Treasurer Jim Chalmers expects the prime minister will declare a private helicopter trip to a lunch with a business chief “in the usual way”. Mr Albanese was flown in Lindsay Fox’s private helicopter for a meeting at his Portsea mansion on Saturday, which was also attended by Victorian Labor Premier Dan Andrews, Nine newspapers reported. The meeting came after the …

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is in damage control, insisting he has the support of his colleagues after admitting to the “terrible” mistake of wearing a Nazi costume 20 years ago. Several ministers are standing by Mr Perrottet two months out from the state election. It comes as the reason behind the premier’s public confession was revealed, with media reporting his …

More first home buyers in NSW will have their stamp duty costs waived under a Labor proposal. The scheme is an expansion of an existing government program that offers full or partial rebates on new or existing properties for first home buyers. Opposition Leader Chris Minns said he wanted more singles, couples and families realising their dream of home ownership. …

An independent review of Australia’s carbon credit market has defended the scheme while making sweeping recommendations to improve transparency and confidence in the market. The review was carried out after the scheme’s integrity was called into question by a key architect of the framework, Andrew Macintosh, who described it as a “fraud on the environment”. A panel of four experts …

The government is expecting a return to pre-pandemic migration levels this year but the projections may be too bullish given the uncertain global environment. A new report from the Centre for Population predicts a full recovery in migration numbers this year of about 235,000 people a year on average. But Australian National University demographer Liz Allen said the migration assumptions …

Four people have been confirmed as dead among 13 injured – three critically –  after two helicopters collided before one crashed into the Broadwater on the Gold Coast. One chopper ended up upside down on a sandbar at the water’s edge with debris strewn around the area after the crash about 2pm on Monday near the Sea World theme park …

An Adelaide man has taken to social media to describe a disastrous experience with scammers on New Year’s Eve, saying he and more than 100 other revellers were conned by a fake yacht party. TikTok user Jayden Clark said he paid more than $100 for a ticket for a boat party which was supposed to be picking up a large group of people at Glenelg shortly …

Western Sydney University has showcased its new $340 million high-rise Bankstown City campus with an official celebration attended by Federal Minister for Education, the Hon Jason Clare MP ahead of the campus commencing teaching in early 2023. Developed in partnership with Walker Corporation, the University’s newest vertical campus will drive economic growth and open higher education and employment opportunities for …

A new cyber security strategy will be drawn up by global experts in a bid to make Australia the most secure nation in the world, having become “unnecessarily vulnerable”. Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil announced the drafting of the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday. She also unveiled the expert advisory board …

Controversial property developer Jean Nassif has been suspended from holding a building licence in NSW for 10 years, while the building licence of his company, Toplace, has been permanently revoked. The NSW Department of Fair Trading imposed the bans, which will come into effect next week, after an investigation. The investigation found more than 40 defects in residential developments constructed by …