Australian news and politics recap: Sanjeev Gupta’s Whyalla steelworks losing $1.5m a day

The business sector is starting to see a rise in company profits, recording a 5.9 per cent increase, seasonally adjusted for the December quarter.

While the uplift was welcome, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed company profits are still down 6.2 per cent year on year. The index shows that profits have not been in positive growth territory since March 2023.

The ABS also reported wages and salaries for the private sector rose 1.4 per cent to be 4.5 per cent higher year on year.

Standout sectors showing high growth in profitability included the financial services and insurance sector, which saw gross profits rise 36 per cent; the arts and recreation sector which saw a 12 per cent rise; and wholesale trade which saw gross profits rise 19 per cent.

The sectors experiencing falls were manufacturing, down 1.4 per cent and professional and technical services, which fell 1 per cent.

Private sector wages rose fastest in the education and training sector at 3 per cent, and the transport, postal and warehouse sector at 2.7 per cent.

After tracking through the Coral Sea for well over a week, tropical Cyclone Alfred now has his sights set on the Australian coast.

As of Monday morning, he’s the equivalent of a category 2 cyclone, sitting just over 400km off the Sunshine Coast.

Alfred is expected to continue moving southeast, away from the coast, and weaken to a category 1 system again until late Tuesday.

In this time, we can expect already large waves to build even further along southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales.

On Sunday, the Wide Bay waverider buoy recorded a series of rogue waves, the highest of which reached a phenomenal 16.92 metres!

Read the full story here.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated his Government’s strong support for Ukraine, as the fallout from the extraordinary stoush between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues.

Speaking ahead of the cabinet meeting on Monday, Mr Albanese said it was not only right, but also in Australia’s national interests to remain committed to Ukraine.

“The brave people of Ukraine, led so extraordinarily by President Zelensky, are fighting not just for their national sovereignty and their democracy, they are fighting for the international rule of law,” Albanese said.

“And it is an easy choice that Australia has made – a bipartisan position Australia’s had, we’ve contributed $1.5bn of support, $1.3bn of which is military support.”

Casino group Star’s situation continues to deteriorate with the company now suspended from the Australian Securities Exchange.

Star was one of eight companies to receive a suspension for “not lodging the relevant periodic report by the due date”.

On Friday, the last day of reporting season, Star notified the market that it was waiting on offers of liquidity to allow it to keep operating, and that if it failed to find sufficient investment, it would face delisting.

“It is likely that the 1HFY25 Report will only be able to be finalised if the Company has received liquidity proposals which, after appropriate consideration by the Directors, are sufficiently capable of being progressed to finalisation in the context of determining whether the Company can continue as a going concern,” the company advised Friday.

As of Sunday, the company had not secured a backer, however if it manages to do so, it can be reinstated on the Exchange.

The company has told the market that if it fails to find a finance offer “there remains material uncertainty as to the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

A Qantas flight bound from Sydney to Perth has been forced to turn around and make an emergency landing at Mascot on Monday morning.

Emergency services scrambled at Sydney Airport after the flight did a u-turn and headed back to it’s departure point after reports of an on-board emergency.

QF643 made a loop over the ocean off Sydney after its altitude peaked at 3960 metres.

A flight map for QF643 shows it circling over Sydney Airport. Picture: FlightAware

The aviation news outlet AviationSource reported a ‘code 7700’ which is an indication a flight needs immediate support from air traffic control had taken place.

Qantas has been contacted for comment.

A person has been taken to hospital after a car burst into flames in the middle of a freeway in Melbourne’s southeast, with the incident causing major traffic delays for morning commuters.

All citybound lanes of Peninsula Link were closed over Frankston-Dandenong Rd due to the incident.

One person was taken to Frankston Public Hospital in an unknown condition.

Read the story here.

Philip Lowe, the former Reserve Bank Governor has told ​The Australian​ he blames Australia’s cost of living crisis on politics, not economics.

As Australian’s find some solace in a recent rate reduction, Mr Lowe said the high rates are due to a lack of productivity.

“It’s not interest rates. Interest rates have probably suppressed aggregate demand by 1 per cent this year,” Dr Lowe said.

“The lack of productivity over that time has suppressed demand now by 9 per cent (today). So that’s the source of the problem.

“We’ve had our living standards rising quickly for decades, and that’s no longer happening, and people are getting unhappy about it,” he added.

For nearly a century, the Academy Awards have been the pinnacle of glitz, glamour and unpredictability.

While the Oscars celebrate the best in film, the ceremony itself has often stolen the spotlight, giving audiences moments that are thrilling, heartfelt, and sometimes downright shocking. From historic wins and emotional speeches to unexpected mishaps, the Oscars have delivered some of pop culture’s most iconic scenes.

As the countdown to today’s 2025 ceremony draws closer Australian’s are set to tune in and can stay in touch with the ceremoney via The Nightly’s live coverage.

Read the Oscar’s biggest moments story here.

Australia’s short-lived housing downturn is already over with the shallow three-month dip almost wiped out by a single month of growth.

Property values rose 0.3 per cent across the country in February, bringing prices back near record highs following a 0.4 per cent drop over the previous three months, CoreLogic’s monthly Home Value Index showed on Monday.

Even before homebuyers feel the effect of the Reserve Bank’s February rate cut, rising confidence was already contributing to a surge in demand, CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.

With interest rates still well above historical averages and price-to-income ratios near record highs, Mr Lawless was not expecting prices to pick up again so soon.

“It’s been quite an abrupt change of pace,” he told AAP.

​Read the full story here.​

Residents in two states in the firing line of a cyclone have been told to have tinned food ready and prepare their properties before it makes landfall in coming days.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to cross anywhere from Bundaberg in Queensland and northern NSW on Thursday as a category two system, bringing up to 600 millimetres of rain per day.

Authorities urged residents to stay vigilant, pay attention to warnings and prepare for a rare cyclone in that part of Australia.

Flood watches and erosion warnings have been issued for coastal areas, with record high 14 metre waves recorded off Wide Bay in Queensland on Sunday.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said residents should do “everything they can” including having tinned food, making an emergency kit, gathering up passports and clearing debris from properties.

Read the full story here.