Australia news live: Taylor says fuel price policy would be funded by tobacco excise cut; Albanese to put AI concerns to Trump

• 6m ago

  Former NSW police officer’s double murder trial to get underway

• 9m ago

  Former top aide to Lachlan Murdoch gets senior diplomatic post in NY

Anthony Albanese launched a formal bid for Australia to serve a two-year term on powerful UN body in 2029 and 2030.

A vote for the spot won’t be held until mid 2028, but lobbying efforts will intensify during the prime minister’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.

The prime minister said Australia’s role on the council would be able to benefit ordinary citizens.

“Engagement with the world matters. It matters because it makes a difference to the cost of living, to inflation, to Australians’ way of life,” he told reporters in New York on Monday, Australian time.

That is why we can’t afford to not be engaged with the world, because it has a direct impact on the quality of life of Australians on a day-to-day basis.

We have an opportunity through this potential seat on the UN Security Council to play a key role in shaping the global issues that really matter to Australians.

Australia has served on the security council five times since the UN was established following World War II – the most recent stint was in 2013 and 2014, where Australia was able to lead a response to the Russian downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Albanese said the role Australia played during that period was evidence of what a spot on the council could achieve.

We do need to stand up to the Middle East conflict. I think there is a role for middle powers to engage, and Australia has done that as we’ve engaged with the war in Ukraine in the coalition of the willing.

The trial of a former NSW police officer accused of murdering two men is set to begin in Sydney.

Beau Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter over the deaths of TV presenter Jesse Baird, 26, and his partner Luke Davies, 29, in February 2024.

His case has faced ongoing delays since charges were laid, but today, the 31-year-old’s trial will finally get underway.

On Monday, a jury will be selected at NSW supreme court on King Street.

Depending on how long the empanelment process takes the court may hear the crown’s opening statement in the afternoon.

Justice Natalie Adams will preside over the trial, which is slated to go for two to three months and include a brief of evidence with more than 200 witnesses.

The case has received significant media attention and Lamarre-Condon’s trial is also expected to attract substantial public interest.

Anthony Albanese has named former News Corp executive Siobhan McKenna as Australia’s next consul-general in New York.

The prime minister announced her appointment while launching Australia’s bid for a seat on the United Nation’s security council in New York on Sunday. She will replace Heather Ridout, formerly chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, following the expiry of her four-year term in December.

McKenna, the chair of Australia Post, has also chaired the National Broadband Network in addition to her time as CEO of broadcasting at News Corp. The prime minister said McKenna would “bring a great deal of financial and economic capacity to the role”.

When reporters asked about McKenna’s time at Murdoch press – describing her as “Lachlan Murdoch’s probably closest aide for a long, long time” – and whether the prime minister had sought assurances she wouldn’t “continue to lobby or deal with Mr Murdoch in advancing business interests”, he said:

Siobhan McKenna is a professional, and she will do an outstanding job representing Australia and the Australian government here in New York. And the fact that she has experience in both the private sector and the public sector is a very good thing. I’m someone who supports people being appointed on merit. Siobhan McKenna has been appointed on merit.

Good morning and welcome to Guardian Australia’s live news coverage for Monday.

Jim Chalmers will release the latest intergenerational report, while overseas Anthony Albanese has appointed a former Murdoch executive to a top diplomatic post.