Sky News host Chris Kenny has called for the government to index the tax thresholds every year just as they index the alcohol and petrol tax takes. Alcohol drinkers are set to pay more with the excise to increase by almost two per cent on Monday. Drinkers will now pay $101.85 in tax per litre of pure alcohol. While this happens, Mr Kenny explained how the government will reap a high proportion of people’s revenue as they are pushed through higher tax thresholds through bracket creep. “It hurts you and helps the government and those tax thresholds don’t go up automatically, they are not indexed, they stay the same under law no matter what happens to inflation,” he said. “So in this case, the lack of indexation boosts the government's coffers because our wages are pushed above static thresholds. See, how they win every way?”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s broken promise on stage three tax cuts is the "most egregious breach of trust I’ve seen”, says Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor. “It’s clear from what we’ve heard today that Labor’s been working on this for many months and Treasury, in fact potentially for many, many months on how they would break this promise,” Mr Taylor told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “So we will take our time to get the right outcome here for the Australian people. “But as always, we support simpler, lower, fairer taxes. “We’re the ones who actually put this legislation in place – I should say, with the support of the Prime Minister and the Treasurer.”

The late Queen thought that Meghan Markle's wedding dress was “too white” for a divorcee, a new book claims. Royal commentator Angela Mollard sat down with Sky News host Caroline Di Russo to discuss the new revelations revealed about the Royal Family in the book ‘My Mother And I’ written by Ingrid Sewid. The book claimed that the late monarch wasn’t fond of Meghan’s wedding dress colour as she believed it was “too white” for a divorcee to wear at a church wedding. “In the monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal,” Ms Seward wrote in an excerpt of the book. The book also revealed that Queen Elizabeth wasn't happy with the then-Prince Charles walking Meghan down the aisle.

Liberal Senator Gerard Rennick says the Coalition Opposition will “always welcome tax cuts for working Australians”. “The fact is, under the Albanese Labor government, the cost of living for households has increased by $8,000,” Mr Rennick told Sky News Australia. “Anthony Albanese still needs to come out and explain how he’s going to lower the cost of living because you can cut taxes but the rate of tax he’s cutting isn’t keeping up with the cost of living. Mr Rennick’s comments come as a Shadow Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Monday night to discuss what the Opposition should do. The rest of the Liberal Party will meet on Tuesday.

The ASX 200 ended the day down on Monday by 0.95 per cent. Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd said the market dropped “pretty sharply” this morning. “Pushed lower by mining stocks, utilities and energy companies,” he said. “Rising bond yields and falling commodity prices, they’re the main reason for the market fall. “After the first two hours of trading, the ASX 200, it was down about 1.4 per cent – but you can see it did recover a bit in the afternoon – it still finished down almost a per cent.”

Independent MP Allegra Spender speaks about her electorate's reaction to the government's stage three tax cut changes following the latest Newspoll revealing 62 per cent of Australians back the changes. "I’m surprised it’s not higher," she told Sky News Australia. She said Wentworth is one of the electorates "most affected" as it has the "biggest group of people" who will lose out on the changes. "People are worried about the broken promise piece, but I think also, certainly what I’m hearing is that a lot of people really need support right now and they’re looking at whatever support they can get and are very grateful for it. “But … there are a bunch of people out there who were relying on it and who were also gutted that they’re not going to get what they had expected. “And so some of their choices that they’ve made right now are also going to be pretty tough.”

Facebook is celebrating twenty years since it first launched. The social network has more than 3 billion users worldwide. “I think it was momentous at the time,” Social Media Analyst Matt Navarra said. “The ability for people to connect with someone else for free on the other side of the world. “It really was groundbreaking.”

Independent MP Allegra Spender says housing is the “biggest cost of living issue” in Wentworth and anywhere in the country. Ms Spender said the average rent of a unit in Bondi is $900 a week. “Now if you don’t want to be in what they call ‘rental stress’ where you’re spending more than 30 per cent of your income on rent, you need to earn $150,000," she told Sky News Australia. "So that’s really what people in Wentworth are facing, they just have really high rents and mortgages but frankly it’s across the country. "Older generations, people who own their own homes are still worried about their kids and their grandkids and younger generations are just feeling completely locked out."

President Joe Biden has declined a pre-game Super Bowl interview with CBS News for a second consecutive year. Over the last few years, an interview with the President before the Super Bowl has become a tradition that is now in danger of dying out. It was confirmed on Saturday Biden will not take part in CBS’s pre-game build-up to Super Bowl LVIII on February 11. Biden’s decision to decline an interview with Fox News last year was believed to have been because of Biden’s strained relationship with Fox News. The President’s decision to decline the interview is puzzling as his approval rating drops to 37 per cent, according to an NBC News poll on Sunday. With Donald Trump currently the leading Republican candidacy, there’s a good chance November will see a presidential rematch between the two.

Writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue speaks about the latest changes to the Royal Family’s official website which have seen Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved “basically to the bottom” of the landing page. "There was a stipulation underneath Prince Harry’s bit that said that him are Meghan are going to continue to work with the King to fulfil their various patronages and to uphold the interests of the King and the Royal Family,” Ms Krakue told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. “That has also been tweaked. “They’re basically a footnote on the Royal Family website which corresponds with the reality of the situation – they clearly have no interests in upholding any kind of support for what the King represents. "They are more interested in sort of the deal with Netflix and producing content and going to Jamaica to sit at film premieres and all of that."

Manhunt underway after grandmother killed, woman dies in boat crash in Syndey, RBA to release economic forecast this week, Victoria police condemn protester violence, parliament back for first sitting week, independent review into supermarket sector, price of alcohol to rise after tax hike, U.S. & UK conduct strikes in Middle East and Facebook celebrates 20th anniversary. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue says we’ve really seen Queen Camilla “shine” despite her once being one of the most “hated women in Britain”. “It’s been very interesting observing Queen Camilla’s rise, should I say – this was probably one of the most hated women in Britain, particularly with the whole brouhaha between Charles and Diana,” Ms Krakue told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. She said when then Prince Charles and Camilla got married in 2005, even getting the Queen’s permission was seen as quite a big deal. “With Kate out of action for basically until Easter and the King recovering from prostate surgery, we’re really seeing Queen Camilla shine. “She’s been at the hospital frequently, we’ve seen her photograph, she’s been holding down the fort, she’s going to be taking on some of the engagements that King Charles has to take on as well as Princess Catherine.”

Sky News Australia will premiere ‘MH370: Ten Years On’, the third instalment in its compelling documentary series examining the unsolved disappearance of flight MH370, on Tuesday 20 February at 7.30pm. As the 10th anniversary of the greatest mystery in aviation history approaches, Sky News anchor and investigative journalist Peter Stefanovic continues the search for answers. The documentary sheds light on the diplomatic difficulties with the Malaysian Government, the actions of Australian search authorities, and hears campaigners ask the question: was there a cover-up? ‘MH370: Ten Years On’ is the third instalment in the Sky News Australia series of documentaries that includes ‘MH370: The Final Search’ and ‘MH370: The Untold Story’ which remains the highest rated Sky News Australia documentary of all time. Subscribers to SkyNews.com.au will be able to watch ‘MH370: Ten Years On’ from Tuesday February 20 at 7:30pm. The documentary is also live at that time on Foxtel, Flash and Sky News Regional.

Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has backed the federal government's change to stage three tax cuts. Ms Lambie joined Sky News Australia to discuss the government’s decision to change the stage three tax cuts which has brought major uproar from Australians for breaking its election promise. Ms Lambie applauded the Prime Minister for "having the courage” to change stage three tax cuts. “I’ll just say it is the Australian way when people are doing it tough below us then we need to pay whatever we're getting forward where we possibly can to help them out because that’s who we are," she told Sky News Australia. "So I just think what they're doing is really great."

The Switzer Report Founder Peter Switzer says he’s “looking forward” to watching RBA Governor Michele Bullock face the press after the next interest rate decision. The Reserve Bank’s “new era” is in response to recommendations by an independent review. “The RBA Governor Michele Bullock is going to have to face the press,” Mr Switzer told Sky News Australia. “Which is very much a US Fed-type press conference after a meeting. “There’s going to be some sensational news stories coming out of that press conference.”

A Pakistani court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to prison for seven years for their unlawful marriage. The court ruled their 2018 marriage was “un-Islamic and illegal” in a case brought by Bibi's ex-husband. It's Khan’s third prison sentence in a week. The former prime minister is already serving a sentence for corruption after being convicted for profiting from state gifts. The former cricketer-turned politician was ousted as Pakistan's prime minister in 2022.

Namibia President Hage Geingob has died at the age of 82. It follows a battle with cancer. The President revealed his diagnosis last month and had travelled to the US for treatment. He was elected as President in 2015, serving in the country's sole governing party since independence. Vice President Nangolo Mbumba will assume the office of President until the country's elections this November.

Alcohol drinkers are set to pay more as a twice-yearly tax hike comes into effect from Monday. Drinkers will now pay $101.85 in tax per litre of pure alcohol. This is expected to increase the price of a pint by 90 cents. Distillers and brewers are warning the tax scheme needs to change as the costs are becoming prohibitive. The alcohol excise currently increases automatically twice a year, indexed with inflation.

Most Australians believe Anthony Albanese did the right thing by breaking his promise on the stage three tax cuts according to the latest Newspoll. 62 per cent of Australians support the government's amendments to the original tax package. The poll showed 29 per cent are against the changes. The two-party preferred vote remains the same since the last Newspoll in December despite the national support for the tax overhaul. Labor sits at 52 per cent to the Coalition's 48 per cent.

Alcohol drinkers are set to pay more as a twice-yearly tax hike comes into effect from Monday. Drinkers will now pay $101.85 in tax per litre of pure alcohol. This is expected to increase the price of a pint by 90 cents. Distillers and brewers are warning the tax scheme needs to change as the costs are becoming prohibitive. The alcohol excise currently increases automatically twice a year, indexed with inflation.