearby and view content within their area. Credit: Meta A new-US exclusive feature on the app has caused waves online — allowing users to share their location with others in real time, letting them to see content posted nearby from friends and other creators. Similar to the map feature on Snapchat, users are given the option to opt out of location-sharing but will still be able to view the map and people who have chosen to share. The maps feature also includes a parental supervision update, allowing parents to receive notifications if their teen has shared their location and allowing them to control the feature's availability. While this feature has not hit Australian's accounts yet, the Meta team behind the update promises Maps will have 'global availability very soon.'
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Australians outraged at telco providers' emergency service failures, missed sales and frozen banking apps
As Australia becomes increasingly dependent on telecommunications services, consumers and businesses expect a reliable network provider and not one that works some of the time. Aside from frustration and inconvenience, studies show network outages are exceedingly costly for businesses in a world where cash is becoming increasingly obsolete. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Service provider disruptions cost Australian millions New research from PagerDuty, a global leader in digital operations, has revealed Australians lost an estimated 73 million hours of operation in the past year. The release showed that 41 per cent of Australians experienced a system failure, incident or outage with their telecommunications provider in the last 12 months. In addition, a March report from cybersecurity and observability leader Splunk revealed that unplanned tech disruptions are costing businesses with over 500 employees a staggering $86 billion. Independent telecommunications analyst Paul Budde spoke to 7NEWS exclusively about the dangers of frequent outages. 'People are affected by it (outages) ... particularly in health care services, education services where it gets cut and it's dangerous,' Budde said. 'People can lose their life if the telephone isn't working.' Budde also detailed the reason behind these outages is often linked to human error, continuous updates and software changes. 'They (telecommunications providers) are highly cost driven ... cost cutting all the time in order to keep profitable,' he said. 'Obviously, in a process like that, you can see mistakes are made and then it becomes easier for outages to occur.' If this issue is posing a significant threat to life and business, what then is being done? The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) recently introduced stronger consumer protections to safeguard Australians. These protections include customers being informed of the outages when they occur, the locations that are affected, and the likely cause. Providers will also be responsible for detailing the services their outage will impact, and the estimated timeframe consumers should expect to see the issue resolved. Member for the ACMA Samantha Yorke spoke on the changes, considering them vital to addressing the substantial impact these outages have on individuals and communities. 'It's not just frustrating, it can cause significant issues, including disrupting businesses and impacting public safety,' Yorke said. New obligations will require telecommunications services to provide greater certainty that calls to emergency services will be carried by an available network in the event of an outage. 'Improving industry accountability for the carriage of calls to Triple Zero will give Australians greater confidence that their safety is prioritised when networks are down,' Yorke said.
