Sasha Barbagat

Hi, Sasha Barbagat with you.

Welcome to The Briefing.

The 2026 federal budget is shaping up to be one of the biggest in recent years when it comes to tax reform.

So just how much can we expect that to impact us?

We break down all the areas we can expect to see changes in tax policy on May 12 after the headlines.

With Helen Smith, it is Thursday, April 23rd.

Yeah, so this is all in the wake of Donald Trump announcing that they will extend the ceasefire.

It was actually due to wrap up this morning, our time, but they are waiting for a unified proposal from Iran before proceeding with any further peace talks.

Now, this all comes amid claims from Iran that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had seized two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz because they were disrupting order and safety.

Now, these captured ships reportedly belong to Greece and Panama, and they appear to be part of a larger convoy that belongs to the world's biggest shipping company, MSC, which had been operating in the Persian Gulf before the conflict began.

Meantime, we've heard from the White House with Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt unwavering when asked about the continuation of the blockade in the Strait.

Yeah, locals in Islamabad have started complaining because they are still in lockdown because a bunch of streets had to be shut down, shops had to be shuttered, all for the safety of the delegates from the US and Iran.

And they are still in lockdown, even though these talks don't have a scheduled date to start yet.

So locals there are complaining about that.

Now, bringing it closer to home, we are starting to see some trickle-down effects of the war in Iran here when it comes to our grocery prices.

We've been warned for weeks, almost months, that we can expect our grocery prices to go up.

And now Coles has increased the cost of its home brand milk prices by up to 20 cents a litre and Woolworths is expected to follow.

So that's the first in possibly a long line of price increases at the supermarket.

So-

the biggest brands in the world.