Ai Group says businesses could be forced to choose between cutting staff, production, making customers pay more; Treasurer Jim Chalmers not prepared to pull domestic gas supply trigger at this point. Follow updates here.
Political crisis in Samoa deepens as PM sworn in
‘DEMOCRACY MUST PREVAIL’: The head of state had suspended a parliamentary hearing to swear in elected members, despite a ruling from the Supreme Court
Reuters, SYDNEY and CANBERRA
Samoa’s political crisis yesterday intensified as the leader of the opposition party held a ceremony to form a government outside a locked parliament after the incumbent prime minister refused to cede power.
A series of twists and turns since an election last month gave the FAST opposition party a one-seat parliamentary majority has culminated in a power struggle between the courts and the head of state in the Pacific nation, a supporter of China in the past few years.
Samoa Supreme Court overturns suspension of Parliament stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Samoan transfer of power approved
SIX-WEEK STANDOFF: A court ruling means opposition leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa is expected to be installed as the nation’s first female prime minister on Monday
AFP, APIA
The Samoan Court of Appeal yesterday rejected a last-minute bid to prevent the opposition from taking power, paving the way for the Pacific nation’s first change of government in almost 40 years.
The ruling means parliament can sit on Monday, when the opposition FAST party’s leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa is expected to be installed as Samoa’s first female prime minister.
“In God’s name, let change begin! Time to get to work for our people!” FAST wrote on Facebook after the decision.