Does Australia need to produce gas until 2070?
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Lead analyst for Australian gas at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, Josh Runciman says the biggest consumers of gas - Japan and Europe - are already slashing their demand for LNG, as renewables crowd out gas.
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ABC News
18 minutes ago
- ABC News
Thousands of Victorian businesses to receive payroll tax relief next month
Tens of thousands of Victorian businesses are expected to pay less in tax, with payroll tax changes to be introduced next month. The change will see the payroll tax-free threshold rise from $900,000 to $1 million on July 1. Premier Jacinta Allan said it was expected that 28,000 businesses would be paying less, with an additional 6,000 businesses now exempt from the tax altogether. The changes to payroll tax have been earmarked since 2023, with the government raising the threshold first from $750,000 to $900,000 in July last year. The move comes amid forecasts of record high levels of debt, with the premier conceding there would be some recalculations required. "Yes, this does require an adjustment to our budget and our revenue, but this is an investment in business and jobs and growth," Ms Allan said. Payroll tax was projected to form the biggest source of revenue for the government in the 2025/26 financial year. Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said the affected businesses would save up to $14,500 each. "That has obviously been something that we've factored in over the forwards [projections]," Ms Symes said. Along with the changes to payroll tax, the government will also cut red tape in the planning system. On July 1, the government will scrap the requirement for businesses to apply for planning permits for liquor licensing. Business Wodonga chief executive Graham Jenkin said the permanent changes to licensing requirements had been expected for months but it would be great for regional restaurants and cafes. "This is great because Victoria really has more red tape than any other state government in in Australia, so anything that can reduce red tape which is an obstacle to doing business," Mr Jenkin said. "Business owners don't want to be spending all of their time doing reports." But Mr Jenkin said any changes to payroll tax would make no difference to small businesses who were still recovering from COVID. He said a further range of targeted measures needed to be implemented to help those who were running small-to-medium businesses in Victoria. "A lot of very small businesses will of course see no benefit from it," he said. "It could be a subsidy of council rates, [it] could be less of the Victorian emergency services and volunteers fund levy that small businesses will be forced to pay." Mr Jenkin said more training and development workshops in regional areas and more work in mental health for business owners struggling financially were also essential.
News.com.au
27 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Manipulative': Expert slams states on sluggish shark net stance
A Sydney shark expert has gone to town on the NSW and Queensland governments, accusing them of manipulating public perception in an effort to drum up support for shark nets and saying none of the available scientific evidence points to them being effective. Shark nets across NSW beaches are taken in annually from mid-autumn to mid-spring, however the NSW government is conducting a review to determine shark mitigation measures for the 2025-26 summer, including support from local councils on the continued use of shark nets. Speaking to NewsWire, The University of Sydney associate professor and shark behaviour expert Christopher Pepin-Neff said he believed two simple premises lay at the heart of the issue; firstly, that shark nets catch fish (Sutherland Shire council reported a 13 times differential between non-target animals caught in nets compared with the targeted eight species of sharks), and secondly, that in getting caught, those fish struggle and die and attract sharks. 'Shark nets attract sharks,' he said. 'There is no way that science exists everywhere in the ocean except on netted beaches in NSW or Queensland. 'That the vibrations that struggling fish make attract sharks everywhere in the ocean except when they get caught in a net at a netted beach in Australia. 'If science still applies, then we have to conclude that shark nets attract sharks to local beaches.' The decision to use shark nets is left to the state government, and during the 2024-25 season, 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong used shark nets. Professor Pepin-Neff said his principal objection to shark nets was that 'they are used by politicians when it is convenient for them to protect themselves by providing a false sense of security to the public'. 'Politicians know that the public has an idea that shark nets work and they are manipulating that public perception for their own benefit,' he said. 'It's a disgrace that in 2025, politicians have not come clean about the fact that shark nets and a lot of beach safety measures are mythical. 'For me, this is not an environmental issue; it is an issue of integrity in the policy process and respect for local constituents across Australia.' The office of NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty declined to respond to NewsWire's request for comment; however Professor Pepin-Neff, received a letter from the Department of Primary Industries (DPIE) saying 'in 2024/25 the DPIE consulted the 25 coastal councils about their preferences for shark mitigation at beaches within their local government area'. 'The NSW government is currently considering the feedback from the councils as well as the evidence from the technologies used over the 2024/25 summer period to help inform the upcoming season,' the DPIE continued. The Sutherland Shire in Sydney was one of the last councils in NSW to oppose the use of shark nets on its beaches. When the state government surveyed local councils in late 2024, councillors were presented with options and evidence for the various shark mitigation technologies. Sutherland Shire councillor Kal Glaznig voted against the use of shark nets and speaking to NewsWire said 'just based on the evidence that was presented it was pretty clear that they're not the most effective tools to keep people safe'. 'I feel like it's a big education piece for beachgoers. The thing around shark nets and why there's a bit of hesitancy to take them out is this perceived safety, which from what I saw scientifically, there's no argument for,' he said. 'People in our community aren't getting in the ocean or not getting in the ocean because they feel like they're being saved with nets.' Mr Glaznig said he couldn't speak for everyone, but during the council deliberation he didn't have a single constituent reaching out to say 'keep the nets in' but was instead inundated with community members who spent large amounts of time in the ocean saying they didn't believe the nets should be in. 'A lot of the evidence for me is around the fact that these nets have been here since 1937,' Mr Glaznig said. 'And I feel like if we just relied on existing measures for everything in life from nearly 100 years ago, we would be so backwards and behind. 'The ocean is such an unknown and you're never going to be able to control the elements, but you can definitely use better technologies and fuller solutions.' 
 'My take for the state government is for them to hopefully listen to what the councils who are on the ground with the community are saying because ultimately we are more accessible than state ministers in getting the response and the feel from the community. 'And our community in the Sutherland shire is telling us that they don't want shark nets and the experts that presented made it super clear that shark nets were not the most effective way to keep people safe.'
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 22 June 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . TRANSCRIPT The US bombs nuclear sites in Iran 16 billion passwords exposed in a series of data breaches in the NRL, the Storm beat the Rabbitohs by one point Donald Trump says the United States has completed what he calls a "very successful attack" on nuclear sites in Iran. Earlier, US media outlets reported B-2 bomber aircraft had been moved from the US mainland to the Pacific island of Guam. In a statement on social media, Mr Trump says all US planes are safely on their way home after completing a mission to attack three nuclear sites in Iran, including a full payload of bombs at the primary site of Fordow. He ended the message, saying: "now is the time for peace". Meanwhile, Nationals Party leader David Littleproud says the US's actions show the conflict is escalating - and he urged Australians to seek safety. Speaking before the confirmation of US targeting Iran's nuclear sites, Mr Littleproud says the reports of the deployment of multiple B2 bomber aircraft shows the increasing danger. He told Channel Nine, Australians in the region should heed the warnings. "What we need to understand is that this is now a significant escalation in what's happening in the Middle East. This is a serious situation and Australians need to understand they are in harm's way and they need to cooperate with the government if they want to get out of there. And we would encourage them to get out there as quickly as they can." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being uninterested in peace and acting like the authoritarian ruler of Iran, calling him Ayatollah Putin. His comments came after Mr Putin said that in his view, the whole of Ukraine was ours - warning that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy. Mr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian troops are holding back the Russian army in the region. And he says the comments from Mr Putin at St Petersburg Economic Forum, which ended on Friday ((local time)), make clear his intentions. "Russia wants to wage war. Even brandishing some threats. This means the pressure the world is applying isn't hurting them enough yet, or they are trying very hard to keep up appearances. Well, the Russian economy is already crumbling. We will support this process even more. Ayatollah Putin can look at his friends in Iran to see where such regimes end up, and how far into decay they drive their countries." Australian workers can look forward to more money in retirement, under an increase to the superannuation guarantee that would add tens of thousands of dollars to the average super account. From July 1, employers' minimum required contribution to employees' superannuation accounts will rise from 11.5 per cent to 12 per cent. It's the latest and last in a series of incremental increases from nine per cent over more than a decade since they were legislated by the Rudd-Gillard Labor government in 2012. The Association of Superannuation Funds Australia, says the latest increase would see a 30-year-old on an annual salary of $60,000-a-year accrue an extra $20,000 in super by retirement. It would add about $300 each year to the superannuation of a worker on a $60,000 salary, or $500 for someone on annual salary of $100,000. Researchers say that 16 billion login credentials have been exposed, giving cybercriminals unprecedented access to accounts consumers use each day. The researchers at cybersecurity outlet Cybernews have discovered 30 exposed datasets that each contain a vast amount of login records covering a range of popular platforms - including Google, Facebook and Apple. The team says the data set covers multiple data breaches and most certainly includes duplicates in the data, making it impossible to know just how many people have been exposed. Cybersecurity expert David Taxer told CBS affiliate, K-H-O-U television station in Houston, it is one of the largest data breaches ever seen. "What they're really looking for is hey, does this guy work for so and so company? Does he have access? Is this password the same? Can we get onto his PC? It is not completely verified (the size of the data set). It does look like it is a concerted effort." Experts are urging users to change passwords frequently - and to add multi-factor authentication to their accounts. In the NRL, the Rabbitohs came up one-point short against the Storm in Sydney. The Storm moved to extra time, sealing victory with a 25-24 win - moving into third spot on the ladder. Latrell Mitchell had done his utmost to help South Sydney upset their visitors, including kicking to Tyrone Munro for the try that levelled the scores with only four minutes to play. Storm coach Craig Bellamy says it was a close game. "You have got to give Souths a lot of credit for coming back. It would have been easy to say: this is going to be too hard tonight. But they just kept hanging in there. And with 10 minutes to go - it looked like they were going to win the game. So, I think we were really fortunate to get out of it at the end. Yeah, there are some things we'll need to do this week to be a bit better next week. Just in those moments when it really matters, I think that it was what we struggled with tonight."
