Australia election 2025 live: Dutton avoids directly answering question on voluntary redundancies plan for public service

During this morning’s breakfast, Peter Dutton said he doesn’t “carry a candle” for nuclear before outlining why he backs it anyway. The opposition leader said he wants to achieve three things but only lists two before his answer is cut off by the host. Regardless, the points are: It’s the lowest-cost energy “because it’s a significant input cost in a country with an abundance of natural resource that surely we can have some downward pressure on in terms of pricing”; and It’s a reliable energy source because “you can’t manufacture if you’ve got intermittent power”. Dutton says: It’s about how we deliver the most efficient process and system. And I look at the top 20 economies in the world, Australia is down the tide. And why would we be swimming against that tide when we can provide support to renewable projects? We’re not against renewables – they are an important part for this. But I also think there’s a social licence issue here for people who live 20, 30, 40 kilometres from here. Asked during the press conference whether saying that he doesn’t carry a candle for nuclear means he could leave the door open to abandoning it … Dutton says: We’re thoroughly committed to our policy, and I believe – again – it’s one of those options that Australians have, to go with a sensible, scientifically based, economically responsible model. Dutton brushes off voluntary redundancies query – but questions remain Asked again near the end as to how much money has the Coalition set aside to pay for voluntary redundancies for their public service policy, Dutton says: I’ve already dealt with that. And moves on. But in fact, earlier when the same question was asked Dutton evaded it, and wouldn’t confirm whether voluntary redundancies would be used (as James Paterson had said this morning). So it wasn’t quite dealt with, and might have left us with more questions than before the press conference. Dutton expands on claim Biden initially did not want to sign Aukus deal Dutton is asked about his claim former US President Joe Biden initially “didn’t want” to sign the Aukus agreement – a claim he made at the breakfast this morning. Dutton says Biden’s concern was related to his “longstanding and consistent view” in relation to non-proliferation. He’s had that his whole career. And to his credit, he was consistent in his views and his position. So that was the hesitation … But ultimately, the United States is a very important security partner with Australia He then says he has “huge concerns” about Aukus under Anthony Albanese. Pushed further later on in the presser as to what those concerns are, he cites Labor’s defence spending, claiming they are cutting $80bn out of the defence budget. They have cannibalised army and navy and air force to pay for the initial parts of Aukus. Whilst they’ll tell you that they’re committed to it, they haven’t put the funding into it. Labor has said they have increased funding for defence by $50bn over the next 10 years, which will take defence spending from around 2% of GDP to over 2.3% of GDP. Dutton praises AFP after alleged terror plot on his house foiled Dutton has addressed reports in The Australian newspaper of an alleged terror plot on his house. The paper reports a 16-year old was arrested and charged in August after a joint counter-terrorism investigation by federal and Queensland police. Dutton says more generally, that the police have kept him safe. I’m incredibly grateful to the AFP that my family are kept safe. I’ve never felt unsafe one day in this job, particularly with the protection from the AFP. It hasn’t stopped me from doing anything, and it won’t on this campaign. Asked whether the alleged plot raises concerns about radicalisation of youth online, Dutton says he’s consistently tried to increase safety online for children. I’ve been, again, I think consistent in my comments about trying to keep, particularly, young adults and children safe online… as a society, as a community, we should be doing everything we can to take down hate comments and all of that which might inspire or incite violence. David Goode questioned on if he lives in the electorate where he is running The Liberal candidate for Hasluck, David Goode, is asked where he actually lives, and whether it’s in the electorate he’s running from. The question seems to grind his gears a little, because he offers what can only be described as a very long and agitated answer to the journo. He says he doesn’t live in the electorate, but that’s because it’s moved a lot. I don’t currently live in the electorate, but the electorate boundaries keep changing. I was in the electorate for over 10 years but the boundaries changed. My house keeps changing electorates despite not moving. If you haven’t noticed, the roads get jammed an awful lot, the congestion’s heavy. To be fair, the ABC says the seat of Hasluck now only covers a quarter of its former area. Dutton’s being asked about James Paterson’s comments this morning that voluntary redundancies have “always” been a part of the Coalition’s public service plan. The plan, to shrink the sector by 41,000 people over five years, didn’t initially mention voluntary redundancies, but Dutton had promised there would be no “forced” redundancies. Asked a couple of times how much the redundancies will cost, or how many there will be, Dutton avoids the questions. We have spoken about that a lot. (Spoiler: voluntary redundancies have not been spoken about “a lot”) He then goes to his point about taxpayers paying more under Labor, and that taxpayers want their money to be spent “efficiently”. He then says: We looked [at] where we can have an employment freeze and the natural attrition. That helps us achieve the 41,000. It allows us to invest into important areas… Dutton says he “condemns” the homophobic banner targeting Labor MP Julian Hill in Melbourne. Henry Belot and Josh Taylor have the story, which you can read here: Dutton says families are “off limits”. I’ve seen the image, I condemn them. Our families are off-limits. I thought it was disgraceful and that’s the response I would give. Dutton pitches himself as ‘the best friend that WA will ever have’ After attending the breakfast this morning, Peter Dutton is now fronting up to reporters, and again he’s zeroing in on winning over the mining sector. (That means he’s in high vis – of course.) He’s pitching himself as “the best friend that WA will ever have”, promising more mining and gas projects. Anthony Albanese has proven he’s sided with the Greens in Sydney and Melbourne, and he’s hung people of Western Australia out to dry. That’s what happened over the course of the last three years. We want to see more projects coming online. We want to make sure that we can see the growth opportunities Man dies after boating incident in southern Tasmania Moving away from politics for a moment: A man has died after a boating incident in southern Tasmania this morning. Around 8.45am, a boat with two men on board experienced engine failure and was struck by large waves. One man was able to return to safely to the shore. He was taken to the Royal Hobart hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The Westpac rescue helicopter, police and civilian vessels searched the area for the missing man, who was located along with the overturned boat about 9.40am, Tasmania police said. Our thoughts are with the man’s loved ones. A report will be prepared for the coroner. Psychiatrists matter won’t be resolved until mid year The doctor’s union will not take any further strike action in NSW, allowing the separate dispute over the state’s public sector psychiatrists’ pay to continue to be heard in the Industrial Relations Commission, a court has heard. After three days of industrial action organised by the doctor’s union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (Asmof), ended at 10pm last night, Asmof’s council has voted to comply with the IRC’s orders not to take any industrial action for three months. The union is currently in negotiations with NSW Health over the pay of the state’s junior and senior doctors. Asmof’s lawyer, Luke Forsyth, tendered an affidavit in the IRC court in Sydney this morning from the union’s executive director, Andrew Holland, that the union would comply with the commission’s undertaking and not take further strike action. The union’s decision to proceed with strike action initially in defiance of the order saw hearings delayed in a separate matter in which Amof is representing the state’s psychiatrists who are seeking a special levy to increase their pay by 25% to stem the flow of specialist doctors leaving the public system. In the directions hearing this morning in the psychiatrists matter, Justice Chin said in light of Asmof’s undertaking the commission was “in a position to to program this matter for finalisation”. The expert evidence in the psychiatrists matter will be heard on 7 May, and closing submissions will be heard on 19 June. As mass resignations of psychiatrists occurred at the beginning of the year, the state government had sought an expedited arbitration from 17 to 21 March. Those hearings were postponed early on 20 March due to NSW Health’s objections to Asmof’s expert evidence. The postponed hearing dates were then further delayed due to the union’s aforementioned industrial action. Many psychiatrists had transitioned to visiting medical officer contracts, taken leave without pay, or deferred their resignations awaiting the outcome of the IRC proceedings, which will not be known until after closing submissions are heard on June 19. Albanese says ‘nonsensical’ Dutton plan to axe vehicle efficiency standard fines won’t lower fuel costs As we posted on the blog earlier, Anthony Albanese has said Peter Dutton’s promise to axe fines for car companies in breach of vehicle efficiency standards is a “nonsensical” position from an opposition whose main campaign pitch is to lower fuel costs. You can now read the full story on this from Dan Jervis-Bardy, below: Acting NT chief minister says Territorians left ‘in limbo’ by Labor over Port of Darwin The acting chief minister of the Northern Territory, Gerard Maley, says the federal government has left Territorians “in limbo” about its plans for the Port of Darin. Visiting Darwin today, Anthony Albanese said the government was “prepared to use compulsory acquisition powers” to get the Port of Darwin back in Australian hands, but he said there were interested parties the government was negotiating with. Maley said in a statement that the PM “was again non-committal” about federal Labor’s plans for the port if it won the election. For weeks, Mr Albanese and [Solomon MP Luke] Gosling have talked a big game on the future of Darwin Port, a critically important strategic asset, yet have delivered no certainty for the port, its workers and the community. Today was the perfect day for them to clear the air but all we heard was more spin. Maley said that in recent weeks, as the landowner of the port, the NT government “has heard nothing from the Albanese government about their plans”. A Dutton Coalition government, if elected, has detailed how it will bring Darwin Port back into Australian hands. It is time for Anthony Albanese and Luke Gosling to put up or shut up. New Zealand simplifies visa rules for travellers from Pacific island countries In some news from across the ditch, and via AAP: Travellers from Pacific island nations will find it easier to travel to New Zealand after changes to visa rules. Movement from much of the Pacific to either Australia or New Zealand is expensive and onerous, with most citizens of most countries required to apply for visitor visas. NZ today announced changes that will make travel easier: waiving visa requirements for nationals of Pacific Islands Forum member countries who already have Australian visas, and extension of visitor visas from 12 to 24 months. The changes fall short of the holy grail for Pacific Islanders – visa-free travel of the sort that Australians and New Zealanders benefit from when they travel through much of the developed world. However, this remains a possibility. The NZ government is reviewing its visa settings with the Pacific, which could lead to more significant changes to visa settings. Anthony Albanese was asked about the prospect of visa-free travel for Pacific nations last year at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders summit, saying leaders hadn’t asked him for it. People haven’t raised visa arrangements, and we don’t have any plans to change the existing arrangements. An image of Tanya Plibersek is shown on the screen and Peter Dutton responds with one word: “greenie”. An image of US vice-president JD Vance is next. Dutton says he was “disgusted” by the scenes coming out of the White House when Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scolded by Vance and Donald Trump. Finally, he’s shown a picture of Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers and asked to respond with one word about what he would do if he was stuck on an island with them. “Swim.” One word responses to images are often a favourite of the political interview genre and for good reason. On stage, Peter Dutton is asked to say one word to a series of pictures flashed up on the screen. The first image is one of Gina Rinehart and Elon Musk. Dutton breaks the rules, answering the mining mogul has “employed many Australians, pays lots of taxes on it. I have respect for anybody who does that”. The second image is former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull who once infamously labelled Dutton a “thug”. Dutton remarks the image is “dark and shadowy” adding he isn’t easily scared of ghosts. The Australian sharemarket shed nearly $60bn in value in early trading on Friday, losing half its gains from the previous day as investors come to terms with a trade war between the US and China after Donald Trump’s volatile policy shifts. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell almost 2.4% to an early low of 7,524 points before recovering some ground, as Australian traders responded to their US counterparts’ sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Health technology company CSL lost more than $6bn in market capitalisation, after Trump threatened to remove tariff exemptions for Australian pharmaceutical products. Gas producers Woodside and Beach Energy slid and all four major banks lost more than 3% from their share price. Trade war concerns have weighed on miners Rio Tinto, BHP and Mineral Resources, each facing losses but not falling as far as the lows plumbed earlier this week. But goldminers have continued to recover value and were among the biggest winners on Friday morning. Australia’s gold exports have so far been exempted from US tariffs. Dutton ready to deal with ‘slings and arrows’ of outrageous fortune Peter Dutton is joined on stage by the West Australian’s chief reporter Ben Harvey. In his first responses, he says the job as opposition leader is “pretty easy” compared with some of his previous roles. Dutton also makes another little jab at the newspaper’s editor, Chris Dore, who delivered a somewhat odd welcoming speech earlier. He says: I’ve seen some things in my life that make this job pretty easy, regardless of what comes at you. If you know what you believe in, if you know what you stand up for, if you’re prepared to fight for and defend your values, then you know that makes a fairly easy day at work. You deal with all the slings and arrows and derogatory comments and, you know, editors trying to be funny and not succeeding and all of that. Australian stocks follow US market to open more than 2% lower Global markets are still shaky with the ASX down more than 2% at the opening this morning. Overnight, the US S&P500 tumbled 3.4% and the Dow was down 2.5%, after a White House clarification that noted total tariffs on China had been raised by 145%, not 125%, since Trump took office. Classic Dutton: Perth speech mentions national security, domestic violence, strong borders Peter Dutton concludes his address to the Leadership Matters conference in Perth by saying national security is the “most crucial” issue for the election. One of the issues that hasn’t been spoken about enough, that perhaps is the most crucial as we go into this election, and that is the issue of national security, and it goes not only to where we are as a country in a precarious century, but it also goes to where we are domestically. The opposition leader says he wants to end the scourge of domestic violence, referencing his time as a police officer, and keep Australia’s borders strong. In other words, it’s pretty classic Dutton. The opposition leader will now answer questions from the audience. Dutton: Labor ‘at odds’ with Western Australia’s interests Peter Dutton is pitching the Coalition as the party to enable Western Australia’s boom. He says “inner city” Labor MPs are stalling gas and coal projects until after polling day because it’s not politically advantageous to win the votes of climate conscious voters in Sydney and Melbourne. Dutton says: The reason I say that this is a sliding doors moment at this election is that the options available to you in a two horse race are obvious. The prime minister has … spent his time and the Labor Party [has] spent their time trying to appease inner city Greens voters in Sydney and Melbourne … The government has made a decision now because Tanya Plibersek and Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen see a focus in New South Wales and Victoria, which means they are at odds with the interests of WA … Dutton laughs off ‘punch-drunk’ comment; says election is a ‘sliding doors moment’ Speaking at the leadership forum in Perth this morning, Peter Dutton starts off on a light note. After taking a playful hit from the West Australian’s Chris Dore, Dutton returns serve on the editor-in-chief. I knew Chris from Sydney. It’s like a reformed smoker now being lectured about being an east coaster coming to WA. So Dory, it’s great to be with you. And I feel that, given I’ve probably spent at least as many nights in WA over the last 20 years as you have, I feel we are blood brothers in this cause. Dutton acknowledges his many colleagues in the room, and then gets down to business, again saying this is a “sliding doors moment” for the country and for WA. Coalition’s claims of consistently high inflation under Labor compared with other countries debunked A Liberal Party federal election campaign advertisement blaming Labor for consistently delivering world-leading inflation rates has been debunked by experts, AAP reports. Thousands of dollars have been poured into promoting videos that claim inflation under Labor has been consistently higher than any major advanced economy. But economists told AAP FactCheck that inflation has routinely been lower in Australia than in other advanced economies – including G7 countries – since Labor was elected in May 2022. Australia’s cumulative price growth since global inflation picked up during Covid-19 is also around the middle of the pack when compared with other advanced economies. The claim appears in YouTube clips targeting voters in marginal seats such as McEwen (Labor held) north of Melbourne, Braddon (Liberal held) in north-west Tasmania and the NSW central coast seat of Roberston (Labor held). University of Sydney macroeconomist Stella Huangfu said the claim is wrong. While Australia did record the highest inflation among G7 countries at certain points in mid to late 2024, this occurred only occasionally and for a short period. Complaints have been raised about the Liberal candidate for Bennelong, Scott Yung, handing out Easter eggs to students at a primary school in his electorate. Yung handed out the eggs in front of the Lane Cove public school, prompting the school’s principal to officially raise concerns. The NSW Department of Education is monitoring the matter. The department told Guardian Australia in a statement: It is unacceptable for any member of the public to hand out Easter eggs, lollies or any other consumable to children outside a school. A spokesperson for the Liberal party told Guardian Australia Yung was in a public space and offered the chocolate “with parents’ permission”. Mr Yung was speaking with local parents in a public space about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on families … While speaking to the parents he offered their kids Easter chocolate eggs, with parents’ permission, wishing them a happy Easter. West Australian’s editor-in-chief describes Dutton as a bit ‘punch-drunk’ Peter Dutton is in Perth this morning for a leadership forum hosted by the West Australian newspaper and will soon deliver the keynote speech. The opposition leader was greeted by business leaders and politicians, including the new state opposition leader, Basil Zempilas, at the Crowne Plaza in Perth. In the crowd were Dutton’s colleagues, senators Michaelia Cash, Bridget McKenzie and Susan McDonald. The event was opened by the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Chris Dore, who delivered an eyebrow-raising address. Dore spent the first four minutes of his speech repeating negative characterisations of Dutton. Mr Albanese is match fit, super confident and shameless in mocking and monstering his opponent … and frankly, Mr Dutton has, at times, looked a bit punch-drunk since the beginning of the campaign … in the words of the great 90s philosopher, Kurt Cobain, Mr Dutton, here we are now, entertain us. It wouldn’t be an Anthony Albanese press conference without the medicare background and a tour of a health facility. And he did just that this morning – here’s some pics we have of the PM’s day on the trail so far. Anthony Albanese says Peter Dutton’s confirmation that the Coalition will keep the fuel efficiency standards but remove the penalty for breaching them is “another change” in his policy, and will nullify the incentive for the standards. The Coalition argues the changes will make high emitting cars, such as the Toyota Hilux or Rav-4, cheaper, and says electric vehicles already have incentives in Australia, such as being exempt from fuel tax. Albanese says: This is another change in policy. [Dutton] said he’d get rid of it. Now, he said that he’ll change something that is essentially the incentive for the policy to be implemented. So there’s no incentive, but it’s another change in policy. Let’s be clear, there were before this legislation was passed, only two countries in the world that did not have fuel standards, Australia, and Russia, under Vladimir Putin. It’s a nonsensical policy that Mr Dutton has came up with. Australia does ‘not sell arms to Israel’, Albanese says Reacting to reports by the ABC that the Israeli military has tested an advanced weapon made by a Canberra-based defence supplier, Albanese says the government does “not sell arms to Israel”. We do not sell arms to Israel. I’m aware of the report that you referred to. We looked in this matter. The companies confirmed with the department of defence the particular system was not exported from Australia. Australia does not export arms to Israel. The Greens have accused the government of exporting parts that have been used in lethal weapons in Israel. Albanese: ‘There are interested parties’ for the port of Darwin The government is “prepared to use compulsory acquisition powers”, but Anthony Albanese says there are interested partiesthe government is negotiating with to buy the port of Darwin. The port, which was sold on a 99-year lease to Chinese company Landbridge in 2015, has been a political thorn in the side of the federal government. Albanese says: We certainly are looking for a private buyer, as I’ve said, and there is interest … We won’t go through commercial negotiations and the interested parties, but there are interested parties here in the port of Darwin, if we can secure an arrangement and a transfer of ownership back to Australian control in an orderly way, without Commonwealth intervention and compulsory acquisition, we will do so. Earlier, Albanese was asked about a request when he was infrastructure minister and before the port was leased, by the NT government to upgrade it. He was asked if that had an impact on the NT government’s decision to lease the port. Albanese says he doesn’t remember the territory infrastructure minister at the time, and says “no”, that it wouldn’t have had an impact. Albanese ‘confident’ Congress knows Aukus is in US’ national interest On to questions, and Albanese is asked about Elon Musk being called in to review US shipbuilding capacity. Albanese says he’s “confident” that Aukus will prevail, as it has significant support across the US Congress. I’m confident about Aukus because I’ve had those first-hand discussions with the President of the United States, and also with more than 100 members of Congress, in the Senate during my state visit to the United States. I’m also confident that people, when they make an assessment, know that this is in Australia’s national interest, but it’s also in the national interest of the United States. Asked about the tariffs, and whether the current caretaker mode will affect Australia’s ability to negotiate with the US in the short term, Albanese says: That, of course, is a factor. That’s just a reality, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to engage, and we are continuing to engage with the United States on a daily basis. I welcome the President’s comments overnight. Katy Gallagher: As many as 500 NT public servants could lose jobs under Coalition Labor says up to 500 public service workers are at risk in the NT under the coalition. Katy Gallagher is bringing the fight about the Coalition’s proposed public service job cuts to the press conference. She says James Paterson’s comments on RN Breakfast this morning that there could be voluntary redundancies means there will be “sackings”. Here in Darwin, they’re a pretty large workforce, well over 2,000 public servants across the Northern Territory. And if Peter Dutton has his way with his 20% cut to the public service, that will mean around 500 jobs will go from the NT. This morning on [the] radio, Senator Paterson has said there will be redundancies in the public service. So this rubbish that it’s all going to be found by attrition, has been put to bed today. It is actually redundancies, which means sacking of public servants. She attacks the Coalition for not saying where those jobs will be cut. Albanese and ministers visit NT to promote Labor’s health care record Anthony Albanese is with finance and public service minister Katy Gallagher, aged care minister Anika Wells, and minister for Indigenous Australians and NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy. No surprises here that they’re speaking at a medicare urgent care clinic (this time in Palmerston), spruiking Labor’s health record and investments in the sector. Albanese: rate of workers leaving aged care sector slowing dramatically The prime minister is speaking in Darwin this morning, with a $60m pledge for aged care beds. This year, wages for aged care workers also rose, with $2.6bn earmarked in the latest federal budget to pay for that. Albanese says these changes are improving the sector and helping to retain workforce numbers. What the royal commission found was that unless we addressed those issues, we simply wouldn’t have a workforce. People who are leaving the workforce, who are dedicated professionals, dedicated to caring for older Australians, giving them the respect and dignity that they need in their later years, but they simply couldn’t afford to stay in those jobs, and they were leaving the sector. What we have now is the leaving rates are dropping dramatically. Listen to the Full Story to hear how the Greens might work with a Labor minority government The Greens played a pretty major role at times during this term, and could play an even bigger role if Labor is forced into a minority government (as some polls have predicted). We know the party has been pushing significant environmental reforms, and advocating for adding dental to medicare. So how exactly would leader Adam Bandt work with Labor in a minority government? Full Story’s Reged Ahmad and our political reporter Josh Butler spoke with Bandt (trust me, it’s worth the listen): Asked about the details of the Coalition’s plan to shrink the public service by 41,000 workers over five years, James Paterson says there could be voluntary redundancies to meet the figures. Earlier this week, the opposition leader backflipped on the public service policy, and the plan to force public service staff to work from the office. Dutton had said there would be no forced redundancies. Paterson tells RN Breakfast: We will cap the size of the Australian public service and reduce the numbers back to the levels they were three years ago through natural attrition and voluntary redundancies … Our policy is always based on natural attrition and voluntary redundancies. That’s what our costings are based on. That’s what we’ve sought advice from the PBO on, and that’s why we’ll achieve the savings once it’s mature, of $7bn a year. Asked why the Coalition can’t say exactly which departments will be most affected by the cuts, Paterson then goes back to saying the cuts will come from natural attrition and a hiring freeze: Because it’s a process of natural attrition and a hiring freeze, what that means is that as people leave the public service, if they’re not in a frontline service role, they won’t be replaced, and so over time, those numbers will come down. James Paterson: Coalition would ‘seek advice’ about 2035 emissions target James Paterson, the Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, joins RN Breakfast after the treasurer. Overnight the opposition announced it would scrap the penalties on the vehicle efficiency standards, and Sally Sara asked, why bother keeping the standards if there’s no penalty? We strongly support choice for Australians when it comes to the car that they want to buy that’s suitable for them and their family. We think the uptake of EV is a good thing … there already are pretty powerful incentives to buy EV in the system, for example, you don’t pay fuel tax, which funds the road infrastructure that we all share. We don’t support taxing people who want to choose a car that’s suitable for their family needs. On emissions more broadly, Sara asks whether the Coalition will commit to 2035 targets. Yesterday, the Coalition’s energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, left the door open to reducing Australia’s 2030 target, and potentially leaving the Paris agreement. Paterson, like O’Brien yesterday, says the Coalition would get advice: We would seek advice about the best achievable target for 2035 and we remain absolutely committed to zero emissions by 2050 consistent with our Paris agreement obligations. Australian shares are poised to open sharply lower this morning, as concerns about Donald Trump’s unsettling policy shifts and deteriorating trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies take hold. Futures prices are pointing to a 1.6% fall in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to 7,590 points when it opens later this morning, after a sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Investors have had to contend with wild swings this week triggered by changes to the US tariff regime, with share prices pushed around by extreme bouts of relief and fear. While some nations have enjoyed a reprieve from their super-sized tariffs, Australia’s position, along with those of the UK and New Zealand, are unchanged given they remain subject to the US “baseline” 10% charge. The White House clarified overnight that total tariffs on China had been raised by 145% since Trump took office. The Reserve Bank of Australia governor, Michele Bullock, said last night that an uncertain and rocky path lay ahead, saying “financial market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds”. The Australian dollar has recovered significant ground in recent days, rising to US62.2c this morning, after threatening to plunge below the 59c barrier earlier this week. Chalmers welcomes RBA’s reassuring tone about interest rates Last night, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said it was “too early” to judge how Trump’s trade war will affect interest rates. While commentators and markets are forecasting a larger cut of up to 50 basis points in May, Bullock hosed those forecasts down. Treasurer Jim Chalmers in his interview on ABC RN Breakfast said Bullock’s reassuring tone was “welcome” and “warranted”. You can read all the details of that speech (and what it means) here: Australia talking to allies and trade partners about US tariffs Chalmers will be speaking today with his Korean counterpart, as the government talks to allies and trade partners reeling from Trump’s tariffs. But with the election looming and the parliament now in caretaker mode, Chalmers says there are limits to the decisions that can be made or discussions had. I spoke with my UK counterpart. I’ll be engaging with our posts in the region … we’re still conferring, we’re still comparing notes, we’re still coordinating our efforts. The Australia EU trade deal has the capacity to advance our interests … but I think that’s a good example of the progress that we might be able to make. Chalmers says he’s not sure if shadow trade minister Kevin Hogan has been kept in the loop on those discussions, including the discussion between trade minister Don Farrell and his EU counterpart earlier this week. And what about China’s offer to “join hands” yesterday? I think we’ve got our own way of engaging in the region, our own language to describe our efforts. And I think the Chinese export market for Australia is incredibly important … our interests are best served by more diverse, more reliable, more robust markets, and the big economies in our region have got a big role to play there. Chalmers: It’s been a wild ride this week Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there’s more volatility and unpredictability in the global economy, but he believes Australia still stands in “quite good stead”. Last night, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock gave a speech, and Chalmers tells RN Breakfast she made a point of talking about the “robustness” of Australia’s system, which will help weather any economic storm. It’s been a wild ride this week on global share markets … I think the markets are now not just reacting to specific announcements out of Washington DC or the retaliatory measures, but this real sense of volatility and unpredictability, which is not good for markets. But the good news for Australia, I think is that the [Reserve Bank] governor was making a point last night about the robustness of our systems. Host Sally Sara says the last time he was on the show, Chalmers said the economy was keeping him up at night; this time he’s revealed he’s still not getting much sleep, and has been waking up in the middle of the night to read the Wall St Journal. Labor ahead of the Coalition for the election thanks to Dutton’s WFH policy, polling shows Voters continue to abandon Peter Dutton with the latest polling showing the Coalition has gone from being “in the box seat” to win the election to the prospect of losing seats on 3 May, AAP reports. Latest YouGov polling, released to AAP, reveals Labor has gained ground to forge ahead 52.5% to 47.5% over the coalition in the two-party preferred vote. The result is the best for Labor in months and slightly higher than its polling of 52.1% at the 2022 election. The coalition’s primary vote is now down to 33.5% – lower than at the 2022 election. Falling support for the opposition leader has been mirrored in other recent polling as Labor and Anthony Albanese continue to build momentum as the election draws near. Dutton’s work-from-home policy had sparked the fall and taken his party from “being in the box seat to win the federal election in February to struggling to hold on to the seats they won in 2022,” YouGov director of public data Paul Smith said. The Coalition’s support has fallen so far that they now risk losing seats. Peter Dutton’s work-from-home blunder has taken him from a winning position to a losing one in a dramatic way we rarely see. The Australian electoral commission (AEC) says 98.2% of eligible Australians have enrolled to vote for the election. Since 2022, the role has increased by 5%, or 870,000 people, with the youth enrolment rate now 92%. The AEC says 30% of new enrolments are migrants, but most are young people who have turned 18 and can vote for the first time. AEC commissioner Jeff Pope said: This is the third election in a row at which we’ve set a record for Australia’s national enrolment rate. Record enrolment like this doesn’t happen by accident. It represents a huge amount of work on the part of the AEC to engage with voters and reduce barriers for enrolment. We’re particularly focused on Australia’s youth enrolment rates. Under 35s now make up 25.9% of enrolments, while over 65s make up 24.9% of enrolments, according to the AEC. Aged care minister Anika Wells announces $60m for new aged care beds, defends sector reform Labor is this morning announcing $60m for up to 120 new aged care beds in the Northern Territory. Aged care minister Anika Wells has told ABC News Breakfast the government has delivered the “biggest reforms” to the sector in 30 years. Wells acknowledges stakeholders are “worried” about delivering the reforms, which is why the government has established a transition taskforce. We had to cram five, 10 years’ worth of reform into two years because this has been left so long and time’s up. People are waiting for beds today. We have to build these new beds and we have to fix the system so we’re all acting urgently. New line alert! Wells is also asked about the Coalition’s decision to scrap penalties for carmakers under the vehicle efficiency standards. She says: The Coalition have had more backflips than Simone Biles in the energy space. It’s hard to keep up, to be honest. For anyone who doesn’t know, living legend Simone Biles is a US gymnast and you should immediately Google her! Pauline Hanson backs Peter Dutton, says he has the ‘qualifications’ to be PM Pauline Hanson claims that her “common sense” policies have been picked up by both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton – but that it is the leader of the opposition who’ll have her support come 3 May. Appearing on the ABC’s 7:30, the One Nation senator said on Thursday evening that she thought Dutton had “the qualifications to actually become the prime minister of this country”. I put my support behind him. Speaking about the Coalition’s fuel excise cut, nuclear energy plans and refusal of Indigenous flags – as well as Labor’s clamp down on the foreign ownership of homes, she said: I think it’s wonderful that they’re both picking up my policies, commonsense policies. She said “change was needed”. This Albanese government hasn’t tried to work with me. I don’t get meetings, I’m not aware of what legislation is coming up. I think they’re arrogant, I think they’re rude, incompetent and have not done the best thing. Didn’t the prime minister say we’re going to be open and honest and consultative? They have been anything but. I think change is needed. Dutton says Coalition would repeal vehicle fuel efficiency standards The Coalition has pledged to repeal Labor’s fuel efficiency standards aimed at curbing the sale of high-polluting cars. In an announcement overnight, Peter Dutton said he would scrap the standards due to come into effect from July, describing them as “unfair penalties on carmakers and consumers”. The fuel standard places a cap on the emissions from new cars to encourage carmakers to supply low- and zero-emissions vehicles as part of their fleet. The cap will be lowered over time. Until it passed into law in May last year, Australia remained one of the few countries in the world, alongside Russia and Saudi Arabia, to not have a national fuel standard. The opposition has long fought against the standard, claiming it would drive up the cost of utes – a popular choice for tradespeople. Dutton said: We want cleaner, cheaper cars on Australian roads as we head towards net zero by 2050, but forcing unfair penalties on carmakers and consumers is not the answer. The Coalition’s opposition to the standard represents another promise to wind back laws aimed at reducing Australia’s emissions output. The Coalition has yet to announce an emission reduction policy. Krishani Dhanji here with you, and Thank God It’s Friday. We’re now at the end of week two of the campaign, which means just three weeks to go, so hang in there! Peter Dutton’s fuelling up with more petrol promises, this time confirming the Coalition would scrap penalties for high-polluting cars under the current vehicle efficiency standards introduced by the Albanese government. We also have new research showing hundreds of jobs at an agency scrutinising mistreatment in the aged care sector could be lost under the Coalition’s plans to drastically reduce the public sector, according to the Community and Public Sector Union. And as has been the flavour for the past week, there’s continuing fallout and reaction to Donald Trump’s tariffs, and we’ll bring you all of that as it comes.