The email contained the names and address of a number of prominent Auckland gun owners.

A koala has caused quite a stir when it paid an Adelaide Hills bottle shop an unexpected visit, strolling the store's aisles earlier this week.

In a video posted on social media by Grey's Inn hotel, the koala appeared unfazed by the stir it was causing as it calmly walked the aisles of the Mount Barker store.

While commenters on social media were quick with their quips about the animal looking to quench its thirst, koalas in fact are not believed to routinely drink at all, obtaining most of their fluids from eucalyptus leaves as well as licking water off the trees.

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Many koala populations were decimated in the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020 and the iconic animal became officially listed as endangered in 2022.

However, parts of South Australia are home to a thriving population with the South Australian Wildlife Department reporting a recent upswing in numbers.

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We are really sorry this happened and playing catch-up now, says council’s Andrew Chin.

The pair announced a taskforce to look at making travel between the countries easier.

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Seamless travel between New Zealand and Australia is one step closer.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his New Zealand counterpart Chris Hipkins today announced they will create a 12-month expert group to explore easier travel across the Tasman Sea.

That working group will report back by the end of June 2024. 

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"We have not looked at a trans-Tasman passport but what we're looking at though is making a seamless experience of going through from country to country," Albanese said from Wellington.

"That might look at, for example, how smart gates can operate and be complimentary.

"Before you get on a plane in either country it is already recognised that you are OK to come in and therefore you can just go through smart gates in a seamless way and in a timely way as well."

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The announcement comes after a direct pathway for New Zealand citizens to attain Australian citizenship came into effect on July 1.

"I am so pleased that as of this month, it is now easier for New Zealanders to call Australia home to become Australian citizens," he said.

"This is a change that was long overdue.

"It was the right thing to do and it was the first thing to do."

Albanese's trip to New Zealand is his first as prime minister and was for the annual meeting for leaders of the two countries.

In addition to easier travel, he and Hipkins announced a new trans-Tasman roadmap, which will stretch to 2035.

This roadmap is structured around five pillars: sustainable, inclusive and prosperous economies; security and resilience; being active partners in the Pacific; upholding shared principles and values; and the countries' peoples.

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"We live in a world where we need friends, partners and allies like New Zealand," Albanese said.

"We will get better results when we work together.

"The roadmap recognises that our trans-Tasman relationship is a significant asset for both countries to meet the challenges and build on the opportunities which are ahead of us in the coming decades.

"The roadmap also identifies how we will harness our collective strengths for the good of our countries, for the good of our people and for the good of our region."

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The fisherman was caught in the act eight times.

Aussies could be using a national digital ID within the next 12 months where licences, Medicare cards and other forms can be verified online by external organisations.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher took on the digital ID plan from the former Morrison government which would allow Australians to pop together their ID forms – including but not limited to driver's licences, Medicare cards or proof of age cards – into a platform to be used by external organisations to verify a person's identity.

She told the Australian Financial Review's Government Services Summit that the program will be up and running by mid-next year.

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"That's a pretty tight timeframe, so I don't want to be held to that. But that's kind of my roadmap," she said.

Gallagher said many states are already implementing digital services to access ID forms like driver's licences and a nationally-regulated service will be an extension of that for Australians.

"We've got the system, it's just not regulated and not in a shape I think that will allow us to drive it forward and give the interoperability and the economy-wide benefits that come from having a national system, but we're very committed to it," she said.

The service won't be a new card or number but ID forms will be compiled into one system in an "easy, secure, voluntary and efficient way", Gallagher added.

She also said the scheme would allow existing state and territory apps to be "interoperable" with the program, meaning it would all work together.

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But the scheme isn't without controversy.

Gallagher noted it has been "contested", with petitions already circulating against the digital verification service over cybersecurity concerns, data retention and from anti-government groups.

It comes as Australia has experienced a rise in cyberattacks in the past 18 months including the major Optus data breach, Medibank and financial services provider Latitude.

"There is already pushback," she said.

"We've seen this, particularly coming out of COVID-19 you know, theories, conspiracy theories about what government's trying to do."

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She defended the scheme as allowing Australians to have control of their information.

"It is about securing your information and protecting your information and ensuring that you know, when that information is shared, it's done under a regulated system," she said.

Australia Post, Mastercard and Australian Payments Plus have already implemented digital verification systems.

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The tax on Australia's spirits will tip over $100 per litre of pure alcohol as part of the twice-annual increase in line with inflation.

The upcoming hike, to be implemented from August 1, has led to spirits manufacturers and distillers to call for a freeze on the controversial excise.

Australian Distillers Association chief executive Paul McLeay said the hike reached "unthinkable new heights".

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"This is a devastating blow to spirits producers around the country, who are making a valuable contribution to domestic manufacturing and tourism," McLeay said.

"If the government is serious about growing domestic manufacturing jobs, particularly in the regions, they can't have it both ways."

The six-monthly increase will mean the tax will pass the threshold of $100 per litre, which it had not been expected to hit before 2029.

The tax is calculated at the point of manufacture or importation per litre of pure alcohol and then likely passed on to consumers.

For example, a bottle of spirits with a higher alcohol content will be taxed at a higher rate than drinks at the lower end.

Manufacturers and distillers also pay GST and other levies which can push the retail costs higher for the drinking public.

The increase in line with today's inflation data will bring the tax to $100.05 a litre, up from $97.90.

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