Nine-months' pregnant nursery owner chases down alleged plant thief

Nine-months' pregnant nursery owner chases down alleged plant thief

A heavily pregnant nursery owner has chased down a thief at her Adelaide business, stopping him from stealing plants worth hundreds of dollars.

Footage shows the thief yesterday pushing a trolley full of plants from Exotic Botanic in the city's north-east into a carpark.

Moments later, the owner who is nine months pregnant, runs after him.

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She managed to regain the trolley and pushed it back to the store.

The nursery later took to social media to explain what happened and appeal for thieves to stop.

"Please don't let me chase you while I'm nine months pregnant," the owner said.

"And, oh, please don't steal hundreds of dollars' worth of plants from us."

Police say they have not received any reports from the incident.

McKenzie insists she didn't misuse taxpayer money to attend son's wedding

McKenzie insists she didn't misuse taxpayer money to attend son's wedding

Coalition Senator Bridget McKenzie has defended billing taxpayers for a trip that included a family wedding, and signalled she won't pay the money back.

She spoke with Today about the February 2023 four-day trip to Tasmania which costed taxpayers $853.52, and included her attending the wedding of her son.

It was first reported in The Age.

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McKenzie has insisted her travel was genuine political business, saying taxpayers did fork out for any expenses over the wedding.

"Taxpayer funds should never be used for private business, nor were they in this case," she told Today.

"When we're undertaking whether it be community engagement, media engagement, stakeholder meetings, you know, assisting colleagues, there are arrangements in place to assist us to do that work that is right and appropriate, and it is not right and appropriate to bill the taxpayer, as you say, for personal activities. And I did not do that.

"So when I was on personal business, I absolutely paid my own way."

When asked if she stood by her decision, she replied: "Yep".

McKenzie maintained she had behaved correctly when fellow guest James Willis from 2GB suggested the Coalition front bencher should pay the money back.

The episode has dogged her over past days, with a leading Liberal MP and shadow minister saying the optics didn't appear good.

Coalition treasury spokesman Tim Wilson said the trip to Tasmania was technically within parliamentary guidelines, but it failed the "pub test".



Australia's richest people - and how they amassed their fortunes - revealed

Australia's richest people - and how they amassed their fortunes - revealed

As ordinary Australians have battled cost-of-living pressures over the past year, some of the country's richest people have grown their substantial fortunes.

The Australian Financial Review has revealed its 2026 Rich List, and the country's 200 largest fortunes have collectively leapt by $39 billion to a total of $707 billion.

When the rich list was first published in the Business Review Weekly magazine in 1983, the total worth of Australia's wealthiest people was $4.6 billion.

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Gina Rinehart has topped the Rich List for the seventh consecutive year.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has topped the rich list for the seventh consecutive year, with an estimated wealth of $39 billion, up $900 million from last year.

Meriton founder Harry Triguboff is number two on the list.

The property developer is worth an estimated $32.29 billion, up from $29.65 billion.

Visy executive chairman Anthony Pratt and his family are ranked third on the list.

Their fortune is worth an estimated $25.19 billion, which they amassed by running Australia's biggest packaging and recycling company.

Former Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg saw his wealth explode from $13 billion last year to $22.38 billion this year.

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Meriton founder Harry Triguboff has amassed his fortune through property.

Out of the top 178 rankings of this year's Rich 200 list, just less than one in nine people carried estimated fortunes of $1 billion and above.

While total wealth is up, there have been some falls in the technology sector, as a result of the billions of dollars wiped off the value of listed software-as-a-service companies.

Mike Cannon-Brookes went from 13th on the Rich List to 22nd after his estimated fortune dropped from $12.18 billion last year to $6.71 billion this year.

His Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and wife Kim Jackson, who leads Skip Capital, have dropped from fourth to 13th after the couple saw their wealth plummet from $21.4 billion to $11.7 billion.

WiseTech founder Richard White went from 15th to 17th after his wealth dropped by nearly $2 billion to $8.8 billion.

Marriage breakdowns continue to reshape the top Rich List rankings, with miner Andrew Forrest falling from Australia's second-richest person in 2023 to eighth this year, with a fortune worth $15.93 billion.

He was overtaken by his former wife, Nicola, who is ranked seventh at $17.32 billion.

Some Rich Listers have amassed their fortunes from artificial intelligence and data centres, including Swipejobs founder Katrina Leslie (worth $2.5 billion), Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis (worth $1.25 billion) and Grafana Labs co-founder Anthony Woods (worth $881 million).

Nicola and Andrew Forrest outside the State Library of NSW in Sydney, NSW. 13th October, 2021.

Australian Financial Review Rich List editor Hannah Tattersall said behind each Rich Lister was a story about they built their wealth and where their ideas came from.

"Mining, property and tech always dominate the Rich List but this year's list shows there's money to be made in waste management, in chicken restaurants, in hoodies and of course AI," Tattersall said.

The Financial Review Rich List 2026's top 10

1. Mining magnate and businesswoman Gina Rinehart – $39.01 billion – Mining
2. Meriton founder and managing director Harry Triguboff - $32.29 billion - Property
3. Visy Industries executive chairman Anthony Pratt and family – $25.19 billion – Manufacturing
4. Former Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg – $22.38 billion – Mining
5. Mining magnate Clive Palmer – $19.56 billion – Mining
6. Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht – $17.56 billion – Technology
7. Philanthropist Nicola Forrest - $17.32 billion - Mining
8. Miner Andrew Forrest - $15.93 billion – Mining
9. Stonepeak founder Michael Dorrell - $13.82 billion - Investment
10. Chemist Warehouse founders Mario, Marcello & Adrian Verrocchi - $12.76 billion - Retail

Where Australia's Rich Listers are based

NSW – 78 Rich Listers
Victoria – 52 Rich Listers
Queensland – 21 Rich Listers
Western Australia – 19 Rich Listers
South Australia - Five Rich Listers
Australian Capital Territory – 0 Rich Listers
Northern Territory – One Rich Lister
Tasmania – Two Rich Listers
USA - Eight Rich Listers
New Zealand - Two Rich Listers
United Kingdom - Three Rich Listers
China - Three Rich Listers
Switzerland - One Rich Lister
Argentina - One Rich Lister
Bahamas - One Rich Lister
Cyprus - One Rich Lister

Pauline Hanson says tax reforms will leave younger people worse off

Pauline Hanson says tax reforms will leave younger people worse off

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her party will oppose the federal government's capital gains tax reforms, claiming it will leave younger Australians worse off.

In a Facebook post today, she says negative gearing - under which homeowners were able to deduct a net loss from a residential investment property from their overall income, thereby reducing their yearly tax bill - should be allowed for a maximum of two homes for everyone.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in this month's federal budget the tax concession for property investors would be wound back from next July as part of major tax overhauls.

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One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 19 January 2026.

The government claims it will help younger Australians gain a foothold on the property ladder, but Hanson says it will have the opposite effect.

"The Labor government claims to be helping the younger generation, yet they're taking away an investment strategy that has been used by generations before them."

"We completely oppose the changes to CGT."

From July 2027, negative gearing will only apply to new build homes, superannuation funds and those who purchased their properties prior to budget night.

One Nation has witnessed a record rise in support in the polls, largely due to the cost-of-living crisis. It is also attracting more younger people voters.

The populist party has ridden a wave of support to win seven new state MPs at the South Australian election before its stunning victory in the Farrer federal byelection.

Labor's changes will likely sail through the House of Representatives, where they hold the majority, but they will need either the Greens or the Coalition to pass the Senate.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has already vowed to fight the changes and, if elected, repeal them.

Labor to consult all businesses on tax reform amid criticism

The federal government will consult all businesses, not just tech start-ups as was initially suggested, on its proposed tax reform.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed broad consultation would take place as he outlined the process of how the capital gains tax and negative gearing changes would be introduced to parliament.

"Treasury are going about consulting not just in tech, but consulting COSBOA, for example, ACCI, the Tech Council," he told reporters earlier this week.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra.

"There'll be a policy position paper for consultation produced as well after the first round of consultations. That was all foreshadowed there on budget night."

The legislation is set to go before parliament on Thursday and will tie the tax reform to the tax cuts and $1000 standard deduction the government promised workers.

It will be debated and then go before the Senate in June. 

Then, following a period of consultation, the government will introduce a second piece of legislation that contains the details of how the reforms will be implemented.

Albanese said it was the normal process and consultation couldn't occur before the proposed reforms were announced. 

"If you go back and have a look at tax reform and the way that it's been implemented, this is the normal way," he said.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers holds a copy of the 2026 budget while speaking with the media at Australian Parliament House on May 12, 2026 in Canberra, Australia.

"When you are doing changes to tax policy, that begins on budget night.

"What you cannot do is go out there and sit down with people and say from budget night, this change is definitely going to occur in detail, because there are implications of that. That's called insider knowledge.

"Because changes are dated from, in capital gains and from negative gearing from budget night, that is why you can't have the level of consultation that you want to see people coming forward in a common-sense way."

The government has been fielding criticisms from businesses who say they will be swept up in tax changes meant to address intergenerational inequity in the housing market.

Warning of flight delays at Sydney airport as thick fog covers city

Warning of flight delays at Sydney airport as thick fog covers city

Sydney Airport is warning thick fog over the city is likely to impact flights today. 

The city woke to fog lying about 50 metres above ground, spanning from the city's south to north-western suburbs.

A spokesperson for Sydney Airport said the weather conditions will be monitored through the morning.

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The Sydney Harbour Bridge enveloped by fog this morning.

"Fog has descended at the airport resulting in delays and cancellations across the network. We will continue to monitor the weather conditions as the morning progresses. 

"We advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline."

It has already impacted flights into Sydney, with two international passenger services diverted to Brisbane airport.

Three cargo flights have also been diverted to Brisbane.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning of treacherous conditions on the city's roads.

"Reduced visibility in fog will make road conditions dangerous during Wednesday in all suburbs," a spokesman said.

"Motorists are advised to take extreme care."

Rain to soak every state as multiple low-pressure systems collide

Rain to soak every state as multiple low-pressure systems collide

Rain is on the way for every state and territory over the coming days, with some parts of south-eastern Australia expected to receive a drenching.

The mix of multiple low-pressure systems and upper-level cooler air is providing ideal conditions for wet, stormy and windy weather, reports weather data firm Weatherzone.

The unstable conditions took hold in South Australia, Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and the southern Northern Territory early this week.

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The rain is forecast to intensify across eastern Australia by Friday, before further showers spread over south-eastern states over the weekend.

Weather modelling suggests eastern and northern NSW and eastern Tasmania having a strong chance of heavy rain and potential flooding. Parts of the ACT, eastern Victoria and southern Queensland also have the possibility of major falls.

In addition to the wet conditions, there is a warning of stronger winds and hazardous waves off the coast of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.

The Bureau of Meteorology today issued a hazardous surf warning for the Byron, Coffs, Macquarie and Hunter coasts in northern NSW.

Western Australia won't be spared the wet and stormy weather either.

The damp conditions will make their impact from tomorrow when rain, thunderstorms and blustery winds are expected in the state's south-west.

Later in the week, a complex low-pressure system is forecast, with a strong chance of heavy rain, damaging winds and severe thunderstorms.

'Don't split the vote': Joyce mocks Liberals over new poll

'Don't split the vote': Joyce mocks Liberals over new poll

Barnaby Joyce has mocked mainstream conservative rivals in the Coalition, saying they are "splitting the One Nation vote", as recent polling suggests Pauline Hanson's party could form the next federal opposition.

A new poll revealed on the weekend by Ascent Research and RedBridge Group predicted that if an election were held today, Labor would return to power, and One Nation would win 53 seats.

The Liberals would retain a rump of 12 seats while the Nationals would be wiped out.

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It also predicted the Liberals would lose all their seats in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia.

"I'm really disappointed the Liberal party's splitting our vote," Joyce told Today.

"Don't split the One Nation vote."

READ MORE: Police, intelligence in spotlight at Bondi attack probe

Taking a more serious tone, he said One Nation would not get "carried away" with the poll numbers.

"It's a poll, it's indicative, it's not the vote on the day," he said.

"It's an incredible honour that's been indicated, but there's a lot of time between now and the election."

Joyce, who served as deputy prime minister at times when he was leader of Coalition partner the Nationals, said One Nation sought to fulfill Australia's potential, a task he claimed should have been completed "decades ago".

"We will negotiate on supply in confidence (with the Coalition) if that's what required, but we will do so in exchange for policy," he said.

"One Nation does not care if you don't like them, they're going to be straight with you."

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Police, intelligence in spotlight at Bondi attack probe

Police, intelligence in spotlight at Bondi attack probe

What police and intelligence agencies knew leading up to the Bondi terror attack will be the focus of a second round of public hearings at a wide-ranging inquiry.

After hearing first-person accounts of rising anti-Semitism within the community, a royal commission will on Monday begin looking at potential failures of security agencies to stop the December 14 mass shooting, which left 15 innocent people dead.

The first witness due to give evidence is ASIO director-general Mike Burgess, followed by senior officers from the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police.

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Two representatives from Jewish security organisation CSG NSW are also due to appear.

Among the issues under scrutiny will be security arrangements for the Chanukah by the Sea event that was targeted by two gunmen and what was known by counter-terrorism agencies and police about the shooters.

While some of the proceedings will be open to the public, much will be behind closed doors to avoid impacting national security and the ongoing criminal prosecution of the surviving shooter, Naveed Akram.

As a result, some of the commission's findings may take years to see the light of day.

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ASIO Director-General of Security Mike Burgess during a press conference following a shooting at Bondi, at Parliament House in Canberra on Sunday 14 December 2025.

"The work of the royal commission has been advanced by hearing from Jewish Australians and others about their experiences of anti-Semitism during hearing block one," commissioner Virginia Bell said.

In the lead-up to the attack, NSW Police were warned by CSG that a heightened atmosphere of anti-Semitism made a terror attack on the community likely, an interim report by the commission revealed in April.

Police planned to provide a high-visibility presence at the event, but they noted internally there was "no need to stay the entire duration" and ultimately only four officers and one area commander attended the event at various times.

Among 14 recommendations in the interim report was the need for tighter security arrangements at Jewish community gatherings in the future.

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Other recommendations included implementing nationally consistent firearm laws and a gun buyback scheme.

It also recommended considering making the role of the Commonwealth counter-terrorism co-ordinator full-time and making the role of the Australia-New Zealand counter-terrorism committee clearer - including regular briefings to national cabinet.

The report also made five recommendations that were redacted from the publicly released version for national security reasons.

The second hearing block will look at the resourcing of counter-terrorism and the effectiveness of current powers, systems and processes of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

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Video shows paraglider's heart-stopping fall after plane collision

Video shows paraglider's heart-stopping fall after plane collision

A heart-stopping video has captured the mid-air collision of a small plane and paraglider, sending the latter tumbling toward the earth.

The video, posted to Instagram buy user @sab-thi or "Sabrina" shows her soaring through the air in clear skies over northern Austria.

A buzzing sound is heard before a small plane, which Sabrina identified as a Cessna 172, swoops into frame and tears through her paragliding canopy.

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The canopy shredded, Sabrina starts falling toward the faraway ground.

Over muffled exclamations, she manages to deploy her emergency reserve parachute and free her tangled legs from the harness to land safely - even narrowly avoiding hitting a tree.

"I actually still can't believe that I'm sitting here typing this and apart from a few nasty bruises and bruises all around nothing really happened," she wrote in a translated caption.

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The collision took place on May 23, on what apparently was Sabrina's birthday.

Both Sabrina and the plane pilot, a 28-year-old man, escaped serious injury, police said.

"The propeller of the motor plane severely damaged the paraglider, prompting the experienced paraglider to deploy her reserve parachute," police said in a statement.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

Two wounded in Secret Service shooting near White House

Two wounded in Secret Service shooting near White House

Two people have been shot and wounded by US Secret Service agents near the White House, which was briefly locked down due to the nearby gunfire this morning.

A law enforcement official told CNN officers from the Secret Service's uniformed division responded to a report of a person firing a weapon when the incident took place.

Trump is currently in residence at the White House, which was briefly locked down.

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https://x.com/selinawangtv/status/2058312115098697760

That lockdown has since been lifted, CNN has reported.

Journalists reporting on US President Donald Trump's claim of a nearly finalised peace deal with Iran were rushed to the briefing room and told to shelter in place after the noises were heard.

"I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots," ABC US reporter Selina Wang posted on X.

"It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now."

A Secret Service official told CNN that the agency was investigating reports of shots fired at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, which is just outside the White House complex.

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Secret Service agents carrying rifles could be seen moving through the North Lawn area following the incident and blocking the White House press briefing room.

The Secret Service said it was "aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW" — one block from the White House — and was "working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground".

In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers were responding to shots fired and said he would "update the public as we're able."

The lockdown comes a month after the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where reporters and Trump administration officials ducked for cover as shots rang out.

The suspect in that shooting, Cole Tomas Allen, sprinted through a security checkpoint with a shotgun in hand, exchanging fire with Secret Service agents who chased behind him, according to security footage.

He has pleaded not guilty to attempting to assassinate Trump and to other charges.

More to come.

– with CNN and Associated Press