Australia news LIVE:Former foreign minister says Australia should demand Assange release;Omicron wave was twice the size of recorded cases

That's all for today,thanks for reading our live coverage. Here are some of the headlines:

We'll be back early tomorrow morning. Have a good evening.

The ASX 200 has closed in the red for a seventh consecutive session,closing 0.6 per cent lower at 6433.4 points,with energy and mining stocks the biggest drag on the market.

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World markets

The Wrap:ASX falls for seventh straight session as resources stocks decline

Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto both slumped by more than 5 per cent as iron ore prices dropped. But it was Fortescue that posted the biggest fall among the major miners,declining by 8.6 per cent,as the materials sector shed almost 5 per cent during the session.

Energy stocks were the worst-performing sector as oil prices edged lower,with Woodside 4.9 per cent lower and Santos dropping by 6 per cent.

The fall in oil and iron ore prices comes as central banks around the world begin to lift interest rates to tackle inflation,which some investors fear could trigger a recession and limit demand for key commodities.

Read more here.

Here are a few other highlights from the PM's radio interview:

Energy

Economy

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he won't publicly pressure the United States to release Julian Assange,the Australian publisher and activist behind Wikileaks.

The UK on Friday agreed to extradite Assange to the US to face charges under the Espionage Act relating to the leaking and publication of the WikiLeaks cables a decade ago.

“These issues are sometimes,of course,best dealt with diplomatically and I intend to do that. I don't intend to make any further comments. The Attorney-General and Foreign Minister put out a very clear statement,consistent with what I said last year,in the last few days,” Albanese told ABC Radio Melbourne.

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Julian Assange

Australia should demand US release of Assange,says Carr

“I have no intention of conducting the international relations I hold as prime minister according to Andrew Wilkie’s tweets or comments.

“I intend to represent the nation in a way that the nation I think overwhelmingly would expect - and certainly world leaders do.

“I've got no problem with Andrew Wilkie saying whatever he wants to say as a crossbench independent member of parliament. That's up to him,but I have a different responsibility and I intend to conduct myself in an appropriate way.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,while still opposition leader in December,said “enough is enough” and that it was time for Assange to be returned to Australia.

Top Australian swimmers are divided onFINA’s decision to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women’s swimming.

Madeline Groves,a former national champion swimmer who won a butterfly silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games,took exception to former teammate Cate Campbell’s comments and was scathing of FINA’s ruling.

“You’re okay with ostracising an already marginalised group? Real accepting,” the 27-year-old Australian said on social media.

“Shame on everyone that supported this discriminatory and unscientific decision.”

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Opinion

LGBTQ

FINA’s transgender policy correctly balances inclusion and fairness

Earlier,four-time Olympic champion Cate Campbell told FINA’s extraordinary general congress that she supported a restriction on transgender athletes competing in women’s categories and urged people to “listen to the science and experts”.

“Women,who have fought long and hard to be included and seen as equals in sport,can only do so because of the gender category distinction,” Campbell said before delegates voted in favour of the ban.

“To remove that distinction would be to the detriment of female athletes everywhere.”

Read more here.

Former federal MP Gladys Liu has confirmed she has nominated for Liberal Party preselection to contest a Victorian upper house seat,saying she had “fire in my belly” after losing her ultra-marginal seat of Chisholm last month.

Liu said the state opposition needed an experienced team to take on Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party at the November election,and announced she had nominated to represent the Liberal Party in the North-East Metropolitan Region.

“My political career was terminated prematurely due to a massive national swing against the Liberals and the fact that my seat was heavily and unfairly targeted,” Liu said in a statement to The Age.

“I believe I still have a lot to offer. I started as a state candidate in this upper house region and progressed to have a career as an adviser to the then-premiers Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine. I am now coming back with a lot more experience under my belt.”

Read more here.

The “fear of missing out” that characterised so much of the investing landscape over the past two years is disintegrating into another,much simpler emotion:fear itself.

For Nikole Vicente,that meant watching her crypto portfolio plunge about 50 per cent since November,wiping away $US30,000 ($43,250).

The 30-year-old Canadian had been investing in crypto on the side,but when the wellness company where she worked was sold in February she decided to take the opportunity to move exclusively into crypto. She moved to Mexico using her earnings,which came primarily from the DeFi space and alt coins.

Now,she’s pivoted to helping people market their crypto projects on Twitter,and is positioning her portfolio more toward stablecoins and “blue chip” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

“With the recession looming and inflation,everyone has this fear and everyone in the crypto market also reacts to that fear,” she said. “That’s scary when holding on for dear life.”

Read more here.

Bloomberg

Queensland is about to become the most expensive state for rule-breaking motorists.

But while the state government defends its efforts to lower the road toll,there are warnings the fine hike will disproportionately affect those already disadvantaged by poverty and rising cost-of-living pressures.

From July 1,Queensland will have by far the nation’s biggest fines for handling a mobile phone while driving and not wearing a seatbelt.

At the same time,through what the government called its Queensland Road Safety Strategy 2022-31,speeding fines will also skyrocket.

Driving up to 10km/h over the limit will attract a $287 fine,up from $183. For 11-20km/h over the limit,the fine will rise from $275 to $431;for 21-30km/h,$459 to $646;for 31-40km/h,$643 to $1078;and for more than 40km/h,from $1286 to $1653.

Read more here.

The Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed the Senate results for Western Australia,the last state to be declared.

The six successful candidates,in order of election,are:

Earlier today United Australia Party candidate Ralph Babetsnagged Victoria's final spot,beating the Liberal Party's Greg Mirrabella.

The tally of the Senate’s 76 seats is now complete and includes 32 for the Coalition,26 for Labor,12 for the Greens,two for both One Nation and the Jacqui Lambie Network,and one for the United Australia Party and independent David Pocock.

With AAP

Thanks for reading our live news blog today. Here’s a recap of what has been making headlines:

I’m off for the day,Pallavi Singhal will be taking over our live blog for the rest of Monday. Thanks again for your company and hope you have a lovely start to the week.