Melbourne shopping centre placed into lockdown – as it happened

That’s where we’ll wrap up this afternoon. Here’s a snippet of what happened today:

We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.

Three people treated for anxiety symptoms at Northland shopping centre

Ambulance Victoria has confirmed three people were treated for anxiety symptoms at Northland shopping centre after it was placed into lockdown.

As mentioned by one person at the centre earlier, there was “chaos” and “confusion” shortly after a fight broke out, which police alleged involved around ten people, some carrying knives.

Ambulance officers took care of the three people, offering assurance, before family members arrived to take further care of them.

Two people have been arrested after a fight allegedly involving around 10 people at a major shopping centre in Melbourne, which left one person hospitalised with serious injuries.

In a statement, Victoria police said the two men were being interviewed by officers.

A police spokesperson said officers were called to the shopping centre around 2.30pm “following reports of opposing groups fighting, some armed with knives”.

Images posted online show one man carrying a large blade. One person at the shopping centre reported “chaos”, with people running and telling each other someone had a machete.

Victoria police are now investigating the fight:

The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated but it is believed the incident was targeted and parties are believed to be known to each other.

Additionally, investigators are also keen to speak with anyone in the area at the time and who may have witnessed the altercation.

Northland shopping centre remained locked down at 4pm.

Victoria police has urged “anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam footage or any other information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au”.

Man in hospital after fight at Northland shopping centre

A man in his 20s has been taken to Royal Melbourne hospital in a serious but stable condition with “upper body injuries” after a brawl at Northland shopping centre.

The hospitalisation was confirmed by Ambulance Victoria, which was called to respond to reports of multiple people fighting at the busy shopping centre at 2.30pm.

The shopping centre was placed into lockdown a short time later.

Vision uploaded by people at Northland shopping centre to social media shows a man being restrained by police officers and escorted from the building in handcuffs.

Victoria police are yet to confirm any arrests but will provide further information soon.

Michael Pavlou, who was at Northland shopping centre this afternoon with his three-year old son, has described scenes of “panic” and “confusion”.

The shopping centre has been shut down as police respond to reports of multiple people fighting. Pavlou was able to leave the shopping centre before it shut down:

As I walked out of Coles, I saw a group of people running. They looked young. At first, I thought they may have stolen something. But then I noticed more people running, and then everyone running.

As we started running I turned to the person next to me and said ‘what’s going on?’. They said, ‘someone has got a machete’.

We ran out the exit. I had my son in the trolley with our groceries.

Pavlou said he did not see the incident that sparked the chaos. He said people were running through Myer and the food court.

When you see that many people running in a shopping centre, it’s not good. You don’t want to stick around and see what’s happening.

There was confusion. There was definitely panic. Everyone was trying to get out. The car park became gridlock.

After getting out, we started hearing sirens and a helicopter.

A popular Melbourne shopping centre has been placed into lockdown as police respond to reports of numerous people fighting.

Images posted on social media show an altercation between three men at Northland shopping centre in Preston, with one brandishing a large blade or machete.

Victoria police did not comment on the image or the blade, but issued this statement:

Police are responding to reports of numerous people fighting at a shopping centre on Murray Road in Preston this afternoon.

The shopping centre has been locked down while the incident is ongoing.

Customers at the shopping centre have taken shelter inside stores, which have closed their doors while police respond to the incident.

Police said they would provide further information when more facts are established.

Chalmers approaching super tax the wrong way, economist warns

Independent economist Saul Eslake has little sympathy for small businesses and farms that say they may be forced to move money out of their superannuation accounts to avoid a future tax increase, according to AAP.

The federal government is hoping to pass a bill to impose a 15% tax on super balances higher than $3m, which would affect about one in every 200 savers, according to the Australia Institute.

“That’s not what bloody super is for,” Eslake said:

Super has become a vehicle for rich people to avoid tax and it’s become a subsidy for bequests, not retirement income. I support the government’s objective … however, I think the government is going about it the wrong way.

The bill would tax unrealised gains, which is the growth in the value of an investment before it is sold.

Mr Eslake said it was “unfair”, as it means people would be taxed even if they had not earned income.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, insists calculating unrealised gains is not unique and says no one has proposed a better way of making this calculation after almost three years of consultation.

No more rain expected today but some flood warnings still in place

Jonathan How, from the Bureau of Meteorology, has just spoken to ABC News confirming (at least temporary) reprieve for New South Wales with the rain having eased.

We’re not expecting any more rainfall today, but there are still a number of minor moderate flood warnings, just very isolated flooding about the Hunter and the mid-north coast.

So reminding people to keep an eye on those river levels [that] still remain quite high in some areas; just wanting people to keep across those latest warnings.

We will see some showers developing across New South Wales on Monday afternoon into Tuesday. Nowhere near the totals that we saw over the last week, but we could see some pooling of water, especially given everything is so sodden and saturated.

Land shortages may affect home building over next five years

Following on from that last post, over the previous decade, Australian inflation has rarely been “just right”.

JP Morgan’s chief economist for Australia and New Zealand, Ben Jarman, warned the monthly inflation indicator could suggest “too much of a good thing” and drop below the target band.

However, quarterly trimmed mean inflation – the RBA’s preferred measure – was more likely to be sticky due to a strong jobs market, which meant core inflation could stay within the bank’s target into 2026, Jarman said.

Rate cuts could lead to a rebound in home construction, Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said, as the Australian Bureau of Statistics prepares to release building approvals data on Friday.

While the sector is already showing signs of improved confidence with home building expected to increase across the next five years, long-term issues such as land shortages pose risks to affordability and reaching national supply targets. Reardon said:

Australia has the capacity to deliver, but it will take a coordinated response from all three tiers of government to overcome these constraints.

Retail trade figures for April are also due on Friday after the RBA flagged consumer spending had been softer than expected in recent months.

This will be the one of the last retail trade releases before the statistics bureau replaces the series with a broader household spending indicator.

– AAP

Price moves to help RBA plot course through uncertainty

The Reserve Bank could use fresh inflation insights to gauge the depth of further rate cuts as global uncertainty threatens Australia’s economic progress, AAP reports.

Consumer price data for April, to be released on Wednesday, will help guide the RBA on future changes after it reduced the cash rate to its lowest level in two years.

The decision showed the central bank was moving in a more dovish direction as Australia’s main inflation measure returned to its target range of two to three per cent, NAB economists Michelle Shi and Gareth Spence said.

The RBA on Tuesday cut the official cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.85%

NAB economists predict another three rate cuts in the second half of 2025, bringing the cash rate to a “broadly neutral” stance of 3.1 % by November.

But US tariff drama and the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s economic actions will continue to loom large over RBA meetings.

High levels of global uncertainty are likely to persist even as trade tensions ease between the US and China, the NAB economists warn.

Unless pushed, the RBA could take a more gradual path towards neutral while watching the inflation data over time.

The Insurance Council of Australia have reported more than 3,600 claims after severe flooding across the Mid North Coast, Hunter and Greater Sydney regions of New South Wales.

They say four in five claims are for personal property, with the remainder commercial and motor claims.

The council wants to remind those affected by recent severe weather that it is OK to begin clean-up without needing to wait for an assessor to visit their property. They say representatives from a range of insurers will be on the ground to meet with affected homeowners and businesses and discuss their personal claim and share advice on the claims process.

CEO Andrew Hall said in a statement:

While clean-up is well and truly underway in many communities, safety is always the number one priority. Flood waters can bring debris and cause electrical damage, so we encourage locals to take extra precaution and follow advice of local authorities.

We’re looking forward to getting to Taree next week and helping people get back on their feet. I encourage any impacted policyholders to come along and speak with your insurer.

We’re also in discussion with the New South Wales Reconstruction Authority about having an insurer presence at local recovery centres across the mid-north Coast. We’ll communicate this information as soon as plans are in place.

Greens leader claims Albanese government ‘gearing up to approve’ North West Shelf gas project

The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, has claimed the Albanese government is “gearing up to approve an absolutely catastrophic gas project”.

As our environment editor Adam Morton reported earlier today, the federal government plans to decide on whether Australia’s biggest-emitting gas development can extend its life until 2070 by the end of the month.

Waters believes a decision has already been made:

Under the cover of the on-again/off-again Coalition drama, Labor is gearing up to approve an absolutely catastrophic gas project. Woodside’s North West Shelf is an untapped climate bomb. This approval would mean supercharged floods, fires and species extinctions.

Here’s a look at the detail behind this:

Decision looms on Australia’s biggest-emitting gas development

A decision is expected this this week from the new environment minister, Murray Watt, on whether Australia’s biggest-emitting gas development can extend its life until 2070.

Watt has confirmed he will make the call before the end of the month (the last day of May being next Saturday), which the Greens say will be his first test on climate in the new portfolio since he took over from Tanya Plibersek.

If you want to know what will he consider in making that decision and what’s at stake, our environment editor Adam Morton has your answers here: