The cost of living crisis has become quite dire and is putting “enormous pressure” on Australian families, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW CEO Yolanda Saiz says. The annual CEO Sleepout is set to take place on June 20 in a bid to raise awareness about the ongoing plight of homeless people. “One in three of the people that we’re seeing at the St Vincent de Paul Society are coming to us for the first time,” Ms Saiz told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “That tells us we’re seeing new people, people that haven’t had to turn to charity for help before. “The situation is pretty dire out there and we know that it can just happen to anyone.”

The Albanese government has taken up “extreme and completely unwarranted measures” to circumvent the ruling of the High Court in relation to indefinite detention, says Refugee Legal Executive Director David Manne. “These reforms, through the deportation bill, really threaten rights and lives in very serious ways and fundamental liberties,” he told Sky News Australia. “And should be, at bare minimum, subject to proper scrutiny with the government explaining why the rush, why the emergency.” Mr Manne also called for the government to explain why the “serious and potentially dangerous” reforms were even necessary. “What the government should be doing is making sure we abide by our constitution.”

British TV personality Sharon Osbourne has criticised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their next career move. Osbourne also blasted the couple's recent announcement of their new brand American Riviera Orchard, including the launching of a new website. The 71-year-old shared her thoughts on the couple's next venture and asked if she thinks it’ll be profitable. “I think it depends. Everything depends on what she's flogging," she said. "If it's good quality and it's at a reasonable price. Why not? It could work. They've tried a bit of everything, and nothing's worked so far." In 2021, Osbourne was fired from the CBS talk show ‘The Talk’ after a heated conversation with co-host Sheryl Underwood. The two got into an argument after Osbourne defended her friend and TV host, Piers Morgan, for criticising Meghan Markle. Underwood and Osbourne’s argument led to the latter being fired from the show, with CBS citing Osbourne's behaviour did not align with the network's “values for a respectful workplace”.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas have confirmed all games for the AFL’s Gather Round have sold out. The sporting initiative sees all 18 clubs descend onto a single state for a round of footy with games played at Norwood, Mount Barker and Adelaide Oval. The sporting code and the Premier have introduced a ticketing transfer system to avoid the missed seating seen at last year’s games. A proud Premier Malinauskas told media, “38 per cent of all ticket sales have come from outside of South Australia”. “We have seen genuine growth from the number of people outside South Australia wanting to be a part of this event.”

Taiwan’s fire department has confirmed that one person had died and more than 50 have been injured so far after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the island’s east coast. It’s the strongest tremor to hit the island in at least 25 years. The earthquake sparked a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines, but was later lifted.

It has been revealed the Yes campaign spent nearly $55 million on the Voice referendum last year. That's compared to $25 million spent by No campaign groups, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. The Paul Ramsay Foundation was the biggest individual donor. It donated $7 million to Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition. ANZ, Woodside Energy and Commonwealth Bank all made donations of more than $2 million to the Yes Campaign.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the Labor government has been “mugged by reality” when it comes to gas in Australia. The Opposition Leader said energy regulators are “screaming out” to warn of future disruptions to power supply. “We’ve already seen it in some parts of the market over the course of the last couple of years,” Mr Dutton said during a media conference on Wednesday. “They’re talking about a massive shortage of gas in the economy. “Now, the government didn’t want anything to do with gas when they were first elected – they’ve been mugged by reality now.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says there is “no chance” the Labor government can reach its net zero target by 2050. “You can’t just turn on and off some of these production lines and I think that’s a problem of the government’s own making,” Mr Dutton said during a media conference on Wednesday. The Opposition Leader said power prices will “continue to go up” under the current government. “They’re going to be less reliable. “There is no chance at all that the government can meet their net zero by 2050 commitment that they’ve made.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he wants to see the Labor government “make it easier” for small businesses in Australia. Mr Dutton said “nobody in the Labor party” comes from small business. “Nobody’s sitting on that frontbench, has employed people, has put their own house up for security,” the Opposition Leader said during a media conference on Wednesday. “None of them have experienced any of that. “So, every industrial relations change they make … is an additional cost borne by small business and ultimately, that is passed onto the customer who walks through the door.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud says the Coalition stands "ready” to pass the Albanese government’s migration bill if “circumstances change”. The government's attempt to rush its deportation bill through parliament failed last week after the Greens teamed up with the Coalition to block the legislation in the Senate. Three Labor senators have since expressed concern about the bill, warning Immigration Minister Andrew Giles would be handed powers that are too wide-ranging and without appropriate parliamentary oversight. “We have actually sought advice from the government – if there is an impediment there that we need to pass this bill, we would,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. “The Minister made it clear this had no bearing on the case, and there was no real reason around the urgency, so we stand ready. “If something changes in terms of those circumstances in the impending case from the High Court in the next couple of weeks, then obviously we stand ready to do whatever is necessary.”

Writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue has slammed Scotland’s new hate crime law as “completely ludicrous” and "impractical". “Who defines a hate crime is now in the hands of a small group of people who will no doubt pander to these activists,” Ms Krakue told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “I don’t understand how the Scottish government thinks it’s a good idea when there are real problems in Scotland to be dealing with. “The idea that for some reason now you have this protected group of people that can sue people for feeling offended, and the police are forced to take action … is ludicrous. “And unfortunately I feel like JK Rowling will become the poster girl for this sort of legislation – I do believe that some point she will find herself on the wrong side of the law.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Canada has joined calls for Israel’s “full accountability” for the deaths of multiple aid workers in Gaza. Mr Albanese praised the workers killed in the Israeli airstrike as “heroes”. “Canada’s Foreign Minister has also called for full accountability as has the United Nations,’ the Prime Minister said during a media conference on Wednesday. “So, Australia will join with all of those nations with a consistent demand for full accountability here. “We await for that to occur.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised the aid workers in Gaza as “heroes”. Mr Albanese addressed the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in the Israeli airstrike. “These people are heroes,” he said during a media conference on Wednesday. “They are, as Secretary Blinken said, these are people providing support for people in need as risk to themselves. “That is an extraordinary circumstance that has occurred.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud says the Coalition gave the Albanese government “every opportunity” to show why their migration laws “needed to be rushed through”. The government's attempt to rush its deportation bill through parliament failed last week after the Greens teamed up with the Coalition to block the legislation in the Senate. Three Labor senators have since expressed concern about the bill, warning Immigration Minister Andrew Giles would be handed powers that are too wide-ranging and without appropriate parliamentary oversight. “We gave the government every opportunity to demonstrate why these laws needed to be rushed through, so much so that we helped them get it through the House of Representatives,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. “There should be some scrutiny there. “The Prime Minister wasn’t able to demonstrate the urgency of this bill, I suspect, … has more to do with the factional trouble that he will have between the left and the right of his party.”

Sky News host Steve Price says “woke board directors” got the Voice to Parliament wrong because they are “completely out of touch”. The Australian Electoral Commission yesterday revealed the biggest donors to the Yes and No campaigns for the Voice to Parliament referendum. The Yes campaign received $55 million in donations, whereas only $25 million went to the No campaign. “They backed the wrong horse, they got it completely wrong, and they showed exactly how they’re completely out of touch,” Mr Price told Sky News host Sharri Markson. “These are a bunch of woke board directors.”

The US Powerball jackpot has skyrocketed to $US1.68 billion after no one was found holding the winning ticket. It is the fourth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. It has grown incrementally since New Year’s Day. To secure the jackpot, a person needs to beat a one in 292 million chance of winning the prize. The largest recorded win was in 2022 when a Californian won $US3.1 billion.

Taylor Swift has become an official member of the billionaire's club. The popstar officially joined the Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list for the first time after accumulating more than $1.5 billion. This is thanks to her earnings from her Eras Tour and the worth of her pop music catalogue. The singer ranked at number 2,545 on this year’s billionaires list. French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault topped the list, followed by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

UNICEF Spokesperson Tess Ingram says the Gaza Strip is on the “precipice of a famine”. Israel has admitted the attack on the vehicles belonging to the World Central Kitchen was a tragic mistake, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel will do everything for this not to happen again. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is demanding ‘full accountability’ and has called on the Israeli Ambassador to Australia to explain. “That that food is floating away is just devastating because we’re on a precipice of a famine here,” Ms Ingram told Sky News Australia. “Hopefully we can find a way to get it back.”

UNICEF Spokesperson Tess Ingram says the Israeli strike on aid workers is “another immense tragedy” and “heartbreaking”. Israel has admitted the attack on the vehicles belonging to the World Central Kitchen was a tragic mistake, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel will do everything for this not to happen again. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is demanding ‘full accountability’ and has called on the Israeli Ambassador to Australia to explain. “It’s just another immense tragedy here,” Ms Ingram told Sky News Australia. “The news today rippled through the humanitarian community here in Gaza and it’s hard to believe that almost six months of day in day or that something like this can still shock you in Gaza. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

Sky News host Liz Storer has called JK Rowling “fearless” after the author dared police to arrest her following Scotland passing its new hate crime law. Scotland has received major backlash for the new hate crime law which many have questioned over whether it goes against freedom of speech. “I would follow this woman into battle,” Ms Storer said. “Like seriously, she is fearless. “She rightfully repeatedly points out free speech is dead, it’s gone and buried if people cannot accurately talk about the practicalities of biological sex and call it as it is.”