Ben CubbyUpdated June 23, 2026 — 8:09am,first published 7:12am8.09amAustralians trust China more than Trump, poll findsBy AAPAustralians have nominated the nation’s relationship with China as more important than its partnership with the US, as trust in Donald Trump hits a record low.Some 51 per cent of respondents to the 2026 Lowy Institute Poll said Australia’s partnership with Beijing is more vital than the bond with Washington, marking an eight-point rise from the previous year.Confidence in the US president to do the right thing in global affairs stands at 21 per cent, the lowest level for any American leader in the survey’s 22-year history. Six in 10 Australians say they have “no confidence at all” in Mr Trump.But support for the US alliance has endured and, despite experiencing a drop, almost three in four people say the relationship is important for the nation’s security.Only 20 per cent of respondents said they had confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to do the right thing. However, he recorded a modest four-point rise in trust since 2025.Two-thirds of people say they support Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership, and 39 per cent said they were in favour of obtaining nuclear weapons in the future.8.00amMarles distances government from UK LabourBy Nick NewlingDeputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has distanced his government from UK Labour, as the latter grapples with leadership change and a populist challenge from the right wing.“I think there are different circumstances here,” Marles told Nine’s Today this morning. “The way politics plays out is very specific to particular parts of the world, and what we’re seeing happen with what’s playing out in Britain is obviously a matter for them.Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.Alex Ellinghausen“Pauline Hanson and Angus Taylor can keep talking about what they will. What’s really clear is that neither of them can govern without the other. They will need to help each other.“When it comes to all of the issues that we’re facing around cost of living, we’re focused on cutting taxes, on making sure that there’s bulk billing, that we’re increasing that on making childcare more affordable. Pauline Hanson and Angus Taylor are opposed to all of that.“They literally voted against all of those things in the parliament, that’s what they stand for.”7.39amRoad toll cap a centrepiece of NSW budgetBy A cap on tolls for Sydney motorists will be cut to $50 a week for 12 months as part of a suite of targeted cost-of-living measures to be unveiled by the Minns government in its final budget before next year’s NSW election.Dropping the weekly cap on tolls temporarily from $60 to $50 from July 6 will be one of the centrepieces focused on transport in the budget today.Budget documents seen by this masthead show that despite the removal of the public sector wages cap, the growth in employee expenses compares favourably with the final term of the former Coalition government, when employee expense growth averaged 6.4 per cent.The budget documents say the relatively constrained growth is a result of reforms, including a 15 per cent reduction in senior public service executives, cuts to workers’ compensation entitlements and changes to the police insurance scheme.Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has talked down the prospect of a big-spending budget ahead of the election in March, instead focusing on the government’s record of spending restraint and deficit reduction.Read more here.7.35amBird flu may hit egg pricesBy Nick NewlingAgriculture Minister Julie Collins has said the government is doing “everything that we can” to protect primary producers from H5N1 bird flu, but did not say whether consumers can expect the price of chicken or eggs to increase as a result of the disease’s presence in the country.“This is obviously concerning, but not unexpected,” Collins told ABC television this morning. “We have invested well over $100 million in our preparedness in terms of getting ready for the H5 bird flu, should it arrive in Australia.”“We’ve always known we could not stop it, because it would arrive by migratory birds. What we’re talking about now is two confirmed cases of migratory birds that have been found on an isolated area on a beach in Western Australia,” she said.“We’re still in the investigation stage, we’re still determining whether or not this is widespread in Australian wildlife, or whether it is just a few isolated cases at this point in time from migratory birds.”“We’ll know within ... a few days to a couple of weeks whether or not this is embedded in Australian wildlife, or whether these are isolated cases,” Collins said.7.25amMinister brushes off far-right populism warningBy Nick NewlingAged Care Minister Sam Rae has dismissed concerns his party may face the same fate as that of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who resigned last night amid a rising surge of support for right-wing populist party Reform UK.“What worries me is the issues facing families in my own community and across our country, and largely ... that’s about cost of living challenges,” Rae told Nine’s Today this morning.Minister for Aged Care Sam Rae (centre).Alex Ellinghausen“It’s not about driving division within our communities, it’s about delivering solutions that actually help people with their household finances, with cost-of-living challenges, looking after their families,” he said.In recent polling, Labor has fallen to second place behind One Nation, a phenomenon mirrored in the UK. In the most recent Resolve Political Monitor, published by this masthead, One Nation was polling at 29 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of Labor at 28 per cent.7.17amFormer Fed chair Greenspan dies at 100By Alan Greenspan, the jazz-playing US Federal Reserve chair who was celebrated for engineering a decade of prosperity but later shared the blame for a devastating financial crisis, died on Monday in Washington. He was 100.Greenspan died from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his wife of 29 years, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell.Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan in 2010.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file“Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve achieved a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and helped anchor the public’s confidence in the institution,” the central bank said in a statement.In 18 years at the Fed, Greenspan presided over a breathtaking surge in stock prices and a 10-year economic boom that started in March 1991.But his reputation suffered almost as soon as he left the Fed in 2006. American housing prices tumbled rapidly, and the growing financial crisis pushed the US economy into the Great Recession of 2007-2009 – the deepest downturn since the 1930s.Greenspan himself later acknowledged “I made a mistake” in assuming that banks could essentially regulate themselves.7.12amHouse prices to fall by $100,000By Shane Wright and Natassia ChrysanthosHouse prices in Sydney and Melbourne are likely to fall by up to $100,000 over the next year as the federal government’s overhaul of negative gearing and capital gains tax combine with interest rate settings to slow the property market.As the nation’s auction clearance rate dropped to a six-year low last week, economists believe the next 12 months will track a fall of up to 8 per cent in prices in the country’s two largest cities and a slowdown in other capital cities that could spill over into the rest of the economy.Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during question time on Monday.Alex EllinghausenThe government’s tax reforms, which include restricting negative gearing to new builds from the middle of next year and a return to the pre-1999 capital gains tax concession, were introduced into the Senate on Monday, with the Greens expected to support the proposals.Opposition Leader Angus Taylor used the first question time since Labor last week expanded CGT carve-outs for small and innovative businesses to accuse Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of an “Olympic-level backflip” over the additional concessions.The full story is here.7.12amUS lifts oil sanctionsBy BloombergA 60-day reprieve of US sanctions on Iranian oil, under an interim peace deal, has reopened the US market to the Middle Eastern country’s crude for the first time in 35 years.The easing of sanctions, although brief, is a step toward the return of more normalised relations between the two nations, which have been at odds for nearly five decades.Oil tankers and cargo vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, on Sunday.Getty ImagesThe Iranian supply could also alleviate the impact of the worst global oil disruption in history, but it’s unclear if US refiners will have the appetite to resume purchases again.The new license, which expires August 21, also gives Iran greater access to US currency by allowing the country to conduct oil transactions using dollars.Separately, US Vice President JD Vance said Iran had agreed to invite United Nations inspectors back to the country’s nuclear sites – a key element of the Obama-era nuclear accord that US President Donald Trump tore up in 2018.“That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearising or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” Vance said following weekend peace talks in Switzerland.7.12amCyber chiefs issue warningBy David SwanThe heads of the Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies have issued a rare joint statement warning that artificial intelligence is reshaping cyber risk in months rather than years and have urged business and government leaders to act immediately.Released on Monday night, the statement brings together cybersecurity chiefs from the Five Eyes allies – Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. It says frontier AI models are expected to exceed industry expectations and will transform both attack and defence, and that the gap between a vulnerability being found and exploited is closing fast.“The urgency is clear. AI is not a future consideration – it is already here,” the statement says. “It lowers barriers for malicious actors and increases the speed and complexity of attacks ... At the same time, AI offers powerful tools to strengthen defence.”The warning follows a recent reminder of how quickly those capabilities are moving. On June 13, Anthropic suspended worldwide access to its two most powerful AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after a US export control directive tied to security concerns, and Australian users lost access without notice.Read more here.7.11amThis morning’s headlines at a glanceBy Hello and welcome to our national news live coverage for Monday, June 22. Here are today’s main headlines.State budgets handed down: It’s budget day in NSW and Queensland. In NSW, road tolls will be cut and a new housing manufacturing hub will be set up. The budget lock-up ends at 12.30pm. In Queensland, mental health services will receive a $400 million boost.House prices to slump: House prices in Sydney and Melbourne are likely to fall by up to $100,000 over the next year as the property market slows, with the issue set to be a hot topic in federal parliament today.Cyber risk grows: The heads of the Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies have issued a rare joint statement warning that artificial intelligence is reshaping cyber risk in months rather than years.Trust in Trump plummets: Australians say the nation’s relationship with China is more important than its partnership with the US, as trust in Donald Trump hits a new low, a new poll has found.PM pays tribute to Starmer: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to his friend, British PM Keir Starmer, after the latter said he would step down.US lifts sanctions on Iranian oil: A 60-day reprieve of US sanctions on Iranian oil, under an interim peace deal, has reopened the US market to Iranian crude for the first time in 35 years.1 of 1