Nine electorate offices have been marked for security upgrades following last week's attack on independent MP Helen Haines, a Department of Finance official told a Senate estimates hearing. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said MP safety was a matter of daily review. Communications Minister Anika Wells temporarily shut her electorate office after a woman allegedly made threatening gestures towards staff. Several MPs have also shared threats against themselves, their families and staff. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the threats now often arrive online rather than by letter.
A popular bowling alley in Perth's north has closed indefinitely after a fire broke out on Monday evening. Rosemount Bowl on Fitzgerald Street in North Perth was evacuated, along with the nearby Pot Black and Bloodlines venues. The business said at about 10pm that everyone had left safely and no one was hurt. The fire is not believed to be suspicious and is being managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. A witness claims the blaze started in the kitchen, but this has not been officially confirmed.
Xpeng Motors Australia expects to have 66 retail locations across every state and territory by the end of 2026. The mid-size L03 SUV, priced from $41,900 before on-road costs, is due in showrooms before year's end. The company says it has processed more than 1400 customer enquiries and resolved 250 cases linked to promotional offers from its former distributor, TrueEV. Customers who bought through TrueEV and were promised offers can contact Xpeng ANZ, which says it is backing its vehicles with seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranties.
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BYD's premium brand Denza says the Z9 GT electric wagon will not reach Australia until the first half of 2027. A spokesperson said the company is juggling priorities and does not want to launch simply to meet a date. Denza had earlier planned a launch in the third quarter of 2026. The Z9 GT has a claimed 0-100km/h time of 2.7 seconds and a 1036km electric range under the CLTC cycle. Pricing for the Australian market has yet to be announced.
Porsche Cars Australia is recalling 77 of its 911 and 718 sports cars made in 2023 and 2024. A manufacturing defect in the centre-lock wheel nuts may cause a wheel to loosen and detach while driving. The recall covers several 911 and 718 models from the 992 and 982 generations. Porsche will contact owners and ask them to book a free repair at an authorised Porsche Centre. The 911 was previously recalled in March 2025 over a seatbelt issue.
Complaints about the Australian Taxation Office have risen sharply as the agency ramps up debt collection. The Tax Ombudsman received 2376 complaints in the six months to September, up 74 per cent on the same period last year. The office said it received 1358 complaints over that period, because the ombudsman's figures also included matters not involving the tax office. The ombudsman found the tax office acted reasonably in 63 per cent of debt collection complaints it investigated. Outstanding tax debt stood at $54.2 billion in 2024/25, with $35.9 billion owed by small businesses.
A Western Australian country town is giving 16 per cent of its annual rates income to keep a local doctor. The Shire of Narembeen pays the local medical practice $370,000 a year and also provides a building, a car and a house. Shire President Holly Cusack says the arrangement is financially unsustainable but that losing the GP would mean a 120-kilometre round trip to the nearest doctor. In Kalbarri, a community group crowdfunded more than $70,000 to set up a not-for-profit, bulk-billing clinic after the town's only GP closed in June.
Lotus Australia has issued a nationwide safety recall for 114 Lotus Elise sports cars made between 2014 and 2021. A manufacturing defect may deform the low-pressure fuel pump impeller, causing the fuel pump to fail and the engine to stall. The company warns that a sudden loss of power while driving may increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death. Owners will be contacted by their Lotus dealer to book a free repair appointment. The Elise was last recalled in 2020 over a fuel rail issue.
WA police will use a new drone program to gather real-time intelligence before officers reach emergencies. Drones will launch from docking stations in Kwinana, Rockingham and Baldivis and can operate beyond line of sight. They will be dispatched from a command centre in Perth. Police Minister Reece Whitby says the program is an Australian first. Targeted uses include family and domestic violence matters, missing persons, crimes in progress and stolen vehicles.
US stocks closed higher on Monday after two weeks of declines, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lifted by optimism around AI companies. Anthropic disclosed steep losses and rapid revenue growth in its filing for a US initial public offering. Semiconductor firms helped drive the gains, while Meta plans to raise up to $US95 billion in equity to fund its AI expansion. Investors are watching the Federal Reserve's policy statement on Wednesday and a busy week of earnings reports.
A woman living in Nigeria who was infected with Ebola and her Swiss diplomat spouse have been admitted to hospitals in Switzerland, Swiss authorities say. She is being treated in Geneva, while her husband, a close contact with no symptoms, is isolated in Zurich. Swiss authorities say the situation poses no risk to public health in Switzerland. Nigeria's health minister says the woman is stable and her condition is improving. Investigators will travel to Nigeria to examine how she caught the virus, as she may have been infected in Uganda.
The cost of abandoning Snowy 2.0, Australia's largest renewable energy project, is still unknown. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes told a Senate estimates committee that the cost of ending the project has not been modelled. The company estimates completion will now cost between $22.2 billion and $25 billion, up from $12 billion in 2023. Barnes said replacing the project with batteries was modelled at $80 billion. Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said abandoning the project would be immensely costly and that the government would see it through.
Plans for a $3 billion upgrade to Perth Airport have been revealed, including a new Airport Central terminal, a parallel runway, two multistorey carparks and an airport hotel. Premier Roger Cook said the development, due to open in 2031, will add 4.4 million seats to and from Perth each year. Qantas and Jetstar will move to the new precinct. Airport chief executive Jason Waters said biometric technology will help passengers move through the airport more quickly. Several new routes have already started, including extra flights to Tokyo and a new service to Christchurch, New Zealand.
At least nine MPs will have security upgrades for their electorate offices brought forward, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has confirmed. The move follows an alleged attack last Monday on independent MP Helen Haines outside her Wangaratta office. Haines was struck repeatedly by a four-wheel drive and has lost both legs. She remains in a serious but stable condition in a Melbourne hospital, and police are examining the motive. Gallagher also urged social media companies to act on threats posted on their platforms against women in public life.
Outdated technology and weak digital safety skills are the biggest threats to national cybersecurity, according to the latest Cyber Threat Report from the Australian Signals Directorate. The public sector recorded nearly half of the 1500 incidents reported to the Australian Cyber Security Centre in the past financial year. Director-general Abigail Bradshaw warned that service outages will likely become normal and urged companies to put security ahead of access. Medium-sized businesses reported a 45 per cent rise in cybercrime losses, with an average cost of $141,300.
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One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has criticised the government for failing to support thousands of people who lost savings in the $1.1bn collapse of the Shield Master Fund and First Guardian. Joyce said he gave his ex-wife $400,000 as part of their divorce settlement, and that money is now gone. He urged the government to pay victims their super so they can retire, rather than a partial compensation payment. A Choice podcast investigation says about 11,000 Australians lost retirement savings, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has 14 ongoing court actions against 31 people.
A Loch Ness Monster expert has written a guide on how to spot the creature. Adrian Shine, who founded the Loch Ness Project, says the monster exists and has explained how it can be seen in his new book. He believes Loch Ness lacks enough nutrients to support a large beast. He argues most sightings are wakes from large boats, which he links to the Caledonian Canal, built in the early nineteenth century. Broadcaster Robson Green said the expedition could neither prove nor disprove a creature's existence.
Paranormal investigator Colin Browen has described the most frightening moment of his 11-year ghost-hunting career. While inside the basement of a former asylum, he saw a woman's hand appear beside a pillar, then slowly withdraw and disappear behind it, prompting his team to leave quickly. Browen, who hosts the Murder In America podcast and The Paranormal Files on YouTube, said many spirits he has encountered are not hostile. He said some are cheerful, and that most seem to want acknowledgement or help with a task.
Jamie Lee Curtis says she is grieving privately over the deaths of her longtime friends Rob and Michele Reiner, who were killed at their Los Angeles home last December. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she described a close bond stretching back decades, including Rob Reiner serving as best man at her 1984 wedding and being godfather to her daughter. Curtis said she paid tribute to the couple at the September Emmy Awards, a moment harder than she expected.
Wildlife rescuers have been praised after freeing a young dugong tangled in a car fanbelt near Exmouth, on Western Australia's north-west coast. Fifteen responders returned the roughly two-metre animal to deeper water in less than 24 hours after it was spotted struggling at Wapet Creek. Officials said the animal showed no major signs of distress. Dugongs are endangered, and each one saved may help the wider Exmouth Gulf population. Helene Marsh, a conservation scientist, said the species is increasingly under threat across the country.
