At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Household spending in Australia edged up by 0.3% in February 2026, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This follows a similar 0.3% increase in January, after a 0.5% drop in December. Compared to a year earlier, overall spending remains strong, rising 4.6%. Spending on non-essential items grew by 0.5%, driven by higher demand for entertainment such as concerts and musicals, along with increased bookings for flights and accommodation. Some of this reflects early ticket purchases for future events. Essential spending also increased, with food costs rising by 1.0%, adding to overall household expenses. However, transport spending fell by 0.4%, mainly due to lower fuel prices during the month, which helped ease costs for households. Across the country, spending increased in six of the eight states and territories. The Northern Territory recorded the strongest growth at 3.4%, while Western Australia saw the largest rise in total spending. South Australia also posted a modest gain of 0.6%. Tasmania was the only state to record a decline, with spending slipping by 0.3%. Overall, the data shows steady consumer activity, with both essential and discretionary spending contributing to growth. Source : MirangeNews 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. Four astronauts on Artemis II have set a new record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth. At 12:56 p.m. CDT on Monday, the crew passed 248,655 miles from Earth, breaking the record set during Apollo 13. They are expected to reach about 252,756 miles at the mission’s peak before heading back. The six-day mission includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The team continues capturing images of the Moon as they travel deeper into space. The journey began with a successful April 1 launch from Kennedy Space Center aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft. After leaving Earth’s orbit, the crew set course for the Moon. During the mission, the astronauts will fly within about 4,067 miles of the Moon’s surface. They will also observe parts of the Moon’s far side not seen directly by humans before, and witness a solar eclipse. Communication with Earth is expected to briefly drop for about 40 minutes as the Moon blocks signals between the spacecraft and mission control at Johnson Space Center. The crew is also collecting valuable data, photos, and videos to support future missions. These findings will help NASA plan its long-term goal of returning humans to the Moon and eventually sending missions to Mars. The astronauts are scheduled to return on April 10, with a splashdown planned off the coast of San Diego. Recovery teams will bring them safely back before post-mission checks. Artemis II marks a major step forward in human space exploration and NASA’s plans to build a lasting presence on the Moon. Source : Nasa More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A burst of winter like weather is set to hit south east Australia this week, bringing storms, strong winds, and a sharp drop in temperatures. In Melbourne, conditions will turn cooler and wetter. Temperatures are expected to fall from 27°C on Thursday to around 17°C over the weekend, with overnight lows near 10°C. Canberra will be even colder, with temperatures dropping to just 2°C early next week. Adelaide is forecast to see lows of 9°C, while Hobart could dip to around 7°C. A weather system moving across the region on Thursday is likely to trigger severe thunderstorms in parts of South Australia, Victoria, and southern New South Wales. These storms may bring damaging winds, with some areas at risk of stronger, more destructive gusts. Wind speeds could exceed 80 km/h in higher areas, and reach up to 100 km/h in alpine and mountainous regions. Residents are advised to stay updated with forecasts and prepare for sudden weather changes. Source : 9News 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. ඈපා පාරම්පරික ජ්‍යොතිෂ්‍ය දැනුමෙන් ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ සෑම ප්‍රාන්තයකටම ගැලපෙන පරිදි සැකසූ නැකත් පත්‍රය එළිදැක්වේ. ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය අනන්‍යතාවය විදහා දක්වන ප්‍රධානතම සංස්කෘතික මංගල්‍යය වන සිංහල හා හින්දු අලුත් අවුරුද්ද සැමරීමට ලෝකවාසී සියලුම ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් මේ වන විට සූදානම් වෙමින් සිටිති. විශේෂයෙන්ම, ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ වෙසෙන දහස් සංඛ්‍යාත අපේ දූ දරුවන්ට සහ වැඩිහිටියන්ට, එරට වේලා කලාපයන්ට අනුකූලව නිවැරදිව චාරිත්‍ර ඉටුකිරීම සඳහා වන නැකත් පත්‍රයක් සකස් කිරීම කාලීන අවශ්‍යතාවයකි. මෙවර එම වගකීම ඉටුකරමින්, ඈපා පාරම්පරික ජ්‍යොතිෂ්‍ය සම්ප්‍රදාය නියෝජනය කරන, ඉන්දියාවේ ජ්‍යොතිෂ්‍ය ආචාර්ය ගෞරව උපාධිධාරී, ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මනෝවිද්‍යා උපදේශනය පිළිබඳ ඩිප්ලෝමාධාරී මෙන්ම ලන්ඩනයේ පිළිගත් අධ්‍යාපනධාරී වන වෛද්‍ය ධනංජය ඈපා මහතා විසින් ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ සෑම ප්‍රාන්තයකටම (ACT, NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, NT, TAS) අදාළ වන පරිදි විද්‍යාත්මකව ගණනය කරන ලද නැකත් පත්‍රය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. ජාතික QR ගෙවීම් ප්‍රවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය අද ආරම්භ වේ. ව්‍යාපෘතියේ සභාපතිත්වය ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා විසින් දරනු ලැබේ. ජනාධිපති මාධ්‍ය අංශයට අනුව, අද සිට මූල්‍ය ආයතන රුපියල් 5,000 දක්වා සියලුම LankaQR ගනුදෙනු සඳහා වෙළෙන්දන් සඳහා සේවා ගාස්තුව සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ඉවත් කරනු ඇත. මෙම මුලපිරීම මගින් රට මුදල් රහිත ආර්ථිකයක් කරා ගෙන යාම අරමුණු කර ගෙන ඇති අතර, එමඟින් කුඩා පරිමාණ වෙළෙන්දන්ට කිසිදු අමතර වියදමකින් තොරව ඩිජිටල් ගෙවීම් පිළිගැනීමට ඉඩ සලසයි. Source : News First More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A large majority of Australians support the government’s temporary cut to fuel tax, according to new research. The federal government recently halved the fuel excise from 52.6 cents to 26.3 cents per litre for three months. The move came in response to rising global prices linked to the Iran conflict. A Roy Morgan survey of more than 2,500 adults found 83% backed the decision. How Australians are responding 37% say they are aware of fuel shortages in their area Nearly half are driving less 20% have changed travel plans 9% have stocked up on extra fuel Despite this, most people (76%) say higher prices or shortages have not affected essential travel like work, school, or medical visits. Prices starting to fallFuel prices are gradually easing, as stations sell older stock first.Average petrol dropped from $2.46 to $2.23 per litre within days of the cut.Diesel prices, however, are still slow to decline and remain high. Supply pressures remainEnergy Minister Chris Bowen said 238 service stations have run out of diesel, with the majority in NSW.This is partly due to farmers being prioritised during planting season. Australia’s current fuel reserves stand at: 39 days of petrol 29 days of diesel 29 days of jet fuel The government says it continues to monitor supply while the temporary tax cut remains in place. Source : 9News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Planning your Easter long weekend? Here’s a quick and clear guide to what’s open and closed so you’re not caught out. Shopping centres Westfield locations will be closed on Good Friday. They reopen Saturday, with some reduced hours. On Easter Sunday, centres in NSW and SA will mostly stay closed (except Tuggerah), while other states operate with limited hours. SA centres also remain closed on Easter Monday. Supermarkets Coles and Woolworths will shut nationwide on Good Friday. Both reopen Saturday, though some stores may have shorter hours. On Easter Sunday, most NSW and SA stores will be closed, while other states trade with reduced hours. All stores reopen Monday, often with limited trading times. Aldi will also close on Good Friday. Stores reopen Saturday, with some open on Sunday and most back on Monday. IGA stores may stay open, depending on location. Retail stores Kmart, Target, and Big W will be closed on Good Friday. Most reopen Saturday and operate on Sunday, though some stores may remain shut. Trading resumes Monday, except for a few SA locations. Hardware Bunnings Warehouse will close on Good Friday. Stores reopen for the rest of the weekend, with possible reduced hours. Liquor Dan Murphy's will shut on Good Friday. Some NSW stores will also close on Easter Sunday. Most locations reopen Monday with shorter hours. Cinemas Good news for movie lovers Hoyts and Event Cinemas will stay open right through the Easter weekend, including Good Friday. Source : SkyNews 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. History has been made as NASA successfully launched its Artemis II mission, sending four astronauts on a journey around the Moon. The rocket lifted off from Florida at 9:38am AEDT, marking the first human mission to the Moon since Apollo 17. The crew includes Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. Hansen becomes the first non-American astronaut to take part in a lunar mission. This 10-day mission will not land on the Moon. Instead, the spacecraft will travel thousands of kilometres beyond it, loop around, and return to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission is a major step toward NASA’s long-term goal of returning humans to the Moon and building a permanent presence there. The launch followed earlier technical concerns, including past hydrogen leak issues. However, final checks cleared the rocket for take-off, with over 2.6 million litres of fuel loaded successfully. Artemis II will also set a new record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from Earth. NASA aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface again later this decade, as part of its next phase of space exploration. Source : 9News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Indonesia, north of Australia, raising concerns about possible tsunami waves. The United States Geological Survey reported the quake occurred at a depth of 35km, around 9:48am AEDST. It hit in the Molucca Sea, near islands including Ternate Island, about 130km away. Experts say the region is known for frequent seismic activity, with several major earthquakes recorded there in recent decades. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has warned that tsunami waves could impact parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. However, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology confirmed there is no threat to the Australian coastline at this stage. Monitoring is ongoing, with updates expected. Source : News.com 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. Pressure is mounting on the Australian government to rethink its gas export rules, with fresh calls for a new tax on overseas sales. New analysis from The Australia Institute suggests a 25% export tax could generate nearly $350 million per week, or around $17 billion annually. Economist Richard Denniss said the current system is costing Australians, arguing stronger taxation could better fund essential services like schools and hospitals. The proposal has gained broad public support, with backing reported across the political spectrum. At the same time, global tensions particularly disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz have raised concerns about energy security. Some experts say boosting local gas reserves and investing in renewables could help Australia manage future shocks. However, major energy companies are pushing back. Industry leaders warn that new taxes or stricter rules could reduce investment, hurt smaller producers, and weaken Australia’s position in global energy markets. Executives from companies like Chevron and Beach Energy say policy uncertainty could drive investors elsewhere and disrupt supply. The government is also considering requiring exporters to reserve more gas for local use, but critics argue this could distort the market and put supply at risk. The debate highlights a growing challenge balancing national revenue, energy security, and industry stability. Source : 9News 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 සංචාරක කර්මාන්තය නංවාලීම සඳහා තෝරාගත් රටවල් 39 ක විදේශ ගමන් බලපත්‍ර හිමියන්ට නොමිලේ සංචාරක වීසා ලබා දීමේ මාස හයක වැඩසටහනක් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හඳුන්වා දෙනු ඇත. 2025 ජූලි 21 වන දින පැවති කැබිනට් මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමේදී මෙම මුලපිරීම සඳහා අනුමැතිය ලබා දෙන ලදී. ආගමන හා විගමන පනත යටතේ, නොමිලේ වීසා නිකුත් කිරීම සඳහා නීති කෙටුම්පත්කරු විසින් සකස් කරන ලද කෙටුම්පත් රෙගුලාසි අනුමැතිය සඳහා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කෙරේ. මහජන ආරක්ෂක හා පාර්ලිමේන්තු කටයුතු අමාත්‍යවරයා විසින් මෙම යෝජනාව ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද අතර එයට කැබිනට් අනුමැතිය ලැබුණි. මෙම පියවර මගින් වැඩි සංචාරකයින් දිරිමත් කිරීමට සහ ප්‍රමුඛ සංචාරක ගමනාන්තයක් ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තත්ත්වය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට රජය අපේක්ෂා කරයි. කැබිනට් ප්‍රකාශක අමාත්‍ය නලින්ද ජයතිස්ස විසින් ඊයේ දින පැවති කැබිනට් මණ්ඩල මාධ්‍ය හමුවේදී නිවේදනය කරන ලද පරිදි තෝරාගත් රටවල් පහත පරිදි වේ; ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව ඔස්ට්‍රියාව බහරේනය බෙලාරුස් බෙල්ජියම කැනඩාව චීනය චීනය චීනය ෆින්ලන්තය ප්‍රංශය ජර්මනිය ඉන්දියාව ඉන්දුනීසියාව ඉරානය ඊශ්‍රායලය ඉතාලිය ජපානය කසකස්තානය කුවේට් මැලේසියාව නේපාලය නෙදර්ලන්තය නවසීලන්තය නෝර්වේ ඕමානය පකිස්ථානය පෝලන්තය කටාර් රුසියාව සෞදි අරාබිය දකුණු කොරියාව ස්පාඤ්ඤය ස්වීඩනය ස්විට්සර්ලන්තය තායිලන්තය තුර්කිය එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යය එක්සත් රාජධානිය එක්සත් ජනපදය Source : Newswire More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Thousands of young Australians are set for higher wages after a major ruling by the Fair Work Commission. Under the decision, workers aged 18 to 20 in fast food, retail and pharmacy roles will gradually move to full adult pay if they have been in the job for more than six months. The change means eligible workers will receive 100% of the adult wage rate. It will be introduced in stages over the next four years. The move follows a long-running campaign by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, which welcomed the decision as a major step forward. Union leaders say the ruling recognises that young adults face the same living costs as older workers and should be paid equally. More than 1.5 million Australians work in these industries, with a large share under the age of 21. Supporters say the change will bring fairer pay and better conditions for young workers, while marking a significant shift in Australia’s wage system. Source : News.com Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .