At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Millions of drivers in New South Wales are being urged to drive safer as major changes roll out to the state’s roadside camera program. From Sunday, March 1, Transport for NSW will upgrade its 10 transportable mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras. The cameras will now monitor single-lane roads in both directions. Until now, they only checked traffic moving one way. No new cameras are being added. Instead, the upgrade allows existing units to cover more vehicles, reflecting growth on NSW roads since the program began in 2019. Transport Secretary Josh Murray said registered vehicles in NSW have increased by nearly 12 per cent, rising from 6.7 million to 7.5 million. Expanding camera capability helps maintain safety coverage as traffic volumes grow. The program has had a strong impact. In 2025, about one in every 1,300 vehicles checked had a seatbelt offence, while around one in 1,200 drivers were caught using a mobile phone. When phone detection first launched, the rate was closer to one in 400. Seatbelt enforcement was added in 2024 and has further reduced risky behaviour. Authorities say education and enforcement together have helped save lives. The expanded rollout will take about six months. Fixed cameras will not change. All fines collected are directed back into road safety programs. So far this year, 52 people have died on NSW roads. The state recorded 314 road deaths in 2025. Figures from Revenue NSW show traffic cameras generated more than $100 million in fines last financial year. Around 130,000 penalties were issued for mobile phone use and more than 126,000 for seatbelt offences. Seatbelt fines alone raised over $50 million in their first year. Transport authorities stress the cameras are designed to improve safety, not revenue. The systems use AI to flag possible offences, but every image is checked by trained staff before a fine is issued. The message to drivers is simple: wear your seatbelt, keep your phone down, and stay focused on the road. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Almost half of Australia is on flood watch as a slow-moving tropical system brings widespread heavy rain over the coming days. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the system is expected to deliver prolonged rainfall across parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. The heaviest rain will fall over several days. Conditions may ease later this week in the NT and Queensland, but South Australia and NSW are expected to stay wet into the weekend. In western NSW, communities including Tibooburra, Broken Hill and Wilcannia have been urged to prepare for extreme weather. Forecasts point to 50–90mm of rain in 24 hours, with isolated falls up to 130mm. Much of that could arrive in just a few hours, raising the risk of flash flooding and dangerous roads. Victoria has also issued severe weather warnings, particularly for areas east of Melbourne, including West and South Gippsland. From Friday, rain may spread further south, potentially affecting Adelaide. Wet conditions are expected to linger across central Australia through the weekend and possibly into next week. Authorities are urging residents to stay informed, avoid unnecessary travel and follow local warnings as conditions evolve. 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. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වෙරළ තීරයන් දෙකක් - මිරිස්ස වෙරළ සහ බෙන්තොට වෙරළ - 2026 සංචාරකයින්ගේ තේරීම් සම්මාන හොඳම වෙරළ තීරයන් ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම්වල ආසියාවේ ඉහළම වෙරළ තීරයන් අතර ලැයිස්තුගත කර ඇත. මිරිස්ස වෙරළ ලැයිස්තුවේ පස්වන ස්ථානයට පත් වූ අතර, බෙන්තොට වෙරළ ආසියාව පුරා වෙරළ තීරයන් අතර හත්වන ස්ථානයට පත්විය. සංචාරකයින්ගේ තේරීම් සම්මාන හොඳම පිළිගැනීම එහි සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ ඉහළම ගෞරවය නියෝජනය කරන බව ට්‍රිපෑඩ්වයිසර් පවසයි. මාස 12 ක කාලයක් තුළ පරිශීලකයින්ගෙන් කැපී පෙනෙන සමාලෝචන සහ ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම් ඉහළ ප්‍රමාණයක් ලබා ගන්නා ගමනාන්ත සඳහා මෙම සම්මානය පිරිනමනු ලැබේ. වේදිකාවේ ලැයිස්තුගත කිරීම් මිලියන අටකට වඩා සියයට එකකටත් වඩා අඩු ප්‍රමාණයක් මෙම පිළිගැනීම ලබා ගනී. "මිරිස්සා වෙරළ තීරය එහි සුන්දර වැලි සහිත වෙරළ තීරයන් සහ පැහැදිලි ජලය සඳහා ප්‍රසිද්ධ සජීවී ස්ථානයකි. විවේකය සහ ත්‍රාසජනක ගමන යන දෙකටම විශිෂ්ටයි, ඔබට පාෂාණ සැකැස්ම අසල සන්සුන් ජලයේ පිහිනීමට හෝ මධ්‍යම ප්‍රදේශයේ රළ පැදීමට හැකිය. සර්ෆර්ස්ලාට බටහිර පැත්තේ සම්භාව්‍ය 'මිරිස්සා දකුණ' සොයාගත හැකිය. හිරු බැස යන විට, නැවුම් මුහුදු ආහාර පිරිනමන අවන්හල් සමඟ වෙරළ ජීවමාන වේ. පොල් ගස් කන්දෙන් දර්ශනය පරීක්ෂා කර හිරු බැස යෑම අල්ලා ගැනීමට වග බලා ගන්න," එහි සඳහන් විය. මේ අතර දිවයිනේ නිරිතදිග වෙරළ තීරයේ බෙන්තොට වෙරළ තීරය, ජෙට් ස්කීං සහ කයිට්සර්ෆිං වැනි ජලය මත පදනම් වූ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් සඳහා ප්‍රසිද්ධය. "ජෙට් ස්කීං හෝ කයිට්සර්ෆිං වේවා, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජල ක්‍රීඩා සඳහා මෙය අපූරු ස්ථානයකි. මෘදු සුදු වැලි හිරු එළිය අල්ලා ගැනීමට හෝ වෙරළ දිගේ සැරිසැරීමට ද විශිෂ්ටයි. සංචාරකයින් පවසන්නේ මෙහි හිරු බැස යෑම අතපසු නොකළ යුතු බවයි," ලැයිස්තුවේ සඳහන් විය. තායිලන්තයේ ෆුකෙට් හි කෙසෙල් වෙරළ, මෙම වසරේ ආසියාවේ පළමු ස්ථානයට පත්විය. 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. Southern Cross University has officially launched its Sri Lanka partnership with NSBM Green University, opening a new pathway for local students to earn an Australian Bachelor of Business without leaving the country. The national launch runs from 19–21 February 2026 at NSBM Green University, Homagama. The event brings together the Australian High Commission, the Ministry of Education, school leaders, teachers, counsellors, parents and students. At the centre is SCU’s student-focused learning approach, built for Gen Z. It features shorter teaching terms, fewer subjects at a time, no traditional exams, and strong links to industry through projects and internships. The goal is simple: practical skills, real experience and career-ready graduates. Sri Lankan students can enrol in SCU’s Bachelor of Business from February 2026. The degree focuses on leadership, digital skills, innovation and strategic thinking, with industry-based learning built in. Senior SCU academics will attend the launch, leading workshops, parent sessions and media briefings in English and Sinhala. The event will also see the launch of the Teacher Ambassador Circle, creating a formal network between SCU and Sri Lankan educators. Students can apply and receive admissions guidance on-site for the February and July 2026 intakes. The first 30 students who enrol during the event will receive a Samsung tablet to support their studies. The SCU–NSBM partnership marks a major step in Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape, delivering globally recognised Australian degrees locally, with direct academic and career links to Australia. ore updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Large parts of Victoria, including Melbourne, are on alert for possible flash flooding today as heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds move across the state. The Bureau of Meteorology says storms will develop through northern and central Victoria, with the heaviest rain expected to hit Melbourne’s western suburbs this morning before spreading east later today. Rainfall of 40–70mm in just six hours is possible in parts of the state, prompting severe weather warnings for locations including Echuca, Bendigo, Seymour, Mount Buller, Warragul and metropolitan Melbourne. Flash flooding is a real risk, especially in low-lying and urban areas. Livestock warnings are also in place for rural communities. Flood watches cover North East, Central and Gippsland catchments. The system is forecast to move into eastern Victoria and parts of New South Wales tomorrow, before pushing north toward Queensland, where flood warnings are already active following recent heavy rain. Emergency services, including VICSES, are urging residents to prepare. Secure loose items, clear gutters and avoid unnecessary travel. Never drive through floodwater. Melbourne is expected to reach a humid 25°C today. Authorities warn conditions may remain unstable into the coming days as the weather system lingers. Communities recently affected by bushfires are urged to be especially cautious, as burnt ground increases the risk of sudden runoff and flash flooding. 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’s red meat industry is bracing for impact after Donald Trump flagged higher import tariffs. Trump plans to lift the tariff rate from 10 to 15 per cent. The increase is expected to affect Australian lamb, mutton and goat meat exports to the United States. Australian beef, however, will remain exempt after a policy reversal last year. Meat & Livestock Australia managing director Michael Crowley said the organisation is working closely with industry and government to manage the change. He stressed the US was Australia’s top export market for beef, lamb and goat meat in 2025, underlining the importance of the trade relationship. Trade Minister Don Farrell is travelling to the US this week and is pushing for all tariffs to be scrapped. He said Australia had already secured success with beef and hopes other sectors can also win exemptions. Trump’s latest announcement follows a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down parts of his earlier tariff agenda. Despite that, he has signalled plans to keep using tariffs as a key economic tool. Australian farmers say the uncertainty is unsettling. NSW farmer and butcher Bianca Tarrant said sudden policy shifts overseas make long-term planning harder for producers, who invest months or years into bringing food to market. 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. මෙම වසරේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරයෙන් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 4 ක විදේශ විනිමය ආදායමක් ලබා ගැනීමට ඉලක්ක කර ඇති බව සංචාරක නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය රුවන් රණසිංහ මහතා පැවසීය. පසුගිය වසරේ දිවයිනට ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 5 ක අභිලාෂකාමී ආදායම් ඉලක්කයක් මග හැරුණි. “අපගේ පැමිණීම වසර සඳහා මිලියන 3 ක් (පැමිණීම්) වන අතර මෙම වසරේ ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 4 කට වඩා වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් අපේක්ෂා කරමු,” කොළඹ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී රණසිංහ වාර්තාකරුවන්ට පැවසීය. මිලියන 3 ක ඉලක්කය 2025 දී පැමිණි මිලියන 2.3 ට වඩා සියයට 30 ක වැඩිවීමක් වනු ඇත. ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය අරමුණු කරන්නේ විශ්මයජනක වෙරළ තීරයන්, සශ්‍රීක උස්බිම්, කඳුකර ප්‍රදේශ සහ යුනෙස්කෝ ලෝක උරුම ස්ථාන ඇතුළු එහි විවිධ ඉඩම් නරඹන්නන්ට ප්‍රදර්ශනය කිරීමයි. 2018 දී එහි උච්චතම අවස්ථාව වන විට සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය මුළු දළ දේශීය නිෂ්පාදනයෙන් සියයට 4.9 ක් විය. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිය ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 4 ක ආදායම් ඉලක්කය සපුරා ගැනීම සඳහා 2026 දී ඉහළ වියදම් සහිත සංචාරකයින් ආකර්ෂණය කර ගැනීම අරමුණු කර ගෙන ඇත. 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. Motorists in New South Wales could soon be rewarded for safe driving, with the state government moving to make its demerit point reward scheme permanent. The program, first trialled in 2023, has been introduced to Parliament to become a lasting part of the NSW demerit system. If passed, unrestricted licence holders who stay offence-free for 12 months can have one demerit point removed. Premier Chris Minns said the scheme recognises drivers who improve their behaviour and take road safety seriously. He stressed that penalties alone are not enough and that positive incentives also matter. During the trial, about 1.7 million drivers were eligible, with more than two million demerit points wiped from records statewide. Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the move does not weaken enforcement. She said the policy balances accountability with encouragement to drive safely. The scheme does not apply to learner or P-plate drivers, or to motorists with no current demerit points. NSW previously scrapped its Fair Go for Safe Drivers discount in 2024. Instead, some motorists with good records may now receive cautions rather than fines for minor offences. 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. මේ වසරේ මේ දක්වා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සංචාරකයින් පැමිණීම 436,000 ඉක්මවා ඇති අතර එය දිවයිනේ සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ ශක්තිමත් ප්‍රකෘතියක් පෙන්නුම් කරන බව සංචාරක නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය රුවන් රණසිංහ මහතා පැවසීය. ජනවාරි 1 සිට පෙබරවාරි 15 ​​දක්වා කාලය තුළ සංචාරකයින් 436,000 ක් මෙරටට පැමිණ ඇති බවත්, එය පසුගිය වසරේ එම කාලයට සාපේක්ෂව සැලකිය යුතු වැඩිවීමක් සනිටුහන් කරන බවත් නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසීය. කොළඹ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී රණසිංහ මහතා පැවසුවේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රුපියල් බිලියන 2 කට ආසන්න මුදලක් වෙන් කර ඇති අතර, ජාත්‍යන්තර වෙළඳපොළවල් 15 ක් ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් මෙම වසරේ ගෝලීය සංචාරක ප්‍රවර්ධන ව්‍යාපාරයක් දියත් කිරීමට රජය සැලසුම් කර ඇති බවයි. “ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිරූපය ගෝලීය වශයෙන් ඉතා ධනාත්මක ස්ථානයකට ගෙන යාමට අපට හැකි වී තිබෙනවා,” ඔහු පැවසීය. “එහි ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස සංචාරකයින්ගේ පැමිණීම සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස වැඩි වී තිබෙනවා. පෙබරවාරි 15 ​​වන විට පමණක් පැමිණීම් 436,000 ක් පමණ වූ අතර එය පෙර වසරට සාපේක්ෂව ඉතා ඉහළ අගයකි.” ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රීඩා ඉසව්, විශේෂයෙන් විස්සයි20 ක්‍රිකට් තරඟාවලි, විශේෂයෙන් අගනුවර සංචාරකයින්ගේ උනන්දුව වැඩි කිරීමට දායක වී ඇති බව රණසිංහ පැවසීය. “අපි මුහුණ දුන් අභියෝගයක් වූයේ කොළඹ හෝටල්වල නේවාසික අනුපාතයයි,” ඔහු පැවසීය. “වර්තමානයේ, නේවාසිකත්වය සියයට සියයකට ආසන්නයි, නගරයේ කාමර සඳහා දැඩි ඉල්ලුමක් තිබෙනවා.” More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Parts of Central Australia could be cut off this weekend as a burst of heavy rain moves in, threatening roads and rail links. Forecasters say large areas of South Australia and the Northern Territory may see up to 200mm of rain, with isolated spots possibly exceeding 300mm, according to Weatherzone. The heaviest falls are likely around Tennant Creek and the Simpson Desert, though some models shift the focus further north toward the Carpentaria region. Rain may persist into early next week across inland NT, with the system possibly pushing south toward Alice Springs and Uluru. From Sunday, tropical moisture is expected to spread into northern South Australia, where flat terrain increases flood risk. Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre could receive 100–300mm by midweek, raising the chance of rare inflows from the south. The same system has already caused flooding in parts of Queensland and Western Australia. Forecasts remain uncertain, with rainfall totals and locations still shifting. Residents are urged to monitor updates, watch for flood warnings, and check road conditions before travelling. 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. Sri Lanka has named Nalin Perera as its new Honorary Consul in Brisbane, with responsibility for the state of Queensland. The official appointment was presented on February 19 by Yasoja Gunasekera at the Sri Lanka High Commission. Perera is a healthcare-sector businessman and philanthropist. He is actively involved in professional, community and Buddhist organisations across Australia, according to the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner highlighted the importance of deepening Sri Lanka’s ties with Queensland, noting that Perera’s strong business networks would help boost trade, investment and tourism links. Perera said he looks forward to supporting consular services for around 20,000 Sri Lankans living in Queensland, working closely with the High Commission in Canberra. 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’s unemployment rate held steady in January 2026, defying expectations and strengthening the case for another interest rate rise later this year. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the jobless rate remained at 4.1 per cent, instead of edging up as forecast. Employment increased by 18,000, driven by a strong gain of 50,000 full-time jobs, even as part-time roles declined. Workforce participation eased slightly to 66.7 per cent, down from last year’s record high. Underemployment ticked higher to 5.9 per cent, while overall labour underutilisation rose to 10 per cent. Youth underemployment also climbed to 14.8 per cent, reversing last month’s improvement. The solid jobs result adds pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia, which meets next in mid-March and is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 3.85 per cent. However, most major banks are tipping a rate increase to 4.10 per cent in May, when fresh inflation data becomes available. Economists say the labour market remains resilient. Oxford Economics notes that while one strong report won’t force immediate action, continued strength in jobs and wages could push the RBA toward further tightening later in the year. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .