Emily KaineUpdated June 10, 2026 — 7:04am,first published 6:45amWhat’s making news todayBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our national news live blog for Wednesday, June 10. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming your coverage for the first part of the day. Here’s what is making news today. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is eyeing a proposal for start-ups to keep using the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount as he moves to address concerns Labor’s budget would hurt high-growth firms and productivity. Disability advocates have told an inquiry that the government’s proposed changes to the NDIS would rob people of dignity as they slammed the huge overhaul of funding to the scheme that was slated in the May budget. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor suggested yesterday the Coalition would be open to working with One Nation to oust Labor from government. During a press conference yesterday, he did not reject the idea of working with Pauline Hanson, but said, “… we’ll work with others to get rid of this rotten Labor government”. US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for shooting down an American Army helicopter close to the Strait of Hormuz and said the US “must respond” to the attack. The US said a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the US and Israel.Latest Posts7.04amBelfast erupts after police charge man over ‘brutal attempted beheading’By David CroweA Sudanese asylum seeker has been charged with attempted murder after a brutal stabbing attack left a man fighting for his life in a Belfast hospital from wounds likened to an attempted beheading, sparking violent protests against migration.A graphic online video showed an assailant kneeling over the victim and yelling while brandishing a knife above his head, moments before onlookers rushed to help by wielding makeshift weapons against the attacker.Protesters took to the streets of Belfast and other cities on the night after the attack, with masked activists setting fire to a bus and others halting traffic in the Northern Ireland capital.A bus was set alight during a protest in East Belfast following the stabbing incident.AP Photo/Peter MorrisonHundreds of people gathered at the protests in Belfast, some lighting flares, after anti-immigration groups called for rallies across the United Kingdom.Outrage spread online throughout Tuesday after the graphic video showed the attack on the Belfast street on Monday night, as leading conservative political leaders called on the police to reveal the ethnicity of the suspect and the details of the injuries to the victim, described as a man in his 40s.Read the full story from our Europe correspondent David Crowe.6.43amCuba’s top US envoy calls Trump’s sanctions a ‘pretext’ for military actionBy Recent US sanctions targeting Cuba’s leadership and the indictment of former President Raúl Castro are a “pretext” for the Trump administration to persuade the American people to support a military intervention, Cuba’s top diplomat to the US said.Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera complained bitterly that the US was targeting Cuban civilians with its decades-old embargo and new blockade of energy shipments to the island.“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at Cuba’s embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the US, and we don’t want confrontation.” Torres Rivera described the situation as “a war without bombs”.6.39amChalmers eyes old CGT for start-upsBy Paul SakkalInnovative businesses could keep using the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount under a proposal being reviewed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers as he moves to address concerns that Labor’s budget would hurt high-growth firms and productivity.As Labor confronts parliamentary deadlock over its tax overhaul, government MPs in inner-city marginal seats say younger voters are giving the government credit for trying to make housing affordable as they see investors desert auctions and property prices come down.Treasurer Jim Chalmers.Alex EllinghausenBehind the scenes, Chalmers is locked in talks with business groups and investors who have pleaded with Labor to reverse course on the decision to overhaul the capital gains discount for all assets. They want to confine a new inflation-adjusted discount to residential property, not shares and private business.While Labor had anticipated resistance to the budget changes from property investors, they were surprised by the outcry about the CGT tax changes on social media, fanned by young businesspeople.Several sources familiar with the government’s thinking said it might retain the Howard-era 50 per cent discount to firms that fit the criteria of a start-up. These businesses would be taxed at higher rates under the new inflation-adjusted model, so the government may allow them to use the 50 per cent model or formulate a new discount, closer to the 50 per cent version.Pinned post from 6.38amWhat’s making news todayBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our national news live blog for Wednesday, June 10. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming your coverage for the first part of the day. Here’s what is making news today. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is eyeing a proposal for start-ups to keep using the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount as he moves to address concerns Labor’s budget would hurt high-growth firms and productivity. Disability advocates have told an inquiry that the government’s proposed changes to the NDIS would rob people of dignity as they slammed the huge overhaul of funding to the scheme that was slated in the May budget. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor suggested yesterday the Coalition would be open to working with One Nation to oust Labor from government. During a press conference yesterday, he did not reject the idea of working with Pauline Hanson, but said, “… we’ll work with others to get rid of this rotten Labor government”. US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for shooting down an American Army helicopter close to the Strait of Hormuz and said the US “must respond” to the attack. The US said a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the US and Israel.1 of 1