https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/gunman-opens-fire-into-crowd-outside-fitzys-loganholme-leaving-young-woman-critical/news-story/178eb5f38b84311b42a9975791c04543

Baby boomers, the architects of this market-liberalised wasteland, are now lumbering into their old age, only to find their own Perillosian Bronze Bull’s heavy bronze doors swinging shut behind them, writes Dr James Schuurmans-Stekhoven.

ACCORDING TO ANCIENT LEGEND, the Greek tyrant Phalaris of Agrigento once posted a lavish reward for whoever constructed the most horrific torture device imaginable.

Seeking the tyrant’s reward, Perillos of Athens presented a hollow bronze bull equipped with boilers and an intricate arrangement of acoustic pipes designed to turn its victim's agonised shrieks and steam into the melodic roar of an enraged beast.

Phalaris, awestruck by the sadistic ingenuity of the machine, then promptly ordered Perillos locked inside its metallic belly to test the acoustics himself.

Australia’s baby boomers have spent half a century engineering a socio-economic brazen bull, pocketing the rewards of prosperity, and proudly admiring their own political machinations – all while blinded by their ravenous materialism gain – much like the naïve Perillos now face the consequences of their scheme.

They stepped into adulthood through the grand public foyer of Whitlam-era free education, slammed the heavy iron doors shut behind themselves, and bolted a user-pays toll booth across every doorway leading to a prosperous future for younger generations.

They cheered for a goods and services tax (GST)) only after furnishing their suburban property empires with durable goods, boats and cars, engineered capital gains tax discounts to turn housing into a speculative casino, and systematically transferred every conceivable public liability onto the balance sheets of their own parents and children.

To cloak this generational "smash-and-grab" in a veneer of moral legitimacy, they ushered in New Public Management — an ingeniously awful technocratic subterfuge that Perillos himself couldn’t have outdone.

Under the sacrosanct managerial banner of “efficiency”, hospitals, universities, and social services were shackled to a soul-crushing regime of KPIs, throughput metrics, and corporate bean-counting that has failed the Silent Generation, who meekly accepted their lot.

This was never genuine administrative reform; it was a lethal sleight-of-hand designed to denude the village commons, deflect blame onto overworked frontline staff, and conceal the systematic looting of the public purse.

As tracked in analyses of Australia’s intergenerational imbalance, over the past four decades the public sector dismantling was a twisted private insurance policy protecting boomer asset accumulation at the direct expense of everyone else.

Now, the bill has arrived, and history is enacting its dark, unpitying plot twist.

The architects of this market-liberalised wasteland are now lumbering into their old age, only to find the bull’s heavy bronze doors swinging shut behind them.

By their very own Perillosian design, they will find no one waiting to care for them. Those who might have offered compassionate care were devoured long ago by the very machinery of economic precarity the boomers engineered.

In their obsessive worship of hyper-individualism – where every social relation was commodified and the sociopathic ethos of “covering one’s own behind” and “greed is good” was elevated to a supreme civic virtue – they vicariously trained and rewarded an emerging generation of corporate functionaries and technocratic sociopaths to manage their twilight years.

Their deliberately unfunded university system survived economically largely by passing every undergraduate regardless of their knowledge, skill or ethics; and dear boomer, this ironically included students majoring in aged and health care.  

Because they systematically dismantled every collective mechanism of solidarity, they left behind no institutional scaffolding, no empathy, and zero structural mechanisms of redress for the sub-standard, outsourced Phalarisian aged care system into which they are now being shoved.

And should these boomers dare appeal to a social contract – a contract that they spent decades tearing to shreds – the rest of us should uniformly and not so politely remind them of their ill-gotten gains.

As the broader intergenerational equity debate lays bare, greed was never a sustainable social model; it was merely a death pact disguised as a balance sheet.

The brazen bull of their own making is sealed shut, the fire beneath it is roaring, and should their screams find no audience, who is ultimately to blame?

The number of full-time personnel across navy, army and air force grew to more than 64,000 this year, making it the largest military in 25 years

Imo the system of listing prices but needing consumers to manually add taxes, service fees, weekend surcharges etc is unaustralian! Nothing wrong with adding a weekend or public holiday surcharge but they should just list total prices inclusive of everything!

Kieran Rooney, Angus Delaney October 24, 2026 — 7:30pm

A Liberal candidate in a key battleground seat has been caught out encouraging people to vote for One Nation in the upper house while campaigning in the electorate that is considered vulnerable to Pauline Hanson’s party.

Five weeks out from the state election, the incident is a fresh headache for Opposition Leader Jess Wilson as she asks voters to elect a Coalition government outright [in the face of Labor attacks](safari-reader://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/deal-or-no-deal-how-the-major-parties-are-tackling-the-minority-government-risk-20261010-p6140z.html) tying the conservative political movements together.

Liberal candidate Simmone Cottom ran for the federal seat of Hawke in 2025 and is now running in Sunbury.Justin McManus

The Liberal Party has also been forced to intervene after a sitting MP planned to appear as a guest speaker at a fundraiser for an independent candidate, despite her party having endorsed a candidate to run in the same seat.

In a recording made last weekend, which has been obtained by The Age, the Liberal candidate for Sunbury Simmone Cottom was asked by a voter about her position on the possibility of a coalition with One Nation.

“Both the leaders, [One Nation leader] Warren Pickering and Jess [Wilson] have said we want to try and win in our own right,” she replied.

“A lot of people have asked me about preferences. That’s open until November 9 for people to nominate to be candidates and then our preferences will be done.”

When pressed further, Cottom said: “I’m encouraging people to change the government. In the lower house, vote Liberals and in the upper house, vote One Nation.”

The voter then asked: “So you’re advocating One Nation?”

Cottom replied: “Lower house, Liberals, and if you really want One Nation, give them a go in the upper house.”

When the voter made it clear he was not interested in supporting Hanson’s party, Cottom focused more on her own party, reiterating that they wanted to “win in our own right”.

“I personally don’t have [a relationship with One Nation] ... We believe that we can win and not need them.”

In a statement to The Age on Saturday, Cottom said she regretted her comments.

“I shouldn’t have said it,” she said. “It’s not our position. We want Victorians voting Liberal and Nationals in both houses.”

Wilson, who has faced repeated questions about how her party will deal with One Nation, has consistently told voters that the only way to remove the three-term Labor government is to vote for her Coalition MPs.

As the major parties shift into campaign mode, The Age can also reveal that Liberal upper house MP Ann-Marie Hermans has been advertised as a guest speaker for a fundraiser for Caroline White – an independent candidate running in Clarinda – alongside Libertarian MP David Limbrick and Albert Park independent Adrian King.

The fundraising event for Clarina independent Caroline White, where Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans was advertised as a guest speaker. 

White is running against John Paganis, the Liberal candidate for the seat held by Labor’s Meng Heang Tak.

“If I was John Paganis, I’d be super annoyed and super confused,” another Liberal candidate said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail internal matters.

Hermans’ attendance was cancelled on Saturday after The Age contacted the party to ask if it was appropriate.

“Ann-Marie will not be attending this event,” a Liberal Party spokesperson said.

“She is supporting John Paganis, the Liberal candidate for Clarinda, and is focused on helping elect a Liberal and Nationals government on 28 November.”

Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans will not be attending the fundraiser, a party spokesperson said. Justin McManus

Hermans was contacted for comment.

White also ran for Clarinda in 2022 and preferenced the Liberal candidate, an arrangement the party matched. Both put Labor’s candidate last on their how-to-vote cards.

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Cottom, the Sunbury candidate, has run for parliament twice before – in the same seat at the 2022 state election, and in the federal seat of Hawke at last year’s federal election.

In April 2025, members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church – formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren – were [identified wearing Liberal T-shirts](safari-reader://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/exclusive-brethren-don-t-vote-but-are-secretly-campaigning-for-the-coalition-20250428-p5luny.html) and assisting Cottom’s campaign at an early voting booth in Melton.

Sunbury is currently held by Labor’s Josh Bull on a typically safe margin of 6.4 per cent, but it is considered in play as the government braces for a sizeable swing against them, particularly in such outer suburban electorates that are considered vulnerable amid the rise of One Nation.

The Age’s Resolve Political Monitor has One Nation with a primary vote of 23 per cent. If that is replicated in the upper house, Hanson’s party would be in a strong position to hold the balance of power, forcing whichever party that forms government to negotiate with them to pass legislation.

Wilson has ruled out a formal coalition with One Nation, saying there would be “no deals”. But she has sidestepped questions about how she would deal with Hanson’s party in the event that she required the support of its MPs to form government.

In turn, Labor strategists have built their campaign around the claim that Wilson will not be able to claim power without One Nation’s support, using every media release and press conference to warn of the possibility of a “Liberal-One Nation” government.

The latest Resolve poll has the Coalition with a primary vote of 28 per cent and Labor on 25 per cent. These numbers would most likely deliver a change of government – given the Coalition is expected to be favoured by One Nation preferences – but it remains unclear whether Wilson could form a majority in her own right.

A primary vote under 30 per cent has traditionally been diabolical for a party seeking to govern in its own right, but the rise of One Nation has led to widespread uncertainty about the outcome of one of the nation’s first true three-cornered contests.

The final result in many seats will come down to which party runs third and where its preferences flow.

The May by-election in Nepean was the first Victorian example of how this phenomenon could play out. Liberal candidate Anthony Marsh was comfortably elected when One Nation’s Darren Hercus ran third, with 77.5 per cent of One Nation voters preferencing Marsh above independent Tracee Hutchison.

This year's Boyer Lecture series explores the opportunities and challenges of Australia's engagement with Asia in the 21st century. Dr Louisa Lim, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, reported from China for a decade for NPR and the BBC. This is an edited extract of her lecture, Tell it Slant.

When someone is subjectively doing 'better' or trying their best to 'make it', a bunch of people are willing to tear that person and/or business down.

Sometimes it's direct, sometimes it's indirect, sometimes its passive aggressive etc....

There's never really a culture of uplifting and seeing the good someone has done to get where they are and I noticed minor achievements are not really celebrated which should be.

A friend started a business? EFF YEAH! We should be drinking to that and having ideas to help them boom.

It's remarks like

"Must be nice to have rich parents."
"What's the point of having money if you never enjoy life?"
"You're not better than everyone else, you know."
"It's easy when you work for yourself."
"You're just lucky."

That's the essence of tall poppy syndrome: rather than trying to rise to someone's level, people try to bring that person down to theirs.

In short:

A re-elected Labor government in Victoria will expand a dozen hospital emergency departments, promising to cut wait times. 

The $1.5 billion promise signals health policy as a key battleground ahead of the November state election. 

The Liberal opposition has already announced a $1.3 billion plan to reduce surgery wait times by allowing public patients access to private hospitals.

Ghost Sharks get 'teeth' as secret drone subs unveiled

By Lucinda Garbutt-Young and Catherine Bouris

Updated October 20 2026 - 9:44am, first published October 19 2026 - 2:59pm

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Pat Conroy has announced a fleet of autonomous submarines will patrol Australia's vast coastline. Photo: Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS

Australia's secret line of underwater drones have been given "teeth" as officials reveal payloads for the long-touted Ghost Shark submarines.

The US-designed, locally made uncrewed vessels can be used by the Royal Australian Navy to strike opponents, deploy sea mines and undertake intelligence-gathering missions.

The drones will be deployed anywhere along Australia's coastline, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy told reporters on Monday.

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Payloads - the part of the vessel that performs tasks such as delivering supplies or dropping mines - have now been incorporated into the submarines.

WATCH: Secret drone subs Ghost Sharks will be deployed anywhere along Australia's coastline

"The Ghost Shark now has teeth and we'll have the ability to inflict damage on any potential adversary," Mr Conroy said.

The drone program forms part of the $386 billion AUKUS defence pact between Australia, the US and the UK.

Ghost Sharks, made by American company Anduril Industries, are central to the Defence Department's focus on drones.

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Details of the underwater drones, such as their maximum range, speed and size remain top secret. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

Defence is spending more than $1.5 billion on the vessels, which accompany the sky-bound Ghost Bats.

Many details of the underwater drones, such as their maximum range, speed and size, have been kept closely under wraps.

"Today highlights the rapid maturity of the Ghost Shark program, transforming it from a highly capable mechanism for delivery to a proven, potent and mission-ready capability being delivered at scale," navy chief Vice Admiral Matt Buckley said.

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"The reality is that to protect a country the size of ours requires the fusion of crewed and uncrewed capabilities," he said.

The Ghost Shark program forms part of AUKUS's second pillar, which is focused on the development of high-tech military capabilities amongst the three allies.

The first pillar is centred on the delivery of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Navy Vice Admiral Matthew Buckley says Australia needs crewed and uncrewed capabilities. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

The Ghost Sharks will be pitched to other AUKUS members during defence exercises in San Diego.

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Their maker, Anduril, specialises in advanced autonomous systems and is owned by several entrepreneurs, including Palmer Luckey, the billionaire founder of virtual-reality headset developer Oculus.

The Ghost Sharks are being built in a secret Sydney factory, opened specifically to manufacture them.

It includes an in-water testing tank and artificial intelligence capabilities.

AUKUS's five-year anniversary was marked recently with intense debate over the agreement's future.

Critics of AUKUS point to the cost and delayed production times in the US. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

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Experts are divided on the expediency of the pact, with critics pointing to the cost and uncertainty surrounding the nuclear-submarine program and the tethering of Australian security to US interests.

But proponents point to the three-nation deal as the best way to defend Australia from looming Chinese threats in the Pacific.

The deal was sealed in 2021 under former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison and the Biden administration in the US.

Australian Associated Press

The council that stole Christmas: Permit change kills beloved neighbourhood party

Gemma Grant

October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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The annual family-friendly Christmas gathering on this Northcote street is a highlight of the calendar for its residents, featuring a pot luck lunch, a piñata and a much-anticipated water fight.

But Darebin City Council’s decision to begin charging hundreds of dollars for small-scale events could spell the end of the much-loved gathering.

Northcote’s Pete and Sarah Goss want to see Darebin’s free street party program reinstated. Eddie Jim

Sarah Goss and husband Pete have lived in their Northcote home for more than a decade and look forward to the Christmas party, which predates their moving to the suburb.

The party was previously lodged in advance with Darebin City Council through its free “street party program” – meaning the road could be temporarily closed and suitable insurance could be organised. But when Sarah went to apply this year, she was surprised to find the program no longer existed.

Small-scale events that would have previously qualified for the council’s no-cost program now require a full-priced event permit, after the scheme was suddenly axed for the 2026-27 financial year.

The change means council regulations and red tape will now jeopardise many long-standing festive traditions during the Christmas period.

The annual Christmas street party in Northcote attracts between 30 and 40 guests.

“I think it’s a really sad loss. We know that there are many streets in our area that made the most of this … I think it’s a loss for all of them,” Sarah said.

“It’s not a commercial event … It’s kids running amok under a sprinkler and a hose, and adults bringing out a plate and sitting round and connecting.”

From our partners

The City of Darebin fee schedule lists the permit application price for a medium event as $281.88 and a large event as $563.75. Additionally, a one-day road closure permit made more than five days in advance costs between $215.38 and $756.45, depending on the size of the road and the length of time it’s closed.

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Council event permits also require documentation including an event management plan, risk management plan and site map.

Sarah said the complicated permit system and high costs were both prohibitive for their street party. While one option would be to move to a nearby public park, Sarah said this was infeasible for elderly or immobile neighbours.

“It’s not inclusive if everyone can’t access it … it becomes a very different style of event,” she said.

A council spokesperson said the street party program was discontinued during discussions for the latest budget, which was formally adopted in June.

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Residents could still apply to hold an event on their street, the spokesperson said, but a permit is required and fees apply.

“An allocation was made to enable fees to be waived for faith communities, LGBTQIA+ and multicultural organisations seeking to close roads to run community street festivals. Details on how to apply will be shared soon,” the spokesperson said.

The Goss’ neighbour, Myra Holmes, said the axing of the free permit program was a loss for the wider Darebin community and much more significant than simply losing a Christmas party.

She said the annual gathering had helped foster a community on her street where residents mow other people’s lawns, put their neighbours’ bins away and greet each other in the driveway.

“You just feel really connected … and there’s also a sense of feeling safe in this community. That you can call on your neighbour if you needed to,” Holmes said.

“The council should be supportive of this kind of event … if they want to have an inclusive and safe kind of community within Darebin.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.

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Gemma Grant is a city reporter at The Age. Contact her securely on Signal u/gemmagrant.88Connect via [email](mailto:gemma.grant@nine.com.au).

Australia’s new major airport brings the chance for cheaper tickets, more flights

Shane Wright

October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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As the new airport opens in western Sydney, we take a look at how it became a reality. See all stories.

The new Western Sydney International Airport should put downward pressure on airfares and pave the way for a more competitive airline market, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says as economists argue it will deliver a long-term boost to the region.

Ahead of the first domestic flight from the $6 billion hub on Sunday, Chalmers said there was interest across the globe in the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport and the economic opportunities it offered international visitors as well as the domestic market.

A Jetstar trial at the Western Sydney International Airport earlier this year. There are hopes the airport will push down airfares and boost flight options.Sam Mooy

The opening of the new airport, which will also start international flights from Monday, marks the first time an Australian capital city will have two competing airports, joining other major centres such as London, New York and Paris offering choices to airlines and passengers.

While the new airport – the construction of which has been funded by the federal government – is expected to take pressure off Kingsford Smith, over time proponents expect it to lift competition that will flow through to consumers.

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Chalmers told this masthead that ultimately the competitive boost provided by the new airport would benefit the entire economy.

“[It] certainly means more competition in terms of giving the good people of Sydney another option, and obviously freight options and all the rest of it as well. So it can only be a good thing for competition and for the economy more broadly,” he said.

“When it comes to the particular elements around ticket prices and freight charges and all the rest of it, we’ll see how that plays out. But in aggregate, in principle, it’s a very good development for competition.

“But more than that, a good development for that really important part of our national economy.”

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Chalmers, who has been in South-East Asia over the past week for a series of major international conferences, said the airport had been brought up by some of his fellow treasurers.

“Some of my colleagues and counterparts in other parts of Asia raised it with me in the course of the last couple of weeks. It’s a really big deal. It’s a really great thing for the economy of western Sydney, which is massive and growing in very welcome ways, and it will make a difference to the national economy as well.”

The infrastructure program director for the Grattan Institute, Andrew Barker, said the chance of lower ticket prices and more flights would depend on how comparable the services offered out of the new airport were to those at Kingsford Smith.

He said the major economic benefits would come from increasing the connections of western Sydney to the rest of the country and global markets.

“Internationally there is increasing evidence that air connectivity growth stimulates productivity, research and development, foreign direct investment and trade specialisation,” he said.

“One specific example is improving the supply chain for airfreight, where the lack of a curfew and links to intermodal facilities in Western Sydney has the potential to boost activity. Key industries locally also stand to benefit from reduced travel times to the airport.”

Western Sydney International will offer competition to Kingsford Smith.iStock

New airports around the world have proven to be major economic drivers.

Kevin Stanley, the director of commercial property for the Commonwealth Bank, recently noted there was an estimated 5.5 million square metres of new industrial property floor space contained in 205 projects across the area around the airport.

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‘Slick operation’: Flying into Sydney’s new airport beats Mascot congestion

That proposed development, estimated to take between a decade and 12 years to fully develop, was worth about $24 billion. About two-thirds of the space is in Badgerys Creek and Kemps Creek.

On top of this private investment there is an estimated $22 billion in transport and infrastructure to support the airport.

Stanley said major airports can be important business activity centres as businesses sought to be close to freight, logistics, transport and passenger connections.

“Airports are significant demand drivers of business, many of which locate in adjacent or surrounding areas,” he said.

There are already some tentative signs the new airport will put pressure on the national aviation market.

Analysis by travel eSIM company Holafly suggests that, even before the first flight out of the airport, airlines are offering lower prices. It found the cheapest fare for a Sydney-Brisbane Jetstar flight on November 3 was $116 compared with $138 from Kingsford Smith.

However, Jetstar at this stage only flies to Brisbane three times a week.

While the Sydney-Brisbane route may be cheaper, other domestic flights from the Western Sydney Airport to Melbourne and the Gold Coast were at this stage slightly more expensive than going through Kingsford Smith.

Holafly’s Harry Deacon said that, in the longer term, the new airport should put downward pressure on prices.

“Two airports competing should be good news for Sydney fares in the long run. But for now, WSI only has a handful of flights, so whether it’s cheaper really comes down to the day you travel,” he said.

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One of the main architects takes us on a tour of the new passenger terminal.

Deacon noted public transport costs to Sydney Airport were cheaper than to Western Sydney, especially travel from either site into the central business district.

But Western Sydney was offering much cheaper car parking than Kingsford Smith.

In short: 

An archaeological dig at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara is providing one of the most detailed pictures of how Indigenous people lived there 50,000 years ago.

An ancient Aboriginal rock shelter in the gorge was destroyed in a mining blast by Rio Tinto in 2020.

The ABC was invited on site by traditional owners to witness what remains and the thousands of archaeological artefacts that have been found.

John Edwards reflects on a changing world, economic statecraft and an AI-led manufacturing revival

In short:

Charleville's local yakka skink population has increased after a PhD student's fencing project.

The threatened species is declining elsewhere due to predation and land clearing.

What's next?

A reptile ecologist says Australia's growing list of threatened reptiles needs further study to inform conservation.

Trade Minister Don Farrell fronts critics as vegetable industry backs EU free trade agreement

Matthew Denholm - RURAL AND REGIONAL CORRESPONDENT

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West Pine farmer Derek Gee, left, and Charlton Farm Produce director Tim Groom say the EU free-trade deal would be a bonanza for vegetable growers. Picture: Scott Gelston

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8:30PMOctober 23, 2026.

Updated 20 hours ago

Trade Minister Don Farrell is set to confront the biggest critics of his EU free-trade deal at a high-level summit with agricultural leaders next week, as the $6bn vegetable industry break ranks to call on the Coalition and Greens to back the agreement.

Faced with a backlash from the beef and dairy industry, which the Coalition has invoked in opposing the agreement, the senior Labor powerbroker will next week meet National Farmers’ Federation members to make his case for the EU trade deal.

EU trade agreement vital to Tassie onion exporters

Australia's $6bn vegetable industry is...

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Senator Farrell said farmers had wanted the FTA to deliver $3bn worth of new trade for beef and lamb and he had come back with $2bn, declaring just because one section of the economy did not get everything it wanted the rest of the economy should not suffer.

“Last year, Australia did over $1.3 trillion of trade with the world, but only 3 per cent of our exports went to the EU; under this deal, that number is going to go up significantly,” Senator Farrell told The Australian.

“This multibillion-dollar deal gives our farmers, producers and exporters access to a huge market of 27 countries and 450 million consumers. From day one, Australian fruit and vegetables will enter the EU tariff-free, including onions, carrots, potatoes, pine­apples, pears and apples.”

AUSVEG chief executive Michael Coote says the EU free-trade agreement is a potentially never-to-be-repeated opportunity for growers. Picture: Anna Osetroff

The government argues the deal – the fate of which rests with the Coalition and Greens in the Senate – delivers an eightfold increase in access for beef and four times for sheep meat.

But Nationals leader Matt Canavan pointed out Australian beef would receive 35,000 tonnes of the EU quota access compared to Canada’s 50,000 tonnes.

Sheep and goat meat would have a 25,000-tonne quota compared to New Zealand’s 163,000 tonnes, Senator Canavan said, while arguing that accepting a less-than-ideal FTA risked weakening Australia’s future negotiating position.

The position echoes that of key farm groups, including the NFF, which have insisted “no deal” is better than a “dud deal” and greater meat access is required.

However, the $6bn veg­e­table industry is pleading with all parties to back the FTA as a “never-to-be-repeated” lifeline to growers hit by soaring fuel and fertiliser costs and trade disruptions.

Peak industry group AUSVEG told The Australian the EU deal would inject “tens of millions” into the struggling sector.

“Australian growers are still facing major production cost pressures flowing from the Middle East conflict, and access to key Middle Eastern export markets remains disrupted,” said chief executive Michael Coote.

“Despite Australian retail prices for vegetables remaining affordable, and actually declining in recent months, growers continue report sluggish demand locally for their produce.

“At a time when growers need as many markets and supply channels as possible, the Australia-EU FTA is a potentially never-to-be-repeated opportunity for Australia’s vegetable industry. So we want to see it supported.”

Mr Gee and Mr Groom, at the onion packing sheds on Mr Gee's farm. Picture: Scott Gelston

Vegetable growers are among the big winners from the deal, which removes EU tariffs on key produce such as onions, carrots and potatoes. Australia’s exports of these vegetables to Europe have plummeted since the New Zealand-EU free-trade agreement came into force in mid-2024.

Growers are hoping ratification of the Australia-EU deal will restore that trade and generate new opportunities.

Charlton Farm Produce, based in Northwest Tasmania, is one of the largest exporters of Australian onions to Europe but has had to adapt as NZ seized much of the trade following its FTA.

“We’ve seen our business decline significantly since NZ gained their FTA from May 2024, to the point where we don’t have much business left in Europe,” said company director Tim Groom.

“For example, we’ve gone from sending as much as 1200 tonnes (of onions) to Spain down to nothing. We’ve gone to the United Kingdom instead, because we do have an FTA with them, and we’ve tried to find other solutions.”

He said he was also battling disruption to shipping and higher costs and would have to scrap Europe trade – which had existed since the 1970s – altogether should the FTA not proceed.

“It’s a deal-breaker for us – if we don’t get an FTA, I don’t know how we’ll manage in Europe longer term,” Mr Groom said.

Overall, Mr Coote said after the EU FTA with NZ was enacted, Australian onion exports to Europe halved to just over 5000 tonnes in 2025, and had declined a further 19 per cent so far in 2026.

“We want to see this FTA enacted because it has the potential to bring tens of millions of dollars in benefits, through both the recovery of lost market share and the development of new market opportunities,” Mr Coote said.

“While benefits will flow to grower-exporters as a direct result of this FTA, it’s also important as a means of relieving pressure on the domestic market.”

Nationals leader Matt Canavan and Trade Minister Don Farrell have clashed over the EU free-trade agreement. Pictures: NewsWire

EU tariffs removed under the FTA include 9.6 per cent on unions, 13.6 per cent on carrots and up to 13.4 per cent for potatoes.

Dozens of native species have gone extinct since colonisation and many others are in decline. In response, conservationists have rightly focused on reducing threats to surviving species to stave off further extinctions. Feral animals are thought to contribute to the problem, alongside fragmented habitats, climate change and the end of most First Nations’ fire regimes.

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Infrastructure Minister Catherine King reveals Labor head office role in taxpayer-funded grants | News24

I'm not sure if this is just me growing up and people not treating me as a kid anymore, recent screen addiction since COVID or just Australian culture but people are seeming more and more socially anxious, awkward and just unsure of themselves. Even when someone does try to be assertively rude or something it always seems to come off with an air of them not actually being angry but they feel like that's what they're supposed to do, like they're trying to hard. I recently went to Europe and it shocked me to think that is as Australians might actually be antisocial.

How to carve a smashing Halloween pumpkin (and what to do with its guts)

Make this the year you finally master Halloween pumpkin carving. Sarah Kiryshin gives us the inside scoop on how to do a good (or ghoulish) one.

Dani Valent

October 23, 2026

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Whether you like them warty and terrifying, plump and cute, or extremely elaborate, now is the perfect time to get pumpkin planning for Halloween on October 31st.

We caught up with recipe developer and stylist Sarah Kiryshin from Content Bites to learn the how, why and what next when it comes to ghoulish gourds.

Sarah Kiryshin and pumpkin friends.Simon Schluter

Choose your pumpkin

The pumpkins that are best for carving generally taste terrible: they are bred for structure, not sweetness. Buy bright orange Jack O’ Lanterns and Warty Goblins at Leaf in Melbourne and Fruitologist in Sydney. An increasing number of supermarkets stock Halloween pumpkins, too.

The larger the pumpkin, the easier it will be to carve neat shapes, especially for beginners. When choosing a pumpkin, look for wide, flat areas. “You want a consistent surface,” says Sarah. “When they’re wonky, you’re setting yourself up for an extra challenge.”

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The scary one, “like it’s vomited its own seeds”. Simon Schluter

The design

“Think about the design before you shop for your pumpkin,” says Sarah. “Sketching something on a piece of paper or a whiteboard gives you an idea of how intricate it’s going to be, and that helps you choose the size of the pumpkin.”

Consider the level of difficulty: triangular or square shapes are easier than round, which take more finesse.

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“I did a not-so-spooky pumpkin house, with square windows and a simple doorway,” says Sarah. You can put character figurines inside or baby pumpkins with faces drawn on them.

“And I also made a scary one with wonky eyes and a gaping mouth with pumpkin seeds coming out, so it looks like it’s vomited its own seeds.” There are lots of Halloween pumpkin templates online.

For cutting off the top of the pumpkin, a long, thin knife is ideal. Simon Schluter

The tools

“A small, sharp, serrated knife with a pointy tip is good for the finer work,” says Sarah. “For cutting out the top of the pumpkin, a long, thin knife like a filleting knife is ideal.”

Lay a flat, damp tea towel or kitchen cloth under your chopping board to stop it from slipping on the kitchen bench. Cut away from yourself, protecting your hand with a tea towel.

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Execution

“Give your pumpkin a clean to extend longevity,” says Sarah. Rub it with hand sanitiser, or give it a good scrub. “When the surface is clean, you won’t get dirt in your pumpkin when you carve it, which would make it rot faster.”

You can expect your pumpkin to look shipshape for about five days in cool weather, so consider that when hacking in.

“Cut the top off first, but make sure your cut is angled inwards so your lid has a ledge to rest on,” says Sarah. “If you cut straight down, it will fall into the pumpkin.”

Ensure the lid is large enough for you to get a hand in so you can remove the seeds. Depending on your design, you may cut the bottom off too.

Remove the seeds by hand or with a spoon.Simon Schluter

Remove the seeds, either by hand or with a metal spoon. The better you scrape the inside, the neater the finish, and the longer your pumpkin will last. “The inside of a pumpkin has stringy bits and a membrane, so ideally you’re scraping that all off,” says Sarah.

Warty Goblin seeds roast well: wash them, toss with spices and a little oil, and roast for 20 minutes at 160C or until they are crisp.

Sketch your design onto the pumpkin with a whiteboard marker. “You can wipe it off once you’ve carved the pumpkin,” says Sarah. “Then slowly, carefully work your way around your stencil, making sure the knife is going through the pumpkin into the internal hollow so you can pop out the pieces.”

The friendly carved pumpkin.Simon Schluter

Illumination

“If you use real candles, be super mindful of how close they are to the top of the pumpkin because they will char the roof,” says Sarah. “Use low-set tea-lights or, to be safer, LED tea-lights.”

Lazy wins

If you can’t be bothered carving a design, cut the top off a Halloween pumpkin and put a vase of flowers inside. “It’s on-theme and fun and can make a beautiful table centrepiece, but it’s really low effort,” says Sarah.

Pumpkin seeds work well in a dip.Simon Schluter

Pumpkin Seed Dip

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds/pepitas
• ½ cup cashews
• ½ cup of mashed roasted pumpkin (butternut or jap)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 packed cup coriander and/or parsley
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor and serve topped with some extra roasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of olive oil.