🗞️ No deal

Good morning. JD Vance flew to Pakistan, spent 21 hours negotiating with Iran, and returned with nothing but air miles.

Iran won’t drop its nuclear ambitions and the US won’t negotiate without that commitment, but Trump said he didn’t mind the failed talks.

Diplomacy seems to be going great.

All the headlines and more below...

NATIONAL FUEL PRICES (Day-on-Day Change)

AI TRAFFIC CAMERAS JUST MADE NSW $26M MORE IN FINES SINCE THEY LAUNCHED

Transport for NSW expects to collect $92.6M in fines this financial year, up 38% since 2019 when the state became the first to roll out AI-powered cameras that automatically detect speeding, phone use and seatbelt breaches. Queensland is tracking toward $959M by 2026-27. Victoria will crack $1B by 2028-29.

Western Australia issued 31,800 fines worth $13M in the first month after AI cameras went live in late 2025. But the same offence carries wildly different penalties by state. Driving 10km/h over the limit costs $200 in WA but $560 and a three-month suspension in Victoria. Using your phone costs $1,251 in Queensland and $423 in NSW.

Road fatalities haven't declined consistently despite the surge in fines. Cameras still can't catch drunk drivers or track down someone doing 50km/h over the limit.

Slowing people down and fining people aren't the same thing.

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

• The WA government has announced plans to develop a state-controlled strategic fuel reserve holding millions of litres of diesel exclusively for West Australians to protect critical industries. LINK

• Australian homebuyers are retreating from auctions as economic stress weakens demand. LINK

• Australian states are increasing their reliance on AI-powered traffic fines to collect revenue, affecting some states more significantly than others. LINK

• Airfares and petrol costs are set to remain elevated for years as futures markets price crude oil US$6.50 per barrel higher by 2028, with aviation fuel reaching US$209. LINK

• Nearly half of Australian businesses are reporting significant or severe impacts from Middle East-driven fuel price shocks as households spend 53% more on weekly fuel and cut travel and accommodation. LINK

• Australian superannuation funds have suffered their worst monthly losses since September 2022, with key investment options falling an average 3.2% in March as equity-heavy portfolios were hit. LINK

SHEIN HIT $1.53B IN AUSTRALIAN SALES AND PAID LESS TAX THAN ANY MAJOR RETAILER HERE

Shein pulled in $1.53B in Australian sales last year, up 24% on 2024 and more than double what it turned over in 2023. It's now bigger than Peter Alexander and Smiggle combined, triple the size of Nick Scali and double Lovisa's entire Australian operation.

Shein and Temu hold 3% and 5% of the Australian online market. They’re expected to grow faster than Amazon over the next 2 years, helped by a 160% jump in Shein's monthly ad spend. The Chinese duo are widely blamed for Wesfarmers shutting down Catch in 2025.

Retailers with store networks pay corporate, payroll and property taxes that offshore e-commerce platforms largely avoid. They also face trading hour restrictions. Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott: "Some large, foreign e-commerce retailers benefit from Australia's current tax and regulatory settings, putting local retailers at a disadvantage."

COMPANY NEWS

• Qantas has taken delivery of its first specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR for Project Sunrise as it prepares record 23 hour test flights for non-stop Sydney-New York and Sydney-London routes. LINK

• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has signed 7-year Infosys and 6-year Genpact deals targeting $65-75M annual expense benefits by FY28 as quarterly cash earnings rose to $137.9M. LINK

• Life360 has cut an undisclosed but reportedly small number of staff as chief executive Lauren Antonoff reshapes the 547-employee app developer into an AI-native organisation. LINK

• Shein has rapidly grown its Australian business since 2022, with sales rising to $1.53B and profit reaching $19M in 2025, intensifying pressure on local retailers. LINK

• Atlassian has seen its valuation slump to US$15.6B as Anthropic’s Claude Managed Agents launch deepens AI-related concerns, cutting each co-founder’s stake from nearly US$11B to US$2.8B. LINK

• MCoBeauty is facing 2 intellectual property lawsuits in the US from Sol de Janeiro and Glow Recipe as its low-cost “dupe” products closely resemble blockbuster beauty items. LINK

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Editor’s Pick: Anthropic has limited the release of its new Claude Mythos model over hacking concerns.

Draft Pick: Gout Gout broke the national 200m record with a historic sub-20 run in the Australian Athletics Championships.

Odd Pick: Robot umpires have arrived in the MLB and they’re making baseball players shrink.

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