The new HEF Victoria executive also includes Vasudevan Srinivasan as Secretary, Rakesh Singh as Treasurer, Avinash Adhyapak as Social Media Manager and Karthikeyan Kameswaran as Government Relations Coordinator.

The appointments were announced by Seshadri Vidyam, Director of Hindu Economic Forum Australia, who said the team would focus on strengthening HEF Victoria, developing professional and business connections and delivering initiatives for the community.

“Congratulations to the entire team. Together, we look forward to strengthening HEF VIC, building professional and business networks, and delivering impactful initiatives for our community,” Vidyam said.

The appointments build on Victoria’s existing leadership structure. HEF Australia’s published chapter information previously listed Asthana as Victorian State Director, Srinivasan as Operations Lead and Rakesh Singh as Finance Lead, indicating all three have already been involved in running the organisation’s activities in the state.

The new structure gives those responsibilities a more formal executive framework, with Asthana taking the presidency, Srinivasan becoming secretary and Singh assuming the treasurer’s role.

HEF Australia describes itself as a platform bringing together business owners, entrepreneurs, investors, bankers, professionals, technologists, economists, academics and other business leaders to share knowledge, resources and commercial opportunities.

Its stated philosophy is based on the idea of “Grow Together. Share Together”, with an emphasis on building economic networks while encouraging members to exchange knowledge, opportunities and expertise.

The Australian organisation is structured as a not-for-profit and operates chapters across several states. Its formal chapter guidelines say HEF Australia was incorporated in 2021 and currently has chapters in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia.

The Victorian chapter has increasingly focused on practical business networking.

HEF events in Melbourne have brought together entrepreneurs and professionals around subjects including business growth, finance, technology, artificial intelligence, automation and operational efficiency. An upcoming November networking event in Docklands, for example, is focused on improving profitability through better business operations, cost control and supply-chain efficiency.

Recent HEF Victoria activities have also included forums bringing together professionals to discuss economic leadership, collaboration and business growth.

The organisation’s membership charter places particular emphasis on ethical business conduct, collaboration, reciprocal support and sharing opportunities among members. HEF says members are encouraged to support initiatives strengthening and contributing to wider Australian economic activity.

The Victorian leadership appointments come against the backdrop of a sizeable Hindu community in the state.

According to the 2021 Australian Census, more than 214,000 Victorians identified Hinduism as their religion, representing about 3.3 per cent of the state’s population.

The community is particularly visible in rapidly growing parts of Melbourne’s west, north and south-east.

In postcode 3029, which includes areas around Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit and Truganina, more than 21,500 residents identified as Hindu in the 2021 Census, representing 16.6 per cent of the local population.

Victoria also has Australia’s largest concentration of people with links to India. The Victorian Government says almost 260,000 Victorians were born in India and about 40 per cent of Australia’s Indian diaspora lives in the state.

That demographic growth has increased demand for professional, cultural and business organisations capable of connecting entrepreneurs and professionals across industries.

HEF Australia says its broader objective is to create “local to global” connectivity, helping members access knowledge, partnerships, investment opportunities and professional networks both within Australia and internationally.

Asthana already has a visible role in that work. HEF Australia’s public chapter information identifies him as having previously served as Victoria State Director, while he is also listed among people associated with the organisation nationally.

Singh has similarly been active in HEF Victoria’s business programs and is publicly associated with business coaching and professional networking in Melbourne.

Under the new team, government engagement will become a specifically identified responsibility through Karthikeyan Kameswaran’s appointment as Government Relations Coordinator, while Avinash Adhyapak will oversee social media communications.

The new executive is expected to continue building HEF Victoria around regular business meetings, networking opportunities and initiatives connecting professionals and entrepreneurs.

For HEF Australia, the Victorian appointments form part of a broader effort to develop state-based networks while maintaining links to a wider international Hindu Economic Forum movement.

The organisation describes that objective simply: building connections between businesses, creating opportunities and encouraging shared prosperity.

With Victoria home to a large and economically active Hindu and Indian-origin population, the new leadership team will now be tasked with translating that ambition into a stronger business and professional network across the state.

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ABF Acting Superintendent Neil Singh said travellers attempting to avoid customs duties were taking a risk, as officers use intelligence and passenger behaviour indicators to identify potential breaches.

“Attempting to evade duty and GST obligations is a serious offence that undermines the integrity of the border system.”

Earlier this month, the man arrived in Sydney on a flight from the United Arab Emirates and was selected by ABF officers for a baggage examination.

Officers found two containers containing the gold jewellery. The passenger had not lodged an import declaration for the goods, despite imported goods valued at more than AUD$1,000 requiring an import declaration when being cleared into home consumption.

According to ABF, the man told officers he was attempting to avoid paying customs duty and deferred GST. The outstanding duties and GST were estimated at almost $209,000.

The gold was held by ABF pending further assessment and referral to the agency’s Trade Intervention Unit. The following day, the traveller was issued an infringement notice totalling $50,448.04 for the undeclared goods.

The penalty was subsequently paid in full, along with the outstanding duties and deferred GST, taking the total amount paid to $259,352.92. The gold jewellery was then released to the passenger.

Singh said travellers were expected to make honest and accurate declarations of dutiable and taxable goods.

“This traveller thought they had a golden opportunity to smuggle their million-dollar goods into the country, but the plan fell in a heap, and they ended up paying a much larger bill.”

ABF warned travellers considering bringing high-value goods into Australia to understand their declaration and import obligations before travelling.

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The election commitment would fund the first stage of a purpose-built hall intended to give Victoria’s growing Nepali community a larger permanent venue for festivals, cultural celebrations, language programs, youth activities and interfaith events.

Wilson announced the commitment alongside Shadow Minister for Multicultural and Multifaith Affairs Evan Mulholland, ANMC president Dr Tilak Pokharel and Nepali community representatives at Parliament House.

The funding would be delivered in two instalments — $500,000 in 2027–28 and another $500,000 in 2028–29 — and would contribute to the hall’s core structure and essential infrastructure, including works needed to make the venue accessible, safe and weather-protected.

Wilson said Melbourne’s north and west were home to a large and growing Nepali community, but many major events still depended on temporary outdoor arrangements or rented venues.

“The Victorian Nepalese community has spent more than a decade building the concept of the ANMC from the ground up, through fundraising, volunteering and sheer determination,” Wilson said.

“The Liberals and Nationals are proud to back this community project with a $1 million commitment.”

The Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre was established in 2014 and is based at 100 Duncans Lane, Diggers Rest. The organisation says it has more than 1,500 life members, owns about 15 acres of land and has raised more than $2 million towards developing the site. Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre

The centre already operates as an important cultural and religious hub for Melbourne’s Nepali community, hosting Hindu and Buddhist activities, cultural events and community programs.

Its roots go back even further. Community reporting has traced the concept for a dedicated Nepali cultural centre to discussions dating back to the late 1990s, with the Diggers Rest land ultimately purchased in 2019 after years of community fundraising.

The proposed hall would be designed to support celebrations including Dashain, Tihar, Teej, Holi and Maha Shivaratri, as well as Nepali and Sanskrit language classes, youth and seniors programs, religious and interfaith activities and broader multicultural events.

Shadow Minister Mulholland said the centre had outgrown its existing facilities and argued the next stage of development would reduce its dependence on tents, parks and rented spaces.

“ANMC has outgrown its current facilities, with thousands of people attending major festivals like Dashain, Holi, Maha Shivaratri, Tihar and Teej in temporary outdoor tents or rented venues,” he said.

“This community deserves a modern, weather-protected facility they can call their own.”

The proposal builds on earlier Coalition commitments to the centre.

Through Victoria’s Multicultural Community Infrastructure program, the ANMC received $281,587 for works that included temple rooms, a meditation room, office space, upgraded toilets, a kitchen, parking, accessible facilities and an outdoor event area. The Victorian Government said those works had helped turn the centre into a hub for cultural, religious and community activity.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s 2024–25 annual report also records a further $16,501 grant to the Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre.

That history means the latest Liberal-Nationals announcement is not funding for a new organisation, but rather a commitment towards the next major stage of an existing community centre that has been progressively developed over several years.

The need for larger facilities has become increasingly visible as community events have grown.

This year, the Melbourne Indra Jatra celebration at the Diggers Rest centre attracted about 6,000 people, according to Newa Guthi Victoria. The festival featured traditional Newa music, dance and religious processions.

The centre again hosted Indra Jatra on September 26 this year, drawing members of the Nepali, Newa and wider multicultural communities for a day of traditional music, dance, food and cultural performances.

Victoria’s Nepali population has grown rapidly over the past decade.

The 2021 Census recorded 20,154 Victoria residents born in Nepal, including 18,510 in Greater Melbourne. It also recorded 23,408 Victorians identifying Nepalese ancestry. Almost half of Victoria’s Nepal-born population was aged between 25 and 34 at the time of the Census.

The Victorian Government has described the Nepali community as one of the state’s fastest-growing communities.

Wilson and Mulholland also used the announcement to acknowledge the devastation caused by recent flash floods in Nepal.

Before outlining the funding commitment, they extended condolences to families affected by the disaster, including Victorian families who have lost relatives or have been waiting for news about loved ones.

The August disaster had a direct impact on Nepali communities across Australia, with community organisations organising vigils, fundraising campaigns and support for affected families. ABC reporting documented widespread anxiety among Nepali Australians trying to contact relatives after the floods, while the Nepalese Association of Victoria publicly expressed solidarity with families who had lost loved ones or whose relatives remained missing.

The Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre itself hosted a prayer gathering following the disaster, as members of Melbourne’s Nepali community came together to remember those killed and support families still searching for missing relatives.

The Coalition says the Diggers Rest investment forms part of its broader approach to multicultural infrastructure, particularly in Melbourne’s rapidly growing outer suburbs.

Mulholland said the facility would serve not only the Nepali community but also support greater engagement between cultural and faith communities.

“This $1 million commitment will ensure our growing outer-western and northern suburbs have world-class multicultural infrastructure that supports language education, youth programs and interfaith engagement for generations to come,” he said.

For the ANMC, the immediate issue is practical: the centre has a large site, established community support and existing facilities, but its organisers say a permanent multipurpose hall is needed to accommodate events that now draw thousands of people.

If the Liberals and Nationals form government, the promised $1 million would go towards turning that long-running ambition into the centre’s next major construction stage.

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Albanese made the remarks during a conversation with former Prime Minister and Asia Society President Kevin Rudd in New York, where the two discussed Australia’s relationships across the Indo-Pacific. Responding to Rudd’s observation that the Australia-India relationship appeared to be “going places”, Albanese said India would become the world’s third-largest economy and already had the world’s largest population.

“To give Prime Minister Modi credit, more people have been connected with access to energy in India under his reign than has occurred in any decade, in any country or any region in human history,” Albanese said. He added that Australia had a strong relationship with India and that “a lot more can be done” in the economic partnership between the two countries.

Albanese said he had travelled to India twice as prime minister, while Modi had also visited Australia twice. Reflecting on Modi’s public appearances in Australia, he recalled the Melbourne meets Modi Marvel stadium event where Modi “filled a stadium” and said the excitement among the crowd was extraordinary. Albanese also recalled that Modi had asked the audience to cheer for him and that the only way “40,000 Australians” will be chanting his name is because he was Modi’s mate.

The Australian prime minister also announced that he would travel to India in December on his way to the G20 in Florida. He said he would take a group of Australian businesses to Mumbai for a “G’day Namaste” event, modelled on the G’day LA event, before travelling to Chennai for a cricket match involving a Victorian team and a Western Australian team. Albanese said the visit was one way of building on the ties between the two countries, which had a lot in common. He did add though that the relationship and partnership has been underutilised and that both he and Modi are very keen on rectifying that.

Asked about Indonesia, Albanese described the relationship as particularly important and highlighted his personal engagement with President Prabowo Subianto. He said Indonesia would become a top-five economy in the foreseeable future and stressed the importance of personal relationships in diplomacy. Albanese noted that Indonesia was his first bilateral visit after becoming prime minister in 2022 and again after being re-elected in May 2025. He said Australia had also upgraded its security relationship with Indonesia, including through a treaty and increased defence cooperation.

On China, Albanese said the relationship remained strong, describing China as Australia’s most important economic trading partner, with about 28 per cent of Australian exports going to the country. He said Australia was diversifying its trading relationships but that China remained important. “We’ll cooperate where we can, we’ll disagree where we must, but we’ll engage in our national interests,” Albanese said, adding that Australia and China had different political systems and values but needed to maintain direct and respectful dialogue.

The conversation also covered artificial intelligence, climate change and Australia’s relationships with Pacific Island nations. Albanese discussed the opportunities and risks of AI, the impact of climate change on Pacific nations, and Australia’s efforts to strengthen its relationships across the region.

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Two of Melbourne’s west’s most recognisable Indian-Australian political figures have spent the better part of a decade circling the same prize: a seat in the Victorian Parliament representing Tarneit.

Neither will get it in 2026.

Labor powerbroker Jasvinder Sidhu and former Wyndham councillor Intaj Khan have travelled very different political paths. Still, their ambitions have repeatedly converged on Tarneit, one of Australia’s fastest-growing and most multicultural political battlegrounds.

This November, however, the contest will go ahead without either man.

Labor is going to the election with sitting MP Dylan Wight, while the Liberal Party has endorsed Venkat Ram Upparlapalle. Both parties have already publicly listed both men as their Tarneit candidates by June and September respectively.

For Sidhu and Khan, it is the latest chapter in political stories stretching back almost a decade.

In 2017, remarkably, both men were attempting to secure Labor preselection for Tarneit.

Sidhu came extraordinarily close. He won 54 per cent of the local Labor membership vote against Sarah Connolly, but ultimately failed to secure the state leadership’s endorsement. At the time, he was already confronting allegations of branch stacking and questions surrounding his charity Let’s Feed — allegations he emphatically denied, describing them as a smear campaign.

Khan, then a Wyndham councillor, also wanted the Labor nomination. His attempt became embroiled in a bitter internal fight after federal Labor MP Joanne Ryan called for him to be expelled from the party amid charges concerning the disclosure of property and commercial interests. Some of those charges were subsequently dropped. Khan threatened defamation proceedings against Ryan and denied wrongdoing. Ryan’s motion to expel Khan was defeated with an overwhelming majority.

Nearly a decade later, the names may have changed on the ballot paper, but the political prize has not.

Sources familiar with the latest Labor deliberations have told The Australia Today that Sidhu again wanted a pathway to Tarneit but was ultimately not given the seat.

His potential comeback was far from fanciful.

In 2025, Labor’s national executive controversially lifted a seven-year ban preventing Sidhu from seeking preselection two years before it was due to expire. At the time, senior Labor sources were openly discussing a factional scenario under which Wight could move to the Legislative Council, and Sidhu could take Tarneit.

The ban followed a Labor investigation that alleged Sidhu had engaged in branch stacking and inflamed ethnic tensions.

In 2020, Sidhu faced fierce criticism over recorded comments concerning Turkish and Lebanese Muslims. Muslim and Turkish community organisations condemned the remarks, while Sidhu apologised for the offence caused amid the controversy.

Sidhu has consistently rejected the allegations, maintaining the evidence against him was concocted and that he was the victim of a factional attack.

Sidhu nevertheless remained an influential figure inside Victorian Labor during the ban.

His political organisation in Melbourne’s west and links across Labor’s membership have long made him a consequential internal figure, even when he was unable to contest parliamentary preselection.

But his past has also followed him.

Labor sources speaking to The Australia Today say those events were among the matters raised during discussions surrounding his political future.

The sources also told The Australia Today that senior Labor figures were concerned about reopening community divisions in an electorate where Labor is increasingly conscious of the challenge posed by One Nation and the Greens, whose Tarneit candidate is long associated with local Mosques and Islamic leadership.

It means political disputes involving religion, migration and multiculturalism can carry particular weight in the electorate.

The broader political environment, however, has changed dramatically.

A RedBridge/Accent Research poll conducted between September 1 and 14 among 2,371 Victorian voters put One Nation on 25 per cent of the statewide primary vote, compared with 29 per cent for the Coalition and 24 per cent for Labor. The poll’s estimated margin of error for the full sample was ±2.2 percentage points. It was a statewide poll, not a Tarneit poll, so it cannot establish One Nation’s support in the electorate itself.

Labor’s concern about Melbourne’s west is nevertheless increasingly public. ABC reporting this week noted that Labor’s campaign against One Nation is particularly focused on western Melbourne, where frustration over infrastructure, population growth and government services is putting pressure on the party’s traditional support base.

Tarneit is especially important because few Victorian electorates look like it.

According to the 2021 Census, 22.6 per cent of Tarneit residents were born in India, and 21.8 per cent reported Indian ancestry. Punjabi/Sikh ancestry alone accounted for another 5.4 per cent, although Census ancestry categories can overlap because respondents can nominate two ancestries.

The sensitivity surrounding Tarneit is understandable given the electorate’s extraordinary demographic profile.

Hindus accounted for 17.1 per cent of residents, Muslims 14.6 per cent and Sikhs 9.6 per cent. Together those three faiths represented 41.3 per cent of the electorate’s population at the Census — although population figures should not be confused with the enrolled voting population.

That makes community relations more than a peripheral issue in Tarneit politics.

For Khan, meanwhile, the road from Labor aspirant to Liberal aspirant has been almost as complicated.

After his Labor ambitions collapsed, Khan eventually joined the Liberal Party and sought Tarneit preselection ahead of the 2022 election.

His bid failed again.

At that time Khan had only recently joined the Liberals and required an exemption from the party’s membership-duration rules. The Liberal Administrative Committee unanimously rejected his exemption application, The Australia Today reported at the time.

Khan has remained politically connected and visible in Melbourne’s west since then.

Sources have now told The Australia Today that Khan again explored Liberal candidacy for Tarneit ahead of the 2026 election, but withdrew after it became clear his application would not receive leadership support.

Those sources say concerns about controversies accumulated during his years in local politics and business were raised as obstacles to his candidacy.

What can be established is that Khan is not the Liberal candidate. The party has instead endorsed Venkat Ram Upparlapalle for Tarneit.

There is a remarkable historical symmetry to all of this.

In 2017, Sidhu and Khan were effectively competing against each other for a pathway into Parliament through Labor.

Khan later crossed the political divide and attempted to contest the same electorate for the Liberals.

Sidhu remained inside Labor, survived years of factional warfare and eventually regained his eligibility to seek preselection, again prompting speculation that Tarneit could finally become his route into Spring Street.

Yet as Victoria heads towards the 2026 election, both remain outside the contest.

Meanwhile, Tarneit itself is becoming harder for either major party to take for granted.

Labor has held the district at every election since it was created in 2002. Wight won it in 2022 with 46.6 per cent of the primary vote and 62.3 per cent after preferences against the Liberal candidate, a 5.6 percentage-point two-party-preferred swing against Labor.

The political environment heading into November is markedly different from four years ago. One Nation’s statewide polling surge, voter frustration across Melbourne’s rapidly growing west and Tarneit’s extraordinary demographic transformation mean the electorate is becoming an important test of how Victoria’s major parties speak to multicultural suburban voters.

And behind the official contest sits another political story — of two Indian-Australian figures who have spent almost 10 years trying to turn influence, organisation and community connections into a seat in Parliament.

For Jasvinder Sidhu and Intaj Khan, Tarneit has repeatedly appeared within reach.

For almost 10 years, two ambitious political figures have pursued the same parliamentary destination from different sides of politics.

In 2026, Tarneit will again go to an election without either man’s name on the ballot.

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Singh was the distinguished guest speaker at the event, where he reflected on the longstanding connections between the two countries, their shared Indo-Pacific outlook and the growing breadth of the bilateral partnership.

He also highlighted the enduring legacy of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, who served as India’s High Commissioner to Australia and played a pivotal role in establishing the Commonwealth Club in Canberra in 1954.

Cariappa arrived in Australia in 1953 and envisioned a neutral and welcoming space where diplomats and members of the local community could meet and interact as equals.

In January 1954, he presented the idea to then Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, who encouraged the initiative. Cariappa subsequently brought together community members to establish what became the Commonwealth Club.

The club went on to attract 116 foundation members and welcomed women as members from its beginning. Its first premises were at historic Old Canberra House before it moved to its present Yarralumla location in 1965.

Today, the Commonwealth Club describes itself as a longstanding meeting place for Canberra’s diplomatic, political and community circles, continuing the tradition of connection established by its founders.

Cariappa’s contribution came during an important period in India–Australia relations.

Well-known Australian historian Prof. David Walker has observed that India was among the most persistent international critics of Australia’s White Australia policy during the 1950s, with India’s concerns contributing to wider debate within Australia.

Despite the difficult political environment of the era, Cariappa developed strong personal connections in Canberra and became a well-known figure in Australian social and diplomatic circles.

Cariappa, a distinguished military officer and later India’s first Field Marshal, was also known for his interest in Indian philosophical traditions, including the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

He arrived in Australia in September 1953 accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter, Nalini, and his niece Sagari Chengappa, who assisted him as hostess at official functions.

The Commonwealth Club’s history reflects Canberra’s evolution from a small early settlement into Australia’s national capital and the development of its diplomatic and community networks.

More than seven decades after its establishment, the club continues to promote the values of connection, diplomacy and community that shaped its foundation.

Singh’s address brought that history into the context of contemporary India–Australia relations, as the two countries continue to expand cooperation across trade, education, defence, technology, critical minerals and the broader Indo-Pacific.

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Albanese met Shah on Friday on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the two leaders discussed Nepal’s disaster recovery and Australia’s assistance to date.

The Prime Minister expressed sympathy for those affected by the disaster and for the families of Australian citizens who remain missing.

“As Nepal recovers from catastrophic floods and devastation, Australia stands with its people as they rebuild and grieve,” Albanese said.

“Meeting with Prime Minister Balen Shah at the United Nations today, I offered Australia’s deepest sympathies to those affected and detailed Australia’s aid efforts so far.”

“Our thoughts remain with the families and loved ones of those Australians who are still missing,” he added.

Albanese said Australia would continue working with Nepal to ensure assistance reaches communities affected by the disaster.

“We’ll keep working with Nepal to get help where it’s needed most.”

The meeting came as Nepal continues its recovery following catastrophic flooding, with Prime Minister Shah highlighting the disaster and its climate-related impacts during his UN address.

Australia has previously deployed humanitarian assistance and emergency response personnel to Nepal.

Albanese said earlier this month that an Australian C-17A aircraft had transported humanitarian supplies to Kathmandu, while Australian response personnel were supporting efforts on the ground.

The disaster has also had a significant impact on Australians with family and personal connections to Nepal.

Albanese said earlier that the Government remained focused on supporting Australian families whose loved ones were unaccounted for.

In his National Statement to the UN on Friday, Albanese also highlighted Australia’s broader approach to responding to disasters and international crises, saying Australians “always respond generously with humanitarian assistance”.

“When countries facing disaster and conflict reach out for help, Australians always respond generously with humanitarian assistance.”

Albanese said Australia’s approach was centred on “listening, partnering, protecting” as it worked with countries and international institutions on global challenges.

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The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health will continue leading the national Health in My Language Program in partnership with seven organisations across the country.

The program trains bilingual health educators to deliver free, culturally safe health education sessions in participants’ preferred languages, helping women overcome language barriers, improve health literacy and navigate Australia’s healthcare system.

Since the program began in 2022, the Government says around $35 million has been invested in the initiative, with more than 8,000 people from migrant and refugee communities participating in sessions delivered in more than 30 languages.

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Dr Anne Aly said language should not be a barrier to accessing healthcare.

“Language should never be a barrier to accessing important health information, support and services,” Aly said.

“This program ensures migrant and refugee women can receive trusted, culturally appropriate information in a language they understand.”

“By empowering women with knowledge and confidence, the Health in My Language Program is strengthening the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities across Australia.”

Assistant Minister White said the program’s approach was based on accessibility, cultural understanding and trusted community connections.

“Good health starts with having information that is accessible, relevant and delivered in a way that resonates with people’s experience,” White said.

“What makes this program so effective is that it is delivered by trusted bilingual health educators who understand the communities they work with and create safe spaces for women to ask questions, share experiences and learn from one another.”

White said evaluations showed the sessions were helping women better understand their health needs and feel more confident navigating the healthcare system.

“When women feel informed and supported, the benefits extend far beyond the individual to families and communities and future generations,” she said.

Participants have also described the impact of receiving health information in a familiar language.

One woman said she had previously felt “anxious and overwhelmed” when thinking about using the healthcare system because of language barriers.

“Today, I feel much more comfortable and confident when using health services,” she said.

“The knowledge I gained gave me the courage to overcome my past hesitations and encouraged me to go to the clinic.”

Another participant said a Health in My Language session on women’s health and cancer awareness encouraged her to discuss symptoms she had been worried about with a health educator.

The educator helped her arrange a GP appointment, where doctors organised further medical investigations. The woman said doctors subsequently identified changes requiring medical attention and early treatment.

The Government said the continued investment would help address gaps in culturally responsive health information and ensure more migrant and refugee women have the knowledge and confidence to access the services they need.

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Addressing the Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace and Prosperity (P4M) Summit at the United Nations in New York, Albanese said the world was facing a period of serious challenges, including conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, inflation, energy pressures and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

“Global challenges cannot be solved by countries acting alone,” Albanese said, calling for renewed commitment to the UN Charter and efforts to make the international system work more effectively.

The Prime Minister highlighted Australia’s campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council for the 2029–30 term, launched a day earlier.

He said Australia would seek to “listen with respect, partner as equals and protect what matters most – security, safety and prosperity”.

Albanese said middle powers had a responsibility to play a stronger role through partnerships on economic resilience, development finance, maritime security, climate action and emerging technologies.

He also highlighted Australia’s support for Pacific nations, particularly in addressing development and security challenges and the impacts of climate change.

On technology, Albanese pointed to Australia’s social media legislation as an example of efforts to shape the digital environment around human needs.

He said Australia would continue to uphold international law and work with partners to strengthen global cooperation.

“We believe middle powers must accept their responsibility to play a stronger role,” Albanese said.

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The man was arrested on Wednesday, 23 September, following a search of a Carlton home where investigators seized a mobile phone. He is expected to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

The JCTT — comprising the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria Police and ASIO — alleges the investigation began after Australian Border Force officers intercepted the man at Melbourne International Airport on 21 November 2020 as he prepared to travel to Egypt.

AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism Paula Hudson said the investigation demonstrated the commitment of counter-terrorism agencies to disrupting alleged support for terrorism online.

“The material allegedly shared by this man glorified acts of extreme violence and promoted a terrorist organisation, spreading a hateful ideology that’s designed to radicalise others,” Hudson said.

“Terrorist organisations like ISIS rely on online platforms to distribute propaganda and recruit supporters. Their content is specifically designed to radicalise individuals, encouraging them to adopt extremist beliefs and commit acts of violence.”

A forensic examination of his phone allegedly uncovered ISIS-related material, with the device subsequently seized by the AFP.

Police allege further investigations, including a 2024 search warrant, found evidence that the man had pledged allegiance to ISIS and operated as an online propagandist from Australia.

Investigators allege he transmitted around 10,000 files containing extremist material between November 2015 and July 2020, including videos, images, audio files, documents and messages relating to executions, torture and ISIS propaganda.

The JCTT also alleges the man distributed information about avoiding law enforcement detection and instructional material relating to planning and carrying out mass-casualty attacks.

The man faces one count of membership of a terrorist organisation, three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence by transmitting violent extremist material, and one count of possessing or controlling violent extremist material obtained using a carriage service.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Crime and Counter Terrorism Investigation Services Martin O’Brien said the arrest should serve as a warning that online extremist activity was being monitored.

“Alongside our JCTT partners, the priority for Victoria Police is to ensure the safety of our community,” O’Brien said.

“It is an offence to access or share violent extremist material and authorities will act when these crimes are identified and hold offenders to account.”

Following the arrest, One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson accused the Albanese Government of being “soft on terror” and said the case demonstrated what she described as the ongoing threat of radical Islamic terrorism. “The Government is soft on terror,” Hanson said.

“This alleged terrorist is accused of being a member of ISIS and providing instructions to others on how to plan and carry out mass casualty terrorist attacks.”

Hanson also criticised the Government’s handling of people linked to ISIS and called for greater transparency from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

“National security starts with being upfront with the Australian people,” Hanson said.

“The Home Affairs Minister needs to front the Australian public and start telling them the truth.”

The offences carry maximum penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. The investigation remains ongoing.

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NSW Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington said the memorial would provide a permanent reminder of the experiences of affected families.

“This memorial will remain a permanent testament to the wrongs committed against these families and the courage of the survivors who brought to light what happened in shadows.”

The ‘Stolen Hearts – Broken Bonds Memorial’ was unveiled on the anniversary of the NSW Government’s 2012 apology to people affected by forced adoption.

Forced adoption practices were widespread in Australia, particularly between the 1950s and 1970s, with thousands of babies separated from their mothers through government and church-run systems. Unmarried mothers were particularly affected, with accounts documenting coercion and pressure surrounding the removal of their children.

The new memorial, commissioned through the Memorial Consultative Committee and funded by the NSW Government, features a sculpture by acclaimed Australian artist Christophe Conder.

It is located within landscaped gardens in the Parramatta North Precinct, near the former Parramatta Female Factory and Parramatta Girls Home — sites that form part of the State’s history involving women and children.

Member for Parramatta Donna Davis said the location was particularly significant given Parramatta’s connection to people affected by forced adoption.

“Parramatta has a unique connection to those impacted by forced adoption and it is appropriate that we honour these stories.”

Memorial Consultative Committee Chair Dr Amy Conley Wright, Professor of Child and Family Social Work at the University of Sydney, said separating mothers from their babies had caused grief and loss that continued across generations.

“The NSW Government apology was an important milestone in recognising the experiences of those affected and acknowledging the profound harm that was done.”

She said the memorial would provide a permanent place for remembrance and reflection and ensure the history and impact of forced adoption was not forgotten.

The NSW Government’s 2012 apology formally acknowledged the experiences of people affected by forced adoption practices and the harm caused by the separation of mothers and children.

The new memorial adds another permanent site of remembrance to the Parramatta North Precinct, allowing survivors, families and visitors to reflect on this chapter of Australia’s social history.

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As per 7News, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleges Awlad Hossain transferred about $90,000 to people in Bangladesh between September 2024 and September 2026, intending for the money to be used to bribe public officials.

According to the AFP, the alleged payments were intended to influence the investigation, including having Hossain’s name removed from police records.

The investigation began in September 2024 after Queensland Police referred an overseas missing-person report involving the woman.

It is reported that Bangladesh Police subsequently located a body, with forensic testing confirming her identity. Authorities later indicated her death was suspicious.

The AFP said the alleged attempts to influence the investigation were unsuccessful and that cooperation with Bangladesh Police has continued.

Hossain was arrested on 21 September at a property in Goodna, with AFP officers also executing search warrants at properties in Goodna and Redbank Plains and seizing electronic devices.

He has been charged with one count of bribing a foreign public official under section 70.2(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth), an offence carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.

The AFP said the case is the first time it has brought an allegation of foreign bribery of a public official for personal advantage before an Australian court.

Hossain was due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 22 September, with the matter adjourned until Wednesday.

The AFP investigation into the woman’s suspicious death and the separate Bangladesh Police investigation remain ongoing.

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A Compass Polling survey commissioned by One Nation found 62 per cent of respondents supported the proposed “Super Pay Boost”, while 28 per cent opposed it.

According to Senator Hanson, support reached 60 per cent among Labor voters, 67 per cent among Liberal voters and 55 per cent among Greens voters.

The party also said almost three-quarters of voters aged 25 to 34 supported the proposal.

Under the policy, Australians paying rent or a mortgage on their home would be able to choose to receive one-quarter of their compulsory super contributions as additional take-home pay for up to three years.

One Nation says employers would continue to contribute the full 12 per cent Superannuation Guarantee, with 9 percentage points remaining in super and 3 percentage points paid to the worker, subject to the applicable concessional superannuation tax.

The existing superannuation balance would not be affected, according to the party, and workers would have the option of making additional contributions to their superannuation later.

The Superannuation Guarantee is currently 12 per cent, following the scheduled increase from 11.5 per cent on 1 July 2025. ⁠

Senator Hanson said the polling showed Australians wanted greater flexibility over their superannuation.

“Jim Chalmers claimed our policy would ‘end superannuation as we know it’. Australians are telling him they want the choice.”

She argued that households facing mortgage, rental and grocery costs needed greater access to their income, and criticised the Albanese Government’s economic policies.

Hanson also linked the proposal to concerns about inflation and interest rates, saying the government should focus on controlling expenditure rather than placing the burden on households.

The proposal comes amid a broader debate over the purpose and future of Australia’s compulsory superannuation system.

The Federal Government has recently increased the Superannuation Guarantee to 12 per cent and introduced reforms requiring employers to pay superannuation on payday from 1 July 2026.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the Government have argued that compulsory superannuation is designed to strengthen retirement incomes.

Recent government reforms have also increased support for low-income workers through the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset and changed taxation arrangements for very large superannuation balances.

The Compass polling figures cited by One Nation measure support for the party’s proposed temporary withdrawal mechanism; they do not establish whether the policy would improve or reduce individual retirement outcomes.

The proposal is therefore likely to remain part of the broader political debate over whether compulsory superannuation should remain locked away for retirement or whether workers should have greater flexibility to access a portion of future contributions during periods of financial pressure.

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The landmark KFC BBL|16 opener will be played at Chennai’s iconic M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, 12 December, putting Australian cricket and Western Australia in front of a huge international audience.

The match was promoted during a Western Australian showcase in Mumbai, where Premier Roger Cook announced a new partnership between the Perth Scorchers and the Cook Labor Government’s global State of Energy campaign.

Cook said the historic fixture represented an opportunity for both Western Australia and Chennai.

“Having the Big Bash League hold its first ever international match with the Perth Scorchers is both an enormous opportunity for WA and for our fantastic host city Chennai,” Cook said.

He said the popularity of cricket in India had been evident during his trade and investment mission and highlighted the importance of strengthening economic relationships with countries in Australia’s time zone.

“India is one of Western Australia’s largest trading partners and missions such as this provide invaluable face-to-face opportunities which grow relationships and showcase what our great State has to offer on an international stage,” Cook said.

The campaign promotes Western Australia’s industries, investment opportunities and strengths to international audiences.

Cook was also presented with a signature Scorchers jersey during the Mumbai event, which showcased WA’s investment, tourism and creative industries to international stakeholders.

The Scorchers-Renegades clash is expected to attract significant attention in India, with live coverage across the Seven Network and Fox Cricket in Australia and JioStar in India.

The match will allow the Scorchers to showcase the club and Western Australia to an international cricket audience while strengthening sporting and cultural links between Australia and India.

The Perth Scorchers enter the 2026 BBL season with six KFC BBL titles, making them the competition’s most successful franchise.

WA Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti said cricket provided an opportunity to deepen the longstanding relationship between Australia and India.

“Taking the Scorchers to Chennai is a great opportunity to strengthen those connections and bring Western Australia even closer to one of the world’s great cricketing nations,” Saffioti said.

The Scorchers’ historic Chennai fixture forms part of a broader WA Government trade and investment push through India and Vietnam, focused on energy transition, tourism, aviation, primary industries, skills and training.

Cook said the government was seeking to use stronger international trade and investment relationships to support local employment and economic opportunities in Western Australia.

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Speaking at The Sydney Institute’s annual dinner in September, Malinauskas argued that Australia should maintain a “targeted, calibrated, balanced, skills-based, humanitarian, risk-managed system” rather than respond to concerns about housing and living costs by simply reducing migration.

“The correct policy response to Australia’s present economic challenges and the realisation of tomorrow’s economic opportunities is this: above all else, preserve our strong migration program,” Malinauskas said.

“The correct political response to anti-immigration politics and populists is not appeasement.”

He warned that competition between major political parties over who could cut migration the most could have significant economic consequences.

“This isn’t unfortunate. This is madness,” Malinauskas said.

“There could be no greater act of national economic self harm than to slash migration numbers for political purposes.”

His comments come as Australia’s net overseas migration continues to fall from its post-pandemic peak. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show net overseas migration was 292,100 in the year to March 2026, down from 309,500 in the previous year. (Australian Bureau of Statistics⁠)

Malinauskas argued that Australia’s ageing population made migration an important part of maintaining the workforce and funding public services.

“If the number of people leaving our workforce exceeds the number of people coming into it, our expenses grow, our income falls,” he said.

He also pointed to Treasury modelling on the fiscal contribution of migrants. Treasury’s FIONA model found the 2018–19 permanent migrant cohort was fiscally positive overall, with skilled migrants recording the strongest positive lifetime fiscal impact among the major migration streams. The model attributes fiscal outcomes to factors including migrants’ age at arrival and labour-market performance. (Treasury⁠)

Malinauskas said skilled migrants often arrive in Australia during their working years, allowing them to contribute to the tax base without Australia having borne the full costs of their childhood education and training overseas.

“Skilled visa recipients arrive in their prime working age immediately able to get to work and pay tax,” he said.

The Premier also highlighted migration’s role in addressing labour shortages, particularly in sectors such as health, education, engineering, construction and the trades.

He linked the argument directly to South Australia’s major economic projects, including defence manufacturing, AUKUS-related work, artificial intelligence, data centres, mining and the energy transition.

“All of it will be lost if we don’t have enough people to do the work,” he said.

“We need the workers. We need the workers.”

Malinauskas also defended international education, arguing that Australia should be cautious about policies that substantially reduce the number of international students.

He pointed to the sector’s contribution to Australia’s export economy and the role international education plays in university finances and research.

At the same time, he acknowledged concerns about housing and living standards, arguing that voters should not be dismissed for raising questions about migration.

“People are rightly worried about their economic future,” he said.

“They want their kids to enjoy a better standard of living than what they have.”

Malinauskas said housing pressures were a legitimate concern because population growth increases demand for accommodation, particularly when construction fails to keep pace.

His response, however, was that migration also supplies some of the workers required to build housing and deliver essential services.

“Want more affordable housing? How about some more sparkies, tilers, roofies, concreters and brickies?” he said.

“Want mum and dad to be able to get an aged care bed? How about more ready-to-go, fully trained care workers?”

The Premier rejected arguments that Australians concerned about migration should automatically be characterised as prejudiced, saying economic concerns about housing, wages and living standards were legitimate.

At the same time, he criticised what he described as simplistic political solutions that attribute complex problems to migration alone.

“Can’t buy a house, cut immigration. Stuck in traffic, cut immigration. Hospital emergency department full. Simple. Cut immigration,” he said.

Malinauskas argued instead for better calibration of the migration program, including stronger links between migration, workforce requirements, housing construction and infrastructure.

He also rejected the idea of unlimited or unregulated migration.

“No sensible person is arguing for reckless, undocumented, unregulated, open door migration,” he said.

“No one is arguing for unlimited numbers of arrivals.”

Malinauskas’ intervention comes amid an intensifying national debate over Australia’s migration settings, with the Federal Government pursuing lower migration levels while also seeking to address persistent shortages in parts of the labour market.

The latest ABS data shows Australia’s population increased by 392,700 people in the year to March 2026, with net overseas migration accounting for 292,100 of that increase.

Malinauskas said his position may not be politically popular but argued Australians should hear the economic case for maintaining a strong migration program.

“I know this will not be politically popular in many quarters, and not everyone will agree with my position,” he said.

“I respect that. But nonetheless, people are entitled to hear my position and can judge accordingly.”

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong launched the campaign during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week in New York.

The Government says Australia’s campaign will focus on conflict prevention, protecting civilians, advancing ocean and climate security and promoting peaceful and resilient digital futures.

Albanese said Australia’s bid reflected its long-standing commitment to multilateral cooperation and giving smaller and mid-sized countries a voice in global decision-making.

“The hopes of Australians are the hopes of people everywhere – to live in peace and to build a better future,” Albanese said.

“That is the voice that Australia will bring to the Security Council.”

Australia is seeking the seat at a time when the Government says international cooperation is facing major challenges, including armed conflicts, cyber security, climate change and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

Wong said Australia wanted a world governed by rules and international law rather than power and force alone.

“As an active and ambitious middle power, we have a practical contribution to make to international peace and security,” Wong said.

“Australia’s focus on the UN Security Council will be conflict prevention, the protection of civilians and defending the rules that protect us all.”

Australia says its approach will be based on listening to different perspectives, partnering as equals and protecting people, the planet and international rules. It also plans to amplify the concerns of small and mid-sized states.

Australia was a founding member of the United Nations and served as the first president of the Security Council in 1946. It has previously served on the Council five times, most recently in 2013–14. If elected for 2029–30, the term would be Australia’s sixth.

Australia has also contributed more than 65,000 personnel to more than 60 UN and other multilateral peace and security operations since 1947, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The UN General Assembly will elect the members for the 2029–2030 term in June 2028.

Australia’s campaign also comes as Canberra advocates reform of the Security Council, including greater representation for regions currently under-represented in the Council’s permanent and non-permanent membership.

India has previously expressed support for Australia’s 2029–30 non-permanent candidacy, while Australia has reiterated its support for India’s bid for a permanent seat on a reformed Security Council.

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The Queensland Supreme Court on 18 September 2026 made forfeiture orders covering two houses valued at approximately $880,000 each, proceeds from the sale of another property worth about $617,000, a 124-bottle wine collection valued at $92,900, and two boats and trailers.

Among the assets was a rare Riva Ferrari boat, one of only 40 manufactured worldwide, valued with its trailer at about $12,500. A Jackaroo boat and trailer were valued at approximately $7,000.

The CACT investigation began in 2016 after the Queensland Police Service alerted the Australian Federal Police following the identification of assets and seizure of the wine collection and Jackaroo boat during search warrants linked to an Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission investigation into a Queensland-based drug syndicate.

The property owners, a 44-year-old Queensland man and his 43-year-old de-facto partner, had transferred property into the names of family members and close associates before declaring bankruptcy in July 2015.

The man was convicted in April 2020 of multiple offences, including trafficking dangerous drugs under Queensland’s Drugs Misuse Act 1986. He was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison.

In June 2020, the CACT obtained orders in the Queensland Supreme Court restraining the houses and the Riva Ferrari boat and trailer.

The CACT alleged in court that the transferred properties and other associated purchases were initially acquired using proceeds from the man’s criminal activity, with subsequent transfers also partly funded by those proceeds.

AFP Commander Andrea Quinn said asset forfeiture was an important tool for disrupting criminal organisations by removing their financial resources.

“By depriving criminals of their illicit profits, we prevent them from benefiting from crime and disrupt their ability to finance future offending,” Commander Quinn said.

The CACT was established in 2012 and brings together police, financial investigators, forensic accountants, litigation lawyers and specialists from partner agencies to identify and target illicit wealth.

Under the Commonwealth Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, authorities can restrain and forfeit assets connected to alleged criminal activity under a civil standard of proof, including through unexplained wealth and pecuniary penalty orders.

Confiscated assets are transferred to the Confiscated Assets Account, managed by the Australian Financial Security Authority on behalf of the Commonwealth. Funds can subsequently support crime prevention, intervention and diversion programs and other law enforcement initiatives.

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The latest Newspoll, conducted for The Australian by Pyxis Polling & Insights between September 14 and 17, found One Nation on 30 per cent, Labor on 27 per cent, the Coalition on 19 per cent and the Greens on 13 per cent. Another 11 per cent backed other parties or independents. The survey covered 1,244 voters.

Labor was down two percentage points from the previous Newspoll, while One Nation, the Coalition and the Greens were unchanged.

The result puts Labor only one point above its lowest-ever Newspoll primary vote of 26 per cent, recorded under Julia Gillard in September 2011. The latest 27 per cent figure is the party’s weakest since April 2012.

It also marks a sharp deterioration from the 2025 federal election, when Labor secured 34.56 per cent of House of Representatives first preferences. The Liberal, Liberal National and National parties together received more than 31 per cent at that election.

The new poll underlines a wider fragmentation of Australia’s electorate.

Labor and the Coalition together now command just 46 per cent of the primary vote in Newspoll, compared with the much larger combined share the two traditional blocs recorded at last year’s federal election.

One Nation’s 30 per cent result continues a run of unusually strong polling for Pauline Hanson’s party, which has increasingly drawn voters from both Labor and the Coalition.

According to voter-flow analysis published with the poll, Labor is retaining a little under two-thirds of people who recalled voting for it at the 2025 election.

Among those who have moved away from Labor, about 15 per cent have shifted to One Nation, 9 per cent to the Coalition, 6 per cent to the Greens and 5 per cent to other parties.

The Coalition has retained only about 53 per cent of its 2025 support, with approximately 39 per cent of its defectors moving to One Nation.

The figures do not translate directly into seats or an election result. Australia uses preferential voting in individual electorates, and One Nation’s unusually high primary support makes traditional two-party calculations more difficult to interpret.

The next federal election is not due until 2028.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s personal ratings have also deteriorated.

Newspoll found 35 per cent of voters satisfied with his performance and 62 per cent dissatisfied, producing a net satisfaction rating of minus 27 — his weakest result since Labor returned to office in 2022.

Despite that decline, Albanese remained narrowly ahead of Opposition Leader Angus Taylor in a direct preferred-prime-minister contest, 42 per cent to 41 per cent.

On a three-way preferred-prime-minister measure, Albanese recorded 44 per cent, Hanson 32 per cent and Taylor 24 per cent.

Hanson’s personal ratings softened even as One Nation’s primary vote remained strong, with her approval falling to 44 per cent and disapproval rising to 51 per cent.

Taylor’s net satisfaction rating improved slightly to minus 15.

The poll arrives at a difficult economic moment for the government.

Australian motorists are again facing rapidly increasing petrol and diesel prices as instability in the Middle East disrupts global oil supplies and shipping.

Brent crude closed at about US$104.87 a barrel on September 18, after supply disruption linked to the conflict involving Iran and attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure pushed prices back above US$100.

Australian fuel prices have followed.

Recent figures reported nationally put average unleaded petrol at about 234.6 cents a litre and diesel at around 284.2 cents a litre, with both rising sharply through September.

The surge is particularly politically sensitive because petrol prices affect far more than household trips to the service station.

Higher diesel and transport costs flow through freight, food distribution, construction and other parts of the economy, potentially adding to inflation at a time when the Reserve Bank is already concerned that price pressures remain too high.

The RBA has lifted the cash rate three times during 2026, taking it from 3.60 per cent at the end of last year to 4.35 per cent.

The central bank left rates unchanged at its August meeting but warned that inflation remained elevated and said it was prepared to increase rates again if upside risks materialised.

The RBA’s next monetary policy decision is scheduled for September 29.

Official inflation figures show headline CPI rose 3.5 per cent in the year to July, while trimmed-mean inflation remained at 3.6 per cent — above the Reserve Bank’s 2–3 per cent target band.

The RBA has said Middle East-related energy costs are among the forces keeping inflation elevated.

Its August Statement on Monetary Policy said higher oil and commodity prices were feeding through into the cost of goods and services and warned inflation was not expected to return to around the middle of the target range until early 2028.

That combination — expensive petrol, higher mortgage repayments and persistent inflation — is creating another cost-of-living squeeze for households.

The Coalition has sought to capitalise on the fuel-price issue by announcing a Fuel Price Shield.

Under the proposal, fuel excise would automatically be halved whenever the two-week average price of Brent crude exceeded US$100 a barrel.

The Coalition says that would reduce tax on petrol and diesel by about 27 cents a litre, or roughly $15 on a typical tank.

It would also temporarily reduce the heavy vehicle road-user charge to zero while the measure was active.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said motorists should have certainty that tax would automatically fall when international oil prices surged.

“Fuel is not a luxury. Australians need it to get to work, take the kids to school and keep their businesses running,” Taylor said.

The Coalition proposes funding the policy through its separate plan to cut tobacco excise by 80 per cent.

Taylor says Parliamentary Budget Office modelling indicates that reform would improve the budget balance by about $8 billion over four years by shifting smokers away from the illegal tobacco market and back towards taxed legal products.

Labor disputes that argument.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected the Fuel Price Shield and said another fuel-excise reduction was not something the government had been discussing or considering.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has characterised the opposition proposal as uncosted and argued the government prefers more permanent forms of cost-of-living support.

Labor has also attacked the Coalition’s proposed tobacco tax reduction on public-health grounds, arguing cheaper cigarettes could increase smoking rates and associated health costs.

The Coalition counters that current tobacco taxes have helped drive consumers towards the illicit market and that reducing the price gap between legal and illegal products would undermine organised crime.

That debate has become intertwined with fuel policy because Taylor has nominated the tobacco changes as the funding source for his petrol-tax proposal.

The Albanese government has previously intervened on fuel excise.

Earlier in 2026, it temporarily reduced fuel taxes as oil prices surged following the outbreak of Middle East conflict, before restoring the normal rate.

The government argues continually adjusting excise in response to oil-market movements can be expensive and may complicate the fight against inflation.

Labor ministers have instead pointed to income-tax changes, cheaper medicines and other measures as evidence that the government is trying to reduce household costs without relying exclusively on short-term fuel subsidies.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek acknowledged the latest polling was difficult for Labor but said the government remained focused on wages and cost-of-living pressures rather than opinion polls.

For Albanese, the latest numbers represent a dramatic reversal from the political position Labor occupied after its decisive 2025 election victory.

The Prime Minister returned Labor to office with a substantially enlarged parliamentary majority, while the Coalition suffered a major defeat.

Sixteen months later, both major parties are experiencing historically weak primary support in polling, while One Nation is attracting voters from each side.

The political shift cannot be attributed to a single issue.

Cost of living, housing, migration, crime, energy policy and dissatisfaction with political institutions have all featured prominently in national debate during 2026.

Labor has also faced scrutiny over the May budget and its response to major security and social-cohesion issues, while the Coalition has struggled to rebuild its own primary support despite Labor’s decline.

That point is crucial.

While Labor’s primary vote has fallen to 27 per cent, the Coalition remains even lower at 19 per cent in the same poll.

The principal beneficiary of the movement in voting intention is One Nation rather than the traditional opposition.

That makes the current political landscape very different from a conventional midterm swing from a government towards an alternative major party.

It also explains why leadership measures remain competitive despite both Labor and the Coalition recording weak primary votes.

The coming weeks will provide further tests of the economic environment driving much of the voter dissatisfaction.

The Reserve Bank meets on September 28 and 29, new August inflation data will be released on September 30, and global oil markets remain highly sensitive to developments in the Middle East.

For the Albanese government, those economic conditions may matter as much as any political strategy.

The latest Newspoll is only a snapshot rather than a forecast of the next election, but it shows a clear pattern: voters are moving away from both major parties, Labor is experiencing its weakest primary support in more than a decade, and rising household costs are ensuring economic management remains at the centre of Australian politics.

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Fiji’s Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Filimoni Vosarogo, led a delegation on an Australian Government-supported ministerial visit to Brisbane and Canberra from 14 to 18 September.

The delegation, accompanied by Fiji’s High Commissioner to Australia Ajay Amrit, held discussions with Australian government agencies, industry bodies and academic institutions on practical support for Fiji’s reforms.

In Brisbane, the delegation met stakeholders across mining, land administration and natural resources, including BDO, with discussions focusing on Fiji’s proposed Mineral Exploration and Exploitation Bill.

The talks examined international and Pacific experience in regulating mining, with mineral ownership and customary interests identified as areas requiring further consultation.

Meetings with the Queensland Government covered digital land records, geological mapping and coordination of major projects, while Trade and Investment Queensland explored workforce training, recognised qualifications and potential engagement with TAFE.

The delegation also discussed opportunities in tourism investment, agricultural diversification and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.

Engagement with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation focused on approaches to community consultation and benefit-sharing in resource development.

In Canberra, Vosarogo held bilateral meetings with Pacific Island Affairs Minister Pat Conroy, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and Resources Minister Madeleine King, as well as receiving a briefing from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong also met briefly with Vosarogo during the Canberra programme.

The delegation visited Australian Parliament House, met Australian National University Professor Peter Yu and travelled to Geoscience Australia for technical discussions on geological data systems.

Vosarogo said the visit demonstrated the strength of the Vuvale Partnership between Fiji and Australia and would help translate Fiji’s reform agenda into practical outcomes.

“Fiji is building the legal and institutional foundations for a mining sector that works for our people and our future generations,” Vosarogo said.

He said Australian expertise and support would assist Fiji as it develops its new Mineral Exploration and Exploitation Bill and reviews its land laws.

“With Australia’s support and shared expertise, we are confident we will get this right for Fiji, and for the generations who will inherit the benefits of these reforms,” he said.

The Fiji delegation returned home on 18 September, with outcomes from the visit expected to inform continued technical cooperation between Fiji’s Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources and its Australian counterparts.

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The policy would substantially increase the number of places available to high-achieving students in Victoria, where demand for selective-entry education currently far exceeds supply, and most existing opportunities are concentrated in a small number of metropolitan locations.

Under the Coalition’s plan, the three purpose-built schools would be established in Melbourne’s rapidly growing outer suburbs, with the site acquisition process beginning immediately after a change of government and a target of opening the schools before 2030.

The three search areas are:

• Melton, Caroline Springs, Sydenham and surrounding suburbs
• Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park and surrounding suburbs
• Langwarrin, Cranbourne South and surrounding suburbs

The Coalition says the locations were chosen because of high demand, rapid population growth and the long distances many students currently travel to access selective-entry education.

Opposition has proposed about $50 million for each new school, putting the construction commitment for the three campuses at about $150 million. The cost of converting the six existing schools has not yet been detailed publicly.

The six existing schools that would become selective or partially selective have not been named. The Opposition says their locations would be determined through community consultation and analysis of demographic and education data, to extend selective opportunities beyond the areas currently served.

Wilson said the policy was designed to ensure academically capable students were not denied opportunities because of where their families lived.

“Every Victorian student deserves the opportunity to reach for their full potential, no matter where they live,” she said.

“Thousands of students sit the select-entry school exam every year and too many of them are missing out because there are not enough places.

Victoria currently has four conventional selective-entry government secondary schools: Melbourne High School, The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School, Nossal High School in Berwick and Suzanne Cory High School in Werribee. They cater for academically high-achieving students, predominantly from Years 9 to 12.

“A government I lead will expand opportunities for students and parents from across Victoria to access select-entry schools.”

About 1,000 Year 9 places are available across the four schools each year through Victoria’s centralised selection process. Applicants sit an examination assessing higher-order thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, creative thinking, comprehension and the application of concepts drawn from the Year 8 curriculum.

Media reports suggest more than 6,000 students sit for the selective-entry process annually, illustrating the competition for the roughly 1,000 available Year 9 places.

Melbourne High alone has historically attracted more than 1,600 applicants for approximately 380 positions each year.

Victoria also has John Monash Science School in Clayton, a specialist government school for high-ability students focused on science, mathematics and technology. It operates a separate admission process and is formally classified by the Department of Education as a specialist school rather than one of Victoria’s four selective-entry high schools.

John Monash takes about 200 new Year 10 students and around 30 Year 11 students annually, with applicants completing an assessment process covering areas including mathematics, literacy and scientific aptitude.

The Coalition has contrasted Victoria’s system with New South Wales, which has a much larger network of selective public schools.

The NSW Department of Education currently lists 17 fully selective high schools, 26 partially selective schools, four selective agricultural high schools and the online selective program Aurora College. The agricultural schools are themselves fully selective, meaning the broader NSW network includes 21 fully selective physical schools when they are counted alongside the 17 conventional fully selective schools. More than 4,300 selective Year 7 places are available in NSW for 2027.

The Victorian proposal would not simply replicate the state’s current admissions arrangements.

At present, 85 per cent of places in Victoria’s four selective-entry high schools are offered on standard merit determined primarily by exam ranking. Up to 10 per cent can be allocated through an equity consideration category, while up to 5 per cent can be offered under principal discretion.

Wilson’s new policy says admission to the expanded selective system would instead take into account academic performance, aptitude and socio-economic circumstances, with the three factors weighted equally.

That could represent a substantial change from the existing model, particularly in the role given to socio-economic disadvantage.

The Opposition says “equality of opportunity” would be non-negotiable and argues students should not gain access simply because their families can afford to live near a high-performing school or pay private-school fees.

Shadow Education Minister Brad Rowswell said the proposal was intended to establish what he called a “level playing field”.

“I want every Victorian student to have the opportunity to succeed at school; to thrive and achieve their full potential,” Rowswell said.

“Selection to these schools must be accessible and not based on postcode.”

“The establishment of these schools will help to strengthen Victoria’s state education system, giving students more opportunities to achieve their full potential and offering parents greater school choice.”

The detail of how the equal weighting would operate has not yet been released. It remains unclear, for example, exactly how socio-economic circumstances would be scored alongside examination performance, how many places each school would offer, whether all three new campuses would be co-educational, and how the six converted schools would balance selective and local enrolments.

Those questions would become important if the Coalition forms government, particularly because partially selective schools continue to educate students from their surrounding communities while also running dedicated classes or streams for academically selected students.

The geographic focus of the new schools reflects the rapid growth of Melbourne’s outer suburban corridors.

The City of Melton had an estimated population of more than 231,000 in June 2025 and recorded population growth of 5.8 per cent during 2024-25, making it Australia’s fastest-growing municipality during that period. Rockbank-Mount Cottrell and Fraser Rise-Plumpton were among the fastest-growing areas nationally.

Craigieburn and surrounding northern suburbs have similarly experienced substantial population growth, while Cranbourne and Melbourne’s south-east continue to absorb large numbers of new families.

The Coalition argues that putting selective-entry schools in those corridors would reduce the need for talented students to travel long distances to Melbourne High, Mac.Rob, Nossal or Suzanne Cory.

The proposal also revives a debate the Liberals have pursued for several years.

In 2023, the Victorian Coalition proposed building as many as 10 additional selective-entry schools over a decade, including schools in regional Victoria and Melbourne’s outer north. Liberal MP Trung Luu again raised the shortage of selective schools in Parliament in 2024.

The latest policy is structured differently: instead of 10 entirely new selective schools, the Coalition is proposing three new schools and six conversions, potentially creating nine additional selective or partially selective settings.

The proposal also lands in a long-running debate about whether selective schools are the best way to support gifted students.

Supporters argue highly capable students benefit academically and socially from learning alongside peers working at similar levels and from having access to specialised teachers, advanced subjects and accelerated learning.

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry into gifted education previously found evidence that selective schools could provide academic as well as social benefits, though it also noted questions around equitable access and the effect selective schools can have on surrounding schools.

Professor Jae Jung, an expert in gifted education, argued earlier this year that Victoria’s four-school system was too limited and that more high-ability students could benefit from selective education. He described competition for the existing schools as intense and called for consideration of additional selective options.

Critics of selective systems have raised different concerns, including whether tutoring advantages wealthier families, whether concentrating high-achieving students weakens comprehensive schools and whether selective admissions adequately identify gifted students from disadvantaged, regional or culturally diverse backgrounds.

Those equity concerns appear to be part of the reason the Coalition has proposed giving socio-economic circumstances an equal role in entry decisions.

The Carroll Labor Government has pursued a different approach to high-ability education.

In June, then education minister Ben Carroll announced a $75.1 million expansion of statewide enrichment programs, providing 75,000 places in the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series and up to 48,000 places in the Victorian High Ability Program over four years.

Those programs aim to reach academically advanced students while allowing them to remain in their existing local schools.

Labor has also funded mathematics camps for high-ability Year 9 and 10 students, with priority given to regional, rural and disadvantaged students, and maintains high-ability practice leaders in government schools.

Following Carroll’s elevation to Premier, Gabrielle Williams became Deputy Premier and Education Minister in August.

A specific government response to the Coalition’s new nine-school selective-entry proposal had not been publicly identified at the time of publication.

Labor has, however, repeatedly argued its model provides high-ability opportunities across the entire public system rather than concentrating them in a limited number of specialist campuses.

Victoria has also dramatically expanded its general public-school network. The government says it has opened 121 new schools and completed more than 2,300 upgrades, including a record 19 new schools opening in 2026.

The Coalition’s selective-school plan therefore sets up a clear education policy contest ahead of the November election.

Labor’s approach emphasises extension programs and specialist opportunities available to high-performing students while they remain connected to local schools.

The Liberals and Nationals are proposing a considerably larger network of dedicated selective environments, arguing that the demand for the existing four schools demonstrates parents want more specialised academic options.

For families in Melbourne’s west, north and south-east, the practical question could be particularly significant.

If the Coalition wins government and delivers the policy, students from Melton, Caroline Springs, Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, Langwarrin, Cranbourne and surrounding suburbs could have access to dedicated selective-entry schools far closer to home than is currently possible.

What is clear is that selective education, long confined to a small number of prestigious Victorian government schools, is now shaping up as a major education battleground in the campaign to decide who governs Victoria after November 28.

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The six were intercepted by officers from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service on 12 July 2026 while preparing to depart Fiji.

Authorities allege the group was carrying various foreign currencies worth approximately FJD $183,000 in cash, which had not been declared at the border. They were subsequently issued Detention Notices and the matter was referred to Fiji Police for further investigation.

Police said the six had travelled to Fiji to sell goods at a trade show and claimed the money had been earned through those activities.

However, investigations by the Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Unit allegedly found that the money had been obtained through unlawful activity.

Each of the six accused has been charged with one count of Currency Reporting at the Border under Section 32(1) of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act 2004 and one count of Money Laundering under Section 69(1), 2(a) and 3(d) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997.

A total of 12 charges have been laid against the six accused.

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Police allege the woman advertised on social media, offering to accept other motorists’ fines and demerit points in exchange for payment.

Investigators allege that between 2022 and June 2026, 1,266 Traffic Infringement Notices were transferred to the woman’s name, resulting in about 1,150 demerit points being recorded against her licence.

The fines associated with the alleged scheme were worth approximately $620,000.

The woman was arrested in Woodridge and charged with one count of fraud. She appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court and was remanded in custody, with her next court appearance scheduled for 28 September.

Detective Superintendent Craig McGrath, Commander of the Queensland Police Service Financial and Cyber Crime Group, said the alleged scheme had operated for at least four years.

“Many of those allegedly using these services should have had their licences suspended but were instead able to continue driving on our roads,” McGrath said.

He said the demerit-point system was designed to improve road safety and hold motorists accountable.

“This scheme can put other road users at risk,” McGrath said.

Police said investigations remain ongoing and warned that people involved in the alleged scheme could face prosecution.

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ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess made the comments during an extended interview with veteran broadcaster Neil Mitchell, arguing that legitimate anger or criticism directed at the Israeli government must not be transferred onto Jewish Australians.

“We still have antisemitism as a problem, and that does concern me,” Burgess said.

“It’s got to a pretty high, disturbing level.”

Burgess said the security environment had progressively deteriorated after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, beginning with threatening and intimidating behaviour before escalating into direct attacks on people, places of worship and businesses.

He pointed to the December 14, 2025 Bondi terrorist attack, in which 15 people were killed and 40 wounded at a Jewish Chanukah celebration, as the most devastating consequence of that deteriorating environment.

“It raised its ugly head after the 7th of October,” Burgess said.

“It started with threatening, intimidating behaviour and then, a year later, it transitioned to direct targeting of people, places of worship and businesses.

And then we saw the death of 15 people. I reckon that’s a bad place for us to be.”

The ASIO chief stressed that criticism of Israel, including strong opposition to the actions of its government, was not inherently antisemitic.

“It’s OK to be angry at the state of Israel. But how you deal with that anger, it really does matter,” he said.

Burgess said some people expressing passionate political views might not intend to be antisemitic, but their words or actions could nevertheless have that effect.

He said a clearer distinction needed to be maintained between the State of Israel and Jewish Australians, many of whom had no connection to the decisions of the Israeli government.

Burgess also acknowledged that ASIO itself could potentially have spoken more forcefully as antisemitism escalated.

“All of us should have stood up more. Maybe I could have shouted more,” he said.

“Political leaders could have said ‘this is not right’.

I mean, a couple of them did do that, but not many of them did. The media should have probably watched how it was reporting.”

He said criticism of Israel should be accompanied by an explicit recognition that Jewish Australians should not be held responsible for actions taken by a foreign government.

The remarks closely echo comments made this week by former ASIO director-general Dennis Richardson, who said Australia had “dropped the ball” in responding to antisemitism after October 7.

Richardson said the country also needed to be capable of discussing Islamist extremism openly without treating Australian Muslims collectively as a security problem.

He argued mainstream Muslim leaders should be central to that discussion, warning that avoiding difficult conversations could strengthen both Islamist extremists and neo-Nazis seeking to exploit community divisions.

Burgess also used his latest interview to issue a stark warning about the threat posed by Iran.

Asked about risks facing Australia’s Jewish community from foreign states, Burgess said he would not rule out Tehran seeking to target prominent Jewish Australians.

“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Iran would want to kill prominent Jewish Australians,” he said.

The warning follows ASIO’s assessment earlier this year that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for directing attacks against Jewish-linked properties in Australia through layers of intermediaries and criminal proxies.

In his June annual threat assessment, Burgess said an Australian citizen based in Iran and working as a senior IRGC Quds Force operative had orchestrated the firebombing of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney.

He also said a former Australian resident living in Iraq had directed the attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue through a network linked to Iranian-backed militia groups.

ASIO assessed that the operations involved Australian-based criminals acting through intermediaries rather than direct Iranian operatives carrying out the attacks themselves.

Burgess warned in June that Iran continued to regard Australia as a legitimate target for covert acts of violence and that an Iran-aligned network active in Europe could potentially expand its operations into Australia.

ASIO assessed there was a realistic possibility such networks could conduct or inspire arson, vandalism or even assassinations on Australian soil.

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador and three other diplomats in August 2025 after the government attributed the attacks to the Iranian regime.

The latest comments also come amid continuing concern about antisemitic incidents in Melbourne.

Burgess referred during his interview to a recently reported incident at Melbourne Airport in which a Jewish family said they were repeatedly subjected to antisemitic abuse while travelling through the international terminal.

According to reports, a woman allegedly targeted members of the family, including children, using terms such as “baby killer”, “Zionist Nazi” and “Zionist pig”.

The family said the incidents left children distressed and crying.

Melbourne Airport said at the time that it had not received a formal complaint about the incident but condemned antisemitism and said passengers should feel safe within the terminal.

The incident followed a separate case earlier in the year in which a Melbourne Airport employee was charged after allegedly performing a Nazi salute towards Jewish teenagers travelling to Israel.

That case remains a matter for the courts.

Burgess’s warning comes against an increasingly complex national security backdrop.

Australia’s official terrorism threat level remains at PROBABLE, meaning intelligence agencies assess there is a greater than 50 per cent chance of an onshore terrorist attack or attack planning occurring within the following 12 months.

ASIO first raised the threat level back to probable in August 2024 after warning that political polarisation, social division and rapid online radicalisation were creating an environment increasingly permissive of violence.

In June this year, Burgess said he was “gravely concerned” about the trajectory of politically motivated violence and suggested the existing threat-level framework did not fully capture the breadth of the danger confronting Australia.

He said social media was accelerating grievance narratives, eroding trust in institutions and creating conditions in which inflammatory rhetoric could become normalised.

“When intolerance is tolerated, when violent language and violent acts are left unchecked, they become normalised,” Burgess said in his annual threat assessment.

ASIO says antisemitism now emerges from several ideologically opposed sources.

In his June assessment, Burgess identified neo-Nazis, Islamist extremists, some issue-motivated extremists, anarchist and revolutionary groups and foreign states as potential sources of antisemitic violence.

“Hatred of Jews is one thing virtually all the violent extremist cohorts have in common,” he said.

He again emphasised that criticism of the Israeli government was not itself antisemitic, but said threats and violence directed at Jewish Australians moved well beyond legitimate political protest.

Australia’s intelligence agencies are simultaneously dealing with a wider terrorism threat that has become less predictable.

Burgess said in June that radicalised individuals were increasingly adopting mixed ideologies rather than traditional extremist doctrines, being radicalised online rather than through physical groups, and moving towards violence within weeks rather than months or years.

Young people have become a particular concern.

ASIO cited cases involving teenagers with bomb-making material and plans to attack schools or public institutions, alongside threats motivated by Islamist, neo-Nazi, nationalist, racist, Christian and extreme-left ideologies.

Working with law enforcement agencies, ASIO had foiled 31 major terrorist plots since 2014 as of its June annual assessment.

The Bondi attack has prompted unprecedented scrutiny of whether governments, police, intelligence agencies, media organisations and other institutions responded adequately to warning signs surrounding antisemitism and violent extremism.

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was established on January 9 following the attack.

Its terms of reference include examining the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australia, its drivers, government and institutional responses, radicalisation and the circumstances surrounding the Bondi massacre.

The commission, led by former High Court justice Virginia Bell, has completed 62 days of hearings and heard evidence from hundreds of witnesses.

More than 20,000 submissions have been received.

Its final report is now due on December 18 after the federal government agreed to move the original December 14 deadline so its release would not coincide with the first anniversary of the Bondi attack.

Burgess said he supported the royal commission undertaking a detailed examination of the causes of antisemitism and how institutions responded.

His comments suggest the intelligence chief believes responsibility cannot be placed solely on extremists or security agencies.

Rather, he argues the deterioration occurred within a broader environment in which political language, protests, online material and public commentary increasingly blurred the distinction between anger over events in the Middle East and hostility towards Jewish Australians.

The challenge for Australia, Burgess said, is protecting vigorous political debate — including criticism of Israel — without allowing that debate to become justification for intimidation, collective blame or violence against people because they are Jewish.

His warning is ultimately broader than one community.

ASIO’s assessment is that declining social cohesion, inflammatory rhetoric and the normalisation of hatred can create opportunities for violent extremists across the political and ideological spectrum.

For Burgess, the lesson of the past three years is that once hatred is allowed to escalate unchecked, the consequences can move rapidly from words to intimidation and ultimately to violence.

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The driver, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Singh, told NPR that he had stopped at the Bitter Creek Rest Area along Interstate 80 early Sunday morning while travelling towards Pennsylvania.

Singh said he noticed another man following him into the bathroom before the attacker assaulted him and repeatedly stabbed him, including wounds to his neck and chest.

“I don’t know why this happened,” Singh said from hospital.

“I don’t know why they attacked me.”

Singh managed to leave the bathroom but collapsed outside after suffering multiple injuries.

A family who was at the rest area heard screaming and saw the alleged attacker leave the building and drive away in a truck. The family followed the vehicle along I-80, photographed identifying details and provided the information to police.

Wyoming Highway Patrol later stopped the truck near Rawlins, about 70 miles east of the rest area, and arrested 45-year-old Andrew Kris Bzdak.

Bzdak has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. Police have not established a motive for the attack.

Singh credited the family who came to his assistance with helping save his life.

“They gave me the second life.”

He remained in hospital with multiple injuries as he recovered from the attack. Singh said he was particularly concerned about other Sikh truck drivers who regularly travel across the United States.

“I am just worried … it can happen again.”

The attack comes amid a wider debate over anti-South Asian rhetoric in the US, following a controversial social media post by the Department of Homeland Security depicting an Indian truck driver and using the surname Singh.

Indian-origin US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the Wyoming attack, saying he was “horrified” by the stabbing and expressing concern about what he described as rising hatred targeting Indian Americans.

Krishnamoorthi also criticised the recent DHS post, arguing that officials should not contribute to rhetoric that could fuel hostility towards an entire community.

“This comes amid rising hatred targeting Sikh and South Asian Americans, with even the Trump Department of Homeland Security recently posting a racist caricature of a Sikh truck driver telling him to ‘get off our roads’ and ‘self-deport or find out.'”

The DHS has rejected any connection between its social media post and the Wyoming stabbing, saying it would not speculate about the motive and describing attempts to blame the agency for the attack as “reckless and false”.

For Singh, the priority now is recovery and returning to work, but the attack has left him shaken.

“I am scared and also upset because I have to work regularly.”

The investigation into the stabbing remains ongoing.

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The post Indian-origin Sikh truck driver stabbed 17 times at rest stop, Congressman Krishnamoorthi condemns Trump administration’s racist post first appeared on The Australia Today.

The women died after the Toyota Corolla they were travelling in collided with a Porsche Macan at the intersection of Boardwalk Boulevard and Innessfail Drive about 9.40 pm on Wednesday, September 16.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, but both women died from their injuries.

Victoria Police’s Major Collision Investigation Unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The 53-year-old Point Cook man driving the Porsche was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is assisting investigators. Police have not announced any charges and the cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Behind the police statistics is a family now confronting the loss of two generations in a single night.

Neha’s husband, Varun Chandra Gunna, has established a GoFundMe appeal describing the devastating moment in which he lost both his wife and his mother.

“On September 16, 2026, my world was completely shattered in a single instant,” he wrote.

Varun said Neha was the “light and energy” of their home — a kind-hearted and vibrant woman who loved dance and was devoted to their two young children.

She leaves behind a three-and-a-half-year-old son, Haarav, and one-year-old daughter, Vivanvi.

Only recently, the family had celebrated Vivanvi’s first birthday surrounded by friends and community members.

Varun recalled Neha dancing, laughing and celebrating with their daughter — memories that now carry an unimaginable weight for the family.

Rama Devi had travelled from India with her 75-year-old husband, Tulsi Prasad, on a tourist visa specifically to visit their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

Varun described his mother as the “gentle anchor” of the family who had travelled across the world simply to spend time with and care for her grandchildren.

Her death means Tulsi Prasad has lost his lifelong companion while the two young children have simultaneously lost both their mother and grandmother.

The family is now trying to repatriate both women to India so traditional Hindu funeral rites and cremations can be performed surrounded by relatives and loved ones.

The GoFundMe campaign is seeking financial assistance for repatriation costs, international travel, consular documentation, funeral arrangements and support for the two children as Varun adjusts to raising them as a single father.

“I cannot carry this heavy financial and logistical burden alone,” he wrote.

The fundraiser has prompted an extraordinary community response.

As of Thursday night, more than $122,000 had been raised towards a $150,000 target, with about 1,900 donations recorded on the campaign. The total was continuing to rise rapidly.

Varun said his immediate priority was giving both women an appropriate farewell while creating some stability for Haarav and Vivanvi.

“Neha brought so much warmth and dance into our lives, and my mother travelled across the world out of pure love for us,” he wrote.

He asked the wider community to keep his children and elderly father in their prayers, saying every donation, share and message of support was helping the family through the tragedy.

Police, meanwhile, are continuing to reconstruct what happened in the seconds before the fatal impact.

Security footage obtained by 7NEWS reportedly captured the Porsche travelling along Boardwalk Boulevard shortly before the collision.

The intersection is in a 60km/h zone, and investigators are examining the Porsche’s speed as part of their inquiries.

Nearby residents described hearing a large impact before rushing from their homes to help.

One witness told police he immediately called emergency services after seeing the wreckage, but the injuries suffered by the two women in the Toyota proved fatal.

The Porsche driver remained in hospital on Thursday with minor injuries and was not under police guard, according to 7NEWS. Victoria Police has said he is assisting with the investigation.

Detectives are asking anyone who witnessed the collision, saw either vehicle beforehand or has dashcam or CCTV footage from the area to come forward.

Information can be provided to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

For Varun and his family, however, the consequences of the crash extend far beyond the investigation.

In the space of one night, two small children lost their mother and grandmother, a husband lost his wife and mother, and a 75-year-old man who had travelled to Australia to spend time with his grandchildren lost the woman with whom he had shared his life.

The community effort now underway is focused on helping the family take Neha and Rama Devi home to India — while supporting the two young children whose lives have been changed forever.

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The post Point Cook crash victims identified as young mother Neha Bommali and visiting mother-in-law Rama Devi first appeared on The Australia Today.