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Senior Labor politicians are defending Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Some news reports say people inside the Labor Party have been giving journalists negative information about him.
Environment Minister Murray Watt says the comments should stop.
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino says Mr Chalmers is safe in his job and has his full support.
But Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson says she is not surprised by the reports.
“Well, clearly Jim Chalmers is failing Australians, and Jim Chalmers is toxic within his own party. The budget is one of the worst things that we have ever seen in this country, and it is no wonder that Labor's backbench is briefing out against Jim Chalmers.”
Labor ministers have publicly supported Mr Chalmers, but they have not identified who may have spoken against him.
The federal government says it is trying to slow the rise in prices.
This comes after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the fifth time this year.
Australia’s official interest rate is now 4.85 per cent. This is the highest level since 2008.
The Reserve Bank raises interest rates to reduce spending and help bring prices down.
But higher rates also mean many people with home loans must pay more.
The Bank says inflation is still too high and may stay high for longer than expected. Its target is to keep inflation between two and three per cent.
The Opposition says government spending is adding to the problem.
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino says the government is making changes to help businesses work more efficiently. But he says these changes will take time.
“We have a range of measures that were identified in the last budget around 10 billion dollars in lightening the regulatory load and a whole bunch of measures that are going to create more aligned national markets. The thing with these productivity reforms is they do often take time to flow through into the economy.”
United States President Donald Trump says he will continue to support Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Republican politician Thomas Massie has introduced eight charges against Mr Hegseth in the House of Representatives.
The charges are part of an attempt to impeach him.
To impeach someone means formally accusing a senior official of serious wrongdoing.
It does not automatically remove them from their job.
The charges relate to United States military action in Iran, Yemen and Venezuela. They also include claims about attacks on boats suspected of carrying drugs.
Mr Hegseth rejects the accusations.
President Trump says Mr Hegseth has been successful and that he will stand by him.
Mr Trump has also said the United States remains ready to take further military action against Iran.
“So it’s a nasty place, but we think that it’s in pretty good shape. We’ll see what happens. I don’t guarantee anything, but if we do have to go back in, we are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Iranian officials have rejected reports of talks with the United States.]]
Several community groups want stronger Australian laws against online abuse.
A Senate committee is examining the government’s Digital Duty of Care bill.
The bill would require social media companies and other online services to take reasonable steps to keep people safe.
Groups including Equality Australia and the Working with Women Alliance want the law to clearly include violence and abuse aimed at people because of their gender.
They also want people who experience serious online abuse to be able to take legal action against technology companies.
At the moment, many complaints are handled by the eSafety Commissioner.
Human rights lawyer Alex Lia says harm can come from a large number of abusive messages, even when one message alone may not appear serious.
“This would be particularly effective where someone is being subjected to a cumulative attack or a pile-on, as we see across social media platforms. In these circumstances, the harm may arise from the volume and the persistence and the cumulative effect of multiple posts, comments or interactions.”
The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is being examined by a Senate committee.
Qantas says it plans to cut about 850 Australian jobs over the coming years.
The airline has signed a deal with the consulting company Accenture.
Under the plan, some work will be done by Accenture staff, mostly in India. Some work will remain in Australia.
The first changes will affect areas including finance, buying goods and services, human resources and marketing.
Qantas says the first changes are expected by the middle of 2027.
Chief executive Vanessa Hudson says the airline needs to update its old computer systems and make better use of artificial intelligence.
She has apologised for the worry caused to workers.
Qantas says it will speak with affected staff and unions. It will also try to move some workers into other jobs in the company.
