Month: June 2026

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

CFA is urging Victorians to reduce household clutter following a recent fire that destroyed a unit and damaged another in Ararat.

• Keep exits and hallways clear. 
• Widen internal pathways throughout the home.
• Ensure gas, electricity and other utilities are safely connected. 
• Keep cooking areas free from clutter. 
• Remove combustible materials from around heaters and electrical equipment. 
• Avoid the use of open flames where possible. 
• Install and regularly test smoke alarms. 

Submitted by	CFA Media

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 15-year-old male in relation to an aggravated robbery that occurred in Alice Springs on Friday evening.

Around 8:15pm on Friday 29 May, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report that an off-duty police officer had been robbed by a male youth armed with an edged weapon in the Gap.

It is alleged the offender threatened the victim with the edged weapon, before stealing their wallet and fleeing the scene.

Following investigations, members from Strike Force Viper located and arrested the 15-year-old male without incident at a residence on Banksia Street on Wednesday afternoon.

He has since been charged and will appear in court at a later date.

Source: Tasmania Police

Police investigating serious two vehicle crash, Taranna

Thursday, 4 June 2026 – 7:34 pm.

Police are investigating a two-vehicle crash at Taranna today where three people sustained serious injuries.
About 11.25am, emergency services responded to reports of a crash involving a red Nissan X-Trail and a white Toyota Corolla on the Arthur Highway, near the devil park.
Two women who were rear seat passengers in the X-Trail were transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital with serious injuries.
A woman who was driving the Corolla was transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital with serious injuries.
The road was blocked for several hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.
Police would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the crash, or either vehicle being driven beforehand.
Information can be provided to police on 131 444 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000 – quote TCR 26003845.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Northern Territory Police are investigating two separate fatal crashes that occurred yesterday in the Top End.

A woman was declared deceased after the vehicle she was travelling in collided with a bull just after 8pm, approximately 30 kilometres east of Daly River.

The driver, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries and returned a negative breath test, and the female passenger were transported to the Daly River Clinic by family members.

Police from Daly River and Adelaide River attended the scene and established a crime scene. Detectives from the Major Crash Investigation Unit are investigating.

Earlier in the day, just after 1pm, police responded to a single-vehicle rollover on the Carpentaria Highway, approximately 30 kilometres from Borroloola.

A Toyota LandCruiser carrying five occupants is believed to have rolled, resulting in the death of a 55-year-old woman at the scene.

The remaining occupants suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to Borroloola for initial treatment before being transported to Royal Darwin Hospital. 

A crime scene was held overnight, and motorists can expect traffic diversions to remain in place.

Major Crash Investigation Unit Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Schumacher urged motorists to take extra care on Territory roads, particularly over the long weekend, with increased traffic expected.

“This is not a good start to what should be a weekend spent enjoying time with family and friends.

“Two lives have been lost on Territory roads in separate incidents in a single day.

“Please take care on Territory roads.”

Source: Australia Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The Finke Desert Race is marking its 50th anniversary this year, drawing thousands of spectators and participants to the Northern Territory’s remote outback. To help ensure safety during this period of increased aerial activity, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is reminding pilots and drone operators of the rules for flying over crowds, major events, and in busy airspace.

Source: Prime Minister of Australia

rime Minister Anthony Albanese will welcome the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, to Australia on Saturday 6 June 2026 for the annual Australia–New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting.

The leaders will discuss economic resilience and measures the two countries can take to boost prosperity, including in the context of the fuel crisis.

The leaders will also look for opportunities to strengthen our Single Economic Market, deepen defence and security cooperation, and enhance cooperation in the Pacific region.

The last Australia–New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting was held in Queenstown, New Zealand in August 2025. This meeting will take place in Noosa, Queensland.

This will be Prime Minister Luxon’s third official visit to Australia. Most recently, Prime Minister Luxon travelled to Canberra in August 2024 for the Australia–New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting.

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Albanese

“Australia has no closer friend, neighbour and ally than New Zealand. Our relationship is built on a rich shared history and generations of cooperation.

“This year we are celebrating 75 years of our Alliance under the ANZUS Treaty. Our Alliance is more important than ever in the face of global uncertainty.

“As new challenges emerge, Australia and New Zealand will continue to work together to safeguard the economic prosperity and national security of both countries and the Pacific region.”

Source: Government of Western Australia

Community members of all ages are invited to get their hands dirty for a good cause at one of the City’s free winter tree-planting sessions.

Source: Airservices Australia

At its meeting today, the Payments System Board discussed a number of issues, including:

• The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA’s) full assessment of the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS). The Board approved the assessment of Australia’s real-time gross settlement system, RITS, against the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures, completed by the staff of the RBA’s Payments Policy Department. The RBA will publish this assessment in the coming weeks.
• The Review of Payments System Regulation. The Board discussed a range of issues that stakeholders have raised with the RBA that may have implications for competition, efficiency and financial safety in the payments system. Members noted that the RBA is commencing a public consultation by the end of June to seek stakeholder views on issues that may warrant regulatory intervention by the RBA and how they should be prioritised.
• The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The Board discussed the emerging risks from advances in classical and quantum computing, and the approaches to strengthening cryptographic protections in card payments. Members agreed to broaden the RBA’s focus to system-wide cryptographic issues across the Australian payments system, extending beyond card payments. They endorsed consulting on strengthening cryptographic practices as part of the Review of Payments System Regulation to further assess risks, uncertainties and regulatory options. The Board also reaffirmed its expectation that industry maintains strong momentum in its cryptographic uplift efforts, including addressing coordination challenges in meeting the target of December 2030 to mitigate risks associated with quantum computing.

• Implementation of the Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging. Following the publication of the Conclusions Paper on 31 March 2026, the RBA has amended RBA Standards no 1, 2 and 3 to implement the conclusions of this Review. The amended standards were registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 14 April 2026. The RBA has been engaging with the designated card networks regarding their plans to remove surcharging by introducing no-surcharge rules. Australian Payments Plus has today published an update that a zero-surcharge limit will apply to eftpos transactions from 1 October 2026.

  Prior to the Review of Payments System Regulation, the Board decided that the RBA would not prevent non-designated payment systems from introducing no-surcharge rules. This does not foreshadow or limit any decision the Board may take in the upcoming Review of Payments System Regulation on surcharging on these systems.

• Unmet payment needs and digital money. The Board discussed initial findings from a series of focus groups being held with the public on how the current payments system is meeting the needs of Australians. The Board discussed the insights gathered on current challenges in the payments system, and expectations around potential features of digital money. The Board also noted the finding that Australians were largely indifferent to the concept of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). The findings from the focus groups will be summarised in a report to be published by the external vendor later in the year. These findings will inform the RBA’s updated assessment of the public policy case for retail CBDC in Australia, to be published in 2026/27.

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

Western Australian produce companies, Fruitico Pty Ltd (Fruitico) and Fresh Express Produce Pty Ltd (Fresh Express), have each paid penalties of $99,000 after the ACCC issued each business with five infringement notices for alleged breaches of the Horticulture Code.

The ACCC alleges that Fruitico traded with table grape growers without having a Code‑compliant horticulture produce agreement in place.

The ACCC separately alleges that wholesaler Fresh Express failed to provide required gross sale price information to growers in statements about the sale of produce, as required by the Code.

“Growers need clear, timely information about how prices are set and how their produce is sold,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

“Agreements that don’t meet the Code’s minimum standards reduce transparency and prevent growers from accessing essential information about their trading relationship and produce sales.”

“All horticultural traders should be on notice that we are monitoring their compliance with the Code and will take enforcement action where necessary,” Mr Keogh said. 

Horticulture Code review an opportunity to improve transparency and strengthen protections for growers

The ACCC is concerned that the current Code requirements do not always give growers the clear, timely information they need, and may enable less transparent practices across the supply chain.

As the Code has not been updated since 2017, the current independent review initiated by the Government is an important opportunity to promote stronger and clearer requirements for horticulture produce agreements.

“Measures such as strengthening pricing transparency, banning the use of opaque pricing methods, and requiring grower statements to show clearer pricing details would help growers to more easily check outcomes and understand returns,” Mr Keogh said.

“Providing more detailed and timely sale information, for example, buyer details, price, sale date and any relationship between trader and buyer, would also allow growers to better compare terms between wholesalers and enhance competition in the market.”

This information is routinely provided to farmers by their agents when they sell livestock, wool or grain, but unfortunately is not routinely provided by traders in fresh produce markets despite many regulatory efforts over past decades to bring about needed changes.

Lack of detailed sale information adversely impacts growers’ long-term business planning and investment, and their ability to respond to market trends.

It also increases the risk of disputes arising about past matters that can be more difficult to resolve.

Background

Fruitico is a Western Australian grower, buyer and wholesaler of table grapes. Fruitico processes about 80 per cent of Western Australia’s table grapes each year.

Fresh Express is a Western Australian wholesaler of a wide range of horticulture produce with a presence in the Perth markets.

The Horticulture Code is a mandatory industry code under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It applies to trade between growers and traders and aims to improve clarity and transparency in horticulture transactions.

Key requirements of the Code include having a compliant horticulture produce agreement in place, providing growers with statements with specific information about the sale of their produce, and publishing terms of trade.

As of June 2026, corporations can face penalties of up to $99,000 for breaches of civil penalty provisions of the Code.

The ACCC has previously taken enforcement action under the Code, including issuing infringement notices and penalties for alleged non-compliance.

Recent public infringement notice outcomes include:

Independent review of Horticulture Code

On 28 January 2026, the Australian Government announced an independent review of the Code. The ACCC has made a submission in response to an initial consultation that ended in March 2026, recommending changes to:

• prohibit merchants from setting the price they pay for the purchase of the grower’s horticulture produce as an amount calculated by method or formula, and
• require traders to provide substantially more detailed and timely information to growers about the sale of produce sold on their behalf.

The ACCC considers that permitting merchants to set prices by a method or formula, when they are not subject to the same obligations under the Code as agents, allows merchants to act in a way that significantly disadvantages growers. This was discussed in the ACCC Supermarkets Inquiry Final Report (2025).

Note to editors

The payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Horticulture Code or Australian Consumer Law.

The ACCC can issue an infringement notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe a person or business has contravened certain provisions in the Horticulture Code.

Source: Prime Minister of Australia

MEL CLARKE, HOST: The Prime Minister joins the program this morning. Anthony Albanese, thanks for speaking to me on AM.

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