Australia news live: Qantas’s new ultra-long-range test plane to land in Melbourne after 19-hour odyssey from Toulouse

Qantas’s ultra long-distance plane to land in Melbourne after 19-hour test flightA plane custom designed to complete some of the longest commercial flights in the world will land in Australia after embarking on a nonstop journey from Toulouse, France.The Airbus A350-1000ULR, built for Qantas to fly about 20 hours non-stop between Sydney and London, is set to arrive in Melbourne on Friday morning as it completes its 19-hour trip.The journey has attracted significant attention from plane and transport enthusiasts, with more than 12,000 people following its path on flightradar24.com. Qantas’s Project Sunrise plans for nonstop services between Sydney and London have been delayed multiple times in previous years but flights are scheduled to start in October 2027.The route of a non-stop test flight from Toulouse to Melbourne of a new Qantas Airbus A350–1000 ultra-long-range plane. Photograph: Flightradar24Key events41m agoAlbanese congratulates UK leader in first phone call49m agoQantas’s ultra long-distance plane to land in Melbourne after 19-hour test flight1h agoMarkets fully priced for rate hike1h ago‘We’ve got other priorities’ over gas taxes, Chalmers says1h agoChalmers says ‘anti-worker’ One Nation and Coalition ‘prey on’ economic insecurity2h agoWelcome‘The comments are wrong’: Hanson’s statements on domestic violence decried Comments made by Pauline Hanson on domestic violence have been condemned by the deputy opposition leader. The One Nation leader faced swift backlash earlier this week after she called domestic violence a “two-way street”, described paid leave for those experiencing family and domestic violence as “ridiculous”, and suggested the issue is taking police away from “real crime”. Deputy opposition leader, Jane Hume, continued to decry the comments on ABC radio: double quotation markThe comments are wrong. I think it demonstrates just how out of touch on this issue they really are. Domestic violence is a scourge, it’s a national disgrace, it’s a serious crime and in an ideal world we’d like to see domestic violence not be a problem at all in society. But I certainly don’t think we’re going to fix it by going on a podcast and calling domestic violence leave a holiday. US to slap 12.5% tariff on Australian goodsAustralian exports sent to the US will be hit with a 12.5% tariff as the US president imposes levies on more than 80 nations.The Trump administration unveiled the latest tranche of tariffs for countries over their “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”.But Australia defence minister, Richard Marles, has hit back against the reasoning, telling ABC radio: double quotation markThis, in our view, makes no sense. Forced labour is definitely something which needs to be combated around the world, so we support that objective. But we have laws, which are amongst the strongest in the world, and we’ve been making that point to the Trump administration. We want to see freer trade and more trade flows between Australia and the United States. Both of our countries benefit from that. We continue to make that argument to the Trump administration, both in terms of trade but also in terms of our stance in relation to forced labour, and that’ll continue to be our position and the way in which we advocate. Richard Marles at Labor’s national conference yesterday. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/ReutersCalls for de-escalation in Middle East as oil prices surgeAustralia has more fuel now than it did before the war in Iran began, the defence minister has assured, as renewed hostilities in the Middle East drives a rise in oil prices.The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose to its highest price since May as the US president, Donald Trump, warned of greater strikes on Iran.The defence minister, Richard Marles, told ABC radio the government was not “sanguine” about the issue: double quotation markWe absolutely need to see the strait of Hormuz be open and for freedom of navigation to happen there, for commercial shipping to be allowed through, and we very much call on Iran to allow that to be the case. We need to see a restoration to the normal global fuel supply chain because it’s having a significant impact around the world. But we do continue to call for a de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East Our continued focus will be on ensuring that fuel supply going forward. Shipyards receives $4.6bn boost to deliver Aukus submarinesConstruction yards that will build Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet have been given an additional $4.6bn in funding.The money will go to the new submarine construction yard at Adelaide’s Osborne shipyard and adds to the $3.9bn announced for the shipyard in February.The defence minister, Richard Marles, said: double quotation markThis is really important in terms of delivering our future nuclear-powered submarines. It is a process which will see parts of the yard handed over over the next 10 years. But the first of those sheds actually comes into operation within a year and that will enable us to cut steel on our first submarine by the end of this decade. The federal government’s announcement as Labor’s national conference continues in the South Australian capital.Albanese congratulates UK leader in first phone callKrishani DhanjiThe prime minister has spoken to his new UK counterpart, Andy Burnham, who was sworn in on Monday, congratulating him on his appointment and invited him to visit Australia.Burnham is the seventh UK prime minister in 10 years.Anthony Albanese said the pair spoke about the Aukus defence pact, boosting trade and economic investment as well as the social media age ban for under-16s. The ban took effect in Australia in December, while the UK has followed suit on the policy, and announced a similar ban last month.Albanese and Burnham also spoke about the challenges in the Middle East, artificial intelligence, and their shared passion for rugby league.Qantas’s ultra long-distance plane to land in Melbourne after 19-hour test flightA plane custom designed to complete some of the longest commercial flights in the world will land in Australia after embarking on a nonstop journey from Toulouse, France.The Airbus A350-1000ULR, built for Qantas to fly about 20 hours non-stop between Sydney and London, is set to arrive in Melbourne on Friday morning as it completes its 19-hour trip.The journey has attracted significant attention from plane and transport enthusiasts, with more than 12,000 people following its path on flightradar24.com. Qantas’s Project Sunrise plans for nonstop services between Sydney and London have been delayed multiple times in previous years but flights are scheduled to start in October 2027.The route of a non-stop test flight from Toulouse to Melbourne of a new Qantas Airbus A350–1000 ultra-long-range plane. Photograph: Flightradar24Thanks Martin Farrer for kicking off the day. It’s Kat Wong here to take you through today’s news.Markets fully priced for rate hikeAustralia’s resilient labour market continues to be a bright spot in the nation’s economy, Australian Associated Press reports.But despite the addition of more than 76,000 jobs in June, dark clouds are gathering on the horizon.After the Australian Bureau of Statistics released another strong labour force report on Thursday, bonds traders ratcheted up expectations that the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates for a fourth time in 2026.The market is now full priced in for a rate hike by Christmas. A few weeks ago it was a 50-50 bet.Homes in Adelaide. Photograph: BeyondImages/Getty ImagesThe resurgence in rate fears is not all down to domestic factors.Renewed hostilities in the Middle East have sent oil prices rising again and threaten to add fresh inflationary pressures to the economy.While June quarter inflation data next week will be crucial to the RBA’s next rates decision in August, the figures could already be dated by the time they are released.Brent crude oil prices have risen from $US72 a barrel to more than $US100 a barrel in recent weeks.As a rule of thumb, each dollar higher the benchmark oil price results in about a cent per litre increase in petrol prices at the bowser.‘We’ve got other priorities’ over gas taxes, Chalmers saysLuca IttimaniJim Chalmers has said the government has “other priorities” over a gas tax despite Labor members’ growing calls for reform.The government was given the green light from party members and MPs at Labor’s conference on Thursday to extract a “fairer return” from Australia’s natural resources. Anthony Albanese shut down any prospect that would translate into a new gas export tax in the foreseeable future, as you can read here:Chalmers told the ABC’s 730 on Thursday night: double quotation markI think that language in the platform reflected the balance that we have been seeking to strike … I acknowledge that there are people around the country and including people in our movement who would like us to go further. But we did take some important steps in that regard to get a fairer return. He pointed to his past reforms to the petroleum resource rent tax and the government’s plan to bring in a gas reservation for Australia’s east coast, while noting the government wanted to maintain relationships with countries relying on Australian gas. He said: double quotation markThe reason why a gas tax has not been on our agenda is because we’ve got other priorities, whether it’s reservation, the PRRT changes I’ve already made, or making sure that we are a reliable international supplier. That’s the government’s focus. Chalmers says ‘anti-worker’ One Nation and Coalition ‘prey on’ economic insecurityLuca IttimaniJim Chalmers has claimed rightwing political parties will “prey on” voter insecurities about a worsening economy while championing “anti-worker” policies.The treasurer previewed Labor’s economic attack lines for the next election campaign in an interview from the party’s national conference in Adelaide with 7.30 last night. Chalmers claimed One Nation, the Liberal party and the Nationals did not have plans that would ease the pressure on workers. He said: double quotation markWe’re actually acting to do something about it … our political opponents, they seek to prey on those pressures and those anxieties that people feel, at the same time as their anti-worker agenda would make things worse rather than better. Chalmers said real wages had grown for most of the past two-and-a half years, the government had cut taxes “five times in three different ways” and unemployment was low.Jim Chalmers and the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, during Labor’s national conference yesterday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPBut real incomes are set to decline, with high inflation meaning workers are set to have less money left over after they pay for essentials. Asked how he would address declining real wages, Chalmers said: double quotation markWe’ve done a whole range of things to boost wages in our economy because, deliberately, we believe that one of the best ways to help with these cost-of-living pressures is to make sure that people are paid decent wages. That’s been our [Labor’s] reason for being for more than a hundred years. You can read about how economic pessimism is helping One Nation here:WelcomeGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before your regular blogger takes the reins.Jim Chalmers has claimed rightwing political parties will “prey on” voter insecurities about a worsening economy while championing “anti-worker” policies. It comes as markets are now expecting another rate hike by the end of the year. He also continues to push back at rank and file Labor members’ calls for a new tax on gas exports, saying the government had “other priorities” for reform. More coming up.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Australia has said it is alarmed that Saudi Arabia could use its uranium enrichment deal with the US to build nuclear weapons. More details soon.