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Australia news as it happened: PM announces $10b fuel security package; RBA hikes interest rates to highest level in almost 18 months

Adam Carey and Daniel Lo Surdo
Updated ,first published

Key Posts

What you need to know
One Nation volunteer snatches Liberal senator’s phone in Farrer fight
Former PM Abbott in frame to be next Liberal Party president
Minister backs intelligence agencies ahead of return of ISIS families
Marles rejects US Secretary Hegseth’s call for Australia to ‘step up’
Australia to spend $10 billion to boost fuel stockpile to 50 days
Australia seeks security pact with Fiji despite mooted Chinese pushback
Three Northern Territory child protection workers stood down
Pinned post from 6.10pm on May 6, 2026
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What you need to know

By Adam Carey

Thanks for following our live coverage of breaking, national and global news today.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Australia’s reserves of diesel and jet fuel will be boosted to 50 days of average use under a $10 billion funding package announced by the Albanese government in a major policy shift that creates the first publicly owned stockpile since World War II. The 1 billion-litre fuel stockpile is a significant departure from the current fuel security policy, which relies on privately owned fuel and storage facilities, and comes amid a worsening fuel crisis.
  • Nationals leader Matt Canavan has vowed to run the “mother of all campaigns” against the cancellation of half of the Inland Rail project. The final stages of the freight link from Parkes in NSW to near Brisbane were shelved indefinitely yesterday after warnings that the cost of the entire 1700-kilometre line would blow out to well over $45 billion and take until at least 2036 to complete.
  • Alleged Bondi terrorist Naveed Akram is set to face a string of new charges. They include 10 counts of shooting with intent to murder, three counts of wounding with intent to murder and six counts of firing with intent to resist arrest. The charges are in addition to 59 charges previously laid, which included 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act and 40 counts of attempted murder. Akram has not yet pleaded.
  • Thirteen members of the IS-linked Australians in Syria are expected to face arrests and charges following their impending arrival to Australia. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed this morning the group, comprising four Australian women widely referred to as the “IS brides” and their nine children, have cemented plans to return to Australia. The children will undergo community integration programs amid concerns they have been radicalised while in the Middle East. The group could arrive as soon as tomorrow.
  • Donald Trump has announced the pause of a mission to guide stranded vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, as his administration nears a deal with Iran that would mark the end of the war. Trump said the pause was requested by Pakistan, the key mediator in talks between the US and Iran, and “other countries”, as the parties worked to finalise and sign an agreement. The US naval blockade will remain in “full force” while Trump’s “Project Freedom” is paused.

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China calls for swift reopening of Strait of Hormuz after Iran talks

By Adam Carey

Returning to the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that China was “deeply distressed” over the war that has lasted more than two months and said a “comprehensive ceasefire” was needed.

China’s top diplomat met with Araghchi in Beijing, the first time the Iranian foreign minister travelled to China since the war with the US and Israel started on February 28.

“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said.

Yi also called for the swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

“Regarding the strait issue, the international community shares a common concern over restoring normal safe passage through the strait,” Beijing’s top diplomat said on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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One Nation volunteer snatches Liberal senator’s phone in Farrer fight

By Adam Carey

Turning again to the Farrer byelection, due to be contested on Saturday, where conflict between the Coalition and One Nation has turned physical.

One Nation’s candidate in the Farrer byelection, David Farley, has condemned “aggression of any form on the campaign trail” after one of his volunteers was filmed grabbing Liberal Senator James Paterson’s phone following a confrontation outside a polling booth in Albury.

Screengrabs from footage showing a One Nation volunteer grabbing Liberal Senator James Paterson’s phone following a confrontation outside a polling booth in Albury.

The clash came as the pair disagreed over this masthead’s revelation that Farley, a former Nationals member, had previously attempted to stand for the Labor Party and supported independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe at last year’s election.

According to video footage of the interaction, which was filmed by Paterson, seemingly without the volunteer’s awareness, the senior Liberal senator raised Farley’s history of supporting Labor and asserted that voters had a right to know about the candidate’s political history.

Former PM Abbott in frame to be next Liberal Party president

By Paul Sakkal

Former prime minister Tony Abbott is in the frame to become president of the Liberal Party and join ally Angus Taylor in the fight to reclaim the party’s status as Australia’s dominant right-wing force from One Nation.

In what would be his highest-profile political role since leading the country, Abbott is expected to put his hand up to head the party’s organisational wing, which runs campaigns, fundraising and strategy, before a vote to appoint someone to the position in late May.

Former PM Tony Abbott is adored by the Liberal Party’s conservative wing but polarising elsewhere.Sitthixay Ditthavong

The quest for the post may turn into a contest between Abbott and another former party leader, Alexander Downer, who has also been mooted as a candidate.

Read chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal’s exclusive story here.

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Minister backs intelligence agencies ahead of return of ISIS families

By Nick Newling

Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly has said the government is placing its confidence in Australia’s intelligence agencies, after Australian Security Intelligence Organisation head Mike Burgess said he was not “concerned immediately” with the imminent return of 13 ISIS-linked Australians.

“We have to be confident in our security agencies and take their advice. And you know, I understand that there are people out there who would be concerned about the return of these women and of their children, but we do need to rely, and we rely heavily, on the advice of our security agencies,” Aly told the ABC this afternoon.

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly.Alex Ellinghausen

“They are world-class security agencies. They have undertaken risk assessments. They have at their hands the tools that they need to be able to undertake those risk assessments.”

The group of four women and nine children are expected to arrive in Australia this week. Aly reiterated the government’s statement that Labor has provided no support to the cohort in returning to Australia.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said some members of the group would be arrested when they landed in the country, while others would be monitored. The children will undergo “community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs”.

The minister said she believed the cohort could be rehabilitated, and that she was “a believer in the ability of people to have a different trajectory in life”.

Marles rejects US Secretary Hegseth’s call for Australia to ‘step up’

By Adam Carey

Australia has not had a direct request from the US to provide naval support in the Strait of Hormuz, Defence Minister Richard Marles says, after US Defence Secretary urged allies including Australia to “step up” in the Middle East.

“We hope South Korea would step up just like we would hope Japan would step up, just like we hope Australia would step up, and Europe steps up,” Hegseth told reporters.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia was in conversations to contribute to safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz.Alex Ellinghausen

“We’re not waiting for them to do so, we’re looking to set the conditions to hand to them.”

Marles told reporters at a doorstop in Perth on Wednesday that Australia was “engaging in conversations” with the US, UK and France about possible naval support in the Middle East.

Israel and UAE leaders talk following Iranian attack on Gulf state

By

Returning to the Middle East, the president of the United Arab Emirates and Israel’s prime minister held a rare phone call this week, underscoring their countries’ deepening relations during the Iran war.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu was among the leaders who called UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, known as MBZ, following Iran’s attacks on the UAE on Monday, according to WAM, the Arab country’s state news agency.

Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, right, pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP

He expressed solidarity with the UAE and “support for all measures it takes to safeguard its security,” WAM said on Wednesday.

The UAE is one of only a few Arab countries to formally recognise Israel, having signed the Abraham Accords in 2020.

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Australia to spend $10 billion to boost fuel stockpile to 50 days

By Adam Carey

Returning to this morning’s news of the Albanese government’s decision to boost Australia’s reserves of diesel and jet fuel to 50 days of average usage: the $10 billion funding package creates the first publicly owned fuel stockpile since World War II.

The 1 billion-litre fuel stockpile is a significant departure from the current fuel security policy that relies on privately owned fuel and storage facilities.

Ampol’s oil refinery in Brisbane is one of just two remaining facilities in Australia. Getty

The announcement comes amid a worsening global fuel crisis.

The federal government copped blame when hundreds of service stations ran out of fuel in the first weeks of the Iran war, from February 28, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz halted 10 per cent of the world’s oil supply and oil prices spiked.

While fuel shortages were driven by panic buying, the government’s legal requirement for 27 days of reserves was criticised for being far below the International Energy Agency’s requirement of 90 days.

Read the full story here including reaction from industry and motoring groups.

Australia seeks security pact with Fiji despite mooted Chinese pushback

By Ben James

Turning to the Pacific, where Foreign Minister Penny Wong has played down concerns of pushback from China over a proposed security pact between Australia and Fiji.

Senator Wong held talks with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in the Pacific island nation’s capital, Suva, as they spruiked the yet-to-be-signed Vuvale agreement between the two countries.

Senator Penny Wong and Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, pictured in 2024.

Australia’s efforts to secure a similar agreement with Vanuatu were dealt a blow following interventions from Beijing.

Australia’s bid for a $500 million deal with Vanuatu was shelved after the Pacific nation raised concerns it could limit its ability to seek funding from other countries.

Nationals promise ‘mother of all campaigns’ on shelved Inland Rail

By Brittany Busch

Returning to Inland Rail, Nationals leader Matt Canavan has vowed to run the “mother of all campaigns” against the cancellation of half of one of the nation’s largest railway projects.

The final stages of the freight link from Parkes in NSW to near Brisbane were shelved indefinitely yesterday after warnings that the cost of the entire 1700-kilometre line would blow out to well over $45 billion and take until at least 2036 to complete.

“I’m not taking this decision as the last word because what we will do now [as] the National Party is rally communities, right up and down this line to get their voices heard in Canberra,” Canavan told reporters in Albury.

“I’ve already asked people to get ready for the mother of all campaigns, to save regional Australia, to save the farming opportunities that this line provides, to save the nation-building opportunities that this would open up for large parts of regional NSW, western Queensland and Victoria.”

Initial cost estimates made by the Turnbull government almost a decade ago were less than a fifth of the latest $45 billion forecast, which the government feared could balloon even higher.

The Inland Rail project between Melbourne and Brisbane is a project championed in its earliest days by former Nationals leader turned One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce.

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