Australia’s social fabric is fraying as it grapples with worsening racism, anti-Semitism and other challenges that are undermining citizens’ basic dignity.

That’s the view of Australian Human Rights Commission president Hugh de Kretser, who also called out politicians stoking social division as he launched the nation’s first annual assessment in Canberra on Wednesday.

The landmark evaluation is drawn from United Nations reviews of Australia’s performance against human rights benchmarks, as well as local and global data sources, the commission said.

Among the findings was what Mr de Kretser described as a sharp rise in racism against several groups.

“For First Peoples it rose with the failed Voice referendum,” he said.

“For Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and Israeli communities in Australia it surged after the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza.

“We must not allow racism to be normalised.

“We must not accept Jewish children attending schools, which have to be protected by armed guards, and we must not accept Muslim women being spat at and abused when they go shopping.

“We must not accept First Peoples parents fearing their children and grandchildren will be harmed by the police and justice systems meant to protect them.”

The assessment also documented rising anti-immigrant sentiment, stating that migrants were being scapegoated for cost-of-living issues.

Asked whether politicians, such as Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, were responsible for this, Mr de Kretser urged caution.

“Our leaders have a responsibility to choose their words really carefully,” he said.

“You can’t – on the one hand – say you’re worried about social division and social cohesion, and on the other hand stoke it.”

Mr de Kretser said racism “left unchecked can lead to violence”, drawing a link to December’s deadly Bondi shooting and January’s attempted bomb attack in Perth.

The everyday racism experienced by many Australians is detailed in the AHRC’s “Seen and Heard” report, published earlier in April.

The report detailed shocking everyday experiences of Australians being abused, including a Jewish community member being called a “baby-killer” and Islamic Australians questioning whether they can call their country home.

Mr de Kretser used his platform at the National Press Club to again call for the federal government to adopt the commission’s national anti-racism framework.

That framework – funded by Anthony Albanese’s government and backed by the special envoys against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia – is yet to be implemented.

It has also failed to pick up the commission’s signature reform call for a federal human rights act.

Australia is the only developed democracy without a charter or bill of rights.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has been “carefully considering” a human rights act since a cross-party parliamentary committee recommended it in May 2024.

The inaugural assessment also delved into issues of economic justice, equality and fairness, declaring poverty and homelessness as “urgent human rights issues” deserving of national plans.

Mr de Kretser called out “populist, blunt and harmful law and order policies” which led to the incarceration of children.

“Mandatory sentencing, sentencing children as adults … these are lazy non-solutions,” he said.

“At the same time as we are banning children under 16 from having social media accounts, the age of criminal responsibility in most of the country is 10.”

Several states have introduced measures that have led to more children being held in custody, including moves to punish youths as adults and make it harder for alleged offenders to get bail.

The commission’s assessment was not wholly negative, with federal hate speech and modern slavery laws lauded.

“Australia has done a lot well on human rights: we live in one of the safest, most stable and prosperous countries on the planet,” Mr de Kretser said.

“The fact that many of us rarely think about our rights reflects Australia’s success but … the reality is that for many people in Australia, human rights are not guaranteed.”

Australia’s share market is on track for a seventh-straight session of losses, as the latest reading on inflation hit a three-year high, opening the way for interest rate rises.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 10.8 points by midday, down 0.12 per cent, to 8,699.9, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 7.2 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 8,927.8.

The top-200 fell as much as 45.4 points in early trade, but pared its losses after the consumer price index rose 4.6 per cent in the year to March.

The outcome was just under a projected 4.8 per cent, but up from 3.7 per cent in the 12 months to February.

The US-led war on Iran has roiled markets, lit a match under inflation expectations and put a handbrake on global economic growth hopes.

The Reserve Bank’s preferred trimmed mean annual price growth figure was unchanged at 3.3 per cent, but remains outside the central bank’s two to three per cent target range as markets brace for a widely expected interest rate hike at its meeting next week.

Energy and utilities stocks outperformed the broader market, as oil prices surged on fading hopes of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and reports Iran’s leadership has become dominated by hardliners.

The United Arab Emirates announced it will leave OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1, amid a widening rift between it and Saudi Arabia.

The move could ultimately boost global crude supplies, but is unlikely to have much of an effect on shipments or price while the Hormuz Strait remains effectively shut.

Closer to home, Woodside shares improved 1.3 per cent to $32.81 despite extreme weather impacting March quarter production, while Santos swung one per cent higher.

Coal producers also improved, while uranium stocks sold off as underwhelming figures from an artificial intelligence leader raised questions about the AI narrative.

“A Wall Street Journal report on softer-than-expected user growth and revenue targets at OpenAI once again had investors questioning the sustainability of sky-high AI spending and whether big tech can continue footing the bill for those massive data centre buildouts,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Raw materials stocks were under pressure as mega miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue lost ground.

Gold miners were mixed as the precious metal fell below $US4,600 ($A6,413) an ounce, the All Ordinaries gold sub-industry shaving 0.1 per cent.

Financials faded a modest 0.2 per cent as three of the big four banks traded lower, while ANZ bucked the trend with a 0.4 per cent advance to $36.18 as it flagged plans to buy out its French payments joint venture partner Worldline.

Consumer discretionary stocks were up 0.5 per cent by midday, rebounding from four-week lows in a broad-based advance.

In other company news, Sea Forest jumped three per cent to $2.36 after its quarter-on-quarter revenue nearly doubled as demand for its seaweed-based, methane-busting livestock feed gathered pace.

The Australian dollar was buying 71.73 US cents, up from 71.64 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm, little changed by the statistics bureau’s inflation surprise.

State and territory leaders will hold another national cabinet meeting on the fuel crisis, but the prime minister insists Australia’s petrol security level will not be increased.

Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will meet with premiers and chief ministers in early May, the week before the federal budget is handed down.

He said on Wednesday regular meetings of state and territory leaders were designed to quell concern, rather than ramp up fuel security measures.

“One of the reasons why we’ll meet again next week, and we met last week, is just to stop the panic,” he told a Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA event in Perth.

“We’ll work through all of those issues, but our objective is to do everything we can to not shift levels.”

Australia is currently sitting at level two of a four-level plan, where precautionary measures to conserve fuel are encouraged.

Increasing to level three would mean further measures are put in place to save petrol and diesel.

Mr Albanese said any move to a higher level of fuel security would be signalled well in advance, rather than made as a snap decision at a national cabinet meeting.

“We know that supplies are firm right through May, into June,” he said.

“That’s the point (of) having regular meetings every fortnight, so that people don’t go, ‘oh my goodness, there’s a national cabinet meeting’.”

The prime minister said he was confident the nation could emerge stronger from the fuel crisis.

“You’ll see further announcements in coming days about securing supplies from our region,” he said.

Mr Albanese is slated to hold talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Canberra on Monday, where fuel and energy will be on the agenda.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is also set to meet with her Chinese counterpart on energy supply.

It comes as Australian drivers could be in for a pleasant surprise at the bowser, after the United Arab Emirates decided to walk away from the world’s largest oil cartel.

The gulf nation has announced plans to withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from the start of May.

OPEC is a group of oil-producing nations, which coordinate production levels to maximise profits. It controls almost 80 per cent of the world’s proven reserves and produces around 40 per cent of global oil supply.

The UAE has long chafed at OPEC’s limits on its production, wanting to export much more oil to the world.

The country’s decision to quit the grouping would likely lead to cheaper petrol, but not until the Strait of Hormuz reopens, NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told AAP.

“This frees (the UAE) up to increase their production. They have significant reserves and can do so,” he said.

“That’s a positive thing for Australian drivers, because it will put downward pressure on global oil prices in the longer term.”

The coalition has defended its new energy policy, which would force fuel companies to stockpile more petrol and diesel while pushing prices at the bowser up by around one cent a litre.

“We think that’s a reasonable premium to get another 30 days of storage,” Nationals Leader Matt Canavan told Nine’s Today program.

Senator Canavan said the coalition would also push to build a new refinery near Gladstone in Queensland to bolster Australia’s fuel security.

A major early childhood education and care provider at the centre of a shocking case of alleged abuse committed by a former worker plans to shutter about 40 centres across the nation.

The decision means parents using the “underperforming” centres will need to move their children to another nearby facility as staff are also redeployed “where possible”.

G8 Education, which has almost 400 early learning centres, made the announcement on Wednesday ahead of the for-profit’s annual general meeting of shareholders in Brisbane.

The listed childcare giant said the sector overall was experiencing unprecedented uncertainty and lower usage rates driven by socio-economic factors.

These factors include affordability pressures, falling birth rates, increased long-day care supply and family confidence being impacted by “serious safety incidents”.

Over the past year, the sector has been rocked by allegations of historical onsite child abuse by staff members at a number of centres, including some owned by G8.

In 2025, former educator Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight children aged under two.

The alleged abuse happened at G8 centres between April 2022 and January 2023.

In February, G8 chief executive Pejman Okhovat told a Senate inquiry into the quality and safety of early childhood education that the group was reeling.

“My team and I are horrified,” Mr Okhovat, who has repeatedly apologised since the allegations were revealed, told the hearing.

“Our hearts go out to the children and families involved and we are truly sorry for the pain this has caused.”

Mr Okhovat said on Wednesday that G8’s focus remains on safety and providing high-quality care, while noting its occupancy rates are down.

As of April 24, G8 said the spot occupancy rate across its centres was 56.4 per cent, down seven per cent on the same period last year.

Year to date, its main occupancy rate was down almost eight per cent to 56.1 per cent.

“While the operating environment means G8 Education does not expect a material recovery in occupancy relative to (the previous corresponding period) this year, we will continue to review and adjust the operating model and cost base,” Mr Okhovat said.

G8 has described the closure of the centres as a “suspension”, adding that it will consider options including lease surrender, divestment or other alternatives.

As more women take on public leadership and regulatory roles, Australia’s first eSafety commissioner warns they could require security protections similar to elected parliamentarians due to plausible online threats made against them.

Julie Inman Grant made history when she was appointed to lead Australia’s eSafety Commission in 2017, a world-first government regulatory body dedicated to keeping citizens safer online.

She has driven significant regulatory reform, including developing industry standards to address illegal content, age-restricted material and emerging AI harms online.

But it is in leading the implementation of Australia’ landmark social media ban, which delays children’s access until they are 16, that Ms Inman Grant herself has endured the most significant online threats.

Following the ban announcement, billionaire Elon Musk, who owns social media platform X, made a public post calling Ms Inman Grant a “censorship commissar”.

Within 24 hours, 75,000 posts had been directed at her, 80 per cent of which were toxic, harmful and plausible death threats.

Speaking to Australia’s first female prime minister Julia Gillard during Women Deliver, Ms Inman Grant said she had been doxxed and had deepfakes and death threats made against her.

The pair’s conversation was part of a live recording for Ms Gillard’s podcast, A Podcast of One’s Own.

“It is gendered and it is designed to wear you down, just like any other form of sexualised, violent online abuse that plays upon gendered standards,” she said.

“My issue is when they dox my children and my family members … it makes you sit back and go, am I putting my family and my kids in danger, and how do I protect them?”

Doxxing is a form of online harassment where an individual’s private information such as their home address, phone number or photos are published without their consent.

Ms Inman Grant noted there were security protections for elected officials, who can face similar threats due to their work, but not the same for regulators.

“There are protections – and I support them – provided to elected members of parliament, but there aren’t the same protections provided to regulators like myself,” she said.

“I’m kind of a new case, because I guess there aren’t that many regulators around the world that have been issued a dog whistle from Elon Musk.

“It comes with a cost, but what (perpetrators) don’t realise is: the more they target me, the more I dig in.”

Elon Musk has taken the stand at a trial over the future of OpenAI, casting ‌his lawsuit as a defence of the institution of charitable giving.

Musk, the world’s richest person, is suing OpenAI, its co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman and its president Greg Brockman, saying they betrayed him and the public by abandoning the ChatGPT maker’s ‌mission to be a benevolent steward of artificial intelligence for humanity, and transforming the non-profit into a profit-seeking juggernaut.

“If we make it okay to loot a charity, the entire foundation of charitable giving in America will be destroyed. That’s my concern,” Musk said in ‌initial remarks, going on to describe his own life history.

Musk appeared calm, sometimes looking at and addressing the jury.

Bill Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI and Altman, said it was Musk who saw dollar signs as he helped finance OpenAI’s early growth and pushed it to become a for-profit business, one he might eventually lead as CEO.

Savitt said Musk wanted “the keys to the kingdom,” and sued only after he failed and then in 2023 started his own AI business, xAI.

“What he cares about is Elon Musk being on top,” Savitt said in his opening statement.

“We are here because Mr Musk didn’t get his way at OpenAI.”

OpenAI’s lawyer also framed OpenAI’s March 2019 creation of a for-profit entity as critical ‌to letting it buy computing power ‌and pay top scientists to stay ⁠competitive with Google’s DeepMind AI lab.

Musk’s lawyer Steven Molo told jurors in his opening statement it was the OpenAI defendants who wanted riches for themselves as OpenAI ​began drawing investors including Microsoft.

“The defendants in the case stole a charity, and we’re asking you to hold them accountable,” Molo said during his opening statement.

“It wasn’t a vehicle for people to get rich.”

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, is seeking $US150 billion ($A209 billion) in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors, with proceeds going to OpenAI’s charitable arm.

He also wants OpenAI to revert to a non-profit, with Altman and Brockman removed as officers and Altman removed from its board.

Musk’s claims include breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.

Before jurors were seated, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers admonished Musk after OpenAI lawyers complained about his posts on X on Monday in which he assailed Altman as “Scam Altman” and ⁠accused him of stealing a charity.

Rogers said she was loath to issue a gag order but urged Musk to “try to control ‌your propensity to use social ​media to make things work outside the courtroom … Perhaps you’ve never done that before”.

Musk agreed to minimise his social media activity, as did Altman.

Both are expected to testify at trial, as is Microsoft chief Satya Nadella.

The trial could offer a ​window into some ‌of the egos and personalities that shaped OpenAI as it evolved from a non-profit research lab in Brockman’s apartment to a company worth more than $US850 billion.

It also risks complicating OpenAI’s plans for a potential initial public offering by casting ​doubt on its leadership, and could intensify fears about AI technology more broadly.

OpenAI was co-founded by Musk and Altman in 2015 with a goal of developing AI to benefit humanity and fend off rivals such as Google.

Molo said “Elon became more worried” as the technology advanced, and collaborated with Altman to “develop AI safely” after a meeting with US President Barack Obama in 2015 did not address AI’s risks.

Recruiting ​top AI scientists like Ilya Sutskever was part of that process, Molo said.

Savitt countered that AI safety ​was not a priority for Musk and that Musk denigrated OpenAI employees who focused on it.

“Jackasses is what he ‌called them,” Savitt said.

As Australian home owners stare down the barrel of more interest pain and higher inflation due to the Middle East conflict, the major banks are laying down defences.

ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac are due to report their interim results from Friday, and while the news is likely to be solid, less-sunny days could lie ahead.

This set of banking earnings covers the six months ended March 31, a period that includes the US-Israeli war on Iran that began in February and has sparked a huge jump in energy costs.

The banks have since had to deal with Donald Trump-driven market volatility and set barriers for a potential uptick in bad debts held by customers struggling with rising living costs and impending increases in lending rates.

NAB has already warned its first-half results will include $706 million in credit impairment charges, while Westpac has warned that geopolitical uncertainty and the associated increase in market volatility have affected its earnings.

Fidelity International’s Australian analyst and portfolio manager, Zara Lyons, told AAP this set of results would likely be strong in terms of business credit and mortgage growth.

“It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but I would have said, had we not had the energy situation, that the banks had been in very good health coming into this period,” she said.

“The outlook is looking a little less shiny than it did.

“But I still think that they are very resilient and should be able to navigate this world.”

Josh Gilbert, lead Australia-Pacific market analyst for eToro, said the Reserve Bank’s back-to-back rate hikes in 2026 were, on paper, a tailwind for bank margins.

“But higher rates are a double-edged sword – they lift margins on one side of the ledger while squeezing the borrowers on the other, and that is where the pressure starts to build on provisioning and credit quality,” he said.

Bank watchers will be looking at how far they lean into provisioning – the size of the buffers they put aside for losses they have not yet seen.

“If the banks are leaning in hard, that is management signalling what they’re seeing in the household and business book,” Mr Gilbert said.

They would also look at net interest margins, a key measure of profitability, and capital returns, Mr Gilbert said.

Westpac, he noted, was sitting on surplus capital and had the biggest pile of franking credits in the sector, which put a special dividend firmly on the table.

“The results, as ever, will be important, but what management says about the road ahead will likely matter more,” he added.

“The market is clearly bracing for cautious tones across the sector.”

ANZ will lead off with its results on Friday after making a $1.94 billion cash profit in the first quarter, followed by NAB ($2.02 billion) on May 4, and Westpac ($1.9 billion) on May 5.

Commonwealth Bank will issue its third-quarter update on May 13.

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD’s quarterly profit has fallen at its fastest pace since 2020, ‌a stock market filing shows, hit by sluggish sales at home and intensifying competition.

The world’s biggest EV ‌seller, known for its focus on budget models priced under 150,000 yuan ($A30,600), is under pressure from rivals including Geely and Leapmotor.

BYD’s first-quarter net profit dropped 55.4 per cent from a year earlier to $US599.46 million ($A836.67 million), deepening a 38.2 per cent fall in the fourth quarter, the data showed.

Revenue fell 11.8 per cent, extending a ‌declining streak to ‌a third straight ⁠quarter.

“BYD needs domestic sales volumes to pick up sequentially in Q2 and see ​a more sustained rebound and market share recovery in Q3 for overall profits to improve,” said Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy at Macquarie Capital.

Pressure has mounted as China scales back trade-in subsidies for entry-level electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

BYD’s overall sales declined for a seventh straight month in March despite sustained strong growth ⁠in overseas shipments.

As its domestic sales ‌face a ​prolonged slump, BYD is aggressively targeting international markets with a focus on advanced technology or manufacturing localisation.

The biggest ​Chinese competitor to ‌Tesla has said it is confident of reaching its 2026 overseas sales target of 1.5 million vehicles ​or even higher, implying growth of more than 40 per cent from 2025 although it has not disclosed an overall sales target.

Vincent Sun, an analyst at Morningstar, projected BYD’s exports would rise 25 per cent to 30 per cent ​this ​year while total vehicle sales are expected ​to grow about 12 per cent.

However, Hsiao said overseas sales may ‌not be enough to fully offset domestic weakness if current sales trends continue.

Seeking to regain its technological edge, BYD is doubling down on ultra-fast charging technology, aiming to lure drivers loyal to petrol-powered cars by easing charging time concerns.

BYD kicked off pre-sales for its Datang full-size electric SUV at the Beijing car show on ​Friday, joining a growing list of Chinese car makers targeting the higher-end segment and stepping up competition with ​European premium brands.

Energy, housing and resources projects will be fast-tracked under an Albanese government bid to remove a “layer of bureaucracy” by speeding up approvals.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will on Wednesday announce more than $45 million over the next four years to progress environmental bilateral agreements with states and territories to remove approval duplication.

The funding will be provided to encourage governments across the country to prioritise signing on to new assessment and approval agreements with the Commonwealth.

State and territory leaders who sign a new deal with the federal government will be allowed to assess proposals and green-light them on behalf of the Commonwealth.

In a speech to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA in Perth on Wednesday, Mr Albanese will point to median approval times for projects under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act blowing out from 48 weeks 20 years ago to 118 weeks now.

The drawn-out process resulted in investors walking away from projects and communities missing out, the prime minister will say.

“This will fast-track new energy, housing and resources projects by combining federal and state approvals, effectively removing an entire layer of bureaucracy from the process,” he will say.

“So instead of a two-stage, two-track process, with that all the cost of delays and doubling up, this will be a one-step process, with one, clearer, faster, yes or no.

“After too many wasted years, this can be a circuit-breaker – if the states step up and sign up.”

Labor’s environmental protection reform was passed by parliament in November 2025.

The changes seek to increase efficiency in project assessments and provide greater transparency in decision making.

The prime minister will also say as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, building national resilience will be a key focus of the May budget, to be handed down in two weeks’ time.

“It will be our government’s most important budget to date – and our most ambitious,” he will say.

“The challenges confronting our nation right now demand that ambition – and so too do the opportunities ahead of us.”

The Iran war may be in its ninth week but its impact on the Australian economy has yet to materially show up in hard data.

That changes on Wednesday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is likely to reveal fuel prices surged by 35 per cent in March, pushing headline inflation up to 4.7 per cent, according to economists at ANZ Bank.

However, the Reserve Bank, which was concerned about inflation before the conflict, will pay closer attention to quarterly inflation figures also released on Wednesday.

The bank’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation, the quarterly trimmed mean, is likely to show a 0.9 per cent rise, lifting annual growth from 3.4 per cent to 3.6 per cent, predict ANZ economists Madeline Dunk and Adam Boyton.

“For the RBA, the quarterly data is likely to affirm the underlying inflation pressures evident in the economy before the escalation of the Middle East conflict in late February,” they said.

“We continue to expect the RBA will hike 25 basis points in May, taking the cash rate to 4.35 per cent.”

Markets are pricing in the chance of a rate hike on Tuesday at about three-quarters, with two hikes fully priced in by Christmas.

Although fuel will be trimmed out from the underlying figure, it pushes other fast-growing expenditure items back down into the basket, mechanically pushing up core inflation.

In February, the RBA had forecast the trimmed mean to hit 3.7 per cent in June.

Headline inflation will also receive a significant leg up from electricity prices, which are set to record a jump of about 20 per cent quarter-on-quarter as a result of government subsidies rolling off, economists at JP Morgan said.

With follow-on effects of the oil shock set to hit even harder in following months, the clear risk is that inflation will exceed the RBA’s forecast.

Tackling inflation isn’t the central bank’s only concern.

Equally important is ensuring inflation expectations remain anchored; that is, people expect inflation to return to target over the medium term.

ANZ and Roy Morgan’s weekly inflation expectations index, which asks respondents how high they expect inflation to be in two years’ time, came in at 6.6 per cent on Tuesday.

While it remains an uncomfortably high reading for the RBA, it was the lowest rate since early March, when the government announced it was cutting the fuel excise.