Anthony Albanese has placed a premium on unity as he prepares to lock down his new cabinet, as the losing coalition parties continue their bloodletting.

The Labor caucus will meet in Canberra on Friday as factional heavyweights consider their cabinet picks, with the final makeup to reflect a delicate balance between the left and right groupings.

The current top-line leadership members are expected to remain in their portfolios.

“Our processes are under way, so we have a lot of meetings,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told ABC TV.

“The fortunate thing for us is we’ve got a huge amount of talent on our frontbench and we’ve got a lot of talented people coming up through our ranks.”

But there’s a storm brewing within the coalition, after outspoken Nationals senator Matt Canavan suggested his party should run in more seats after outperforming the Liberals in Saturday’s federal election.

“Why don’t we run in outer suburban, peri-urban sort of areas where we look after people who are on the frontiers, who feel ignored by the major cities?” he told Nine’s Today show on Wednesday.

“We run very good local campaigns. We champion local issues and we don’t care if people criticise us or think we’re hicks and terrible, we just fight for people.

“If that leads to us breaking up, great, fine. But let’s do what’s best for the country.”

Later, Senator Canavan said the coalition was “a business relationship, not a marriage” before noting a Liberal-Nationals divorce wasn’t the ultimate goal.

“I don’t want that to happen … the goal is to develop, deliver a choice and a fight for the Australian people, so I’d let the Liberal Party join us on that fight,” he told Sky News.

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack has backed the coalition arrangement with the Liberals, saying the parties were much stronger together. 

Meanwhile, the Liberal party is calling for a nuclear policy rethink, as the coalition considers the way forward after losing more than a dozen seats at the election, taking it to its worst result in decades.

“This is a policy that went to an election, the election result was devastating,” Liberal senator Maria Kovacic told ABC radio. 

“The message from the community is very, very clear and that’s why I believe that this nuclear policy has to go.”

Australians don’t view nuclear power stations as a serious climate policy because the transition to net-zero emissions needed to be done expeditiously, given nuclear couldn’t be part of the energy mix for decades, she said.

Labor minister Murray Watt noted that Nationals had led the energy policy debate on nuclear power within the coalition, saying leader David Littleproud was “crowing about how he’d managed to convince the Liberals to take that policy on”.

“Whoever ends up as the Liberal Party leader after this needs to make a decision about whether they’re going to continue being dictated to by the National Party, who only represent a very small number of seats around the country,” he said.

“Or whether they’re going to take back control of the coalition and have it actually led by the Liberal Party so they can win back some of those seats in the cities.”

The Liberals also had a problem encouraging female candidates and appealing to women voters, which would intensify if not addressed, University of Sydney political scientist Peter Chen said.

The ABC forecasts women will hold at least 63 seats in the new parliament – including 46 with Labor and four with the Liberals.

“Without quotas, they’re not going to get anywhere near gender parity,” he told AAP.

“They’re moving themselves into a permanent opposition.”

Retired senator Linda Reynolds is amongst the senior Liberals urging the party to learn from previous reviews, after a post mortem of the 2022 election defeat found the party was failing to adequately represent the values and priorities of women.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the government could announce trade agreements with some of the United States’ largest trade partners as early as this week.

He said US President Donald Trump’s administration was negotiating with 17 major trading partners but had not yet engaged with China, the world’s second-largest economy after the United States.

He said many trading partners have made very good offers and US officials were in the process of “re-negotiating” those now.

“I expect that we can see a substantial reduction of the tariffs that we are being charged as well as non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation and subsidies, both labour and capital investment,” he told the House Appropriations Committee.

Trump and his top officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since the president on April 2 imposed a 10 per cent tariff on most countries along with higher tariff rates for many trading partners that were then suspended for 90 days. 

The US president has also imposed 25 per cent tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium, 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 145 per cent tariffs on China.

China responded by boosting its tariffs on US goods to 125 per cent. 

A top European Union official on Tuesday said the 27-member bloc was readying countermeasures if no trade deal was reached with the US, adding that it was being contacted by other countries seeking to forge closer trade ties with the EU.

Bessent said about 97 per cent or 98 per cent of the US trade deficit was with about 15 countries, most of which were major trading partners, and discussions were proceeding well with many.

“I would be surprised if we don’t have more than 80 or 90 per cent of those wrapped by the end of the year, and that may be much sooner,” he said.

“I would think that perhaps as early as this week we will be announcing trade deals with some of our largest trading partners.”

Administration officials have suggested that India and Japan could be the first countries to sign a trade agreement to lower the tariff rates Trump has threatened. 

Trump told the NewsNation television network last week that he had “potential” trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan.

Australians are being warned to get vaccinated before a possible severe flu season after an unusual spike in cases across the country.

Low vaccination rates have reflected a “lack of concern” for influenza but Australians have been told not to underestimate the respiratory illness as winter looms.

More than 71,000 flu cases have been reported in Australia since January 1, an unseasonally high rise.

The rise in cases was unusual, the World Health Organisation’s Patrick Reading said.

It is more than 50 per cent higher than the previous record of flu cases during January to March 2024.

The rise might reflect behavioural traits, Professor Reading said, such as the weather leading to more people indoors, travellers  bringing the virus into Australia and a declining rate of vaccination.

The northern hemisphere, particularly the United States, recorded a striking peak of influenza cases during its winter between December and February.

However, even with these indicators, Prof Reading said it didn’t make it any easier to predict the severity of the upcoming flu season, commonly from June to September.

“This will be dependent on a range of factors, which virus subtype becomes dominant or which strain becomes dominant,” said Prof Reading, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research director.

Experts will get a better idea of how to gauge the flu season’s severity when cases begin piling up through winter.

But the message is clear – now is the time to get vaccinated.

People have been told to get the flu jab to protect themselves and those considered at high risk including young children, the elderly, pregnant women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

“Our influenza vaccination rates in Australia are dire, and they’re not improving,” said Julie Leask, University of Sydney’s Public Health and Social Scientist.

At the end of 2024, 62 per cent of people aged over 65 received a flu vaccine while just 28 per cent of kids aged six months to five years old had coverage.

This year doesn’t seem to be tracking any better with 32.5 per cent of people over 65 so far receiving the flu jab.

“There’s a lack of concern about influenza,” Professor Leask said. 

“It’s the kind of underdog of infectious diseases, and people tend to underestimate its severity.”

Factors stopping people from getting a flu jab include the cost of the shot or going to the doctor, inconvenience in making an appointment, long wait times and unavailability, a National Vaccination Insights Project survey said.

Flu vaccines are free for everyone in Queensland and Western Australia while other states slashed the fee for kids under five, people over 65 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Australia reported 365,000 influenza cases last year, with more than 4200 people admitted to hospital and 810 flu-related deaths.

The cost-of-living crunch won’t deter Australians from spoiling mum as they are set to splurge half a billion dollars this Mother’s Day.

Food, clothing, personal beauty and jewellery are expected to top the list of gifts, with a spree of up to $569 million across the country, according to ANZ data.

The day continues to be one of the biggest on the retail calendar with every state experiencing a 20 per cent boost over the weekend last year.

Coupled with a 4.1-point increase in consumer confidence – seven points higher than the same point in 2024 – people are ready to spend up on gifts and experiences.

ANZ forecasts a 2.5 per cent increase in spending in 2025.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a steady rise in spending during the Mother’s Day weekend,” ANZ everyday banking managing director Yiken Yang said.

Victorians are expected to lead the way, spending $158 million, followed by NSW with $147 million.

Common gifts this year include airfares, duty-free and personal health items and photographic equipment, while the classics such as food, alcohol and winery tours will continue to dominate.

Despite their continued popularity, Mr Yang anticipates reduced spending in flower shops and department stores, jewellery and clothing stores, as people choose more experience-type gifts.

Florists saw a 5.22 per cent drop in spending in 2024, compared to a year earlier, although they recouped an additional $3.1 million compared to a normal weekend, he said.

But wholesale flower traders at the National Flower Centre in Epping, north of Melbourne, are seeing a bumper lead up to one of the industry’s busiest days, anticipating sales of more than three million chrysanthemums, roses and tulips this year.

Victoria Whitelaw Beautiful Flowers expects to sell more than 20,000 stems over the two weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, with bouquets and mixes of blooms in high demand.

And while cost-of-living pressures have weighed on families, Director Victoria Whitelaw said customers continue to turn to flowers to show their maternal figures their love and appreciation.

“This particular day is one day that you can really show them that care and that love, and it’s going to show in the business trading figures,” she said.

“It’s an emotional sale for the purchaser, and also an emotional gift for the recipient. It’s a win-win with flowers.”

Men continue to lead in total spend, with an average of $131.

Generation X splurged the most, spending $189 million, followed by millennials spending $184 million. Generation Z spent the least, but saw the biggest growth.

Saturdays experience an uptick in spending as final preparations and last-minute gift buying occur before Mother’s Day on Sunday.

An influx of renewables into Australia’s main energy grid has driven down emissions while helping counter price pressure from expensive coal, hydro and gas.

Solar and wind chipped in 43 per cent of the main grid’s supply in the first three months of 2025, up from 39 per cent over same period in 2024, while coal availability slipped to new first-quarter lows.

Large-scale battery generation reached an all-time high, with output jumping 86 per cent to 98MW when averaged across all hours. 

Wholesale prices were higher in the southern states and lower in the north during the summer months, electricity system updates showed from both the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and Australian Energy Regulator.

AEMO’s report found dry conditions impacting Tasmanian hydro were largely responsible for the nine per cent increase in overall wholesale electricity prices compared to the same period in 2024, averaging $83/MWh.

Yet mainland region averages slipped from $78/MWh to $76/MWh.

Compared to the last three months of 2024, average wholesale prices were six per cent lower.

Upward forces in coal and hydro prices were largely offset by downward pressures from higher renewable energy availability and fewer periods of extreme price volatility, AEMO executive general manager of policy and corporate affairs Violette Mouchaileh said.

“Additionally, the frequency of negative pricing increased during the quarter, particularly in the NEM’s (National Electricity Market) northern regions, which was largely attributable to grid-scale solar and wind setting prices more often,” she said.

Electricity prices tend to be very low or negative when the wind is blowing and sun is shining, allowing solar panels and turbines to generate.

Price spikes occur during unusually high demand or when lower-priced generation is not available, leaving dispatchable coal, gas hydro and batteries to fill the gap at higher levels.

AEMO said less coal in the energy mix and more from solar and wind drove greenhouse gas emissions to new first-quarter lows.

Total emissions dived 5.1 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2024.

The ongoing growth of rooftop solar continued to take pressure off the grid despite underlying demand breaking new first-quarter records as Victorians and South Australians fired up their air conditioners on hot days.

The quarterly snapshot of the energy system follows a convincing federal Labor victory at the polls that should continue the transition to renewables and the retirement of coal generators.

The opposition posited a nuclear pathway to an energy grid free from climate-warming emissions, yet a second term for the Albanese government should shut the door on the alternative technology for now.

East coast downstream gas market spot prices sunk by 2.8 per cent from the previous quarter, to $13.17 per GJ, but were 13.7 per cent higher than the same time in 2024.

The Liberals risk moving into permanent opposition unless they can fix their issue with women, experts warn as the party looks to rebuild its leadership team.

A heavy election defeat has reduced the coalition to around 40 lower house seats with a number of electorates still too close to call.

The ABC forecasts women will win at least 63 seats, with 46 to be held by Labor and four by the Liberals.

Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian has taken the lead over independent Nicolette Boele in the Sydney seat of Bradfield, and Amelia Hamer’s fight to wrest Kooyong from independent MP Monique Ryan has gone down to the wire.

The gender disparity between the major parties is cause for alarm within the coalition, with party sources criticising the lack of women’s policies taken to the election.

The party had a structural problem with women that would intensify if it did not stop the trend, University of Sydney political scientist Peter Chen said.

“Without quotas they’re not going to get anywhere near gender parity,” he told AAP.

“There are a lot of structural disincentives in the system that discourage women from engaging in public life and targets do not work.

“They’re moving themselves into a permanent opposition.”

Retiring senator Linda Reynolds is among senior Liberals urging the party to learn from previous reviews.

A postmortem of the 2022 election defeat found the party was failing to adequately represent the values and priorities of women.

It also identified a lack of confidence that women within the party would be encouraged to hold or run for leadership positions.

Dr Chen said the main test for whether the party could get on top of the issue would be the leadership contest and how many women were selected for the shadow ministry.

Sussan Ley, Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan have emerged as the main contenders to replace Peter Dutton as Liberal leader.

“They have invested so much ideological heft into running (anti-diversity) narratives, how can they then turn around to do that within their own organisation,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has begun his first talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and vowed to bring up “tough points” that are dividing the two countries since Trump imposed tariffs.

Their meeting started with smiles and a handshake despite Trump’s desire to eradicate the US-Canada border, a prospect that has chilled bilateral relations. 

The subject quickly came up as they took questions from reporters.

“We’re not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it,” Trump said. 

“It would really be a wonderful marriage.”

Carney put down the idea firmly.

“It’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale – ever,” he told Trump in the Oval Office.

“Never say never, never say never,” Trump said.

Trump, whose tariff policy has rattled world markets, said he and Carney would discuss “tough points,” an allusion to the president’s belief that the United States can do without Canadian products.

“Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada,” he said.

Carney’s Liberal Party won the April 28 election on promises to tackle Trump and create a new bilateral economic and security relationship with the United States.

Shortly before Carney arrived, Trump posted a message on social media.

“I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidising Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things? We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us!”

Trump appeared to be referring to the trade deficit the US has with Canada due mostly to US imports of Canadian oil, although Canada’s merchandise trade surplus was C$102.3 billion ($A115.21 billion) in 2024.

Carney, a 60-year-old ex-central banker with no previous political experience, was elected Liberal leader in March to replace Justin Trudeau, who had a poor relationship with Trump.

Canada is the US’ second-largest individual trading partner after Mexico, and the largest export market for US goods. 

More than $US760 billion ($A1.2 trillion) in goods flowed between the two countries last year. 

Ahead of the meeting, the US Commerce Department reported on Tuesday Canada’s goods trade surplus with the US narrowed to a five-month low in March, the month when Trump’s hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminium took effect. 

Canadian exports to the US plunged by $US3.7 billion, the second-largest drop on record. 

Canadian data showed the drop in US exports was almost compensated by an increase to the rest of the world, as Canadian companies sought new markets. 

Trump in March imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports and then slapped another 25 per cent tariff on cars and parts that did not comply with a North American free trade agreement. 

Trump showered his counterpart with compliments and radiated warmth at the start of the press conference, saying that “Canada chose a very talented person, a very good person”.

with AP

India and the United Kingdom have concluded a long-coveted free trade pact, in a landmark deal that represents the UK’s most significant post-Brexit agreement that was finalised in the shadow of US President Donald Trump’s tariff increases.

The deal, between the governments of the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies, has been concluded after three years of stop-start negotiations and aims to increase bilateral trade by a further 25.5 billion pounds ($A52.7 billion) by 2040 with liberal market access and eased trade restrictions.

“These landmark agreements will further deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership and catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation and innovation in both our economies,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

The deal lowers tariffs on goods such as whisky, advanced manufacturing parts and food products such as lamb, salmon, chocolates and biscuits. 

It also agrees to quotas on both sides for cars imports.

Both countries are also seeking bilateral deals with the United States to remove some of Trump’s tariffs that have upended the global trade system, and the resulting turmoil sharpened focus for officials in London and New Delhi on the need to clinch a UK-India trade deal.

“We are now in a new era for trade and the economy. That means going further and faster to strengthen the UK’s economy,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

“Strengthening our alliances and reducing trade barriers with economies around the world is part of our plan for change to deliver a stronger and more secure economy here at home.”

The pact marks India opening up its long-guarded markets, including cars, setting an early example for the South Asian country’s likely approach to dealing with major world powers such as the US and the European Union.

Talks over a free trade deal between India and the UK were initially launched in January 2022, and became a symbol of the UK’s hopes for its independent trade policy after leaving the EU.

But negotiations were stop-start, with the UK having four different prime ministers since that launch date and elections in both countries last year.

DoorDash, the ubiquitous US food delivery app, has agreed to acquire British rival Deliveroo for Stg2.9 billion ($A6 billion) in cash, expanding its business in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

San Francisco-based DoorDash will pay 180 pence ($A3.70) for each Deliveroo share, 29 per cent more than the closing price on April 24, the day before the offer was announced, the companies said before the London Stock Exchange opened for trading on Tuesday.

The deal is DoorDash’s second major international acquisition in three years as the company expands from its traditional base in the US, Canada and Australia.

After the purchase of Deliveroo, and the 2022 acquisition of Helsinki-based Wolt Enterprises, DoorDash will operate in more than 40 markets worldwide.

“I could not be more excited by the prospect of what DoorDash and Deliveroo will be able to accomplish together,” DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said in the statement.

Both companies were founded in 2013, using the then emerging technology of smartphones to link restaurants and their customers to a network of delivery riders.

Deliveroo operates in nine countries, including the UK and Ireland, which accounted for 59 per cent of its business in 2023.

It also does business in France, Italy, Belgium, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.

The acquisition comes less than three months after technology investment company Prosus agreed to buy Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com for 4.1 billion euros ($A7.1 billion), boosting its food delivery portfolio in Europe.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and other popular toys, plans to raise prices for some products sold in the US to offset higher costs related to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The California-based company said the increases were necessary even though it is speeding up plans to diversify its manufacturing base away from China.

Trump has imposed a 145 per cent tariff on most Chinese-made products.

Critics of Trump’s tariffs warn they could lead to higher consumer prices and empty shelves if companies forgo shipments rather than pay elevated import duties.

Trump has dismissed such concerns, defending the tariffs by saying the US imports too much “junk” from China.

“Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally,” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

Mattel executives told analysts on a conference call that China accounted for 40 per cent of Mattel’s global production.

The company behind toys such as Hot Wheels cars and Uno card games plans to move roughly 500 products in 2025 from manufacturers in China to sources in other countries, compared with 280 products in 2024.

For some highly sought-after toys, Mattel said it would enlist factories in more than one country.

To prevent possible shortages, the company said it was focusing on getting products to stores without interruptions.

The company said that even with price increases it expected 40 per cent to 50 per cent of its toys would cost customers $US20 ($A31) or less.

“The diversified and flexible supply chain in global commercial organisations are clear advantages to Mattel in this period of uncertainty,” CEO and chairman Ynon Kreiz told analysts.

Citing the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the president’s trade policies, Mattel withdrew its annual earnings forecast on Monday.

The company said it would be “difficult to predict” consumer spending and the company’s US sales for the remainder of 2025 without more information.

Mattel reported larger-than expected first-quarter sales but also a wider loss. Mattel said sales rose two per cent to $US827 million for the quarter that ended March 31.

The company’s loss expanded to 40.3 million dollars, or 12 cents a share, in the quarter.

That compares with a loss of $US28.3 million dollars, or eight cents a share, in the same period in 2024.

Analysts expected a loss of 10 cents on sales of $US786.1 million for the first quarter, according to FactSet.

with DPA