Australia news live: new $5 banknote to honour First Nations connection to Country; Dutton calls for legal crackdown on CFMEU ‘corruption’

Greens welcome key industry groups’ support for packaging scheme The Greens have welcomed a breakthrough for management of packaging waste and recycling, following today’s release of a joint statement from key industry groups in support of a mandatory product stewardship scheme for packaging by next year. Greens spokesperson for waste and recycling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, said Australia had missed plastic and waste reduction targets for decades because our self-regulated or voluntary system of reducing plastics “simply does not work”. Agreement between industry and environment groups for binding regulations on reducing packaging waste is an important and historic moment. Having the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) sign-on is especially significant. Successive governments have spent decades delaying action on legislating legally binding packaging reduction regulations, in the hope that big corporations will miraculously pick up their game. The polluters have had their chance to clean up their act and they haven’t. Tanya Plibersek threatened multiple times in this parliament that she would step in and regulate polluters if they couldn’t get their act together, but she has never followed through. In the dying days of this parliament there is an opportunity here for her to win some credibility back by finally introducing a mandated product stewardship scheme for packaging and soft plastics. Dutton says people in Jewish community are ‘besieged’ and ‘feel scared’ Dutton: I want them to know that our government will be standing shoulder to shoulder with them and making sure we stare down acts of antisemitism where they occur, as has happened on this site, we send a message to perpetrators and others who seek to do harm that our intention is to build back stronger that synagogue, this community and stare down acts of intimidation, threats, or indeed violence. Dutton says Coalition government would provide up to $35m to build back Melbourne synagogue Peter Dutton is appearing now in Melbourne alongside fellow members of the Coalition and members of the Jewish community, at the site of a synagogue that was firebombed in December last year. What I wanted to announce today was that Coalition government would provide funding of up to $35 million to provide support to build back this synagogue, this centre, and this wonderful contribution to life here in the local community. We want to bring it back to life. Much bigger and better. That is a symbolic response to those people who have hate in their hearts. We have spoken with a strong, consistent voice and always will, in words of condemnation to those who would seek to do harm, kill, to murder people from the Jewish community. Peter is barely scraping by on jobseeker. Experts think this will be an election issue It’s not lost on Peter Maidorn that he is the same age as the prime minister. The 62-year-old graduated from school in 1978 – an era when he felt like there were endless opportunities. “I mean, 40, 30 years ago, rent was affordable. You could live on next to nothing,” Maidorn says. Now, living off jobseeker, he barely scrapes by. He hardly leaves his house in Crystal Brook, South Australia, he hardly showers, he hardly eats meat. He says being poor in this country is getting harder. The new $5 banknote will celebrate First Nations connection to Country, replacing a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II. After her death in 2023, the Reserve Bank of Australia revealed King Charles III would not feature on the note, in a move backed by the Australian government. It brought shock and outrage at the time from the opposition leader and the Australian Monarchist League, who called the decision “neo-communism in action”. Two years later, the theme has been revealed, to honour “the enduring emotional, spiritual, and physical connection of First Nations peoples to Country”. Assistant governor Michelle McPhee said the theme encompassed the deep connection First Nations peoples have to the land, the waters and the sky. This inspiring theme will guide the creation of an artwork that will feature on the redesigned banknote. The selection of a theme follows an Australia-wide campaign, which led to more than 2,100 theme nominations from the public. The $5 Redesign Imagery Selection Panel, which includes First Nations representatives and representatives from the RBA and Note Printing Australia, selected the theme. The reverse side will continue to feature the Australian parliament, while the new design will reflect the chosen theme and incorporate artwork from a First Nations artist. Master Builders Australia urges further intervention on CFMEU operations Master Builders Australia has urged the federal government to intervene further on the operations of the CFMEU after allegations in Nine outlets of organised crime links and corruption. Its CEO, Denita Wawn, said “enough is enough”. The administration of the CFMEU is only the first step. The Coalition today has detailed a range of measures that seek to tackle the law-and-order problems that are currently thriving in the industry. Ensure that any official of the CFMEU who has indulged in lawbreaking is never again allowed to hold office in a registered organisation or go anywhere near a worksite. Install a building and construction industry watchdog with more powers than the previous Australian Building and Construction Commission. Wawn implored the PM and workplace relations minister to “explore all possible options to clean up this mess” and pass legislation during the next sitting. To give the administrator the best chance of success, we urge all parties and crossbenchers to pass legislation to tackle the law-and-order problems as soon as practically possible. If these additional measures fail, only then should the notion of deregistering the CFMEU be considered. Greens urge Labor to protect higher education integrity after US links research funding to alignment with its interests The Greens have urged the federal government to take decisive action to safeguard the integrity of the higher education sector after the Trump administration asked to confirm Australian researchers they aligned with US government interests to retain funding. Senator Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens deputy leader and spokesperson for higher education, called for a broader reassessment of Australia’s relationship with the US, including a more diversified approach to international partnerships. The Trump administration’s blatant interference in Australian research is absolutely outrageous. Weaponising funding to force their regressive agenda on to our universities is appalling. These are institutions where critical thinking should thrive, not be suppressed. Interference and meddling in academic research is never acceptable from our own government or any other. The Albanese government must increase funding for research and ensure our universities maintain their independence, allowing researchers to pursue vital work without the fear of political manipulation. Australian share market rebounds in response to US The Australian share market is moving higher, tracking a Wall Street rebound in the previous session after an eleventh-hour funding deal helped the US government avoid a partial shutdown, AAP reports. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had gained 51.6 points, or 0.66%, to 7,841.3 by noon, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 60.3 points, or 0.75%, to 8,073.6. “Today the Aussie share market is expected to dart 0.95% higher to 7,867 points and move out of oversold territory,” Moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir said. That also means the Aussie market will be out of a correction … and be back where it was last Tuesday. Equities markets in Australia, the US and Asia slumped last week over concerns Donald Trump’s escalating trade war and government spending cuts could tip an already slowing US economy into recession. The S&P/ASX200 has rebounded almost 1.5% since hitting seven-month lows on Thursday, and is almost 9% lower than its all-time high of 8,615.2 reached in mid-February. The Australian dollar is buying 63.29 US cents, up from 62.95 at 5pm on Friday. Evacuation warning for bushfire north of Perth In Western Australia, residents at Ledge Point, north of Perth, have been urged to evacuate as a bushfire threatens lives and homes. Emergency WA has urged residents to leave in an easterly direction along Ledge Road Point and travel north to Lancelin. Do not wait and see, leaving at the last minute could put your life in danger … If you cannot leave, you need to get ready to shelter in your home. An evacuation centre has been opened at the Lancelin Community Sports Centre. A further six bushfires are at “advice” level amid high to extreme fire danger weather hitting the state. Twelve arrests made in relation to alleged Melbourne tobacco wars Victoria police have made 12 arrests related to the alleged Melbourne tobacco wars on Monday. Detectives from Taskforce Lunar also seized four firearms, explosives, knives, 10kg of loose-leaf tobacco and more than 6,000 vapes. Fourteen warrants were executed at 6am this morning in residences in Broadmeadows, Donnybrook, Wollert, Epping, Essendon, Lalor, Taylors Hill, Airport West, Thornhill Park, Meadow Heights, and at storage facilities in Roxburgh Park and Coolaroo. The 12 people arrested include: A 26-year-old Donnybrook man, believed to be a patched member of the Mongols OMCG. An 18-year-old Wollert man. A 21-year-old Epping man. A 19-year-old Taylors Hill man. A 19-year-old Taylors Hill man. A 19-year-old Airport West man. A 16-year-old boy from the northern suburbs. A 19-year-old Thornhill Park woman. Eight were charged with extortion and bailed to appear at Melbourne magistrates court on 20 March. An additional two men charged with extortion and will appear in the court today are: An 18-year-old Essendon man. A 19-year-old Meadow Heights man. Police say they will allege those involved have been attending tobacco stores and providing a WhatsApp number for the owners to call. Police allege if the owner calls, a member of the syndicate instructs owners to pay an amount monthly or threatens to burn the store down. Allegedly if someone other than the owner calls the number, stores have previously been burnt down. Coalition press release calls for AFP taskforce and deregistration of CFMEU Our reporter Adeshola Ore was at Peter Dutton’s press conference. She’s shared a press release distributed at the Melbourne event. Dutton and his shadow ministers Michaelia Cash and James Paterson say in the release that they would set up a suite of responses to the latest CFMEU allegations, including a new federal police taskforce to address issues in the construction industry. The Coalition would also seek to “immediately introduce legislation to deregister” the CFMEU’s construction division, and would reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission, along with increased penalties for breaches of the Fair Work Act. “The Albanese government might have hoped this problem had gone away, but it hasn’t,” Dutton’s release said. Cash called for the CFMEU to be “immediately deregistered”. The Coalition claims that its actions would help “alleviate the housing crisis”. Dutton says super access for homebuyers will not drive up prices thanks to ‘homes being built’ Finally, Dutton is asked about the housing crisis. Analysis shows accessing super could bring up house prices 10%. Will your policy make the housing crisis worse? He replies that if you did it in the absence of a supply-side measure, then, yes. When I talk about a supply-side measure, I mean homes being built and coming to market. We’ve announced a $5bn plan … which will create 500,000 new homes. And that will provide an opportunity for Australians who are locked out of the housing market at the moment because of Labor’s CFMEU tax, which is making housing and construction more expensive than ever, because of the fact that they’ve brought a million people in over the last two years through the migration program, which has fuelled demand for housing at a time when supply has contracted and building approvals are down by 11%. Coalition does not want to fuel inflation with tax cuts, Dutton says Dutton is asked to rule out whether there will be any income tax cut policy under a Coalition government. He says he and the shadow treasurer have “constantly pointed out we want a simpler, fairer tax system”. We want Australians to pay less tax under this government – an average family is paying about $4,000 more tax … We don’t want to fuel inflation, which is what Labor has done. If you’re just splashing money out into the economy, as Labor does, you’re fuelling inflation, which increases interest rates. And this is why I say don’t believe that we have dealt with inflation in this country yet … there is a very real prospect under a re-elected Albanese-Bandt government that interest rates go back up. I’m not going to have a situation where that is possible … We have a track record of dealing with economic management and making economic decisions, including tax cuts … if we can afford to do tax cuts, we will. But it will depend on how much money is in the budget, what’s going to be inflationary, what other measures are floating around at the time, and I think that’s the prudent approach that you would expect us to take. Coalition will ‘have a lot to say about policy’ in lead-up to election: Dutton There has been quite a bit in the media, including from members of the Coalition, expressing concern over a lack of policies cutting through with the Australian public. Asked if Dutton shares that concern, he talks about Labor, and outlines one policy – the one announced today. Again, if you look at the negative impact of Labor’s polling over the course of the last couple of months, that hasn’t involved any policy, it’s involved lies and deception. Now, people will see through that by polling day. But Labor is the master at negative campaigning. If the government had a good story to tell, their ads would be about the achievements of the Albanese government. Instead, they’ve destroyed the economy, their renewables-only policy is destroying the energy market, and that’s why people are paying more for their groceries, because the farmer and the storage provider is paying more for their cold-room storage. They’re paying more for their gas, they’re paying more for their electricity. So, we’ll have a lot to say about policy between now and the election, but today is a very significant policy announcement. It’s a policy that’s going to root out the corruption which is at the heart of the Albanese government. Dutton spruiks ‘strong leadership’ to get ‘country back on track’ in response to falling ratings Dutton is pointed to a poll today showing his ratings falling for a second straight month. What can you do to stop that slide? He replies that all he can do is “be honest with the Australian people about the fact that we have a plan to get our country back on track”. The Labor party spent $2m over the past two months personally slandering me because they don’t have a good story to tell themselves. If the last three years had been a success for the Albanese government and a success for our country, there wouldn’t have been a 30% increase in food prices, people wouldn’t be paying 34% more for their gas, people wouldn’t be struggling to send their kids to school or to pay to go and see a doctor, but, of course, they are under this government. As we get closer to the election, the Australian people are going to have a choice. Their choice is between a bad government in minority form, so it will be even worse … that’s not the decision I think Australians should make. I think they should back the Coalition and my strong leadership to get our country back on track, to manage the economy effectively and efficiently, to stamp out union corruption. He does not detail how the Coalition could win the 19 seats required to hold a majority government. Dutton says he will write to the PM today asking for drafting resources and for the matter to be heard in parliament when it sits next week. I think it has that urgency to it and I think we have the basis upon which to build the legislation very quickly. He says the CFMEU and outlaw motorcycle gangs would be subject to the Coalition’s proposed legislation, while not ruling out a royal commission once legislation was passed. Pointed to the response by Labor’s premier, Jacinta Allan, to the allegations, Dutton calls it “wet lettuce”. It was pathetic. It gave a green light for the CFMEU to continue as they are now. What we’re proposing is a model which will stop the CFMEU in its tracks … We have a serious proposal here and I think the government needs to adopt it. The thing that they can do today, without Parliament resuming, is to announce that they’re going to deregister the CFMEU. If what we saw last night, and what we know and what the government has known for a long time, doesn’t warrant the deregistering of the CFMEU, I don’t know what does. Cash says proposed laws would mean criminal organisations can be prosecuted Asked how it would work for bosses and kingpins of alleged organised crime to be jailed despite being distanced from the crimes, Cash turns to the United States. The way it works is, under the current laws that we have here in Australia, you only have the ability of the police to target the person who committed the crime. In other words, you can’t go after the bosses and the kingpins who might just sit back and keep their hands clean. What these laws will do will ensure that the police are able to go after the criminal organisation itself if it is shown to have a pattern of behaviour in law-breaking. In the United States, the pattern of behaviour is two offences in the last 10 years. So, a pattern of behaviour under reco laws is fundamentally different to the ordinary meaning of the word “pattern of behaviour”. What that then means is this – the organisation itself, regardless of who committed the offence, is able to be prosecuted. It is a fundamental difference. ‘We’re going to clean it up’: CFMEU should be deregistered, Dutton says Dutton says Australia is wasting “billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money” through the CFMEU’s allegedly “corrupt model”. The prime minister has no interest in clearing it up because … his party is the financial beneficiary of the donations of the CFMEU. The CFMEU still sits on the national executive of the Australian Labor party. The CFMEU is not going anywhere, and that’s why they need to be deregistered, and bring in a union like the AWU to provide the important work, particularly on building sites, around workplace health and safety … Now, we’re going to clean it up, and the laws worked in the United States and they can work here in Australia as well. This is not just a blow against the outlaw motorcycle gangs’ [alleged] activities in the CFMEU, it’s also a blow against drug importations, stolen vehicle rackets, and it will reduce crime across society and our country. And it is the most significant step that’s been taken by a government or opposition in recent history. It will make sure that we have the ability for the police to crush these networks … this is the biggest corruption scandal in our country’s history and we should take it very seriously, and that’s exactly what we do today. Dutton accuses Labor of knowing ‘for years’ of alleged CFMEU malpractice Dutton goes on, saying Australian taxpayers are “being ripped off”. The CFMEU has donated $11.5m to Mr [Anthony] Albanese’s party and to Ms [Jacinta] Allan’s party. They are completely and utterly compromised. Dutton accuses the Albanese government of knowing “for years” about alleged malpractice within the CFMEU. He then draws a bow to drug habits among young people and stolen cars from “mums and dads”. And yet they’ve done nothing about it. Now, why this is really important to Australians, and I think particularly to Victorians at the moment, is that when homes are getting broken into by kids who are stealing money or stealing valuables to sell, they’re fuelling a drug habit. They’re buying drugs from outlaw motorcycle gang members, who are the biggest distributors of amphetamines and drugs in our country. They’re stealing cars from your homes at the moment because there’s a market that’s been created by outlaw motorcycle gangs, who are re-berthing these vehicles, stolen from mums and dads who have worked hard here in Victoria and across the country. That is the other limb of the outlaw motorcycle gang business model, and the CFMEU, by paying figures, shadowy figures and extortion payments to the outlaw motorcycle gang members, that’s fuelling that criminal enterprise. Dutton claims construction sector ‘essentially’ run by organised crime Peter Dutton is up next. He alleges Australia has “essentially got organised crime figures running the construction sector”. This is the biggest corruption scandal in our country’s history because we are talking about billions of dollars, billions of dollars that have been paid by ultimately Australian taxpayers through the Victorian government, through the Albanese government, for bloated prices, project times have been blown out, the costs are escalating, and for every kilometre of road that’s being built, or every hospital that’s being built, there’s a 30% CFMEU tax, at least. James Paterson says Coalition will tackle alleged ‘organised crime in the building industry’ with AFP taskforce The shadow minister for home affairs, James Paterson, is up next. He accuses the CFMEU’s business model of being more like “the mafia” than a union. … It is Australian and Victorian taxpayers who bear the brunt of this business model. Not just in their higher taxes for increased costs of infrastructure projects, but through the lawlessness and terror that we see in our streets and our suburbs … It is because of the weakness of Anthony Albanese and the Labor party that this business model has flourished on his watch. One of his first acts in government was to abolish the ABCC, to unleash them on building sites, ripping off taxpayers. A Dutton Coalition government will take a very different approach because we’re not beholden to the CFMEU for our funding in election campaigns. We will introduce a range of measures that Michaelia Cash has outlined, and in addition also stand up a new federally funded AFP-led criminal taskforce to tackle organised crime in the building industry. Major parties to work together to resurrect building regulator ABCC, Cash says Cash says the Coalition will work with Labor next week to seek to reintroduce the building industry regulator – the ABCC. But we will also smash organised crime right at its very heart. We will introduce laws that will allow the police to target the kingpins and the bosses. The laws that we currently have in Australia only allow the police to target the individual themselves who have committed the crime. And as we all know, when it comes to kingpins, when it comes to bosses of organised crime, they often don’t get their hands dirty … we will introduce these laws, which will allow our police to target the criminal organisation that has itself been involved in a pattern of law-breaking. We are going to break open the business model and smash it. Cash says Coalition moving to ‘hit organised crime where it hurts’ after CFMEU allegations The deputy opposition leader in the Senate, Michaelia Cash, is appearing now in Melbourne alongside members of the opposition. She lashes out at Labor over media reports alleging corruption in the CFMEU and says the Coalition would deregister the organisation. Under Anthony Albanese, $11.5m has gone from the CFMEU directly to the Labor party, in donations and in kind. When is Mr Albanese going to stand up and start going into bat for the Australian taxpayer? … Enough is enough. We are going to announce today a suite of actions that will quite literally hit organised crime where it hurts. The first thing we will do – and we call on Mr Albanese to work with us because we could do this next week when the parliament sits – is to, once and for all, deregister the CFMEU. Mr Albanese has shown, by putting it into administration, that he will take the weakest possible response possible. It is almost laughable to see government ministers out there today saying that administration is working. Well, if administration is working, God help the Australian people, God help women on construction sites. Treasurer expects upward pressure on farm and construction costs in cyclone’s wake Finally, Chalmers speaks to the strain ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred will place on household costs – including produce, building and construction. We will work through any inflationary impacts of damage done to farms in particular, but also when it comes to building and construction cost. We do expect there to be some sort of pressure on prices in both of those areas. I would say not just of the people in my own community but also to Australians right around the country, we know that people are still under pressure. We know it’s not mission accomplished when it comes to the fight against inflation. But we have made really quite amazing progress together as Australian. When we came to office, inflation was higher than 6% and absolutely galloping. It peaked at 7.8%, now it’s 2.4% … When you acknowledge that people are under pressure, you’ve got two choices: whether to try and help them or whether to leave them to their own devices, and our opponents didn’t want the cost of living [relief] to roll out, the energy bill relief, they don’t want wages growing … We’ve taken a different approach. We found a responsible substantial and meaningful way to provide the cost of living help to people who are doing it tough. On to Aukus. The treasurer is asked about the ongoing scathing critique of the Aukus partnership from the former PM Malcom Turnbull. This morning, Turnbull continued in his critique at a Parliament House doorstop. Chalmers: I saw a transcript of Malcolm’s doorstop in Canberra, I see he was given an opportunity to try and think of one good thing about Angus Taylor and he was unable to do that. He spoke about Aukus, and the views that Malcolm expressed this morning are consistent with the views he’s expressed on a number of occasions … It’s not a revelation that Malcolm Turnbull does not support Aukus. I respect his opinion. I speak to him from time to time about Aukus and about a whole range of things … The government is committed to Aukus, we see it is in our strategic interests, with big industrial benefits as well. It’s a long-term agreement which will survive changes of government on both sides of, all sides of the equations, all three sides. It is in our interest that we support it for all the reasons I’ve given before. Pressed on whether “we’re getting a good deal”, he replies: I believe so. Treasurer says reports of alleged CFMEU behaviour ‘horrifying’ Chalmers is pointed to reports in media outlets over alleged corruption and criminal behaviour in the CFMEU. He calls the reports “horrifying” and says relevant matters have been referred to the police. Clearly this shows how important it is the government has taken such decisive steps when it comes to the CFMEU. It’s why we appointed the administrator, why we’ve taken a tough stance and it’s why my colleague Murray Watt has referred, as I understand, that the relevant matters to the police. Chalmers says he won’t intervene after Queensland complaint on GST The Queensland treasurer has requested the federal government reject a carve-up of the GST pool after the allocation was slashed by $2.4bn. Asked if Labor would intervene, Chalmers said: “I don’t intend to do that.” I think David [Janetzki] knows that. I speak to him from time to time and have a good respectful working relationship with the Queensland government … the Commonwealth Grants Commission process is an independent process which takes place at arm’s length from the government of the day… Queensland were clearly expecting a reduction, they had booked part of this downgrade in their midyear upgrade. They explicitly set at the time there were further downside risks. It’s not unusual for state treasurers to want more money from the commonwealth. It is not unprecedented for state treasurers to try and blame commonwealth treasurers for pressures on their own budgets, I understand that, I’ve got a bit of perspective about that. That story is as old as Federation. That’s what we are seeing here. Treasurer says Labor trying to ‘strike right balance’ on energy and prices On to energy prices, Chalmers is asked to justify that the transition to renewables will pay off economically in comparison to nuclear. The treasurer says the most recent inflation data to the end of last year showed electricity prices fell 2.25%. They would have fallen 1.6% without Labor’s rebates. The Australian Energy Regulator … has said is that it is unreliable coal generation that is putting upward pressure on prices. And so energy prices have been a big part of the pressure on Australian families and Australian households. That is why we provided two rounds of energy bill relief to take some of the edge off and to – the worst thing we could do for electricity prices is to keep the unreliable parts of the system for so long while we wait for nuclear reactors to be dealt. Nuclear reactors would push electricity prices higher. They are the most expensive system. It would be bad for energy prices. What we have said on a number of occasions now is we want to strike the right balance, we want to get more cheaper and cleaner energy into the system and we have shown a willingness to provide a bit of assistance with energy bills in the interim. Labor’s cost-of-living help ‘responsible but very meaningful’ – Chalmers Asked what Australians could expect in terms of cost of living in the upcoming budget, the treasurer said Labor had “made it clear” that when they could afford to provide more help in a responsible way, it would be considered. Our focus now is in rolling out the very meaningful, responsible, but very meaningful cost of living help we have already done – a tax cut for every taxpayer, cheaper medicines, rent assistance, fee-free Tafe, getting wages moving again, so when you hear Angus Taylor talking about cost of living, remember if he had his way, Australians would be getting none of that cost of living help. If the Liberals had their way, Australians would be thousands of dollars worse off at the worst possible time, and they will be worse off still if the Coalition wins. Asked how bad the budget looked and why, Chalmers confirmed there would be a deficit in this year’s budget, but “much, much smaller” than what Labor “inherited from our political opponents”. We have delivered back-to-back surpluses for the first time … in two decades. Our opponents promised, and every year thereafter they delivered, precisely zero surpluses. We have delivered two surpluses in our first two years and that has happened for the first time in almost two decades. On top of that we have helped engineer the biggest ever nominal turnaround in the budget in the history of this country – a $200bn improvement in the budget, which means we are paying down Liberal debt and avoiding interest costs on that debt as well. Now a defining feature of our first three budgets was responsible economic management. That will be a defining feature of the fourth as well. Even this year, when we will be printing a deficit for this year, it will be much, much smaller than what we inherited from our political opponents, and that shows the progress we have been able to make. Not managing the budget responsibly or providing cost of living help, but managing the budget responsibly and providing cost of living help and investing in building Australia’s future. Treasurer says Coalition trying to block cost-of-living relief Chalmers turned to the opposition – warning funding for natural disaster recovery wasn’t safe under the Coalition. That’s because they think this spending is wasteful. Now, I’m told the shadow treasurer is off on a little tour. I think that’s a very good thing. From our point of view, the more Angus the better in the coming months. Now he should visit every single marginal seat and tell millions of Australians that he tried to deny them a tax cut. He should visit every marginal seat and tell millions of Australians that he tried to deny them the cost of living help that they need and deserve. If Angus Taylor had his way, wages would be lower, millions of workers wouldn’t be getting a tax cut at all and there wouldn’t be a cost of living help, and that means Australians would be thousands of dollars’ worse off if Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor had had their way. Post-disaster recovery a ‘key influence’ on budget – treasurer Chalmers praised “quite remarkable acts of selflessness” from first responders and the State Emergency Service before confirming the allowance and the payment would be extended. This will be a bit of extra help for the people who are hardest hit. And we have been primarily focused throughout on the human cost of these natural disasters, but there will be a very substantial economic cost as well, and recovering and rebuilding from natural disasters will be a key influence on the budget that Katy Gallagher and I will hand down in eight days’ time. Remember, around 5 million Australians were in harm’s way, when it comes to Cyclone Alfred. Around 2 million homes. At one point, there were than 450,000 homes without power. In our part of the world, that’s actually the most ever, simultaneously, and there was something like 12 million work hours lost when businesses closed down. So we are getting a handle on the economic costs, and we are getting a handle on the costs to the budget, and we will report our initial assessment of that in the budget, Tuesday next week. He said, as flagged, there would be about a $1.2bn hit to economic output as a consequence of the ex-tropical cyclone – equivalent to a quarter of a percentage point in GDP. We made a heap of progress on inflation numbers … but we can anticipate some upward pressure on building costs as a consequence. There will also be costs to the budget, and they will be substantial. We will provision an extra $1.2bn in next weeks in new funding in new payments, and also to help rebuild local communities as well. That new $1.2bn will be part of $13.5bn total in the budget to respond to and rebuild after natural disasters. Post-Alfred disaster recovery payments extended Jim Chalmers is appearing in Queensland, extending the allowance of the jointly funded disaster payments for ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Before him, the state’s education minister said help was available for people who had lost essential services, including household contents, food, clothing and medicine. The disaster recovery allowance has been extended to an additional two LGAs, Bundaberg and Toowoomba. South of the border, we also have changes that we need to make, along with changes in Queensland, so if a person has suffered some of the most extreme impacts, including major damage to their home, serious injury or loss of a loved one, they may be eligible for the Australian government disaster recovery payment. That is the payment that offers eligible residents $1,000 and $400 per eligible child. Today I can announce that this payment will be made available in Brisbane, in Ipswich, in Moreton Bay and in Toowoomba, and in localities in the Somerset local government areas. South of the border, the payment will be made available in the shires of Clarence Valley, Richmond, Bellingen, Kyogle. We know then we’ll be in the longer term more to do when it comes to recovery. Victoria’s worst-hit spots for numberplate theft Casey has been handed the unenviable title of Victoria’s epicentre for numberplate thefts, with just shy of 2,000 reports made to police in the 12 months to September 2024. Hume ranks second (1,408), followed closely by Greater Dandenong (1,374), with Wyndham (1,121) and Brimbank (1,110) rounding out the top five hardest hit in the state. More than half of all thefts from vehicles across Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia relate to stolen licence plates. Only 22% of stolen registration plates are recovered. The Casey local area commander, Insp Stu Richards, said stolen number plates were attached to other vehicles – many of which were stolen – to help offenders “fly under the radar and commit further crimes including aggravated burglaries, arson attacks, drug trafficking and petrol drive-offs”. Having to replace your plates is not only an inconvenience, it’s also costly. Especially if you keep receiving tolls or fines once they’re in the hands of criminals. That’s why we encourage vehicle owners to use anti-theft screws to deter thieves in the first instance. These screws are available free-of-charge at your local police station. Climate-spurred burden of cardiovascular disease to ‘more than double’ by 2050 Hot weather is responsible for 7.3% of the heart disease burden in Australia and is set to double by the middle of the century, according to research published today in the European Heart Journal. The research, led by Prof Peng Bi from the University of Adelaide’s school of public health, found that during the 15-year period from 2003-18, there were more than 48,000 years of life lost each year to cardiovascular disease attributable to high temperatures in Australia. The researchers used data from the Australian burden of disease database on illness or death caused by cardiovascular disease and then applied a statistical model to calculate how much cardiovascular disease or death can be attributed to hot weather. The researchers then used their own model to look at the likely impact of climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions in the future under two different scenarios outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In one scenario, emissions stabilise, and in another they continually rise. Under the scenario of emissions stabilising, the number of healthy years of life lost due to cardiovascular disease is expected to increase by 183% to 139,829 by 2050. Under the model of emissions continuing to rise, the years of healthy life lost due to cardiovascular disease are projected to increase by 226% by 2050 to 161,095. Prof Bi said: Predicting future disease burden always comes with some uncertainty, and our models rely on assumptions that may not capture every real-life detail. However, despite these uncertainties, the comprehensive nature of our approach makes the study especially valuable for planning future climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Our research shows that as climate change brings more frequent and intense heat, the risks associated with higher temperatures are likely to increase, especially for vulnerable groups. It highlights the importance of taking precautions during hot weather, such as staying hydrated, finding cool environments and seeking medical help when needed. Seven arrested and man hospitalised after alleged street brawl in western Sydney Seven people have been arrested following an alleged stabbing brawl in western Sydney this morning. About 4.15am on Monday, emergency services were called to a road in Green Valley following reports of a brawl. Officers arrived to find a group of people allegedly fighting in the street, including a 29-year-old man – allegedly wearing a balaclava – with a stab wound to his back. He was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Liverpool hospital under police guard in a serious but stable condition. Police arrested four women – aged 32, 33, 59 and 19 – and two men – aged 26 and 21 – before taking them to Liverpool police station. Officers have established a crime scene and detectives have launched an investigation into the incident. Following initial inquiries, police believe the group allegedly confronted two men – both wearing balaclavas – after they tracked a vehicle allegedly stolen from Mount Prichard earlier this week to Green Valley. Police have also been told one of the men wearing a balaclava fled the scene before police arrived. No charges have been laid. A veteran MP has landed a state cabinet posting and responsibility for leading disaster recovery efforts after becoming a key voice for local communities devastated by floods, AAP reports. Lismore MP Janelle Saffin will enter the inner circle of NSW premier Chris Minns’ government as part of a reshuffle sparked by a minister’s resignation over her use of a taxpayer-funded car. Saffin has been a high-profile advocate for the region following record-breaking floods in 2022 that left thousands of homes uninhabitable or damaged. The Labor veteran was first elected to state parliament in 1995 and also served a six-year stint as the federal member for Page. Saffin has been given a newly created post as recovery minister, and will also take on the portfolios of small business and minister for the north coast. John Graham has also been permanently given the role of transport minister, leaving him responsible for handling a bitter dispute with rail workers over pay. Graham has been acting in the role after his predecessor Jo Haylen resigned from the portfolio after using her ministerial car to travel from a holiday home to a winery for lunch and for other private trips. He will keep his role negotiating with private toll operator Transurban to overhaul pricing on Sydney’s sprawling network of motorways. He will also keep his responsibilities as special minister of state, minister for the arts, minister for music and minister for night-time economy. Roads will become the responsibility of Jenny Aitchison, whose existing portfolio of regional roads will be absorbed into the ministry. Federal budget to put cost of living ‘front and centre’ – Gallagher Cost of living will be “front and centre” of Labor’s budget ahead of the federal election, following scathing reports in News Corp tabloids that suggested the price of groceries had soared under the Albanese government. Front page headlines across metropolitan New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania included “aisles be damned – Labor pains at checkout as groceries soar 30%”, “$3000 extra at the shops” and “Albo’s shop of horrors”. Finance minister Katy Gallagher told reporters in Canberra on Monday that the budget, to be handed down next week, would follow the same path as the previous three delivered with a focus on driving down inflation and helping households. The fourth Albanese budget will have a higher premium on responsible economic management. Of course, cost of living will be front and centre, making sure that we are supporting households where we can now that we’re seeing inflation come back to the more normal range. Cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek told Seven’s Sunrise program the government was keeping pressure on the supermarket sector in response to concerns over grocery prices. We keep saying to those supermarkets they have got to do something at the checkout because families are really feeling those grocery price increases. We’re proud of the fact that we have brought inflation down from 6%, which we inherited under the Liberals, to just over 2%. But there’s still more to do to make sure that people are feeling a bit of relief at the supermarket checkout. – with AAP Search on for man, 23, missing after reportedly falling into Queensland waters In Queensland, a search and rescue operation is continuing today to attempt to locate a 23-year-old man reported missing from Jindalee boat ramp yesterday. Emergency services were called just before 5.40am on Monday following reports the man had fallen into the water and failed to resurface. This morning’s search is focusing on the river and shoreline upstream from Seventeen Mile Rocks. Search assets include general duties officers conducting foot patrols, water police, Polair and the SES. Good news to the radio waves – ABC RN is back across digital and analogue platforms and streaming, more than two hours after it first cut out. More than $11m in luxury assets – including a yacht, Rolex watches, Cartier jewellery and Brett Whiteley art – has been forfeited to the commonwealth as suspected proceeds of crime after an Australian federal police (AFP) investigation. The decision in the supreme court of Victoria grew out of AFP-led operation, which focused on a large Middle Eastern organised crime syndicate’s alleged access to firearms, large-scale drug importation activity, extensive wealth and threats to life. The investigation uncovered significant plots involving alleged drug importations, including how they were planned by syndicate leaders from prison. It also included an investigation into numerous luxury items owned by syndicate members, which were suspected of being proceeds of crime. They included a luxury yacht worth $800,000, investment funds, original paintings, fine jewellery and properties. AFP detective superintendent Scott Raven said the seizure was “key to disrupting and deterring serious organised crime across the country”. Money remains the lifeblood of organised crime and cutting off the flow of ill-gotten finances helps prevent further harm to the community by cutting off revenue and motivation. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says Donald Trump would “like” the Aukus defence pact because it’s “so bad” for Australia. Turnbull, whose submarine deal with the French had been torpedoed in favour of the pact with the US and the UK, has just popped up in a corridor at Parliament House. Asked whether the pact will be secure under the Trump administration, the former PM says Australia has already sent the US $3bn to support their submarine base, but with “no guarantee that we will ever get any submarines”. The most likely outcome of the August pillar one is that we will end up with no submarines of our own... So we will have lost both sovereignty and security and a lot of money as well. So people say, will Donald Trump like it? Well, of course he’d like it. It’s such a bad deal for us. His only thing at the back of his mind, he’ll be thinking: who are these dumb guys that agreed to this deal? ABC Radio National is back on streaming services, however it is still playing apologies and classical music to listeners tuning in the traditional way. Earlier, RN posted to social media saying it was “aware of an issue which began after 8:00am AEST and is impacting Radio National and other audio services on broadcast and streaming services including ABC listen”. The ABC apologises for any inconvenience caused and we are working to understand and resolve the issue as soon as possible. Members of the public are being urged to help track the extent of a fish kill in a region hit hard by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, AAP reports. Thousands of fish have been washing up dead or gasping on the banks of the Richmond River at Ballina in northern NSW, according to habitat charity OzFish. Locals have been warned to brace for more fish kills as the effects of the ex-tropical cyclone continue to wreak havoc a week after it crossed the coast, triggering widespread flooding in northern NSW and south-east Queensland. A NSW government fisheries spokesperson said an investigation was under way into reports of the kill. Fisheries staff are liaising with local councils on monitoring water quality and the fish deaths, with several locations impacted. Ongoing fish kills in this region can be expected over the coming days and into next week. OzFish chief executive Cassie Price said black water containing very low levels of oxygen was likely the cause. NSW police get ‘bullet and blast resistant’ BearCat vehicles New South Wales police has unveiled five $3.5m armoured Lenco “BearCat” vehicles to be used to respond to the state’s most dangerous incidents, including tactical operations, counter-terrorism and riots. The vehicles will transport officers to negotiators during operations where protection from hostile weapon fire and a safe base of operations is required. One of the nine-tonne BearCats are equipped with an extendable ramp which will allow officers to access multi-storey buildings and aircraft for the first time – an Australian first. Minister for police and counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said the custom vehicles would greatly improve the capability of police to disrupt “high-risk situations” across the state. NSW police commissioner Karen Webb said the vehicles were “about protecting our specialist officers”. All of these vehicles are bullet and blast resistant and have the capacity to transport hostages or injured personnel. Man found dead with stab wounds in Sydney A man in Sydney’s south-west has been found deceased with multiple stab wounds after an alleged concern for welfare call was made. About 9pm on Saturday, emergency services received a triple zero call at a home in Belmore. On arrival, police found the body of a man – believed to be in his 30s – and a 24-year-old man at the scene. Initial inquiries alleged a number of stab wounds were found on the deceased man’s body. The other man was taken to Concord Hospital for further assessment under police guard and later taken to Campsie police station for further inquiries. The body is yet to be formally identified. A crime scene has been established and inquiries are continuing. Back to ABC RN, which is still playing silence for this blogger, and the broadcaster has provided an update over the technical difficulties – which have now lasted almost an hour. In a statement, it told Guardian Australia the outages were also hitting some other audio broadcasting and streaming services. The ABC is aware of an issue which began after 8:00am AEDT this morning and is impacting Radio National and other audio services on broadcast and streaming services including ABC listen. The ABC apologises for any inconvenience caused and we are working to understand and resolve the issue as soon as possible. Pocock launches re-election campaign as ‘safeguard’ if Coalition takes power Independent senator David Pocock has pitched himself as a politician critical to “safeguarding” action on climate change if opposition leader Peter Dutton wins minority government at the upcoming federal election, AAP reports. The former rugby union star is vying for a second term as an ACT senator and launched his re-election campaign at Old Parliament House late on Sunday, telling his supporters: Particularly if we see a Dutton minority government, the Senate will be critical on safeguarding some of the very hard-won gains on things like climate. Finance minister Katie Gallagher holds the only other ACT Senate spot and until Pocock was elected, the two seats were usually occupied by one representative each from Labor and the Liberals. Pocock said he was “just getting started” and that standing up to major parties would be a bigger part of his campaign centred around climate, cost of living, housing and health. Advocate and student Hannah Vardy was announced as his running mate, put forward as a voice for young people. The fourth-year law, biology and climate science student was part of a campaign for parliament to legislate a duty of care to younger generations regarding climate change action. Crisafulli to give presser at Gold Coast high school The Queensland government has just announced that the premier, David Crisafulli, and the minister for education, John-Paul Langbroek, will hold a news conference this morning. They will be appearing at Helensvale state high school on the Gold Coast at 9.30am local time. Putting my education hat on – Queensland is the only state or territory that hasn’t signed up to the federal government’s public school funding deal ahead of the federal election. Previous announcements have seen premiers appearing alongside the federal minister for education, Jason Clare, so it will be interesting to see if we receive an update. We have now clocked up half an hour of soothing violins and apologies from ABC Radio National or, if you’re an app user like me … silence. We are still waiting to hear back from the ABC as to what the problem is, but in the meantime, it appears local stations are working as normal. NSW swelters in up to 39C before cool change New South Wales was hit with an autumn scorcher on Sunday, with maximum temperatures up to 12 degrees above the March average in Sydney. That’s according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jonathan How, who said many parts of NSW peaked above 35 degrees, particularly across the west and central parts of the state. Temperatures peaked above 37 degrees in the Sydney CBD, and reached 39.3 at Sydney airport. Then the cool change arrived. How said: In Sydney, the temperature dropped eight degrees in just 30 minutes before 1am from 31 degrees to 23 degrees in a short period of time. And many other places across the coast did also see quite a sharp drop in temperature as that strong southerly change pushed through. We saw that cool change move through Victoria and Tasmania earlier in the day, on Sunday that was associated with a very strong cold front pushing through south eastern parts of the country. We saw plenty of showers, some strong winds, and also a significant drop in temperature across both Tasmania and also Victoria. How said temperatures would begin to rise again from Tuesday and get “quite warm” by the middle of the week across South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and southern NSW. Man drowns in Hunter region waterhole A man in his 20s has drowned at a waterhole near Dungog in the Hunter region of New South Wales. About 3.45pm yesterday officers were called to a swimming hole at Ladies Well at Upper Allyn – about 48km north-west of Dungog – following reports of concern for the welfare of a swimmer. Police arrived and with the assistance of paramedics, police divers and rescue, a man’s body was retrieved from the water. He is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be aged in his 20s. A crime scene has been established and inquiries are under way. If you, like many in our Guardian office, start your morning with ABC Radio National – you would have noticed the broadcast has cut out. The ABC app is silent, as are web broadcasting streams, but the analogue radio is playing classical music, with the occasional interlude of: We apologise for this break in our program, we will return to normal programming as soon as possible. We’ve reached out to the ABC and will bring you the latest on what’s occurred as soon as we have it. Crisafulli on Cyclone Alfred’s billion-dollar cost The premier of Queensland, David Crisafulli, appeared on the Today show this morning following media reports suggesting Tropical Cyclone Alfred will cost the budget around $1.2bn. Asked if he was concerned the hit might signal a limit to the amount of financial assistance affected residents would receive, he said the state government’s focus was “to make sure we go from response to recovery”. We’ve got to do things differently. So I acknowledge it might cost a little bit more up front to do that. But why would you replace things to the same substandard? In the end, it’s going to cost you more in the long run to have to constantly go back and pick up the pieces. But there’s also the social and the community disconnect that comes with that. We’ve, over the years, we’ve rebuilt bridges to the same standard in the same location and expected a different result. That’s crazy. And I’m determined not to do that. So yes, I acknowledge that it’s a bit of a cost up front, but long term it will pay for itself many, many times over. Power has been restored to all households overnight, the premier confirmed, and all schools impacted by the cyclone have reopened. Ndis costs stabilising and on track for target – Rishworth The minister for social services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Ndis), Amanda Rishworth, says the scheme is tracking $700m lower than initially forecast this financial year. That’s according to the latest Ndis monthly data for the end of February, placing the year-on-year growth rate at around 10%, down from the 12% growth forecast for this financial year. Rishworth said the results showed scheme costs were stabilising and on track to reach an 8% growth rate target by July 2026. We have had a strong focus on providing greater clarity on what Ndis funding can and cannot be spent on, on preventing fraud, and on improving planning to make it more consistent, transparent and fairer. We know there is more to be done, but these reforms are bringing us closer to the original intent of the scheme – to provide genuine choice and control, and provide reasonable and necessary supports, to people with a permanent and significant disability so they can participate in everyday activities. The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is doing the media rounds this morning ahead of a pre-election tour to eight marginal seats in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. He told ABC News Breakfast he’d be talking about the “economic mismanagement of this Labor government and how it’s trashed Australia’s standard of living”. On Monday, the Coalition will release figures showing Australians are paying more income tax than the last financial year. Asked if he was flagging a new round of income tax cuts if the Liberals win the election, Taylor said they were putting them out to “make the point that Australia’s standard of living has collapsed”. Asked why the Coalition hadn’t announced more policies yet, which drew criticism from colleagues in the Australian, Taylor said they’d announced “lots of policies”. Re-establishing the fiscal guardrails that ensure you have strong economic management, making sure small businesses have incentives to invest. Fixing the housing supply in this country through the housing infrastructure fund. And getting rid of unnecessary red tape. The one thing about this job - and I’m sure it’s true of your job - you get a lot of free advice. And that is the nature of what you and I do. A body has been located during a search for a missing six-year-old girl, AAP reports. The girl was last seen in North Nowra, in southern NSW, on Sunday afternoon. Police were notified when the girl could not be located, with officers from South Coast police district launching an investigation and wide-scale search for her. Police said a body was located during the search within bushland in the North Nowra area about 6pm on Sunday. “While it is yet to be formally identified, it is believed to be that of the missing girl,” police said in a statement. An investigation into the incident is under way, and a report will be prepared for the coroner. Labor vows to boost price comparison tool for doctor appointments Labor will spend $7m to boost a costs comparison website for medical specialists, in a bid to help people find cheaper doctors’ appointments. Health minister Mark Butler will make the announcement today in Perth, with the government pledging to – if re-elected – “fix” an existing price disclosure tool called Medical Costs Finder. Butler’s office said the website was meant to use Medicare data to show the typical cost of specialists’ appointments. Set up under the former Coalition government in 2019, and continued under Labor, only a small number of doctors had actually uploaded their costs to the site. Senate estimates heard in June last year that only 20 doctors were disclosing their fees on the $24m website. Butler’s office said today only about 70 had now done so. Labor’s pledge, to be included in this month’s budget and instituted if the government retains power at the coming election, is that every eligible specialist across all non-GP specialities would have their average fees displayed on the website. A new $7m cash injection would allow Medicare, hospital and insurer data to be displayed on the site, so as to not impose any extra administrative tasks on doctors. Insurers will also be required to show their data. Butler: It’s a service that has been left gathering dust and doesn’t help patients determine specialist out-of-pocket costs. The Albanese Labor government will help Australians find the best value when they need specialist medical advice and treatment, by upgrading the Medical Costs Finder to give more transparency on fees. Doctors’ union to Minns: ‘fix the problem or let the system collapse completely’ In a statement released ahead of the arbitration beginning this morning in Sydney, the president of the doctors’ union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (Asmof), Dr Nick Spooner, said: My psychiatrist colleagues are burnt out, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. They are dedicated to providing the best care for their patients, but they cannot provide safe care under these conditions. The solution to this crisis is not complicated. It’s about valuing psychiatrists, paying them fairly, and ensuring that NSW has enough doctors to provide the care patients deserve. The Minns government has a choice – fix the problem or let the system collapse completely. As part of the arbitration proceedings, Asmof will call on the Minns government to act immediately to fix the crisis by urgently recruiting additional psychiatrists to fill vacancies, fully funding training and registration fees to attract new doctors, and providing a 25% pay increase for psychiatrists to stem the flow of doctors leaving NSW. They also want to see the establishment of a formal psychiatry workforce committee to oversee staffing and recruitment and implement a structured dispute resolution process to improve working conditions. Doctors accuse Minns government of putting lives at risk in psychiatrist dispute The doctors’ union is warning the NSW government’s refusal to take action on the psychiatrists workforce crisis is putting lives at risk, as the matter goes to arbitration today. Psychiatrists resigned en masse from staff specialist positions last month after the government rejected their proposed solution of a special levy to increase their pay by 25%, similar to that which emergency doctors received in 2015. With 140 vacancies unfilled before the mass resignation, doctors claimed the rise in pay would stem the cycle of specialist doctors leaving the public system because of the untenable workload for those left, and the moral injury felt being unable to give patients the quality of care they want to. The NSW government asked the Industrial Relations Commission to urgently intervene in January, with the date for expedited arbitration a full bench of the commission to hear the dispute set from 17-21 March. Of the 206 who intended to resign, 62 have followed through with resignations but many more have either deferred their resignations or transferred to visiting medical officer contracts whilst they await the outcome of the IRC process. Politicians have been warned against “election sweeteners” as economists flag growing fiscal holes in Australia’s budget, AAP reports. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has started feeding commitments to the public ahead of the 25 March budget and is expected to announce disaster recovery funds for Queensland and northern NSW communities battered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The cyclone is projected to add at least $1.2bn to the upcoming budget, on top of $11.6bn blocked out for disaster support, new figures show. It has already dealt a billion-dollar hit to GDP, could wipe one quarter of a percentage point from quarterly growth, caused the economy to shed 12m work hours, and could put upwards pressure on inflation. In New South Wales, the body of a six-year-old girl has been found in bushland north of Nowra after as wide-scale search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday. Inquiries are under way. Still in NSW, the premier, Chris Minns, has announced a mini cabinet reshuffle, triggered by the resignation of former transport minister Jo Haylen last month. Interim transport minister John Graham will permanently remain in the portfolio, and Lismore MP Janelle Saffin will be promoted to a ministerial position. And arbitration over a mass-resignation of psychiatrists in NSW over industrial disputes will begin today – more on that to come. I’m Caitlin Cassidy, let’s get into it.