AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 17 at 0400
Economy (CANBERRA)
Australia's economy is heading for the slowdown it had to have.
With the nation's decades-long productivity growth malaise showing no sign of improving, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock admitted the harsh reality after the central bank's monetary policy board held interest rates steady on Tuesday.
Inflation is still too high and the only way it will subside is if economic growth slows and households wear the cost.
"We are not forecasting that the economy is going to shrink this quarter," Ms Bullock told reporters after the RBA's first meeting of the year which did not result in a rate rise.
"We are forecasting that growth is going to slow, but growth has to slow.
"The key reason for that is that we have excess demand, and unless demand grows more slowly than the supply side of the economy for a time, we're not going to get inflation down."
One Nation (CANBERRA)
Pauline Hanson's party is on the "cusp" of a political breakthrough, but the popular leader will need to perform at key public events if she is to translate the momentum among voters into election success, analysts say.
The One Nation founder will address the National Press Club in Canberra for the first time in her three decades in politics.
Senator Hanson was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, representing the Queensland seat of Oxley.
She was defeated two years later and was voted out of office, spending almost 20 years unsuccessfully running for parliament before being elected in the Senate for Queensland in 2016.
Senator Hanson was re-elected in 2022 and is more than halfway through her six-year term.
Iran (ZURICH)
An interim US-Iran accord aimed at ending their war could be signed on Friday at the Buergenstock mountaintop resort in central Switzerland, according to a statement issued by the Swiss government.
The Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement that it had been in close contact with the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar regarding the possible signing of what it called a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran.
"At this stage, the signing is scheduled for Friday, June 19, at Buergenstock in the canton of Nidwalden. The location was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran," the ministry said.
The framework agreement aimed at ending the war in Iran is due to be signed at a hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne, which previously hosted a conference on Ukraine in 2024.
Iran (EVIAN-LES-BAINS)
US President Donald Trump says an interim accord with Iran makes it clear that Tehran will never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 summit, Trump defended the 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran that has yet to be made public.
"The only thing that really matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and it says it loud and clear," he told reporters, warning "all hell will rain down" on Iran if it sought to acquire one.
In 2015, former US President Barack Obama secured a nuclear deal with Iran in exchange for sanctions relief, a process that took two years to finalise. Trump withdrew the United States from that accord during his first term.
G7 (EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has joined world leaders at the G7 summit for talks on ending the war in Ukraine after more than four years of conflict sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion.
Zelenskyy was welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a morning working session with G7 leaders to discuss the war.
The Ukraine talks come on the heels of US President Donald Trump's announcement of an agreement to end the three-and-a-half month US war against Iran.
Trump said he had good conversations on Sunday with both Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Now that this (Iran) is finished, we're going to be focusing on that," he said at the G7 summit.
Macron said he'll seek to persuade Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to help reach a peace agreement.
Legal: RobertsSmith (SYDNEY)
Decorated former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will apply to a court to move home and be with family while he fights allegations of war crimes.
The 47-year-old was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He appeared before Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, when his lawyers applied to vary his bail.
"Today is just about being able to see my (family) and moving back to where we actually live," he told reporters outside court.
"That's what we're focused on today."
The Victoria Cross recipient is also expected to ask the court if he can attend two formal military ceremonies and a social function afterwards.
Legal: Warnecke (MELBOURNE)
A "birthkeeper" says she was not obligated to call an ambulance for a wellness influencer whose health fatally deteriorated after a free birth at home.
Doula Emily Lal was supporting Stacey Warnecke, 30, when she gave birth to her firstborn son Axel at a Melbourne home on September 29.
The new mum's health suddenly deteriorated shortly after the birth.
She was rushed to Frankston Hospital, where she suffered multiple cardiac arrests and died due to blood loss from a postpartum haemorrhage.
Ms Lal previously refused to engage with the investigation on the grounds she could incriminate herself, but gave evidence before the Victorian Coroners Court on Tuesday after being granted immunity from prosecution.
The unregistered doula was present with Ms Warnecke's husband Nathan during the birth, recounting how the beaming new mum quickly deteriorated after birth, becoming hot, pale and struggling to breathe.
Legal: Polymiadis (ADELAIDE)
An elderly father may have died after he "lost his will to live", the lawyer of a diabetic daughter accused of killing her parents with insulin has told a court.
Raelene Polymiadis, 65, is on trial in the South Australian Supreme Court charged with murdering Brenda and Lynton Anderson, who were both aged 94 when they died in March 2022 and May 2023 respectively.
In her opening address on Tuesday, defence counsel Marie Shaw KC said her client had denied administering insulin to either of her parents, and two elements in the case - identity and causation - would be disputed.
Mrs Anderson died at the Flinders Medical Centre, while Mr Anderson died after he was found unconscious on his kitchen floor.
In finance ...
KPMG (SYDNEY)
A "big four" consultancy firm holding more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer-funded contracts has been referred to the corruption watchdog ahead of a mammoth inquiry into its conduct.
KPMG is being pursued by the federal parliamentary panel over its alleged misuse of client information to win audit work and the mistreatment of a whistleblower.
On Friday, the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services will hear from at least 31 witnesses, including 14 KPMG leaders such as chair Martin Sheppard and interim Australian boss Stan Stavros.
An unnamed "senior employee who oversaw (an) internal KPMG investigation" is also in the line-up.
On Monday, four days ahead of the hearing, the Department of Finance placed a moratorium on KPMG bidding for any new contracts until September 30.
Economy (CANBERRA)
The Reserve Bank of Australia has left interest rates on hold for the first time in 2026 as the nation's economy deteriorates and questions linger over a potential peace deal in the Middle East.
Following three consecutive rate rises, the central bank's monetary policy board voted unanimously to leave the cash rate steady at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday.
The decision was anticipated by the majority of economists and financial markets.
But the question now is whether it heralds the end of the bank's hiking cycle or is merely a pause before the next move upwards.
The odds of a rate hike lengthened following softer-than-expected economic growth figures, a jump in the unemployment rate and better-than-forecast inflation figures since the previous rate meeting in May.
In entertainment ...
Diddy (LONDON)
US hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs will be getting released from prison sooner than expected.
Combs is serving a 50-month prison sentence after being convicted on two prostitution-related charges and was initially due to walk free in mid-2028.
The disgraced star's release date has been shifted by authorities several times. It was recently stated to be June 4, 2028 before shifting to April 25, 2028 but it has changed again and Combs is due for release on February 23, 2028, according to official records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, viewed by PEOPLE.com.
Combs, 56, has been behind bars since his arrest in September 2024 and was convicted in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
In sport ...
AFL Tribunal (MELBOURNE)
North Melbourne forward Paul Curtis has failed to overturn a three-match suspension for rough conduct at the AFL tribunal.
Curtis was offered the ban after his tackle last Saturday left West Coast's Hamish Davis with concussion.
The action was deemed careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
Curtis, who did not give evidence at Tuesday's tribunal hearing, argued through his counsel Justin Graham KC against both the "rough conduct" charge and "severe impact" grading.
Graham said a "low impact" grading was more appropriate, while claiming ball carrier Davis's momentum was a significant factor in the incident.
He added there was no double action in the tackle and that the force went first through Davis's knees and hands before he hit his head.
RL Origin (MELBOURNE)
NSW coach Laurie Daley has no plans to tinker with his line-up despite compelling statistics surrounding the Blues' starts - and the impact of Cameron Murray - in recent State of Origin clashes against Queensland.
The Blues are looking to wrap up the series with victory at the MCG on Wednesday night after winning game one in Sydney.
At a joint press conference alongside the Yarra river on Tuesday, Daley was an open book around how he would use his talent, saying Ethan Strange would come off the bench to play in the back row.
In contrast, Queensland coach Billy Slater kept his strategy for super-sub Reece Walsh a secret.
NSW have been torpid in the opening half of the past three interstate battles, only scoring 12 points compared to 66 from the Maroons.
Ends Bulletin
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