2 h. ago Australia news LIVE: More parliamentarians embroiled in expenses scandal; Teens face day two of social media ban

Follow along as we bring you the latest live news updates from Australia and around the world.

Politics

3 h. ago ASX set to rise, Wall Street steady ahead of Fed rates decision

The US stock market remains largely quiet on Wednesday as Wall Street waits to hear what the Federal Reserve will say in the afternoon about where interest rates may be heading.

Politics

4 h. ago The single number that will determine interest rates in 2026

The Reserve Bank could be lifting interest rates as early as February next year. A single number will determine the RBA’s next move, and we know the day it’s coming.

Politics

4 h. ago VCE 2025 LIVE: Victorian Year 12 students to learn of exam results, ATAR scores at 7am

It’s the day year 12 students have been waiting for – the day they will get their long-awaited VCE results and ATARs. Follow the news live.

Politics

14 h. ago ‘He’ll do whatever he needs’: Khawaja ups the ante in bid to save career

Usman Khawaja had a solo training session in Brisbane on Wednesday, as he seeks to garner a recall for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Watch the footage here.

Politics

15 h. ago ASX slips for a third day as tech stocks fall, gold miners advance

Gold miners bolstered the Australian sharemarket on Wednesday, but their gains weren’t enough to offset losses by interest-rate sensitive sectors such as technology.

Politics

16 h. ago Royal Perth Hospital calls in AI as new figures paint grim picture of WA emergency departments

A 12-month $700,000 artificial intelligence pilot was announced on Wednesday morning as new statistics came out showing WA’s emergency departments were the slowest in the nation for patients to be seen.

Politics

16 h. ago ‘He’ll do whatever he needs to do’: Khawaja trains alone in push for Ashes recall

Usman Khawaja had a solo training session in Brisbane on Wednesday, as he seeks to garner a recall for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

Politics

18 h. ago Beach, beers and a kick: How England’s Ashes cricketers are spending their Noosa break

Members of the travelling English media posted photos of the squad on social media at the beach on Wednesday, the second day of their Sunshine Coast jaunt.

Economics

19 h. ago I wrote the book on anxious kids. It doesn’t matter if this ban isn’t perfect

The American author of The Anxious Generation writes that parents around the world are cheering on Australia as its pioneering social media law comes into effect today.

Politics

21 h. ago Gold miners hold up ASX; Wall Street drifts ahead of Fed’s rate call

Gold miners led the Australian sharemarket slightly higher on Wednesday morning after US stocks were treading water overnight.

Politics

21 h. ago Kids can still use social media – they just can’t sign their lives away to tech giants

The American author of The Anxious Generation writes that parents around the world are cheering on Australia as its pioneering social media law comes into effect today.

Politics

21 h. ago Kids can still use social media – they just can’t sign their lives away

The American author of The Anxious Generation writes that parents around the world are cheering on Australia as its pioneering social media law comes into effect today.

Politics

38 h. ago Social media ban shouldn’t be judged by its impact on day one

Regardless of workarounds and likely teething problems, the impact of the law will be measured not over days and weeks, but over the much longer term.

Events

41 h. ago ‘This is for the future of my kids’: The single mum who just won Big Brother

After a short 30-day season, Big Brother has crowned a winner: a surfy, 30-year-old mother of three from Tweed Heads.

Politics

51 h. ago ASX set to slide on RBA day as Wall Street retreats; Magnum ice cream disappoints in debut

US stocks are pulling away from their record heights, setting up the Australian sharemarket to open lower this morning.

Politics

61 h. ago ‘Prepare now’: Blaze that killed firefighter flares up again

Residents in the path of a bushfire that has been burning for days are again on alert after a national parks worker died trying to halt the fire’s spread.

Events

61 h. ago Sydney council cracks down on notorious Christmas Day beach bash

Backpackers have been “strongly discouraged” from attending the bacchanalia this year. Those who attend can expect heightened police and security patrols.

Politics

62 h. ago All bravado, little humility: Hayden takes aim at England’s misfiring Archer

Jofra Archer delivered a few thunderbolts, along with a verbal barrage in the closing stages of the second Test, but Australian great Matthew Hayden says it was the pillow he carried to the game a day earlier that showed where his head was at.

Politics

62 h. ago Wells charged taxpayers $1000 for car to wait while she watched tennis – for seven hours

Daily revelations about Wells’ use of travel entitlements have dogged the minister since last Wednesday, eclipsing Labor’s agenda.

Economics