Australia Post will resume postal sending to US by 25 September
Australia Post will resume postal sending to the US by Thursday 25 September after suspending some services last month amid president Donald Trump’s tariff regime that changed the customs rules for most parcels. Parcels to the US are now subject to duties equivalent to the tariffs imposed on the country they are sent from, which would be the 10% baseline tariff in Australia.
Gifts valued under US$100 are exempt from the tariffs.
Australia Post said it was working with a third-party provider authorised by the US government to allow business customers a solution to “meet the new rules and allow deliveries to the US to resume”. Gary Starr, the company’s executive general manager for parcel, post and e-commerce, said:
Along with more than 190 other postal providers internationally, we’ve been caught in a fast-moving situation not of our making. The real impact has been on our customers who export their goods to the US accessing our cost-efficient postal service, so we’ve been working around the clock to find a solution.
Our priority has always been to have a solution up and running as soon as possible, while keeping our customers updated and informed.
Australia Post said it would lift the block on shipments early if able to do so.
Key events
Luca Ittimani
Australian home values rose combined $500bn in year to June
The combined value of housing stock in Australia rose more than $500bn in the year to June, surpassing $11.5tn.
New data from the Australian bureau of statistics shows rising short-term momentum in home prices, after combined values rose over $200bn in the June quarter compared to just $30bn in the previous three months.
Average prices rose to almost $1m in Queensland and just under $900m in Western Australia, both record highs by the ABS’ measure, after rising more than 2% over the quarter in both states.
The number of homes in Australia rose by 53,000, approaching 11.4m. New South Wales held a record 3.5m homes, while Victoria was zeroing in on under 3m.
Penry Buckley
Greater rental protections for DV survivors in NSW
Survivors of domestic violence would have greater powers to leave unsafe homes and protect their privacy under rental reforms being introduced to NSW parliament today, the state government says.
The proposed changes to residential tenancy law will remove the need for victim-survivors to notify an alleged perpetrator of domestic abuse that they have left a shared lease, and will expand the list of people who can declare a renter is experiencing domestic violence so they can break a lease without a penalty.
The reforms would also allow locks to be changed without landlord approval if there is a court order that excludes an alleged perpetrator from living at a rental property, and authorise the NSW civil and administrative tribunal (Ncat) to break up a bond to allow domestic violence survivors to recover their share.
The changes come as the Minns government has been accused of weakening other reforms to renters’ rights, including an end to no-grounds evictions which came into effect in May. The Sydney Morning Herald has reported the premier, Chris Minns, intervened to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants ahead of planned renovations and to prevent pets in their rental properties.
Speaking today, Minns rejected the idea that changes would make it harder for domestic violence survivors with pets to find new accommodation.
We’re not pretending these are perfect changes to the law. We’re not pretending they’re perfect in any sense of the word but we believe that we’ve made major gains and big reforms, not just in relation to domestic violence survivors and victims but also to the general market renting environment in the state.
Queensland police shoot man after incident in Brisbane suburb
Police in Queensland shot a man after an incident in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum West this morning.
Officials said police were called to a house about 9.20am amid reports of a fire. When they arrived, police said there was an “interaction” between the man and officers and “as a result he was shot by police”.
Medical assistance was immediately given to the man, who was then taken to an area hospital for treatment. No officers were injured and there is no risk to the public. A crime scene has been established and investigations are ongoing.
No charges have been laid in the matter.
Tom McIlroy
Ukrainian ambassador advocating for Australian prisoner’s release
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, says he continues to advocate for the release of Australian Oscar Jenkins, who is being held by Russia.
Jenkins, a 33-year-old former teacher and Australian citizen, travelled to Ukraine and enlisted to fight with the country’s military after Russia’s 2022 invasion. After being captured by Russian forces in December 2024, he was jailed for 13 years on the charge of being a “mercenary”.
Myroshnychenko told Guardian Australia that Jenkins should be returned to Australia.
The embassy of Ukraine in Australia continues to work closely with both the Ukrainian and Australian governments, actively advocating for the safe return of Australian prisoner of war Oscar Jenkins.
His case remains a high priority, and every effort is being made on his behalf to bring him home.
Myroshnychenko said the Ukrainian embassy continues to liaise closely with the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, the peak representative body for the Ukrainian Australian community.
Albanese confident Vanuatu agreement will be signed
Following from our last post: Anthony Albanese would not be drawn on when the landmark Nakamal agreement would be signed, but said he was confident it would eventually be ratified. He said
I await the good faith discussions that take place today, but we have a good relationship … Vanuatu politics can be very complex.
A previous security agreement struck with Vanuatu in 2022 was never approved by the country’s parliament, amid concerns over a lack of consultation and whether it was consistent with Vanuatu’s philosophy of non-alignment in foreign policy. Albanese told the ABC:
There’s still some work to do, but we’re making good progress and I look forward to progressing that face to face.
Albanese and Napat will hold a joint media conference later this afternoon.
Albanese lands in capital of Vanuatu
Anthony Albanese has landed in Port Vila, with the fate of a bilateral security and economic agreement he had hoped to sign with his Vanuatu counterpart still uncertain.
Albanese’s first stop will be State House, where he will make a courtesy call to the Vanuatu president, Nikenike Vurobaravu.
He will then hold a bilateral meeting with the Vanuatu prime minister, Jotham Napat. It will be the first time the pair have met in person since Napat came to office in February.
While the two leaders were widely expected to sign the landmark Nakamal agreement, Albanese admitted on Tuesday morning the deal was unlikely to be finalised during his time on the ground in the Pacific nation.
The Nakamal agreement would see Australia pay about $500m to the Pacific nation to fund economic and climate priorities in exchange for bolstering Australia’s role as a security and economic partner. Nakamal is the Bislama word for a traditional meeting place.
Fears over China’s ambitions to gain a security foothold in the Pacific, including the risk of establishing a military presence, have been heightened since Beijing stunned the region in 2022 by striking a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.
Josh Taylor
Australian AI firm promises $10m for creators for data used for training
A company billing itself as an “ethics driven” AI venture has launched in Australia, promising $10m set aside for copyright holders whose data is used to train its large-language models.
Sovereign Australia AI has promised users will know how its models are built, what they are trained on and “that they reflect Australian values”.
The Australian-based company, founded by Troy Neilson and Simon Kriss, has ordered 256 of the latest Nvidia Blackwell B200 GPUs that will be used to train the models, housed in Australia at NextDC datacentres.
The company said it will pay a minimum of $10m to source copyrighted materials to train the Ginan and Australis models, which the company said “are designed to reflect the culture, language, and principles of this nation, and to provide an alternative to offshore systems that may embed foreign values and biases.”
They will provide visibility of the data used to train the models, and will open source the Ginan research model for free public use.
Neilson said Sovereign Australia was not trying to compete directly with ChatGPT and other global models directly, because a local model “will serve as viable alternatives that better capture the Australian voice.”
Benita Kolovos
Victorian premier has spent the past week ‘sitting and listening’ with residents
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, was asked earlier today why she hasn’t held a press conference in the past week. Her last press conference, this time last week, was gatecrashed by neo-Nazi, Thomas Sewell.
Since then, there has been the funerals of the two officers killed in Porepunkah and the alleged murder of two teenage boys by a gang armed with machetes.
Allan said:
My focus in the past week has been sitting and listening with many different communities who are experiencing real challenges, some as a result of people who are choosing to use difference as a political weapon to drive division. I’ve spent a lot of time sitting with different multicultural communities, particularly the Indian and the Chinese community, talking with the Islamic and Jewish communities, meeting with the LGBTQIA+ community, and a particular focus for me in the past week has been supporting the Victoria police family, attending two funeral services … [for] two brave Victoria police officers who were murdered for simply going to work and doing their job.
She said she’s also met with the South Sudanese community and her sympathies were with the families of Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akueng, 15, who were allegedly murdered in Cobblebank at the weekend. Allan went on:
My deepest sympathy goes to those communities who are grieving the loss, the senseless loss, of two beautiful young boys, Chol and Dau, who were killed in a senseless attack. My focus has been on supporting communities … about how we work together, about how we recognise some of the root causes of what’s causing this pain and this grief and these challenges, and then putting in place the programs and the structures that we’ve addressing those issues.
Natasha May
Doctors say health workers super fund investing in fossil fuels a ‘breach of our duty of care’
A coalition of organisations representing health workers have called for super fund HESTA to end support for companies with new fossil fuel developments, including Woodside and Santos.
Market Forces, Healthy Futures, Doctors for the Environment Australia and the Climate and Health Alliance are urging HESTA – the industry super fund for people working in the health and community services sector – to immediately divest from fossil fuels.
Michelle Isles, the chief executive officer of the Climate and Health Alliance, said its 100 member organisations and health workers served across Australia are under increased stress dealing with the burden of disease from fossil fuel pollution and the climate change impacts it is causing.
Dr Kate Wylie, a GP and executive director of Doctors for the Environment Australia said:
It is pretty hypocritical for a health sector super fund to in any way support the fossil fuel industry.
Coal oil and gas are causing immense harm to the health of our communities and our environment, so it’s a clear breach of our duty of care as doctors to have our super invested in them. HESTA does not invest in tobacco or nuclear weapons, so why invest in fossil fuels?
NSW police investigating after brawl on Bondi Beach during Gaza protest and counterprotest
An ugly brawl between members of rival protest groups at Sydney’s Bondi Beach over Gaza is being investigated by police, AAP reports.
The clash between the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters broke out on Sunday morning as hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters were gathering on the beach on Father’s Day for a paddle-out in support of the fathers of Gaza.
The event was organised by Jews Against the Occupation, a Jewish-led pro-Palestine group, who called on local board riders to take part in the “peaceful event”. A counter-protest was held at the same time.
Amid concerns about community safety, local police were called in to manage the protests alongside the public order and riot squad.
As investigations continue, police have released images of three men they believe may be able to help with their inquiries.
NSW Health warns of rise in opioid overdoses linked to drugs thought to be cocaine
NSW Health has issued a public warning to those using drugs thought to be cocaine after an increase in opioid overdoses in Sydney and parts of northern NSW.
Official say 10 people were hospitalised in August with suspected opioid overdoses after using substances they thought were cocaine, three of whom required treatment in intensive care. NSW Health said the figures were a “marked increase” on the numbers normally seen in that period, with only two of the cases believed to be linked.
In cases where blood or urine tests were taken, results showed heroin was present with the cocaine. Dr Darren Roberts, the medical director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, said:
One of the dangers of illicit drug supply is the contents and strength of the substance you are getting is uncertain and can be inconsistent. An opioid overdose could quickly result from a single line.
Opioids such as heroin can be sold as or found in cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy). You cannot always tell the difference between these drugs by appearance.
Symptoms of opioid use include pin-point pupils, drowsiness, loss of consciousness, slowed breathing/snoring and skin turning blue/grey. The drugs can be life-threatening.
NSW Health also urged those that may be around drugs or at risk of an opioid overdose to carry Naloxone, a life-saving medication that reverse the effects of opioids. It does not require a prescription and is free via many methods.
Patrick Commins
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund tops $250bn
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has cracked $250bn for the first time, after reporting a robust 12.1% return in the most recent financial year.
The Future Fund’s annual return was twice its target and over a decade has delivered 8% per annum, against the target of 6.9%. The Future Fund’s main fund pays for the superannuation liabilities of public servants but it also manages a number of other, smaller pots of money.
That includes the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund, which grew to $10.9bn as at mid-2025.
Jim Chalmers late last year changed the fund’s investment mandate to force it to “consider Australia’s national priorities”, including boosting housing supply, getting more infrastructure built and supporting the net zero transformation.
Greg Combet, the Future Fund’s chair and a former federal Labor minister appointed to the role in June 2024, in a statement highlighted how the fund had achieved stellar returns while also satisfying its new mandate.
He pointed to investments in a data centre developer and operator, and a 10% stake in electricity transmission operator Transgrid.
Chalmers said “this vindicates our investment mandate because it shows maximising returns is entirely consistent with modernising our economy for the future”.
Benita Kolovos
Battin thanks O’Brien for serving Victoria and Liberal party
In a statement, opposition leader Brad Battin thanked O’Brien for serving Victoria and the Liberal party “with passion, wisdom, and dedication”.
Battin said:
For almost 20 years he has represented the people of Malvern. And his commitment to his local community never wavered even as he assumed greater roles and responsibilities.
Benita Kolovos
Former Victorian opposition leader to resign from parliament at 2026 election
Former Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien has announced he will resign from parliament at the 2026 state election.
O’Brien, who has also served as treasurer in the Napthine government, was first elected in 2006. He was Liberal leader between late 2018 to mid-2021, when he was toppled by Matthew Guy before the 2022 election.
O’Brien said in a statement:
When I gave my maiden speech back in 2006, my daughter was a toddler and my son was a baby in his mum’s arms. Today, they are university students making their way in the world. It is a measure of how much time has passed and why it is now the right time for me to pass the baton.
He said serving as the member for Malvern has been the “greatest honour of my professional life” but it was a “relentless occupation”:
While I continue to relish the challenge it provides, it is time to provide that challenge to another and for me to pursue new opportunities. It is also an opportunity for the Liberal party to renew; to choose a new candidate to represent the wonderful Malvern community and strongly advocate for Liberal values.
Australia Post will resume postal sending to US by 25 September
Australia Post will resume postal sending to the US by Thursday 25 September after suspending some services last month amid president Donald Trump’s tariff regime that changed the customs rules for most parcels. Parcels to the US are now subject to duties equivalent to the tariffs imposed on the country they are sent from, which would be the 10% baseline tariff in Australia.
Gifts valued under US$100 are exempt from the tariffs.
Australia Post said it was working with a third-party provider authorised by the US government to allow business customers a solution to “meet the new rules and allow deliveries to the US to resume”. Gary Starr, the company’s executive general manager for parcel, post and e-commerce, said:
Along with more than 190 other postal providers internationally, we’ve been caught in a fast-moving situation not of our making. The real impact has been on our customers who export their goods to the US accessing our cost-efficient postal service, so we’ve been working around the clock to find a solution.
Our priority has always been to have a solution up and running as soon as possible, while keeping our customers updated and informed.
Australia Post said it would lift the block on shipments early if able to do so.
Lifeblood issues urgent call for 12,500 extra donors in next seven days
A perfect storm of record demand for blood over winter, coupled with cancellations, has left Australia’s stock levels critically low, AAP reports.
Red Cross Lifeblood has issued an urgent call for donors as reserves of most blood types and plasma drop to critical levels. An extra 12,500 donors are needed in the next seven days to ensure Lifeblood can continue to meet patient needs across the country.
Data show that demand for blood reached record levels in June, July and August.
That demand surge coincided with the highest appointment cancellation rates since the Covid-19 pandemic, severely impacting the supply of multiple blood types.
Demand for blood reached record levels over winter, coinciding with the highest appointment cancellation rates since the pandemic, severely impacting the blood supply. We need donors of all blood types, help us find them by sharing this post. pic.twitter.com/akEDtoOf5X
— lifebloodau (@lifebloodau) September 8, 2025
Stephen Cornellison, the CEO of Lifeblood, said:
We’re urging anyone who is eligible and feeling healthy and well to book a donation immediately and help restore our blood stocks. Right now, we need donors of all blood types. If you’ve never donated before, now is the time to start.
