A quarter of a century after Australian troops were deployed to Afghanistan, those veterans have been honoured for their service in the fight for freedom.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday offered the nation’s respect and gratitude to all who served in Australia’s name at a service to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of the campaign.

The nation’s most decorated living soldier and accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith was among hundreds of veterans at the ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.

The 47-year-old was awarded Australia’s highest military honour – the Victoria Cross – for his service in Afghanistan, but now faces accusations he murdered five unarmed detainees during his deployment.

He denies the allegations.

Mr Albanese told the crowd of veterans and dignitaries that Australian servicemen and women of the Afghanistan campaign embodied “something we must never lose”.

Former prime ministers Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and John Howard also attended the Canberra ceremony.

It was Mr Howard who entered Australia into the conflict alongside the US and other coalition forces in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, initiating what came to be called Operation Slipper.

“We went on the principle that September 11 was an attack on a way of life that belonged just as much to us,” Mr Albanese said.

“It was not yet directly our fight, yet Australia did what is so resolutely in our nature.

“We went to support our friend and ally. We went because we saw what was at stake.”

More than 35,000 Australian servicemen and women were deployed to the Middle East over two decades until their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

US troops left a few months later after signing an agreement with the Taliban, who swiftly returned to power and reintroduced authoritarian control, including strict suppression of women and girls’ rights.

Some 47 Australian Defence Force personnel died as a result of their service and 263 were wounded, while thousands more allied soldiers were killed.

Tens of thousands of civilians were also estimated to have been killed during the war.

Despite the controversy over Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan and its legacy, the troops who served on the ground remain intensely proud of what they achieved.

Former soldier Mathew Bell was deployed in 2012, aged 24, with his infantry battalion to a forward operating base in Afghanistan’s “badlands” west of Tarinkot.

More than a decade after he returned to Australia, Mr Bell remembers his unit’s work with a sense of honour and accomplishment.

“We changed that little part of Afghanistan, that little part of the world for good,” the former lance corporal, now 38, told AAP.

Mr Bell said girls were able to attend school, medical services were rolled out to villages and “there was freedom”.

“Not the oppression we’re seeing now under the Taliban government,” the father of two said.

“Our role was essentially to go out on either vehicle-mounted patrols or foot patrols, out amongst the local population through the desert, through the green zone, keeping the Taliban at bay.

“It was a hot area. Once you stepped over that line in the sand, like, that was Taliban territory.”

One of Mr Bell’s close mates was badly wounded in a roadside bomb explosion and on more than one occasion, his section was pinned down by sniper fire.

Mateship and camaraderie forged under fire got them through the dangerous times, and Mr Bell remains tight with his former brothers-in-arms.

In addition to Canberra, services were held at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney, the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne and other sites around the nation.

Australians who served in the Afghanistan War were deployed in various roles and missions contributing to reconstruction efforts, democratic governance, training and humanitarian aid.

Operation Slipper was followed between 2015 and 2021 by Operation Highroad and the Kabul airlift in August 2021.

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A “royalties for regions” scheme is being spruiked as a golden opportunity by a state government chasing a historic election victory.

Victorian Labor Premier Ben Carroll announced on Sunday he would direct all mineral resource royalties raised in the state to its regions.

The policy unveiling came as the race to November’s election heated up and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson took her campaign outside Melbourne, pledging to establish almost a dozen technical colleges to fast-track students into apprenticeships.

Labor’s policy took direct inspiration from Western Australia, which rolled out a similar program in 2008 to set aside 25 per cent of royalties for regional projects.

The Victorian scheme was expected to generate $500 million over the next four years, the government said. 

“This is a golden opportunity for Victoria,” Mr Carroll told reporters on Sunday.

“We need to embrace it because the critical minerals race has begun.

“We are so blessed to be here in Victoria with rare earths, with gold, and we are going to do everything we can to embrace it and grow our economy.”

The mining industry welcomed the move, saying the reinvestment would enable the sector to better support regional communities.

“Strategic investment in regional infrastructure will help address the big challenges regional industries and communities face, from roads to shortage of trades skills and lack of childcare and healthcare options,” Minerals Council of Australia executive director James Sorahan said.

Both leaders made duelling policy announcements ahead of the final stretch of the election campaign, with fewer than 50 days until polling day as Labor seeks to achieve a historic fourth term.

Under the coalition plan, also announced on Sunday, 5000 secondary students would be given hands-on vocational education and training in trades.

“We know in the coming years, we have a serious workforce challenge in this state – a skills crisis, particularly amongst the very trades we are going to need to build new homes desperately needed,” Ms Wilson said.

“We are investing in the future skills that this state needs.” 

The 10 new colleges would focus on training students in trades critical for building new homes and infrastructure, such as plumbing, carpentry and electrics, costing $222 million over eight years.

The plan replicated a South Australian model, announced in 2022 and marketed online as “high school, but different”.

The colleges would have dedicated teachers and enrol students from years 10 to 12.

Each college would cater for up to 500 students and be located at existing secondary schools and TAFE institutes.

In August, Labor opened the Brimbank Tech School at Victoria University’s Sunshine campus, which will enrol more than 13,000 secondary students from 15 partner schools. 

It was the third of six tech schools established across the state as part of Labor’s $116 million investment in technology education.

Unemployment data will give the Reserve Bank an idea of how its interest rate hikes are affecting Australia’s economy, as a readout of its last meeting informs economists of its thinking.

The Reserve Bank’s decision to raise the cash rate to 4.6 per cent in September was more emphatic than many expected, with all nine board members voting unanimously in favour of a hike.

In previous meetings, minutes showed some members were concerned about higher interest rates and the Middle East conflict’s impact on demand and the jobs market.

When the board lifted the cash rate to 4.35 per cent in May, one member broke away and voted to hold, citing concerns about the strength of the economy.

The minutes from the September meeting, to be released on Tuesday, should provide more detail about what influences the decision to hike or hold.

Although Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said she still believed the labour market was a little tight following the September meeting, the jobless rate has risen faster than the central bank forecast.

In August, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6 per cent – the highest level since November 2021 and above the Reserve Bank’s forecast 4.5 per cent in the December quarter.

But the labour market has been sending mixed signals, Westpac economist Ryan Wells said.

While the unemployment rate has been rising, that’s largely because more people are looking for work.

Labour supply has increased, with the participation rate hitting an almost-record-high of 67.1 per cent in August.

On some measures, such as job growth figures and job ads, demand for labour has remained solid.

But other signs point to a weakening of business hiring intentions.

Mr Wells expects Thursday’s labour force survey to show employment rose by 20,000 in September – down from the 40,000-odd increase in August – but a subtle fall in the participation rate should keep unemployment at 4.6 per cent.

“While a softer economy and sub-par employment growth would typically discourage some individuals in their search for work, cost-of-living pressures and interest rate rises are more than outweighing this effect, encouraging more people into the labour market,” he said.

“This tells us that slack is continuing to build in the labour market even as headline employment growth remains relatively resilient.”

James Keene, managing director of payroll platform Employment Hero, said small and medium businesses were trying to hold onto their headcount, despite thinning margins.

Payroll data from more than 23,000 small businesses that use Employment Hero showed hiring rebounded 0.8 per cent in September, but overall hiring momentum has eased since March.

Annual wage growth also fell from 4.5 per cent in August to 2.2 per cent in September.

“Holding onto those teams in a tight economic climate comes with clear trade-offs, which is why September saw such a drop-off in wage growth,” Mr Keene said.

NAB’s business confidence survey, due to be released on Tuesday, should provide further evidence of employers’ hiring intentions.

Wall Street investors are meanwhile looking to the opening of third quarter earnings season this week along with inflation data expected to shed light on Federal Reserve intentions.

The ⁠Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.83 per cent to close Friday at 51,654.95, the S&P 500 gained ‌0.59 per cent ​to 7,811.51 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.64 per cent to 27,366.17.

Australian share futures edged up 37 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,072.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 0.64 per cent on Friday to 8716.6, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced 0.62 per cent, to 8877.7.

Coal and gas projects would be protected from legal challenges based on the emissions their exports created overseas under a coalition government. 

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s pledge, announced on Saturday, would make it harder for activists to delay or stop major resources projects. 

It comes just days after community environmentalists successfully challenged a major coal mine expansion in NSW’s Hunter region.

In a landmark ruling on Wednesday, the High Court knocked back Mach Energy’s mine expansion in Muswellbrook because the NSW planning body did not account for emissions from coal sold and burnt overseas. 

Under the Australian Resources Exports and Jobs Protection Bill proposed by Mr Taylor, governments would be prevented from refusing or frustrating projects based on overseas emissions. 

“It is madness that local planning authorities must now consider the climate impacts of resources used in other countries before approving a mine in NSW,” Mr Taylor said. 

“If Australia cannot export our resources, our partners will simply look elsewhere,” he said, adding the move would protect local jobs. 

The bill would prevent federal, state and territory governments from creating laws that require approval processes to consider overseas emissions.

It would also establish a principle that Australian resource projects should be assessed on their local environmental impacts alone. 

Nationals leader Matt Canavan said the reforms would protect jobs and projects being “held hostage by radical green activists”. 

“We will not let activists destroy Australia with their ideology that makes not one degree of difference,” he said. 

In the days since the split 3-2 High Court ruling was handed down, debate has centred on whether it would affect approvals beyond NSW.  

Elaine Johnson, the lawyer who represented the successful community group, previously told AAP the decision suggested Australia had a general responsibility to mitigate emissions from its coal wherever it was burnt. 

“I think that the application of the High Court’s decision is broad,” she said.

Others, however, including Queensland Premier David Crisafulli, have insisted its application did not extend beyond the NSW legislation the court was tasked with considering. 

Nonetheless, he said he would consider tightening Queensland’s legislation if required. 

“If stronger changes are needed to the laws to make them even more bulletproof, you bet we will do that,” he told reporters in Cairns on Thursday.

Asked whether he thought emissions generated overseas should be considered, and whether that was good for the environment, he replied bluntly: “I don’t.”

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King stressed the decision was technical and did not spell the end for Australia’s fossil fuel industries. 

“It won’t necessarily extend to other states,” she told ABC Radio on Thursday.

US President ‌Donald Trump says Russia has agreed to supply diesel to global markets in an effort to lower fuel prices, and his administration has temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel designed to deprive Moscow of revenues for its ‌war on Ukraine.

Prices for diesel, used for agriculture, heating homes and trucking, are near a record and risk for Trump’s fellow Republicans ahead of the November 3 congressional elections that will determine whether they maintain thin control of Congress.

Diesel prices fell after the announcement, but analysts ‌said the deal may not be enough to keep them down.

Trump said on social media he had a “highly successful” discussion with President Vladimir Putin in which they agreed that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to US and global markets, equal to about 2.25 million barrels of fuel.

The US exports about 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day.

After the call, an envoy for Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, praised co-operation between Russia and the US in a post on X.

Dmitriev asked US officials during his visit to Washington in September for licenses to export diesel to the US market to be granted to all Russian major oil firms, sources familiar with the situation said.

In October 2025, the US imposed sanctions on ‌Russian oil companies over Moscow’s war ‌that began in 2022. The diesel exports ⁠could provide Moscow with billions of dollars in revenues that could help Putin continue the war with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised the deal, announced while ​a Ukrainian delegation was in the US to discuss how to seek a resolution of the war, as a “weak decision on the part of strong partners”.

“Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy,” he said on X.

The deal was also criticised by US lawmakers including Trump’s fellow Republican, Representative Don Bacon, who said it was time to apply more sanctions Congress passed recently, not lift the measures.

“Now is the time to use those sanctions to squeeze Putin’s war machine, not reward a dictator by putting more money in his hands while he continues targeting and killing Ukrainian civilians,” Bacon said on X.

The US Treasury Department issued a licence allowing importation of Russian diesel until ⁠April 7.

Trump said Russia would supply another 500,000 tons in November and a further 1 million tons “immediately thereafter”.

Even more would follow, Trump ‌said, “based on the condition of their ​diesel refineries”, which have been damaged by Ukrainian attacks.

Analysts said the agreement was unlikely to lead to sustained lower fuel prices.

“I cannot overstate how much of a nothing burger this is,” Rory Johnston, an oil market researcher and founder of ​CommodityContext.com, said on X, ‌adding that Russia usually exports much more diesel than volumes in the deal when its refinery fleet is not under attack.

Diesel prices, which are often a big driver of inflation, are up 70 per cent since the US and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28.

The wars in Iran and Ukraine have triggered a severe global fuel supply crunch, pushing average US diesel prices to $US6.28 ($A8.99) a gallon on Thursday, according to the AAA motorist group.

Prices have stayed high despite two recent moves by Trump to boost supplies of the fuel: ​pressuring ​allies to release emergency reserves and expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel, which is normally used for farm ​equipment.

They were one, they were many and from all the lands on earth they came. 

Or at least so sang attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference as they swayed to I Am Australian, before a succession of speakers vowed to end so-called “mass immigration”.

Written by The Seekers’ Bruce Woodley and later recorded by singer Judith Durham with the late Yothu Yindi leader Dr M Yunupingu, the song was one of many contradictions surrounding the Brisbane event.

It was advertised as a call for unity between Australia’s warring conservative tribes, promising three leaders in one room with one goal – to remove the Albanese government.

But that couldn’t stop Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor, One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and the Nationals’ Matt Canavan taking shots at each other as they vowed to work together in a future three-way coalition.

Less than 18 months from the next federal election, Mr Taylor’s speech sounded like an appeal to the gathered faithful.

He promised to scrap Australia’s commitment to net zero under the Paris Agreement and end mass migration, and said he was happy to stand in front of three flags “as long as they are all Australian flags”.

At the end of his speech, he received a partial standing ovation.

Next up was Senator Hanson – and immediately, the remaining two-thirds of the crowd stood up.

She said One Nation would work with the Liberals and Nationals to remove the Albanese government, prompting more applause.

“I know what it means to put personal history aside and turn the other cheek,” she said.

“The Liberal Party threw me out, then they threw me in jail.

“I do have reasons to hold a grudge but I also have children and grandchildren … If I can put personal grievances aside for the sake of this country, others should be able to do the same.”

Senator Canavan – wearing a high-vis vest – later reminded Senator Hanson she had vowed to see Mr Taylor removed from his seat.

After praising people wearing high-vis as the hardest-working in the country, he cast shade on the vest’s colour – a reference to One Nation’s choice of orange.

Interviewed by Karl Stefanovic – who thanked the event for “rudely interrupting my unemployment”, referring to his termination by Nine in June – senators Hanson and Canavan continued to trade barbs and bonhomie.

Stefanovic, who hugged both his guests as they took the stage, asked when Australian conservatives would “get their shit together”.

Senator Canavan said the parties were in competition but were “big enough and ugly enough” to come together.

And he harked back nostalgically to the glory days of Australian manufacturing.

“We need to get back to making things in this country,” he said.

That included babies – but he said he and wife Andrea already had five and had done their bit for national productivity.

Interviewing Mr Taylor separately, Stefanovic asked him whether he or Senator Hanson would call the shots in a future Liberal-One Nation coalition.

“I know you’re obsessed with this,” Mr Taylor replied, as the room briefly erupted in jeers, drowning him out.

Notably absent from the event was Mr Taylor’s leadership rival Andrew Hastie, who has vowed never to work with One Nation.

Opening proceedings, conference chair Warren Mundine told an anecdote about bumping into Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in Canberra.

“I looked at him and my body language gave me away,” Mr Mundine said.

“My mate had to grab me and say, ‘It doesn’t go well on your CV if you murder a federal minister’.”

The line drew laughter from the crowd.

Outside, a loud gathering of rainbow-coloured protesters attempted to disrupt the event.

They were comparatively few in number, but arguably more united than those gathered inside.

Australian motorists won’t be filling their vehicles with imported Russian diesel anytime soon.

“We don’t need or want it,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen says.

His hard line follows reports US President Donald Trump has struck a deal with Moscow to supply the heavier refined petroleum product typically used in trucking and agriculture.

The apparent agreement with Vladimir Putin comes despite Washington’s long-term efforts to persuade him to end Russia’s war with Ukraine. 

Mr Trump has taken to social media to tout “highly successful” talks which will immediately deliver 300,000 tonnes of diesel to US and global markets.

More and larger amounts would be supplied in coming months, Mr Trump said.

However, Australia won’t be taking up any potential offer, Mr Bowen told reporters on Saturday.

“We have the arrangements in place as best as we possibly can with our trading partners to ensure Russian fuel doesn’t flow to Australia,” he said.

“That policy is not changing, will not change.”

What the US decided would be “a matter for them”, Mr Bowen said.

“We’ll continue to have the very, very firm view that Russia should not be rewarded for their illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine by any arrangements put in place as a result of the Middle East crisis.”

Australia’s fuel price pain, triggered by the outbreak of war in Iran, has persisted since February.

According to PetrolPulse data, the national average price of diesel is slightly more than $2.83 per litre.

As of Friday, Unleaded 91 across Australia’s capital cities sat on average at $2.43 per litre, up about five cents from last week.

“We’ll continue the same approach we’ve had all through this crisis, working closely with trading partners … and working very closely with our domestic refiners to ensure they are working at full pelt,” Mr Bowen said.

Australia has 43 days’ worth of petrol, or two days more than last week, 31 days of diesel, or one day less than last week, and 30 days of jet fuel.

There are 51 supply ships on the way to Australia and 3.2 billion litres of various types of fuel locked in and contracted for delivery over the next four weeks.

“I think it gives Australians reassurance in a difficult period that we continue to have the fuel we need,” Mr Bowen said.

“The situation internationally remains difficult.”

In a cruel twist, the weather almost stopped world leaders from witnessing how one of the world’s most vulnerable nations is fighting climate change. 

Representatives from 30 countries, including 14 presidents and prime ministers, took a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Fiji to Tuvalu, a tiny Pacific nation spread over nine islands and atolls. 

Their arrival interrupted local traffic on the runway that splits the capital Funafuti in two, and overwhelmed a two-room airport that doubles as a community centre. 

But by the time dignitaries landed, heavy rain had set in and a planned visit to a multimillion-dollar land reclamation project looked like it would be reduced to a drive-by. 

Undeterred, Australian officials insisted the tour continue. 

Organisers rounded up a makeshift motorcade of mini-vans, buses, utes, cars and trucks covered in tarps.

The delegation made it to the project site and trudged through sodden white sand to shelter in a marquee. 

There, they heard how the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project planned to add 20 hectares of habitable land to the island by the end of 2026. 

Across four sites, project manager Alan Resture explained, sand dredged from the seabed would be used to create land capable of withstanding high tides inundating other parts of Tuvalu. 

“It’s raised to six metres above the reef flat,” he said. 

“During king tides, the highest astronomical tide is 3.2 metres.”

The visitors, many wearing traditional floral crowns known as fou, braved the rain to pose in front of the sand hills they almost bypassed. 

The experience would stay with those who made the trip, COP31 President-Designate and Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum said, and inform decisions at November’s climate talks. 

“We witnessed it ourselves,” he said. 

“Tuvalu has made no contribution to this crisis but unfortunately they are faced with the threat. They are faced with an existential crisis and they are paying the heaviest price.”

Yet the visit itself was not without controversy, drawing only two leaders from outside the Pacific. 

Australia is also attracting criticism for a lack of new financial commitments announced at the summit and its continuing reliance on fossil fuel exports despite calls from Pacific nations to phase them out. 

The summit’s success might ultimately be judged in Turkey, where Pacific nations can assess whether their concerns have been translated into meaningful action. 

The island excursion formed part of a four-day pre-COP31 program based in Nadi, Fiji, that attracted about 4000 people from 100 countries. 

Talks focused on four themes: keeping 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming within reach, elevating Pacific voices, recognising the role of the ocean and delivering access to climate finance. 

Many talks centred on the Pacific Resilience Facility, a fund designed to attract $US500 million ($A717 million) for debt-free grants to small but high-impact adaptation and resilience projects. 

Several nations committed more including the UK ($US13.24 million), Fiji ($US10 million), Denmark ($US2.3 million) and Ireland, which will almost double its existing $US3.3 million pledge.

The facility could help nations facing the biggest threats from global warming to build defences, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“The challenge now is capitalisation,” he said.

“My message today, unashamedly, to governments, development partners, financial institutions, philanthropic organisations, investors, is straightforward: back a Pacific-owned and Pacific-led solution.”

But Australia did not add to its existing $100 million commitment to the facility, instead announcing $10 million for energy and infrastructure projects from pre-approved programs. 

The absence of new financial support represented a significant missed opportunity, Oxfam Australia chief executive Jennifer Tierney says. 

“For Australian leaders to leave pre-COP without a single substantial funding pledge is irresponsible and falls short of the bold leadership it promised,” she says. 

“What Pacific communities need is genuine additional finance that reflects the scale and urgency of the climate crisis they are dealing with – losing homes, livelihoods and lives as disasters worsen.”

Australia’s delegation did not commit to phasing out fossil fuels, even as nations including Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Marshall Islands used the summit to call for a plan. 

A High Court decision delivered during the event ruling against the expansion of a NSW coal mine highlighted the need for a fresh approach, Greenpeace Australia Pacific COP31 lead Dr Simon Bradshaw says.

“We must now follow other countries developing a national road map away from fossil fuels that ensures a managed wind-down of fossil fuel production, including exports,” he says. 

Whether the Pacific’s calls for change and finance are heard would ultimately be determined at bigger talks in November, Fiji Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya said. 

The COP31 event could attract representatives from 197 nations and the European Union to discuss issues raised in Fiji and the rainy leaders’ event in Funafuti. 

“Pre-COP does not adopt decisions,” Ms Tabuya said. 

“Its true value will be measured by what happens next.

“Whether these conversations we’ve had here will inform and shape decisions in Antalya … and ultimately by whether our actions make a real difference in the lives of billions of people exposed to climate crisis.”

Small businesses have baulked at the suggestion they are the big winners in Labor’s ban on credit card surcharges.

After the government caved in to pressure and forced the tax office to delay its ban on accepting credit card payments, the business community wants Canberra to go a step further and can the surcharge ban altogether.

But Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said it was “a huge positive for business”.

The Reserve Bank, which oversees Australia’s payments infrastructure, has also capped interchange fees – paid by the business’s payment provider to the customer’s card issuer – and improved transparency for prices set by card networks.

That will save small businesses $900 million per year in costs, Dr Mulino said.

“The Reserve Bank, when they looked at this, saw that Australia was an outlier,” he told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program on Friday. 

“We needed to make our payment system more transparent. Consumers, rightly, were getting very annoyed with the fact that when they tapped their card, they were paying a different price. So this was a reform that was long overdue.”

Choice head of policy Morgan Campbell agreed.

“Consumers are always better off knowing the price up-front rather than getting a surprise at the till through a surcharge,” he told AAP.

While merchants were hit with a one-off price increase when the ban came into effect, over time small businesses will be able to shop around for better deals with card providers, he said.

That should ultimately result in lower costs.

But Wes Lambert, chief executive of the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association, said the changes would actually make scheme fees charged by card networks like Eftpos and Visa more opaque.

As a result, he said merchant fees – which are the total transaction fees paid by businesses – could climb from around one per cent to US levels of 2.5-3 per cent.

“There is a low understanding of the actual payments industry,” he said.

Greens leader David Shoebridge said the government should have legislated to force the banks to pay for card costs, rather than making consumers and small businesses take the hit.

Mr Lambert also challenged the Reserve Bank’s claim that only 15 per cent of businesses were imposing card surcharges before the ban, saying surveys showed 81 per cent of restaurant and cafe owners passed on some type of surcharge.

“We are hopeful that both the RBA and the government will recognise the circus that this has created, and that they should rethink their position,” he said.

The surcharge ban came while the hospitality sector was already facing higher inflation and wage costs.

“All of those things are accelerating much faster than typically restaurants and cafes can put their prices up, which means that it goes directly to the bottom line,” Mr Lambert said.

Small Flat White, an online coffee price tracker, found 17 per cent of cafes increased prices since the ban came into effect on October 1.

Out of those that hiked prices, the average increase was 49c, or about 10.7 per cent.

David Bitton is a classic example of a skilled migrant in Australia.

The French-born restaurateur moved to Australia in 1991 as a qualified chef after a chance encounter with Australian tourists who convinced him to travel two years earlier. 

“I wasn’t selling drugs, I wasn’t in jail,” Mr Bitton told AAP.

“I just really embraced being an Australian. I became an Australian ambassador.”

Mr Bitton began working in Sydney at a five-star hotel restaurant off Circular Quay before working his way up to opening his own chain of restaurants.

His long-running cafe in the city’s eastern suburbs operates off the back of a multicultural workforce which he said fosters a sense of community.

“So when you see now the policy about immigration and how they make it hard … it’s embarrassing,” he said.

The government, coalition and One Nation have each announced different policies to slash migration and rethink the role of international students and tradespeople in the economy.

Labor’s plan includes a redesign of the skilled migration points test so housing construction trade qualifications carry the same point value as a university degree.

Visa applications already prioritise a number of sectors including construction, healthcare and resources under a ministerial direction which took effect in September.

While Mr Bitton has weathered the introduction of the GST, the global financial crisis and COVID-19, he said the culture in Australia around hospitality meant the shortage of chefs and waitstaff was impossible to fill without migrants.

“Australians don’t want to be in the hospitality industry. They do it when they’re going to uni … but this is not in their blood,” he said.

“Like European, we are proud to be a waiter, or we’re proud to be a chef. Go to any restaurant, cafe, your coffee, your food will be cooked or made by immigrants.

“And then we make it so hard now for people to stay in this country. It’s driving me insane.”

It has reignited calls from the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association for the hospitality sector to be included in the list of sectors that prioritises visas.

“No matter what migration policy that the current or future governments land on, they need to face the reality that chefs and cooks and restaurant managers from overseas are one of the most in demand skilled workers in Australia,” association chief executive Wes Lambert said.

“Putting them at the back of the queue will be disastrous for not only hospitality, but for tourism and the entire food service supply chain that relies on dining out, especially those in regional areas.”

The coalition has avoided defining what a skilled migrant would be, vowing to come up with a list closer to the next federal election.

However the policy will land, Mr Bitton said he was simply tired of keeping up.

“How do I feel? I feel deflated the way that we’ve been treated as an entrepreneur in general, but more so in the hospitality industry. It’s horrible.”