This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. Sri Lankan-born tattoo artist Naveen Perera, founder of Tattoo Studio 86 in Goondiwindi, Queensland, has made his mark on the international stage after winning two competition categories at the prestigious 21st South East Queensland Tattoo & Arts Exhibition held in Brisbane from September 12–14. The exhibition, one of Australia’s largest tattoo industry events, brought together more than 200 artists from around the world, showcasing a wide spectrum of talent and creativity. Competing against internationally recognized tattooists, Perera stood out with his unique artistry and dedication to his craft. “I feel truly honored to be recognized among such talented international artists,” Perera said following his win. “This achievement is not just mine — it’s also a reflection of the journey I’ve taken, from starting out in Sri Lanka to establishing my studio here in Australia.” Perera began his tattooing career in 2009 in Sri Lanka and moved to Australia in 2017. In 2020, he founded Tattoo Studio 86 in Goondiwindi, where he has been steadily building his reputation for precision, creativity, and personalized tattoo artistry. These wins mark an important milestone in his career, elevating his presence in the competitive tattoo industry and bringing pride to the Sri Lankan community both in Australia and abroad. The South East Queensland Tattoo & Arts Exhibition continues to be a cornerstone of the global tattoo calendar, celebrating artistry, innovation, and cultural exchange. More details on the event can be found via its official Instagram page: @seqtattooshow . More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. ජන හා සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද දත්ත වලට අනුව, 2025 දෙවන කාර්තුවේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආර්ථිකය වසරින් වසර 4.9% කින් වර්ධනය විය. 2015 ස්ථාවර මිල ගණන් යටතේ දළ දේශීය නිෂ්පාදිතය රුපියල් බිලියන 2,883 දක්වා ඉහළ ගොස් ඇති අතර එය 2024 එම කාර්තුවේදී රුපියල් බිලියන 2,749 ක් විය. මේ අතර, කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය 2% කින්, කර්මාන්ත 5.8% කින් සහ සේවා 3.9% කින් මෙම කාලය තුළ වර්ධනය විය. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Warnings for powerful winds across south-eastern Australia are still in place today after a chaotic weekend that left thousands without power. Melbourne copped it hardest on Sunday, with gusts bringing down trees, tearing roofs off homes, and leaving more than 3,000 properties in the dark. The SES says it received over 500 calls for help, mostly from the city’s north. In Heidelberg Heights, one home had its entire roof ripped off, while Melbourne Airport recorded gusts of more than 100km/h. Train passengers on the Upfield and Hurstbridge lines had to be shifted to replacement buses after debris blocked the tracks. While conditions have eased in western and central Victoria, the Bureau of Meteorology says damaging winds will hang around in the east until Tuesday. A severe weather warning is in place for eastern Victoria, with Gippsland bracing for gusts between 60km/h and 100km/h this morning — and alpine peaks could see blasts up to 115km/h. Similar warnings have also been issued for parts of southern NSW and the ACT, including the South Coast, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains and South West Slopes. Further south, Tasmania is also on alert, with warnings covering multiple regions including the Western District, South East, Central Plateau, Midlands and parts of the North East and North West. According to Weatherzone, the burst of warm air that whipped up the gale-force winds is making way for a cold front, expected to arrive tomorrow and finally bring some relief. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians are about to feel another pinch on their streaming bills, with Apple TV+ becoming the latest platform to hike prices. The service, which launched back in 2019 for just $7.99 a month, is bumping up its monthly fee from $12.99 to $15.99 starting October 11. If you’re already subscribed, you’ll see the new price kick in 30 days after your next renewal. There is a bit of good news though — Apple’s yearly plan will stay at $129, which works out cheaper at about $10.75 a month. And if you’re on Apple One (the bundle that includes up to five other Apple services), those prices aren’t changing either. “The annual subscription price remains unchanged, as does pricing for Apple One, which is the easiest way to enjoy all of Apple's subscription services in one plan at the best value,” an Apple spokesperson confirmed. Apple isn’t the only one turning the screws on subscribers. Just last month, Netflix raised the cost of all three of its plans. The ad-supported tier jumped from $7.99 to $9.99, the standard plan without ads climbed from $18.99 to $20.99, and the premium package went from $25.99 to $28.99. Even adding an extra member to your plan got more expensive. Spotify also followed suit, lifting its monthly rates across the board. Students now pay $7.99 (up from $6.99), the individual plan rose from $13.99 to $15.99, the duo plan from $19.99 to $22.99, and the family plan leapt from $23.99 to $27.99. With more than a dozen local and international platforms now available in Australia, streaming prices span from around $7.99 a month to as much as $40 — and for many households juggling multiple subscriptions, the costs are really starting to stack up. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මහා මණ්ඩල සැසිවාරයට සහභාගී වීම සඳහා ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක සැප්තැම්බර් 22 වන දින ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදයට යාමට නියමිතය. මෙම සංචාරය අතරතුර, ඔහු රාජ්‍ය නායකයින් සහ රජයේ නිලධාරීන් කිහිප දෙනෙකු සමඟ ද්විපාර්ශ්වික රැස්වීම් පවත්වනු ඇති අතර, එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මහලේකම් ඇන්ටෝනියෝ ගුටරෙස් හමුවනු ඇත. එක්සත් ජනපදයේ සිය කටයුතු අවසන් කිරීමෙන් පසු, ජනාධිපති දිසානායක මහතා ජපාන රජයේ ආරාධනයෙන් සැප්තැම්බර් 26 වන දින රාජ්‍ය සංචාරයක් සඳහා ජපානයට යනු ඇත. ජපානයේදී, ඔහු සැප්තැම්බර් 27 වන දින ලෝක ප්‍රදර්ශන ජාත්‍යන්තර වෙළඳ ප්‍රදර්ශනයට සහභාගී වීමට සහ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ ජපන් නිලධාරීන් සමඟ ඉහළ මට්ටමේ සාකච්ඡාවල නිරත වීමට නියමිතය. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s first ever National Climate Risk Assessment (NCRA) has painted a grim picture of what’s ahead, warning that by 2050, around 1.5 million Australians could be at risk from sea level rise. The report shows that even a relatively modest 1.5°C of global warming could lift sea levels by 14 centimetres — enough to push far more coastal communities into danger zones. “By 2050, the number of coastal communities in high and very high-risk areas will jump from 8% to 18%,” the report says. “If populations stay the same, that’s 1.5 million people at risk.” And it doesn’t stop there. By 2090, as many as three million Australians could be exposed. The NCRA looked at three scenarios — 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C of warming. Right now, the world is tracking closer to 2.9°C by 2030 — a level that would bring devastating impacts. Some of the predicted outcomes include: Heatwave deaths soaring by 444% in Sydney and 423% in Darwin. A surge in mosquito- and tick-borne diseases. More frequent category 4 and 5 cyclones. Large hail events along the east coast. Increased bushfire risk in forested areas, with more dangerous fire weather days in southern and eastern states. The report also flagged 63 nationally significant risks — ranging from threats to First Nations communities, to mental health challenges, infrastructure damage, and the loss of wildlife species. On the economic side, the costs are staggering. Property value losses could hit $611 billion by 2050, rising to $770 billion by 2090. Disaster costs from floods, bushfires, storms and cyclones could reach $40.3 billion every year under a moderate warming scenario. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the report makes it clear that regional Australians will bear the brunt. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia has seen a wave of protests against mass immigration recently — and while they drew in violent neo-Nazi groups (who were widely condemned), many of the people marching weren’t extremists at all. They were everyday Australians worried about rising house prices, stretched hospitals, and a system they feel can’t keep up. Take 62-year-old Chris Fisher from Queensland. He joined a “March for Australia” rally, even though his own family came to Australia as migrants. For him, the issue isn’t about shutting people out — it’s about whether the country has the housing and healthcare capacity to support both new arrivals and those already here. “I’d happily welcome half a million immigrants a year if the conditions were right,” Fisher said. “But right now? The healthcare system is struggling. Housing prices are through the roof. Vulnerable Australians can’t get the basics.” He’s not alone in feeling that way. But economists and human rights experts say blaming migrants is the wrong target. The economic reality Australia Institute economist Matt Grudnoff says the idea that immigration is the main cause of housing stress and cost-of-living pressures is simply “misdirected.” Here’s why: skilled workers make up about 71% of Australia’s annual migrant intake. If we suddenly stopped bringing them in, businesses would struggle to deliver goods and services, prices would go up, and the Reserve Bank would likely respond with higher interest rates. Cutting migration, he explained, wouldn’t make housing or healthcare cheaper. In fact, if just 25,000 skilled visas were cut — as Peter Dutton once suggested — it could cost the federal budget more than $10 billion a year by the 2040s. That’s about a third of what the government currently spends on public hospitals and health services in an entire year. And when it comes to jobs and wages? The data doesn’t back up the fear. According to the Grattan Institute, regions with higher migrant populations actually report slightly higher wages — about 1.3% higher for every 10% increase in migrant share. So what’s really driving the housing crisis? It turns out the problem isn’t about the number of people versus the number of houses. In fact, between 2001 and 2021, housing supply grew faster than the population. The real issue, says Grudnoff, is who’s buying those homes. Thanks to policies like the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, property has become one of the most attractive investments in the country. Investors are piling in, outbidding first-home buyers, and pushing prices up. “Housing used to be seen as a safe place to live. Now it’s a financial asset, a way to build wealth for retirement,” Grudnoff explained. “That’s what’s driving prices more than migration.” Protests, politics, and scapegoating The March for Australia rallies didn’t just highlight economic concerns. They also created fear. After the protests ended, neo-Nazi groups attacked a sacred Indigenous site in Melbourne and assaulted two Palestinian brothers in Sydney. Australian Human Rights Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said he’d heard from community groups who felt unsafe before and after the rallies. “That’s the problem with marches like this,” he said. “Migrants get scapegoated for much more complex problems — things like tax policy, banking behaviour, even overseas factors like tariffs. These are hard problems to solve, and blaming migrants is the easy way out.” He also pointed out that white supremacists often hijack anti-immigration rhetoric, flooding social media with misinformation, false statistics, and fear campaigns that thrive in echo chambers. That’s why he believes politicians need to tread carefully. “When leaders use divisive language, it gets amplified online — and that makes vulnerable communities feel even less safe.” Foreign Minister Penny Wong has been outspoken on this, blasting the Opposition for “using migrants as a scapegoat for a housing crisis” and stressing that the rallies don’t reflect broader Australian values. “Those protests didn’t represent Australia,” Wong said. “I don’t think Australian values are values of division.” Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Physicist Ivan Maksymov from Charles Sturt University is among the 3,500 university staff across Australia who have lost their jobs as the sector faces a deepening crisis. For Dr. Maksymov, it’s the second redundancy in just three years, and the impact has been devastating. “It derails my career. I’m the only breadwinner, so it’s the only source of income and we have two kids to feed,” he said. It’s a tough fall for a researcher once awarded a prestigious Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. Instead of building on that success, he says his time in academia is now overshadowed by a “humiliating” redundancy process that exposes what he calls the sector’s “ugly underbelly.” “Unis have become like corporations. They have stakeholders — but those stakeholders aren’t the public or the students who come for a quality education. Management thinks in corporate terms. They think about the bottom line,” he said. Like many in his position, Dr. Maksymov is finding it hard to see a way forward. With universities nationwide slashing costs, the chances of finding work in his highly specialised field look slim. And he’s not alone — many staff spend a decade or more studying and working to carve out a career, only to end up facing unemployment. Charles Sturt University is one of 39 public universities tightening belts, blaming a 90% collapse in international student numbers over the past five years. In a statement, the uni said it regretted the impact on staff. “Charles Sturt University deeply regrets the need to reduce its staff numbers and the impact on those whose jobs are proposed to be disestablished, including Dr. Maksymov,” a spokesperson said.“But the necessity of these actions is undeniable.” Dr. Maksymov, however, argues the process was handled poorly, leaving staff distressed and excluded from genuine consultation. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has echoed his concerns, accusing 22 universities across five states and territories of mishandling mass redundancies. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, the union says more than 3,500 jobs were cut. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. 2025 ගෝලීය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී රාජ්‍ය (GSoD) ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම්වල ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කැපී පෙනෙන පිම්මක් ගෙන ඇති අතර එය පසුගිය වසරට සාපේක්ෂව ස්ථාන 15 කින් ඉහළ ගොස් තිබේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පිළිබඳ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය සහ මැතිවරණ ආධාර ආයතනයේ (IDEA) රට පැතිකඩට අනුව, මෙම දියුණුව තේරී පත් වූ රජය, ප්‍රකාශනයේ නිදහස සහ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස ඇතුළු ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී දර්ශක කිහිපයක ජයග්‍රහණ පිළිබිඹු කරයි. ප්‍රගතිය තිබියදීත්, වාර්තාව අභියෝග ද මතු කරයි: සංගමයේ නිදහස සහ රැස්වීමේ නිදහස හා සම්බන්ධ අයිතිවාසිකම් අඛණ්ඩව පහත වැටෙමින් පවතින බව ස්ටොක්හෝම් පදනම් කරගත් ආයතනය විසින් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන ලද වාර්තාවේ සඳහන් වේ. “ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ගෝලීය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී රාජ්‍ය රාමුවේ කාණ්ඩ හතරෙහිම මධ්‍යම පරාසයේ ක්‍රියා කරන අතර සිවිල් සහභාගීත්වය සහ මැතිවරණ සහභාගීත්වය ඇතුළු සාධක කිහිපයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලෝකයේ රටවල් වලින් ඉහළම සියයට 25 අතර වේ. පසුගිය වසර පහ තුළ, තේරී පත් වූ රජය, ප්‍රකාශනයේ නිදහස සහ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස සහ සංගමයේ නිදහස සහ රැස්වීමේ නිදහසේ පහත වැටීම් දක්නට ලැබේ,” IDEA සිය වාර්තාවේ සඳහන් කළේය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, ගෝලීය රටාවන් පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ පසුගිය වසරේ ලොව පුරා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය අඛණ්ඩව දුර්වල වෙමින් පවතින බවයි. වාර්තාවේ, රටවල් 94 ක් - නැතහොත් සමීක්ෂණයට ලක් කළ රටවල් වලින් අඩකට වඩා - 2019 සහ 2024 අතර අවම වශයෙන් ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී දර්ශකවලින් එකක හෝ පහත වැටීමක් පෙන්නුම් කළ බව වාර්තාව පවසයි. සාපේක්ෂව, තුනෙන් එකක් පමණක් ප්‍රගතියක් ලබා ඇත. "ලෝකයේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයේ වත්මන් තත්ත්වය කනස්සල්ලට කරුණකි," IDEA මහලේකම් කෙවින් කැසාස්-සමෝරා පැවසීය. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Dementia has now become the leading cause of death in Australia, and experts are warning that without serious action, one million Australians could be living with the condition within the next decade. A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows just how big an impact dementia is having on families. It’s not just a health issue — it’s an emotional and social one too. Dementia Australia CEO Tanya Buchanan says loved ones often feel the effects just as deeply. “These figures highlight just how many families are impacted by dementia across Australia. Most of us know someone who is or has been affected,” she said.“People with dementia often tell us that friends and family drift away after a diagnosis, simply because they don’t know how to interact anymore.” The report, released ahead of Dementia Action Week (September 15–21), is urging Australians to reconnect with those living with dementia to help fight the loneliness and social isolation so many experience. When it comes to risk factors, the research highlights some key ones that can increase the chances of developing dementia: being overweight, physical inactivity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure in midlife, smoking, and kidney problems. Buchanan says tackling these risks, and staying connected to those living with dementia, will be crucial in easing the burden over the coming decades. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians are being slugged with record-high home and contents insurance bills, with average premiums jumping by as much as $700 in just one year. New figures from Canstar show the average annual premium has risen from $2452 to $2795 — that’s a 14% hike, or about $343 more than last year. But the pain really depends on where you live. Some states and territories have been hit far harder than others: Northern Territory: the steepest dollar jump — up $700 (17%) to a whopping $4814. NSW: the sharpest percentage rise — up 18% ($403) to $2613. Victoria: premiums climbed 17% ($341) to $2299. Queensland (excluding North QLD): up 16% ($431) to $3166. South Australia: up 17% ($287) to $1933. Tasmania: up 17% ($317) to $2155. WA: up 9% ($192) to $2224. North Queensland: the smallest rise — just 2% ($112) to $4624 (though still the priciest in the country). The main culprits? Extreme weather disasters and soaring rebuilding costs.Claims from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred alone cost insurers $1.36 billion after more than 125,000 claims. Canstar’s data insights director Sally Tindall said even though premiums are stinging households, skipping insurance altogether is risky. “Even if you’re not in a high-risk weather region, emergencies like a burst pipe or an overflowing sink can be covered if they weren’t preventable,” she said. Canstar found switching policies could save households up to $766 a year, with providers like AAMI, Allianz, QBE and Westpac flagged as offering some of the best value. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. රජය විසින් නව කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධි වෙබ් අඩවියක් වන aigov.lk සහ බැංකු කාඩ්පත් භාවිතයෙන් මගීන්ට බස් ගාස්තු ගෙවීමට ඉඩ සලසන පද්ධතියක් හඳුන්වා දෙන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය මහත්මිය පැවසුවාය. පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී කතා කරමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය මහත්මිය පැවසුවේ මෙම මුලපිරීම් ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික මාසයේ කොටසක් වන අතර එය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඩිජිටල් ලෙස බලගැන්වූ ජාතියක් බවට පත්වීම වේගවත් කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් ජාතික උත්සාහයකි. ඩිජිටල් මෙවලම් පිළිබඳ මහජන දැනුවත්භාවය ඉහළ නැංවීම සහ අනාගතයට සූදානම් ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකයක් ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා රජයේ කැපවීම පෙන්නුම් කිරීම සඳහා සැප්තැම්බර් මාසය ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික මාසය ලෙස ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. ක්‍රියාකාරකම්වලට මහජන ප්‍රදර්ශන, දැනුවත් කිරීමේ ව්‍යාපාර සහ ප්‍රතිපත්ති සාකච්ඡා ඇතුළත් වේ. රජය අඛණ්ඩ ඩිජිටල් ව්‍යාපෘති පුරවැසියන්ට සහ ව්‍යාපාරවලට සෘජු ප්‍රතිලාභ ලබා දෙනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂා කරයි. 2030 වන විට, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකය දළ දේශීය නිෂ්පාදිතයට ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 15 ක් දායක වනු ඇතැයි පුරෝකථනය කර ඇති අතර, ඩිජිටල් අපනයනවලින් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 5 ක් සහ 200,000 ක ශ්‍රම බලකායක් ඇත. ප්‍රධාන සිදුවීම් අතරට සැප්තැම්බර් 24-25 දිනවල ශ්‍රී ලංකා ෆින්ටෙක් සමුළුව සහ සැප්තැම්බර් 29-30 දිනවල ජාතික AI ප්‍රදර්ශනය ඇතුළත් වේ. අනෙකුත් වැඩසටහන් ඩිජිටල් කුසලතා පුහුණුව, ව්‍යවසායකත්වය, ආරම්භක ප්‍රදර්ශන සහ තරුණයින් සහ වෘත්තිකයන් ඉලක්ක කරගත් අධ්‍යාපනික ප්‍රවේශය කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරනු ඇත. මෙම මාසය සඳහා සැලසුම් කර ඇති අතිරේක මුලපිරීම් අතරට ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ උපාය මාර්ගයක් හඳුන්වාදීම, සහතික කිරීමේ අධිකාරියක්, ඩිජිටල් ගෙවීම් සඳහා පුළුල් කරන ලද රජයේ ගෙවීම් වේදිකාවක් සහ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අත්දැකීම් මධ්‍යස්ථානයක් ඇතුළත් වේ. ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අමාත්‍යාංශය, අනෙකුත් අමාත්‍යාංශ සමඟ සම්බන්ධීකරණයෙන්, රටේ ඩිජිටල් සංක්‍රාන්තියට සහාය වීම සඳහා අධ්‍යාපනය වැනි අංශ හරහා යටිතල පහසුකම් අවශ්‍යතා තක්සේරු කරමින් සිටී. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.