Small business revolt targets Chalmers over tax and surcharge changes Small business groups are escalating a Canberra-focused campaign accusing the Albanese government and Treasurer Jim Chalmers of treating them like an “ATM”, citing proposed trust tax changes, card surcharge reforms and the compounding impact of higher interest rates. The pushback matters politically because it lands amid acute cost-of-living pressure and risks turning small business—often a swing constituency—into an organised, high-volume critic of Labor’s economic agenda. Covered by: Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail, Herald Sun. Victoria election fight heats up: Wilson’s surgery pledge and polling momentum Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson is under scrutiny over a promise to fund 25,000 extra elective surgeries by winding up Breakthrough Victoria, with The Age reporting an $880m hole in the Coalition’s costings assumptions. At the same time, polling suggests the Coali

Channel Seven has continued its bid to sign former Today Show host Sarah Abo, according to The Australian’s Media Diary. Media Diary’s Steve Jackson revealed last night that Seven’s national news boss, Ray Kuka, met Abo last week. Jackson said it was “increasingly likely” she would succeed Seven News weekday presenter Peter Mitchell “or that she will at least end up co-hosting alongside Mitchell in the new year”. Kuka’s meeting with Abo comes as Jackson noted he’d also reportedly told Weekend anchor Mike Amor that he was “‘not in line to succeed Peter Mitchell’ as the station’s lead newsreader any time soon”. It was later noted that Herald Sun reporter Seb Costello had reported Amor reportedly looked downcast following his conversation with Kuka.  Abo’s departure from Nine was announced last month. Jackson also cited network sources saying that, although Nine will pay Abo until the end

Technology policy-focused masthead InnovationAus has itself a new Canberra-based reporter in Lanie Tindale.  Tindale told Influencing she had babysat for publisher Corrie McLeod and editorial director James Riley a few years ago. The InnovationAus role, she said, was the first job she saw on Seek after returning from a trip to Africa. “I texted James and went through the interview process. I was very fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time.”  Tindale joined the masthead a couple of weeks ago, after a brief career break following five years at The Canberra Times. “It's great working with the team they are, and it's very lovely and very smart and knowledgeable, so I learn a lot.”  Her role will focus on the “intersection of industry, policy and government within the tech space.” A new area of journalism for her, Tindale says her first focus was to really learn about the sector.  “I'm interest

An open drain can trouble a neighbourhood for years and attract little coverage. A video of someone falling into one can draw thousands of views. According to journalists who spoke to Influencing, that gap is shaping editorial decisions in Tamil Nadu. They described pressure from mobile-first audiences and real-time traffic data that favours crime, cinema and controversy. Public-interest and policy reporting gets fewer resources and fewer follow-ups. Praveen Kumar, senior correspondent at Pudhiya Thalaimurai, traces the pressure to a change in how people consume news. "I think the biggest change in news consumption is the shift from television and newspapers to mobile platforms. Even when a television is running in a household, people are often consuming news individually through their phones. Reels, digital cards and short-form videos have become important ways of consuming information, and this has increased the pressure on newsrooms to compete for attention and generate pa

Friday, 9 October 2026 #1  ·  Times Nation  ·  Investigative / In-depth feature Cancer drug prices may fall as govt plans 30% trade margin cap By Rupali Mukherjee   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page Page 21 (continued on Page 15) The government has decided to cap trade margins at 30% of MRP for all cancer drugs — scheduled, non-scheduled, branded, generic, domestic and patented. The move, affecting a market valued at approximately Rs 12,500 crore covering 225 drugs and 500 formulations, could slash MRPs by 20-70% and generate annual savings of Rs 2,500 crore. An NPPA analysis cited in the report found that non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs carry an average trade mark-up of approximately 170%, with some cases reaching 700%. Mukherjee obtained minutes of the NPPA meeting and exclusive official data on mark-up percentages, giving this story original documentary evidence rather than a press-release summ

Labor revolt over ATO credit card ban squeezes small business Treasurer Jim Chalmers is facing internal Labor dissent and intensifying small business backlash over the ATO’s move to stop accepting credit card payments, with MPs warning of a cash-flow “credit crunch” for operators already under pressure. The story matters because it pits cost-of-living politics against tax administration settings, and risks forcing the government into a public backdown or policy redesign. Covered by: Daily Telegraph, The Australian, Australian Financial Review, Herald Sun. $44bn Firmus IPO in freefall as investors walk away Firmus Technologies’ blockbuster float is wobbling amid evaporating demand, warnings from bankers, and growing scepticism about its valuation and business model—turning the deal into a broader test of market appetite for AI/data-centre narratives. With major partners reportedly falling away and short-sellers circling, the episode is significant for co

Decisive Publishing has launched AI Infra, a new masthead focused on the infrastructure surrounding AI data centres. Owner and publisher Grahame Lynch told Influencing that the title grew out of coverage at sister publication CommsDay, where the team "were increasingly drilling into the issues around data centres, such as power and water, and it was way too divergent from the core mission of CommsDay to serve telcos." The target audience is the ecosystem around hyperscale and AI data centres, including planning bodies, developers and energy companies, he said. Lynch explained that PR’s could pitch the title via email and phone to Lynch. “PRs should just see it as something CommsDay-adjacent”.  AI Infra will follow the same format as CommsDay, with a daily subscription email PDF and a weekly roundup, Lynch confirmed. It formally launched in that format last Monday, after running in the CommsDay newsletter for several weeks. Lynch said Decisive Pu