Migrants that do not exhibit a belief in a “fair go” for all could be booted from Australia if the coalition governs again.

As One Nation leader Pauline Hanson breathes down his neck, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will unveil the first piece of the coalition’s hardline migration plan in a speech to Liberal-aligned think tank the Menzies Research Centre on Tuesday.

Without putting a number on the migrant intake target he would pursue in government, Mr Taylor wants to place greater scrutiny on people attempting to come to Australia from countries that are not Western liberal democracies.

Three key measures will seek to “lower the numbers and lift the standards” of Australia’s migration program.

They include putting “Australian values” at the centre of migration laws, shutting the door to unauthorised migrants who try to game the asylum system, and giving a “red light to radicals” by strengthening screening processes.

While Australia does not discriminate based on nationality, race, gender, or faith, it must begin rejecting some prospective migrants based on values, Mr Taylor will say, according to an extract of the speech.

“Those who migrate from liberal democracies have a greater likelihood of subscribing to Australian values compared to those migrating from places ruled by fundamentalists, extremists, and dictators,” he will say.

“In that vein, the cohort of Gazans let into Australia following the October 7 attacks present a clear risk to our country. 

“They come to our country from a society run by the barbaric Islamist terrorist organisation of Hamas – an organisation that has sought to indoctrinate and radicalise their entire population to accept fanatical violence as normal, especially the genocidal slaughter of Jews. 

“That cohort must be re-assessed entirely with far greater scrutiny.”

Complying with the Australian values statement will be enshrined into law and a prescribed set of behaviours that constitute a breach of Australian values will be established.

“In short, if a visa holder undermines our democratic values, doesn’t respect the law, or demonstrates they don’t respect our core values, they will be booted out of Australia,” Mr Taylor will say.

The Australian values statement is a document prospective migrants must currently sign when applying for a visa, which outlines the values they are expected to uphold.

These include respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, freedom of religion, commitment to the rule of law, recognising English as the national language, and a “fair go” for all that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, compassion and equality of opportunity.

What behaviours that would constitute a breach of these values and act as grounds for deportation would be fleshed out in government, a spokesperson for the opposition leader said.

Mr Taylor will also pledge to bring back temporary protection visas, after the government moved people seeking asylum onto a more permanent visa class.

This will aim to cut down “cheating” of the immigration system and disincentivise overstaying.

The coalition would also establish a joint agency taskforce to boot out overstayers who take advantage of the “appeals merry-go-round”.

Non-citizens will also no longer have access to taxpayer-funded legal aid to appeal cancellations.

Mr Taylor also pledged to establish an enhanced screening coordination centre to identify and block “terrorist sympathisers and security risks” before they enter Australia.

The enhanced screening process would include all applicants being forced to provide their social media accounts when applying for a visa.

Anthony Albanese will seek further assurances on Australia’s fuel supply during the first prime ministerial visit to Brunei in more than a decade.

The prime minister will depart on Tuesday for a four-day visit to Brunei and Malaysia for talks aimed at safeguarding the flow of petrol and diesel.

Both nations play important roles in Australia’s fuel supply chains, and the trip will build on Mr Albanese’s visit to Singapore, another vital exporter.

Along with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Albanese on Tuesday will visit the Brunei Darussalam-Australia Memorial where they will lay a wreath.

The site is dedicated to the 127 Australians who were killed and hundreds more who were wounded liberating Brunei and British North Borneo (now Malaysia) from Japanese occupation at the end of WWII.

Mr Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to visit Brunei since Tony Abbott in 2013 for the East Asia Summit.

Swinburne University engineering expert Hussein Dia described the trip as part of regional “fuel diplomacy” efforts aimed at ensuring long-term supply.

Brunei ships about nine per cent of Australia’s diesel while Malaysia is the third-biggest supplier, according to the government.

“I don’t think it’s a sign of immediate shortage or to say ‘give us priority’, it’s really to maintain flow,” Professor Dia said, adding the government was likely “planning for a prolonged period of uncertainty”.

“I think it just reinforces that we are good partners and we are coming just to seek reassurances and just build on this.”

The government on Monday rolled out a $20 million advertising campaign urging drivers to cut down on fuel use by changing their driving habits or leaving the car at home.

Mr Albanese said the ad blitz gave practical information to consumers, describing it as a sensible move at a time of “global challenge”.

In the longer term, the government said continued efforts on electrification and renewable energy were important to curb the nation’s reliance on petrol and diesel.

Australia’s fuel stocks have remained relatively stable since the Iran conflict broke out in February, with 38 days of petrol, 28 days of jet fuel and 31 days of diesel in reserves, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said on Monday.

Fifty-seven shipments of crude oil, jet fuel, diesel and petrol were headed to Australia, Mr Bowen said, describing the number as about normal for this time of year.

The Australian share market has fallen after Middle East peace talks broke down at the weekend and the United States said it would begin its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished down 34.6 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 8,926.0 while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 42.3 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 9,113.5. 

Brent crude jumped back over $US100 a barrel for the first time in almost a week, climbing seven per cent to $US102, after US President Donald Trump announced the US Navy would begin imposing the blockade on the crucial waterway from midnight Monday AEST.

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned the country had “large, untouched levers” to counter any naval blockade, while the Speaker of Iran’s parliament and its top negotiator warned Americans they would soon be nostalgic for $4 to $5 gas.

Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said the stage was now set for a hot war where things potentially escalated out of control, including possible strikes on Gulf energy assets and civilian infrastructure.

Etoro market analyst Josh Gilbert said the window for a clean resolution was narrowing, and investors needed to be positioned for the possibility that things could worsen before they got better.

Eight of the ASX’s 11 sectors finished down, with telecommunications and utilities modestly higher and energy growing 2.1 per cent on the spike in oil prices.

Woodside and Ampol both climbed 2.6 per cent, while Santos grew 1.7 per cent and New Hope added 4.6 per cent.

The ASX’s tech sector was the worst performing, dropping 1.8 per cent, in part due to a big fall by Life360. 

Shares in the family location-sharing platform dropped 8.1 per cent to an 18-month low of $17.91 after chief executive Lauren Antonoff on Friday announced job cuts and plans to restructure the company around an AI-led strategy.

In consumer staples, A2 Milk sank 13.0 per cent to an eight-month low of $8.04 after the Kiwi milk company trimmed its guidance, saying issues including the Middle East conflict were hampering its ability to supply infant milk formula to the Chinese market.

In the heavyweight mining sector, the iron ore giants all finished in the green. 

BHP rose 0.7 per cent to $54.35, Rio Tinto added 0.5 per cent to $172.07 and Fortescue edged 0.1 per cent higher at $20.28. 

Goldminers struggled, however, as the precious metal changed hands at $US4,742 an ounce, down $44 from Friday.

Northern Star dropped 2.0 per cent, Evolution slipped 2.4 per cent and Westgold Resources subtracted 2.9 per cent.

In the financial sector, the big four banks were mostly lower. 

NAB dropped 0.9 per cent to $44.95, Westpac retreated 0.4 per cent to $42.59 and CBA dipped 0.1 per cent to $183.20.

ANZ was the outlier, flat at $38.84.

Elsewhere in the sector, EML Payments plunged 35.7 per cent to a more than decade-low of 37 cents after the prepaid card company trimmed its full-year earnings guidance, citing in part weaker-than-expected trading in the northern hemisphere.

In health care, Telix Pharmaceuticals rose 7.7 per cent to a six-month high of $15.77 after the radiopharmaceutical company announced a partnership with a US company that will deliver an up-front payment of US$40 million ($56 million).

The Australian dollar was trading for 70.44 US cents, from 70.62 US cents at 5pm on Friday.

ON THE ASX:

* The S&P/ASX200 dropped 34.6 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 8,926.0.

* The broader All Ordinaries slipped 42.3 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 9,113.5.

One Australian dollar trades for:

* 70.44 US cents, from 70.62 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Friday.

* 112.47 Japanese yen, from 112.46 Japanese yen.

* 60.29 euro cents, from 60.43 euro cents.

* 52.53 British pence, from 52.63 British pence.

* 120.85 NZ cents, from 120.89 NZ cents.

For nearly nine decades, an eye-catching animated neon sign of a little girl skipping has been lighting up Melbourne evenings.

Little Audrey, as she is affectionately known, has now been temporarily plunged into darkness and replaced with a girl hunched and glued to a glowing screen.

The “scrolling girl” campaign from Team Kids and Dairy Farmers aims to highlight the consequences of replacing a childhood dominated by play with one filled with screens.

“This has resulted in much less physical activity outside of the home, with terrible consequences for children’s physical and psychological development,” child and adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said.

The “scrolling girl” campaign from the outside-school-hours care provider and dairy brand will involve a term-long skipping challenge in 270 schools.

Despite Australia’s world-leading social media ban, teenagers are spending close to three hours a day on small screens.

That’s three times longer than spent playing sport or other physical activity, as captured in the YouGov survey of more than 1000 parents conducted to coincide with the active children campaign.

Nearly two-thirds of parents feared their children’s device usage was negatively impacting their sleep, physical activity, mood, and other markers of wellbeing.

No more than two hours of screen-time a day and at least one hour of physical activity are recommended by the federal government.

Upwards of 70 per cent of kids were doing less exercise than suggested.

Australia’s social media ban on under-16s began in December 2025.

While there has been an overall decline in youth accounts, the eSafety Commissioner’s compliance report found about seven in 10 children still had an account on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok.

Roughly half still had an account on YouTube.

Several sites are under investigation for possible breaches of the laws.

While social media ban workarounds abound, more young people support the ban than oppose it, separate surveying by educational technology provider Year13 suggests.

The head of Australia’s navy has been named as the next chief of the country’s armed forces.

Vice Admiral Mark Hammond was announced chief of the Australian Defence Force by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday.

He will take over from David Johnston, who has served in the role since July 2024.

“Vice Admiral Hammond has had a distinguished career spanning 40 years in the Royal Australian Navy,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

“Vice Admiral Hammond will continue to bring valuable insight to the role of chief of the Defence Force.”

Vice Admiral Hammond joined the navy in 1986 as an electronics technician before becoming a naval office two years later.

Throughout his nearly four decades in the military, he served on the Collins class of submarines, commanding the HMAS Farncomb across the Indo-Pacific, and was posted as an assistant naval attache in Washington DC.

He also served as chief of staff to former defence force chief David Hurley in 2012.

Vice Admiral Hammond became head of the navy in July 2022, overseeing work on the multibillion-dollar AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, one of Australia’s biggest defence projects.

Australia’s second-largest fertility services provider is mulling a takeover approach, valuing the group at about 35 per cent more than its recent stock close.

Shares in Monash IVF, which has an assisted reproduction market share of about 19 per cent, bounced by almost 16 per cent to 77 cents on Monday after the offer was revealed.

The would-be predators are offering 90 cents, well above the stock close on Friday at 66.5 cents, when Monash IVF had a market value of almost $260 million.

It’s not the first time investment vehicle WHSP Holdings and private equity group Genesis Capital have cast their eyes over Monash IVF.

They first pursued the target in November, when Monash IVF was under pressure over an embryo implant scandal.

A patient at its laboratory in Melbourne’s southeast was implanted with her own embryo on June 5 rather than one from her partner, as requested.

The company later blamed human error and IT limitations for the incident.

The mix-up prompted Victoria’s health regulator in November to impose conditions on the registrations of its clinics across the state.

Then, WHSP and Genesis, were offering 80 cents per share for all the stock in Monash IVF, which has struggled to trade above 90 cents for more than 12 months.

Its most recent high was $1.23 in February 2025, although it has previously traded close to $1.50.

The bidders, who hold 19.6 per cent of Monash IVF’s shares, told the company their offer is valid until April 21.

At the same time, they want exclusive access to Monash’s books and the unanimous recommendation of the board.

Monash IVF said the approach was unsolicited, conditional and non-binding.

“The Monash IVF board is assessing the proposal, including obtaining advice from its financial and legal advisors,” it said in a statement.

“It should be noted that there is no certainty that the discussions with the consortium will result in any transaction.

In April 2025, Monash IVF also revealed a woman at a Brisbane facility had another patient’s embryo incorrectly implanted in 2023 because of human error.

It meant the woman gave birth to a stranger’s baby.

That and the Victorian bungle sparked an independent review headed by leading barrister Fiona McLeod, which has since been completed, but its full contents haven’t been disclosed.

About 20,000 babies conceived by IVF are born in Australia each year, according to the latest figure from the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction database.

This represents about one in 18 children, rising to one in 10 for those born to mothers aged 35 and older.

Australia will not join the United States’ efforts to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, with the federal government arguing the move puts global trade in a “very difficult” position.

A permanent Iranian toll on the critical waterway would also be unsustainable, senior ministers say.

After peace negotiations between American and Iranian negotiators collapsed over the weekend, President Donald Trump declared the US Navy will stop “any and all” ships from entering or leaving the key trade route, which until recently carried around one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies.

Australia had not been asked to help with the blockade, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“We’ve received no requests … they’ve made this announcement overnight and they’ve done that in a unilateral way,” he told Nine’s Today Show on Monday.

“We haven’t been asked, and I don’t expect that we will be.”

He also called for the strait to reopen and the conflict to end.

The American blockade presented a challenge to international trade at a time when de-escalation was sorely needed, Resources Minister Madeleine King said.

“That poses a very difficult position for global trade,” Ms King told the ABC’s AM program on Monday.

“Really, the best thing Australia can do is encourage that both parties go back to the negotiating table.”

Iran has begun charging a toll for ships wanting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz. Mr Trump  has ordered the US Navy to find and intercept any vessel which has paid the toll.

“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he said on Truth Social.

An ongoing Iranian toll on the strait would be very difficult for Australia and other countries, Ms King said.

“Any suggestion there might be some kind of permanent tolling on an important trade route by a regime that’s listed as a terrorist organisation, is just not a sustainable position,” she said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien said any move to join the US blockade needed to meet two key tests: whether it was in Australia’s national interest, and whether the military had enough capacity to send troops or equipment.

“It is in our national interest to have the Strait of Hormuz reopened, right? So big tick to that,” he said.

“(But) what assets are required? Do we have the capability of sending them?” 

Eight people whose selfless courage helped save lives during a murderous rampage through a Sydney shopping centre will be honoured with special bravery awards.

Two years after a man armed with a knife killed six people and injured a dozen others at Westfield Bondi Junction, Governor-General Sam Mostyn has announced the special Australian Bravery Decorations honours list.

“These Bravery honourees are characterised by their selfless, courageous, and determined response in unspeakable and horrific circumstances,” she said.  

“Every one of them showed strength, and profound courage, as they placed the safety of others above their own, demonstrating ultimate care for others.”  

Joel Cauchi murdered Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Tahir, Jade Young, Pikria Darchia, Dawn Singleton and Ashlee Good during a six-minute rampage at the Westfield complex on April 13, 2024. 

Cauchi, who lived with schizophrenia and was “floridly psychotic”, was fatally shot by police officer Amy Scott. 

The six bravery medals, recommended by the independent Australian Bravery Decorations Council, include two posthumous awards.

Ashlee Good was shopping with her infant daughter in a pram when she was attacked from behind. 

When Cauchi tried to attack her daughter, she charged at him and pushed him away.

Despite injuries that would claim her life, Ms Good was able to hand her daughter to bystanders in a nearby store.

Security guards Muhammad Taha and Faraz Tahir were both stabbed while responding to the incident, with Mr Tahir suffering fatal injuries.

Frenchmen Silas Despréaux and Damien Guerot confronted Cauchi and used metal bollards to try to stop his rampage, before finding Inspector Scott and leading her to his location. 

Cauchi charged at Insp Scott, who fired three shots, fatally wounding him.  

Nurse Catherine Molihan, who will receive a Commendation for Brave Conduct, told AAP that “it stays with you forever”.

She was in a cafe when the sound of screams alerted her to the incident.

Ms Molihan ran into a nearby shop with others and the door was locked, but when she saw Mr Taha and Mr Tahir, she urged the shop manager to open the door so she could help them.

The manager told her that he didn’t know if he could let her back in, but she insisted he open the doors. 

“All I could think of was helping those two (men) that I could see,” she said.

“I’ve got to get out of this shop and go over there and help – it’s just a natural instinct.”

She assessed Mr Taha and told him to “hold on tight to the shirt” that she used to stem bleeding.

“And then I went down to Faraz … I just gave him first aid and held his head and patted his beard and just talked to him, saying, ‘hang in there, Faraz’.”

Two years on, she still struggles to speak about the events of that day.

“It still does affect me. It was just an awful experience,” she said.

“”A nurse is just born to help and give and be kind to others. It was good that I was on the scene, because it saved someone else from seeing what I saw.”

The second commendation for brave conduct will be awarded to Noel McLaughlin, who was responding to a call advising that his wife, Jade Young, had been stabbed.

When he encountered the attacker, he alerted other bystanders to the threat, before later giving first aid to his wife, who died from her injuries.

In February, NSW coroner Teresa O’Sullivan released a report that exposed major failures in mental health services and security, resulting in 23 recommendations. 

BONDI JUNCTION HEROES’ AWARDS: 

Bravery Medal (BM):

* Silas Despréaux

* Ashlee Good (dec)

* Damien Jean Guerot

* Detective Inspector Amy Scott

* Muhammad Taha

* Faraz Tahir (dec)

Commendation for Brave Conduct:

* Noel McLaughlin

* Catherine Ann Molihan

The Iran war is set to deliver a $36 billion windfall for Treasurer Jim Chalmers, but increased spending on cost-of-living measures could derail efforts to get the budget back in black.

Even with a fragile ceasefire holding in the Middle East, the disruption to key supply routes has sent prices for essential commodities such as oil, gas and coal skyrocketing.

That’s bad news for Australian families but good news for the budget bottom line,  independent economist Chris Richardson says.

Mr Richardson predicts the taxman will rake in an extra $9 billion in the current financial year compared to the government’s most recent estimate in December.

Over the next three years, higher commodity prices and an upgrade to income tax receipts due to high inflation will deliver an extra $27 billion in forecast revenue.

Mr Richardson said that would far outweigh increased spending on cost-of-living relief, including already announced cuts to the fuel excise, in the May budget.

“So far at least, the announced spending increases are well and truly swamped by the uncomfortable fact that war is a money-maker for the Australian federal budget,” he said.

“Partly because war boosts inflation (which effectively acts as a tax), but mostly because the war has bid up the price of what Australia sells to the world.”

Overall, the impact of the war on revenue and expenditure will make the bottom line about $30 billion better off over the four-year budget period.

Other factors increasing the tax take include the standard over-performance of commodities prices compared to Treasury’s conservative estimates and a higher-than-expected migrant intake, up by about 50,000 people.

The temptation to shy away from productivity-boosting budget surgery was strong given voters were already hurting from high inflation and much-needed reform would create more losers, Mr Richardson said.

But he urged the government not to waste the crisis.

“The key political test for the budget comes down to how many people it is willing to annoy along the path to a better Australia,” he said.

The government has promised big spending cuts in the budget, as well as tax reform to make the economy fairer for younger generations and to incentivise business investment.

Health Minister Mark Butler has not ruled out introducing means-testing to help rein in one of the biggest strains on the budget: the NDIS.

But the government’s attempts to slow overall spending have been undermined by its efforts to ensure Australia doesn’t run dry as a result of the Middle East fuel shock.

In a bid to shore up supplies, the Commonwealth will underwrite fuel cargoes, meaning wholesale buyers Ampol and Viva can bid at inflated rates and be reimbursed by the taxpayer if prices drop and they make a loss.

It’s unclear how big the call on the budget would be if prices collapsed.

As the government worked to make Australia’s supply chains and the economy more resilient, it was also working through big decisions in the budget, Dr Chalmers said.

“The budget will balance the pressures here and now with our obligations in intergenerational terms and that’s how we’re approaching this budget,” Dr Chalmers told a politics in the pub event in Logan on Sunday.

The financial pain from the war in Iran would continue to hit the global economy and Australian households even with a lasting ceasefire, he noted.

“The stakes are pretty high and so we approach this oil shock and its aftershocks with a lot of hard work and humility,” Dr Chalmers said, adding the budget would be about “fuel security, supply chain resilience and economic reform”.

The prime minister will try to shore up supplies of fuel and other essential commodities in a four-day trip to key trading partners.

Anthony Albanese will travel to Brunei and Malaysia on Tuesday as efforts to safeguard the flow of petrol, diesel and other critical imports ramp up amid ongoing instability spurred by conflict in the Middle East.

Both nations play important roles in Australia’s fuel-supply chains and the trip will build on a recent visit to another vital exporter, Singapore.

Mr Albanese said bolstering ties with regional partners was essential to maintaining energy security during uncertain times.

“We are taking every step to reinforce relationships and engage with key partners to keep our fuel supply flowing,” he said.

The prime minister will meet the sultan of Brunei to discuss energy, food security and the movement of essential goods.

Brunei provides about nine per cent of Australia’s diesel imports.

Talks will also focus on deepening an existing partnership that was formed in 2023.

He will meet his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, to discuss fuel supply.

Malaysia is Australia’s third-largest source of refined fuel and supplies 10 per cent of Australian fertiliser imports.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will also meet her counterparts from Malaysia and Brunei on the four-day visit.

The trip comes as the government begins rolling out a $20 million advertising campaign asking the public to help conserve fuel by changing their driving habits or leaving the car at home.

But Curtin University sustainability expert Peter Newman criticised the move, saying similar campaigns had been evaluated in the past and shown to have virtually no impact.

He also described as “desperately stupid” a West Australian government plan to develop a state-based diesel stockpile, independent of national fuel reserves.

“It’s going to be very expensive and difficult to even access that (extra) diesel and petrol (on the global market),” Professor Newman told AAP.

In comparison, he said it was a “no brainer” for Australia to speed up the transition to electrified transport.

“We can be a world leader in that, not a world leader in how much (petrol and diesel) we can store up,” Prof Newman said.