WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is thinking about how to become politically active again once he has fully recovered from prison, his wife Stella says.

The couple walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for the documentary The Six Billion Dollar Man about Assange’s life. 

Assange, 53, returned to his native Australia after pleading guilty in June under an agreement with US officials to one count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security materials.

The plea ended Assange’s five-year stay in a British prison, which followed seven years at the Ecuador embassy as he sought to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations, which he denies.

“He was in a very grave situation in the prison. He’s recovering from that,” Stella Assange told Reuters in Cannes.

“But now he’s coming to understand how grave the situation outside (prison) is and thinking, making plans to find the means of what to do about it,” she added.

“He’s very, very concerned about the state of the world and the state that we’re all in right now,” said Stella, who met Assange in London in 2011 while working as part of his legal team.

Julian and Stella Assange, wearing a brooch with a picture of British designer Vivienne Westwood holding a sign saying “Stop Killing”, walked the red carpet on Wednesday evening local time.

Julian has so far not spoken at any of his appearances.

WikiLeaks in 2010 released hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – the largest security breaches of their kind in US military history – along with swathes of diplomatic cables.

The documentary from Emmy-winning director Eugene Jarecki takes on the tone of a high-tech international thriller to recount Assange’s fight against extradition, using WikiLeaks footage and archives, and previously unpublished evidence.

Jarecki, who began filming before Assange was released, said he never expected to see him walk around Cannes as a free man.

By inviting Assange, the festival was sending a message about the need for freedom of information and a free press, Jarecki told Reuters, as those values are in decline in many parts of the world according to an index from Reporters without Borders.

The director called Assange “a canary in the coal mine” in foretelling the US government’s current moves to exert more control over media access to President Donald Trump.

“If we had taken that bit more seriously, we might have seen a bunch of this coming,” said the US director.

Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, told Reuters the film portrayed the WikiLeaks founder as he should be shown.

“This film is absolutely necessary in terms of telling the story of free speech and what Julian Assange, his case means for the world, not just for him, but for the world,” she said. 

The Liberal and National parties are locked in an increasingly bitter dispute over why their political marriage fell apart.

The estranged coalition partners have accused one another of making false claims about the reasons behind the split.

The Nationals allege the break up occurred because they could not secure commitments on key policies.

The Liberals claim the conservative relationship collapsed due to a disagreement over shadow cabinet solidarity, which binds members to publicly support collective decisions, even if they disagree internally.

After several days of internal squabbling, this dispute flared again on Thursday following a dramatic intervention from the Nationals leader.

David Littleproud claimed cabinet solidarity was never up for debate.

“I thought it was fair and reasonable,” he told reporters at Parliament House.

“I made it very clear I had no issue with it … there was no discussion about it.”

Mr Littleproud said his negotiations with Liberal leader Sussan Ley centred on four non-negotiable policies.

These included support for nuclear energy, break-up powers for supermarkets, a regional Australia future fund and reliable telco coverage in rural areas.

Through a spokesman, Ms Ley rejected the Nationals’ assertions regarding cabinet solidarity.

“We have in writing that it was a requirement from their leader’s office to ours.”

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said the political divorce was understandable, but regrettable.

“Let’s get over the electoral PTSD and let’s get back together again as quickly as possible,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.

“If the Libs and the Nats go their separate ways, we won’t have one strong opposition – we’ll have two opposition parties that are fighting each other as much as they’re fighting a bad government.”

The man who led the Nationals during the party’s last divorce from the Liberals believes the coalition partners will eventually reunite.

Ian Sinclair was leader of the Nationals during the coalition’s five-month split in 1987.

He is confident the latest trial separation will not last forever, saying a split after an election wasn’t unusual and issues would eventually be resolved.

“It has happened before and will happen again,” Mr Sinclair told AAP.

“It’s quite a healthy thing.”

The future of many businesses struggling to stay afloat rests upon the Reserve Bank and Donald Trump.

Business conditions in Australia remain perilously difficult, with insolvency levels at record highs in April, CreditorWatch reported in its monthly Business Risk Index on Thursday.

But there are signs the economy is turning a corner.

With inflation back in the RBA’s target band, interest rates are on the way down too.

The number of companies hitting the wall has plateaued to about 1250 a month and there are encouraging signs business conditions could improve as rate cuts in February and May filter through the system.

The economy is at an interesting crossroads, says CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun.

“We hear so much about the cost-of-living crisis, but it’s a ‘cost-of-doing-business crisis’ as well, with businesses having seen significant increases in their cost bases,” Mr Colhoun said.

“Hopefully the recent interest rate cuts by the RBA can build on the beneficial effects of last year’s income tax cuts and cost-of living support.”

Operators have been hit by a dual challenge in recent years of input costs rising at the same time as consumer spending weakened.

Hospitality businesses have been worst affected, given their reliance on discretionary spending, CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan says.

“When households feel the pinch from interest rate rises and price increases, they typically spend less at places like cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs,” he said. 

“The increase in people working from home has also had an impact, mainly in outlets in CBD areas.”

One in 10 hospitality businesses closed over the past year, while the sector also ranked highest for late payments and tax defaults over $100,000.

The next worst industry for insolvencies – administrative and support services – had a substantially lower closure rate of 6.5 per cent.

Tax cuts, real wages growth and government cost-of-living supports like energy rebates boosted a gradual consumer recovery at the start of the year.

But consumer confidence has stagnated since Donald Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariff announcements shocked investors and sent markets into a spin.

Global trade disruptions prompted the Reserve Bank to downgrade Australia’s growth prospects in its quarterly update of economic forecasts.

The central bank noted household consumption had been lower than expected as it cut the cash rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday, with recent flooding likely to blame.

With lower consumer spending, profit margins are being stretched and businesses are finding it harder to pass on costs, RBA governor Michele Bullock said.

“In a context of very strong demand, which arguably we saw coming out of COVID when everyone was out there trying to spend, then businesses have the ability, I think, to pass on costs,” she told reporters on Tuesday.

While challenging for business owners, it means there is less chance of inflation reigniting.

Lower interest rates should have beneficial effects in the second half of the year, especially if market expectations of two or three more cuts are correct, said Mr Colhoun.

But a combination of slower population growth, the effects of continued high costs and the uncertain impacts of Mr Trump’s tariffs threaten to make conditions worse.

“Taken together, we expect an elevated level of insolvencies to remain over the next six months,” Mr Colhoun said.

New Zealand’s long run of deficits and exploding debt will come into focus as Chris Luxon’s coalition government hands down its second budget.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will reveal the new state of the books at noon AEST on Thursday, as well as the conservative government’s new spending plans.

Ms Willis has warned Kiwis to expect a “no BS” budget, in keeping with the government’s aims to lower debt and “right-size” government spending.

“We’ve committed ourselves to ongoing reprioritisation and fiscal restraint. It isn’t easy, but it is essential,” she said in a budget preview speech.

“There will be no lolly scramble in Budget 2025.

“New spending initiatives are strictly limited to the most important priorities: our focus has been on health, education, law and order, defence, and a small number of critical social investments.”

Another way to describe the government’s plans is for cuts.

Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden shocked Kiwis with a pre-budget announcement it was axing “pay equity” claims for around 180,000 workers, which effectively iced wage rises for a series of women-dominated industries.

That move alarmed unions and drew dozens of protests across the country, but showed the government’s firmness to find savings and get the books back in black.

The last projection from Treasury, issued last December, was for a $NZ12.9 billion deficit in the upcoming financial year, with the government posting its next surplus in 2029.

Should that come to pass, that will mean New Zealand has spent a decade in the red, with its last surplus coming under Jacinda Ardern in 2019, before COVID-19 protections required the use of the government’s chequebook.

In that time, debt has spiralled.

Grant Robertson, Ms Willis’ predecessor as finance minister, boasted of his responsible books-balancing, with net debt at just 19 per cent of GDP – or $NZ58 billion – before the pandemic hit.

It now sits around 42 per cent of GDP, or $NZ175 billion and climbing.

“That amounts to $22,000 more in debt for every New Zealander,” Ms Willis said, “and servicing that debt is expensive”.

“The interest bill on government debt has soared … to $NZ8.9 billion last year. That sum is more than annual core Crown expenses for the Police, Corrections, the Ministry of Justice, Customs and the Defence Force combined.”

Despite the push for savings, several large investments are already known, including a multibillion-dollar defence push to get military spending close to two per cent of GDP by decade’s end.

Regional house values continue to climb as capital city prices reverse a decline and a second interest rate cut is forecast to fuel demand.

WA has emerged as a new leader in growth with areas to the south and north of Perth notching the highest percentage value increases for the first three months of 2025.

Queensland dominated regional growth in 2024 but has softened, particularly in its key mining markets, according to property data analytics firm Cotality.

Regional dwelling values rose by 1.5 per cent overall, as values fell in major regional centres across NSW and Victoria. 

The combined capital city markets nudged up one per cent, rebounding from a one per cent decline in the final quarter of 2024.

Properties in areas where values were rising the most were also selling quicker than in slower-growth areas, Cotality economist Kaitlyn Ezzy said.

“We’re also seeing a convergence among the regions with momentum easing in recent high-growth markets and picking up in previously softer regions,” Ms Ezzy said.

Albany in southwest WA recorded a 7 per cent increase in values, while Geraldton increased 4.5 per cent for the quarter, taking its 12-month growth to almost 27 per cent.

Both cities are a little over 400km drive from the state capital.

While the rate of growth is slowing, rents have also increased in the regions, up 5.5 per cent in the 12 months to April, outpacing a 2.9 per cent increase in capital cities.

“Even as growth moderates, we continue to see reasonably strong rental increases across most regional markets, reflecting tight supply and shifting demand patterns,” Ms Ezzy said.

The Reserve Bank cut interest rates to 3.85 per cent on Tuesday, their lowest level in two years. It was the second rate cut of 2025.

Lower interest rates allow prospective borrowers to increase the amount they could spend on housing.

But more rate cuts could be needed to ease affordability concerns and mortgage stress.

Comparison site Finder said about 50 per cent of borrowers surveyed before Tuesday’s rate cut said they would need rates to fall another 0.5 per cent to bring repayments to an affordable level.

The man who led the Nationals during its last divorce from the Liberals believes the coalition partners will eventually reunite.

Ian Sinclair was leader of the Nationals during the coalition’s five-month split in 1987, which was triggered by then-Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s push to enter federal parliament.

The ‘Joh for Canberra’ campaign drove a wedge through conservative politics and collapsed without widespread support.

Mr Sinclair is confident the latest trial separation will not last forever, saying a split after an election wasn’t unusual and issues would eventually be resolved.

“It has happened before and will happen again,” the 95-year-old told AAP.

“It’s quite a healthy thing.”

Party leader David Littleproud pulled the Nationals out of the coalition after Liberal Leader Sussan Ley said she couldn’t commit to four policy demands, including keeping nuclear power as part of an energy policy.

Ms Ley didn’t reject the policies, but said she couldn’t commit to anything before her party had a chance to have an open discussion about policy after a massive election defeat on May 3.

Mr Littleproud and Ms Ley say their doors are open for renegotiating a coalition.

But Liberal sources believe the Nationals weren’t serious about signing a deal as they pushed for a demand they knew couldn’t be met.

This also included Mr Littleproud becoming deputy opposition leader rather than the Liberals’ second-in-command.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said the policy impasse was the only thing her party room considered when deciding to leave.

But she tiptoed around whether a demand had been made for Nationals in shadow cabinet to vote against coalition policy.

Members of shadow cabinet – made up of both Liberals and Nationals when the coalition are in opposition – must vote in line with determined policy positions to show solidarity.

Asked if Mr Littleproud could have inserted the clause in his list of demands, Senator McKenzie told the ABC’s 7.30 program, “there are a lot of conversations about what might be part of a broader coalition agreement if we could get past the first gate”.

But a spokesman for Ms Ley said it wasn’t correct to suggest cabinet solidarity wasn’t an issue.

“We have in writing that it was a requirement from their leader’s office to ours,” he said, although the letter hasn’t been released publicly.

Senator McKenzie acknowledged a consequence of the split would be her Senate spot was at risk at the 2028 election as the Nationals run on a joint ticket with the Liberals in some states, including her home of Victoria.

The same is true for Nationals senator Ross Cadell in NSW.

Without a combined vote, the Nationals could struggle to get the quotas needed in each state to retain their seats when they don’t run candidates in metropolitan areas.

“Bearing in mind that those decisions and those negotiations are part of our state bodies … we were all cognisant of the risks and made our decision, irrespective,” Senator McKenzie said.

Inflation in the UK spiked to its highest level for more than a year in April amid a raft of higher domestic bills, such as energy and water.

The Office for National Statistics said its key measure of inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, rose by 3.5 per cent in the year to April, up from 2.6 per cent in March.

April’s rate was the highest since January 2024 and above expectations for a more modest increase to 3.3 per cent.

The scale of the rise was also the largest since October 2022, at the height of the energy crisis after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Economists had anticipated a large increase because April had hefty annual price rises for an array of household bills, as well as the impact of higher taxes on businesses and a sizeable increase in the minimum wage.

Inflation is widely expected to stay above three per cent for the rest of 2025, which could rein in expectations of further interest rate reductions from the Bank of England, whose target for inflation is two per cent.

On Tuesday, the bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said that borrowing rates had been cut too quickly, in a sign he was concerned about underlying inflation pressures.

Since it started cutting borrowing costs last August from the 16-year high of 5.25 per cent, the bank has proceeded on a gradual basis by lowering its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point every three months.

Earlier in May, it reduced it to 4.25 per cent.

Following the latest inflation update, Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that cuts on a “precise quarterly schedule” are “far from certain”.

Even though inflation is expected to run above the bank’s target in 2025, economists expect it to fall in 2026, partly because of the recent trade deal between the US and the UK which will mean many of the tariffs that President Donald Trump had planned have been ditched.

Australian shares have closed at a three-month high following the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 43.5 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 8,386.8, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 38.3 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 8,611.7.

Australian shares rallied for a second day after the Reserve Bank cut the cash interest rate to 3.85 per cent, its lowest level in two years.

While the RBA decision was widely expected, the board’s consideration of a 50 basis point cut and other dovish rhetoric had rates markets narrowing their bets for more cuts in 2025.

“The next point of contention after that was whether we’re going to get a follow up cut in July or August,” IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.

“So a very aggressive, or very dovish repricing in the rates market, and of course that supports the ASX200 as well.”

The RBA’s next meeting is scheduled for July 8, a day before US Liberation Day tariffs are due to come back into force after their 90-day delay.

“There’s still 50 days left, and you’ve still got at least a dozen major trade deals which need to be negotiated and signed off,” Mr Sycamore said.

“So they’re running out of time.”

The Commonwealth Bank has notched a new intraday all-time high of $176.46, before closing at $174.98, also a record.

The world’s most expensive bank stock has surged more than 24 per cent from early April’s lows, outperforming the top-200 index, which is up 14.5 per cent from its April 7 close.

Investors looking to pick up a piece of the bank should be wary, Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

“There’s no fundamental (that is, good) reason for the bank to be this richly valued – although steepening yield curves are a tailwind to the banks’ profitability,” he said.

“Although the stock could still go higher, at this point, the risk/reward is terribly skewed to the downside.”

Nine of 11 local sectors finished in the green, led by a one per cent push in energy stocks, tracking with oil amid reports Israel was planning to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Brent crude futures are trading at $US65.60 a barrel.

The materials sector rose 0.6 per cent, with gold miners doing the heavy lifting as the precious metal jumped three per cent to $US3,317 ($A5,140) an ounce.

Perseus Mining was the best performer of the top-200, the West African-focused gold miner rallying 9.7 per cent to $3.72.

Lithium play Liontown Resources took the wooden spoon, the lithium miner down 7.8 per cent as it continued to hand back May’s gains.

James Hardie fell more than six per cent after its full-year results disappointed investors and it shrugged off concerns over a controversial takeover plan.

The Australian dollar is buying 64.54 US cents, up from 64.16 at Tuesday’s ASX close, with the greenback lower against most major currencies.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Wednesday 43.5 points higher, up 0.52 per cent to 8,386.8

* The broader All Ordinaries gained 38.3 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 8,611.7

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 64.54 US cents, from 64.16 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm

* 92.73 Japanese yen, from 92.70 Japanese yen

* 56.94 Euro cents, from 58.98 Euro cents

* 47.99 British pence, from 47.97 pence

* 108.51 NZ cents, from 108.38 NZ cents

Qantas did not deliberately break the law when it illegally sacked 1820 workers and its “mistake”  warrants a “mid-range” penalty, a court has been told.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has heard final submissions on the penalty to be imposed on Qantas for the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian history.

Last year, Qantas agreed to pay $120 million to the ground staff as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Transport Workers Union is seeking the maximum penalty of $121 million and an order that the money be paid to the union, while Qantas has urged Justice Lee to impose a “mid-range” penalty between $40 million and $80 million.

The airline’s “failure was in the territory of mistake, rather than deliberate breach of the law,” Qantas counsel Justin Gleeson SC told the court.

“The failure has now been exposed and recognised by the contravener, and the contravener has put in place appropriate steps to minimise the risk of the failure occurring again,” he said on Wednesday. 

Qantas argued that its actions were driven by “business calamities” caused by the pandemic, not exploitation, and the illegal sackings were the result of a single decision and therefore only one breach of the law.

It also pointed to the $120 million compensation deal and and its expression of contrition for its actions.

On Monday, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told the court the airline was “deeply sorry” for the impact on the workers, their family and friends and the union.

Mr Gleeson argued the court should not infer negatively from the failure to call Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson as a witness, and emphasised concrete steps she had taken, including rebuilding relationships, creating an inclusive culture and public apologies.

“There’s a recognition that a change needed to be made … there was a top down culture which impacted empowerment and a willingness to challenge or speak up on issues or decisions of concern,” he said.

“There’s been a significant refresh of the group leadership team. Seventy per cent are either new to Qantas or to their role or to the (team)”

Most of the submissions at Wednesday’s hearing focused on meetings between senior managers at Qantas, a group management committee meeting and a board meeting.

After initially saying he would aim to deliver a judgment on Friday, Justice Lee reserved his decision.

At a protest at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday, the TWU called on airlines, airports, governments and regulators to ensure fair standards at companies like Swissport, which took over much of the work done by the sacked Qantas workers.

“That work has been shoved off to operators like Swissport, who have a horrific international reputation for maiming workers, for underpaying workers, for wage theft,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.

Recent safety visits revealed that in Brisbane, Swissport has more than 400 safety reports a month, he said.

“The Albanese government must put in place a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to stop the spiral of dangerously low standards and ensure there’s oversight in such a vital industry to our island nation.”

National and Liberal MPs are calling for a united front against Labor as a common enemy despite a growing rift since the parties split.

Their coalition fell apart days after Sussan Ley was chosen as Liberal leader, with the Nationals pulling the plug on the decades-long marriage.

Now the conservative parties are in a contest for political staff as both prepare to unveil separate shadow ministries in coming days. 

The Liberals make up the official opposition as the largest non-government party, a point Ms Ley was keen to point out after the split as she prepares to name an all-Liberal shadow cabinet.

The prime minister determines staffing allocations for the opposition and minor parties, and the break-up can alter how many people the Nationals and Liberals can hire separately.

Anthony Albanese said he has had discussions with both the National and Liberal leaders.

“It’s not reasonable that there be more staff or a reward, if you like, for the fact that you have this division,” he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

The official opposition is allocated about one-fifth of the government’s staffing allocations, which are then distributed to shadow ministers to allow for scrutiny. 

Liberals argue diluting the entitlements in favour of a higher Nationals allocation would mean fewer staff for shadow ministers and less scrutiny.

Minor parties and independents have separate staffing allocations, which the Nationals now need to navigate with the prime minister.

Liberals are scathing that the regional party wanted to lock in a policy commitment so soon after a bruising election defeat. The Liberals suffered their worst loss of the post-war era at the May 3 election.

The Nationals had wanted the Liberals to agree to four policies: a commitment to nuclear energy, divestiture powers against supermarkets, phone coverage across Australia and a regional investment fund.

The impasse was over the Liberals saying they could not lock in any policies without a partyroom debate after a resounding election loss.

The two parties meet to nut out an agreement after every election, which covers matters such as how many leadership positions each get and what portfolios. 

Liberals say this does not include locking in specific policies as these are discussed in joint party rooms later on, meaning the Nationals had pre-determined a break-up by ending negotiations so soon.

Nationals leader David Littleproud maintained the split was on principle over the policy issues and pledged to still work with the Liberals, saying he wouldn’t be “unrealistic or stupid”.

“The enemy is still Labor,” he said.

Being a coalition is the best way to counter a Labor government with a commanding majority in the lower house, Liberal MP Dan Tehan said.

“The longer this goes on, the harder it is then to bring it back together,” he told Sky News.

Liberal senator James Paterson said it isn’t in either party’s interest to fight each other when the real enemies are Labor, the Greens and teal independents.

“We’re not looking for any other political opponents,” he told FIVEAA radio.

But not all Liberals are upset, saying it gives their party a chance to develop its own policies.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson branded the split “a really exciting opportunity as a Liberal Party to find out our liberal mojo juice again”.

Other members went further, with one Liberal source saying it was beneficial to develop a more progressive climate policy as the party room would never stomach walking back a commitment to a net-zero emissions target –  something being sought by some Nationals members.