分类： business

Australia’s flagship carrier Qantas has moved one significant step closer to launching the world’s longest commercial non-stop passenger flights, after completing the maiden test flight of its custom-built ultra-long-range Airbus jet this week. The milestone comes even as global supply chain headwinds have pushed back initial delivery timelines, with the airline still on track to launch the revolutionary service by 2027.

The test aircraft, an A350-1000ULR (ultra-long-range) modified specifically for Qantas’ Project Sunrise initiative, departed from Airbus’ industrial hub in Toulouse, France, at local time Tuesday afternoon. The four-hour test flight, operated by an Airbus flight test crew, climbed to a cruising altitude of more than 41,000 feet, successfully validating the jet’s new extended-range fuel system and core performance capabilities. This aircraft is the second of 12 custom ULR jets Airbus is building for Qantas, and will now enter the outfitting phase to install Qantas’ exclusive four-class cabin layout.

The ULR variant of the A350-1000 features purpose-built modifications designed to extend its maximum range: an additional fuel tank that adds 1,800 kilometers of flying distance, paired with lighter, more energy-efficient galley refrigeration systems to cut unnecessary weight and maximize range. These adaptations will allow the jet to complete non-stop flights of up to 22 hours, a capability no commercial airliner serving Qantas’ routes has held to date.

Per Qantas’ announcement, the successful maiden test flight kicks off a two-month global flight testing campaign that will accumulate around 80 hours of in-air validation, alongside extensive ground inspections and certification checks for all the redesigned and custom components built into the jets. The first finished jet is still scheduled for handover to Qantas in April 2027, after Airbus confirmed last week that supply chain disruptions had delayed initial delivery by four months. A Qantas spokesperson confirmed that following the first delivery, four additional aircraft will arrive in quick succession, putting the entire delivery program back on its original schedule by November 2027.

The second ULR jet, earmarked as the first to be delivered to Qantas, is already in advanced final assembly and will exit Airbus’ paint shop in the coming days, before proceeding to cabin outfitting and engine installation. Meanwhile, Qantas has already begun training future pilots to operate the new jets at full-flight simulators based in Sydney, to prepare for commercial launch once deliveries are complete. By the end of this month, Qantas has said it will confirm the exact launch routes and commercial service timeline for the new non-stop flights.

Project Sunrise, first announced by Qantas in 2017, is the airline’s decades-long initiative to launch non-stop service from Australia’s populous east coast to major global hubs London and New York. Currently, the airline’s longest non-stop route runs between Perth and London at approximately 18 hours of flight time. The new service will cut total travel time by roughly four hours for passengers departing east coast Australian hubs like Sydney and Melbourne, eliminating the need for a layover en route.

Once launched, Qantas’ new routes will claim the title of the world’s longest commercial non-stop flights, overtaking the two current record-holders operated by Singapore Airlines, which run from New York and Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore. Qantas already holds three spots on the global list of top 10 longest non-stop routes, with its Perth-London, Melbourne-Dallas, and Paris-Perth services ranking fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, and the Auckland-New York service (shared with Air New Zealand) ranking seventh. The new ultra-long-range jets are part of Qantas’ broader $15 billion national fleet renewal program, designed to modernize its long-haul network and open new non-stop connections between Australia and major global destinations.

Australia’s electric vehicle market has passed a historic milestone, with two leading automakers posting record monthly deliveries in May 2026 as skyrocketing petrol prices push thousands of drivers to abandon fossil fuel-powered cars. New data from the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) confirms that combined deliveries from industry leader Tesla and premium Swedish brand Polestar reached 6,681 units for the month – the highest monthly total for the two brands ever recorded in the country.

Tesla dominated the historic results, delivering 6,433 battery electric vehicles alone. This figure marks the highest single-month sales total for any brand in the EVC’s entire dataset, outstripping the automaker’s previous record of 6,017 units set in March 2024. The Tesla Model Y alone accounted for 84% of the combined Tesla-Polestar total, with 5,605 deliveries in May.

Compared to April 2026, the two brands’ combined sales surged 358%, while they jumped 61.4% against May 2025 figures. Year-to-date sales for the two brands hit 15,866 units by the end of May, representing 52.7% growth over the same period in 2025.

Polestar, which launched in Australia in 2021 and has delivered roughly 8,500 vehicles to local customers to date, also contributed to the record. The brand notched 14% year-to-date growth by the end of May, with its Polestar 4 crossover leading performance with 39.6% year-to-date growth over 2025. Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard noted that strong consumer inquiry remained sustained through the month, and the brand is preparing for further expansion with upcoming launches of the updated Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 models.

Industry leaders attribute this unprecedented growth to a perfect storm of financial pressure on petrol car owners, driven by global and domestic market factors. Geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Iran has disrupted global oil markets, with a ongoing maritime blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most critical oil shipping chokepoints – pushing global crude prices to near $100 a barrel, translating to pain at Australian petrol bowsers. Compounding this pressure, the Australian federal government’s temporary 26-cent per litre fuel excise cut is set to expire on June 30, with drivers bracing for an immediate sharp price jump when the full 53-cent per litre excise is reinstated.

“Tesla’s record-breaking 6433 sales in a single month, the highest ever recorded in the Electric Vehicle Council’s dataset, shows more Australians are choosing electric,” EVC chief executive Julie Delvecchio said. “When fuel prices hurt, people look for alternatives. Electric vehicles offer exactly that, no trips to the servo, no price spikes at the pump, savings of around $3000 a year.”

Tesla’s Australia and New Zealand Country Director Thom Drew linked the milestone to sustained consumer demand and the brand’s targeted product strategy for the local market. “This is not an isolated result. It reflects our sustained commitment to delivering world-class electric vehicles and an ownership experience that continues to raise the bar for the industry,” Drew said. “As the EV segment continues to mature and expand, Tesla remains at the forefront, not by chance, but by design.”

Geographically, Australia’s eastern seaboard is leading the national transition to electric transport. Queensland posted the strongest year-to-date growth at 65.1%, followed closely by New South Wales at 63.3% and Victoria at 61.9%.

Broader industry data from VFACTS confirms that EVs now hold a 16.4% share of all new car sales across Australia – meaning roughly one in every six new cars purchased in the country is now fully electric. Delvecchio noted that the record sales confirm a broader shift in consumer preference, as Australians increasingly prioritize vehicles that fit their lifestyle, perform reliably, and cut long-term motoring costs.

“We know Australians buy cars that save them money, suit their lifestyle and perform well,” Delvecchio said. “Record EV sales suggest more Australians are finding electric vehicles tick all three boxes.”

Australia’s benchmark sharemarket delivered a rollercoaster trading session on Tuesday, closing with modest losses after a dramatic late recovery that erased most of an early 100-point drop, as conflicting geopolitical developments out of the Middle East and a larger-than-expected minimum wage hike created widespread uncertainty among investors.

The ASX 200, Australia’s primary blue-chip index, finished the day down 20.60 points, or 0.24%, to settle at 8708.80. The broader All Ordinaries index fared slightly better, slipping just 3.80 points, or 0.04%, to close at 8966, a near-flat finish. The Australian dollar edged slightly higher, gaining 0.15% to trade at 71.75 US cents by market close.

For market observers, the day’s wild swings were far from unusual. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore noted that Tuesday’s triple-digit intraday range marked the third such extreme shift in the past four trading sessions, and the ninth in just one month. “This is a clear sign of a market grappling for direction, primarily stuck within a stubborn 8500 to 8700 range,” Sycamore explained. The afternoon turnaround, he added, received partial support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks downplaying rising geopolitical tensions that flared up over the weekend.

Geopolitical volatility stemmed from mixed signals over a potential Middle East peace deal. While Trump posted on Truth Social that ceasefire talks between Israel and Hezbollah were “progressing”, and that a deal to extend the truce and reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz could be reached within the next week, Iran pushed back against the prospect, threatening to suspend diplomatic relations and close the key shipping lane. The conflicting updates kept investors on edge through the first half of the trading day.

Against this backdrop of macro uncertainty, the technology sector emerged as the clear outlier, driving the afternoon market recovery. The entire tech sector rallied 4.71% for the day, with standout gains from leading domestic tech names. Accounting software provider Xero climbed 7.47% to close at $87 per share, logistics tech firm WiseTech Global jumped 7.8% to settle at $42.23, and consumer safety tech company Life360 notched a 13.25% gain to reach $23.07 per share. Several other individual companies also posted strong gains on new contract wins: infrastructure firm SRG Global surged 16.56% to $3.66 after announcing $1.85 billion in new contracts spanning water, defence, energy, health and education; defence technology provider DroneShield gained 3.55% to $3.21 on a $24.9 million U.S. government contract; and medical imaging firm Pro Medicus rose an additional 10.81% to $160.08 following Monday’s announcement of a five-year contract with U.S.-based Visage Imaging.

Offsetting these tech gains were broad declines across seven of the ASX’s 11 sectors. Healthcare stocks bore the brunt of the selling: biotech giant CSL fell 1.74% to $92.56, Sigma Healthcare dropped 1.71% to $2.87, and medical device maker ResMed slid 2.07% to $26.02.

Retail and banking stocks also slumped after Australia’s Fair Work Commission announced a 4.75% minimum wage increase for the nation’s lowest-paid workers. The pay bump came in above current annual inflation of 4.2% and baseline national wage growth of 3.3%, stoking fears that higher labor costs will push inflation higher and force the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to implement additional interest rate hikes sooner than expected.

Major domestic retailers felt the selloff immediately: Woolworths fell 1.85% to $34.41, Coles dropped 0.74% to $21.55, and hospitality group Endeavour Group slid 1.73% to $28.40.

AMP economist My Bui explained that while the wage adjustment was a reasonable move to prevent low-income workers from facing negative real wage growth, its broad impact across the Australian workforce could put sustained upward pressure on inflation. As a result, AMP has updated its interest rate forecast to predict a third RBA rate hike as early as November, pushing the peak cash rate for this cycle to 4.85%. Bui added that there is even a risk the hike could come sooner, in June rather than August. Prior to Tuesday’s minimum wage announcement, AMP had projected the next rate hike would not occur until August 2026.

Despite the overall negative close, investors found some reassurance in the market’s ability to recover from early losses, with the 100-point afternoon rebound turning what looked set to be a sharp drop into a modest decline by the closing bell.

Starting July 1 this year, 2.8 million Australian workers — roughly one-fifth of the nation’s total workforce — will see their pay packets grow, following a landmark ruling from the Fair Work Commission announced on Tuesday. The independent industrial tribunal greenlit a 4.75% increase to the national minimum award wage, lifting hourly earnings from $24.95 to $26.44, and weekly minimum pay to $1004.90, up from $948. The adjustment applies to all workers whose pay is set by modern awards and are not covered by enterprise agreements, and it was designed to help low-income households keep pace with years of elevated cost-of-living increases.

The final wage decision landed between the two extreme proposals put forward ahead of the ruling: trade unions had pushed for a more aggressive 6% increase to offset persistent inflation, while industry business groups argued that a more modest 3.5% bump would be manageable for already strained employers. In welcoming the outcome, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers framed the adjustment as a balanced, sustainable real wage increase that aligned with the federal government’s formal submission to the Fair Work Commission, noting it was a raise millions of working Australians both needed and earned.

However, leading economic analysts have warned that the larger-than-expected pay hike could exacerbate the nation’s ongoing inflation challenges, paving the way for additional interest rate increases from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that will deepen financial pressure on mortgage holders across the country.

AMP senior economist My Bui explained that while the commission’s choice to avoid negative real wage growth for low-income workers is logically understandable, the sheer scale of the workforce impacted means the adjustment will likely add broader inflationary momentum to the economy. “Tuesday’s decision is only expected to add less than 0.6 percentage points to annual wages growth next year, but the real risk is that wage pressures spill over into other parts of the private sector,” Bui noted. She added that elevated wage growth will further entrench sticky services inflation, as businesses pass higher labour and input costs through to consumers, at a time when goods prices already remain elevated.

CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun echoed this concern, pointing out that the pay rise will hit already struggling businesses with extra cost pressure, particularly in the four labour-intensive sectors that account for more than two-thirds of all award-reliant employment: retail, hospitality, healthcare and social assistance, and administrative and support services. “While the larger than expected minimum wage increase will be welcome for the lowest paid, many businesses and the RBA are unlikely to be as happy,” Colhoun said. “The rise will add to business costs at a time of already elevated inflation, higher interest rates and at least a temporary surge in fuel costs.” He added that the higher wage baseline will make it marginally harder for the RBA to pull inflation back to its target range of 2-3% annually.

RBA governor Michele Bullock has already implemented three interest rate hikes this year in an aggressive effort to cool stubborn inflation. Prior to the Fair Work Commission’s announcement, AMP had forecast one final rate hike by August 2025. But in response to the wage ruling, the firm updated its outlook: AMP now expects the RBA will deliver another rate increase as early as November this year, pushing the peak cash rate for this cycle to 4.85%, with an outside risk that the hike could come even sooner than forecast.

Inflation projections have also shifted upward. AMP now forecasts that annual inflation will climb to 4.8% by the end of the June quarter, before easing only to 4.1% by the end of 2025 — still well above the RBA’s 2-3% target range. Recent official data has already signaled that underlying inflation pressures remain persistent in the Australian economy: while annual headline inflation edged down from 4.6% in March to 4.2% in April, that decline was driven largely by temporary federal government policies including a halving of the fuel excise and a GST rebate. The RBA’s preferred trimmed mean inflation measure, which strips out volatile price swings to show underlying trends, rose to 3.4% for the 12 months to April, confirming that core price pressures are still building.

For Australian mortgage holders, the outlook means a double whammy of financial strain: not only will higher wages fuel further inflation, but it will also force the RBA to keep tightening monetary policy, pushing monthly home loan repayments even higher just as many households are already struggling to keep up with cost-of-living increases.

After nearly a century and a half of brewing one of Australia’s most iconic beer brands in Tasmania, parent company Lion Australia has confirmed it will shutter all James Boag production at the Launceston site by November 2026, relocating all operations to mainland Australia. The decision, which comes as a major economic blow to northern Tasmania, will cut 42 local roles, and marks the end of a legacy that stretches back to 1881, when the brewery first opened its doors. Scottish brewer James Boag and his son assumed control of the facility just two years after its founding, and for 145 years, the brand has leaned into its Tasmanian roots, marketing its signature brews as crafted from the state’s famous pure water.

Lion’s leadership has framed the move as an unavoidable response to long-running industry challenges and cost pressures that have rendered the Launceston facility no longer financially viable. Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Lion’s chief executive and managing director, emphasized that the closure is no criticism of the site’s current and former workforce, who have maintained efficient operations even amid years of declining output. “This proposal is no reflection on the incredible capability, passion and commitment of our brewery team members, and the many more who have come before them, who have worked hard to operate the brewery as efficiently as possible despite decreasing volumes,” she said in a formal statement.

The company pointed to two core factors driving the decision: a years-long slump in national beer consumption that has left the Launceston brewery running at just 20 percent of its total production capacity, and persistent cost inflation that has squeezed margins. Shipping costs have also been a growing burden for the business: as early as 2024, James Boag already shifted a portion of its production off-island to cut the $1.5 million in annual shipping fees it incurred transporting product from Tasmania to mainland markets. Moving all production to the mainland will eliminate these ongoing high logistics costs, the company confirmed.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff described the announcement as “extremely disappointing”, noting that the state government’s top immediate priority is supporting the 42 affected workers. “We will engage closely with Lion, the union, workers and the hospitality industry to support those impacted,” Rockliff said.

To mitigate the impact of the closure on workers and the local community, Lion has outlined a series of mitigation measures. The company has allocated $500,000 to a dedicated reskilling fund designed to help displaced employees transition into new roles across different industries. It has also committed $500,000 to a five-year community fund to support local partnerships and grants in Launceston and northern Tasmania, and will repay the $1 million the Tasmanian government previously contributed to redevelop the Boags Brewhouse. The Tasmanian government has acknowledged these commitments, welcoming Lion’s pledges to support workers and honour existing financial agreements. While production will move off-island, Lion says it will continue to brew the James Boag brand, and maintains that Tasmania remains an important part of the brand’s identity.