The fortnightly Sky News Pulse poll by YouGov has Labor up three points to 30%, the Coalition up one to 21%, One Nation down three to 24% and the Greens steady on 14%. Labor’s two-party lead over the Coalition is unchanged at 54-46, but is much improved against One Nation at 57-43, out from 53-47. Anthony Albanese is up two on approval to 40% and down three on disapproval to 54%, while Angus Taylor is steady on 38% and down one to 42%. Albanese’s lead over Taylor on preferred prime minister is out from 44-39 to 45-36, and his lead over Pauline Hanson is out from 50-39 to 54-35. The poll was conducted last Tuesday to this Tuesday from a sample size unspecified in the report, which was likely around 1100 (UPDATE: It was actually 1500, as is typical for this series).
The weekly Roy Morgan poll has Labor steady at 29.5%, the Coalition up one-and-a-half to 24%, One Nation down one to 21.5% and the Greens down one to 13%. Labor’s lead on respondent-allocated preferences is unchanged at 54.5-45.5, while its lead on previous election preferences is in from 54-46 to 53-47. The poll was conducted Monday to Sunday from a sample of 1681.
It is what the bowl of petunias said anyway. As I suspect they foresaw this.
——————————
Mossop slightly predated Adams in my formative years. I don’t think Moose foresaw much.
Netanyahu bombs Beirut, breaks ceasefire.
Netanyahu does not want a deal between Trump and Khamenei II.
Morning all. Boerwar is right. Netanyahu does not want peace.
For Netanyahu, peace means an end to Israel’s territorial expansion in Gaza, Lebanon and possibly the West Bank, plus a resumption of the Israeli trial for himself.
Unless Trump can put pressure on Israel, there won’t be peace. Trump could easily exert pressure by cutting off the supply of US military aid. But if Israel has kompromat on Trump as many claim, that won’t happen.
Iran can play this game too. Through control of the Straits and having a few weapons in reserve, from now on Iran only has to launch weapons at a few tankers to spike world and US oil prices. They could for example do it in the run up to the US mid terms for maximum effect.
Dr Doolittle,Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 11:11 pm:
————————-
Dr D, thank you. What we haven’t raised in our discussion, until now, is the most salient point which deterred Ukraine from accepting any peace deal with Russia in the absence of ironclad commitments that sufficient might from the West would be deployed in the event Russia reneged on such a deal and resumed attacking Ukraine. At that very moment, Ukraine was repelling the current Russian exercise in violating its own binding promise to respect Ukraine’s full sovereignty within its own internationally recognised borders.
I am speaking, of course, of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which Russia was, right then, violating with extreme military violence (as evidenced by the outrageous conduct of its invading troops in Bucha, which was, right at that moment, being uncovered). Of course, they had been violating that agreement since February 2014, by illegally annexing Crimea and by fomenting separatist terrorism in the Donbas (including shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 and trying to frame that act of terrorism on Ukraine).
Europe and the US attempted a half-way accommodation with Russia over that violation of the Budapest Memoramdum: official non-recognition, imposition of some sanctions, but otherwise promising to do absolutely nothing to reverse Russia’s blatant theft of Ukrainian land. This, of course, ultimately did nothing to appease Russia’s ‘land hunger’, as the events of February 2022 demonstrated.
In the light of this history, and in the midst of fending off Russia’s current brutal and violent violation of its most explicit promise to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, it would have been completely irrational for Ukraine to do anything close to what Russia was asking of it. All they would be getting in return was a completely worthless ‘promise’.
It is clear that, in April 2022, Ukrainians didn’t need the UK, the US or anyone else to ‘encourage’ them to continue resisting Russia’s current attempt to subjugate them to Moscow’s rule. Their own experiences of Putin’s genocidal intentions towards them – as evidenced in Irpin, Mariupol and Buchas, among hundreds of other less internationally noticed places – were what was driving them to resist.
What is more, the course of Western limitations and conditions on its support for Ukraine during 2022-23 (self-deterring and slow-walking the power and quantities of munitions; inhibiting the scope of Ukrainian self-defensive strikes into Russian logistical lines of supply and communications in Russia; warning Ukraine off strikes on the Kerch Bridge; etc), indicate that it wasn’t the West goading Ukraine on, but rather the reverse: Ukraine arguing forcefully that the Wesy should not unfairly muzzle their efforts at self defence.
I wonder why you are so keen to downplay Ukraine’s own agency in deciding its own courses of actions, by playing up the notion that they were ‘urged to fight’ by the UK?
The Coalition is planning to cut Australia’s annual net overseas immigration levels to 150,000-200,000, according to a confidential policy roadmap that reveals Angus Taylor is preparing to fight a possible early election.
An internal document circulated to senior Coalition MPs details the key policies the opposition wants to build its election platform on, as it rebuilds from its catastrophic 2025 loss.
The document shows Taylor wants the Coalition’s “full platform” ready for a sign-off in February 2027, suggesting he wants to be prepared if Anthony Albanese calls an early election and to avoid the last-minute policy chaos that plagued Peter Dutton’s 2025 campaign.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/06/coalition-considers-plan-to-slash-net-overseas-immigration-by-nearly-half-its-current-rate-leaked-documents-reveal
The US Department of War and Nobel Peace Prizes has issued another war propaganda porky.
It has reported that there are 1500 vessels trapped in the Gulf, along with 22,000 crew.
Yet the war started with roughly 750 ships trapped in the Gulf.
How did the extra 750 get into the Gulf with the SoH shut?
The DoW used the tricky term ‘vessels’. Every small coaster and dhow has been added to the tally to make the humanitarian crisis look much biggerer.
If they were all ‘ships’ the trapped crew numbers would be in the order of 33,000.
The second tricky bit of propaganda is that dhows and the like have not been stopped by either blockade. So even the ‘1500 vessels trapped’ is a shonk.
Such is war talk.
Why bother?
I imagine it was originally to magnify the size of the humanitarian crisis that Operation Freedom was going to solve.
I am not sure if it is war propaganda but it does seem as if there is a pattern of Putin’s behaviours indicating that he is succumbing to the fate of many a dictator: paranoia.
With dictators it is always difficult to assess whether the paranoia is just psychological paranoia or whether there are actually individuals and groups of people plotting to murder Putin.
Has Xi sacked three defence ministers in a row and well over a hundred top generals and admirals because he imagined they were plotting his murder? Or were they actually plotting his murder?
The existential problem for dictators is that they observe no rules. That removes the constraints on anybody else.
Is that the same existential problem for countries when dictators run countries?
Good to see the so called ISIS brides and their kids are coming home. Law enforcement here can take the action required, I hope they have a happy life now they’re home or at least the kids do
Great line from Larissa Waters on RN Breakfast this morning “the sun and wind don’t have to go through the Straits of Hormuz”
Hopefully the 1 page MOU comes to something and the war actually ends this time
Embarrassing numbers out there today around how many homes have been delivered under the HAFF, spend the money not just the interest imo. Worthwhile article on the ABC re co-op housing models that’s worth a read
Ipsos poll apparently has the Greens winning 18 seats in Scotland, bring it on. As well as Wales and the local UK elections.
Off to work, have fun
Boerwar
It seems to me that with dictators, they see loss of power as being as bad as their murder. Once they assume they may be purged or put on trial in the event of loss of power, that loss of power becomes as existential to them as a coup.
In China and Russia’s cases they have good reason to fear this. In Soviet times leaders rarely outlived their time in power in Russia. Russia seems to have returned to that style of government. Falls from grace now literally occur from high rise buildings.
In China purged leaders often die within a few years of stepping down, with harsh treatment in between fall and death.
So anyone who talks about the need for a change is a threat to Xi and Putin.
It is a wonder Waters did not take to the opportunity to announce THE obvious message from the Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine and Iran wars: that the Greens are developing a new Australian defence policy… the one where Australia gets to defend itself.
She should steal more lines from Mr Bowen 🙂
https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/interview-paul-sakkal-and-mike-foley-sydney-morning-herald-and-age-inside-politics-podcast
Larissa Waters’ version is sharper.
World News & Politics Patrol:
CNN founder Ted Turner, a pioneer of cable TV news, dies at 87: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/06/us/ted-turner-death
A South Korean judge who more than doubled the former first lady’s prison sentence last month was found dead on Wednesday, police said. Shin Jong-o was “found unconscious around 1:00 a.m. … at the Seoul High Court building,” an investigator at Seocho district police station said: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/05/06/asia-pacific/crime-legal/south-korea-judge-dead/
Hungary returns seized Ukrainian cash and gold in further sign of better relations: https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-hungary-returns-seized-cash-gold-sign-thaw/
Trump says Iran will be bombed at a ‘much higher level’ if it doesn’t agree to peace deal: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/06/us-iran-peace-deal-nuclear-moratorium.html
US fires on Iranian oil tanker as Trump pressures Tehran for deal to end war: https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-war-china-may-6-2026-3d061a90ccde095178d9b988d94d08f3
Iran Damaged or Destroyed Hundreds of Targets in US Bases, Reporting Reveals: https://truthout.org/articles/iran-damaged-or-destroyed-hundreds-of-targets-in-us-bases-reporting-reveals/
Ukraine accuses Russia of breaking unilateral ceasefire: https://www.dw.com/en/dozens-killed-as-ukraine-accuses-russia-of-breaking-unilateral-ceasefire/a-77059886
Regional leader of Spain’s Canary Islands rejects hantavirus-hit cruise docking there: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/regional-leader-spains-canary-islands-rejects-hantavirus-hit-cruise-docking-2026-05-06/
Three evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship as Spain says vessel can dock: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/06/cruise-ship-hantavirus-strain-andes-spread-humans-south-africa
Half a million pregnant women could lose workplace protections each year under Reform UK’s plans to scrap the Equality Act, new analysis has shown, with charities and campaign groups warning that plans would “wipe out decades of progress”.: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-uk-nigel-farage-equality-act-pregnant-women-maternity-b2967253.html
‘White supremacist’ former soldier hoarded guns and bombs in Nazi man cave: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/06/white-supremacist-ex-soldier-had-guns-bombs-nazi-man-cave/
Reform’s Robert Jenrick vowed to cut flight tax after getting £40k from airline owner: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/reform-robert-jenrick-air-duty-36998835
FBI searches office of Virginia lawmaker who helped lead redistricting push: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fbi-searches-office-virginia-lawmaker-helped-lead-redistricting-push-rcna343879
Obama says president ‘shouldn’t have a bunch of side hustles’: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5865536-obama-trump-white-house-side-hustle-rhetoric/
FBI Launches Probe Into Reporter Who Covered Kash Patel’s Drinking: https://newrepublic.com/post/210013/fbi-investigation-atlantic-reporter-kash-patel-drinking
Republicans Want To Borrow Every Single Dollar of the $72 Billion Bill To Fund ICE and Trump’s Ballroom: https://reason.com/2026/05/06/republicans-want-to-borrow-every-single-dollar-of-the-72-billion-bill-to-fund-ice-and-trumps-ballroom/
Bill banning whites-only housing passes Pennsylvania House by 1 vote: https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-politics/bill-banning-whites-only-housing-passes-pennsylvania-house-by-1-vote/
Republicans fall one vote short on bill to criminalize blowing whistles to warn of ICE: https://azmirror.com/briefs/republicans-fall-one-vote-short-on-bill-to-criminalize-blowing-whistles-to-warn-of-ice/
ICE agents storm Disney cruise docked in California and arrest multiple staff in front of passengers: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ice-agents-disney-cruise-san-diego-b2971807.html
Hegseth falsely claimed Biden sent troops to polling stations in 15 states during 2024 election: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hegseth-biden-polling-stations/
Keep quiet ‘so we don’t go to jail’: the Israelis charged with bribery after suspicious bets placed on Iran strikes: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/06/polymarket-israel-iran-war-arrest
A 600-person search continues for missing US soldiers off Morocco’s coast: https://apnews.com/article/us-soldiers-missing-morocco-7ffe6fd1915c0c4bfedf6231b7e92b28
US rights agency sues New York Times for discriminating against white man passed over for promotion: https://apnews.com/article/eeoc-discrimination-new-york-times-trump-4934a583098aac3d0700efeedf1f0a41
Lawyers for Leon Black, the billionaire investor who has been accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a teenage girl inside Jeffrey Epstein’s New York townhouse in 2002, reached out to a powerful federal judge in 2024 to raise doubts about the alleged victim’s claims, a Guardian investigation has found: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/06/jeffrey-epstein-leon-black
HBG
Yes this is the right thing to do. They should all come home, especially the kids.
This is probably a politically convenient time for them to do so as well. There are lots of more important things happening.
Regardless of who claims credit, efforts to switch our power grid to renewables and electrify our transport system should continue and be accelerated if possible.
With no sign of a lasting peace in the Middle East, let alone stability, the risk of high oil prices could last years. The local oil reserve plan should proceed for the same reason. It will be needed for at least twenty years.
Bowen has sharper versions:
https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/press-conference-parliament-house-canberra-0
He utters a version of this line most days. I guess it’s a compliment that Ms Waters is using it.
Vale Ted Turner:
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/06/nx-s1-3059290/ted-turner-obituary-cnn
The PM is wrong: gas exports can and should be taxed
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/05/the-pm-is-wrong-gas-exports-can-and-should-be-taxed/
“The Prime Minister has let it be known that gas exports will continue to not be taxed. According to him, applying a tax to existing gas contracts would contravene those contracts and damage relations with our Asian customers on whom we depend for petrol, diesel and jet fuels.
He is wrong. The contracts cover the volume of LNG to be shipped. Prices vary substantially from year to year. It is also almost certain that the export tax would not affect either the price or supply of LNG.”
Thanks for the roundup HH. No sign of world conflicts ending any time soon.
Since the oil reserve is an economic security measure, and AUKUS shows no sign of delivering us economic security, why not take the cost of the oil reserve out of the AUKUS budget? 😉
Have a good day all, work beckons.
Increasing JobSeeker is long overdue. Here’s how we could do it, without breaking the budget
https://theconversation.com/increasing-jobseeker-is-long-overdue-heres-how-we-could-do-it-without-breaking-the-budget-281341
“Research shows where those cost-of-living stresses are greatest. It’s not the vast bulk of middle-income Australia, but working-age welfare recipients.
It’s against this backdrop that the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee recently handed its 2026 report to government. It’s the fourth report in a row to recommend a substantial increase to JobSeeker: the payment that around 900,000 mostly unemployed, working-age Australians receive.
:::
The committee’s reports have considered a range of evidence to show that the payment is too low.
:::
To date, the response from the Albanese government to the cost of living crisis has been mostly spread widely rather than targeted towards those most in need. Tuesday’s budget is an opportunity to fix a major problem with the welfare system for the most disadvantaged that has been well documented for decades.”
Pegasus
On this one I agree with the Greens. There is no credible economic reason not to tax gas exports the same ways we tax coal and iron ore exports. All three require large investments.
The only reason gas exports are so lowly taxed is that gas investors were given unwise political promises in the past. Like AUKUS, nobody in power now wants to be the one to walk away from past foolish decisions.
Gas cannot be taxed by labor fed gov failures because for four years plus they did nothing on fuel supply ,and recently are begging Asia for fuel and did a deal for missing out on billions in gas tax in exchange for fuel.
AI boom in Asia it’s not Australia ,whos sharemarket has gone nowhere this year whilst South Koreas Ai boom share market this year the kospi is up 75% and increasing.
What’s Albos growth story apart from in high tax and population?
And linking to a China communist economy getting smashed with USA tariffs.
President Trump’s Project Freedom, which lasted 48 hours, was a ‘bust’ according to CNN report, adding that out of the 1,600 stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, ‘only two ships were guided through’.
Push to double Labor’s $10 billion housing fund as demand soars for social housing and crisis accommodation
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-07/homelessness-bodies-push-for-social-housing-funding-budget-2026/106640710
“Homelessness and domestic violence bodies are pushing the federal government to commit at least $10 billion of extra funding into social and affordable housing to match “phenomenal demand”.
The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) was announced by Labor in 2023, with a commitment to help deliver 55,000 social and affordable homes by mid‑2029.
About 6,000 social and affordable homes have been delivered since May 2022, according to the latest figures provided by the Treasury.”
Holdenhillbillysays:
Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 7:45 am
The Coalition is planning to cut Australia’s annual net overseas immigration levels to 150,000-200,000, according to a confidential policy roadmap that reveals Angus Taylor is preparing to fight a possible early election.
____________________
A not-big-enough cut, I believe I estimated previously that on current housing construction trends it needs to be closer to 120-130k net.
Which makes the whole effort from Taylor and team largely self defeating, because it is nowhere big enough cut to pull in anyone from One Nation, but the “cut” messaging will still alienate the business friendly wing of the party.
Hell, there is a permutation where they might even be financially better off in promising to increase migration and target Big Gina’s imported slave labour fantasies.
No, they did not sought out Indian Congress PM Manmohan Singh like they did with Netanyahu during Bondi beach killings. As far as I can remember Indian PM Manmohan Singh never publicly criticised of Rudd government at that time.
It was mostly criticism by Indian media after multiple killings of people of Indian origin. The people who targetted people of Indian origin are not Muslims, Sikhs or white people. They were mostly pacific islanders origin. Me and my wife were once targetted by a couple of pacific islanders at Campbelltown stn., NSW.
As per ‘The Atlantic’, Kash Patel carries with him a personalised bourbon i.e. a bourbon with his name as label.
Apparently, he gives these bottles to others as gifts.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/thanks-to-trump-the-national-mood-has-seldom-been-bleaker-over-to-you-chalmers-20260505-p5zu2i.html
It’s difficult to discern whether Taylor is attempting to attract Hanson voters back to the fold or if he really is as thick as he appears. At some point, he’ll be asked by a pesky journo to list the ‘bad countries’, thereby alienating those who have migrated from them. Anyway, as he’s endorsed Abbott as president of the Liberal Party, Oz values will feature prominently from now until the election. It’ll be like the good old days.
Thank you Holden for today’s international reports
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/06/politics/gop-trump-midterm-elections
As posted last night, Graham’s time in the Senate may come to an end at the midterms.
This speaks for itself:
“‘Putin only cares about parades’: fury as Russia rains missiles on Ukraine during 24-hour truce:
Dozens killed despite ceasefire announced by Zelenskyy, after Moscow asked for Saturday truce for military parade”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/06/russia-ukraine-missiles-24-hour-ceasefire-military-parade
Jane Norman, on the ABC Live blog, is reporting that the Gas Reservation Scheme, which will start from July 2027, will be unveiled later today. Contrary to what is reported, the main objective of the Scheme is to decouple the domestic gas price from the global price.
The supply shortfalls, later in the decade, that are mentioned are a separate issue. They are due to the depletion of Victorian reserves and will require engineering solutions to transport and store the abundant gas in Qld to the southern states.
Hungary returns to civilisation, since it ousted its ‘highway robbery’ kleptocrat from power:
“Hungary returns seized Oschadbank funds and gold to Ukraine”
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/05/06/8033441/
“Hungary gives back seized Ukrainian bank assets, Zelensky calls it ‘civilized step'”
https://kyivindependent.com/hungary-gives-back-seized-ukrainian-bank-assets/
Now, for the ouster of the much more destructive kleptocrat in power in Moscow …
I found this a compelling description of how I find the world these days. The solutions you can take or leave but the first half is a good read
https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2026/may/06/how-to-survive-the-information-crisis-we-once-talked-about-fake-news-now-reality-itself-feels-fake
Is Labor treating gas tax as a two-way bet…a bargaining chip to gain fuel supplies from major importers of gas and a possible election platform (increase gas export tax) at the next federal election?
A new gas tax would involve a transfer of wealth from the govts of our trading partners* to ours. Even in normal times that would be a difficult undertaking, with Japan accusing us of threatening world peace, etc. Doing it now would threaten our liquid fuel imports.
* Much of our gas production facilities are govt owned, just not by our govt. We don’t have very good bargaining chips.
I’d like to see these numbers broken down by LNG project.
Tuesday showed that even a politically diminished Trump still has the juice to end a Republican’s career if they don’t toe his line.
————————————————–
I think there is a lot of wishful thinking in reporting on Trump.
He is, right now, the most powerful POTUS in my living memory. He has a cult following in the order of 30% of the population and a loyal following beyond that which makes him very difficult to defeat in elections. He has the party and most of the institutions under his control (to varying degrees but all growing further under his control). As for Ohio and Indiana, yeah, he pushed to get rid of those who defied him – that’s his schtick and it has been working. Will that hurt him at elections? Trumps support in elections in Ohio and Indiana have steadily grown since 2016. That tells me that the more people in red and reddish areas get to see Trumps style, the more they vote for him. Supporting Trump is becoming like crack to these people.
Special elections are suggesting a different story. And maybe peoples dissatisfaction with Trump will show in the big elections. But we have seen this turn out to be a mirage before. MAGA turn out for Trump when he needs them. And he has planned for the possibility of them not quite turning out enough.
I don’t know the exact numbers for each LNG project, but Petronas (owned by the Malaysian govt) has a stake in GLNG: https://www.glng.com/about-us (and probably other projects).
Inpex, 23% owned by the Japanese govt has stakes in many projects: https://www.inpex.com.au/projects/
Re the gas tax, I feel politicians get sucked into the “Jobs” narrative too easy.
Make sure the foreign investor spends x hundred million on some refinery or smelter, the logic goes, even if they get away with murder in terms of not paying anything, it’s OK, because “jobs” and triple points for “regional jobs”
Places like Gladstone and Whyalla might as well be tax free zones, because their voters need “jobs”
And no, I am not trying to trivialise regional unemployment, but how will these places ever get more sustainable (in every sense of the word) economies if they depend on one big employer who can up sticks every time the government doesn’t bow to their will?
And if I was a young person leaving school in these places, how confident will I be to get the degree, the house and mortgage in town after watching years of de-industrialisation of similar industries and towns elsewhere
Victorian budget winners and losers according to the ABC.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-05/victoria-2026-budget-winners-and-losers/106627828
Ichthys was the obvious project to meet a majority owned by trading partners test, I assuming trading partner is every other country on earth we do any business with, and I’m not sure Ichthys makes a majority foreign Govt test.
I don’t think across all the LNG project the numbers come close to backing up the claim.
But I assume this is trying to create some kind of cover for Albo, although I don’t think it is well thought through because a ‘any other country who has invested in Australia first, Australia last’ policy seems unlikely to resonate with voters.
The word I used was much not majority. The trading partners I was referring to are the ones we depend on for liquid fuel. The two I specifically mentioned have both expressed their displeasure against any potential tax surprises.
Federal Govts have done nowhere near enough to assist Vic energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio to transition away from gas. She’s done all the heavy lifting to help transition households and business off gas.
The fossil fuel unions in WA, Qld and NSW make sure that Fed Labor keep the fossil fuel multicorporates pockets full.
Someone quietly placed a massive $920 million crude oil short at 3:40 a.m. ET this morning. Just 70 minutes later, Axios reported the U.S. and Iran were close to a 14 point deal to end the war. Oil prices crashed, and someone made a fortune. The golden age of corruption.
China with its economy in trouble,aka labor governments besties, loves Australia…
https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/australia-slaps-china-with-punitive-82pc-steel-tariff-20260506-p5zu74
Not!
Labor gov tariffs good Trump tariffs bad eh hypocrites!
Betting company Tabcorp is being investigated by Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator over “serious concerns” in its ability to prevent illegal activity on its platform.
On Thursday morning, Tabcorp told the ASX it had received a letter from AUSTRAC that it had launched an investigation into its compliance with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financial obligations.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/tabcorp-hit-with-money-laundering-investigation-20260507-p5zuln.html
This implies that there are 1,600 ships stuck in the Gulf. There are less than half that many ships stuck in the Gulf. The 900 presumably means that someone is counting dhows as ‘ships’. In any case dhows have been transiting the SoH regularly since Feb 28. So they can’t be counted as stuck.
Gulf ship inflation was apparently started by the Department of War to magnify the humanitarian magnificence of Project Freedom. They did not specify ships but used the term ‘vessels’. The number now being inflated again from 1,500 to 1,600 ‘ships’ and is being used by US opponents to magnify the extent of the failure of Project Freedom.
Such is war propaganda.
Energy giants will be forced to set aside gas for the domestic market from July next year, under a new east coast reservation scheme which the resources minister has previously likened to a tax.
Madeleine King will unveil the details of the long-promised policy today which is designed to avert looming shortages and bring down gas bills, by shielding Australia from international prices.
The new scheme will apply to all producers, requiring them to reserve a percentage of the gas produced each year for Australian use, with two sources suggesting the exact figure will be around 20 per cent.
Queensland’s three LNG ventures, led by Origin, Shell, Santos, would be subject to new export permits.
The announcement comes just weeks after the government killed off a campaign to increase taxes on gas giants in this year’s budget, amid fears it could anger trading partners Australia relies on for fuel.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-07/federal-politics-live-blog-early-childcare-commission/106651090#live-blog-post-292494
This was on twitter going by the handle common sense.
I always believed Trump was a Bona fide traitor and Melania his handler.
This tweet makes the case.
———-
Something is happening to America that is slow, systematic and deadly. Trump is killing America, and it’s deliberate.
1: Trump killed NATO partnership, our strongest defense alliance against Russia and China
2: trump’s HHS Secretary is killing our public health infrastructure, creating a more sicker and vulnerable America with communicative diseases
3: over at the pentagon trump’s frat boy Petey is firing our most qualified generals, depleting our best military hardware rapidly, in a stupid war to make our military a third world level armed forces
4: trump’s DOGE deliberately hollowed out our government from essential experts, to zap its functioning capabilities
5: trump killed USAID, and we lost our goodwill around the world and became isolated pariah
6: trump ICE became his brown shirts, killing
And abusing Americans to obey
7: trump’s weirdo FBI director is charging everyone and anyone to silence Americans
8: trump National security, the skunk looking girl, is dismantling our intelligence, making America vulnerable to terrorists
9: trump’s interior secretary is dismantling our national parks
10: trump’s economic team of Bassett and lutnick is crashing the economy, creating a population of economically needy
11: trump’s Epstein files that now every country have a copy of for blackmail
12: finally and most importantly, trump
And his family and his oligarch enablers are looting our treasury, and stuffing our tax dollars into their pockets.
Now tell me, you don’t think trump is a foreign agent, disguised as the president of the U.S, installed to destroy the US? Could it be that fuck Putin who owns trump’s ass? Drag this enemy of America out of the White House. That foreign escort Melania too.
The Guardian tells us about a billionaire in Chumpistan, Leon Black, who was accused of peodophilia while in the orbit of Chump’s dear friend Jeffery Epstein, and who tried to get help from a Judge to avoid the consequences. It is reported elsewhere that the victim had Downs Syndrome.
Just for fun I googled the relationship between Chump and Leon Black.
* Black’s son Benjamin was appointed head of the Development Finance Corp. (A Govt. institution)
* Leon Black contributed to Epstein’s birthday tribute book, you know, the one where Chump drew a female outline and made references to dirty secrets.
* Black’s firm Apollo funded Musk’s takeover of Twitter that Musk then changed to X. Black is an old friend of Chump.
* The details were paywalled but Pam Bondi has been accused of hiding information about Black accompanying Chump on his visits to Moscow.
People are digging. The only thing that will stop Chump having to face the consequences of his disgusting past will be if he kicks the bucket, either due to illness or a gun nut who is a better shot.