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.”

Australian businesses stand to benefit from the nation developing sovereign artificial intelligence capability, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.

Having the ability to operate data centres and train frontier models would provide “critical mass to then enable sovereignty to become a reality, and to run things locally, sustainably”, NAB group executive Peter Steel said on Friday.

The joint committee was also told the AI boom was unfairly tarnishing data centres that supported other critically important tasks.

Mr Steel described artificial intelligence as “arguably the most significant technology shift of our time” and called on the federal government to back incentives for AI education.

“It can definitely lift productivity and support higher living standards in Australia,” he said. 

“We believe Australia and businesses like ours have much to gain from establishing sovereign capability. 

“That means helping Australian companies research, build, and scale commercially viable AI here, and nurturing an ecosystem that provides both resilience and opportunity.” 

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie said developing AI capacity in Australia would help build a stronger nation. 

“The argument that I want people to hear coming out of the committee is that we must have a sovereign AI capability here in Australia,” he told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing.

“The mission for the government, for the coalition, for anyone who wants a stronger Australia is to develop capacity here, and that way we can ensure that we keep up with the rest of the world.

“But also we have an AI capability that exists under Australian law and is ultimately accountable to the Australian people.”

CDC Data Centres chief strategy officer Jack Dan said the company had found itself “front and centre” of the national conversation of AI.

“We’ve been around for 20 years, and for almost 20 years … no one really cared,” Mr Dan said.

“Part of that is driven by experiences overseas that potentially may not necessarily always reflect the specific regulatory settings in Australia. Part of that is, frankly, driven by bad behaviour.”

Dr Dan did not reveal what “bad behaviour” he was referring to on the part of data centre operators, but said people had a right to be angry if their communities were slugged with rising electricity costs and water supply pressures. 

“Doing infrastructure shouldn’t be a trade-off to doing infrastructure well,” he said.

CDC is part-owned by Australia’s sovereign wealth fund and specialises in work for government agencies and universities.

It does not take on many private clients and is not involved in commercial generative AI.

The company said it welcomed the government’s proposed national AI standards, which among other measures will force new data centres to offset their electricity consumption through renewable energy investment. 

CDC has opted to sever ties with Australian AI firm Firmus, which on Friday sensationally canned its plans for what would have been the second-largest initial public offering in Australian history.

The two companies has been expected to collaborate on a network of renewable-powered AI “factories”, known as Project Southgate, with the aim of boosting Australia’s home-grown AI capacity.

CDC is no longer involved in Southgate, and Firmus’ highly anticipated testimony to the federal AI inquiry was also cancelled on Thursday amid turmoil over its dumped IPO.

Controversial media talent Karl Stefanovic has avoided airing his dirty laundry in court after a dispute with his podcast co-owner was discontinued at the 11th hour. 

Joint owner of podcast company 123 Podcast, Keshnee Ibrahim, had a 45 per cent stake in The Karl Stefanovic Show but feared she would be cut out when the host engaged in what she called oppressive conduct.

She filed an urgent application with NSW Supreme Court in September to defer a scheduled meeting out of concern she would be removed as a director of the company.

But a notice of discontinuance was filed with the court on Friday afternoon, days before a two-day hearing was scheduled to begin.

Formal orders regarding the finalisation of the matter will be made on Monday. 

Reports suggest the parties reached a confidential settlement which allows Stefanovic to buy out Ibrahim’s share of the podcasting business. 

The cessation of court proceedings brings an end to what Stefanovic’s barrister previously told the court was an “irreconcilable breakdown” in their relationship.

In September, barrister Samuel Murray disagreed the podcasting company was being operated in a manner that was oppressive to Ibrahim’s interests – as she alleged – but told a court a buyout of shares was appropriate. 

The partnership breakdown came two months after Stefanovic’s controversial interview with far-right figure Stephen Yaxley Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, triggered public backlash and Nine terminating his contract.

The former Today host has since deleted the podcast episode with Robinson, accused of fuelling violent anti-immigration protests and Islamophobia in the UK.

Soon after the severance from Nine was announced, the media personality said he was now “truly independent”.

Once described by Nine stablemate Richard Wilkins as a mix of “world’s best broadcaster and naughty schoolboy”, Stefanovic has carved a niche for his podcast by interviewing some of Australia’s most controversial figures.

This includes Pete Evans, who has drawn ire for his stance on vaccinations, promotion of unsubstantiated theories, and publication of an alleged neo-Nazi symbol. 

During their chat, Stefanovic apologised to Evans if he had ever played a part in the condemnation of his views or called him a “whack job”. 

He has also interviewed One Nation leader Pauline Hanson for the show and will team up with her again at a conservative political conference over the weekend. 

Stefanovic and axed shock jock Kyle Sandilands bonded over their recent falls from grace on The Karl Stefanovic Show in August, calling themselves “failed media giants”. 

Sandilands was sacked from his radio gig after an on-air bust-up with co-host Jackie O Henderson, later settling with his former employer ARN for $12 million. 

There have been reports Stefanovic and Sandilands are considering teaming up, but nothing has been announced. 

Stefanovic recently dubbed himself Joe Bogan – a reference to popular American podcaster Joe Rogan, who has interviewed Donald Trump and avowed conspiracy theorists.

What was set to be Australia’s biggest initial public offering in a generation has collapsed in a stunning turnaround for the highly anticipated float.

Firmus Technologies was seeking to cash in on the market mania for all things related to artificial intelligence with a $7 billion equity raising that valued the data centre operator at a whopping $44 billion – ahead of all but 15 major companies on the local bourse.

But on Friday, Firmus pulled its application to list on the ASX after its lead bankers couldn’t find enough institutions willing to invest. 

“The board determined that the terms on which the offer could proceed would not appropriately reflect the strength of the company’s business and long-term growth outlook,” it said.

Firmus now plans to pursue capital from private markets while considering alternative public and private market options.

The failed float was unfortunate, WeBull Australia chief executive Rob Talevski said.

“We never want to see a deal scuttled like that,” he told AAP.

Australia had a quality capital market, but Firmus’ float had many red flags and its leadership and bankers collectively had to shoulder some responsibility, Mr Talevski said.

But that doesn’t mean their vision for where AI is going was wrong.

“We just need to see some better execution,” Mr Talevski said.

“If you’re asking investors to back you, it can’t just simply be an idea or a potential pipeline. 

“There needs to be some concrete revenue, some concrete business behind it – I think that’s what’s undone Firmus in this case.”

Firmus only has two operational data centres, in Melbourne and Singapore. 

It has plans to issue $US30 billion ($A43 billion) in debt to build many more, which it would then lease back to its tech titan customers, including Meta and OpenAI.

However, Firmus’ plans to build two data centres in Tasmania have run into significant community opposition.

“Investors just weren’t prepared to pay a sky-high price up front for capacity that’s still largely on the drawing board,” eToro lead APAC analyst Josh Gilbert said.

Big customer names such as OpenAI and Meta were exciting, but whoever headed to the ASX next would need to show how much of that customer demand was locked in under signed contracts before asking investors to hand over the cheque, Mr Gilbert said.

Greg Canavan, the founder and portfolio manager of Canavan Capital Partners, also pointed out that Firmus was trying to raise funds publicly at a valuation nearly triple that from a private fundraising round just two months ago.

“No one should be surprised,” he said on social media. 

“Team Firmus have no one to blame but themselves.”

The criminal conviction of one of Firmus’ co-founders may have also scared off some US institutional investors.

Oliver Curtis was convicted of insider trading in a highly publicised 2016 trial and served 12 months in prison out of his two-year sentence.

The husband of Sydney socialite Roxy Jacenko, Mr Curtis founded Firmus in 2019 alongside his cousin Tim Rosenfield and brother-in-law Jonathan Levee as a Bitcoin mining firm.

Like several other Bitcoin mining companies, including Sydney-headquartered, Nasdaq-listed IREN, Firmus found that its facilities could be repurposed as data centres to service the billion-dollar AI buildout.

Mr Curtis holds a 13.3 per cent stake in Firmus, with its other investors including Nvidia, global private equity giant Blackstone and local backers Regal Partners and Wilson Asset Management.

Shares in a Dubbo, NSW-based diversified industrial group that owns a 3.2 per cent stake in Firmus were placed in a trading halt on Friday after plunging by more than 20 per cent to a more than two-month low of $4.96 on Thursday amid concerns about the Firmus deal.

Maas Group, founded by retired NRL player Wes Maas, is also a significant supplier to Firmus.

Its subsidiary, JLE Group, has $1.1 billion in work orders from the company, with $373 million in payments received.

Australian shares have clocked a second week of modest progress, as global bond yields, stubborn oil prices and local economic woes cap investor confidence.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 55.7 points on Friday, up 0.64 per cent, to 8716.6, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced 54.5 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 8877.7.

Almost all 11 sectors posted gains in the final session, with strong rebounds in consumer retail, real estate and IT stocks, while Telstra dragged the communications sector into the red.

Weakness in miners softened over the day, after a better-than-expected US bond auction drove Treasury yields and the greenback lower, handing precious metals and copper prices a boost.

The Australian dollar is buying 69.78 US cents, up from 69.46 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.

Small businesses that rely on credit cards to pay tax have been handed a reprieve after Treasurer Jim Chalmers forced the tax office to push back its controversial payment ban in exchange for more funding.

Dr Chalmers bowed to a concerted business lobby campaign on Friday, announcing the Australian Taxation Office would delay its initial deadline of November 30 until the end of the financial year.

The tax office surprised businesses by announcing it would no longer accept the payment method on October 1, the day a ban on card surcharges came into effect.

Business groups argued credit card payments were important for smaller operators to manage lumpy cash flow.

“This will give them the time to consult more with small business and to get it right,” Dr Chalmers told reporters in Brisbane.

At the time, ATO commissioner Rob Heferen said merchant fees were expected to cost the tax office almost $200 million annually, which it could not absorb because it would result in less funds being available for government services.

“Meeting the cost of surcharges through additional public funding for the ATO would have the same ultimate outcome,” he said.

But Dr Chalmers handed the tax office extra funding anyway, delaying the credit card ban until June 30, 2027.

The cost of the funding boost will be finalised in the mid-year budget update in December, he said. 

Dr Chalmers blamed credit card companies for not offering low enough fees to allow the ATO to keep accepting card payments.

“The ATO will continue to engage with card companies on this matter,” he said.

After June 30, the tax office would continue to accept credit card payments via third parties as well as debit cards and bank transfers, Dr Chalmers said.

The tax office said it would continue consultations on how to support taxpayers experiencing financial hardship and to identify alternative arrangements for businesses that could not use other payment methods.

The decision gave small businesses much-needed breathing space, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said.

“But this decision does not save them from rising costs and shrinking margins,” he said.

The coalition would introduce legislation to parliament next week ensuring the ban was scrapped, shadow treasurer Tim Wilson said.

“The tax office gets a taxpayer-funded bailout, but the local cafe gets thrown under the bus. It’s one rule for Canberra and another for small business,” he said.

The tax office said only five per cent of small businesses used credit cards to pay tax in 2024/25.

About 85 per cent of small merchants did not impose surcharges before the ban was put in place and would not be negatively impacted by the change, said the Reserve Bank of Australia, which oversaw the reforms.

The broader reform package included capping interchange fees on card transactions and improving transparency of fees paid by merchants to card network providers.

That should theoretically drive down costs for businesses long term, RMIT University professor of finance Angel Zhong said.

Major banks, including Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, have reduced merchant fees in response.

But not all the savings had been passed on, Prof Zhong said.

“It really depends on the payment service providers you use. Usually, large business will have better bargaining power to actually negotiate a better deal,” she told AAP.

“My hope is that as the transparency of the system improves, the industry will become more competitive and then there are better deals for businesses.”

Businesses were expected to save $900 million a year in lower interchange fees, Dr Chalmers said.