🚨 AUSTRALIAN ACTIVIST ALLEGEDLY ABDUCTED BY VIETNAM

Melbourne man Hiep Tran, 50, has been missing since September 18 after travelling to Cambodia to meet Vietnamese human rights activists.

His group, Viet Tan, alleges Vietnamese authorities abducted him in Cambodia and forcibly took him across the border into Vietnam.

Vietnamese state media reportedly claims Tran was detained after illegally entering the country.

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⚠️ RBA HIKES INTEREST RATES TO 15-YEAR HIGH

The Reserve Bank has lifted the cash rate by 0.25% to 4.60%, its fourth rate hike of 2026 and the highest level since 2011.

The RBA says inflation remains too high and warned rates could rise further if needed.

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🚨 NSW GOVERNMENT RESISTS COURT REVIEW INTO ALLEGED $3.5B STAMP DUTY OVERCHARGE

The NSW Government is resisting calls for a Supreme Court review into claims home buyers have been overcharged billions in stamp duty since 2022.

The Real Estate Institute of NSW says tax brackets were indexed incorrectly, while the government maintains its calculation is legally sound.

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⚠️ CITY OF MELBOURNE DROPS PUSH TO CHANGE AUSTRALIA DAY DATE

Melbourne City Council has voted to abandon its official campaign to move Australia Day from January 26, reversing a position adopted in 2022.

The council will recognise January 26 as Australia Day and investigate bringing back the city’s Australia Day parade.

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🚨 AUSTRALIAN INFLATION JUMPS TO 4% AFTER RBA RATE HIKE

Australia’s annual inflation rate has surged from 3.5% to 4.0%, according to fresh ABS data released today.

The figures come just one day after the RBA lifted interest rates to 4.60%, their highest level in 15 years.

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⚠️ SYDNEY SOLAR COMPANY COLLAPSES OWING $3.4M AFTER TAKING BATTERY DEPOSITS

Macarthur Solar has collapsed after customers paid thousands of dollars in deposits for battery systems that were never installed.

Building Commission NSW says it is investigating after receiving more than 100 complaints, while liquidator records show the company owes almost $3.4 million to more than 79 unsecured creditors.

Some customers reportedly paid deposits as high as $17,600.

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⚠️ TAXPAYERS PUT UP $200M FOR RIO TINTO SMELTER

Canberra and Tasmania have announced a $200 million support package for Rio Tinto’s Bell Bay aluminium smelter, contributing $100 million each over five years. The plant employs 550 people and faced uncertainty as its electricity agreement approached expiry.

Rio and state-owned Hydro Tasmania have also struck a separate five-year power deal. The electricity price has not been disclosed.

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⚠️ SYDNEY MAN ACCUSED OF TRAPPING WOMAN IN EGYPT

A 44-year-old Ryde man has been charged with allegedly arranging for a woman to travel to Egypt, then cancelling her return flight and visa while she was overseas.

The AFP also alleges he impersonated the woman online and changed account login details to stop her accessing them.

He has been charged with exit trafficking, an offence carrying up to 12 years in prison.

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🚨 NSW MOVES TO BACK QUEENSLAND BAN ON PRO-PALESTINE SLOGANS

The NSW Government has sought to join Queensland in defending laws banning phrases including “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” in a High Court challenge.

Queensland’s laws can carry up to two years in jail when the slogans are used in circumstances expected to menace, harass or offend.

NSW has not introduced the same ban, but is now seeking to intervene in the constitutional case defending it.

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⚠️ GUNS, DRUGS AND POLICE UNIFORMS SEIZED IN NSW ORGANISED CRIME BUST

Four people have been charged after police allegedly seized 3kg of meth, 1kg of cocaine, six rifles, ammunition and Queensland Police uniforms at Banora Point.

A 29-year-old man faces 31 charges, including large commercial drug supply, firearms offences and participating in a criminal group.

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