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Dutton rules out One Nation deal

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has ruled out forming a minority government with One Nation, despite the Coalition striking a preference arrangement with Senator Pauline Hanson. The Opposition has preferenced One Nation at No.2 on its how-to-vote cards in several crucial marginal seats, following a surge in support in the far-right minor party’s primary vote. But Dutton said Hanson wouldn’t be part of any future coalition government after Saturday’s federal election, if it results in a hung parliament.

AAP Newswire

Election

Labor’s Albanese pitches certainty

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has laid out his final case for a second term as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton ruled out agreements with right-wing minor parties to claim the top job. In a major set-piece speech to the National Press Club just three days out from polling day, Albanese emphasised he was a safe pair of hands to guide the country over the coming three years during a period of international turmoil. “At a time of global uncertainty when so much in the world is unpredictable, Australians can be sure of where Labor stands and what Labor stands for,“ he said in the address

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Election

Albanese backs end to spam texts

Banning mass election texts sent to voters’ devices by Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party would be a “reasonable thing” to do, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says. But while he backs an end to the spam, Albanese says he is not sure how outlawing the unsolicited texts would fit with election legislation. “I wish that were the case (that the messages would be banned). I’m not sure that that fits with our democracy and the capacity to campaign,“ he told ABC Radio.

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USA

PM confident of Trump phone call

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will seek a phone call with US President Donald Trump on US tariff negotiations should he be re-elected after Saturday’s election. Trump has confirmed he’s aware the federal government has been trying to get in touch to reach a trade deal, after Australia was slapped with 10 per cent tariffs on goods exports to America. “They are calling and I will be talking to (Albanese), yes,“ Trump told reporters at the White House.

AAP Newswire

Election

Voters face big question after Canadian poll result

A centre-left party comes from behind in the polls to win an election fought over living costs and Donald Trump. Sound familiar? With just days until Saturday’s poll, political insiders are dissecting the results of an election on the other side of...

AAP Newswire

Unions

Former CFMEU heavy, son plead guilty to corruption

A former CFMEU state secretary and his son have pleaded guilty to long-standing corruption charges. Darren Greenfield and his son Michael, a former NSW branch assistant secretary, had been accused of accepting bribes from a building company for...

AAP Newswire

Court

Mushroom deaths trial begins

Almost two years after it’s alleged Erin Patterson fed poisoned beef wellingtons to her estranged husband’s family, a trial is underway in a small regional town. Amid intense interest in the case, dozens of documentary-makers, journalists, podcast creators and true crime novelists have descended on Morwell, in Gippsland, about 150km southeast of Melbourne.

AAP Newswire

Election

Hanson pumped about polls

Rising discontent with major parties could see a resurgence in support for One Nation at the ballot box, as Pauline Hanson hopes to play kingmaker in the next parliament. As recent polls showed an uptick in primary support, Senator Hanson said the right-wing minor party would hold considerable influence over the outcome of Saturday’s election.

AAP Newswire

Inquest

Hero cop tells of how she stopped killer

A police inspector pushed through nausea and anticipating her own death as she pursued and took down a mass killer to end a shopping centre stabbing rampage. Inspector Amy Scott detailed her 85 seconds inside Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre as she tracked down knife-wielding Joel Cauchi on April 13, 2024. Experiencing psychotic symptoms, he launched an indiscriminate attack, killing six people and injuring 10 others, in a tragedy being examined at an inquest in Sydney.

AAP Newswire

Election

Dutton looks to ‘quiet Australians’

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is relying on “quiet Australians” to get him over the line as a former political insider says protest votes could offer him a path to The Lodge. The Opposition is seeking to defy a campaign-trail poll slump that has delivered Labor a significant lead, although the Coalition maintains its internal numbers are more optimistic than the public ones. Dutton will hit more than two dozen seats in the final week of campaigning ahead of Saturday’s poll. He said internal polling was positive and that gave him great confidence for the election result.

AAP Newswire

Health

Doctors struggle to stay rural

After the cost of daycare fees, rent, electricity and grocery bills, a young rural doctor only just gets by. “I’m full-time to make ends meet and ... I am living week-to-week,“ said the NSW intern, who did not want to be named. “That’s not something I thought about when I was going through med school.“

AAP Newswire

Government

Cuts coming in no-frills budget

New Zealanders have been told to expect cuts and not a “lolly scramble” in next month’s budget, as the coalition government slashes its own allowance in order to meet its goal of returning to surplus in 2028. Like many nations, New Zealand is struggling with a debt blowout due to Covid-era support spending. Worsening the state of government books, New Zealand is also battling an economic recovery from a tough recession in 2024, with rising unemployment.

AAP Newswire

Odd Spot

Council mulls novel solution to dumped trolley nuisance

A major city council is looking at subsidising “granny trolleys” for vulnerable residents to reduce the number of shopping trolleys dumped in the area. Sydney’s Liverpool City Council said it was looking at providing the two-wheel canvas frame trolleys in a move “it hopes will drastically reduce the dumping of supermarket-owned trolleys across the city”. The council in the city’s west on Monday said it had impounded nearly 1200 shopping trolleys in the past two months, prompting the plan to supply up to 500 so-called granny trolleys.

AAP Newswire

Remembrance

Dutton: Vets don’t want Welcome to Country

The opposition leader has doubled down on his criticism of Welcome to Country ceremonies, claiming most veterans don’t want them held on Anzac Day. Peter Dutton has placed himself in the centre of the debate surrounding the ceremonies after a small group of neo-Nazis heckled during a dawn service in Melbourne. He described Welcome to Country ceremonies as overused, days after Bunurong-Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown was booed and jeered on Anzac Day.

AAP Newswire

Election

Dutton goes on the attack

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has gone on the offensive against Labor and the Greens, labelling the latter a “Jew-hating” party to fend off criticisms of one of his own party’s candidates. After the Liberal campaign bus hit a literal roadblock on Monday morning, Dutton looked to kickstart his stalled federal election campaign. But first, he faced questions after Vivek Singha, the Liberal candidate in the western Sydney seat of Fowler, was found to have used derogatory language to refer to Indigenous Australians in a series of social media posts from 2023.

AAP Newswire

Election

Leaders enter the home stretch

Not knowing the price of a carton of eggs could hinder Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s election chances as he denies being out of touch with voters on cost-of-living concerns. Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were both asked to name the price of a dozen eggs during a final leaders’ debate as rising prices put pressure on household budgets. While the typical cost is about $8 for a carton, Dutton offered up $4 as his response during the Sunday night debate, but on Monday he evaded questions on whether his response on egg prices meant he was not across electorate concerns.

AAP Newswire

Election

Labor releases pledge costings

Labor will deliver a billion-dollar improvement in the budget bottom line, says Treasurer Jim Chalmers, despite unveiling a raft of election sweeteners. Chalmers said the cost of Labor’s election promises would be offset by more than $7 billion in savings, meaning the budget deficit would be reduced by $1 billion over the next four years compared to pre-election forecasts. A crackdown on the use of consultants and labour hire in favour of public servants will save $6.4 billion, he said, offsetting the price of Labor’s election policies such as a tax cut and more money for health services.

AAP Newswire