US government pushes to put Donald Trump's face on new $250 bill

US government pushes to put Donald Trump's face on new $250 bill

9News

The US government is working on a $250 note to bear the face of Donald Trump, his treasury secretary has announced.

The draft revealed by Secretary Scott Bessent features Trump's face taken from the mugshot from his arrest in Georgia in 2023.

The bill will also include his signature, a departure from previous US currency.

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"I don't think there's anything untoward about having the president of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill," Bessent said.

But he did concede that the law would need to change to allow Trump's face on money.

Under a law passed in 1866, living people cannot appear on US currency.

But legislation introduced by Congressman Joe Wilson, a conservative Republican, would change that.

"Grateful to commemorate President Trump's legacy of greatness and the 250 anniversary of America," Wilson said.

"The most valuable President on our most valuable bill."

While the president has frequently minted commemorative coins bearing his face, this note is intended to be legal tender widely used across the country.

The plan was strongly criticised by Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.

"While Americans are struggling to put food on the table, keep up with rising energy costs, and pay for health care, the administration is focused on illegally putting the president's face on money," Cleaver said.

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"As the president made very clear: 'I don't think about Americans' financial situation'."

Congresswoman Judy Chu noted that inflation was at a three-year high.

"And what are Trump's priorities? Slapping his face on a $250 bill, just to boost his own ego," she said.

"Every day he makes it more clear that he doesn't care about the American people, only himself."

The move to put Trump's face on money comes as the president's approval rating continues to sink.

A poll released fby YouGov this week shows him with just a 34 per cent approval rating, with 59 per cent disapproving.

Trump has previously intervened to stop a 2016 plan from the Obama administration to replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 note with abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

He decried the plan to replace the now-maligned former president with Tubman as "pure political correctness".

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End in sight for rain, storms hammering east coast

End in sight for rain, storms hammering east coast

9News

The heavy rain and storms hammering parts of Australia's eastern coast should ease by this afternoon and lead into a sunny weekend, forecasts show.

The Queensland and NSW coasts, as well as regions further inland, have copped a soaking this week, driven by a low-pressure system off the coast.

Falls of up to 80mm have been recorded in south-eastern Queensland, and up to 70mm in NSW down to the Central Coast.

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Weatherzone said current modelling indicated Friday would continue to be wet and grey for most of the day before the weather eased in the afternoon.

The weather website's lightning detector showed 460,000 strikes within 800km of Dalby in southern Queensland in the 24 hours to 9 am yesterday. 

A severe weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology remains in place as of this morning for parts of the Mid North Coast, Hunter, North West Slopes and Plains, and Northern Tablelands districts.

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Six-hourly rain totals of between 40mm and 70mm are expected, with isolated falls of up to 80mm.

Severe thunderstorms could strike the eastern Hunter and south-eastern Mid North Coast this morning, with the threat easing mid-afternoon.

The Bureau also has a flood warning in place for the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions.

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No severe weather warning has been issued for Queensland today.

The forecasts for Brisbane and Sydney show sunny weekends ahead for both cities, with temperatures peaking in the low 20s.

"At this stage, rain and storms should ease on Friday afternoon and evening as the low moves away from the coast," Weatherzone said.

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

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

9News

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

9News

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

9News

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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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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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).

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

9News

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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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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"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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"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

9News

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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"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

9News

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

9News

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

9News

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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"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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