What we learned today, Tuesday 22 April
Many thanks for joining us on the blog for another day on the campaign trail – here are all the main takeaways from today:
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton largely paused campaigning today in a mark of respect for the late Pope Francis, who died last night aged 88.
Albanese attended mass at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral to pay tribute in the morning, and said Pope Francis would be “recorded in history as one of the most significant of all of the holy fathers”.
Dutton, meanwhile, attended mass at Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral in the afternoon.
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, may represent Australia at the pope’s funeral.
Labor announced it would help protect victim-survivors of domestic violence from financial abuse through tax, superannuation and social security debts.
The Coalition announced it would relaunch a regional grants program that provided Liberal-held seats with twice as many grants as Labor electorates.
Dutton faced questions on his personal popularity in the latest polls, but said “today is not the day for politicking.”
Just $16.5m of Labor’s promised $1bn mental health package – or 1.65% – is due to be spent in the next financial year, according to official policy costings.
Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party will investigate the alleged “tampering” of how-to-vote cards after claiming an unnamed party had “interfered” with the minor party’s seat preferences.
Early voting officially began across the country.
But that’s not all for today – the third leaders’ debate will begin at 7.30pm AEST, and I will bring you all the key takeaway’s in a separate live blog tonight, so make sure to stay tuned.
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Dramatic rescue after rock climbing fall
Moving away from the campaign for a moment, and two people have been rescued while rock climbing at a national park in central NSW.
Footage of the dramatic rescue, released by NSW police, shows a 47-year-old woman, who had fallen while climbing, and an 80-year-old man, being hauled to safety in the Warrumbungle national park.
The pair activated a personal locator beacon after the woman slipped while climbing near Grand High Tops lookout last night.
Blue Mountains police rescue conducted a “vertical rescue” with PolAir, Toll Ambulance Rescue helicopter and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service about 8.30am this morning.
The woman was airlifted to Dubbo Base hospital with suspected broken ribs, and the man was uninjured.
Orana Mid-Western police district acting superintendent Paul Stephens said the operation represented a concerted multi-agency effort to rescue the two rock climbers safely.
This is a hugely positive outcome that is testament to the great work of all involved, particularly given the difficult terrain. We want to thank our emergency services partner agencies and volunteers for all they have done.
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View all the latest polling results with our poll tracker
As the federal election approaches, political polls are coming thick and fast. You can stay up to speed with all the latest results using our poll tracker, below:
Chaney on the prospect of minority government
Asked about the prospect of a minority government, Kate Chaney argued that neither major party had “done anything that would reverse the long-term trend of declining primary support for those parties”.
I think people are really starting to come around to the idea that a balanced parliament may actually be the best chance we have to drive better long-term thinking and policy that is based on what we need rather than party ideology. I certainly am getting good strong signs from my community, but it is definitely going to be close.
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Chaney says her electorate wants to protect nature and have job security for decades ahead
As a Western Australian-based MP, Kate Chaney was asked whether people in her electorate support the Coalition’s gas policy.
She said WA has amazing resources – but also “amazing natural features”, saying there is “a strong sense that people want to protect nature”.
There is a strong sense that people want to protect nature and also a broader awareness that as the world decarbonises we need to have an economic base that continues to be prosperous.
So that is what I hear from constituents here, is they want to know where are the jobs going to be in 10, 20, 30 years and make sure we are boldly moving towards that economy rather than holding on to the economy of the past.
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Chaney argues Dutton is losing ‘women in modern electorates’
Kate Chaney, the independent MP for Curtin, is also up on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing this afternoon.
She was asked about the latest Newspoll out today, suggesting women are abandoning Peter Dutton – is that something she has observed in the last couple of weeks of campaigning?
Chaney responded that “I don’t think a Peter Dutton-led Liberal government is doing any more for women than a Scott Morrison-led Liberal government did”.
There are a lot of women in my electorate who don’t feel that the level of compassion or kindness that they would like to see in politics is reflected in what they see coming out of the Liberal party, so that polling would not surprise me.
It is not just women who think that, but I think there is a broader sense of dissatisfaction as we see Peter Dutton take the party further to the right and further towards a Trump approach to politics.
I think he is really losing women in modern electorates like mine who are much more interested in the centre and have a strong sense of equality.
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Bandt responds to Santos winning final approval for Barossa gas project
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has responded to earlier news that Santos has received federal approval to commence production from its Barossa offshore gasfield off the coast of NT.
You can read all the details on this below from Lisa Cox:
In a post to X earlier this afternoon, Bandt wrote:
Labor has lit the fuse on a giant climate bomb, approving one of the world’s dirtiest gas projects that will emit hundreds of tonnes of pollution and put a safer climate out of reach.
Labor are climate charlatans and the Liberals are climate criminals, talking up renewables while opening up coal and gas, and we can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result.
Greens corflutes defaced with swastikas, racist slurs
Greens election corflutes have been defaced with swastikas and Islamophobic slurs in what the party says is the “tip of the iceberg” of the racism and hate it is facing during the campaign.
The NSW Greens senator, Mehreen Faruqi, and the Greens’ candidate in the inner-west Sydney seat of Grayndler, Hannah Thomas, have had swastikas drawn on election posters in Erskineville and Stanmore respectively.
Another one of Faruqi’s posters in Chester Hill was vandalised with the words “Arab muslims have kill (sic) more Palestinians than Israel”.
In a statement to Guardian Australia, Faruqi – who is the Greens’ deputy leader and anti-racism spokesperson – said:
The Greens are being targeted by a toxic mix of racists, Islamophobes and the far right because we are standing up against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Defacing election material is just the tip of the iceberg of hate, racism and attacks.
Our movement is bigger than the narrow minded and cowardly racists who target our election materials. This is an attempt to silence our supporters who proudly take part in our democratic process and it will not work.
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CBA investigating outage of banking app
Moving away from the election campaign for a moment: the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s banking app is down for customers and the company says it is investigating an outage.
The outage commenced before 3.15pm AEST.
In an update on its website, CBA said it was “aware some customers are experiencing difficulties accessing some of our services” and it was being urgently investigated.
The Netbank app currently does not load account information when opened.
CommBank later confirmed both the CommBank and Netbank apps were affected, but other services including ATMs, online and in-person payments were still working.
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Burke critical of Muslim Votes Matter’s how-to-vote card preferencing decisions
Asked if he expects a swing in his seat, given what is occurring in Gaza, Tony Burke responded:
Up until this morning at 8am, every single candidate had zero against their name. So I don’t take anything for granted and I always work on the basis that you have got to really scramble and fight for every vote that might be there.
One thing in the how to vote that surprised me was when you went through those numbers, [Muslim Votes Matter] put the Clive Palmer party Trumpet of Patriots above me as well, so I look at their policies and I can’t for the life of me work out what the logic is in that preference vote.
Burke was also asked about the fact that in Anne Aly’s seat, the Muslim Votes Matter how-to-vote card has placed her after the Liberal candidate. Burke responded:
I think when they are trying to take out the only Muslim woman in the parliament*, I think that will actually have more impact on how the campaign is viewed.
(*Burke clarified a moment later that he meant to say the House of Representatives, not all of parliament)
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Burke asked about Muslim Votes Matter preferencing him fifth in seat of Watson
Tony Burke said this election campaign had been “the most aggressive campaign I have had by a long way.” He was asked about reports he left an event due to safety concerns, and said:
I don’t blame any of the other candidates for that … That particular WhatsApp message was with respect to issues around Palestine.
Burke said he attended a pre-poll centre in Bankstown today and had two separate conversations with voters – one person from Gaza, thanking Burke for what he has done on the matter, and another person who was more critical.
There are wildly different views that you get from different people on these issues and understandably there will be a whole lot of passion …
In his seat of Watson, the Muslim Votes Matter have preferenced Burke fifth on their how to vote card, above the Liberals. Asked if this means he is likely to retain his seat, Burke responded, “who knows.”
I have never taken ever granted. No matter what you are told your seat is on paper you have to treat every seat as marginal. I’ve always done that and I think most members of Parliament have done that.
Burke says tonight’s debate will be ‘a bit more subdued’
Tony Burke was also asked about the significance of the election campaigning being paused today, amid Pope Francis’ death.
Burke said there was a “real generosity from Australians in a moment like this” and it was important political leaders hear this.
So I was really glad when it was decided that you wouldn’t have the same sort of partisan conversations during the day today. And while the debate still going ahead, the tone of it, certainly, we can expected to be a bit more subdued.
Asked why the debate wasn’t cancelled, Burke said he wasn’t involved in those conversations.
I don’t think you need to say there will be no political conversation … And obviously any of the aggression of that is not happening at all during the day today, but tonight it will sort of be a bit of a reset once the debate takes place.
Burke said “you don’t get knockout punches in these sorts of debates”, but rather it is a chance for Australian’s to better understand each leader’s plans.
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Burke reflects on Pope Francis’ legacy
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has been speaking with ABC Afternoon Briefing this afternoon to reflect on Pope Francis’ legacy after news of his death.
Burke agreed with Anthony Albanese’s earlier comments that the Pope would be recorded in history as one of the most significant holy Fathers, and said:
This particular holy Father has been extraordinary in that pastoral role of trying to find people who would be considered on the fringes and making sure they feel welcomed and brought back in …
There was a real pastoral role that he played I think has made a lot more people feel included, and I think after the church had been through some really really difficult years, a lot of people were able to turn back a bit more hope.
Burke said he did not meet Pope Francis but did, as immigration minister, did issue him a visa.
Shortly after I became a minister for immigration after the reshuffle, the brief arrives to sign off for a visa to Australia for his Holiness Pope Francis, so I signed that. At some point that will exist somewhere within [the] archives but that is the closest connection that I have had in that way with him.
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Pictures from the remote pre-poll centre at Pirlangimpi on Melville Island
As we’ve flagged earlier, pre-polling has opened across the country today – including at the remote polling station at Pirlangimpi on Melville Island in the Northern Territory.
The Australian Electoral Commission says remote voting teams “usually consist of three to four polling officials”:
They travel by car, plane, helicopter, or boat to many remote communities to collect people’s votes. Many of the places these teams visit are in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and Queensland. Teams visit hundreds of remote communities nation-wide, many of these being remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Here are some photos from Melville Island today:
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Watch: The election campaign reaches the pointy end as early voting opens
After a brief Easter weekend pause in campaigning, things are revving back up.
And while there are two more leadership debates still to take place, voters are going to start switching off — early voting opened today, and with the Australian Election Commission estimating around half of voters will cast their ballot early, the parties need to home in on their messaging asap.
Krishani Dhanji catches you up on the campaigns with 11 days to go until 3 May:
Candidates’ support for foreign aid highlighted ahead of election
The Australian Council for International Development (Acfid) is continuing to call on all parties and candidates to commit to increasing Australia’s aid budget from 0.65% to 1% of the federal budget, in the lead-up to the election.
Acfid has today launched a podcast episode with the international development minister, Pat Conroy, the deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, and Warringah’s independent MP, Zali Steggall, highlighting each of their positions on foreign aid.
In a statement, Acfid said the Coalition declined to appear on the podcast. The organisation’s interim CEO, Matthew Maury, said:
As the election date approaches, Acfid continues to call on all parties and candidates to commit to increasing Australia’s aid budget from 0.65% to 1% of the federal budget.
We can address our domestic challenges and support our neighbours simultaneously. The same factors driving the cost-of-living crisis here are causing severe poverty and instability abroad.
By lifting our modest aid budget from 0.65% to just 1% of the federal budget, we can strengthen regional stability, unlock new economic opportunities, and still ensure that 99% of the budget remains focused on domestic priorities.
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Santos wins final approval for Barossa gas project as environment advocates condemn ‘climate bomb’
Santos has received federal approval to commence production from its Barossa offshore gas field off the coast of the Northern Territory.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) decided to accept the environment plan for the project’s production operations. It marks the final approval required for the project, clearing the way for the gas giant to extract and pipe the gas to Darwin.
The development is projected to add more than 270m tonnes of heat-trapping CO2 to the atmosphere over its life once the gas is sold and burnt overseas. Gavan McFadzean, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s climate change and clean energy program manager, said:
This is Australia’s dirtiest gas project and it should never have been given the green light.
You can read the full story on this below:
Good afternoon! Emily Wind here, I’ll be with you here on the blog for the next few hours – and for the leaders’ debate later on tonight.
Thank you all for following along on the blog with me today.
I’ll leave you with the wonderful Emily Wind who will take you through the afternoon, and bring you live updates of the third leaders debate tonight.
I’ll catch you here bright and early tomorrow!
Superannuation advocates welcome Labor pledge to crack down on financial abuse
Labor’s promise to crack down on financial abuse has been welcomed by the Super Members Council, who say closing legal loopholes will help to protect victims of family violence.
The council has been calling on the government to reform legislation to make it harder for an abuser to receive a victim’s superannuation death benefit. At the moment, the abuser can receive that benefit unless they are the direct cause of that person’s death.
They’re also calling on the opposition and independents to match the commitment.
The deputy CEO of the council, Georgia Brumby, says perpetrators “should not profit from their crimes”:
A perpetrator getting their victim’s super death benefit is an extension of the abuse. The intention to introduce these reforms is a critical step towards ensuring that people’s superannuation is protected and not used as a financial reward for perpetrators … Perpetrators should not profit from their crimes.
The government has said today it will “look at” how to stop perpetrators of family violence receiving that.
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Dutton makes brief remarks after attending mass at St Mary’s Cathedral
Peter Dutton made brief remarks outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney following a mass.
Dutton said it was “appropriate” that there was no campaigning during the day and didn’t take any questions from reporters.
I am very humbled to have been here as part of this service.
He and Anthony Albanese will appear together tonight for the third leaders debate.
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Labor announces financial protections for domestic violence victim-survivors if elected
Labor has announced it will help protect victim-survivors of domestic violence from financial abuse through tax, superannuation and social security debts, if elected on 3 May.
The minister for finance and women, Katy Gallagher, announced the women’s platform in a speech earlier today. The measures include:
Preventing perpetrators from using the tax and corporate systems to create debts as a form of coercive control and make perpetrators accountable for these debts if they do;
Looking at making perpetrators liable for social security debts incurred by a victim-survivor due to coercion or financial abuse; and
Looking at methods of stopping perpetrators of domestic and family violence from receiving their victim’s superannuation after death.
It follows a push by advocates to protect women and children suffering financial abuse at the hands of a partner. It also comes after a report from a Labor-chaired Senate inquiry into financial abuse that was handed down to the government in December.
That inquiry made 61 recommendations, including creating a mechanism co-eddesign with victim-survivors of financial abuse to help implement legislative, regulatory and sector-driven reforms.
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Peter Dutton pays respects to Pope Francis in Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral
Peter Dutton has attended a mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney this afternoon.
Dutton started the day in Orange, in regional NSW, before coming to Sydney to pay his respects to Pope Francis and the Catholic church.
Both leaders are now in Sydney to prepare for their third televised debate on Channel 9 tonight.
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Pollsters tell press club Greens and independents most popular among young voters
Over at the national press club today, pollsters have taken over the stage, talking about the generational shifts Australia is seeing and how the parties are reacting.
Unsurprisingly, as we’ve been hearing more recently, the Greens are far more popular amongst Gen Z and millennials and the new emerging independents are fracturing votes that would normally go between the two major parties.
Kos Samaras, a pollster at Redbridge, said the major parties, and particularly the Coalition, are struggling to win back votes that they’ve lost:
Within Gen Z, our most recent analysis where we’re just surveying Liberal versus Labor contests - the Greens primary is the highest at 33%. Higher than Labor, higher than the Liberal party.
Amongst the leaders themselves, Jessica Elgood, the director at Ipsos Public Affairs, says neither is actually winning the election. She says the question is: “Who is losing it faster?”
When I look at this current federal election polling data, it tells us that Australians don’t view either of the candidates as great politicians by this definition. There’s no sense of a clear new narrative. And it doesn’t suggest that either of them are actually winning the election.
[The] question is who is losing it faster … from our data, we see that Peter Dutton’s approval rating sitting at 27. Clearly our relationship with politicians has changed over the decades, but it’s the lowest approval rating we have measured for an opposition leader this century.
How is the polling data looking for Anthony Albanese? Well, it’s not much better. At the end of his first term, only a third of the country think he’s on the right track.
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Katter MP says potential breach of alcohol ban an accident
A Katter MP who posted a photo of himself apparently drinking a banned alcoholic beverage on an island in North Queensland says he wasn’t aware it was prohibited.
The photo, posted on Nick Dametto’s official Facebook page on Good Friday, shows him holding a can of full-strength Great Northern beer on Curacao Island with other people.
The entire LGA is covered by an alcohol management plan banning drinks over 4% alcohol by volume. The Great Northern original lager is 4.2% strength.
“If any rules have been broken here, if any, it’s been done by pure mistake and an honest mistake,” he said.
Dametto said the island is unpopulated and virtually empty with no signs that warn of the ban. He wasn’t aware it was in the Palm Island local government area, he said.
If you’re on Orpheus Island, only a kilometre away from one of the outskirt islands of the Palm Island group, you’re allowed to have whatever you like. Travel 500 metres to a kilometre the other way, and you fall under these draconian regulations.
Alcohol management plans have been enforced in discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Queensland since 2003. Currently they are in effect in 15 local government areas.
Dametto said it was “ridiculous” that the government still imposed what he said was a “discriminatory” ban on alcohol in Indigenous communities.
I think that all Australians should be treated the same. All adults should be treated the same, and you should have the right to make a decision whether or not you want to consume a certain type of alcohol or not.
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Coalition to relaunch regional fund Labor criticised as ‘giant rorted slush fund’
The Coalition will relaunch a regional grants program that provided Liberal-held seats with twice as many grants as Labor electorates, according to the national audit office.
The Building Better Regions fund was strongly criticised by Labor as an example of alleged pork-barrelling and was described by one MP as a “giant rorted slush fund”.
A 2022 review by the audit office found “funding decisions were not appropriately informed by departmental advice and the basis for the funding decisions has not been appropriately documented”.
In 2021, the former deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, said “I don’t care” in response to Labor claiming $300m of regional grants under the scheme were examples of “pork-barrelling”.
In a statement, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie made no reference to Labor’s criticism of the scheme, instead accusing the Albanese government of ignoring regional towns:
There is a clear need to bring back the [fund] after Labor axed more than $10bn worth of regional programs on coming to office.
Labor’s regional economic development programs have been beset by chronic delays, vague criteria, inconsistent assessment processes and poor communication with communities.
Applicants to Labor’s programs have had to wait more than 18 months from submitting applications in August 2023 to receiving contract agreements in January 2025, and the states have been imposed as ticket-clipping middle-men creaming funds off the program that were intended for the regions.
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Victorian ankle bracelet trial for young offenders begins
Moving off the campaign trail for a moment…
A trial to fit alleged youth offenders in Victoria with ankle brackets as part of their bail conditions has begun.
The state’s attorney-general, Sonya Kilkenny, this morning said the Victoria’s children’s court and supreme court will now have the power to impose electronic monitoring as part of bail conditions.
The state government last year announced the trial involving 50 young offenders aged between 14 to 18 who are accused of serious crimes. The devices will alert authorities if an alleged offender is outside their address after curfew or enters an exclusion zone.
The state government’s bail crackdown, revealed earlier this year, has faced backlash from legal, human rights and Indigenous advocates.
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Government urged to protect veterinarian whistleblowers after animal welfare revelations
The federal government has been urged to protect veterinarian whistleblowers who revealed shocking animal welfare breaches and oversight failures at Australia’s export abattoirs.
Guardian Australia revealed on Saturday that veterinarians working for the agriculture department have made a series of whistleblower disclosures about export abattoirs and the system of regulatory oversight, alleging welfare breaches were going unreported and understaffing was leaving facilities unmonitored.
The Human Rights Law Centre and Animals Australia have called on the government to ensure the whistleblowers do not suffer reprisals because of their disclosures.
Kieran Pender, the associate legal director of the Human Rights Law Centre’s whistleblower project, said the export abattoir revelations showed the importance of whistleblowers to “truth and transparency in Australia”. He said:
When wrongdoing occurs behind closed doors, whistleblowers provide essential accountability. Without whistleblowers exposing some of the most significant incidents of animal cruelty in the agriculture sector over the past few decades, considerable reforms and policy changes would not have been implemented.
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Palmer claims Trumpet of Patriots’ how-to-vote card ‘tampered with’
Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party will investigate the alleged “tampering” of how-to-vote cards after claiming an unnamed party had “interfered” with the minor party’s seat preferences.
One of its Victorian candidates, Jason Smart, urged voters in Flinders to put him last on polling day after the party’s how-to-vote card placed left-leaning candidates above the Liberals.
On Tuesday, Palmer claimed the cards had been “tampered with” and would be reprinted to reflect the party’s position.
It has become apparent that a number of our how-to-vote cards have been interfered with.
This incident has not happened in isolation as we have been hacked and had our communications interfered with on previous occasions.
We will be conducting a full investigation into the matter.
Palmer did not say which how to vote cards had been “tampered” with.
Palmer, the party’s chairman, said the party would put Labor and Coalition incumbents last in all the seats they held, claiming the parties are identical “99% of the time”.
- with Dan Jervis-Bardy
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Younger voters important demographic across western Sydney seats, analysis shows
Younger voters are expected to dominate in seats across greater western Sydney for the first time this federal election.
People aged 45 and under comprised more than 50% of voters across six seats in the region – including Chifley, Greenway, Hume, Lindsay, Macarthur and Werriwa – according to an analysis of the AEC’s voter roll data by the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue.
Dialogue’s chief executive, Adam Leto, said both major parties needed to put forward policies that responded to the needs of younger voters – particularly on issues such as housing affordability and the high cost-of-living.
Many millennials are struggling to afford to buy a home, while at the same time finding it tough to pay rent – and they’re desperate for a solution.
The housing policies put forward by both parties recently were a step in the right direction, but I don’t know if it’s enough to convince young voters that our major political parties are fully invested in tackling inter-generational inequality.
Without serious action, the picture isn’t as pretty for younger generations.
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Hello, I’m Petra Stock, looking after the blog for a bit over lunchtime.
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Nearly nine in ten Australians (89%) support truth in political advertising laws, according to new research by The Australia Institute.
Polling commissioned by the Institute showed strong support for laws to tackle false or misleading ads, including high levels of support across the political spectrum - with 93% support from Australians who voted Labor, Coalition voters (88%), Greens (87%), One Nation (92%) and Independent/Other voters (79%).
Laws that prevented false or misleading political advertising were already in place in South Australia (since 1985) and in the Australian Capital Territory (since 2020), but not at the federal level.
At the end of 2024, the Albanese government introduced legislation to Parliament to implement Truth in Political Advertising laws federally – but the legislation was not passed.
The institute’s director of democracy and accountability, Bill Browne, said although it was legal to lie in a political ad at the federal level, “it shouldn’t be”.
Political advertisements that are deceptive and misleading interfere with the public’s ability to make informed decisions. Without action, we risk election campaigns sliding into a free-fall of fake news.
Corporations are already prohibited from making misleading or deceptive claims – Australians should be able to expect the same or higher standard of honesty in politics as in trade and commerce.
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Voters have ‘once-in-a-generation chance to take real action’ on housing this election, says Bandt
Adam Bandt is in the seat of Wills this morning, in inner Melbourne, an area the Greens have set their eyes on winning from Labor MP Peter Khalil.
Bandt addresses media, acknowledging the death of Pope Francis, and highlighting his advocacy for equality and climate action.
Pope Francis made some really significant contributions to the push for equality around the world, for peace in Palestine, and also for real action on climate …
A lot of people we know will be feeling the events of today, and we share our thoughts with them and pay tribute to the significant advances that the pope made.
Bandt then turns to more political issues, baking in his messaging to form a minority government with Labor.
The Greens have homed in on housing as one of the biggest issues in Wills, and Bandt says the minor party can push Labor to do more for housing.
Renters and first home buyers are in the box seat this election and have a once-in-a-generation chance to take real action on the housing and rental crisis.
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Bennelong candidate likens Labor’s cheaper medicines policy to ‘reckless’ gambling
The Liberal candidate for Bennelong, Scott Yung, has compared Labor’s cheaper medicines policy and 60-day dispensing changes to “reckless” gambling.
Since 1 September, doctors have been issuing eligible patients with a 60-day prescription for 184 common medicines to treat ongoing health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and osteoporosis. It means patients can fill two scripts for the price of one, halving the cost of many common medicines to the consumer.
While answering a question on gambling harm at a candidates forum on Wednesday, Yung spoke about the social impacts of gambling. He told the audience about meeting a banker with two children who “lost everything to gambling”. Yung said “gambling was not good for society” before pivoting to make a broader point:
But speaking of gambling, gambling is a behaviour where people don’t think of the consequences. And what this government has done is gambled the taxpayers’ money of Australia.
Yung was briefly heckled by an audience member who accused him of not directly answering a question about whether he supported a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry’s call for gambling ads to be banned.
Later in the event, Yung then addressed a comment made by the Labor incumbent, Jerome Laxale, about the change to 60-day prescriptions.
We understand that the other side has a good heart, that they want to make medicines cheaper. But to recklessly, recklessly cut the profits of small business owners, the pharmacies working extremely hard, some of them have told me they’ve gone down to 30-40%. That gambling-like behaviour is simply not on.
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ASX falls sharply after Wall Street sell-off
Australian shares opened sharply lower this morning, after Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the Federal Reserve sapped investor confidence on Wall Street.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% to trade below 7,750 points shortly after the stock exchange opened this morning, following the US market lower.
Overnight, the “sell America trade” gathered steam, with American stocks, bonds and the greenback all falling as traders fled the unpredictable US market.
The trend has sparked a rally in the Australian dollar, which is now above US64c. The local currency had threatened to crash through the US59c barrier earlier this month, before staging a rapid recovery against the greenback.
In recent days, Trump has amped up attacks against the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, as the president pushes for lower interest rates to offset the inflationary impacts of his new tariff regime.
The central bank is designed to set interest rates without interference from the White House.
There are growing concerns among investors that the US is entering a period of stagflation, marked by stagnant economic growth, rising unemployment and increasing inflation.
The early falls in the Australian market are more modest than the overnight 2.4% slide in the US benchmark S&P 500.
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PM asked to reflect on how pope’s death will influence election campaign
Albanese takes a final question, and a reporter asks what impact the pope’s death will have on the rest of the day and the rest of the campaign.
Albanese says the public can separate the two events, and stresses the important of Australia’s secular democracy.
He adds Catholics will “take time to reflect” and leaves the press conference there.
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Pope ‘had courage and he showed true leadership’, Albanese says
Albanese is visibly emotional again in addressing the press on Pope Francis’ legacy.
He’s asked about his own faith, and while Albanese says he tries “not talk about my faith in public”, he says:
I think what people do is they draw on who they are and certainly my Catholicism is just a part of me and one of the things about the holy father is that he, for so many Catholics, I think his humility, for the way that he embraced the poor, the way that he embraced the social justice message that I see as the message of Jesus Christ.
Albanese says he believes the pope “will be recorded in history as one of the most significant of all of the holy fathers”.
The change that he led was significant indeed and he, of course, advocated for reforms that weren’t universally supported as well. He had courage and he showed true leadership.
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Governor general may represent Australia at pope’s funeral, PM says
Albanese is asked who will represent Australia at the pope’s funeral.
The prime minister says he’s spoken to governor general, Sam Mostyn, who was on her way to travel overseas for Anzac Day, and says, “Her Excellency would be an appropriate representative.”
Albanese also says he’s spoken to Keith Pitt, who has been nominated as the Ambassador to the Holy See, but Pitt hasn’t yet been able to “present his credentials”.
Keith Pitt, because of the illness of the holy father, has not been able to present his credentials yet, but Mr Pitt is assisting with the logistics and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are finalising details.
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Pope Francis was the ‘people’s pope’, says PM
Anthony Albanese is making remarks on the late Pope Francis in Melbourne.
The prime minister says the pope’s loss is not just being mourned by Catholics, but by “people from all walks of life”.
His loss is being mourned, not by just over 1 billion Catholics around the world, but people from all walks of life.
In the truest sense of the words, he practised what he preached. The holy father was one of the most consequential leaders of this century and of our lifetime. He was, indeed, the people’s pope.
Albanese highlights his advocacy for people and also for the environment.
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Less than 2% of Labor’s promised $1bn mental health funding will be spent in next financial year
Just $16.5m of Labor’s promised $1bn mental health package – or 1.65% – is due to be spent in the next financial year, according to official policy costings that reveal some new care centres might not open until 2029.
Anthony Albanese this month unveiled a major suite of policies to make it easier for the public – in particular young Australians – to access free mental health treatment.
Peak mental health groups praised the $1bn pledge as a significant and much-needed investment to fill gaps in the provision of care for the one in five Australians who experience a mental health disorder.
The 8 April announcement did not include several key details, including a proposed timeline for the new and upgraded clinics.
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Dutton confirms leaders’ debate to go ahead tonight
Campaigning by the major parties will largely be paused this morning as a mark of respect to Pope Francis, who passed last night.
Dutton did the media rounds this morning, as we brought you earlier, where he said today wasn’t a day for “politicking”. He told the Today show:
I don’t think there’s any need for over-the-top politics today. I think we can respectfully put our positions. Polling obviously opens today. There’s a leadership leaders debate tonight. I understand the prime minister is happy to proceed with that. So yeah, I think it’s a respectful day and we can state our policies. But I don’t think it needs to be an over the top day.
As Dutton confirmed, he and Albanese will still face each other tonight for the third leaders debate on Channel 9.
Dutton is in Orange in regional New South Wales this morning in the seat of Calare, which is held by former Nationals-turned-independent MP Andrew Gee. Dutton told News Breakfast it was “certainly a critical electorate” for the Coalition to win back.
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‘He was my pope’
I’ve been speaking to parishioners mourning the death of Pope Francis at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney this morning. The overwhelming feeling is sadness at the loss of a humane leader.
“The holy father, as I’ve known him, he’s been one of the nicest people on Earth,” Steeven, one parishioner, says. “It’s a very sad feeling.”
He stood for love and peace.
Jane, another parishioner, says Pope Francis “did his best in a troubled world”.
I think he was quite progressive, and I liked the way he tried to bring the church into the modern world.
Sinisita says she is “so grateful that we had him”.
I love this pope. He was my pope.
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‘I feel sad’: mourners gather at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney after pope’s death
The feeling is sombre at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney this morning, after last night’s news of the death of the groundbreaking Jesuit pontiff Pope Francis.
Grey clouds gathered overhead as parishioners made their way into the 6:45am Easter Tuesday mass.
“I feel sad,” Marion, a parishioner, tells me before entering the mass.
He was for social and economic justice … Now all I can do is pray that our new pope will also be a champion and follow in the steps of Pope Francis.
He gives us hope. OK, we have faith, but we also need something more concrete in our lives. To have a champion … particularly when our political leaders have gone astray.
Francis was a vocal champion of the world’s poor, dispossessed and disadvantaged, and a blunt critic of corporate greed and social and economic inequality.
Within the Vatican, he criticised extravagance and privilege, calling on church leaders to show humility.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke was among up to 100 parishioners in attendance.
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‘He engendered a lot of affection’
I’ve been speaking to mourners who attended the 7am mass service at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne to pay tribute to Pope Francis.
Peter August, who attends the 7am mass each week day, says:
He engendered a lot of affection from a lot of people around the world. I just hope the next pope can do the same.
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Dutton: ‘We need to do more to protect women’
News Breakfast host Bridget Brennan turns to women’s safety, and asks Peter Dutton why there’s been no mention of family violence during this campaign.
Dutton says it was brought up yesterday after he announced $750m for community safety – you can read more about that announcement here:
Yesterday, when asked about family violence at his press conference, Dutton said he would have “more to say”.
He then goes to his announcement to establish a child sex offender disclosure scheme, which he says will protect “the sanctity of childhood”.
I believe strongly that as a society we need to do more to protect women more generally in domestic situations but the sanctity of childhood is something important and we need to do everything we can to turn those numbers around… It’s a very complex issue but our commitment yesterday was to make sure we can invest into keeping women and young girls safer in our community.
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Dutton says it’s not a day for ‘overt politicking’ but tonight’s debate will go ahead
Peter Dutton has now joined ABC News Breakfast, again expressing his condolences for Pope Francis.
He says “I don’t think it’s a day for overt politicking at all”, and while he’s done morning media, he’ll spend the rest of the day in reflection.
I don’t think it’s a day for overt politicking at all. I think the day is best spent reflecting. Obviously, pre-polling, etc, opens today and all of that will continue on but I don’t think there’s a place for the body blows of politics today.
On the Today show a moment ago, Dutton also confirmed he would continue ahead with the Channel 9 leaders’ debate with Anthony Albanese tonight.
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Dutton accuses Labor of throwing mud at him
On Sunrise, Peter Dutton was skewered by host Nat Barr on his personal popularity in the polls. Barr asks why some voters say they won’t vote for the Coalition because of Dutton.
Dutton starts saying “today is not the day for politicking” but accuses the government of throwing mud at him.
[Labor] have spent $20m on negativity over the course of the last few months. Most based on a lie, frankly, in relation to the Medicare campaigning. The bulk-billing rates have dropped under this government…
If you throw mud in the game and put $20m behind it, it has an impact.
Barr tries to pin him on what impact his personality is having, but Dutton continues to blame Labor for mud slinging.
He says that Labor is also playing a heavy game of defence, having to sandbag its at-risk seats.
You will see where the government is spending money at the moment in their defending seats at the moment. They are not on the offence.
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Monsignor Stuart Hall, the dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne, tells mourners that the “beloved” Pope Francis called out to a range of voices including the dispossessed.
He says Christians around the world are saddened by the death of Francis, but rejoice in him returning home.
A portrait of Francis is displayed in the cathedral, with some people kneeling before the photograph.
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Dutton and Bandt pay respects to Pope Francis
Peter Dutton says his thoughts and prayers are with the Catholic community mourning the passing of Pope Francis.
The opposition leader joined Sunrise earlier, paying respects to the Pope:
We saw a compassionate man, someone who was full of mercy and who always took care of those he saw in need … So our thoughts and prayers are with the Catholic community today.
Overnight, Greens leader Adam Bandt released a statement on X:
People from all faiths will mourn the loss of Pope Francis tonight - he was a strong voice for peace, compassion and refugees.
Even as his health faded, Pope Francis was a tireless advocate for Palestine, calling people in Gaza even from his hospital bed. Vale.
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In pictures – Albanese attends mass to pay tribute to pope
Anthony Albanese is attending mass this morning at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral to pay tribute to Pope Francis.
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Katy Gallagher, who is also the minister for women, is making a speech today launching Labor’s women policy, which she says will have a focus on women’s safety.
Gallagher tells News Breakfast safety is one of the biggest barriers to gender equality in the country, and points to fixing healthcare, wages and housing to help women facing violence.
She’s asked about the thousands of women who are turned away from women’s legal services every year. Gallagher says:
We have funded more money into front-line services, more money into community legal services so that they actually have continuity of funding.
A new funding partnership for community legal services, called the National Access to Justice Partnership increases funding for services, comes into effect in July this year.
But groups including the Law Council of Australia were concerned the additional funding would still fall short of what had been recommended by a review of the previous partnership.
Anthony Albanese is attending mass at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral to pay tribute to Pope Francis.
The cathedral opened early this morning to allow worshippers to pray ahead of its usual 7am weekday mass.
The prime minister, himself a Catholic, is among about 50 attendees at the service.
Albanese on Monday led tributes for Francis, describing him as a “devoted champion and a loving father.”
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Albanese ‘deeply affected’ by pope’s death, Gallagher says
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, says the prime minister was “deeply affected” by Pope Francis’s passing, and is attending mass in Melbourne this morning.
Anthony Albanese has cancelled some of his plans this morning, and Gallagher tells ABC News Breakfast the immediate response from the government has been to “pause and pay respect”.
As someone who was born as a Catholic and raised and went to a Catholic school, it’s been a deep part of his [Albanese’s] upbringing… Today, his plans have changed. He won’t be doing the events that he had originally planned. But some events will go on, but obviously, it will be, I think, toned down, and respectful of the fact that we have lost a significant world leader overnight.
Gallagher is asked who would attend the Pope’s funeral, she says those arrangements will be worked out.
The immediate response has been to pause and to pay respect to the passing of Pope Francis. But those, as you would expect, those arrangements will be made and it is appropriate that an Australian representative attend.
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Good morning
Krishani Dhanji here. Many thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
As the world mourns the death of Pope Francis, Australia’s party leaders will continue to pay their respects. The campaign trail will likely be a little quieter today.
Early voting is opening across the country, and time is running out for politicians to pitch themselves to voters.
While most of the Labor camp’s significant announcements have been made, we’re still waiting on an announcement from the opposition on defence spending.
We’ll follow all of that today.
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Early voting begins today in federal election
Political hopefuls are running out of time to unveil and sell their major policies as Australians begin to cast their votes in the federal election.
The first ballots will be cast today as early voting begins ahead of the 3 May poll, with millions expected to skip the lines on election day.
It has sparked warnings about parties not having enough time to sell their messages if they keep policies up their sleeves for too long.
The Coalition still has at least one major announcement to come on its defence spending allocation, while it is yet to specify what public service jobs are on the line as it aims to reduce the commonwealth payroll by 40,000 people.
Labor has seized on the coalition not balancing its spending with enough cost-saving measures to launch attacks about “secret cuts” as it campaigns heavily on Medicare and other health initiatives.
“When Peter Dutton cuts, Australians will pay,” has been the government’s tagline, which was used again Anthony Albanese yesterday in a visit to an urgent care clinic in the marginal NSW south coast seat of Gilmore.
Albanese called it “extraordinary arrogance” for the opposition leader not to tell Australians where all the flagged cuts will come from until after the election.
Dutton has said he needs the resources of government to determine areas of waste to be targeted.
Both major parties have promised to release the full costing of their policies before 3 May.
Coalition MPs have defended delaying policy announcements until late in the campaign, saying they will unveil them when Australians are paying the most attention.
But that approach could come back to bite the party if 2022’s early voter turnout of more than 5.5 million people is anything to go by.
Analysts expect many voters going away for the upcoming Anzac Day long weekend and school holidays will take advantage of pre-polling, meaning parties may have to change tack.
“If they’ve got something that they want to have a maximum impact, they can’t reveal it at the last minute the way they used to,” the University of Tasmania public policy associate professor Kate Crowley told AAP.
Pre-polling is becoming more popular as voters turn away from major parties, which means Labor and the coalition need to strategise about how election sweeteners are offered during a campaign, she said.
– via AAP
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Melbourne bishop Mykola Bychok praises 'strong defender of life'
After the death of Francis last night at the age of 88, cardinals from around the world, including Ukrainian-born Melbourne bishop Mykola Bychok, will now gather in Rome to decide his successor.
Bychok, who was made a cardinal by the late pope, was on his way to the Middle East when the news broke and will now travel on to Rome.
He said in a statement last night that Francis “was a strong defender of life and the dignity of every person”:
Each Pontiff imparts his own personal character on the Church. The Holy Father Francis was a Pope for the marginalised and those on the periphery. He was a man of simple piety who strove to bring the church closer to people. His gave freely of his gifts and had a unique personal approach to all he met. He lived according to his motto Miserando atque Eligendo (“Lowly but chosen”).
Pope Francis was a Pope of peace. In a world devastated by war he called for peace and justice. I am grateful for the late Holy Father’s frequent appeals for a just peace in Ukraine and for the efforts of the Holy See that he oversaw, known and secret, that in some way helped bring relief to the imprisoned and suffering.
The Holy Father was a strong defender of life and the dignity of every person. He worked for the healing of divisions between East and West and for a greater understanding of other faiths, building on that which we have in common rather than our differences.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji to take you through the day.
The Australian flag will be flown at half-mast on all official buildings today as the nation pays tribute to Pope Francis who died last night aged 88. Anthony Albanese made an emotional tribute to the pontiff last night and paid his respects at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. We have reporters at the cathedral this morning and also at St Mary’s in Sydney as masses are expected to honour the first pope to come from the southern hemisphere. We’ll have all the news as it happens.
Our top election story this morning is that Allegra Spender has denounced “anonymous and misleading” pamphlets distributed in her electorate of Wentworth, with the independent MP calling it the “sort of smear campaign” that “turns people off politics”.
Some people will be able to switch from the campaign messages from today because pre-poll voting begins across the country. The Australian Electoral Commission is holding an event in the Northern Territory to promote its remote voter services operation. We’ll have news as it happens.
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