Australian news and politics live: Albanese defends response to Chinese navy circumnavigating Australia

Another major Australian fashion retailer has gone under.

Women’s clothing chain Ally Fashion has collapsed, with up to 185 stores nationwide and more than 1000 staff impacted.

The retailer was ordered to be wound by the Federal Court of Australia on Friday due to insolvency, according to news.com.au.

Ally Fashion has stores across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

The Australian-owned retailer launched in 2001 with the aim of “creating contemporary ready-to-wear pieces for every woman”.

“With over 50 new styles arriving per week, Ally Fashion is well in demand and the destination for women who can transcend the fashion’s boundaries – defying the trends and creating her own,” it said on LinkedIn.

In an in-depth analysis, The Nightly’s business reporter Jackson Hewett has explained how US President Donald Trump’s implementation of tariffs has begun to hit home, with insights from BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager.

“BlackRock, with $US11.5 trillion under management, has looked into the future and declared it will be an era very different from the ‘great moderation’ with low and stable inflation that helped drive the bull market of the post-GFC era,” writes Hewett.

“Now BlackRock sees a universe where high tariffs and a rewiring of global supply chains will mean inflation will be high and volatile for many years to come, according to BlackRock Investment Institute’s Asia Pacific strategist Ben Powell.”

Read Jackson Hewett’s full analysis here to find out thefive investment mega forces.

Russian and US teams have held six hours of talks in Turkey to try to restore normal functioning of their embassies, and Vladimir Putin says initial contacts with Donald Trump’s new administration has inspired hope.

The talks, focused narrowly on conditions for each other’s diplomats, provided an early test of the two countries’ ability to reset wider relations, amid a Trump administration outreach effort that has alarmed Washington’s European allies and Kyiv.

The Kremlin last year described relations as “below zero” under the administration of Joe Biden, who backed Ukraine with aid and weapons and imposed sanctions on Russia to punish it for its invasion in 2022.

But Trump, who has promised a quick end to the war, has upended US policy swiftly to open talks with Moscow, beginning with a phone call to Putin on February 12 and a high-level diplomatic meeting in Saudi Arabia six days later.

Russian state news agency TASS said Thursday’s talks, held at the gated residence of the US consul general in Istanbul, wrapped up after some six hours without any statements to the press.

-- Jonathan Spicer and Mark Trevelyan, AAP

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Growth boundaries for several regional cities will be drawn to cater for a Victorian population boom over the next three decades.

A long-term housing blueprint, known as the Plan for Victoria, was announced by Premier Jacinta Allan and Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny on Friday.

The statewide plan features 22 “concrete” actions, including carefully managing the outward sprawl of regional cities and towns to accommodate for more homes.

Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo - slated for more than 200,000 extra homes over the next 30 years - will be the first centres to have boundaries developed.

The boundaries will expand outward if consistent with the “vision” for the areas and councils and other authorities can provide the necessary infrastructure such as water and sewerage to cope with more people.

Closing submissions have begun in the ABC v Antoinette Lattouf wrongful dismissal case with ABC barrister Ian Neil saying “there’s nothing wrong with being an activist”.

“There’s nothing wrong with being an activist … but it is an objective fact, which is different from the holding of the opinion for which one is an activist,” the SMH reports Neil stated.

“An employer is perfectly entitled to say to employee, ‘I don’t want you going about the workplace buttonholing your fellow workers and thrusting your political opinions upon them.’”

The ABC claims Ms Lattouf’s contract ended and she was not terminated because of her political beliefs.

Labor is shaking the donation can for an advertising blitz while Climate 200 had a staggering boost after a Liberal candidate’s climate comments.

National secretary Paul Erickson emailed party faithful on Friday morning asking for more than $43,000 by Saturday night “to stay on track with a major digital advertising push”.

The money would go towards promoting Labor’s health pledges as it seeks to promote itself as staunch supporters of Medicare in contrast to the coalition, regularly attacking Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for his time as health minister.

“This is make-or-break stuff. We’re up against huge spending from the Liberals’ biggest backers, but we know that when our message lands, we win,” Mr Erickson said in the email.

“This election is going to be decided by a few hundred votes in a few battleground seats and missing this target could mean we pull back just when we need to double down.”

The federal Labor Party spent almost $100,000 on Facebook ads in February that have been viewed millions of times, publicly available Meta advertising data reveals.

The ads have predominantly been seen by younger audiences aged between 18 and 44.

The Prime Minister has defended his Government’s response to the Chinese naval fleet’s passage and military drills near Australian waters.

“We made it clear … that we were monitoring between Australia and New Zealand by both sea and by air,” he told a Friday press conference.

“We also made it clear that we think that the information wasn’t given in a timely or appropriate way, and we made those protests, not just publicly, but directly to China,” he said.

The Government has come under fire from the Coalition this week, which has portrayed Labor’s reaction to Chinese “gunboat diplomacy” as weak.

“To be very clear, I have said about the relationship with China, we will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must,” said Mr Albanese, doubling down on the Government line that China has done nothing illegal.

“You can’t selectively support international law. The Chinese actions are within that but we’ve made it very clear that we expect more notice to have been given, and we have protested and made our position clear,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he had been advised by the Australian Defence Force that the Chinese vessels are currently 593km southwest of Adelaide, near the border of Australia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“These Chinese vessels have been monitored and shadowed by Australia or New Zealand the entire time,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged $25 million in funding to assist residents living in apartments make use of solar power.

The joint NSW, federal govermnment innitiative may save recipients around $600 a year Mr Albanese said.

“This could save residents up to $600 a year on their power bills so good for residents’ cost of living, good for reducing our emissions, good for the environment”.

“A win-win situation, rolled out by the Commonwealth and the state.”

The Prime Minister has been quizzed on his knowledge as Chinese warships continue to travel in international waters around the perimeter of Australia.

“Firstly, let me say I support the ADF,” Mr Albanese said on Friday.

“Secondly, let me say I support the ADF and, thirdly, let me say I support the ADF.”

Mr Albanese then gave an update on the status of the ships and the Australian response.

“We’ve made it clear that there was Chinese vessels, travelling down the Australian coast,” he says.

“We made it clear as well, that we will be monitoring Australia and New Zealand by both sea and by air.

“We made it clear that we think the information wasn’t given in a timely or an appropriate way.”

The Prime Minister appears unfazed by a slip by US President Donald Trump who did not understand a question about AUKUS from a British reporter and asked what it was.

“There’s a lot of acronyms in this business. And you know, we all get thrown at them from time to time,” he said at a press conference on Friday.

Mr Trump made his gaffe while meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“He went on to speak about the really important, positive relationship with Australia. That’s consistent with the discussions that I’ve had with President Trump, that included, of course, talking about Aukus,” said Mr Albanese.

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