The Federal government is facing more pressure to control its migration policy. New figures obtained by The Australian reveal an additional 100,000 people are on student-related visas this year, compared to 12 months ago. There was a 25 per cent increase in the number of people on bridging visas between June and September.

Southeast Queensland has been pummelled by a series of supercell storms with more than 105,000 lightning strikes recorded. The Weather system swept toward the coast from the Darling Downs, leaving a trail of destruction, including golf ball sized hail as well as wiping power to around 15,000 homes. Hervey Bay has seen more than 45 millimetres of rain since yesterday morning, while areas including Brisbane and Archerfield have seen more than 30 millimetres.

The Aga Khan emerald has sold for $AU13.4 million at an auction in Geneva. The 37-carat gem was a gift from the Aga Khan Prince to his wife, Nina Dyer, in 1960, just five years before her death at age 30. The gem has been bought and sold over decades, including by the French jewellery empire Van Cleef and Arpels. It is now the world’s most expensive emerald.

US President-elect Donald Trump has made a historic return to the White House to see President Joe Biden. The pair greeted each other in good spirits, as they vowed for a smooth transfer of power. It's the first time they fulfilled the tradition, after Mr Trump refused to host Mr Biden in 2020.

Sky News host Rita Panahi has mocked The View host Whoopi Goldberg for trying to pretend she is a regular “working gal” like other Americans.

Sky News host Paul Murray says Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are “truly” going to “prune” the federal budget. “Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are going to get together and they are going to live out the right-wing dream,” Mr Murray said. “Which is to truly take the prunes to a federal budget.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says people have already “started doing the work” for Elon Musk’s government efficiency role. Donald Trump has announced his billionaire ally Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will have roles in his administration. The pair will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which the President-Elect said will "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

MSNBC's prime-time viewership has plummeted by 54 per cent in the days following the US election. Sky News host James Macpherson claims left-wing media have “shot themselves in the foot” for telling “lies” during their coverage of the presidential campaign. “I can't imagine why people don’t want to tune into MSNBC right now, I mean who doesn’t want to turn on the television and hear that you’re racist, misogynist and watch TV hosts crying,” Mr Macpherson said.

Mainstream media CNN lays off hundreds of staff as a result of the US presidential election. Sky News host James Macpherson claims this is “good news” after their Election Day coverage plummeted. “It seems like people didn’t want to watch an election coverage from people who have lied to them,” Mr Macpherson said.

Sky News contributor Joe Hildebrand says Donald Trump's personality is "pure entertainment". Donald Trump has announced his billionaire ally Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will have roles in his administration. The pair will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which the President Elect said will "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

Sky News host Steve Price says the latest climate “love-in” has kicked off in Azerbaijan this year for the COP29 Summit. Mr Price said things are already “off to a bad start” for the climate activists. “With the Azerbaijani President, he kicked things off today … extolling the virtue of natural resources such as oil and gas as quote ‘gifts from the god’”. “And adding insult to injury is the fact that the biggest emitters - the US, China and India couldn't actually be bothered to turn up.”

The Australian’s Contributing Economics Editor Judith Sloan discusses how “surging” migration affected the US election and how it may interact with the 2025 federal election. “The electorate reacts badly to what you might see as surging migration and uncontrolled migration,” Ms Sloan told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “We have these uncapped temporary visa categories, and essentially, if people apply and they meet the criteria, then they will be granted those visas and this has become a really big issue.”

The Australian’s Contributing Economics Editor Judith Sloan claims artificial intelligence could “revolutionise” the public sector amid reports Labor has splurged on the public service costing the taxpayers billions. “It is sort of Labor government DNA to both increase the size of the public sector ... and to improve their wages too,” Ms Sloan told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “You think of artificial intelligence - I mean, this could be something that could revolutionise the way that public services are delivered.”

Shadow Environment Minister Jonathon Duniam slams the Labor government on Tasmania’s salmon farming debate. “Nothing has happened on that issue, it’s only been a year now that the salmon workers on the west coast of Tasmania have been wondering whether they’ll have a job tomorrow or not,” Mr Duniam said. “They don’t want to actually answer Tasmanian voters on one side of the debate or the other about the decision they’ve made. “There is no clarity in sight for the workers on the west coast.”

Liberal MP Julian Leeser has condemned the vandalism of Liberal MP Ross Vasta’s electorate office in Brisbane as a “terrorist act”. Mr Vasta’s electorate office in Wynnum, Brisbane was targeted by vandals who covered the windows in red graffiti. The Liberal backbencher is not the first MP to have their office vandalised this year, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and NSW Premier Chris Minns are among the list of politicians whose government buildings have been defaced in protest at Labor's perceived inaction on the war in Gaza. “This is, in my view, a terrorist act. We have seen too many of these acts that have occurred against members of parliament,” Mr Leeser told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “To see this directed at an opposition backbencher like Ross Vasta is particularly disturbing.”

Author Douglas Murray reacts to President Joe Biden’s latest attempt to answer questions from reporters which he labelled “laughable but tragic”. “You just have to remind yourself that only a few months back the Democrats were all trying to pretend that this was a president on peak form who had another four and a bit years left in him,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “This should be a reminder of just how foolish the Democrat Party seem to think the American public are.”

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says productivity is one of the most “fundamental economic challenges” that Australia is facing. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is inviting states to compete for a share in a $900 million fund aimed at turbo-charging lagging productivity. It comes as annual wage growth has slowed from 4.1 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is inviting states to compete for a share in a $900 million fund aimed at turbo-charging lagging productivity. It comes as annual wage growth has slowed from 4.1 per cent to 3.5 per cent. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar discusses why he thinks the fund is a positive initiative.

Loyalty appears to be one of the “key motivating factors” Donald Trump considers when choosing administration picks, reveals USSC Foreign Policy and Defence Director Professor Peter Dean. His remarks come after Mr Trump appointed Pete Hegseth as the next US Secretary of Defense. “During his Fox News show, he has continually pledged support and loyalty to Donald Trump,” Mr Dean told Sky News Australia.

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham explains the AUKUS partnership is “critical” in creating an “effective deterrence framework” for Australia in the Indo-Pacific region. “The last thing any of us want to see is the type of conflict that Ukraine has faced at the hands of Russia … to come into our own region,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. “Ensuring that we have an effective deterrence framework is so very critical there, and ensuring that an effective deterrence framework is one that we are effectively collaborating and contributing to.” “That’s where the AUKUS is so critical and where it is essential that the Albanese government ensure that across those new appointments in the Trump administration and with President Trump himself, they understand that no other country is stepping forward as US ally like Australia.