Australia election news live: cameraman injured after Dutton football kick with ‘a bit too much heat on it’; Albanese tells flood-hit Queenslanders ‘we have your back’

Daylight saving time ends on Sunday at 3am, when clocks move back one hour in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. For almost 20 million Australians, the end of daylight saving means an extra hour’s sleep. For others in border communities, it means clarity on opening hours and reservation times for customers between states. Read the story here: Thousands of public servants have been told their employment agreements will not change regardless of who wins the federal election, as a fresh political fight kicked off over potential job cuts, AAP reports. The employment of 185,000 Australian Public Service workers has been in the spotlight since Peter Dutton pledged to cut 41,000 jobs and push workers to return to the office full-time if elected. The Coalition has since softened its work from home policy, with Dutton now declaring his strong support for it and pledging to further reduce the number of public servants who may be affected by return to work mandates. The Community and Public Sector Union said Dutton’s comments on flexible work had caused “confusion and uncertainty” as until now, it was thought all workers would be affected by full-time office requirements. National secretary Melissa Donnelly said flexible arrangements were why a record number of women worked for the federal public service and could be a deciding factor in someone working or not working. Still on China, Albanese is asked whether there is any political concern over the level of Chinese ownership in food production. He says “we welcome foreign investment in Australia where it’s appropriate” but a port has “particular characteristics to it”. But will forcing China out upset the diplomatic relationship? “No,” Albanese replies. My job is to stand up for the Australian national interest. I’ll continue to do that. But I note that our relationships with China and our economic relationship has improved to the point where we have more than $20bn of exports that have returned. That’s about Australian jobs and Australian interests. Most of our ports and airports are in private hands. The question is - is it in the hands of Australian national interests? One of the things about superannuation funds which own substantial assets in our ports and our airports … is that superannuation funds mean that all of you who have super accounts own those assets as well, and they get returned to Australians … there’s $3tr of money available. A lot of that, at the moment, is going offshore for infrastructure investment. We want that investing here in Australian infrastructure because that produces a return for Australians as well. Thanks very much. And so concludes the press conference. It was rather convenient of the PM to make the announcement on ABC Darwin ahead of Dutton’s visit. Asked why he called the radio station last night, Albanese says “why not?” I do lots of interviews. I called Triple M yesterday morning, and I called ... ABC Sydney yesterday. Pressed on whether he was told an announcement was coming via a leak, Albanese says “that’s up to you lot to talk amongst yourselves about what happens”. I can confirm certainly it didn’t come from anyone here … We’ve made an announcement, but there’s more detail to come as we roll out over the next four weeks … There’s nothing spontaneous about this. We have a political decision that’s been made on the basis of advice … consistent with the position that we’ve had since 2015, that this is an important national economic asset. Asked if advice has changed over the past two years, he says “the government increasingly understands that we need to increase our economic resilience”. Does that mean the Chinese interest in the Port of Darwin is a national security threat? Albanese says “we, as a government, have made a decision about our economic resilience, consistent with a position that I have put since 2015”. There is some back and forth over a timeline on when the Port of Darwin would be removed from Chinese ownership. Landbridge has told SBS that the port is not for sale. Are you prepared to use compulsory acquisition powers? Albanese replies “yes”. After how long? Why can’t you say the timeframe? “I’m not putting a timeframe on it,” he continues. We are a mature government that does things in an orderly way, and we’ll continue to conduct ourselves in that way. The head of Landbridge told the Financial Review they hadn’t heard from the government. The prime minister’s earlier statement was they have. Who from the government, and on what timeframe? Albanese says “we have consulted” but won’t go into further details as they’re “commercial issues”. We have engaged with them. And individual companies have reached out about whether a sale could be got … what we’re saying is that we will, if need be, compulsorily acquire. He is then asked whether he had conversations with China before his announcement, as Peter Dutton indicated in his press conference when he said the Coalition had contacted the Chinese ambassador. Well, he’s obviously got better connections with the Chinese ambassador. That’s a very strange thing for him to say. I’ll just leave that sitting there. What we have done is engaged very clearly. I have made – if you go back and look at my transcripts since 2015, you will see multiple statements from me about what our position is. So how much would it cost taxpayers? Albanese says it’s a commercial position and he won’t engage in speculation. PM coy over timing for Darwin returning to Australian ownership OK, but why didn’t he first act upon it when elected more than two years ago? Albanese says the government established an inquiry after taking office and had been “engaging” with stakeholders. He says any time he has been asked about the matter since 2015, he has given the same answer. Asked if Labor could “beat or match” Peter Dutton’s commitment for the port to be returned to Australia in six months, Albanese says that’s just “talking on the run”. I have seen his media release and his media release pretends this has nothing to do with the commonwealth government of which he was a cabinet minister. And then he was the defence minister during this time as well. He did absolutely nothing. What my government did was have an assessment of these issues but, at the same time, we didn’t wait for that. We looked for interest, including through superannuation funds. I want this to go into Australian ownership. But I’d prefer it to be Australian ownership under the private sector. But, if need be, we will purchase as well. Pressed “by when”, he doesn’t answer. On to the Port of Darwin developments, which Albanese was quick to make on ABC Radio yesterday ahead of the Coalition’s formal announcement to bring it back into Australian hands during a press conference this morning. Why has it taken an election to make some announcements about this? Albanese says “it hasn’t”, adding Labor opposed to sale when it was made to the Chinese government under the Coalition in 2015. That was a direct result of the program introduced by the Abbott government in its 2014 budget of asset recycling, which provided an incentive for state and territory governments to flog off our infrastructure assets. In this case, in April of 2016, the commonwealth gave the Northern Territory government of the Country Liberal party - $19.5m. A cash bonus for flogging off the Port of Darwin. When we’ve come to office, we have been engaging – including with Landbridge – with superannuation funds. The Northern Territory government have been in consultation with my departments as well in our government. We’ve had Treasury and Finance looking at this as well. And I foreshadowed on Thursday, as you are aware, a future announcement about the Port of Darwin. We have a clear view, which is that it should be in Australian hands. And Peter Dutton was in the cabinet that sold it. Asked if he would be open to extending the disaster payments beyond 13 weeks, Albanese says that is the “allowance” under the existing fund. That is the standard, that is not a new fund, that is something that happens in terms of disaster-relief. We will continue to engage constructively with the Queensland government and local mayors … We will continue to listen to them on the ground as well. He says it “takes time” for regional infrastructure funding to be rolled out, adding the electorate of Maranoa where he is appearing received the most projects in funding announced in January this year. What we have done is make sure that we have been responsible. I remind you that we turned a $78bn deficit into a$22bn Labor surplus. We then turned the next year a deficit that was projected to be over $50bn- we turned that into a surplus in excess of $15bn. And this year, we have almost halved the deficit that was anticipated. So we have been responsible. We’ve improved the budget bottom line by some $207bn. The first government to produce two budget surpluses in a row in two decades. Albanese points to the “unprecedented impacts” of flooding across the region. What role do you think climate change is playing, if any, in exacerbating those impacts? He replies that you can’t say any single extreme weather event is solely related to climate change, but science indicates they will become more frequent and more intense. You cannot say any extreme weather event any single event is just because of climate change. What you can do is look at the science and what the science has told us is that there will be more extreme weather events, more frequent and more intense. That is what we have seen play out, not just here in Australia but around the world. On to questions. The prime minister is asked rather bluntly by a reporter “why are you here?”, given the electorate is the safest Coalition seat in the country. He replies he wants to be the prime minister “of all Australians”. I find it astonishing. I read reports saying to only go to marginal seats. One of the things I think has alienates Australians to mainstream political activity is that view. These people are salt of the Earth. The people I have met today, I am so proud to be prime minister of a country that has people like these producing food and raising children like Cooper and Jacob … I want to represent the whole country. That is my job. It is not to always look at a political map. The mayor of Longreach, Tony Rayner, appears next, thanking the prime minister for his visit. He acknowledges both the federal and state government have been on the ground since “day one” of the flood disaster. The announcement today of the $105m for exclusion fencing to get that back up and running will change the economic health of every town in Western Queensland. Those fences are more than just a fence around one property, they are a fence around every community in Western Queensland and what that means [is] economic safety, health and mental health. We thank you sincerely for that … it is these partnerships with both federal and state government that keep us going. Albanese announces funding for flood-affected areas of QLD Albanese formally announces he will agree to the state government’s request for an additional $7m in funding. He also announces $105m from both governments for exclusion fencing. I also want to make sure there is confidence that it is not going to run out, that it is available and it certainly will be. The other new fund we will establish today is our fine of $105m between our two governments for exclusion fencing. This is absolutely vital to protect the stock which is there with exclusion fencing coming down, from wild dogs and wild pigs potentially as well as increased fodder on the ground. We do have the Disaster Recovery Allowance also available for people who cannot work or cannot find work due to the flood. He lists a dozen local government areas that can access the allowance. I wish everyone well during this period. One of the things about our great Australian farmers and people on the land is this is a tough country, but they are tough and resilient people and we want to see them come through this. They make a contribution not just to their local community, but to our nation as well. We are proud and each of every one of them for the work they do contributing to our country and all of Australia stands with them at this time. Albanese says to those affected by the floods – “we have your back”, adding the emergency event is beyond politics. The vision coming out of all of western Queensland is indeed truly distressing and there are small communities still inaccessible that we cannot get to it this time and our thoughts are with those people who have been displaced from their homes as well … I have a message for Queenslanders which is we have your back. We are with you, we will provide whatever support necessary. Just as recently when I spent some time with the premier David Crisafulli … there were no politics, I spoke with Premier David Crisafulli yesterday and we are working hand-in-hand making sure support is provided. I also spoke today to David Littleproud. I always try to tell people when I am in their turf, I wish him well as well. He is working hard. We spoke last week in parliament about the impact of this and will continue to engage with him as the local member that has been most affected in the electorate of Maranoa where we are now. Anthony Albanese is appearing in Longreach now. He details meeting a family on a farm this morning to see firsthand the devastation that the floods occurred. To see the power of Mother Nature in knocking over fencing and knocking over poles uprooted from the ground … you see the power of Mother Nature and the force that was there - that weight … For them to welcome us and show us around and speak to us was a great privilege … at the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character. People helping each other, the emergency services personnel, the police, Australian defence force, everyone from the Royal flying Doctor service here in Longreach, volunteers in the SES, and people around Australia who will kick in to provide support for their fellow Australians at what is a very difficult time. Reporter Jake Evans has just appeared on ABC News to describe the drop kick that injured a Channel 10 cameraman. Evans was on the scene during the incident, which occurred during a photo opportunity in Darwin. Scott Morrison in 2022 learned the hard way when he accidentally tackled the child. Peter Dutton tried to one up that today when he punted the ball into the head of Channel 10 cameraman Ghaith Nadir, cracking a joke that ‘there’s your exclusive’ before realising actually, the camera had knocked him pretty hard and knocked his forehead open. Peter Dutton was quick to check that Ghaith was OK – and he was – but a reminder for all of us that politics can be a blood sport. When politicians try to play sport … As we wait for the prime minister’s press conference, let’s take a moment to reflect on how playing sports usually ends terribly for political leaders. Peter Dutton’s wayward football kick injuring a cameraman today joins a long history of lore. In 2022, Scott Morrison lived up to his self-applied moniker of “bulldozer” by crashing into a young child while playing football on the campaign trail in Tasmania. The incident was reminiscent of when Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, knocked over a child while playing rugby in Tokyo in 2015. And who could forget the former PM John Howard’s infamous attempt at cricket on a trip to Pakistan in 2005, when he bowled three balls with none making it to the batsman and bouncing on the pitch repeatedly. Cricket is clearly a dangerous sport – Bob Hawke was also forced to wear an eye patch while campaigning after being hit with a perfectly delivered bouncer that the then-Labor PM failed to avoid. And then there’s Kevin Rudd, who confused Australia while PM with his handball obsession, and near-constant willingness to compete against young children. The lesson? Stick to politics. Electoral commission dealing with alleged breaches of political content laws on Rednote The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is assessing a number of complaints about alleged breaches of political content laws on the Chinese social media app Rednote, which are related to the federal election. The social media app is being embraced by candidates in electorates with significant Chinese-Australian populations, including the ultra-marginal seats of Bennelong in Sydney and Menzies in Melbourne. As reported by Guardian Australia earlier this week, some candidates are working with prominent Chinese language influencers to bypass a shadow-ban on political campaigning on Rednote, which is designed to focus on lifestyle content. The AEC has issued general guidance to candidates, stressing content shared from their accounts should contain written or spoken authorisation messages. This also applies when content is produced by a third party, such as an influencer, and then shared on their own accounts. Here’s part of the AEC’s statement: The AEC assesses and, when appropriate, actions referrals made by users of the platforms. The AEC has already received a number of referrals from Australian Rednote users about electoral content for the upcoming federal election. The AEC would welcome engagement with Rednote representatives as part of our efforts towards ensuring political candidates and other relevant entities are running their campaigns according to Australian laws. Man down! There has been an injury on the campaign trail in Darwin, outlets are reporting. According to Andrew Tillett at the Australian Financial Review, Channel 10 camera operator Ghaith Nadir cut his head after a “drop punt” by the opposition leader “had a bit too much heat on it” and struck the man’s camera. He has been pictured bandaged up and shaking hands with Peter Dutton, who checked to make sure he was OK. PM touches down in Longreach The prime minister has touched down in Longreach, about 1,000 km north-west of Brisbane, to visit Queenslanders affected by flooding. He headed to a sheep farm to meet Martin and Rebecca Eggerling, a couple that have been hard hit, and is expected to hold a press conference soon. On the agenda will be the extension of a three-month disaster allowance after the commonwealth activated the special payment scheme. We’re also expecting Anthony Albanese to provide a little more detail on the hunt for a buyer for the Port of Darwin he announced yesterday, despite the Chinese-owned company which holds the lease insisting it is not for sale. Where’s the hope? Back to Back Barries on week one of the campaign The federal election campaign was barely a week old when Donald Trump rearranged the world trading order. And in Australia, the leaders covered a lot of ground. But in a campaign lacking inspiration, where is the promise of hope? Tony Barry and Barrie Cassidy examine the impact of new tariffs on Australia just four weeks out from the election. They also debate Dutton’s plan to cut public sector workers, and wonder: is it too much to ask for some big ideas? Listen here: Independent Sophie Scamps launches re-election bid with free concert The independent MP Sophie Scamps has resurrected her 2022 “Election Beats” concert, with Lime Cordiale and Le Shiv set to hit the stage today in the name of democracy. The free community event on Sydney’s northern beaches, expected to attract about 3,000 locals, will formally launch the re-election campaign of Scamps. She said traditional party politics “does not work for future generations”. Millennials and Gen Zs will make up 40% of voters at this year’s election, and I’m hearing loud and clear they want real action on climate change, on housing affordability, an economy that works for them, and a future they can believe in. The voices of young people are being drowned out in Canberra by the same old vested interests and lobby groups. Politicians need to listen and involve young people in policy decisions, rather than simply talking at them and making decisions that will ultimately create a more unequal future for young people. Oli Leimbach from Lime Cordiale said the band were playing the gig to “encourage people to vote for Scamps”. Sure, we care a lot about live music (and so does Sophie), but we’re also ocean lovers, environmentalists, and we stand for equality and integrity. That’s what the Northern Beaches is all about, and that’s why we’re voting for Sophie. NT government backs Coalition plan to put Darwin port back in Australian hands The Northern Territory government has backed the Coalition’s announcement to bring the Darwin port back into Australian hands. The acting chief minister, Gerard Maley, who appeared alongside Peter Dutton earlier, said the ball was now in Anthony Albanese’s hands to detail his plans. Prime minister Albanese has claimed he’ll directly intervene but has provided no details. Territorians need certainty, not vague statements. Should Australians elect a Dutton Coalition government, we will work with them to ensure Darwin port is managed in the best interests of Territorians and the nation. The Territory’s minister for logistics and infrastructure, Bill Yan, said he had been working “in good faith” with the commonwealth government since late last year but “we still don’t know what their plans are”. At every stage of this, the CLP have been fighting for Territorians and that will continue under a Dutton Coalition in Canberra. Have you been paying attention this week? Myself and Elias Visontay have compiled an election campaign quiz that covers all the gaffes, the gags and the plain weird. Who will win the federal election? We have no idea, but luckily that’s not one of the questions. See how you fare: Albanese and UK’s Starmer discuss response to Trump tariffs Global fallout is continuing over the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs, including among the US’s major allies. The UK has had the same 10% tariff rate as Australia imposed – the baseline rate being applied to all countries. The ABC reports Anthony Albanese discussed the global response with the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, and efforts to ensure trade barriers don’t continue to escalate. A spokesperson for the PM said he “reaffirmed support for free and fair trade and the need for leaders to ensure that there was not an escalation of trade impediments”, while Starmer’s spokesperson said “an all-out trade war would be extremely damaging and is in nobody’s interests”. So where is Dutton heading next? He told reporters at the conclusion of his press conference that there would be a picture opportunity later on today and “maybe a petrol stop”. Dutton enthusiastically pumped the bowser during a visit to a service station in Carlingford, in Sydney’s north-west, yesterday, but perhaps Darwin’s servos have better lighting for pictures. He also noted the press pack had changed somewhat as we entered the second week of the campaign, telling reporters during his presser that the pace was “too quick” for some. Welcome to the new faces … Good of you to join us here. Burnt a few others out. Pace is too quick. They’ve taken a rest. Some have been subbed in. Well done. If you’re wondering what exactly the Coalition’s work from home policy actually means, it’s understandable to be confused. The shadow finance and public service minister, Jane Hume, introduced the policy on 3 March, stating all public service workers would have to return to the office if the Coalition won government. “Exceptions can and will be made,” she said, “but they will be made where they work for everyone.” Since then, it has been walked back, with Dutton declaring it would only apply to public servants in Canberra. Now, he says “flexibility continues”, and has appeared to indicate existing EBAs that allow staff to work from home would still apply. So if you’re a public servant outside Canberra, or you have the ability to work from home embedded in your enterprise agreement, you would be exempt, which leaves a significantly smaller pool of people to be impacted. The last question comes from Andrew Probyn, who you may recall became a TikTok sensation in 2020 when Scott Morrison said he didn’t “run the press conference”. I know that bashing up the public service is a bit of a political sport and has been for decades, but you have added some complexion to your work-from-home policy. You are saying that it will only affect people who work in Canberra in the public service. Two-thirds of the public service live outside of the ACT, so why is it fair for someone who works for the defence force in Perth, Mr Hastie’s town, that they can work from home, but not from Canberra? Dutton says the “bulk of the public service is in Canberra”, to which Probyn interjects “a third of the public service”. Dutton: Under Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard, the public service, from that period until now, under this government, the way they have increased the number of public servants has increased threefold. In Canberra, there are different dynamics around travel and different dynamics in regional parts where public servants are working remotely … Flexibility continues, whether it’s in Canberra or whether it’s outside of Canberra, so the scare campaign that has taken place has been quite disingenuous, misleading and politically based. Our argument is we want the most efficiency for our taxpayers who are working harder than ever under this government. So, people have, I think, a reasonable expectation to know that if their taxpayer dollars are contributing to the public service, that we’re delivering the public service in the most efficient way possible. And he’s off! Dutton is pointed to the fact women with children work in the public service in Canberra. Yes, but I’ve said we are very happy for flexibility in that workplace as well … we have to make sure that where we have taxpayers’ money being expended on wages for public servants in Canberra that we’re getting the most efficiency for taxpayers out of that investment and I don’t think that’s controversial. For the prime minister to be out there and Jim Chalmers and others trying to scare women in workplaces across the country, I think is a disgrace. I’ve said very clearly that where you’ve got existing arrangements, which happens in Canberra now in the public service, you have EBAs that are there that allow for work from home arrangements, we are not proposing to change those and that’s the reality. On to other matters, Dutton is asked about YouGov polling released last night, which painted a dire picture for the Coalition’s plan to force public servants to work in the office. “Will you reconsider your policy?” He accuses the government of “scaring Australians”. Their response in relation to Medicare, to suggest that we would cut money from hospital funding or Medicare when we are in government, it is a complete lie … Why do they want to scare women when the policy doesn’t affect anybody except for public servants in Canberra. Two-thirds of public servants live outside Canberra. Dutton continues to talk about Medicare. I think people who are listening to the Labor party lies at the moment and the scare campaign that is under way, I would say why aren’t they talking about their record, if it’s so good? I think that’s important. Dutton says he “strongly supports” work from home and the policy has no impact on the private sector or public sector outside Canberra, and accuses the prime minister of “lying to Australian women”. Why he would go out there trying to deceive people, that’s a question you would have to ask him. But I think it’s actually pretty tardy and I think the prime minister has been caught out telling fibs a few times now and his record is starting to build up of somebody whose word I wouldn’t trust on some of these issues. Dutton is asked if he looked into the ownership of the port when he was defence minister. “Yes,” he replies. And what conclusion did you draw? Dutton says the advice at the time was “there wasn’t a need to act”. I didn’t agree with that advice, I might say, at the time, but that was the advice that the government received, and we have now found ourselves in a position where we have the advice, it is definite, the strategic circumstances have deteriorated for our country … Dutton says if the Coalition needed to introduce further legislation to bring the port to a compulsory acquisition, he would. It is absolutely essential that this port returns back into ownership that is consistent with the threat and the environment that we see ourselves in, in this century. We need to make sure that when we’ve got 100 warships passing through that port or pass that port or in the vicinity of that port on a yearly basis that we can do it in a way that doesn’t raise any concerns about our national security interests and that’s why we’ve acted. Dutton is pointed to his recent reshuffle of cabinet, including appointing Jacinta Price in a role of government efficiency and waste. “Can you ensure Australians will know what waste will be before the election or will it be like Doge (the Trump administration’s own department of government efficiency)?” He says it will “be like the Howard government”. That is they had a Labor mess to clean up. Have a look at what’s happening in Victoria at the moment. The Labor party has almost bankrupted that economy. In Queensland it was a similar story under Annastacia Palaszczuk and Steven Miles. All you are seeing with the Albanese government is the first phase of that type of governing. They’ve spent an amount of money which has driven up the cost of everything … Labor always taxes and spends, and in Victoria they are finding different ways to tax because they are running out of money. That’s how Labor governs. In other words, we do not know what the waste will be. Last month Dutton said he would prioritise a meeting with Xi Jinping just as much as Donald Trump. Is that still true? “Yes,” he replies. Asked where today’s decision puts him in that relationship, he says the trading relationship Australia has with China is important and he wants to make sure “that we expand it”. But ultimately, as China does, we have to make Australia stand up for her national interest. An Australian company wouldn’t be able to operate a port in Beijing and we are saying in this time, as the prime minister points out rightly, I think, we live in the most precarious period since the end of the second world war, since 1945, and I think it’s appropriate that we take the actions that meet the pressures and the concerns and the threats of the time. We can have a good trading relationship and respectful relationship with China, which is why we spoke to the ambassador ahead of the announcement that we made. Asked whether the announcement would assist with tariff negotiations with the White House, Dutton says the Coalition has been planning the policy since before Trump’s inauguration. We have announced a policy which is in our country’s best interests. That’s been the sole motivation here. We want to make a decision and to clean up a decision that shouldn’t have been made years ago. I think what we’ve demonstrated to the Australian public is that when it comes to national security, the Coalition has the runs on the board, we understand the difficult environment in which we live and we understand the response that is proportionate. As for whether it will antagonise China, Dutton repeats it’s “about standing up for our national interest”. As defence minister, as home affairs minister, I think I demonstrated every day, as well as a police officer many years ago, that I will take the decisions, sometimes hard decisions, but the decisions that will make our country safe and I’ve done that over the course of my working life and it is what I want to do as our country’s prime minister as well. Dutton is asked why Scott Morrison didn’t make this decision when he was in power. We are in 2025 and the circumstances have significantly deteriorated, even just in the last three years, let alone where it was 10 years ago, so we need to make sure we act in our country’s best interests and that’s the decision we have taken. He says Labor had three years to “deal with this issue” and they haven’t. This is a decision that is in our country’s best interest. We know that we live in uncertain times and the government has had three years to deal with this issue and they haven’t done that. We have taken the decision in a considered way. We will negotiate in good faith and I believe in six months we can arrive at an outcome. If that’s not the case, then we will move to make sure the asset comes back into ownership arrangements that are in line with our national security needs and our national interest, and that’s what we will apply. Peter Dutton is asked about how he feels to be “snaked” by the PM on the port announcement. He points to Anthony Albanese’s radio interview on ABC Darwin yesterday evening, calling it “incoherent”. Anthony should have been better prepared. He’s had three years in preparation to make that phone call. It was a train wreck interview. I think, if you read the transcript, nobody was any the wiser as to what the prime minister’s actually done for three years. That’s the problem. The prime minister had three years to sort this out. The Landbridge operators have told us publicly, as you’ve seen, there’s no discussion with the government that’s been under way. So I don’t know who’s telling the truth there … There are many other examples where the government just can’t get its story right. Dutton says the Coalition had contact with the Chinese ambassador yesterday “out of respect”. I don’t know whether the prime minister made a call before he called ABC radio, but we have thought through this process for a long period of time, and the prime minister jumping on the phone trying to get in on the announcement that we’ve made today I think shows that this prime minister is like the fireman who turns up to the fire when the fire has been extinguished. He is too late to everything. The acting chief minister of the Northern Territory, Gerard Maley, thanks Dutton for making the announcement, incorrectly referring to him as the “federal government”. This announcement’s going to give certainty to the Northern Territory. The political climate across the world has changed recently … only the Coalition government is going to do this in a way that’s going to benefit Territorians. Andrew Hastie is up next before Dutton takes questions. He says Darwin is an “important part of Australian geography” for economic and national security. Today’s announcement from Peter Dutton is critical. It’s about securing our future. It’s about securing our critical infrastructure. And it’s about making Australia safe. Because it goes without saying we are living in dangerous and uncertain times, and we need to get Australia back on track. Dutton points to the circumnavigating of Chinese naval ships as pressing the need for the port to be returned to Australian hands. The intelligence briefings that I’ve had over the course of my time as the leader of the opposition indicate the position has only deteriorated. We’ve now seen, of course, the circumnavigating of our country by Chinese naval ships. So we need to make sure that we recognise the times in which we live and why it’s important for us to take back this particular asset. There are about 100 warships a year – Australian and allied warships – which go through this area. And we need to make sure that, with our partners, we’re able to work constructively and in an environment which is conducive to our national security interests. Peter Dutton is appearing in Darwin now to officially announce an elected Coalition government would “move immediately” to secure the city’s Port and remove it from Chinese ownership. I’m pleased to announce today that an elected Coalition government will move immediately to secure the Darwin port and to make sure that we can bring that national asset … back into Australian ownership or into a model where we have greater assurance about the operator and the way in which the lease operates. There’s been a lot of debate over this issue for a long period of time. It’s clear that a mistake was made many years ago in relation to the lease and the way in which that was undertaken by the then territory government. But that is the past, and we need to deal with the strategic circumstances that we face at the moment. Poll points to risks in key seats for Labor We’ve made it to a week into the election campaign. So who’s winning? According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Labor is exposed to a slump in support in Australia’s two most populous states despite a political recovery in recent weeks, putting key seats at risk due to the weakness of the party’s primary vote. A survey published in the outlet today shows the Labor primary vote has fallen to 30% in New South Wales and 27% in Victoria in the first three months of this year, down from 33% in each state at the last election. It’s not all bad news for Labor, though. YouGov’s latest Public Data poll suggests that Peter Dutton has recorded his worst-ever net satisfaction rating of -15, down from -2 in February. Labor takes a 2% lead over the Coalition with a 51% to 49% split in the two-party preferred vote. Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review’s political correspondents Tom McIlroy and Ronald Mizen say Labor came out on top in the first week. At the end of week one, it was clear that Albanese won more days than Dutton and therefore won the week. But there are still four more to go, and anything can happen in an election. Albanese heads to Queensland and Dutton to NT It may be Saturday, but Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton aren’t letting a weekend stop them from hitting the campaign trail. The PM is heading to western Queensland to visit parts of the region battered by recent flooding. Meanwhile, Dutton is in Darwin, marking his first visit to the Northern Territory since the campaign kicked off, where both seats are now held by Labor. He’s expected to detail the Coalition’s announcement that it would force the sale of the Port of Darwin if elected, with a press conference to come soon. Albanese took the wind out of his sails yesterday after calling in to local Darwin radio to make a similar announcement. Why the Coalition is trying to avoid association with Trump There was an early belief that Donald Trump’s surprise return to the White House would foreshadow a path to a Coalition election victory in Australia based on a surge in support for rightwing politics, AAP reports. But fast forward several months and local reaction to Trump’s divisive policies has upended those predictions ahead of the 3 May poll. As the US president slapped 10% tariffs on all Australian exports, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have flexed their campaign muscle on how they would deal with an unpredictable American leader. While some within the Coalition initially welcomed the Republican’s victory in the presidential election, the associate professor at the United States Studies Centre David Smith says the opposition is now trying to avoid any association with Trump. There were some figures who believed the Coalition could benefit from emulating Trump in some ways … but since he’s become president, he’s turned off a lot of Australians both in style and substance and the Coalition now appears to go in the opposite direction. The Australian National University international law expert Donald Rothwell says Albanese has largely tried to avoid providing a running commentary on Trump’s movements but the tariff situation has made it unavoidable on the campaign trail. The tariffs will immediately create a contest between the government and the Coalition as to who will respond the toughest and which response will be the most effective. Dry weather finally for Queensland’s south-west Queensland’s south-west is finally facing dry weather, giving authorities a clearer picture of the extent of the damage from flood waters. Dean Narramore, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning. He said flooding was occurring on “pretty much all our rivers” through the state’s south-west, central and northern waterways. That major flooding may continue for weeks, as we just saw a year or two worth of rainfall moving down the rivers there. We can see a pattern shift as we move through the coming week or two, as we see that shower and thunderstorm activity contract to far northern Australia … the rest of the country looking dry, which is great news for the flood-affected areas in Queensland but not those experiencing the drought conditions in South Australia and Victoria. The Labor government is on the hunt for a buyer for the Port of Darwin despite the Chinese-owned company which holds the lease insisting it is not for sale. Anthony Albanese revealed the plan after calling in to local Darwin radio yesterday afternoon in a deliberate attempt to get ahead of a similar announcement the Coalition has reportedly scheduled for today. Landbridge Group took control of the port in 2015 after the Northern Territory government signed a $506m agreement while in financial duress. The deal gave Landbridge 100% operational control of the port. In 2023 before a trip to Beijing, Albanese ruled out cancelling the company’s lease. But speaking with ABC Darwin yesterday, the prime minister indicated he wanted commercial negotiations to take place, and was “prepared to go down the road of taxpayer direct involvement” if needed. He confirmed that two options were on the table – for the port to be privately owned by an Australian company, or return to being a government asset. The key, he said, was that it “be in Australian hands”: We are trying to see if there is a private buyer, particularly through superannuation funds. The [Country Liberal party] should have never flogged it off. Albanese said the government would have “more to say” before the federal election on 3 May, but he argued Landbridge had “not had the investment into the port that’s required to bring it up to scratch”. “We don’t think that it is being utilised enough for Darwin,” he said. Darwin has an enormous potential to be a growth area of increasing our exports through the Port of Darwin, and that is part of the context that we’re dealing with here. Albanese said a majority of ports around Australia, like airports, were owned by superannuation funds, “which means that they’re owned by the Australian people and help to make contribution to their savings”. Full story here: Do Australians want their leader to cuddle up or muscle up to Trump? Another issue for Peter Dutton is his alignment with Donald Trump’s rightwing populism on matters such as immigration, defence and cutting so-called government waste. That was looking quite good for Dutton when the new US president took office and cut a commanding figure. But since then Trump’s tariffs have sparked fears of a global recession and threaten to cause a lot of damage to the Australian economy. Josh Butler reports on how Dutton, who is slipping in the polls, might deal with this problem and steer a course away from the Trump toxicity. What we learned in week one on the campaign trail As flagged in the introduction, our reporters Dan Jervis-Bardy and Josh Butler have been out on the stump all week with Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton. They have put their heads together and given an assessment of how the two campaigns have handled the first week, concluding that the Labor man has probably had the best of it fired up by his surprise tax-cutting budget and a strong message on beefing up Medicare. Albanese has looked confident, they say, and has been speaking to a message he believes voters like: Albanese and senior Labor strategists didn’t panic as the Coalition inched ahead in the opinion polls midway through 2024. They were confident the contest would tighten and turn in their favour when voters were confronted with the “choice” of a Dutton or an Albanese government. By contrast, they say Dutton has not responded brilliantly to being questioned all the time about policies and has seemingly lost ground: He is under pressure, though, and facing a ticking clock on questions he refuses to answer – there’s only so much longer he can promise that the gas modelling will come “soon”, that he will announce his public service cuts “at an appropriate time”. He’s getting questions on this nearly daily, and even joking that the “anticipation” of journalists will soon wear off. But, as they write, there’s a long way to go: Albanese won the week. Even Dutton may admit that. But it’s just one week. “I’m not getting ahead of myself,” Albanese said. “Elections are hard to win, and there are four weeks left in this campaign.” The true size of Australia’s devastating floods We also have a big read on the floods that have devastated western Queensland and which are now spreading to north-western NSW. The Bureau of Meteorology said yesterday that the flooding had “severely impacted” more catchments spanning about 1m sq km – bigger than NSW and even bigger than Texas – since heavy rain downpours began drenching south-west and central Queensland on 23 March. Read the full article here: Flood victims in western Queensland unable to work due to the deluge will be eligible for a three-month disaster allowance after the commonwealth activated the special payment scheme. As the federal election enters its second week, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will visit parts of the vast outback flood zone on Saturday to announce further support. The commonwealth will activate its disaster recovery allowance, which provides payment for up to 13 weeks for workers and sole traders who lose income as a direct result of the emergency. The prime minister said: The vision coming out of western Queensland is truly shocking and distressing. My thoughts are with everyone affected by this flooding – my message to Queenslanders is we are here for you. My government has been working with the Queensland government to activate assistance and provide support. At the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character. Applications for the allowance will open at 2pm on 8 April. Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and my colleague Caitlin Cassidy will take over. People in western Queensland who have lost work because of the floods will be able to apply for a three-month disaster allowance after the commonwealth activated the special payment scheme. Applications will be open from Tuesday, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced this morning, as he said his government was “working with the Queensland government to activate assistance and provide support”. More coming up. With the election campaign into ninth day today, we look back at the first week of the race. Starting with a surprise visit to Peter Dutton’s Dickson electorate, our reporters travelling with the two teams think Labor leader Albanese has shown a real confidence in his message to voters that has left his opponent looking more wooden and predictable. More coming up. A big talking point today will be news that Labor and the Coalition have flagged plans to end a 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company. Albanese dialled into a Darwin radio station yesterday afternoon to announce plans to find a new owner for the city’s port as Coalition members were en route to the Northern Territory for an election announcement on Saturday. Dutton also backs the idea. More coming up. Dutton’s enthusiasm for Donald Trump’s rightwing populism is being tested now that the US president has cast doubt over Australia’s military alliance with America and after he has seemingly taken a wrecking ball to the world economy. With US and European markets once again under the cosh overnight, we have been looking at how the Coalition leader can distance himself from the man in the White House. More coming up.