Australia news live: free public transport in Victoria extended; drivers slash fuel spending amid crisis | Australia news
Key events
Joe Hinchliffe
Pro-Palestine rally to march on QLD parliament in defiance of banned phrase
Protesters will march on Queensland parliament today in defiance of the state government’s decision to ban two phrases associated with the pro-Palestine movement: “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.
The “Not Our Laws” rally in Brisbane comes a day after 20 were arrested holding banners or chanting the forbidden phrases, with the Queensland police service saying there were “14 charges of displaying a prohibited expression and seven charges of reciting a prohibited expression” on Saturday.
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi and the event’s spokesperson will hold a press conference before the rally begins in King George Square at 1pm.
Remah Naji said the event was part of broader protest action for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day and that she didn’t expect the arrests of Saturday to be repeated.
Naji said it would be a peaceful rally and that she did not expect chants or banners saying “from the river to the sea”.
“But if people do it out of individual choice, that is not something we can control.”
Joe Hinchliffe
Qld premier takes ‘vision to drill’ to Brisbane byelection
Queensland’s governing LNP will look to make a byelection in Brisbane something of a referendum on its “vision” to “drill, refine and store our own fuel”, the state’s premier, David Crisufulli, said this morning.
There will be a byelection in the seat of Stafford on 16 May after the death of MP Jimmy Sullivan.
Sullivan, 44, was found dead in his Stafford home unit last week in what police deemed non-suspicious circumstances.
He was elected to parliament as a Labor MP in 2020, but was forced to sit on the cross-bench after being disendorsed by Labor in May 2025.
Crisufulli announced the former Brisbane city councillor Fiona Hammond would again run for Stafford, after she secured a swing of +6.58 to the LNP in the safe Labor seat at the last election.
The premier said the byelection would be a “big opportunity” for voters to contrast his “vision” for fuel self-sufficiency, which included opening up the Taroom trough for oil extraction.
“Right now we are at a junction,” he told reporters. “I want to send a message that never again will we be at the mercy of others when it comes to our own fuel security.”
Fuel spend slumps, data shows
Australians have slashed their fuel spending for the first time since the start of the Iran war as leaders call for a return to normal oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, AAP reports.
Tehran has backflipped on a promise to open the key oil-trading waterway, firing on ships attempting to traverse the strait.
Announcing it would close the trading waterway, Iran blamed an ongoing US blockade on its ports, arguing the move breached a temporary ceasefire.
Meanwhile, data from Westpac shows Australians are beginning to spend less on petrol and diesel as a cut to fuel excise flows through to the bowser.
In the past fortnight, spending on fuel dropped 3.8 per cent, according to analysis of debit and credit card transactions.
“Seeing fuel spend fall back is a meaningful shift and suggests the fuel excise cut is landing in household budgets,” Westpac consumer chief Carolyn McCann said.
Don’t measure US alliance just based on Trump: Marles
Tom McIlroy
Defence Minister Richard Marles says the success of Australia’s alliance with the United States should not be measured against a single president or federal government in Canberra, insisting the longstanding ties will endure.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Australia for not assisting with the war in Iran, while federal Labor, including Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, say the White House has not made any specific request for assistance.
Speaking on ABC TV on Sunday, Marles said close ties to Washington remained in the Australian national interest.
“I think it’s really important for all Australians to understand how significant the relationship is, and that the relationship is not one that should be measured in the context of any given US administration, or, for that matter, any given government in Australia,” he said.
“We’ve had the alliance in place since 1951 … this is a long term strategic alliance in the national interest of our country, based on the fact that our two countries have shared values. We have both democracy, we both have the rule of law, we both have freedom of speech, and all of those endure well beyond governments of and any persuasion on either side.
“This continues to be a critically important relationship for Australia, and it will be for decades to come.”
Joe Hinchliffe
Body found in burnt out car near border
A body has been found in a burnt out car near the Queensland border with New South Wales.
Emergency services were called to a car and grass fire on the Mount Lindesay Highway at Palen Creek in the Scenic Rim at about 5.40am Sunday morning, Queensland police service said.
“Upon extinguishing the fire, a body was located in the vehicle,” the QPS statement read.
A crime scene was declared with investigations ongoing.
Free RSV vaccinations for older Australians
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccinations will be free for Australians aged 75 years or older to ensure they are protected from the potentially deadly virus, the federal government has announced.
From 15 May, these Australians, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 60 and over, can receive free vaccination through their preferred local health service including GPs, immunisation clinics, community and Aboriginal health services and participating pharmacies.
The government has invested $445.3 million, to give eligible Australians free access to the vaccine through the National Immunisation Program (NIP), and said that without listing it on the NIP, the vaccination would cost $300. It said:
double quotation mark RSV is a common respiratory virus that can lead to hospitalisation, intensive care and death. Aged care residents are particularly vulnerable due to shared living arrangements and frequent contact with staff and visitors.The addition of the RSV vaccine on the NIP for older adults complements the Albanese Government’s free RSV vaccine program for mums and babies, free NIP influenza and COVID-19 vaccine programs.
Search continues for missing cruise passenger
Joe Hinchliffe
A scaled-back search continues for a passenger who went overboard on a cruise ship and is missing in the waters off the south-east Queensland coast.
The man, in his 70s, was last seen aboard the Carnival Splendor on Friday night when, at about 10:30pm, he was reported overboard in waters north-east of Cape Moreton.
Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement that the man “apparently climbed over the safety railing and jumped overboard”.
“The male guest was travelling with family, who alerted the ship’s crew of a possible missing person, and a review of the CCTV footage confirmed the guest’s action,” the spokesperson said.
“All appropriate authorities have been alerted and Carnival will assist authorities in their investigation upon the ship’s return to Sydney on Sunday.
“Carnival’s Care Team is supporting the guest’s family and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved one.”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it had suspended its search operations “following an intensive air and sea search involving multiple assets” on Saturday afternoon.
The AMSA said it had sent its Cairns and Melbourne-based Challenger jets, five rescue helicopters and six surface vessels into the area.
Queensland Police said their search and rescue operation for the missing man continued on Sunday morning.
If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue. In the event of an emergency dial Triple Zero (000).
Tom McIlroy
Australia should ‘inject ourselves’ into Hormuz dispute: Littleproud
The former Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has called on the federal government to “interject” Australia into the growing dispute over the strait of Hormuz to avoid a global recession.
Littleproud told Channel 9 such a move would help avoid the worst of the economic and geopolitical fallout from the closure of the waterway.
“President Trump and Iran are playing a high stakes game of chicken… it is important as a good global citizen we do our bit,” Littleproud said on Sunday.
“We need to inject ourselves into this dispute and make sure there is the safe navigation of those tankers through the strait of Hormuz and there is no tariff of $2m per boat.”
Littleproud said such a move could help provide “calm” and “common sense” to the situation around the strait. Before the war, about 20% of global oil supply went through the strait.
He warned a global recession was possible if the strait remained closed, because of massive oil price spikes.
“The reality is until the strait is open we are going to continue to see pressure on prices so it is important we do our bit.”
The extension of free public transport in Victoria is being promoted as a cost of living relief measure, but should it also be seen as an early election policy ahead of the November poll?
Worth reading this analysis from Benita Kolovos that you may have missed on Saturday: it explored how the Labor government, in power for the past 12 years, is trying to position itself as new.
Supanova continues in Melbourne after pedestrian killed, another seriously injured
A comics and gaming convention in Melbourne will continue on Sunday morning, after a person was killed and another seriously injured leaving the event last night.
A car struck pedestrians outside the event at Melbourne showgrounds shortly before 5pm on Saturday, with the driver under police guard in hospital.
In a statement issued later on Saturday night, Supanova organisers said the event would continue with a minute’s silence the following morning. Organisers said:
double quotation mark We here at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming are deeply saddened and distressed by the incident that occurred outside the Melbourne Showgrounds this evening.Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the unspeakable tragedy that has happened on our doorstep.
As the matter is still under police investigation and took place outside the Showgrounds precinct, we do not have any further details at present.
As such, we will not enter into any speculation regarding this appalling situation until all the facts come to light.
Supanova will continue to support all Supa-Fans that come through our doors tomorrow morning, and we will be holding a minute’s silence in sympathy and solidarity of the affected families and friends at 10am before opening our doors to our event.
Free public transport extended in Victoria
Graham Readfearn
Free public transport in Victoria will be extended a month until the end of May with half-price fares then kicking in until the end of the year, the Allan government has announced.
The state government revealed on Sunday it would make $400m available in next month’s budget to extend the fare relief on trams, buses and trains.
Victoria announced at the end of March that it would temporarily make public transport free in an attempt to save fuel and allow commuters to cut costs.
The government said half-price fares would save the average commuter more than $850 over the seven months, while capping fuel demand and reducing delays for drivers.
Public transport would remain permanently free for under 18s and special pass holders. Myki pass users would be reimbursed when fares are half price.
Murder charge laid after woman’s body found at home
A 25-year-old man will face court after a woman’s body was found at a home.
Emergency services were called to Windale, south-west of Newcastle, after reports of a concern for welfare shortly after 8pm on Saturday.
Officers attached to the Lake Macquarie Police District arrived to find the body of a woman, believed to be aged in her 40s.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, the woman could not be revived.
She has yet to be formally identified.
Investigations are ongoing and a crime scene has been established.
The man was arrested at the scene and taken to Belmont police station where he was charged with murder (domestic violence).
He was refused bail to appear in court on Sunday.
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