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The man in the online interview claiming to be American Aaron Pierson had calmly described how his IT prowess could help the Australian start-up flourish. Yet the first clue he was not merely a prospective employee but a secret agent for the North Korean regime was his struggle to describe where he had allegedly lived in New York. In fact, the job interview was being hosted by one of The Age’s journalists, posing as a cyber and AI industry recruiter.

The subterfuge was an attempt to catch the North Korean regime in the act at a time when Australia’s spy chief, Mike Burgess, warns the country is firmly in the sights of a thousands-strong North Korean army of agents posing as remote IT workers. Burgess told The Age that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has identified undercover operatives targeting Australian firms, hoping to funnel salaries back to fund Kim Jong-un’s weapons programs. The UN believes the global operation nets North Korea $800 million a year.

Mohan Koo, the founder of cybersecurity company DTEX, said Australian firms were already compromised. “I would say, dozens [of companies] right now is a pretty safe bet, but this can quite quickly explode,” he said, pointing to the experience of the US, where firms have unwittingly hired North Korean agents as remote IT workers for a decade. Law enforcement sources confirmed to The Age that major banks, including NAB, have been infiltrated, leading Burgess and Koo to urge corporate Australia to overhaul its recruitment processes.

• Read Nick McKenzie and Garry McNabb’s report

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Households have been warned that their weekly grocery bill could soon soar if the federal government fails to slice trucking industry taxes. Ahead of a national cabinet meeting this morning that will be dominated by debate over how to conserve the nation’s liquid fuel supplies, business leaders urged the government to target the transport system to ensure price pressures do not spread into supermarket aisles.

With diesel prices surging past $3 a litre in major cities, transport operators are struggling to absorb rising costs. The nation’s peak chambers of commerce have presented the government with a plan aimed at stabilising supply chains, including by temporarily reducing the heavy vehicle road user charge – currently 32.4¢ per litre of fuel used. The charge raises about $2.5 billion for the federal budget.

Labor minister Murray Watt said yesterday that fuel rationing was “not on our agenda at this point in time” and urged Australians to “think about your neighbour” instead of hoarding fuel. Amid fears the war against Iran will expand further, oil prices rose sharply at the weekend to their highest level since mid-2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite localised shortages, the federal government insists fuel supply remains under control with more expected to be shipped into Australia within the next week.

• Read Rob Harris and Shane Wright’s report

Related coverage

• Live updates: Follow events in the Middle East as they unfold on our live blog.
• Escalation risks: As diplomats meet in Pakistan, the US, Iran and Yemen’s Houthis are preparing for more fighting.
• Survey: Australians were worried about growing national poverty even before the war in Iran, new data shows.
• Analysis: We should not overlook the war’s impact on everyday Iranians, writes Europe correspondent David Crowe.
• Opinion: Fear − not confusion or anxiety − is the rational emotion of our time, writes Sean Kelly.
• Opinion: Trump’s candour exposes him – and Israel, like Russia, plays him for a sucker, writes George Brandis.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is facing internal pressure to use the May 12 budget to give more cash to the states and territories so they can ramp up their fight against the illegal tobacco trade, amid signs a near-decade-long collapse of the federal government cigarette excise is easing. The Age can reveal Chalmers is being pressed to supply up to $300 million in extra support while the legal tobacco trade is calling for a cut in excise levels.

Reducing tax would reduce the nation’s inflation rate while undermining the organised crime-dominated illegal trade, the tobacco industry argues. Tobacco excise, which as recently as 2020 was the federal government’s fourth-largest tax source, has collapsed over the past decade. By 2029, an estimated $65 billion in excise will have been lost even in the face of tougher border controls and large increases in the tax rates on cigarettes.

Despite some success from laws in states such as Queensland that allow officials to shutter outlets for 90 days without a court order, Labor acknowledges a recovery in legal tobacco will be an ongoing battle. While the 2025-26 federal budget allocated almost $160 million to state-led illicit tobacco programs, government ministers are now pushing Chalmers to nearly double that amount. It comes as Melbourne’s north-west becomes the latest battleground in the tobacco wars, with one suburb hit by six arson attacks and shootings in two months.

• Read Shane Wright’s report

More federal politics coverage

• AEC: To counter misinformation, the electoral commission will mount an education blitz ahead of the Farrer byelection.
• Senate: Nationals leader Matt Canavan has been placed below a Liberal moderate on the Queensland LNP’s ticket.
• Analysis: Hastie’s truth bombs on tax and war will rattle the Liberal Party, writes Paul Sakkal.

🎧 Morning Edition podcast: Exploring the link between disasters and dementia

After Brian and Glenys Mulcahy lost their home of more than 50 years in a northern Victoria flood in 2022, they didn’t suspect the worst was still to come. Previously an active man, Brian slid into listlessness and was later sent to a mental health facility. Today, regional editor Benjamin Preiss on the link between dementia and natural disasters.

Listen on: Apple | Spotify

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Controversial state MP Moira Deeming has been dumped from the Liberal Party’s upper house ticket, as One Nation circles.

Amid warnings of “pervasive” exploitation, an audit has found $300,000 in wages owed to migrant workers in regional areas.

The AFL has secured Kylie Minogue to perform at the MCG for this year’s grand final, which will remain in its 2.30pm time slot.

ABC staff are considering a second strike over pay and working conditions, with a walk-off during the federal budget one option.

James Tolkan, the actor who brought to life authority figures in films such as Back to the Future and Top Gun, has died aged 94.

Across cities and rural areas in the US, millions of people joined rallies against the Trump administration over the weekend.

For the second time in weeks, Bali is reeling from the barbaric murder of a foreigner by suspected international enforcers.

Sports programs that feature soccer and volleyball are being used as a bridge for connection for young people in suburbs such as Broadmeadows, pictured. They also aim to reduce violence and anti-social behaviour in schools. Photo: Chris Hopkins

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With Easter days away, chocolate is on the menu. Many of us believe dark chocolate is healthier − but that isn’t necessarily true. To help ease your conscience, dietitian Susie Burrell has run the rule over what to look out for when selecting chocolates and given her recommendations on the healthier options.

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