Australia news as it happened: ANZ to slash 3500 jobs; Price should apologise, says Albanese; French government in crisis after PM ousted

Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.

To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:

• ANZ Bank chief executive Nuno Matos said slashing 3500 jobs and a further 1000 contractors was a last-resort move needed to simplify the bank’s operations and help it remain competitive, as the finance union slammed the sackings as a reckless profit grab.
• Australia’s bid to block China from gaining a security foothold in the Pacific through ports, airports and other sensitive critical infrastructure assets was dealt a blow after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to scrap plans to sign a sweeping $500 million treaty-level agreement with Vanuatu.
• Australia Post will resume business shipments to the United States before September 25, almost a month after they were suspended due to changes to the small parcel tariff system implemented by the Trump administration.
• Aboriginal leaders have declared a treaty with the state of Victoria which will expand their power to influence government policy, determine their own affairs and embed “truth-telling” into the school curriculum as “a turning point in this nation’s history”.
• The NSW government confirmed it would not proceed with the trial removal of some of Sydney’s shark nets following the death of surfer Mercury Psillakis, who was fatally attacked by what was thought to be a great white shark at Dee Why.
• The state’s Liberal leader Mark Speakman apologised for the “deep hurt” that Jacinta Nampijinpa Price caused Indian Australians, just days after backing a party fundraiser that was headlined by the firebrand Northern Territory senator.
• Albanese said Price should apologise after her remarks about migrants last week.
• In world news, an outcry over an “austerity” budget threw the French government into crisis after the national assembly voted the prime minister out of office with no obvious successor, and no coalition with a clear majority to restore stability.
• Israel’s military ordered Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of a new offensive.
• And, a Thai court ordered former leader Thaksin Shinawatra to serve one year in prison to complete a sentence for a past conviction.

Thanks again for joining us. We’ll be back tomorrow with more live coverage. This is Cassandra Morgan, signing off.

Staying with Lidia Thorpe’s appearance on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, the senator joined the chorus of officials calling on Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to apologise for her remarks about Indian migrants.

Thorpe said Price was “completely out of touch with the reality of this country” with her comments.

“I mean, who says that? I’m very disappointed that she did say that, and I’m equally disappointed that she hasn’t apologised,” Thorpe said.

“Indian people, multicultural people, people seeking asylum are all welcome in this country, and we need to stop demonising black and brown people in this country.

“It’s a very big, big problem. Racism is a very big problem in this country, and we need to get rid of it. We need to stamp that out.

“The senator needs to apologise, first and foremost.”

The NSW government has confirmed it will not proceed with the trial removal of some of Sydney’s shark nets following the death of surfer Mercury Psillakis, who was fatally attacked by what was thought to be a great white shark at Dee Why on Saturday.

“The government has said today that we’re not going to be removing nets as part of a trial this summer,” NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said in a statement.

“In light of the tragedy that has occurred at Dee Why on the weekend, we need to be sensible about what the community would accept at this time.

“We need to allow time for the department and our government scientists to collect information on what happened and then provide a report to government that will inform future considerations for the shark management program.”

Staying with Jason Clare’s appearance on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, the education minister said it is “pretty obvious” that Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price should apologise for her remarks last week about Indian migrants, and it is “never” too late to say sorry.

“Jacinta Price should have apologised immediately, and still should apologise now, if only for the simple fact of what it means in helping to keep our community together,” Clare said.

Clare lauded Liberal MP Julian Leeser for his “courageous” comments, after Leeser apologised to the Indian community in his electorate for the senator’s remarks.

“We’re the best country in the world … [and] one of the reasons for that is we’re a country made up of people from all around the world living here together, almost always in harmony. But you can’t always count on that,” Clare said.

“It’s up to us as leaders, whether it’s in politics or the media, to help to knit our community together. Those sorts of words divide. They make people feel like they’re unwelcome, or they don’t belong.

“That’s why what Julian [Leeser] said was so important. I just encourage Jacinta that it’s not too late to say sorry. It never is.”

Australia and Britain will tighten their joint work against people smugglers after a meeting in London on border security, as the British government struggles to stop thousands of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel.

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke outlined the Australian approach to British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in talks on Monday, insisting that the key principle of border sovereignty belongs to progressive political parties as well as conservative ones.

Mahmood took office on Friday in a sudden cabinet reshuffle that elevated her from the justice portfolio, in a move by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to bring a tough new minister into the job to crack down on boat arrivals.

Burke and Mahmood were part of a Five Eyes meeting of ministers from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that sought to cement an intelligence-sharing partnership that dates back to the 1940s and has countered Russian and Chinese espionage over many years.

In a sign that Starmer and his ministers are acting on Australian lessons, Mahmood announced on Monday that she was considering tougher visa measures to the UK, including refusing visas to visitors from countries that do not accept returned asylum seekers.

Read the full story from David Crowe here.