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The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is undergoing one of its most high-profile leadership reshuffles in recent years, with a series of historic appointments announced just days after the service was thrown into turmoil by the arrest of Australia’s most decorated veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith. Amid growing global geopolitical friction including escalating conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government has confirmed a shake-up that will see the ADF welcome its first female Chief of Army and a new Chief of Defence.

On Monday, Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, a decorated 40-year veteran with extensive operational experience across multiple global deployments, was officially named to the top army post. Coyle, who most recently served as Chief of Joint Capabilities starting in 2024, will step into the role vacated by Lieutenant General Simon Stuart AO, who has held the position since 2022. A graduate of both the United States Army War College and Harvard University and a Member of the Order of Australia, Coyle has completed deployments to Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, bringing deep on-the-ground experience to her new command.

In a parallel senior promotion, outgoing Chief of Navy Mark Hammond AO will ascend to the role of Chief of Defence, taking over from Admiral David Johnston, whose two-year term is set to conclude in July. Upon his promotion, Hammond will be elevated to the rank of Admiral, while Rear-Admiral Matthew Buckley will step into Hammond’s current role as the new Chief of Navy.

Speaking to reporters following the announcement, Hammond struck a humble note about his new appointment, acknowledging the weight of the responsibilities ahead. “This is probably the most humbling moment in my career,” he said. “I certainly look forward to serving with, and for Australia’s sailors, soldiers, and aviators as their Chief of Defense through the challenging times ahead.”

Hammond also used the press briefing to address growing concerns over regional security following recent Iranian drone attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing back against any questions about the ADF’s operational readiness. “Today, that navy is as ready as it ever has been,” he stated, adding that Australian vessels deployed to the Red Sea are equipped with the world’s most advanced radars alongside cutting-edge missile and defensive systems. Responding to questions about a potential request for contribution related to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed blockade of the strait, Hammond noted that no formal request for Australian support had been received, and any deployment decision would rest solely with the Australian government.

Defence Minister Richard Marles framed Coyle’s historic appointment as a landmark moment for the ADF, ahead of his much-anticipated national defence strategy update — a two-yearly policy review scheduled to be delivered to the National Press Club on Wednesday. Marles described Coyle as “the standout candidate” for the role, emphasizing that her elevation to Chief of Army carries profound meaning for both current and future servicewomen in the ADF. “It is deeply significant … for women who are thinking about serving in the Australian Defence Force in the future,” he said. The role of Chief of Army carries core responsibilities for overall command of the service, as well as oversight of training and operational readiness.

The leadership overhaul comes at a sensitive juncture for the ADF, which is already navigating multiple pressures. In recent days, the government has faced intense scrutiny and pressure from veteran communities following the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, who is currently being held on remand on multiple war crime-related charges. Roberts-Smith has consistently maintained his innocence and has not entered any pleas in the case.

On the strategic front, the Australian government has been actively reframing its national defence posture in recent years, with a growing focus on countering potential threats along the country’s northern border. Earlier this year, Canberra announced a large-scale sell-off of ageing defence assets as part of this reset, while the alliance has also faced repeated calls from Donald Trump for U.S. allies to dramatically increase their defence spending commitments.

Prime Minister Albanese paid tribute to the departing leaders, Admiral Johnston and Lieutenant General Stuart, for their years of service to the nation. “There is indeed no higher calling than to serve in the Defence Force, and all Australians owe a debt to those who protect the Australian way of life,” he said.

Weeks out from Australia’s upcoming federal budget, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered the clearest hint yet that the center-left Labor government is prepared to eliminate a contentious capital gains tax concession that benefits property investors, as the administration navigates growing political pressure over rising housing inequality from the right-wing populist party One Nation.

For months, unconfirmed reports have circulated that the Albanese government is considering rolling back Australia’s generous 50% capital gains tax discount, a policy that applies to profits earned from selling assets held for more than 12 months, including residential investment property. For context, capital gains tax is levied on profits from asset sales such as property and shares, with those profits counted toward an individual’s annual taxable income. The existing 50% discount cuts the taxable portion of these gains in half for long-term asset holders.

Speaking to Nine Entertainment’s metropolitan publications on Monday, Albanese confirmed that the government is exploring policy changes beyond its existing push to expand national housing supply, a shift that comes as One Nation has sharpened its political messaging around housing affordability and systemic inequality to win over disaffected voters.

“The system needs to work for people,” Albanese said. “You don’t change that by rhetoric and by dividing people, which is what a lot of this populist rhetoric does. You do that by giving people a stake in the economy.”

Until this announcement, Labor’s national housing strategy has centered almost exclusively on boosting housing supply, anchored by its ambitious National Housing Accord that sets targets for new construction across the country. On Monday, the Prime Minister also signaled the government would increase spending on incentives to encourage state and territory governments to hit those housing supply targets, linking housing accessibility to broader national stability.

“Resilience is also about economic resilience and social cohesion, and making sure that young Australians understand they have a stake in the economy,” he said. “And housing is obviously one of the focuses of that.”

Currently, a Liberal Party-led Senate inquiry is examining potential changes to national housing tax policy. Earlier this year, prominent financial journalist and economist Alan Kohler told the committee that the existing tax structure sends “a clear signal that capital income is preferred over labour income,” a bias that he argues lies at the root of Australia’s widening wealth gap.

Kohler noted that while the discount is framed as an inflation adjustment, it is far larger than needed to offset rising prices, and has distorted the property market by encouraging speculative investment. This dynamic, he explained, has pushed up overall housing demand and increased the maximum price investors are willing to pay for residential property, pricing out many first-time homebuyers and low-income households.

The government’s openness to changes to the capital gains discount aligns with recent comments from Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who said last week that he would be “pretty happy” if the 2026–27 budget was remembered as a landmark “tax reform budget.”

Beyond housing tax reform, Albanese also signaled that the upcoming budget will include a sweeping overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Australia’s landmark social support program for people with permanent disability.

“The NDIS was there to assist people who have a permanent incapacity to fully participate in society – that’s something we need to value and cherish,” Albanese said. “It’s undermined if four out of 10 kids in a class are on the NDIS. That wasn’t why it has that public support, and we need to make sure that we maintain public support by ensuring it’s sustainable.”

The government has already moved to narrow eligibility for the scheme, proposing to shift support for children with mild autism to state and territory-run systems under the new Thriving Kids program. The reform has faced significant pushback, however, with state leaders refusing to take on the extra funding burden for the initiative. Albanese has explicitly ruled out introducing means testing for the NDIS, saying that eligibility should remain tied to an individual’s disability needs and their ability to participate in community and economic life, not their income or assets.

Peru’s 2026 general presidential and legislative election, held April 12, concluded with right-wing contender Keiko Fujimori holding a narrow lead but forced into a June runoff, capping a day of widespread logistical failures, police intervention, and public frustration that deepened uncertainty over the South American nation’s efforts to escape years of crippling political instability.

Approximately 27 million eligible Peruvians turned out to select from 35 presidential candidates, an election called to resolve a prolonged period of chaos that has seen multiple presidents ousted from office or jailed in recent years. Campaigning centered overwhelmingly on two of the country’s most pressing crises: soaring violent crime and pervasive systemic corruption. Homicide rates across Peru have more than doubled over the past decade, while annual reported extortion cases have skyrocketed from just 3,200 to 26,500 over the same period, pushing public safety to the top of voter priorities.

On the eve of voting, Fujimori — the 50-year-old daughter of disgraced former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori — laid out a hardline public safety platform to AFP, saying she would crack down on instability by deploying the military to control prisons, strengthening border enforcement, and expediting deportations of undocumented migrants. Early exit polls from leading pollsters Ipsos and Datum placed Fujimori in first place with roughly 16% of the vote, well short of the 50% majority required to win the election outright.

The tight race for the second spot in the June runoff remained too close to call late Sunday, with four candidates — Roberto Sanchez, Ricardo Belmont, Rafael Lopez Aliaga, and Jorge Neito — separated by just a few percentage points, putting all in a statistical tie for the final runoff position.

What was meant to be a step toward restoring political order instead devolved into a day of disruption marked by major logistical breakdowns. More than 100 polling stations, the majority in the capital city of Lima, failed to receive required voting materials on time, forcing dozens of locations to open hours behind schedule. At 15 polling centers, frustrated voters waited for hours under Peru’s equatorial sun before staff were forced to turn them away entirely. In total, the material failures left roughly 63,000 registered voters unable to cast their ballots on election day.

While the disenfranchised voters represent a small fraction of Peru’s total electorate, political observers warn their absence could still swing the race in the extremely tight contest for second place. In the 2021 presidential election, a margin of just 238,000 votes separated the second and third place finishers that cycle.

With polls still open, police and prosecutors launched a raid on the headquarters of Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) to investigate the material delivery failure, followed by a separate raid on a private logistics subcontractor that officials have blamed for the missed deadlines. The unprecedented mid-vote police intervention and widespread delays fueled unproven allegations of election foul play from candidates and the public, casting a cloud over the integrity of the results.

Protesters gathered outside the guarded ONPE headquarters in Lima to voice frustration over the disorganization. “They have not made it easier for people to vote,” 25-year-old administration student Karina Herrera told reporters on site. Multiple presidential candidates raised concerns about the irregularities and called to extend voting into Monday if issues were not resolved; electoral officials ultimately opted to extend voting by just one hour before closing all polls.

ONPE head Piero Corvetto defended the body’s handling of the election, acknowledging the widespread logistical failures but insisting no systemic fraud was possible. “We have had a logistical problem, and we have done everything humanly possible to reduce it,” Corvetto said. “There is no possibility of fraud. There is full assurance that the election results will faithfully reflect the popular will.”