At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian mortgage holders are being warned that the era of ultra-low interest rates is unlikely to return, with economists saying higher borrowing costs could become the new normal. Oxford Economics chief global economist Ryan Sweet says a series of global disruptions over the past five years including international conflicts and trade tensions have kept inflation elevated and forced central banks to maintain higher interest rates. Australia’s cash rate, which fell to a record low of 0.10 per cent during the pandemic, has climbed back to 4.35 per cent following several rate increases this year aimed at controlling inflation. While inflation has eased slightly, underlying price pressures remain stubbornly high, keeping the Reserve Bank under pressure to stay cautious. Economists expect rates to remain unchanged for the rest of 2026, with any future cuts likely to be gradual. Higher fuel prices, global uncertainty and recent wage increases are also adding to inflation concerns. Some analysts believe further rate rises later this year cannot be ruled out. Australia’s economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace. Economic growth weakened in the March quarter, while productivity also declined, highlighting ongoing challenges for businesses and households. Experts say Australia’s heavy reliance on variable-rate mortgages means interest rate changes have a greater impact on consumers than in many other countries. As a result, higher borrowing costs are already weighing on household spending and confidence. Despite concerns about slower growth, economists do not expect a repeat of the economic turmoil seen in the 1970s. However, they warn that improving productivity and strengthening economic resilience will be critical to maintaining long-term growth. For homeowners, the message is clear: borrowing costs are likely to remain higher than many became accustomed to during the low-rate years of the pandemic era. 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. Australia’s housing market is showing further signs of slowing, with auction clearance rates falling to their lowest levels since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. New data shows Melbourne recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of just 52.3 per cent over the weekend, its weakest result in five years. Sydney improved slightly to 52.9 per cent but remained well below levels seen a year ago. Across all capital cities, the combined clearance rate dropped to 51.1 per cent, highlighting softer buyer demand and growing pressure on sellers. Property experts say rising interest rates, affordability challenges and an increase in homes for sale are shifting the market in favour of buyers. With more listings expected in the coming months, purchasers are gaining greater choice and negotiating power. Home values in Sydney and Melbourne have already fallen by more than 2 per cent over the past three months, while properties are taking longer to sell. Listings in both cities have also increased compared to last year. Analysts warn that further price declines are possible, particularly if interest rates rise again. Several major banks expect rates to remain elevated for some time, while others are forecasting additional increases later this year. Recent federal budget measures targeting property investors, including proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, are also expected to reduce investor activity and add to the market slowdown. Despite the weaker conditions, economists do not expect a major housing crash. However, they believe prices could continue to soften as higher borrowing costs, inflation pressures and cautious consumer sentiment weigh on demand. For buyers, the cooling market may create new opportunities. For sellers, experts say realistic pricing and expectations will be more important than ever. Source : News.com 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. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පුරා සිටින සියලුම සිසුන්ට සමාන අවස්ථා සහතික කරන අධ්‍යාපන ක්‍රමයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමේදී දත්ත මත පදනම් වූ තීරණ ගැනීමේ වැදගත්කම අධ්‍යාපන, උසස් අධ්‍යාපන සහ වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍ය අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය මහත්මිය අවධාරණය කර ඇත. අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී පැවති ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන කළමනාකරණ තොරතුරු පද්ධතියේ (NEMIS) මානව සම්පත් මොඩියුලයේ පළමු අදියර සහ ඊ-තක්සලාව ඉගෙනුම් කළමනාකරණ පද්ධතියේ (LMS) නියමු ව්‍යාපෘතියේ නිල දියත් කිරීමේ උත්සවයේදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසුවේ රට පුරා අධ්‍යාපනයේ ගුණාත්මකභාවය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම සඳහා නිවැරදි දත්ත, ඵලදායී ප්‍රතිපත්ති සහ තාක්ෂණික සහාය අත්‍යවශ්‍ය බවයි. අධ්‍යාපන අංශය තුළ මානව සම්පත් කළමනාකරණය සහ පරිපාලන කාර්යක්ෂමතාව වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම සඳහා NEMIS වේදිකාව හඳුන්වා දී ඇත. පළාත් අධ්‍යාපන බලධාරීන් මීට පෙර වෙනම තොරතුරු පද්ධති ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ අතර, නව වේදිකාව ජාතික සහ පළාත් පාසල් දෙකෙන්ම දත්ත තනි ජාලයකට ඒකාබද්ධ කරනු ඇත. ව්‍යාපෘතියේ පළමු අදියර සබරගමුව, බටහිර, දකුණු සහ වයඹ පළාත්වල ගුරු මාරුවීම් සඳහා පහසුකම් සපයනු ඇත. දිවයින පුරා පද්ධතිය පුළුල් කිරීමට සහ අනාගත අදියරවලදී සියලුම අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය ඇතුළත් කිරීමට බලධාරීන් සැලසුම් කරයි. මෙම වේදිකාව මඟින් ගුරු බඳවා ගැනීම්, මාරු කිරීම් සහ උසස්වීම් වලදී විනිවිදභාවය සහ කාර්යක්ෂමතාව වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට ද අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. විනිවිද පෙනෙන සහ කාර්යක්ෂම රාජ්‍ය සේවාවන් සැපයීමේ ප්‍රධාන අංගයක් ලෙස ඩිජිටල්කරණය අගමැතිනි අමරසූරිය මහතා අවධාරණය කළාය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, තාක්‍ෂණය ගුරුවරුන් ප්‍රතිස්ථාපනය කිරීමට නොව අධ්‍යාපන ක්‍රියාවලිය තුළ ඔවුන්ගේ කාර්යභාරය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට සහ සහාය වීමට අදහස් කරන බව ඇය අවධාරණය කළාය. ඊ-තක්සලාව ඉගෙනුම් කළමනාකරණ පද්ධතිය ඉගැන්වීම, ඉගෙනීම සහ ශිෂ්‍ය තක්සේරුව වැඩිදියුණු කරන අතරම අඩු වරප්‍රසාද ලත් පාසල් සඳහා ගුණාත්මක අධ්‍යාපන සම්පත් සඳහා වැඩි ප්‍රවේශයක් ලබා දෙන අතර විශේෂ අධ්‍යාපන අවශ්‍යතා ඇති දරුවන් සඳහා අවස්ථා පුළුල් කරන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරිය සඳහන් කළේය. අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලය, අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශය, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අමාත්‍යාංශය, අධ්‍යාපනයේ ඩිජිටල් පරිවර්තනය සඳහා වූ කාර්ය සාධක බලකාය, පළාත් අධ්‍යාපන බලධාරීන් සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාවේ ඒකාබද්ධ උත්සාහයන් හරහා මෙම මුලපිරීම ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ලදී. Source : Ada Derena News 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. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for a more respectful political environment, warning that escalating personal attacks and threats against public figures could have serious consequences. Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said growing economic pressures are contributing to public frustration and the rise of populist politics. He urged media outlets and political leaders to help lower tensions and promote constructive debate. The Prime Minister also reaffirmed the government's plan to reduce net overseas migration to around 225,000 over the coming years, saying the goal is to support social cohesion while addressing concerns around housing and population growth. His comments come as recent polls show rising support for One Nation, with cost-of-living pressures and housing affordability remaining key issues for many Australians. Albanese said governments must be willing to make difficult decisions to tackle long-term challenges, particularly in housing, warning that public dissatisfaction could continue to fuel support for populist movements if those issues are not addressed. The debate comes amid increasing political scrutiny, shifting voter sentiment and ongoing discussion about the future direction of Australia's economy, migration policy and housing market. Source : The Age News 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 greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to their lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the continued growth of renewable energy and a decline in transport emissions. New national emissions data shows Australia’s emissions dropped by 2.1 per cent in the year to December 2025. The reduction was largely due to wind, solar and battery storage replacing coal and gas-fired electricity generation. Transport emissions also declined for a second consecutive quarter, marking a significant shift as more Australians move towards electric vehicles. EV sales have surged over the past year, accounting for a record share of new vehicle purchases. Electricity remains Australia’s largest source of emissions, but pollution from the sector has continued to fall as renewable energy gains a larger share of the national grid. In late 2025, renewables supplied more than half of the electricity used across the National Electricity Market for the first time. The rapid uptake of home batteries has also played a major role, helping reduce reliance on gas-powered electricity during peak demand periods. While emissions from industry, mining and energy production also eased, experts say progress remains too slow in some sectors. Australia has already used more than half of its emissions budget under the Paris Climate Agreement and will need stronger action to meet future climate targets. Climate and energy experts welcomed the latest figures as a positive sign, saying the country is moving in the right direction. However, they stressed that faster investment in renewable energy, storage projects and transmission infrastructure will be needed to achieve Australia’s long-term emissions goals. The report highlights growing momentum in the clean energy transition, with renewable power, battery storage and electric vehicles playing an increasingly important role in reducing Australia’s carbon footprint. Source : ABC News 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. රාජ්‍ය සේවය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ඩිජිටල්කරණය කිරීමෙන් සහ රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන්ගේ තාක්ෂණික කුසලතා වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමෙන් රට ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකයක් බවට පරිවර්තනය කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් ජාතික වැඩසටහනක් යටතේ බලධාරීන් ප්‍රධාන පියවර ආරම්භ කර ඇත. ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය එරංග වීරරත්න සහ පළාත් සභා සහ පළාත් පාලන නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය රුවන් සෙනරත් යන මහත්වරුන්ගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් මෙම මුලපිරීම පිළිබඳ විශේෂ සාකච්ඡාවක් පැවැත්විණි. ගෝලීය තාක්ෂණික ප්‍රවණතාවලට අනුකූලව රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ කාර්යක්ෂමතාව වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම, සේවා ප්‍රමාදයන් අඩු කිරීම සහ රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන්ගේ තාක්ෂණික දැනුම වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම ඇතුළු මූලික අරමුණු කිහිපයක් මෙම වැඩසටහන මගින් හඳුනා ගනී. ඩිජිටල් සාක්ෂරතා කුසලතා වර්ධනයට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දෙමින් සහ සයිබර් ආරක්ෂාව පිළිබඳ දැනුවත්භාවය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම සඳහා ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන් අතර තාක්ෂණික ප්‍රතිරෝධය අඩු කිරීම කෙරෙහි විශේෂ අවධානයක් යොමු කෙරේ. ජංගම දුරකථන හරහා ප්‍රවේශ විය හැකි කෙටි වීඩියෝ පාඩම් භාවිතා කරමින් ක්ෂුද්‍ර ඉගෙනුම් ප්‍රවේශයක් සමඟින්, ලක්ෂ සංඛ්‍යාත රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් පුහුණු කිරීම සඳහා විද්‍යුත් ඉගෙනුම් වේදිකාවක් හඳුන්වා දීමට යෝජනා කර ඇත. මෙම ඩිජිටල් සාක්ෂරතා පාඨමාලා සම්පූර්ණ කිරීම රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන්ගේ වාර්ෂික කාර්ය සාධන ඇගයීම් සහ උසස්වීම් සඳහා අනිවාර්ය අවශ්‍යතාවයක් බවට පත් කිරීම පිළිබඳව ද සාකච්ඡා පවතී. මීට අමතරව, කාර්යාල සහ පාසල් පරිගණක විද්‍යාගාර දහවල් පුහුණු සැසි සඳහා යොදා ගැනීම, ක්‍රීඩාකරණ ක්‍රම හඳුන්වා දීම සහ ඩිජිටල් අත්සන් සහිත සහතික නිකුත් කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් එකඟතාවකට එළඹුණි. මෙම වැඩසටහන දැනට සිටින සේවකයින් පුහුණු කිරීම, නව බඳවා ගැනීම් සඳහා ඩිජිටල් සුදුසුකම් අනිවාර්ය කිරීම සහ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකයට අනුකූල වන පරිදි පාසල් සහ විශ්ව විද්‍යාල විෂයමාලා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය කිරීම යන ත්‍රි-කෝණාකාර උපාය මාර්ගයක් යටතේ ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට සැලසුම් කර ඇත. ආරම්භක අදියරක් ලෙස, රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් සඳහා නිල විද්‍යුත් තැපැල් පද්ධති සහ සහයෝගීතා මෙවලම් භාවිතය පිළිබඳ කෙටි සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ දැනුවත් කිරීමේ පාඨමාලාවක් සහ ප්‍රායෝගික පුහුණුවක් හඳුන්වා දීමට නියමිතය. Source : Derena News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians can expect chilly nights but generally pleasant daytime weather over the 2026 King’s Birthday long weekend, thanks to a large high-pressure system bringing mostly clear skies across much of the country. Most states and territories will enjoy the public holiday on Monday, with Queensland and Western Australia being the exceptions. Melbourne is set for a welcome break from this week’s cold and wet conditions, with sunny skies and temperatures reaching 17–18°C across the long weekend. Adelaide will also enjoy mild weather, with daytime temperatures gradually rising from 17°C to 19°C. Sydney is forecast to remain warm for winter, with temperatures around 20°C on Saturday and Sunday before a slight cool change and possible showers on Monday. Canberra will experience frosty mornings near 0°C, followed by sunny afternoons with temperatures around 13–15°C. Brisbane is expected to see clear skies over the weekend, with temperatures reaching 22–23°C, although a few showers may develop on Monday. Hobart will enjoy mostly fine weather and mild daytime temperatures of up to 17°C. In Perth, temperatures will remain above the June average, reaching 22°C over the weekend before cooler and wetter conditions arrive early next week. Darwin will continue to experience typical dry-season weather, with sunny skies and temperatures close to 31°C. Overall, the long weekend forecast looks favourable for outdoor activities across most of Australia, with sunshine, light winds and comfortable daytime temperatures expected in many regions. Source : Weatherzone 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. Australian shoppers continue to feel the impact of rising grocery prices, with several everyday essentials costing significantly more than they did just four years ago. Items such as olive oil, eggs, chocolate, coffee, dairy products and some meats have seen some of the largest increases, driven by global supply shortages, extreme weather events, disease outbreaks and higher transport and production costs. Olive oil prices have surged after poor harvests in major producing countries, with a 1-litre bottle that once sold for around $12–$14 now often costing more than $24. Popular snacks have also become more expensive. Products like Tim Tams and potato chips have nearly doubled in price, while some pack sizes have become smaller. Egg prices jumped following avian influenza outbreaks that reduced poultry numbers across parts of Australia, creating supply shortages that pushed prices higher. Chocolate and coffee have also been affected by global shortages and adverse weather in key growing regions. Consumers are now paying considerably more for chocolate blocks, coffee beans and instant coffee than they were a few years ago. Dairy products, including milk and cheese, have risen steadily due to increased farm, labour and transport costs. Meat prices have also climbed, with beef, lamb and chicken becoming more expensive for many households. While some global commodity prices have started to stabilise, industry experts say ongoing production, packaging and freight costs mean shoppers are unlikely to see major price reductions anytime soon. Source : 9 News 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. Sri Lanka has taken a major step towards joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade agreement, according to Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath. Speaking at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra following his official visit to Australia and New Zealand, the Minister said both countries have pledged their support for Sri Lanka’s bid to become a member of the regional trade bloc. RCEP brings together 15 economies, including the 10 ASEAN nations, as well as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea. The agreement is designed to strengthen trade and economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. Minister Herath said the visit helped build strong momentum for Sri Lanka’s efforts to expand trade opportunities and deepen economic ties with key regional partners. Another significant outcome of the visit was progress on air connectivity between Sri Lanka and Australia. The Minister announced that direct flights between the two countries are expected to begin from August 2026, creating new opportunities for tourism, business and people-to-people links. The developments mark an important step in strengthening Sri Lanka’s economic engagement with the wider Asia-Pacific region. Source : Srilankamirror News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s economy continued to grow in the March quarter, but at a slower pace than expected, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.3 per cent during the quarter and was 2.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. However, growth slowed from the previous quarter, while productivity recorded its largest decline in two years. The ABS said higher interest rates, rising fuel costs and disruptions caused by cyclones affected household spending, mining activity and exports. Household spending rose modestly by 0.5 per cent, with families spending more on essential services such as electricity and fuel following the end of government rebates. Despite the slower growth, business investment remained a bright spot. Private sector investment increased by 6 per cent, driven by a strong rise in spending on machinery and equipment, marking the biggest increase in that category in three decades. Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the economy as resilient despite global uncertainty, highlighting strong private investment and annual growth that remains ahead of many advanced economies. Meanwhile, the Opposition argued the figures show ongoing pressure on households and businesses, pointing to weaker productivity, falling GDP per person and rising cost-of-living challenges. The latest data reflects an economy that is still growing, but facing continued pressure from higher living costs and a challenging global environment. Source : PS News 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 have shifted their views on some of the country’s biggest brands, with Optus now ranked as the nation’s least-trusted brand in the latest Roy Morgan survey. The telecommunications giant moved to the bottom of the trust rankings following ongoing concerns, including a major network outage in 2025. Meta (Facebook) and Temu followed as the second and third least-trusted brands. Woolworths and Coles improved slightly compared to previous rankings, although both supermarkets still remain among Australia’s most distrusted brands. Other companies appearing in the bottom 10 include Tesla, Qantas, Telstra, Shein and X. At the other end of the rankings, Bunnings retained its position as Australia’s most trusted brand for the 10th consecutive quarter. Aldi and Kmart secured second and third place, while Commonwealth Bank, Apple, Big W, Myer, Toyota, JB Hi-Fi and Australia Post rounded out the top 10. The survey also highlighted broader industry trends. Retail remained Australia’s most trusted sector, while telecommunications continued to rank as the least trusted. Social media platforms also faced ongoing public scepticism, driven by concerns surrounding brands such as Facebook, X and TikTok. Meanwhile, trust in artificial intelligence companies appears to be declining. Google, OpenAI and ChatGPT all recorded weaker results, reflecting growing public concerns about AI development, business practices and transparency. Source : 9 News 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. මැයි මාසයේදී සංචාරකයින් 145,745 ක් මෙරටට පැමිණ ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ (SLTDA) දත්ත පෙන්වා දෙයි. සංචාරක හා සංචාරක කර්මාන්තයට බලපා ඇති මැද පෙරදිග ගැටුම් මධ්‍යයේ වුවද මෙය සිදු වේ. SLTDA විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද දත්ත වලට අනුව, ඉන්දියාවෙන් සංචාරකයින් 60,342 ක් පැමිණ ඇති අතර එය 41.0% කි. තවද, මැයි මාසයේදී එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් 9,248 ක්, චීනයෙන් 9,156 ක්, ජර්මනියෙන් 6,734 ක් සහ චීන ජාතිකයින් 6,414 ක් ද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණ ඇත. 2025 මැයි මාසයේදී මෙරටට සංචාරකයින් 132,919 ක් පැමිණ ඇත. මේ අතර, මැයි මාසය සඳහා නවතම සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන නිකුත් කිරීමත් සමඟ 2026 දී මෙරටට පැමිණි සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාව 1,022,022 දක්වා ඉහළ ගොස් තිබේ. ඒ අතරින් පුද්ගලයින් 250,260 ක් ඉන්දියාවෙන්, 98,093 ක් එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් සහ 76,073 ක් රුසියාවෙන් පැමිණි බව SLTDA සඳහන් කළේය. Source : Adaderena News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.