US President Donald Trump has greeted Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warmly at the White House and says he believes Japan is “really stepping up to the plate” on Iran ‌unlike the NATO military alliance.

Trump has criticised allies for their lukewarm support for the US-Israeli military campaign and said the United States does not need any help.

However, he is still ‌pushing for more ships to clear mines and escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, largely closed by Iran in the conflict.

Ahead of the meeting, Japan joined several European countries in a joint statement, saying they would take steps to stabilise energy markets and were ready to join “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the Strait.

Trump hailed Takaichi’s election victory last month as “record setting” as he welcomed her at the Oval Office.

He said they would “be talking about trade and many other things” including Iran.

“We’ve had tremendous ‌support and relationship with ‌Japan on everything, and I ⁠believe that based on statements that were given to us yesterday, the day before yesterday, having to do with Japan, ​they are really stepping up to the plate … unlike NATO,” Trump said.

He said he expected Japan to step up given the support the US gave the country and the tens of thousands of troops it has stationed there.

“We don’t need much; we don’t need anything,” Trump said.

“We don’t need anything from Japan or from anyone else. But I think it’s appropriate that people step up.”

Takaichi told Trump she had “brought specific proposals to calm down the global energy market” and said Iran must never be allowed to obtain a ⁠nuclear weapon.

She condemned Iran’s attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and said she believed only ‌Trump could achieve ​peace.

She also said the global economy was about to take a hit due to the turmoil in the Middle East.

Takaichi’s long-scheduled ​White House visit ‌has been aimed at burnishing the decades-old security and economic partnership between the two countries.

Takaichi has sought to move Japan away from a pacifist constitution imposed by the US after World War II but with the Iran war unpopular at home, she has so far not offered to assist in clearing the Strait ​of ​Hormuz.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier said he would expect that Japan, ​which gets 95 per cent of its crude oil supplies from the Gulf, would want to ‌ensure its supplies are safe.

Bessent told Fox Business Network that Japan’s navy has some of the best minesweepers and mine-detection capabilities.

He said he believed Japan would release more of its large petroleum reserve to supply the strained oil market.

Takaichi told the Japanese parliament on Monday that Japan had received no official request from the United States on Iran but was checking the scope of possible action within the limits of its constitution.

Shortly before heading to Washington, Takaichi posted on X that she would discuss “the increasingly tense situation surrounding ​Iran”.

She also said she would “confirm with President Trump the unwavering bond between Japan and the United States and further promote co-operation across a wide range of areas, ​such as security and the economy”.

The nation’s most populous state says it’s time for a tax shake-up, as anger grows over a GST carve-up that will cost it millions of dollars.

Despite cashing in from high iron ore royalties, Western Australia’s share of the tax pool was increased in the independent Commonwealth Grants Commission’s latest carve-up, triggering the ire of other states.

NSW received $1.4 billion less GST revenue from the $103 billion national pot than its neighbour Victoria, despite having 1.5 million more residents.

Its share of the GST pool has now fallen to 82 cents in the dollar in 2026/27, down from 86 cents in 2025/26, and 92.4 cents in 2023/24.

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey argues a fairer approach to revenue distribution should be built on a per capita basis.

“The current system for carving up the GST is busted. NSW carries the federation all by itself,” he said on Friday.

“The whole of the federation would be better off if we allocated the GST by population share, with the federal government using their balance sheet to prop up the smaller jurisdictions.”

The NSW treasurer said his state’s taxpayers had seen more of their money put to work fixing the budgets of Victoria and WA, which is on track to post its eighth consecutive budget surplus, than their own.

He noted if revenue was divvied up per capita, NSW’s windfall would be sizeable with an estimated additional $3.2 billion in the next financial year.

The distribution of GST has historically been decided based on need, which from about 2000 to 2018 meant resource-rich WA received a lower per capita share than poorer states like Tasmania.

But a 2018 deal struck with the then-coalition federal government meant that in the past two financial years, WA could receive no less than 75c to the dollar of what it would get based on a per capita distribution.

WA’s floor increased to the equivalent of NSW’s relativity in the 2026/27 carve-up, which came in at just under 82c.

Mr Mookhey is outlining his proposal in a detailed submission to the Productivity Commission into the GST deal ahead of a report slated for August.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said GST payments were increasing for all states and territories.

Service stations are reporting increasing levels of staff abuse as price shocks from the war in the Middle East ripple through global markets.

Customers desperate for petrol or frustrated with high prices were taking it out on workers behind the counter, Motor Trades Association interim executive director Peter Jones, who represents independent service stations, told AAP.

“We’ve had a lot of reports of service station attendants and staff being harassed,” he said.

“They are not the people that make the price. They are the people who serve somebody who’s just bought it.

“In rural areas where there is no fuel, whether it be diesel or petrol, emotions are relatively high … we’ve asked for people to be respectful,” he said.

Mr Jones said he had received reports of an uptick in fuel siphoning, where petrol or diesel was stolen directly from a car’s tank.

“That’s something I haven’t heard of for a long time … it came as a surprise to me,” he said.

Concerns about siphoning had so far been confined to Hobart, Mr Jones said, but he warned uncertainty about when the war would end had driven up demand for fuel around the country.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced on Thursday more than 500 million litres of petrol and diesel were being released from emergency stockpiles into regional Australia.

“Ships continue to arrive in Australia with petrol and diesel on them … the refineries are working full pelt at maximum capacity to get petrol and diesel out to Australians,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

State and federal governments have also appointed former Australian Energy Regulator boss Anthea Harris to oversee a fuel supply task force.

The consumer watchdog has taken the unusual step of announcing an investigation into Ampol, BP, Mobil and Viva Energy over allegations of price gouging in regional areas.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigations are not usually publicly announced.

Commission chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the probe was still at a preliminary stage and her agency had yet to form a view.

Mr Jones said the smaller independent service stations he represented were only making a few cents a litre and dealing with massive wholesale cost increases.

“So what somebody might think of as price gouging, it’s just handing on the increase of price or cost to them,” he said.

A chilling warning has been issued to a remote region bracing for its biggest cyclone in more than a century.

“It is an extremely powerful weather system,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Angus Hines said as Tropical Cyclone Narelle drew ever closer.

“They do not get more powerful than this.”

Narelle is poised to cross Queensland’s far north as a maximum category five system after intensifying in the Coral Sea, producing wind gusts up to 285km/h.

The monster storm is expected to make landfall about 10am AEST on Friday near the remote community of Coen, north of Cairns, triggering downpours and ferocious winds that could “blow apart sheds”.

It is set to be the first category five system to hit Cape York since Cyclone Mahina killed more than 300 people in March 1899.

Wind gusts of up to more than 250km/h are expected to be unleashed when the system makes landfall – strong enough to destroy infrastructure, uproot trees and down powerlines.

A cyclone warning zone has been declared extending from Lockhart River south to Cape Tribulation.

Vulnerable residents have been evacuated, tourists have returned home and schools have closed.

More than 100 emergency services personnel have been deployed as police go door-to-door to ensure locals are prepared.

After crossing Cape York, the storm is expected to lash the Northern Territory’s Top End before moving to Western Australia’s Kimberley coast.

About 500 people will be evacuated from NT’s remote Gulf of Carpentaria community of Numbulwar in the coming days.

Residents choosing to ride out the storm have been warned emergency services will not respond if conditions are too dangerous.

However, some far north Queensland residents reckon they will be fine – they have beer.

“Everyone’s line of thought is that you can’t actually do anything during a cyclone, so let’s have a beer,” Tim Layton, of Greenhoose family-run accommodation near the Lockhart River, told AAP.

“Let’s make it a cyclone party because there’s going to be one hell of a clean-up.”

His family is no stranger to storms, with flooded roads every wet season ensuring the only way in or out is by plane or barge.

“We’re all battened down,” Mr Layton said.

“The generators are primed, fingers are crossed and hoping for the best – the calm before the storm, right?”

The Bank of England’s nine interest rate-setters have voted unanimously to keep borrowing costs on hold at 3.75 per cent in the face of inflation risks from the war in the Middle East, and some raised the prospect of having to increase rates.

Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected a 7-2 vote in ‌favour of a “hold” decision.

The Monetary Policy Committee said inflation could rise to as high as 3.5 per cent over the next two calendar quarters, according to BoE staff forecasts, and that it was alert to the risk of higher inflation expectations becoming ‌embedded in the economy.

It also nodded to the risks of an economic slowdown which could weaken inflation pressures but said the bigger risk was one of higher inflation.

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said petrol prices were already higher and household energy bills would go up later this year if the conflict lasts.

“We have held interest rates at 3.75 per cent as we assess how events unfold,” Bailey said in a statement.

“Whatever happens, our job is make sure inflation gets back to its 2.0 per cent target.”

Sterling briefly jumped against the US dollar and the euro immediately after the decision was announced and investors were betting on two quarter-point rate hikes by the BoE this ‌year.

The yields on two-year United Kingdom government bonds – which are sensitive to ⁠speculation about rates – hit 4.43 per cent, the highest since January 2025 and up by a massive 33 basis points on the day, extending an ​earlier surge triggered by news of more damage to gas infrastructure in Qatar.

“What is striking is that all policymakers voted to keep policy on hold, which shows that even the more dovish members of the committee want to see how this conflict plays out before cutting again,” said Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist of investment company Aberdeen.

“While the hurdle to a return to rate hikes is very high, the economy could be facing a long wait until the next cut.”

Other MPC members were more explicit about whether interest rates might need to go up, a possibility that has been priced in by investors following the ⁠start of the war.

Catherine Mann said she thought the BoE should consider a longer pause in rates “or even a ‌hike at some point” ​to stop inflation from getting stuck too high.

BoE chief economist Huw Pill, who voted against the BoE’s most recent rate cuts, said he was “ready to act” if the energy price shock raised the risk of longer-term ​inflation pressures.

But Alan ‌Taylor, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of rate cuts, said the BoE’s decision to hold rates should not be seen as a turning point.

“Given massive uncertainty around energy prices, ​I currently see a high bar to hiking,” Taylor said.

The MPC said it might have more information by the time of its next meeting in late April to better assess the situation.

The BoE has cut borrowing costs more slowly than the European Central Bank ​since ​2024 because of its worries about the UK’s stubbornly stronger price pressures.

Just when it looked ​like UK inflation was going to drop to the BoE’s target of 2.0 per cent and stay there, the ‌jump in oil and gas prices threatens to push it back up – possibly to 4-5 per cent, according to analyst forecasts based on the latest energy prices.

That would still be far below the peak of 11.1 per cent in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which caused a much bigger spike in energy prices.

Hundreds of thousands of Australian households can expect to save up to $200 on electricity costs next financial year under proposed safety net prices set by the regulator.

Default market offers, as they are known, are updated annually to reflect the cost of delivering electricity to businesses and households.

Benchmark prices differ by region, but residential electricity customers from NSW, South Australia and southeast Queensland can anticipate price falls between 1.3 per cent and 10.1 per cent compared with the previous financial year.

The average household in NSW could pay $58-$226 less than the year before, and bills could be roughly $216 lower in southeast Queensland across the 12 months.

A more modest $31 fall can be expected for South Australian households.

Small businesses are in line for price decreases between 7.6 per cent and 21.2 per cent, depending on area.

Wholesale electricity prices, pole and wire maintenance and construction, retailing expenses, and compliance with government environment schemes all feed into the Australian Energy Regulator’s annual decision for the three states.

Regulator chair Clare Savage said lower default market offers reflected easing electricity costs, particularly wholesale energy.

Electricity contract prices had fallen, spot prices had become less volatile, and wind and battery generation had picked up, she said.

Lower retail operating costs and a more efficient price framework under government reforms were also highlighted.

“This draft decision points to the potential for some welcome relief for households and small businesses after several years of rising energy costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Savage said. 

Only the 10 per cent of households and 18 per cent of small businesses that fail to shop around end up on standard offers from their retailers and the regulator encourages customers to pursue more competitive offers.

Customers on the default offer could save up to 12 per cent on energy bills by calling up and switching to a mid-market offer.

Default market offers also create a baseline to easily compare other deals with.

The regulator is expected to finalise the offer in May.

Victorian benchmark prices were proposed by a separate state-based regulator last week.

The Essential Services Commission flagged a 3 per cent average fall, or $46, in annual bills across the five zones compared to 2025/26.

War in the Middle East has potential to spillover into a “severe international shock” that flows through to Australia’s economy, the Reserve Bank warns.

International risks were “high and rising”, said Brad Jones, an assistant governor at the central bank, as it released its twice-yearly health check of the Australian financial system on Thursday.

Already concerned over stretched valuations and high volatility in global equity markets, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and its impact on global energy markets has exacerbated RBA fears over risks to the financial system.

While Australia’s financial system is relatively well placed – most households have built up financial buffers and banks are well-capitalised – geopolitical pressures are intensifying.

“In terms of financial risk, volatility has risen sharply in response to the conflict in the Middle East and further shocks could lead to markets becoming somewhat disorderly,” Dr Jones said.

“In terms of non-financial risk, there is heightened risk of disruptions from operational, cyber and security incidents at present.”

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz – through which about one-fifth of oil supplies transit – and attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East have sent crude prices sky-rocketing above $US110 a barrel.

Elevated geopolitical tensions could “spillover into a severe international shock”, RBA staff noted in the bank’s financial stability review.

“The conflict in the Middle East could trigger a larger shock that destabilises the global economy, particularly if supply disruptions to oil and other commodity markets are prolonged,” the report said.

“Tensions among major global powers also have the potential to escalate, hostile cyber and other actions are intensifying, and strains in the international rules-based order are increasing alongside the risk of global geoeconomic fragmentation.”

Even after the “SaaSpocalypse” sell-off in tech companies in early 2026, as traders panicked that artificial intelligence would make existing software companies obsolete, risk premiums in global equity and credit markets had remained fairly low by historical standards, the bank warned.

There remained a potential for a “sharp revision of the outlook for AI-related investments”.

“Should expectations around the productivity benefits of the surge in AI-related investment be reduced, it could lead to a significant downgrade in profitability forecasts and asset valuations,” the report said.

“Negative consequences for asset quality in the financial system and investment plans in the real economy could result.”

Growing fault lines in the domestic financial system were on the Reserve Bank’s mind as well.

Banks were well-positioned to absorb significant loan losses in an economic downturn, the RBA said, but a “disruptive adjustment” in international financial markets could challenge Australia’s financial stability.

High loan-to-valuation lending to first-home buyers had increased, following the federal government’s expansion of the five per cent deposit guarantee scheme – a sign risky lending had picked up – the bank found.

But because up to 15 per cent of the value was guaranteed by the taxpayer, the broader financial system would be mostly insulated in the case of a rise in defaults.

Banking regulator APRA on Monday announced changes to lenders’ liquidity and capital requirements, which would allow them to write more loans for property development and infrastructure, boosting productivity.

War in the Middle East has potential to spillover into a “severe international shock” that flows through to Australia’s economy, the Reserve Bank warns.

International risks were “high and rising”, said Brad Jones, an assistant governor at the central bank, as it released its twice-yearly health check of the Australian financial system on Thursday.

Already concerned over stretched valuations and high volatility in global equity markets, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and its impact on global energy markets has exacerbated RBA fears over risks to the financial system.

While Australia’s financial system is relatively well placed – most households have built up financial buffers and banks are well-capitalised – geopolitical pressures are intensifying.

“In terms of financial risk, volatility has risen sharply in response to the conflict in the Middle East and further shocks could lead to markets becoming somewhat disorderly,” Dr Jones said.

“In terms of non-financial risk, there is heightened risk of disruptions from operational, cyber and security incidents at present.”

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz – through which about one-fifth of oil supplies transit – and attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East have sent crude prices sky-rocketing above $US110 a barrel.

Elevated geopolitical tensions could “spillover into a severe international shock”, RBA staff noted in the bank’s financial stability review.

“The conflict in the Middle East could trigger a larger shock that destabilises the global economy, particularly if supply disruptions to oil and other commodity markets are prolonged,” the report said.

“Tensions among major global powers also have the potential to escalate, hostile cyber and other actions are intensifying, and strains in the international rules-based order are increasing alongside the risk of global geoeconomic fragmentation.”

Even after the “SaaSpocalypse” sell-off in tech companies in early 2026, as traders panicked that artificial intelligence would make existing software companies obsolete, risk premiums in global equity and credit markets had remained fairly low by historical standards, the bank warned.

There remained a potential for a “sharp revision of the outlook for AI-related investments”.

“Should expectations around the productivity benefits of the surge in AI-related investment be reduced, it could lead to a significant downgrade in profitability forecasts and asset valuations,” the report said.

“Negative consequences for asset quality in the financial system and investment plans in the real economy could result.”

Growing fault lines in the domestic financial system were on the Reserve Bank’s mind as well.

Banks were well-positioned to absorb significant loan losses in an economic downturn, the RBA said, but a “disruptive adjustment” in international financial markets could challenge Australia’s financial stability.

High loan-to-valuation lending to first-home buyers had increased, following the federal government’s expansion of the five per cent deposit guarantee scheme – a sign risky lending had picked up – the bank found.

But because up to 15 per cent of the value was guaranteed by the taxpayer, the broader financial system would be mostly insulated in the case of a rise in defaults.

Banking regulator APRA on Monday announced changes to lenders’ liquidity and capital requirements, which would allow them to write more loans for property development and infrastructure, boosting productivity.

New Zealand’s economy continues to underwhelm, posting 0.2 per cent growth in the final quarter of 2025 with darker storm clouds ahead.

The Q4 result, released by Stats NZ on Thursday, was below both market expectations, at 0.4 per cent, and the Reserve Bank’s (RBNZ) prediction of 0.5 per cent.

The figures also confirm the huge political challenge for Prime Minister Chris Luxon, who has pegged his fortunes to reviving the Kiwi economy. 

The centre-right leader declared 2025 would be all about “growth, growth, growth”, but Thursday’s release confirmed annual GDP growth was just 0.2 per cent for the year.

ASB senior economist Kim Mundy said the recovery was yet to take off.

“The data highlight that while the economic recovery continued into Q4 2025, the economy was still fragile, with private demand noticeably lacking from the equation,” she said.

New Zealanders have endured one of the most challenging post-pandemic recoveries of any developed nation, with activity and confidence squashed by a long run of interest rate rises.

While the RBNZ has since squashed rates to stimulate activity, unemployment is at an 11-year high of 5.4 per cent, and inflation is again raising its head.

Consumers price index inflation is now out of the RBNZ’s target band at 3.1 per cent, with food price rises at 4.5 per cent.

There are widespread fears that inflation could worsen owing to supply chain disruptions arising from the US-Israel attacks on Iran.

Should that eventuate, the RBNZ would find itself in the invidious position of considering rate hikes that could crush the fledgling Kiwi economy’s revival.

“Both global and New Zealand growth could go south from here,” Kiwibank economist Sabrina Delgado said.

Rates of Indigenous incarceration have been steadily increasing across Australia, the latest example of how Closing the Gap targets are falling well short of expectations.

Of 17 identified socio-economic outcome areas, only three were on track to meet the government’s 2031 Closing the Gap targets and four were worsening, according to data updates released by the Productivity Commission on Wednesday.

Targets including improving child education development rates, life expectancy, infant health, and housing, as well as social and emotional wellbeing, and family safety, had all either stalled or were progressing below expectations.

A key aim of Closing the Gap is to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent over the next five years.

However, as of June 2025, the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners had increased to just over 2,500 people per 100,000 adults, or roughly 2.5 per cent of the population over 18 years old.

It is an increase from 1,925.4 per 100,000 adults – or 1.9 per cent – in the baseline year of 2019.

Compared to Australia’s overall imprisonment rate of 216 prisoners per 100,000 adults, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders remain vastly over represented.

With 17,432 indigenous Australians behind bars, the group made up more than 35 per cent of the overall adult prison population as of June 2025, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Meanwhile, youth detention rates are considered unchanged from a baseline of nearly a decade ago, with the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 10–⁠17 years behind bars on an average day being 25.7 per 10,000 young people in the population.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are being locked up at the highest rate on record,” said Nerita Waight, acting chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.

“National progress on reducing the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in detention is unchanging.”

The majority of young people being held in detention on any given day were on remand, having not been found guilty of any crime, with the ratio sometimes as high as more than 90 per cent, Ms Waight said.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” she said.

“Governments should be doing everything in their power to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and achieve real equity.”

On other measures, child development rates had also fallen, with just 33.9 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school being assessed as developmentally on track.

Ros Moriarty, the executive director of the Indigenous-operated Moriarty Foundation, said the key to unlocking a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrive is getting the early education years right.

In an address to Parliament last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was “not contemplating failure” and remained determined to address disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

However, Ms Moriarty said to succeed it was vital to invest in more early childhood interventions to set young Indigenous Australians on the right track.

“The prime minister stated he is ‘not contemplating failure,’ yet the national data shows as a nation we are failing our most vulnerable children,” she said.

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