Luca Ittimani
Trump tariff announcement wipes $1bn from CSL value
Australian medical companies, including struggling global biotech company CSL, have lost billions in value after Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals entering the US.
Trump on Truth Social said companies building manufacturing plants in the US would be exempt from the tariffs, due to take effect on 1 October.
Photograph: James Ross/AAP
CSL initially lost $3bn in market value on the news but has pared its losses to $1bn, a 1% fall in its share price, after rushing to reassure investors it expected to avoid the tariffs. A spokesperson said:
We have a very significant United States manufacturing footprint. We are already expanding our US capabilities to meet the growing demand for our therapies … As per previous market guidance, we do not expect any material impact from these tariffs.
The announcement is the latest blow to the market heavyweight. It lost about $20bn in market capitalisation in August on the day it released disappointing financial results but has continued to slide, now $35bn smaller or three-quarters the size it was two months ago.
Trump’s announcement also wiped hundreds of millions from the values of other pharmaceutical companies, with Soul Pattinson down 2.5%, losing $400m from its market capitalisation. Neuren fell 3.6% or $100m, Telix lost 2.6% or $130m and Pro Medicus fell 2.5%
The broader health sector fell 1.5% of its value on the news, although rising values for the big banks and miners have kept the all ordinaries and the benchmark S&P/ASX200 from falling.
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Updated at 06.54 CEST
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Catie McLeod
Advanced Skin Technology responds after sunscreens pulled from sale
Advanced Skin Technology has responded to the news we brought you earlier that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recalled two of its sunscreens due to doubts about their SPF claims.
The company confirmed it was pulling the Aspect Sun Physical Sun Protection SPF50+ and Aspect Sun Tinted Physical SPF50+ products from shelves.
A spokesperson said:
While we are awaiting the full completion of independent testing, initial results suggest that the SPF level of the two products … is unlikely to meet the labelled SPF rating.
As a brand committed to sun safety and skin health, we are not satisfied with these outcomes and wish to act swiftly. No other products in the Aspect Sun range are impacted, and these remain available for sale.
We will continue to work closely with the TGA and provide updates as our investigation progresses.
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Updated at 09.32 CEST
Bullets and drugs seized after man arrested near Newcastle
A 28-year-old man has been charged with drug and firearms offences after police attended a property near Newcastle following reports a man had been seen with a firearm.
In a statement on Friday, NSW police said they had arrived at a unit at about 10.15pm on Thursday night when the man allegedly “fled from the balcony of the second-storey unit into a laneway below”. He was arrested a short time later.
A search allegedly found the man to be carrying a knife, while a rifle and travel bag containing drugs, cash and ammunition was allegedly found in the laneway, police said.
Upon executing a warrant at the address, police allegedly seized $8,500 cash, 1.172kg cannabis, 15.94g methamphetamine, 58.2g cocaine, and 68 bullets.
The man was charged with nine offences, including drug supply offences, firearm offences, and dealing with the proceeds of crime. He was refused bail and will appear before Newcastle local court on Thursday 16 October 2025.
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Updated at 09.11 CEST
Ben Doherty
Greenpeace: Nauru pushing ‘fallacy’ about benefits of deep sea mining
Greenpeace has accused Nauru of “peddling a dangerous fallacy” and greenwashing over the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Nauru’s president David Adeang defended his country’s commitment to deep-sea mining – the mining of critical minerals from the seabed floor.
The president of Nauru, David Adeang, addresses the 80th session of the UN general assembly. Photograph: Pamela Smith/AP
He said:
As both a small island developing state and a sponsoring state for deep seabed mineral exploration, Nauru has invested significantly through our sponsored entity to access minerals essential to powering the world’s transition away from fossil fuels and advancing the common heritage of humankind.
We have consistently advocated for robust regulations that balance responsible mineral recovery with effective environmental protection.
But Rae Bainteiti, Pacific political coordinator at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said it was untrue to suggest that deep-sea minerals were “essential” for a green energy transition:
Nauru is peddling a dangerous fallacy by echoing the greenwashing claims of the deep sea mining industry. If it goes ahead, deep sea mining could destroy our oceans, livelihoods and cultural heritage of millions of people in the Pacific, and have irreversible permanent effects on the seabed and all life that depends on it. Deep sea mining will not solve the climate crisis.
A just transition means using the resources and minerals we already have in circulation, not digging, drilling and extracting more. The more we extract, the more we consume. It’s a myth that we need to sell our seabed for our future – deep sea mining isn’t for our future, it is selling out our future. We must protect the sea and not sell it to the highest bidders.
He said Pacific island nations should back a moratorium on deep-sea mining until the International Seabed Authority has finalised a “robust, science-backed and enforceable mining code”.
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Updated at 09.03 CEST
NBN outage in WA’s Goldfields-Esperance area may affect calls, including triple-zero
An NBN outage is affecting connections in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia and may interfere with the ability to make phone calls, including triple-zero calls, from NBN landline services, according to WA Police.
In a statement this afternoon, police said the locations known to be affected were Bandy Creek, Castletown, Chadwick, Esperance, and West Beach.
They encouraged NBN customers to check the NBN website for more information.
The statement said:
If you have a vulnerable family member, friend, neighbour or co-worker, you may consider offering them support until the outage has been resolved.
If you are an NBN customer, your service is impacted, and you have no alternative mobile phone access, police recommend you make arrangements with a neighbour, family member or friend, so you have access to a working telephone in the event of an emergency.
Police communications are unaffected.
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Updated at 08.40 CEST
Penry Buckley
Builder of Sydney’s new fish market sues NSW government
The contractor building the new Sydney Fish Market is suing the New South Wales government for alleged breach of contract over reported cost blowouts.
Multiplex has filed a claim in the NSW supreme court against the government agency Infrastructure NSW, alleging it breached its contract and mismanaged the construction of the new Sydney Fish Market on Blackwattle Bay. The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that the amount named in the lawsuit is $250m, which would bring the total bill for the project to more than $1bn.
Construction at Sydney’s new fish market site, last December. The market is expected to be finished this year. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian
In a statement, a spokesperson for Infrastructure NSW said it would be defending the claim, which includes a cross claim against Sydney Fish Market, and:
Given this matter is now before the courts, it is not appropriate to comment any further.
A spokesperson for the market confirmed the company would also be defending the claim. A spokesperson for Multiplex said delivery of the Sydney Fish Market had been a “complex journey” and:
We hope this matter can be resolved quickly.
The company entered into a contract to build the new fish market in 2020. Completion was originally scheduled for last year but has now been pushed back until the end of this year after various setbacks, including the impact of the pandemic, record wet weather, and the collapse of a crane in 2023.
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Updated at 08.30 CEST
TGA recalls more sunscreens over SPF concerns
Catie McLeod
Two more sunscreens are being pulled from shelves for making SPF claims that may be inaccurate.
Earlier today, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) issued a recall for two of Advanced Skin Technology’s mineral sunscreens, both sold under the Aspect brand name.
The products are the latest in a string of mineral-based sunscreens that have been recalled or “paused” by the TGA because of concerns about their efficacy.
Photograph: Ridofranz/Getty Images
The medicines regulator said Advanced Skin Technology was recalling four batches of the Aspect Sun Physical Sun Protection SPF50+ and four batches of the Aspect Sun Tinted Physical SPF50+.
The TGA says the decision “follows preliminary testing evidence indicating that the SPF levels of their products may be lower than what is claimed on their labels”.
The Aspect sunscreens are the latest in a string of mineral-based sunscreens that have been recalled or “paused” due to concerns about their efficacy, including Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen Skinscreen, which an investigation by consumer group Choice found had greatly overstated its SPF rating.
Advanced Skin Technology has been contacted for comment.
You can read more here:
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Updated at 08.07 CEST
Penry Buckley
Investigations into whether police insignia used during Sydney home invasion
Investigators are looking into whether police insignia was used to gain entry to a home after a family were allegedly restrained and assaulted in Sydney’s south-west overnight.
In a statement, NSW Police said officers were called to an address at about 12.15am today in Sunny Place, St Johns Park, after reports of an alleged home invasion.
There they were told that four people – men aged 29 and 21 and women aged 56 and 27 – were at home when up to six men allegedly forced their way in and restrained them. Police allege the men stole jewellery and an amount of Australian currency before leaving the scene in two vehicles.
Police allege the 21-year-old man was assaulted, suffering minor facial injuries. He was treated by paramedics, while the 56-year-old woman was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Acting inspector Benjamin Morgan confirmed that while the alleged offenders were not wearing police uniform, investigators were looking into whether they may have worn “T-shirts or shirts with a police logo on it”. He could not confirm if any weapons were used during the alleged attack, and if it was targeted or opportunistic. He said:
It is a traumatic event for anyone to go through. You’ve seen the CCTV footage that is out there, that would have been scary.
I hope the community can take solace in the fact that the police are out there, we are actively engaging with the community, and out in force to try and prevent further incidents like this occurring.
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Updated at 07.42 CEST
Petra Stock
Rare weather phenomenon could deliver abnormally hot days to Australia’s south-east
A rare rise in stratospheric temperatures over Antarctica could influence weather into summer, with previous events driving hotter and drier conditions for south-east Australia.
Residents defend a property from a bushfire at Hillsville near Taree, in 2019. The rise in stratospheric temperatures that is expected to drive hotter weather this summer was last seen in the black summer bushfires. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
The phenomenon – called sudden stratospheric warming – is extremely unusual in the southern hemisphere. It only previously occurred in 2002 and 2019, the latter contributing to a worsening of the black summer bushfires.
In early September this year, air temperatures 30km above the Southern Ocean and Antarctica began to climb, and are now sitting about 30C warmer than average.
Read the full story here:
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Updated at 07.30 CEST
Caitlin Cassidy
With that, I will pass the blog into the capable hands of Stephanie Convery. Have a great weekend, and happy Grand Final Day eve for all those who celebrate.
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Updated at 07.01 CEST
Thunderstorm asthma warning issued in New South Wales
NSW Health has issued a thunderstorm asthma warning as the weather continues to warm up across the state.
The peak risk period in NSW is between October and December.
Senior staff specialist in allergy and clinical immunology, Prof Connie Katelaris, said specific thunderstorm conditions related to moisture and airflow could increase people’s exposure to high concentrations of very small fragments of pollen.
This exposure can trigger symptoms [such as] wheeze, chest tightness, breathing difficulty and cough. Symptoms can escalate very quickly and may become life threatening. Even if you don’t have asthma, pollen is at its highest throughout spring and could spark problems in people with allergies like hay fever or those who have undiagnosed asthma.
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Updated at 06.56 CEST
