Good morning, it's Tuesday, March 29. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: It's budget day!
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will be handing down the federal budget tonight, but we don't have to wait until 7.30pm AEDT for all the juicy details. Here's what we're expecting:
- A temporary cut to the fuel excise to ease pressure on motorists (FYI: we currently pay 44.2 cents in tax for every litre of fuel we buy)
- One-off cash payments of at least $250 for pensioners and other welfare recipients
- A forecast improvement to the bottom line, with deficits expected to shrink by tens of billions of dollars
- And a forecast that Australia's unemployment rate will drop to 3.75 per cent this year — that's the lowest rate since 1974
You better believe we'll be reporting on that throughout the day and into the night, so stay tuned.
Another thing we'll be focusing on today: flooding in northern NSW and south-east Queensland
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Heavy rain is hanging around the coast close to the Queensland-NSW border, prompting evacuation warnings in some parts still recovering from the catastrophic floods a month ago
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Overnight, NSW's State Emergency Service issued evacuation orders for parts of north and south Lismore and low-lying parts of Kyogle, and this morning there were more evacuation orders for Mullumbimby, Billinudgel, Tumbulgum, Thora and Bellingen.
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This morning the Bureau of Meteorology issued flood warnings for the Logan and Albert Rivers and Gold Coast streams, warning that flash flooding was likely
News while you snoozed
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Organisers of the Oscars have condemned Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock. They say a formal review of the incident "will explore further action"
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Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich reportedly suffered symptoms of a suspected poisoning attack at talks in Ukraine's capital Kyiv earlier this month. A spokesperson for the Chelsea Football Club owner says he suffered from sore eyes and peeling skin
The news Australia is searching for
- Phil Collins: The 71-year-old rock star has made his final appearance with Genesis, waving goodbye to fans for the last time as he walked off stage at London's O2 Arena. It was the last show of the Last Domino tour, but Collins told the crowd "it's the last show for Genesis". Collins performed while seated in a chair on the stage and exited with the help of a walking stick.
- Biden: US President Joe Biden says he makes no apologies for saying Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power. He told reporters the comment, made at the end of a speech in Poland over the weekend, was an expression of his "moral outrage" but not a call for regime change. He dismissed concerns the comment would escalate the conflict in Ukraine
One more thing: Think 2022 is bad? This researcher reckons 536 was 'the worst year to be alive'
Miles Pattenden is a senior research fellow in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the Australian Catholic University.
He says we've had "a pretty tough few years" but they've been a walk in the park compared to 536, which he and several other historians nominate as the worst year to be alive.
Here's his summary of 536:
- There were up to three major volcanic eruptions
- Europe and Asia saw "serious" temperature drops because of volcanic ash blocking the sun — some places saw snow in summer
- That then caused severe famines because of crop failures
- The famines sparked deadly local conflicts
- … then the bubonic plague arrived in the Mediterranean
- Oh, and life expectancy was around 30 to 35 years
Read more, if you dare.
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more.
ABC/wires
