Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers has defended withdrawing pandemic leave payments while also telling Australians to expect tough economic times ahead.
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The $750 COVID-19 isolation payment ended on June 30 but was reinstated until the end of September after Saturday's national cabinet meeting.
The government had previously ruled out bringing back the payments due to budget pressures.
Dr Chalmers also said the public should expect a rise in inflation later this month.
"Unfortunately, we expect this inflation challenge to get worse before it gets better, but it will get better," he said on Sunday.
"We expect inflation to moderate next year, but we're in for a tough time for a lot of families."
Meanwhile, Greens leader Adam Bandt hoped not to oppose Labor legislation to reduce carbon emissions, despite being heavily critical of a Labor climate bill.
He said it sets a ceiling for emissions reductions but failed to create a floor protecting targets from future governments.
Mr Bandt said Labor should not take a "my way or the highway" approach to a legislated emissions target.
In Victoria, hopes a dead whale found washed up on a beach was famous albino humpback Migaloo have been dashed.
The white carcass was found at a Mallacoota beach in the state's East Gippsland region - only accessible by water.
However, it has been identified as a young female.
Migaloo has not been spotted for two years after losing his tracking chip.
The country's first major foray into so-called antimatter or dark energy detection has completed a substantive search for hypothetical elementary particles known as axions, thanks to the University of Western Australia's ORGAN Experiment.
That means scientists can now rule out a popular theory about the nature of dark matter.
Also in Western Australia, and just as important, Premier Mark McGowan famously defended the iconic Aussie haircut - the mullet.
"Some of my best friends have mullets," he claimed.
Entries have opened at the annual Mulletfest, held in December in Dubbo this year, and for the first time all entries can possibly a wildcard place in the final.
Categories include 'rangas', over50s, grubby, extreme, everyday and rookie, and the public vote for the winners.
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