Dina, a Jewish woman from Sydney, has told the antisemitism royal commission that everyday life has become a low-grade horror movie for her and her three children. She fears them being targeted for being Jewish, and says her children have internalised a new reality where antisemitism is as common as traffic.
“They hear antisemitism around them all the time … they see the stickers … they see the graffiti, they know about Bondi. It’s become part of their psyche,” she said. She recounted listening to kids say they’d be too scared to attend a Hanukah party now, and that when her family went to Bondi, her eight-year-old started crying and said: “Now when I come to Bondi, I think about dying.”
“The reality is, they came to kill us. We just weren’t there. And it’s living with that truth that makes it very hard to feel safe as a Jew in Australia,” Dina said. “The Australian Jewish community is living a very different reality to what I think the rest of the Australian community is living.”
Meanwhile, Westpac has reported that more mortgage holders are struggling to repay their loans as interest rate rises take their toll. The share of customers behind on their mortgage has crept up slightly from September to March, with the loss rate on mortgages hitting 0.9 basis points and 1.8 basis points annualised for investor loans. Westpac’s chief executive, Anthony Miller, said more people were applying for personal loans and hardship consideration, adding: “That’s exactly what the Reserve Bank was looking for, which is to see things slow and moderate.” Chief financial officer Nathan Goonan predicted unemployment would rise, leaving more people unable to repay loans, with first home buyers hit hardest. He noted that applications for new home loans had slowed severely, comparable to the last rate tightening cycle in 2023.
Miller warned Australia’s economy faces a “more pronounced slowdown” and that there is no certainty the country will avoid recession. He said unemployment would likely rise this year, and the bank predicts surging inflation will force an interest rate rise today and potentially two more this year. “At the moment we don’t forecast a recession, but people who talk with absolute certainty today in this environment I think are misinformed,” he said. Businesses have increased their use of overdraft facilities, and hotels, cafes and restaurants are increasingly falling behind on loans, though other industries are less strained.
In other news, Pauline Hanson is considering stepping down from the Senate to run for the House of Representatives at the next election, days out from the Farrer by-election. She told Adelaide radio station FIVEAA that she discussed the possibility with James Ashby and was surprised her chief of staff mentioned it on Sky News. “Pauline Hanson might step down from the Senate too and run for the seat that she lives in. So don’t count your chickens,” she said. “Yes, it is on the cards and I have to consider that … It’s about getting representation for the people of this country.”
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Anthony Albanese exchanged rock music records and local fruit at a dinner during Takaichi’s visit. Takaichi gifted Albanese a Japanese-made record rack with records from BABYMETAL and MAN WITH A MISSION, and received a signed drumhead and record from AC/DC along with Australian grapes. She also gave him Japanese Crown Melons from Shizuoka prefecture, whose import to Australia was lifted in January. “Our conversation extended beyond the political and economic situations of both countries to include music and food culture,” Takaichi wrote. No word on which specific albums were handed over.
A 28-year-old woman died in an incident at a construction site on Railside Avenue, Bargo, after being struck by a car on Thursday afternoon. Emergency services responded, but she died before being airlifted to hospital. The 55-year-old male driver was uninjured and taken for mandatory testing. A crime scene has been established.
The Marine Rescue NSW base at Ballina will close for three days after two volunteers were among three people who died when a yacht got caught in dangerous conditions. Commissioner Todd Andrews assured the community the area would still be covered by neighbouring units. “Pretty much with any marine rescue job we do, there’s risk involved. Our volunteers do understand that risk, which is why I believe these two people are heroes,” he said.
Infectious diseases experts are urging Australians to get vaccinated ahead of an expected peak in flu cases. Last year was Australia’s worst flu season on record, with 502,931 lab-confirmed cases and 1,744 deaths since surveillance began in 2001. Dr Masha Somi said that from August 2025 to January, deaths involving influenza overtook Covid-19. The “super-K” strain of influenza A caused unseasonably high rates over summer, and the southern hemisphere flu vaccine has been updated to protect against it. Prof Patrick Reading said, “Currently levels are really low, but we’re expecting to see an increase quite soon as we move into winter.” A needle-free live-attenuated nasal spray vaccine has been rolled out for children under 18.
Tali Pinsky, who moved to Australia from Israel last year for university work, told the royal commission that Australians are generally welcoming but that Jewish people are criticised because of Israel’s actions in the war. Her colleagues said the Bondi attack, while terrible, was “understandable” and a “direct result” of hatred of Israel. “We felt that the victims, because of them being Jewish, are not considered to be truly Australians in a sense,” she said. She noted an “almost singular focus” on Palestinian human rights on campuses, with Jewish and Israeli people personally blamed for the actions of the Israeli government in a way other citizens aren’t. She reported hate speech posts to Facebook but got a standard reply that they didn’t violate community standards. The family now plans to move back to Israel at the end of the year.
Albanese claimed the government’s fuel-saving campaign has “been listened to” by the public, encouraging catching public transport, working from home, and car sharing. He contrasted it with people “rocking up to service stations, filling up jerry-cans in an irresponsible way … reminiscent of what occurred with toilet paper during Covid, except petrol’s a lot more dangerous.” Speaking at a Medicare urgent care clinic, he said it saves people compared to emergency departments. Asked about the budget addressing cost of living, he said, “What I can guarantee is that certainly, we’re very conscious about putting that downward pressure. We’ve already had $114bn of savings in our budgets. There will be more savings in the budget, that is announced next week. This will be a responsible budget.”