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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), ahead of talks with King Charles and foreign allies.
The trip to the Caribbean nation comes as Mr Albanese faces pressure at home, with the Reserve Bank widely tipped to raise interest rates this week, due to higher-than-expected inflation recorded last month.
The Coalition's Treasury spokesman Tim Wilson has questioned whether Mr Albanese should be traveling while Australians come under growing cost-of-living pressures.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has dismissed the criticism as unreasonable.
"He will be meeting the king, but he'll also be meeting Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister of the UK, Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, and other, uh, heads of government from the Commonwealth. Um, it's, it's an important international engagement. It's one that has always been attended by Australian prime ministers, um, and I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting that he shouldn't be there. And obviously, the timing of this meeting has not been set by the Australian government. It's been set by the Commonwealth itself."
The federal government has confirmed it won't be appealing a court decision to overturn an Aboriginal heritage order which had stalled the development of a controversial gold mine project.
The billion-dollar McPhillamys Gold Project in central-west New South Wales was halted in 2024, when then-environment minister Tanya Plibersek approved a heritage order, to protect waterways which Traditional Owners said were connected to Dreaming stories.
Earlier in October, the mining sector claimed victory and urged planning reform in response to the court's ruling to overrule the government's decision.
Speaking to Sky News, Environment Minister Murray Watt says the government won't be challenging the court's decision but is considering ways to improve cultural heritage laws.
"What we're going to do instead is focus on redetermining, uh, this issue, which is what the court ordered, uh, and of course progressing our reforms to these laws. Uh, this is one example, uh, of why we do need reform to Australia's cult- cultural heritage laws. Currently, they're not doing a good job in protecting cultural heritage, and they're absolutely not doing a good job in terms of slow- slowing down the projects that Australia needs."
The Victorian Greens party is celebrating the results of an internal poll, which shows its statewide primary vote to be slightly above One Nation’s, 28 days out from the state election.
The poll commissioned by the Greens and published by the Guardian, shows the Greens on 15 per cent and One Nation on 14 per cent, marking the first time the party has polled ahead of One Nation during the campaign.
The Greens have now been invited to participate in a leaders' debate, with Victorian Greens Leader Ellen Sandell confirming she will take on Labor, the Liberals and One Nation in the four-way debate.
Greens Leader David Shoebridge says the poll is clear indication voters are looking for what he suggests is a more positive alternative to the two major parties.
"Well, as the two-party system breaks apart in front of us, there's this rise of the Greens. There's a rise of hope that better days are ahead for Victoria. I've got to tell you, coming down here into Victoria, feeling the momentum on the ground, the record volunteers, the membership numbers, and today the polling, it's very clear that the Greens are the solution going forward, and many, many more Victorians are realizing that."
On Monday last week, Newspoll put One Nation on 20 per cent of the primary vote, and the six-point difference would represent a significant setback for the party if the Greens' poll is reflected across the state.
The federal government has signalled no area of spending will be considered off limits, as it searches for budget savings and to fight inflation.
Persistently fast-rising prices have fuelled criticism of high public spending after inflation came in higher than expected in the year to September.
Accelerating inflation has driven expectations that the Reserve Bank will hike the cash rate on Tuesday to its highest rate in 18 years, putting more pressure on borrowers.
While the Middle East oil shock and ballooning artificial intelligence investment are delivering price pressures largely outside Canberra's control, Labor has also been implored to tighten its belt in December's mid-year budget update.
Hundreds of thousands of people have joined protests across France for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over living costs and education.
Officials estimate around 320,000 people participated in protests nationwide on Saturday and around 70,000 police were deployed across the country.
Authorities say while most people rallied peacefully, some clashes with police were reported in Paris, Marseille and other cities, and police arrested more than 560 people.
Protester Jerome Rodriguez says he and others are demonstrating to improve the quality of life for future generations.
"I think we'd all rather be with our families today.... But indeed, if we think about our children, it's important to be here today and try to improve the situation a little, so that they don't have to fight in the years to come. That's why we're here, to keep shouting our demands louder and louder and hopefully get a response from the government, although that seems very unlikely."
To sport now, New Zealand has been dealt a blow ahead of the Rugby League World Cup semi-final, with Ronaldo Mulitalo handed a one-game ban.
The Kiwis' 78-0 victory over Fiji on Saturday on the Gold Coast came at a cost, with the star winger sent off for a shoulder charge on Ronald Philitoga in the 52nd minute.
The judiciary has today ruled Mulitalo's tackle careless and charged him with a grade-two offence.
The one game ban means the winger will be eligible to return for the grand final if New Zealand win the semi next Saturday in Newcastle.
