Australia news as it happened: Wong planning repatriation flights from the Middle East; Police officer shot dead in rural Tasmania

Thanks for following our national blog this afternoon. This is where we will end today’s coverage. We will be back soon with more live news coverage, so please join us then.

Here’s a quick recap of the stories that have been making headlines today:

• Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has said that the government is working to arrange repatriation flights for Australians stuck in the Middle East once airspace in the area is reopened. The conflict in the region continues to escalate.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with counterpart Mark Carney in Calgary, Canada earlier today. Albanese is in North America for the G7 meeting later this week, where Australia is attending as an observer.
• The corporate regulator has announced an inquiry into the ASX market operator, citing “serious failures” in its infrastructure and governance.
• In Tasmania, a police officer has been shot dead at a rural property in the state’s north-west while on-duty. The alleged offender is currently in custody, but has not been charged.
• In the US, a man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, killing one of them, has been taken into custody according to a law enforcement official.

Join us again tomorrow for more rolling coverage of news from throughout Australia and beyond.

Australia’s sharemarket has started the week almost flat amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, soaring oil prices and the return of inflation risks.

The S&P/ASX200 rose one point, or 0.01 per cent, to 8548.4, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 4.4 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 8775.

Five of 11 local sectors traded higher on Monday, led by a 5.4 per cent rally in energy stocks after crude prices rallied to three-month highs amid escalating attacks between Israel and Iran.

Oil prices surged more than 10 per cent on Friday to above $US76 a barrel after Israel’s first air strikes on Iran, but that number eased on Monday to $US73.65 a barrel, still its highest level since the beginning of April.

The rally in energy stocks was also helped by a nearly 11 per cent boost to Santos’ share price after its board gave the nod to a $30 billion takeover by an Abu Dhabi-led consortium alongside private equity giant Carlyle.

AAP

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong spoke earlier today about planned repatriation flights for Australians stuck in the Middle East.

Watch what she had to say below.

You can keep up to date with our rolling coverage of the Israel-Iran conflict here.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has spoken about the upcoming jobs and skills summit set to be run by the Labor Government, saying that it will prioritise “productivity, budget sustainability and resilience in the face of global volatility”

“Our economy is not productive enough, and that is why we are gathering people in this genuine attempt to build consensus,” he said on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing.

Chalmers said that the invitation list was still being finalised, but called it “quite a tight” conversation between 20 and 25 people. Guests are set to include the chair of the Productivity Commission Danielle Wood, as well as major business and union representatives.

“This is a genuine attempt to build consensus around the next steps in our economic agenda. We have already got a very ambitious agenda when it comes to making our economy more competitive and dynamic and more productive. ”

Senior NSW police officers held a press conference this afternoon in response to a shooting at Auburn in Sydney’s south-west.

Watch it below.

You can also read more of our coverage about the incident here.