Australian news and politics live: ISIS brides charged as Labor faces taxpayer pressure, Trump escalates war

The WA Treasurer’s clapback at the Reserve Bank’s warning over government spending pushing up inflation was “Rita being Rita”, Jim Chalmers has said as he insists he’s not letting State budgets distract him from his task.

Rita Saffioti handed down a budget on Thursday with a $3.5 billion surplus and cash handouts, and laughed off suggestions it would upset the central bank governor.

That came just two days after Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said all governments needed to think about how they could help the inflation problem by constraining demand.

“It’s not just the federal government. It’s the state governments as well,” the central banker said.

Dr Chalmers said on Friday morning he was taking the inflation problem seriously, as he unveiled $64 billion worth of cuts and “reprioritisations” that will be in his budget next week.

“On Rita being Rita, obviously our focus is on our budget, not state budgets,” he said when asked about her potshot at the RBA.

“Our budget is a very, very responsible budget. We take this inflation challenge very seriously because we know that people are under pressure.”

Read the full story here.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has highlighted how immigration has plunged under Labor after hitting record highs during its first term.

Net overseas migration grew at a record-high pace of 548,800 in the year to September 2023 but as of September last year, the pace had slowed to 311,000.

“When you think about the migration part of the story, as well, net overseas migration is down about 45 per cent from its peak,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

“It was surging when we came to office. It was absolutely surging when we came to office.”

Under the previous Coalition government, Australia was closed to immigration during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

When former prime minister Scott Morrison lost the election in May 2022, the population had gone from shrinking by 3600 in 2021 to net overseas migration climbing by 109,600 in the year to March 2022, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.

Donald Trump has claimed three US Navy destroyers successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz while under attack from Iranian forces, boasting that American warships “completely destroyed” their attackers during what he described as a major confrontation at sea.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, the US President said missiles, drones and small boats launched by Iran were wiped out during the transit, while praising the American military response in dramatic terms. “Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air,” Mr Trump wrote.

“They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!”

Mr Trump also escalated his rhetoric toward Tehran, describing Iran’s leaders as “LUNATICS” and warning the country would face even harsher retaliation if it failed to agree to a deal with the United States quickly.

“Just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!” he wrote.

The President added the destroyers would now rejoin America’s naval blockade in the region, which he described as a “Wall of Steel.”

The American military says it carried out “self-defence” strikes inside Iran after what it described as “unprovoked Iranian attacks” on US Navy destroyers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, further straining an already fragile ceasefire.

According to US Central Command, Iranian forces launched “multiple missiles, drones and small boats” at the USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason as the vessels moved through the international waterway.

CENTCOM said it intercepted the “inbound threats” and confirmed “no US assets were struck” before targeting Iranian military facilities allegedly linked to the attacks, including “missile and drone launch sites, command and control locations, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance nodes.”

Iran has accused the US of violating the ceasefire, with air defences activated in Tehran following the strikes.

“CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,” the statement said.

The number of Australian ‘ISIS brides’ charged after returning from Syria has now risen to three, after two Victorian women were arrested at Melbourne Airport and accused of crimes against humanity linked to alleged slavery offences committed during their time in Syria.

The women, aged 53 and 31, were charged by the Victoria Joint Counter Terrorism Team after landing in Australia on Thursday night and are due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.

Police allege the older woman travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave, while both women are accused of knowingly keeping a female slave in the home. The offences each carry maximum penalties of up to 25 years’ imprisonment.

The charges come just hours after a third Australian woman was charged in Sydney with entering a declared area and joining the Islamic State.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said authorities had been preparing for the possible return of Australians from Middle Eastern conflict zones for more than a decade.

“Australian JCTTs methodically investigated all Australians who travelled to declared conflict areas and will ensure those who are alleged to have committed a criminal offence are put before the courts,” he said, describing the matter as “an active investigation into very serious allegations.”

Australian taxpayers could be forced to foot a multi-million dollar bill to monitor and rehabilitate returning ‘ISIS brides’ and their children, as a fierce political clash erupts over the government’s decision to bring the group home from Syrian refugee camps.

Three Australian women who arrived in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday night are expected to face slavery, terror, and crimes against humanity charges after years spent in camps linked to the Islamic State group.

But beyond the criminal allegations, questions are rapidly growing over the long-term cost of surveillance, de-radicalisation programs and welfare support, with experts warning the price tag could stretch into the millions.

Read more.