At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s migration debate should focus not only on how many people arrive, but on how many are given the opportunity to build a long-term future in the country, according to a new analysis of the nation’s migration system. The report argues that Australia has shifted from a settlement-based migration model to one increasingly reliant on temporary visas. While permanent migrants made up the majority of long-term arrivals in the 1960s, temporary visa holders now account for most new arrivals. Supporters of a stronger permanent migration program say long-term visa certainty encourages migrants to invest in their communities, buy homes, start businesses and build careers in Australia. In contrast, temporary visa holders often face uncertainty about their future, making long-term planning more difficult. The analysis also highlights the role of international students, who contribute billions of dollars to the Australian economy each year through tuition fees and spending. It suggests that students studying in areas facing skills shortages, such as healthcare, education, engineering, construction and technology, should have clearer pathways to permanent residency. Advocates argue that graduates trained in Australia are already familiar with local workplaces, culture and community life, making them well positioned to fill future workforce gaps and integrate successfully into society. However, the report stresses that any expansion of permanent migration must be matched by increased housing supply, infrastructure investment and long-term planning. Without adequate housing and services, population growth could place further pressure on communities. The analysis concludes that Australia would benefit from reducing reliance on long-term temporary visas and creating more structured pathways to permanent residency for skilled migrants. It argues that a migration system focused on settlement, workforce needs and community integration would deliver stronger economic and social outcomes for the country in the years ahead. Source : Indaily 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. Woolworths says it is making structural changes across parts of its business as it looks to reduce costs and keep prices competitive amid rising living expenses and stronger international competition. The company says customers are under pressure from inflation and cost-of-living increases, and it is focusing on improving efficiency to maintain “low prices” and service standards. As part of the changes, Woolworths is reviewing its corporate operations, including proposals to expand global service arrangements and outsource some functions. Consultations with affected teams are expected to continue throughout the week. Woolworths says it already operates with overseas teams and external service partners, and regularly reviews these arrangements to cut costs and improve capability. The supermarket giant is also responding to growing competition from international players, including fast-expanding online retailers such as Amazon, which are putting pressure on pricing and delivery expectations. The company has invested heavily in its supply chain and digital operations in Australia to stay competitive, particularly in online grocery delivery. Despite the restructuring, Woolworths says it plans to open 24 new stores across Australia and New Zealand over the coming year, creating around 2,500 jobs. The changes come as the company continues to manage higher input costs across fuel, freight and agricultural supply chains, which it says are gradually flowing through to food prices such as fresh produce, dairy and bread. Source : 7 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 can expect a mixed weather outlook over the coming days, with rain, thunderstorms and cooler conditions affecting several parts of the country. Queensland's coastline is set for the wettest weather, with widespread showers and thunderstorms forecast from the southeast to the tropical north. Brisbane is expected to reach 23°C. New South Wales will remain mostly dry, although isolated showers are possible in the northeast. Sydney is forecast to reach 20°C, while Canberra can expect a cooler day with a top of 17°C. Victoria and Tasmania will start with milder-than-average temperatures, but conditions are expected to turn cooler and windier later in the day. Melbourne is forecast to reach 19°C after a foggy morning, while Hobart will see sunshine before cloud increases, with a top of 16°C. South Australia is set for a change in conditions as a cold front moves across the state, bringing showers and cloud cover. Adelaide is forecast to reach 23°C. In Western Australia, a large cloud band is expected to deliver unseasonably heavy rainfall to parts of the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions before spreading further south and east. Perth is forecast to reach 17°C after early rain. Meanwhile, the Northern Territory's Top End will remain mostly sunny and dry, with Darwin expected to reach a warm 33°C. Weather authorities are urging residents and travellers in affected regions to stay updated with the latest forecasts and warnings. Source : News.com 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. ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ සිඩ්නි නුවර බලා අද (12) අලුයම පිටත්ව ගිය ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවයට අයත් ගුවන් යානයක් ගමන් අතරතුර අකුණු සැරකට ලක්වීම හේතුවෙන් ආරක්ෂිත පියවරක් ලෙස නැවත බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන් තොටුපොළ (BIA) වෙත ගොඩබැස්වීමට සිදුව ඇති බව ගුවන් තොටුපොළ රාජකාරි නිලධාරියෙකු සඳහන් කළේය. ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවයට අයත් UL-606 දරන ගුවන් යානය අද අලුයම 1.00ට පමණ කටුනායක ගුවන් තොටුපොළෙන් සිඩ්නි බලා පිටත්ව ගොස් තිබුණි. සිද්ධිය සිදුවන අවස්ථාවේ එම පුළුල් දේහ වර්ගයේ Airbus A330 ගුවන් යානයේ මගීන් 217 දෙනෙකු සහ කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සාමාජිකයින් 16 දෙනෙකු ගමන් කරමින් සිට ඇත. ප්‍රදේශයේ පැවති අයහපත් කාලගුණික තත්ත්වයන් සහ අකුණු සහිත වැසි හේතුවෙන් ගුවන් යානය ගමන් අතරතුර අකුණු සැරකට ලක්ව ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ. ඒ අනුව, පූර්වාරක්ෂක පියවරක් ලෙස ගමන අත්හිටුවීමට තීරණය කළ ගුවන් නියමුවා ගුවන් යානය අද අලුයම 1.40ට පමණ නැවත බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන් තොටුපොළ වෙත ආරක්ෂිතව ගොඩබස්වා ඇති බව සඳහන් කළේය. පසුව, එම මගීන් සිඩ්නි බලා රැගෙන යාම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවය විසින් එම වර්ගයේම තවත් Airbus A330 ගුවන් යානයක් යොදවා තිබේ. ඒ අනුව, ආදේශක ගුවන් යානය අද පෙරවරු 6.06ට පමණ කටුනායක ගුවන් තොටුපොළෙන් සිඩ්නි බලා පිටත්ව ගොස් ඇත. මේ අතර, අකුණු සැර වැදී බලපෑමට ලක් වූ ගුවන් යානය පරීක්ෂා කිරීම් සහ අලුත්වැඩියා කටයුතු සඳහා කටුනායක පිහිටි ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවයේ නඩත්තු අංගනය වෙත රැගෙන ගොස් ඇති බවද වාර්තා වේ. Source - Ada Derena News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

They set the bar at a level that took some beating, but still, few can compare to the versatility, endurance and musical finesse of fabulous Misty. Sri Lanka's top dance band for a comprehensive entertainment package over the decades, are in Melbourne wowing their fans and proving their popularity has not waned despite the passing of time. Only the Gypsies and to a lesser degree Mirage have drawn rave reviews and sell-out capability over the years in Australia for their popularity, but Misty have in their own inimitable style drawn love and acclaim from a cross section of Australians, not just Sri Lankan expatriates, for their extraordinary talent. Rajitha Rupesinghe heads a close knit band that have established themselves as an entertainment unit that can entertain at any level in the music world. They are talented, they can provide entertainment at a level few can. But maintaining that acclaim and sustaining it for decades is the ultimate challenge they have achieved for two decades and continue to achieve that which makes it remarkable. The music industry, much like any other entertainment, is challenging to those in it, longevity therefore, is proof of continued passion and innovation to last the course and keep the fans interested. Let's not single out Rajitha and his clan as the only elite, in an Island gifted with wonderful musicians, but my practical assessment from a musical wannabe who, as a young aspiring musician at a tender age, suggests that longevity undoubtedly proves a resounding history of success as Misty has. Staying ahead of the pack in an ever evolving art and generational change proves that Rajitha and Misty are a proven talent with a great following of die-hards. That's Rajitha and his merry men at Misty who have ruled and established themselves as one of the most loved and much looked forward to bands in many parts of the world. They have toured Australia and drawn sell-out crowds every time they tour, and that does not look like changing anytime soon. Rajitha refused to be drawn unto comparisons to other venues in the world they have performed at for obvious reasons but he was emphatic that touring and entertaining in Australia draws few parallels. My assessment of Misty's success is to be fair, on a band that delivers musical versatility, and not a comparison with the only folk and Baila bands that tour Australia which has a selective and separate following. Misty's fabulous line-up has been a tight knit group of gifted musicians who have established and grown respect from the best in the business for their dedication and attention to delivery. Led by Rajitha, leader and lead vocals, Udaya Welikala keyboardsand vocals, magical Dennis Perera on drums, Sanjeewa on bass and Sudath on lead and vocals form a formidable combination. Radika Rajavelu provides the female input into the vocal delivery that takes it to the next level and giving the band that extra impetus and allround compatibility. Rajitha Rupesinghe was unquestionably emotional as he reflected on the band's success on a global basis saying grabbing opportunity and making the most of is key to the band's success. He said that several sponsors that gave him and his band opportunity down under will remain in their memory beginning from Indran Niles, Malik Zaveer, Bertie Ekanaike and many others from Sri Lanka schools who kept their ongoing success something they will cherish. Tributes flowed from Sri Lanka and around the globe from musicians who love and appreciate this popular set-up. From Melbourne, it came from touring leader of the Gypsies Piyal Perera, former Misty bassist Chris Mant who leads Melbourne band Cloud 9, female icons Noeline Honter and Alston Koch and Esric Jackson who have all had a part in their tours here. Misty has every reason to celebrate their success and achievement over the last two decades and more. And doing it in Australia to celebrate a country that has given them due creedence and appreciation with their sponsors and selected fans will be an unforgettable celebration. Unfortunately Anne and I are pre-commited to another event. But I'm sure it will surely be a night that will be memorable. Thanks for the music Rajitha and Misty. Looking forward to your continued success. Article by Trevine Rodrigo

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Millions of Australians are paying more income tax as inflation and wage growth continue to push workers into higher tax brackets, reigniting debate over so-called "bracket creep". New analysis suggests that if income tax thresholds had been adjusted for inflation since 2010, the top 45 per cent tax rate would not begin until an annual income of about $280,000, compared with the current threshold of $190,000. The findings highlight how more workers are being taxed at higher rates despite rising living costs reducing the real value of their income. According to the analysis, the current 30 per cent tax bracket would extend to around $124,000 under an indexed system, while the 37 per cent bracket would begin above that level and continue to nearly $280,000. The issue has resurfaced amid ongoing debate over Australia's tax system, including recent changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing. The Coalition has renewed calls for automatic tax threshold adjustments to prevent workers from being pushed into higher tax brackets over time. Labor, meanwhile, points to its revised Stage 3 tax cuts, arguing they provide greater benefits for low- and middle-income earners. The debate underscores growing pressure on governments to address rising tax burdens as Australians continue to face cost-of-living challenges. Source : News.com 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 ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවයේ නව සභාපතිවරයා ලෙස ඩිමාල් අරන්දර මහතා නිල වශයෙන් පත් කර තිබේ. වැඩබලන සභාපතිවරයා ලෙස කටයුතු කළ අරන්දර මහතා දැන් ස්ථිර පදනමක් මත එම තනතුර භාර ගනී. ජාතික ගුවන් සේවය තුළ සංසරණය වූ අභ්‍යන්තර නිවේදනයකින් තහවුරු වූයේ ඉහළ මට්ටමේ පත්වීම ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ සෘජු එකඟතාවයෙන් සිදු කර ඇති බවයි. මෙම වසර මුලදී හිටපු සභාපති සරත් ගනේගොඩ මහතා ඉල්ලා අස්වීමෙන් පසු ගුවන් සේවය දැඩි මූල්‍ය අභියෝග සහ දීර්ඝ විධායක සංක්‍රාන්තියක් සමඟ පොරබදමින් සිටින බැවින්, දැඩි මහජන පරීක්ෂාවකට ලක්වන කාල පරිච්ඡේදයක් අතරතුර ඔහු රජයට අයත් ගුවන් සේවයේ නායකත්වය භාර ගනී. මෙම පත්වීම සිදුවන්නේ පාඩු ලබන ආයතනයට තීරණාත්මක අවස්ථාවක වන අතර, මෑතකදී එය අතිරේක රුපියල් බිලියන 100 ක රාජ්‍ය අරමුදල් අපේක්ෂා කරන බවට වාර්තා වීම හේතුවෙන් දැඩි විවේචනවලට ලක්ව ඇත. Source : Sri Lankan Mirror More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. The number of people living in Australia on bridging visas has reached a record level, according to new government data. Figures from the Department of Home Affairs show 432,300 people were holding bridging visas as of 31 March 2026, the highest number ever recorded. The total eased slightly to 419,682 in April. Bridging visas are temporary visas that allow people to remain lawfully in Australia while their immigration status or visa application is being assessed. The figures have reignited debate over migration management and visa processing times. Critics argue growing delays are leaving more people on temporary visas for longer periods, placing additional pressure on the immigration system. Recent government data also revealed that more than 5,100 visas were cancelled over the past year, while 1,502 people were deported. Separate figures showed around 77,700 unlawful non-citizens were living in Australia, including approximately 25,000 people who had remained in the country without a valid visa for more than 10 years. The Coalition has used the latest figures to criticise the government's handling of migration and border management, calling for a more efficient and orderly system. Migration remains a key political issue ahead of future policy discussions. The Coalition has proposed significant reductions to migrant intake levels, while the government maintains that it is working through visa backlogs and managing increased demand across the migration program. Current forecasts indicate Australia’s net overseas migration will total around 1.2 million people between 2025 and 2030, following revised projections that anticipate higher migration levels over the next two financial years. Source : Sky 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. Western Sydney International (WSI) Airport is set to welcome its first passenger flights on 25 October 2026, with four airlines confirmed as launch carriers. Jetstar will operate the airport’s first commercial passenger service, flying from Western Sydney to the Gold Coast. The airline will also offer regular services to Melbourne and Brisbane. Qantas is scheduled to begin operations from WSI on 28 March 2027, with flights to Melbourne and Brisbane. International services will commence shortly after the airport opens. Air New Zealand will launch three return flights per week between Auckland and Western Sydney from 26 October, while Singapore Airlines will begin daily services between Singapore and WSI from 23 November, providing travellers with access to its extensive global network. The airport’s 24-hour operating model is expected to attract additional international carriers in the future. Emirates and Qatar Airways have already received approval to operate daily services from WSI, although neither airline has yet confirmed flight schedules. Industry leaders have welcomed the announcement, saying the new airport will increase travel options and improve connectivity for Western Sydney residents and visitors. Western Sydney International Airport has been under development for more than a decade and is expected to become a major gateway for domestic and international travel. Passengers will initially be able to access the airport via the M12 motorway and dedicated express bus services, while the Sydney Metro Airport line is currently scheduled for completion in 2028. 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. ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමුද්‍රීය අපරාධ මැඩපැවැත්වීම සහ කලාපීය ජලය හරහා ආරක්ෂාව වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් ඒකාබද්ධ සමුද්‍රීය ආරක්ෂක මුලපිරීමක් වන දිසි රේලා මෙහෙයුමේ තුන්වන අදියර දියත් කර ඇත. කොළඹින් නිල වශයෙන් ආරම්භ වූ මෙම මෙහෙයුම ජුනි 17 වන දින දක්වා අඛණ්ඩව ක්‍රියාත්මක වන අතර කොළඹ, ත්‍රිකුණාමලය, වාලච්චේන, මඩකලපුව සහ මිරිස්ස ඇතුළු ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පුරා ස්ථාන කිහිපයක් ආවරණය කරයි. ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශයට අනුව, දිසි රේලා - එහි තේරුම "සාගර පරිසරය පිළිබඳව විමසිල්ලෙන් සිටීම" යන්නයි - නීති විරෝධී සමුද්‍රීය ක්‍රියාකාරකම් වැළැක්වීම සඳහා දෙරටේම අඛණ්ඩ කැපවීම පෙන්නුම් කරන අතර පෙර මෙහෙයුම්වල සාර්ථකත්වය මත ගොඩනැගේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වෙරළබඩ සහ සමුද්‍රීය ආරක්ෂක කටයුතු සඳහා සහයෝගය දැක්වීමේ කොටසක් ලෙස, ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු රජය ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෙරළබඩ ආරක්ෂක අංශයට ඉහළ කාර්යසාධනයක් සහිත සියලුම භූමි වාහන (ATV) පහක් සහ දිගු දුර ඩ්‍රෝන යානා 12 ක් පරිත්‍යාග කළේය. මෙම උපකරණ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වෙරළබඩ සහ අවට ජලය ඔස්සේ නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාකාරකම් හඳුනා ගැනීමට, ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්වීමට සහ ඒවාට එරෙහිව සටන් කිරීමට වෙරළබඩ ආරක්ෂක බලකායේ මෙහෙයුම් ධාරිතාව වැඩි දියුණු කරනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. ඒකාබද්ධ මෙහෙයුම් හැකියාවන් ශක්තිමත් කිරීම, නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ආයතන අතර බුද්ධි හුවමාරුව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම සහ වෙරළබඩ ප්‍රජාවන් සමඟ සමීප සම්බන්ධතාවයක් ඇති කිරීම කෙරෙහි ද මෙම මුලපිරීම අවධානය යොමු කරයි. මිනිස් ජාවාරම, මත්ද්‍රව්‍ය ජාවාරම සහ නීති විරෝධී මසුන් ඇල්ලීම වැනි අන්තර්ජාතික සමුද්‍ර අපරාධ මැඩපැවැත්වීම සඳහා මෙම උත්සාහයන් අරමුණු කර ඇති අතර කලාපීය සමුද්‍ර ආරක්ෂාව සහ ස්ථාවරත්වය වැඩි කිරීමට දායක වන බව ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශය වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. සමාරම්භක උත්සවයට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු මහ කොමසාරිස් මැතිව් ඩක්වර්ත්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු ආරක්ෂක උපදේශක කර්නල් අමන්ඩා ජොන්ස්ටන් සහ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලයේ නිලධාරීන් සහභාගී විය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෙරළාරක්ෂක බලකාය නියෝජනය කරමින් නියෝජ්‍ය අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජෙනරාල් කොමදෝරු ප්‍රසාද් ජයසිංහ, දෙපාර්තමේන්තු ප්‍රධානීන් සහ ත්‍රිවිධ හමුදාවේ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන් කිහිප දෙනෙකු සහභාගී විය. Source : Ada Derena News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians should prepare for the temporary fuel tax cut to end on June 30, despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East, according to the federal government. The fuel excise was halved on April 1, reducing petrol and diesel prices by 26.3 cents per litre. The measure was introduced to ease cost-of-living pressures caused by global energy market disruptions and has cost the government around $2.9 billion. Transport Minister Catherine King said motorists should currently expect the discount to finish as scheduled, although the government continues to monitor global developments. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said no final decision has been made on a possible extension, describing the international situation as unpredictable and subject to ongoing assessment. The fuel tax relief was introduced after conflict in the Middle East disrupted global oil markets and raised concerns about supply through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for international energy shipments. The government says it has taken steps to strengthen Australia's fuel security, including supporting fuel imports and maintaining supply chains for critical industries such as agriculture and freight transport. Mr Albanese said Australia currently has stronger fuel reserves than earlier in the year, helping ensure businesses, farmers and transport operators can continue operating despite global uncertainty. While fuel prices remain under pressure from international events, the government has signalled that the temporary excise reduction is still expected to end at the close of June unless further action is announced. 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. Despite growing predictions of a housing market downturn, new figures show Australian property values are still climbing. According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the total value of residential property across the country increased by $315.9 billion during the March quarter, reaching a record $12.77 trillion. While growth has slowed compared to late 2025, national dwelling values remain 11.9 per cent higher than a year ago, driven by continued increases in property prices. The average value of a residential dwelling rose by $22,300 over the quarter to $1.11 million, while the total number of homes increased by more than 54,000 to nearly 11.5 million. Western Australia recorded the strongest quarterly growth, with dwelling values rising 7.2 per cent, followed by Queensland at 4.6 per cent. Victoria was the only state to record a decline, with average dwelling values slipping 0.3 per cent. The figures come as some economists forecast falling house prices due to higher interest rates and proposed tax changes affecting property investors. However, the latest data suggests those impacts have not yet significantly affected the market. Property investors also argue that strong population growth and ongoing housing shortages could continue supporting prices, particularly in more affordable regions. While market conditions are becoming more challenging, Australia's housing sector remains resilient, with property values continuing to rise despite growing economic pressures. Source : News.com More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.