AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 18 at 1530
Legal: Vlassakis (ADELAIDE)
A new review must be held to decide whether Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis is released on parole, a court has ordered.
A decision to block his parole was set aside by South Australia's Court of Appeal on Thursday and the Parole Board's decision to free him was reinstated.
But Parole Administrative Review Commissioner Michael David KC has been ordered to review the case again and Vlassakis remains in custody.
Last August, the Parole Board agreed to release Vlassakis, who pleaded guilty to four of the 11 murders between 1992 and 1999, but Attorney-General Kyam Maher requested a review of the decision.
Mr David subsequently found the board underestimated the effect of the gravity of Vlassakis's criminal behaviour and releasing him would be a risk to the community.
Pram (MELBOURNE)
A tight-knit community is reeling after a kindergarten student and her baby brother were killed when a SUV collided with a pram shortly after school pick-up.
The girl and her brother have been identified as Katherine, 5, and Harry, aged 14 months - the only two children of 33-year-old mother Sok Ram.
The children were struck by the vehicle while crossing a street with their mother in Cabramatta, in Sydney's southwest, about 3.15pm on Wednesday.
Katherine was in her first year of kindergarten and had just been picked up after receiving an award, according to an online fundraiser on the family's behalf.
The children's lives were taken in a "split second", the man behind the fundraiser, Patrick Te, said.
"As they were crossing the road together, heading back to the car, an oncoming vehicle suddenly struck both Katherine and the pram where Harry was sitting," he said.
Tax (CANBERRA)
An existing capital gains tax concession for small businesses will be expanded and a new concession will be introduced as Labor tries to ease the blowback from its budget tax changes.
One of four existing small business capital gains concessions, the 50 per cent active asset reduction, will be extended to all businesses with a turnover up to $10 million per year.
The existing threshold was $2 million.
It is the most widely used of the four such concessions used by small businesses and will be eligible to 2.7 million existing small businesses as a result of the change, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday.
"We're also proposing to introduce a new innovative business tax concession for startups and will release the consultation paper on the startup sector later this morning," he told reporters in Sydney.
Electricity (CANBERRA)
Retailers could be forced to come clean on the number of customers charged too much for their loyalty features after a comprehensive review of the electricity pricing system.
Tackling the "loyalty tax" was one of the goals of a self-initiated review by Australia's electricity rule-maker aimed at bringing the electricity pricing framework into the modern era.
The Australian Energy Market Commission also has a blueprint to reform network tariffs to ensure households with solar and batteries are both properly rewarded and supporting the grid, and renters and other customers without such kit are not overpaying.
Disengaged electricity customers ending up on uncompetitive offers after their attractive introductory deals lapse has been a long-standing bugbear.
The AEMC wants to "shine a light" on the problem to nudge more consumers to switch, including forcing retailers to notify long-term customers of foregone savings.
Iran (EVIAN-LES-BAINS)
US President Donald Trump has defended his interim agreement with Iran, saying it has averted a global economic catastrophe while warning the United States could launch new attacks if Iran fails to honour its commitments.
Speaking at the close of a G7 summit in France, Trump also said maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz had risen sharply since the truce was announced three days ago and expressed hope it could mark the start of a wider peace across the Middle East.
"So the one thing I didn't want to see is, I didn't want to see economic catastrophe. If you kept this going, that could have happened," Trump said.
He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for being "neutral" during the conflict, saying they had not thwarted his efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Qantas (TOULOUSE)
Qantas has announced London as the first destination for the world's longest non-stop commercial flight, a roughly 20-hour trip from Sydney eliminating the traditional stopover on the "Kangaroo Route".
The Australian carrier plans to start selling tickets in February and launch the flights in October 2027, CEO Vanessa Hudson told an event in Toulouse, France.
The flights are part of the airline's "Project Sunrise" initiative, which will also serve New York using modified Airbus A350-1000ULR jets capable of flying up to 22 hours with 238 passengers on board.
Each aircraft will be configured with 238 seats across four cabins - First Class, Business, Premium Economy and Economy - and will be fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank to the A350 that will enable it to fly over 16,000km for up to 22 hours non-stop.
Ukraine (KYIV)
Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says his country's forces aim to isolate the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula through drone strikes targeting Russian supply lines.
"It looks as if Crimea will soon turn into an island," Fedorov said in an interview posted on Wednesday by the PRESSING YouTube channel.
The attacks on logistics routes had opened a "window of opportunity" for Ukraine, he said, adding: "For the Russians, a hell is beginning that will be difficult for them to overcome."
Disruptions to Russian logistics are already having a direct effect on the number of Russian attacks along the front line, he said.
In a sarcastic reference to Crimea's popularity as a holiday destination for Russian tourists, Fedorov said the peninsula would be visited this year mainly by "our drones".
One Nation (CANBERRA)
Pauline Hanson is being warned she needs to address Australia's economic grievances if the party is to retain surging support and turn anger against the two major parties into electoral success.
The One Nation leader addressed the National Press Club in Canberra for the first time in her 30-year political career, calling on migrants to assimilate into Australia's "monoculture" and vowing to reduce migrants from countries "immersed in extremism, like radical Islam".
She also labelled the increasing number of households facing financial hardship as "appalling" given the nation's wealth.
The ultra-conservative party's rise was a reflection of working people feeling they were going economically backwards in a wealthy country, YouGov director of public data Paul Smith said.
"Our polling shows that the number one reason for backing One Nation is not the leader, but the feeling of being unrepresented by the two major parties," he told AAP.
In finance ...
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market is edging lower after hawkish signals from the new US Federal Reserve chair prompted a sell-off on Wall Street.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 39.3 points by midday on Thursday to be down 0.44 per cent to 8,927, as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 39.9 points lower, down 0.43 per cent, to 9,146.
"US equity markets closed lower overnight after this morning's Federal Open Market Committee meeting delivered a hawkish surprise that triggered a sell-off in stocks and a sharp rally in US yields and the US dollar," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"This time around, nine of the 19 officials see at least one rate hike by the end of the year, and the policy statement notably removed earlier language around potential cuts."
Legal: Henderson (MELBOURNE)
Kyle Sandilands says he is relieved to have settled his multimillion dollar legal fight with his former employer, as ex-co-host Jackie "O" Henderson gears up for another day in court.
In an ASX announcement on Wednesday, ARN media said it would pay Sandilands $12 million, with $3 million payable as soon as July.
The figure is well below the $85 million the shock jock sought after he and his fellow KIIS FM co-host were sacked following an on-air row.
But Sandilands said he was relieved to put the ordeal behind him when approached by reporters outside his home on Wednesday.
"It's quite daunting to have that hanging over your head," he said.
"I could have dragged it on for like a year and a half."
In entertainment ...
Arts Tapestry (MELBOURNE)
Completed half a century ago, Australian artist Arthur Boyd's monumental tapestries are finally on display together for the first time.
The renowned painter's Life of St Francis tapestries were woven at the Manufactura de Tapeçarias de Portalegre workshop in Portugal and completed in 1974, then acquired for the national collection the following year.
The St Francis tapestries measure up to 3.4 metres across, more than 20 times larger than the 70 centimetre pastel drawings they are based on.
Teams of weavers worked in shifts across 24 hours a day to complete the artworks, with each weaving comprised of between four million and 8.5 million individual stitches, explained the gallery's senior curator of Australian art Elspeth Pitt.
"They're really remarkable feats ... they've been able to translate that colour and texture of the original pastel drawings into these enormous works," she said.
Lil NasX (LONDON)
Lil Nas X has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
The 27-year-old rapper was arrested in Los Angeles in August 2025, after he was found wandering the streets of the city in the early hours of the morning, and Nas has now revealed that he spent a few months in rehab following the high-profile incident.
The chart-topping star - who was charged with causing injury to a police officer, and for resisting arrest - said on Instagram: "I've been in rehab for a few months, and since then I've been back at home, whether it's in Atlanta with my family or in Los Angeles with myself and friends, trying to ground myself down to earth and get out of my head."
Nas admitted that he was reluctant to discuss his diagnosis in public.
In sport ...
WC26 Aust (OAKLAND)
The Socceroos have spent months listening to Americans talk the talk.
Now they can finally get their chance to answer the way they want to.
Australia have been talked down and written off over and over again since they were drawn in the same group as the United States back on December 6.
But all of a sudden, after stunning Turkey 2-0, the Socceroos' clash with the co-hosts at Seattle Stadium on Friday (5am Saturday AEST) could all but determine who tops Group D.
There are high stakes all round, but there are bragging rights too.
"I'm really excited for the US game," defender Jordan Bos told AAP ahead of the tournament.
"Because I've heard a lot of chatter and stuff like that.
Gol Open Aust (SYDNEY)
A turning-point adrenaline rush has milestone man Adam Scott believing he can once again challenge for a career-fulfilling second golf major.
Scott enters the US Open starting on Thursday night (AEST) as somewhat of a sentimental favourite in his extraordinary 100th major championship appearance.
Australia's former world No.1 is second only to legend Jack Nicklaus for excellence and longevity but remains more focused on shedding his one-major wonder status than celebrating his crazy feat.
Scott went agonisingly close last year to adding an elusive second major to his iconic 2013 Masters triumph when he snared a share of the third-round lead and playing in the final group on Sunday.
He was right in the mix on the back nine before fading, but believes the experience will stand him in good stead to contend at the famed and treacherous Shinnecock Hills layout on New York's Long Island.
Ends Bulletin
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