Australia's Northern Territory parliament has passed a 'safe air' bill creating a scheme to monitor and publicly report toxic air pollutants around Darwin Harbour. The law follows separate pollution scandals involving energy companies Inpex and Santos, both of which operate major gas facilities in the harbour precinct.

Rising petrol prices have pushed New Zealand's headline inflation higher ahead of the Reserve Bank's next policy review. Economists widely expect the central bank to raise the official cash rate by 25 basis points next week, even though the latest price pressure stems mainly from fuel costs rather than broader demand.

New Zealand automation firm Scott Technology lifted revenue 7 percent to post a record annual result.

Taiwan closed schools and grounded hundreds of flights as Typhoon Champi bore down on the island.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has announced a $1.9 billion investment in a bauxite project in the state of Queensland. The company is presenting the move as part of an effort to meet demand across the global aluminium supply chain.

Satellite monitoring has detected large methane plumes above one of Australia's biggest gas complexes. The finding triggered a United Nations alert and prompted state authorities to open an inquiry into the leak.