A ceasefire will not calm the fears of Iranians in Australia as their homeland’s authoritarian regime looms over their loved ones.

After almost two weeks of conflict, a temporary pause in hostilities between Iran and Israel was announced by US President Donald Trump and immediately welcomed by Australia’s leaders.

But the Australian-Iranian community’s feelings are more complicated.

They live in fear of US or Israeli bombs killing their friends and family while also worrying about the threat Iran’s autocratic Islamic government poses for their loved ones.

No one person or voice can speak for an entire group, Australian Iranian Community Alliance vice-president Suren Edgar said, however he believed most Iranians were not happy with the current regime.

“This is not our war, we didn’t create this war but we are paying the price,” he told AAP.

“If the outcome of the ceasefire would be to keep the Islamic Republic in power, that won’t be safe for the international community and won’t be safe for the people inside Iran.”

For some, like Persian Australian Community Association member Nader Ranjbar, there was hope the conflict could help de-stabilise the Iranian autocracy and pave the way for a new, democratic government.

Without a new regime, he is concerned the current administration will intensify its persecution of Iranian people.

“That’s my worst fear,” he told AAP.

“That somehow they get away from this mess and the first thing they do is start killing Iranian people.

“We are all worried about our family and friends and the whole country.”

There was also confusion as to whether a ceasefire would last.

Iran’s state media on Tuesday reported the truce and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he had accepted the ceasefire after achieving his war goals.

But just hours after Mr Trump announced the ceasefire, Israel’s defence minister ordered his country’s military to respond to what he claimed was an Iranian violation of the truce.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Australia was concerned about the risks of escalation.

“We don’t want to see the ceasefire broken – that’s the fundamental point here,” he told ABC’s 7.30.

“Clearly, what is in the interests of the region and the world, and both countries here, is that the ceasefire is maintained and we have a de-escalation.”

More homeowners are falling behind on their house repayments despite a cut in interest rates.

Figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority showed 1.68 per cent of all mortgages were in arrears during the first quarter of the year, a slight rise from 1.64 per cent in the final three months of 2024.

The time period coincided with the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates by 25 basis point, the first reduction in the cash rate since 2020.

Housing experts say the number of loans in arrears has remained contained despite recent cost-of-living pressures.

Most mortgage holders had largely kept on top of their payments due to tight labour markets and stronger financial standards from lenders, Cotality research director Tim Lawless said.

“Lending standards have been unquestionably strong throughout the recent cycle, with a consistently low portion of mortgage originations considered risky,” he said.

“Interest-only lending comprised 19.7 per cent of originations in the March quarter and has consistently held well below the previous temporary limit of 30 per cent set by APRA between 2017 and 2018.”

Mortgages are considered in arrears when they are more than 30 days overdue.

The amount of mortgages in arrears during the past quarter is below the record high of 1.86 per cent during the second quarter of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Lawless said savings by households during the pandemic may also be one of the factors mortgages in arrears remained relatively stable.

“The household saving ration held above 10 per cent between mid 2020 and early 2022,” he said.

“Households have been able to draw down on their savings as higher debt servicing costs and cost-of-living pressures eroded balance sheets.”

Mr Lawless said as interest rates started to come down further and inflation eased, it was likely the rate of arrears would also subside.

A plan to resurrect the coalition from the ashes of its election loss will be revealed by the opposition leader as she vows to represent modern Australia.

Sussan Ley will become the first Liberal leader to address the National Press Club since 2022 and the first female opposition leader to use the platform when she outlines her vision to win back voters on Wednesday.

Australians handed the coalition its worst loss at the federal election in May and, although Ms Ley has said her appointment to the opposition’s top job represented a fresh approach, there is still some way to go.

“Let’s be honest and up front about last month’s election. We didn’t just lose, we got smashed,” she will say in her address.

“We respect the election outcome with humility, we accept it with contrition and we must learn from it with conviction.

“The task before me – and my team – is to lead a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, reflects modern Australia and represents modern Australia.”

Polls before the election suggested the coalition would not form government but the depth of the defeat was a shock.

The coalition was left without a leader and with less than half as many seats as Labor.

Policies such as an end to working-from-home arrangements for public servants and vague threats to cut jobs in government departments were blamed for its unpopularity with voters, alongside a perceived tendency to wade into culture wars.

These platforms failed to win over women and younger Australians, in particular.

But Ms Ley has committed to bringing them back into the Liberal fold, vowing to represent young and older Australians, professionals, everyday workers and families.

“Aspiration is the thread that connects every single part of Australian society,” she will say.

“Aspiration is the foundation of the Australian promise.

“That promise feels distant for many Australians today.”

By promising to reward, back and empower Australians, Ms Ley hopes to offer a strong alternative vote at the next federal election.

The coalition has been urged to move back towards the political centre, but many of its moderate members were wiped out at the election, leaving a significant contingent of conservatives that could threaten Ms Ley’s leadership during the next three years.

She also has to navigate the relationship with the National Party after the long-term coalition partners split briefly during the fallout from the calamitous election result.

Economic leaders will be told NSW is open for business, as the treasurer continues selling a budget welcomed by property developers and the building sector.

But others have questioned why NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey’s budget did not do more for a struggling health sector, on cost-of-living measures or to fund social services.

Mr Mookhey will address a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event on Wednesday, a day after delivering a budget some have suggested was tailored to the “big business” types that will be in the room.

The state’s $128 billion 2025/26 budget featured increased investment in essential services and lower debt, complete with a $1 billion housing development fund to finance developers behind low- to mid-rise buildings.

Ray White Group research head Vanessa Rader said the Labor government’s use of the public purse was a “fundamental transformation in commercial property dynamics”.

“Unlike traditional budgets focused primarily on CBD enhancement, this budget demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of distributed economic development and the need to adapt commercial property strategies to contemporary business requirements,” she said.

Others were less impressed with the government finances, with Greens MP Abigail Boyd labelling it “a budget for big business” rather than for the people.

“It’s a betrayal to all those in our communities doing it toughest – failing to address the rising cost of living in this state or lift people out of poverty, while leaving billions in uncollected revenue on the table from big business,” she said.

Among the Greens’ gripes was a failure to tweak gambling taxes that mean clubs do not pay tax for their first million in poker machines profits each year.

Hotels begin paying tax at $200,000.

“While public schools, public transport and hospitals are crying out for investment, Labor has refused to touch on a reform that could have delivered an estimated $1 billion into the state budget,” Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said.

The Australian Medical Association noted that same absence in their response and found “little meaningful funding for the state’s ailing public health system”.

“Doctors on the frontline are grappling with more acutely unwell patients with increasingly complex healthcare needs and the funding provided in this budget fails to address that,” AMA NSW president Kathryn Austin said.

The budget forecast a deficit of $3.4 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, falling to $1.1 billion in 2026/27.

Modest surpluses of $1.1 billion are projected in the following two years.

A celebrity wedding party for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice this week has been moved to an isolated, less accessible part of the lagoon city on security concerns and to prevent the risk of protests, sources say.

The billionaire tech-tycoon and his fiancee had earmarked a location in Cannaregio to celebrate after their marriage, a popular and central nightlife area, but fears of demonstrations led to a change of plan, the sources added.

For weeks some local residents and pressure groups have been complaining that the event will turn the scenic city of gondolas and palazzi into a private amusement park for the rich, and threatened peaceful blockades.

After the wedding ceremony, whose location and exact date remain secret, although it is expected to be between Thursday and Saturday, about 200-250 VIP guests from show business, politics and finance will now head to a hall of the Arsenale, a vast 14th-century complex in the eastern Castello district.

Surrounded by water and impossible to reach by land when connecting bridges are raised, the hall is considered a safer venue than Cannaregio’s Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a medieval former religious school.

Originally a giant shipyard serving the Venetian Republic’s maritime empire, the Arsenale has been restored and converted into an exhibition space for the Venice Biennale art fair.

Bezos, 61, executive chair of e-commerce giant Amazon and no 4 on Forbes’ billionaires list, got engaged to Sanchez, 55, in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to Mackenzie Scott.

The couple’s decision to marry in Venice follows other celebrity weddings in the floating city, such as that of US actor George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014.

“The news that Bezos has run away from the Misericordia is a great victory for us,” said Tommaso Cacciari, a leader of the “No Space for Bezos” campaign that is leading the anti-wedding front.

The group has announced more protests for Saturday on Venice’s canals, bridges and narrow streets, pledging to make the event a “nightmare” for Bezos and his guests.

Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region that comprises the city, criticised the protests, saying the 90 private jets carrying guests to nearby airports would bring revenue of up to 48 million euros ($A85.46 million) to local businesses.

US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been holidaying in Tuscany, visited the factory of luxury sports car maker Ferrari on their way to the Venice wedding, a source familiar with their movements said.

Debt is set to reach record levels for a state government planning an Olympics following a milestone budget.

Queensland’s Liberal National government on Tuesday handed down its first budget since 2014, hailing its efforts to reduce debt while delivering key election commitments.

“We promised that we would target budget improvements … today we are delivering on that promise,” Treasurer David Janetzki told parliament.

However Queensland has been warned it may receive another credit rating downgrade with debt set to eclipse $200 billion for the first time, leading to higher borrowing costs for Brisbane 2032 projects.

Mr Janetzki looked at long-term budget repair after the LNP’s October 2024 election success that ended Labor’s nine-year reign.

He opted for a “mature and responsible” approach, more than a decade after the last LNP government sacked 14,000 public servants and cut frontline services under Premier Campbell Newman.

Mr Janetzki’s mid-year budget update in January said debt expectations under the former Labor government model would exceed $217 billion by 2027/28 if left unchecked.

The treasurer on Tuesday said debt would be lowered to $190 billion by 2027/28 under the LNP.

But the state’s debt is expected to reach a record $205 billion by 2028/29, sparking a warning from ratings agency S&P Global.

“Queensland’s budget highlights a sharp deterioration in the state’s finances,” it said. 

“It shows debt is increasing to cover the state’s weak operating position and fund its large infrastructure pipeline.”

The state’s AA+ credit rating was downgraded for the first time in 15 years when it went from stable to negative in February.

S&P Global warned there was potential for further drops if the budget was not balanced within two years, a move that would ensure higher borrowing costs in the race to complete Brisbane Games projects.

Decreased credit ratings mean higher interest rates, making it harder to borrow due to the risk of not being able to pay it back.

The LNP’s budget features $1.7 billion to begin construction on the Brisbane 2032 athletes’ village and venues over the next four years.

The government outlined an $8.6 billion deficit in 2025/26, expected to improve to $1 billion in 2028/29.

S&P Global accused the LNP government of “refreshing” rather than “redesigning” its financial strategy, aiming to stabilise its ratio of debt to revenue.

Debt still continues to rise to fund operating deficits and a growing infrastructure budget, the agency said.

Mr Janetzki said Queensland had been hit hard by a $2.4 billion reduction of GST revenue in 2025/26, calling it a “kick in the pants”, along with coal royalties falling to $6.1 billion compared to $10 billion in 2023/24.

The treasurer had earlier touted an improved bottom line thanks to capital expenditure savings, including scrapping Labor’s pumped-hydro scheme and the “CFMEU” tax.

The LNP government still splashed out on its key election commitments – crime, health and housing.

“We are front-loading the investments into jobs and services now in this budget so Queenslanders can reap the benefits sooner,” Mr Janetzki said.

After delivering landmark “adult crime, adult time” laws, the state government is investing $5.2 billion in its crackdown on offenders including $347 million to support the controversial legislation.

Health services are buoyed by a $33.1 billion investment, including an $18.5 billion plan to deliver 2600 new beds and three more hospitals.

The budget featured “targeted” cost-of-living support by restoring indexation to the Electricity Rebate Scheme for vulnerable households, expected to reduce the average power bill by $386.

Families will also receive $100 vouchers for every primary school student to help with costs.

A thousand first home buyers earning up to $150,000 will also benefit with 30 per cent equity in new builds and 25 per cent in existing homes up to $1 million.

Australia’s online watchdog is pushing for YouTube to be included in a landmark social media ban for children, accusing platforms of spin in their safety claims.

eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the video-streaming giant should be captured in laws to restrict access for people under the age of 16.

The “world-leading” laws will come into effect from December, but YouTube had received an exemption under the legislation, while platforms including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok will be off-limits.

Addressing the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, Ms Inman Grant pointed to research that showed seven in 10 children aged between 10 and 15 had encountered harmful content on the internet.

YouTube was the most-cited platform for young people viewing the material.

“Any platform that says they’re absolutely safe is absolutely spinning words,” she said.

YouTube has fiercely rejected the commissioner’s call, denying the site is harmful for young users and argues it should not be considered a social media platform.

In a statement, the Google-owned company urged the government to stick to its public commitment of granting its platform an exemption.

YouTube’s Australian public policy manager Rachel Lord said the eSafety commissioner had ignored other advice showing the platform was suitable for young people.

“This recommendation is in direct contradiction to the government’s decision to exempt YouTube from the ban,” she said.

“eSafety’s advice goes against the government’s own commitment, its own research on community sentiment, independent research and the view of key stakeholders in this debate.”

Ms Inman Grant announced the watchdog was moving to register three industry-prepared codes to limit children’s access to high-impact material such as pornography, violent content, themes of suicide and disordered eating.

She flagged artificial intelligence tools that can estimate a user’s age were being looked at to help enforce the incoming youth ban.

A survey by the commission of more than 2600 children aged between 10 and 15 showed 96 per cent had used at least one social media platform, Ms Inman Grant said.

“Our implementation of this legislation is not designed to cut off kids from their digital lifelines, or to inhibit their ability to connect, to communicate, to create or explore,” she said.

Research from the federal government’s age-assurance trial found a majority thought YouTube was suitable for people younger than 15.

Under the age ban, social media platforms would be fined up to $50 million if the measures are not enforced.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells said the commission’s advice on YouTube was being considered.

“The minister’s top priority is making sure the draft rules fulfil the objective of the act and protect children from the harms of social media,” they said.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said it was disappointing the government was only now getting advice from the eSafety commissioner with six months left before the ban was due.

“In or out, the government needs to make its position clear on the requirements for social media platforms and families to protect our kids from the vitriol that is so prevalent online,” she said.

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani denies any wrongdoing in response to US allegations of bribery, telling shareholders that no individual from the group has been charged under foreign corruption laws.

“Despite all the noise, the facts are that no one from the Adani Group has been charged with violating the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) or conspiring to obstruct justice,” the billionaire said at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.

“Even in the face of the storms and relentless scrutiny, the Adani Group has never backed down,” he said.

In November, US authorities indicted Adani and several executives, alleging they paid bribes to secure Indian power contracts and misled US investors.

The Adani Group has rejected the allegations as “baseless” and said it was co-operating with legal processes.

Adani Group and its 13 offshore investors have been facing an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India since Hindenburg Research in 2023 alleged the group’s improper use of tax havens.

The group has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The company, which is building the world’s largest renewable energy park in Khavda, western India, aims to install 50 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030.

With combined thermal, renewable and pumped hydro assets, Adani Group expected to reach a total power generation capacity of 100GW by 2030, Adani said.

Adani also announced a record capital expenditure plan, saying the group expects to invest between $US15 billion ($A23 billion) and $US20 billion annually over the next five years.

Employers and developers have praised pioneering housing initiatives in Australia’s largest state budget while critics rue missed opportunities and few sweeteners for struggling households.

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey charted a cautious course to a possible surplus while unveiling the $128 billion 2025/26 state budget on Tuesday, spruiking increased investment in essential services and lower debt.

“This budget has been put together carefully, deliberately, at a time of great global uncertainty, and sends a big message that NSW is stable and NSW is open for business,” Mr Mookhey said.

Well short of its target of building the 377,000 homes required by 2029 under a national agreement, the state will make an unprecedented intervention through a $1 billion fund guaranteeing pre-sales for developers seeking finance.

The initiative will be aimed at low to mid-rise developments, some of the most challenging to deliver in current conditions and the homes the state needs to tackle housing affordability, Mr Mookhey said.

The state will agree to purchase up to 5000 homes at a discounted rate, hoping banks will then fund the construction of three times that number.

It’s a new step into the mainstream market after Labor’s previous budgets focused on essential workers and social housing.

But it is not the “plan B” promised following a scuppered scheme to build 25,000 homes at Rosehill Racecourse.

Developers championed the guarantee to help get more homes built faster.

“It’s good policy and a great example of government listening and responding to industry,” Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Stuart Ayres said.

But renters rued a missing sequel to last year’s $5.1 billion investment in social housing.

“We need to see that amount every year until we reach approximately 10 per cent of housing in NSW being publicly funded,” Tenants Union NSW chief executive Leo Patterson Ross said.

The government was also criticised for missing an opportunity to increase funding for community services battling to meet rising demand.

“If you invest in prevention now … it will lead to better economic productivity, thriving communities in the future,” NSW Council of Social Service chief executive Cara Varian said.

The budget featured the first real increase to foster care allowances in 20 years and a $120 billion infrastructure pipeline focused on hospitals, schools and ageing pipes and poles.

A deficit of $3.4 billion is forecast for the 2025/26 financial year, falling to $1.1 billion in 2026/27.

Modest surpluses of $1.1 billion are projected in the following two years.

The state’s finances were improving but “a lot needs to go right” to reach surplus, the treasurer said.

The opposition attacked the surplus projections as a “work of fiction” and lamented the lack of direct relief for households.

No new rebates were announced while a $60 road toll “cap” has not been extended beyond December 31, despite promises of future toll reform.

More than $2 billion is budgeted for public sector wages over four years, which Labor says will come from filling vacant positions and reduced spending on contractors.

But that failed to account for higher wage demands from psychiatrists, nurses and firefighters, shadow treasurer Damien Tudehope said.

“If the (Industrial Relations Commission) in fact offered more in relation to that wage component, the budget is already further in deficit,” he said.

Gross debt, hitting $178.8 billion by next June, remains proportionally lower than other states outside resource-rich WA.

But the budget papers note uncertainty from unpredictable global policies including US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Other drags on the budget include disaster relief, which has leapt tenfold since the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires, costing $1.6 billion annually.

Workers compensation, which the government has been unable to reform before premiums increase on July 1, is another constraint.

Service station owners have been put on notice not to take advantage of customers due to volatile fuel prices caused by conflict in the Middle East.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission calling for the watchdog to monitor for potential price gouging at the bowser by operators.

Petrol prices have been fluctuating following uncertainty in the Middle East with Iran and Israel trading air strikes and the US bombing Iranian nuclear facilities.

Fears of an escalation in the conflict had prompted concern of fuel facilities being impacted which would see oil prices rise further.

Dr Chalmers said drivers needed to be treated fairly at the fuel pump.

“We don’t want to see service stations do the wrong thing by Australian motorists,” he told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to see this volatility in global oil prices lead to more than justifiable changes in the price that Australian motorists pay at the bowser.”

Oil prices had been sitting about $62 per barrel at the start of June, before rising to $79 following US strikes on Iran.

While the price has moderated since a ceasefire agreement was reached, economists had warned the cost could rise to above $100 a barrel if fuel supplies were impacted by further strikes.

Consumer watchdog chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb has been asked to report back to the treasurer on price-gouging issues.

“I would expect the ACCC … to investigate any concerns arising about misrepresentations regarding petrol prices, false and misleading conduct or anti-competitive conduct in petrol markets, and to take appropriate action,” Dr Chalmers said in a letter to the commission.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said should the price of oil reach above $100 a barrel, it would add 25 cents per litre to retail petrol costs.

He said an increase in petrol costs could push up inflation, which would flow on to other parts of the economy.

“If the oil price went to $100 to $150 a barrel and it’s a much bigger boost to inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia would be inclined to wait before cutting interest rates again,” he told AAP.

“The price of airfares could go up, as well as plastic prices, which affects a lot of household goods.”