| BHP Group is preparing to begin looking for a new chief executive officer in the coming months, my colleague Paul-Alain Hunt reveals in this Bloomberg exclusive. Key lieutenants are already jostling to succeed Mike Henry at the top of the world’s biggest miner, say company insiders, who emphasized that no decision has been made. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to boost defense spending by A$21 billion over five years if his Liberal-National Coalition wins the May 3 election. In a reflection of growing uncertainty in the international arena, Dutton said he’d raise the military budget to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2030.  Peter Dutton, Australia's opposition leader, speaks during the Liberal National Coalition federal election campaign launch in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg Meanwhile, Labor revealed plans to create a critical minerals reserve if it wins the upcoming election as global trade headwinds grow. A reelected Labor government will make an initial investment of A$1.2 billion in the reserve, which is expected to be operational in the second half of next year. Billionaire Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy agreed to an expansion of one of the country’s biggest Chinese-run iron ore projects, the latest step in a decades-long spat with owners Citic. Mineralogy, which owns the legal permits where the Sino Iron project is located, and Citic have been embroiled in a legal dispute. Inflation pioneer New Zealand is under siege, writes Bloomberg Opinion columnist Daniel Moss. New Zealand was the first country to hand its central bank a formal inflation target -- and the independence to pursue it. But now fraying ties between the government and the Reserve Bank likely have broad lessons, Moss writes. | 
