Oceania event news

World

Australia news live: ATO finds one-quarter of big firms pay zero tax; NDIS alternative Thriving Kids program begins

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Finance

Telcos activate temporary disaster roaming agreement for mobile coverage

Australia's three major telcos will work together to implement mobile roaming during severe weather events in regional areas, but some still want it legislated.

Near misses at Sydney airport 20% above national average, regulator finds

SYDNEY, Sept 30 - Sydney Airport has the highest rate of near misses in Australia, with incidents about 20% above the national average, the air safety regulator has found.

World

Australia’s cheapest mayonnaise is also the best tasting, Choice test finds

Two supermarket home brands claim equal first while the worst-ranked condiment has double the sugar content of almost all the other products

Countdown begins to biggest-ever Rugby World Cup

The tournament kicks off in 12 months with a record 24 teams clashing over six weeks in Australia.

World

Watch: Sailor couple survives after whale destroyed their ship

Jeremy and Gemma Cooper were 500 miles off the coast of New Zealand when their yacht, the Tai Tam, collided with a sperm whale.

Culture

Beta Film Takes ‘Rex - Vienna Calling’ Worldwide as Season 2 Shoots

Beta Film expands ‘Rex - Vienna Calling’ across Australia, Europe and Asia as the Austrian version of te long-running franchise gets a second season.

Sport

A-Leagues launch clouded by Manchester City cheating scandal as APL vows to review findings

Australia’s football season to begin under a pall as Melbourne City shares owners with the Premier League giant found guilty of unprecedented breaches

World

Inflation leaps to 4% stoking fears of fifth interest rate hike before Christmas

Jim Chalmers says ‘higher global oil prices flowing through to oil prices in Australia’ are to blame for inflation rising from 3.5%

Business

Australian regulator to review banking sector AI use and customer impacts

SYDNEY, Sept 30 : Australia's corporate regulator said on Wednesday it would formally review the country's banking sector's usage of AI in dealing with customers.The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) warned in May the banks should take urgent ‌action on tackling potential cyber risks f

Education Ministry inquiry the latest sign NZ’s Official Information Act isn’t working

Calls for an overhaul of New Zealand’s freedom-of-information rules have gone largely unheeded for years. But momentum for reform seems to be building.

World

Australia news live: Shoebridge and Hodgins-May ticket expected for Greens leadership; Home Affairs orders ‘rapid’ cyber stocktake

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World

Cocaine evidence missing from Fiji court was swopped out for flour, media say

The drug exhibits stolen amounted to nearly 40kg.

Cocaine evidence missing from Fiji court was swapped out for flour, media say

SYDNEY, Sept 29 - Several kilograms of cocaine held as evidence in a major Fiji drug case have gone missing from a court, police said on Tuesday, with media saying the drug, valued at about $31 million, was swapped out for flour.

World

Major cocaine haul missing from court and replaced with flour

Fiji Police confirmed forensic testing of the drugs had come back negative for illicit drugs

Business

Australia's Codan jumps to record high on robust forecast

Sept 29 : Australian electronics components maker Codan on Tuesday forecast a sharp rise in first-half profit and higher revenue for its communications division, sending its shares to a record high.The company now expects group net profit after tax of at least A$160 million ($112.16 million) for the first hal

Business

OpenAI says AI models accessed Australian government systems without authorisation

Sept 29 : OpenAI said on Tuesday that its AI models accessed Australian government websites and systems without authorisation during internal training and evaluation exercises in June.The company said the activity involved websites and systems linked to Services Australia, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics a

Business

Australia's CSL taps Amazon's cloud unit to boost research pipeline

Sept 29 : Australian biotechnology firm CSL said on Tuesday it is collaborating with Amazon's cloud arm to harness AI and cloud technology across its research and clinical development pipeline.Here are some more details:• The partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) will enable CSL's scientists to

New Zealand election on knife edge as Greens surge to 16%, poll shows

The governing National Party fell to 28 per cent, which is its lowest level of support since 2021.

Business

Australia's Megaport wins $687 million AI infrastructure deals, raises 2027 earnings forecast

Sept 29 : Australian IT firm Megaport said on Tuesday that it signed three new AI Infrastructure contracts with a combined value of A$978.6 million ($686.78 million) and upgraded its earnings forecast for 2027.Here are some more details:• The three contracts, all with unnamed customers, include GPU a

Business

Meta taps Australia's Firmus for AI computing capacity in Southeast Asia

Sept 29 : Australia's Firmus said on Tuesday it had signed AI infrastructure agreements with Facebook parent Meta Platforms for graphics processing unit compute capacity at its data centre facilities in Southeast Asia.Here are some more details:• Under the deal, Firmus will provide contracted capacit

Australia raises interest rates to 15-year high

Reserve Bank of Australia lifts benchmark rate to 4.6 percent amid stubborn inflation.

World

Australian students went scuba diving to rebuild an oyster reef; 28 underwater structures quickly attracted oysters and marine life

Australian high school students have taken part in an underwater experiment aimed at bringing native oyster reefs back to Coffin Bay in South Australia.

World

RBA interest rates: Reserve Bank hikes cash rate to 4.6%, the highest level since 2011

Widely expected decision is fourth increase to interest rate this year and will be blow to mortgage holders across Australia