A fuel monitoring report shows retail prices have risen by around 55c per litre.

He says the offer devalues decades of trauma and loss.

The official warned that New Zealand was on its own.

The survey of more than 8800 people shows ketamine use surging nationwide.

The Reserve Bank has raised the alarm over a potential recession in Australia.

As the country battles consecutive cash rate hikes, job losses, soaring fuel prices and volatility from the war against Iran, experts warn the data paints a grim picture for the economy.

The latest employment figures have now stoked fresh fears that Australia's economy could be shocked into a recession for the second time in six years.

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LIVE UPDATES: Iran pledges to hit back over gas field attack

The RBA flagged that a domestic recession could be a necessary evil to drive inflation down.

"We don't want to have a recession, but if it's hard to get inflation down, then we're going to have to deal with that, possibly," RBA governor Michele Bullock said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, however, flatly denied this was a possibility.

"No, that's not something that we're anticipating or forecasting or expecting," Chalmers told ABC's 730 program.

Inflation remains the biggest threat to the Australian economy and this has been compounded by a deflating job market.

Fresh job figures revealed the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent in February after 35,000 people left the workforce.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data also found the number of hours worked fell 0.2 per cent, with more workers on part-time hours rather than full-time.

Meanwhile, job advertisements took a tumble in the same period.

Ads decreased by 0.5 per cent month-on-month in February and are down 2.6 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest employment report from Seek.

Applications also dropped by 0.6 per cent as workers stay put in an uncertain job market.

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Seek's Senior Economist Dr Blair Chapman told Nine.com.au that the job market is generally a safe indicator of where the economy is headed.

"A sharp decline in jobs ads can be a bit of a red flag that demand is going to slow across the economy," he said.

"Job ads are a forward-looking indicator of employer intent – when businesses pull back on hiring, it signals reduced confidence in future demand and activity.

"The current decline we're seeing is steady but gradual, not a sharp decline that should trigger worry."

Chapman tempered fears that a recession is fast approaching despite the declining job figures.

"Combined, these signals point to weaker demand and a labour market under increasing pressure, though the current data suggests a gradual slowdown rather than a sharp contraction," he added.

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Australia broke a 30-year dry spell after it entered a technical recession during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Before that, Australia suffered a recession from 1990 to 1991 when GDP fell by 1.7 per cent and the unemployment rate rose to 10.8 per cent.

What is a recession?

A recession is when a prolonged period of weak or negative growth in gross domestic product (GDP), which is the monetary value of all goods and services, is accompanied by a rise in unemployment, according to the RBA.

Essentially, if GDP goes down and unemployment goes up it can equal a recession.

A "technical recession" – which may not be accompanied by a jump in unemployment – is traditionally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in GDP.

Several other economic indicators are also weak during a recession, including household spending, business investment and the number of businesses that close down.

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A US politician has won an upset election victory on the back of a simple but very effective message: "F— Trump".

Juliana Stratton has defied a year of polls showing her trailing a big-spending rival to claim a win in the Illinois Senate congressional primary.

Stratton, the Illinois lieutenant governor, was outspent 30 to one by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi for the coveted prize.

READ MORE: 'Overseas' doing worse with petrol prices than USA: JD Vance

But her ad, which only started airing in the past few months, made an immense splash in the race.

The 30-second ad features various people with varying intensities of a Chicago accent simply saying to the camera: "F— Trump. Vote Juliana."

While broadcast television strictly regulates against profanity, it is prohibited from censoring politicians' ads.

So viewers in Illinois heard all of that four-letter word.

In the ad, Stratton described President Donald Trump as a "wannabe dictator" and vowed to abolish ICE (Immigrant and Customs Enforcement).

"I'll hold Trump accountable for the crimes he's committed," she said.

In the weeks after the ad aired, Stratton went from trailing distantly in the polls to overtaking Krishnamoorthi.

READ MORE: Trump berates allies as he finds himself alone on Iran war

And yesterday she clinched an upset victory by a larger-than-expected margin.

Krishnamoorthi had led in the polls in large part because he had ads on TV promoting himself for much longer.

But he was dogged by criticism of his support of the cryptocurrency industry.

The cryptocurrency industry, in turn, was supporting him to the tune of millions of dollars in backing. 

In the heavily Democratic state in what is likely to be a good year for the party, clinching the nomination is tantamount to claiming the job.

Stratton is on track to become the fifth Black woman elected to the US Senate.

While Trump has been unusually successful as a Republican in midwest states, he has consistently been deeply unpopular in Illinois.

The seat is open because of the retirement of Dick Durbin, a longtime Democratic powerbroker in the Senate.

Stratton will face general election voters in November's midterm elections.

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Some Jetstar travellers will be booted from Qantas lounges under new rules coming into effect on July 1.

Customers on Jetstar international flights will no longer have access to complimentary lounge invitations – a single-visit benefit provided by the Qantas Frequent Flyer program or a partner credit card program. 

Customers on Qantas-operated flights, Qantas codeshare flights operated by Jetstar and Jetstar domestic flights will, however, still have access "where available".

READ MORE: Australia condemns Iran as key shipping closure sends fuel prices soaring

Complimentary lounge invitations can be linked to flights via an online portal or transferred to another Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Travellers use social media groups to trade their complimentary lounge invitations with each other. 

But the new rules will also block this practice.

Complimentary lounge invitations will soon "only be transferable to someone travelling on the same flight as you".

Neither of these changes will affect Platinum One Frequent Flyers and Platinum One Lounge Invitations.

9news.com.au understands the changes were driven by customer feedback and ensuring the complimentary invitations are used as intended. 

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Qantas lounges are used by flight enthusiasts to relax, eat and drink before their flight or during a layover.

The airline has lounges both domestically and internationally, including Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and the Middle East.

Access is usually granted based on the class of travel or Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qantas Club, oneworld or Emirates membership tier.

Lounges can also be accessed by the complimentary lounge invitation or a single-vist Qantas lounge pass. 

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They're among the most popular dogs in Australia, but "designer" crossbreeds like cockapoos, cavoodles and labradoodles come with a drawback, according to new research.

A study from the Royal Veterinary College in the UK revealed they're worse behaved than their progenitor breeds.

Cocakpoos are bred from poodles and cocker spaniels, cavoodles from poodles and King Charles spaniels, and labradoodles from poodles and Labrador retrievers.

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They're also all very popular in Australia, with cavoodles ranked as the most popular breed in the country.

Many Australians buy or adopt the "designer" crossbreeds because of the common claim that they have more desirable traits than purebred dogs.

But this new study appears to have debunked that belief.

Researchers surveyed the owners of more than 9400 cavoodles, labradoodles, cockapoos and their purebred progenitor breeds in the UK about their behaviour.

The survey included the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), which is used to analyse dog behaviour.

Researchers then compared the different breeds' C-BARQ scores across a range of different behavioural traits.

The results showed that in nearly 45 per cent of cases, the "designer" crossbreeds had more undesirable behaviours than at least one of their progenitor breeds based on C-BARQ scores.

Just over nine per cent had fewer problem behaviours.

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Cockapoos are the worst behaved of the bunch, scoring worse than their progenitor breeds in 16 out of 24 behaviours.

Common issues included owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, and excitability.

Cavoodles were next with a score of 11 out of 24, followed by labradoodles.

They scored worse than their progenitor breeds in five behaviours, but better in six.

Researchers have called for more research into and wider awareness of potential behavioural issues in 'designer' crossbreeds, especially as they remain so popular.

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In a speech that would offer little comfort to Australians, US Vice President JD Vance has told an audience other countries were "suffering" on petrol prices worse than America.

Petrol prices have shot up worldwide in the wake of the US war on Iran. Here in Australia, the average cost of unleaded petrol is now $2.29/litre and diesel up to $2.71/litre.

But things are worse "overseas", Vance said at a rally in Detroit.

READ MORE: Trump berates allies as he finds himself alone on Iran war

"So as much as we've got to focus on getting these gas prices down, the reality is, overseas they're feeling it far worse than we did because we've taken the steps to protect our energy economy."

Vance appeared to blame US allies for not focusing enough on securing fossil fuels.

"We actually worked with a lot of our allies all over the world who are suffering from this frankly more than we are because unlike the United States where we pursued an energy dominance agenda," he said.

"You've got a lot of people all over the world who have focused on a lot of green energy scams and they're hurting a lot more than we are."

Vance spoke of "working with allies" to release hundreds of millions of barrels out of petroleum reserves to put downward pressure on prices.

READ MORE: Donald Trump says he'll be 'taking Cuba' in latest escalation

Australia was one such country to release petrol from its reserves, though it has not appeared to bring prices down.

In the US, a litre of petrol costs about A$1.44. That's about 80 cents cheaper than average prices at the bowser in Australia.

As a net oil exporter, the US has not seen panic buying at petrol stations like in Australia.

But Americans are still feeling the pinch after seeing petrol prices surge.

In his speech, Vance pointed to high prices under the Biden administration.

"(Petrol prices are) not even as high as they were during certain parts of the Biden administration because of what's going on in the Middle East," he said.

"It's not going to last forever."

READ MORE: The four-letter acronym that could pull Trump out of Iran

Yesterday Donald Trump's top economic advisor said The pain felt by consumers as a result of the war with Iran is "the last of our concerns". 

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC that the war with Iran "wouldn't really disrupt the US economy very much at all".

"It would hurt consumers and we'd have to think about if that continued what we would have to do about that," Hassett said.

"But that's the like, really the last of our concerns right now because we're very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule."

US inflation data released overnight was twice the anticipated figure. 

Petrol prices are anticipated to rise further with a substantial jump in oil prices today.

READ MORE: 'Dead by June': Trump announces congressman's private diagnosis

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Australia has joined with Gulf countries and several of its closest allies to condemn Iran's attacks against its neighbours and lockdown of a critical shipping channel in the Middle East.

Dozens of countries came together on Wednesday (Wednesday and early Thursday AEDT) in a push for the International Maritime Organisation to address the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent oil prices soaring and pushed petrol well beyond the $2 mark in Australia.

Australia condemned Iran's attacks on countries in the Middle East and merchant vessels in the Gulf, which have escalated continuously after Israel and the US attacked the country, killing its Supreme Leader.

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"Iran has transformed one of the world's most critical shipping lanes into a theatre of coercion and conflict," Australia's permanent representative to the IMO, Jay Weatherill, told an extraordinary meeting.

"Any interference with vessels or vessel movements places innocent seafarers at significant risk and threatens maritime safety and security."

The former South Australian premier said the consequences were being felt far beyond the Gulf. 

"This disruption has triggered severe global energy shocks, causing oil and fuel prices to surge in Australia," he said.

"This is placing immense pressure on households, industries and supply chains."

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Inflation fears as fuel prices soar

Australian petrol and diesel prices already averaged 219.5 and 245.6 cents a litre last week and Brent crude was sitting at $US108 ($142) a barrel on Wednesday, in what the International Energy Agency has labelled the worst oil supply shock in global history.

Westpac yesterday updated its modelling on the economic impacts brought about by the conflict, on Wednesday, predicting petrol and diesel costs would increase by more than just the "direct pass-through" from higher crude oil prices, and fertiliser and jet fuel would also be affected. 

Treasurer Jim Chalmers last week warned the crisis in the Middle East could push inflation in Australia towards 5 per cent.

On Thursday, he will reportedly warn the figure could go even higher, wiping billions from the economy and impacting living standards for years.

He will tell the Australian Business Economists that "the prospect of inflation peaking in the high 4s or even higher this year is very real if oil remains above $US100 a barrel, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called an emergency national cabinet meeting with the premiers on Thursday to thrash out the nation's fuel supply woes.

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More than 100 condemn Iran

The UAE motion, backed by more than 100 nations and several member organisations, called on the council to condemn Iran's attacks, reaffirm freedom of navigation, urge all states to comply with international law and call for the protection of seafarers.

An extraordinary meeting was called for Wednesday and Thursday this week to debate it.

Russia, Iran and China all spoke out against the push to condemn Iran, citing mostly procedural reasons for not suspending IMO rules to hold the meeting earlier than would normally be allowed.

A spokesperson for Transport Minister Catherine King said the government was working with partners to "reinforce the importance of the safety and security of seafarers crossing the Strait of Hormuz".

Trump wants ships, not just condemnation

The push to condemn Iran came as US President Donald Trump continued his campaign to coerce allies, including Australia, to go even further.

He's spent days alternately demanding, begging and vaguely threatening countries such as the UK, France and the NATO defensive alliance as a whole to send warships to help secure the strait, which is critical to oil shipments from the Gulf.

"I wonder what would happen if we 'finished off' what's left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don't, be responsible for the so called "Strait?'" he posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.

"That would get some of our non-responsive 'Allies' in gear, and fast!!!"

A string of refusals indicates his stock of European goodwill is low. 

He has put allies through the wringer since returning to the White House, bullying them over tariffs, Greenland and other issues, and disparaging the sacrifices their soldiers made alongside US troops in Afghanistan.

French defence analyst François Heisbourg described the response to Trump's cajoling as a "global raspberry".

No close ally has come forward with immediate help. Australia won't send one of its few warships to the region. Britain is flat-out refusing to be drawn into the war. France says the fighting would have to die down first. Others are non-committal. 

China, which is not an ally but was also asked to help, is ignoring Trump's call.

"This is not Europe's war. We didn't start the war. We were not consulted," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.

– Reported with Associated Press

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