Reserve bank holds interest rates at record low; 38 Covid deaths reported – as it happened

A climber has been rescued after falling and becoming stuck on a cliff in the Grampians, west of Melbourne.

A Country Fire Authority spokesperson confirmed rescue crews were called just before midday on Tuesday and found the climber on a rock ledge five to eight metres from the ground at Mt Arapiles.

The CFA worked with Fire Rescue Victoria and the State Emergency Service to bring the climber down from the ledge using “high angle rescue crews”.

The climber was stretchered from the ledge before being transported to hospital. Ambulance Victoria has been contacted for comment.

We are so close to a federal election now that the distinction between the faux campaign and the real one is basically nonexistent.

But as the real contest creeps closer to being officially called, there’s a thorny problem for the Liberal campaign to navigate – how do you win an election when, for some voters, Scott Morrison is the problem?

Bad news for Tasmanian friends. Intense rainfall is currently hitting the state, with flash flooding possible this evening, especially in Devonport and surrounding coastal areas.

From the Bureau of Meteorology:

Heavy to locally intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is currently occurring across northern Tasmania this afternoon and evening. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 50mm and 80mm are possible.

Rainfall rates are expected to gradually ease later this evening.

Locations which may be affected include Devonport, Ulverstone and George Town.

The Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed a report from the ABC’s Antony Green that a loophole will allow the Liberal Democrats to contest the upcoming election with their current name.

Last year Labor and the Morrison government teamed up to pass a law giving older registered parties an effective monopoly over use of certain words in their name on the ballot paper.

The Liberal Democrats challenged the law in the high court but lost, with a majority of four justices upholding the validity of the effective naming rights veto.

Served with a notice of an intention to deregister the Liberal Democrats, the party changed their name to Liberty and Democracy, but when objections to that name were lodged, withdrew the application – reverting back to the name they wanted all along: Liberal Democrats.

On 1 April, the AEC again served a notice it will deregister that name – but given it has to give the party three months to respond, it is now too late for that decision to bite before the May election.

Labor’s Tim Ayres said the party appeared to have “taken advantage of a loophole not anticipated by drafters of the legislation”.

The AEC commissioner, Tom Rogers, told Senate Estimates: “I’m aware of what the intent of parliament was and ... it doesn’t appear to have been met in this case.”

Rogers blamed “some side routes in this legislation [that were] a bit too generous”.

Here’s the latest from the Bureau of Meteorology, with minor to moderate flooding expected in New South Wales in the coming days as the wet weather returns (how brief our relief).

Heavy rain is expected to develop along the NSW south coast during Wednesday due to the combination of a low pressure trough and an onshore airstream. Heavy rain is expected to increase and extend to the south-east of NSW during Thursday and Friday. Minor to moderate flooding is possible for central and southern coastal rivers from Wednesday into Thursday.

Catchments in the flood watch areas are wet from recent rainfall.

The Greens have welcomed Labor’s commitment to crack down on multinational tax avoidance, touted in shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers’ Press Club address today, but have urged the party to commit to a concrete policy.

In November the Greens outlined a plan to crack down on multinational tax avoidance – assessed to bring in about $4.5bn. The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said money could be redirected to help fund services like Medicare and affordable housing:

We can raise up to $342bn if Labor has the guts to join the Greens in taking on the big corporations and billionaires.

In the latest headache for the NSW government, Network 10 is reporting that Sydney bus drivers will launch industrial action for 24 hours next Monday just days after thousands of nurses took to the streets.

The transport workers union is warning many commuters are likely to be affected by about 1,000 drivers walking off the job across the city.

Four people have been charged following a Fireproof Australia climate change protest at Sydney’s Brighton Le Sands this morning.

About 8.30am, emergency services were called to General Holmes Drive following reports four people had allegedly gathered on the roadway, blocking traffic in the north bound lanes.

New South Wales police said officers tried to speak to the protestors, who allegedly failed to comply with directions to move on. A short time later, they were arrested without incident.

All four protesters – a 48-year-old East Lismore woman, a 61-year-old ACT woman, a 46-year-old Queensland man and a 31-year-old Brighton Le Sands woman – were charged with “wilfully prevent free passage of person/vehicle/vessel”, “refuse/fail to comply with direction under Part 14”, and “fail or refuse to disclose identity as required”.

They were refused bail and will appear in court later today.

Fireproof Australia spokesperson Bonnie Cassen said the group wasn’t afraid of fines and arrests. Anti-protest legislation introduced in NSW last Friday threatens two years jail time and/or a $22,000 fine for protesting illegally in a range of public settings including roads, train stations, tunnels, bridges and industrial areas.

Cassen:

We’re more scared of what will happen when the climate crisis causes the breakdown of law and order, than we are of fines and prison. The government is focusing on us rather than what’s happening in Lismore and the devastation that’s coming down the road. Flood refugees need homes to get back to their lives the government can’t ignore reality forever.

We will stop when all flood and fire survivors are housed, when firefighters have the tools they need and smoke filters are installed for our kids, elderly and vulnerable.

Liberal MP Jason Falinski and Labor MP Peter Khalil just appeared on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, tiffing over climate targets.

First, though, Falinski was asked about accusations made by Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells following last week’s Budget announcement, that the PM is a “bully”:

Concetta lost a hard fought preselection and I understand she is disappointed. It is human nature to want to lash out at those people we hold responsible. She has done that to two previous Liberal party leaders and I understand that she is probably very disappointed at the moment.

Khalil retorted:

Malcolm Turnbull ... Barnaby Joyce, New South Wales former premier Gladys, the French president Emmanuel Macron, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, even Pauline Hanson has questioned Scott Morrison. [Last election] voters saw Scott Morrison kicking a couple of balls around ... hitting a few tennis balls and saw him wearing a baseball cap and think he seems nice. And now they have seen what he is really like and government’s failures over the last few years and that is what people are judging them on.

Australian unions have raised fears the Morrison government’s trade deal with India will fuel the growth of temporary, employer-sponsored migration – a trend they say leaves workers “highly vulnerable to exploitation”.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions also criticised the failure to include a labour rights chapter in the pre-election agreement, arguing this “could contribute further to a race to the bottom on workers’ rights, wages and conditions”.

The Australian government signed an interim trade agreement with India on Saturday, with most of the initial focus on immediate tariff cuts for Australian exports of lamb, wool and rock lobster. The government said the deal “opens a big door into the world’s fastest growing major economy”.

But Australia has also offered to provide new access for young people from India to participate in working holidays in Australia, with places set at 1,000 a year.

Here’s more on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep interest rates at 0.1% from AAP’s Colin Brinsden.

The fall in petrol prices appears to have tamed concerns over the inflation outlook, but the RBA is yet to be convinced that price pressures have cooled.

While the RBA left the cash rate at a record low 0.1% following Tuesday’s monthly board meeting, the word “patient” was notably missing from governor Philip Lowe’s statement in terms of the interest rate outlook.

He noted the annual inflation rate is already running at 3.5% and the more policy-sensitive underlying measure is at 2.6%, compared to the RBA’s 2 to 3% target:

Higher prices for petrol and other commodities will result in a further lift in inflation over coming quarters. The board will assess this and other incoming information as it sets policy to support full employment in Australia and inflation outcomes consistent with the target.

KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne says an interest rate rise could come as soon as July, but when the rate rise did come, future rate increases could happen “quite quickly” afterwards to catch up.

Such warnings came as the prime minister, Scott Morrison, attempted to take credit for the drop in petrol prices after last week’s budget temporarily cut fuel excise.

But economists say it’s more to do with a fall in global oil prices.

The halving of fuel excise was part of an $8.6bn cost-of-living support package announced in the budget and came after petrol prices spiked above $2 a litre as global oil prices rose due to the war in Ukraine.

Labor has no intention of extending the cut in fuel excise beyond the legislated six months. Lowe made no mention of the budget in his statement.

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index – a pointer to future household spending – rose 2.5% after several weeks of decline. Consumer inflation expectations also tumbled 0.6 percentage points to 5.8% after setting a 10-year high last week.

Steggall is asked how she compares the political “mood” now compared to three years ago, when she won the seat of Warringah from former PM Tony Abbott – with a string of independents in marginal seats campaigning this time around, in large part, on climate action.

I think it has progressed dramatically and what we have had is three years of climate disasters from floods to bushfires ... and yet in this very last budget, both Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have shown they have no desire to tackle the climate crisis and invest in our future and our transition.

So on the ground I think voters are very aware that this government has no desire to tackle the challenge and needs to look for viable alternatives. And for a number of electorates, they are looking for an independent voice to represent them and take those issues to Canberra and vote on the merits of legislation, not just because that’s how the party room says to vote.

Member for Warringah, Zali Steggall, is speaking on Afternoon Briefing now in the wake of the court dismissal to a challenge of NSW Liberal preselections.

She says the Liberal party is “not the party of old” but is “Scott Morrison’s party”, and the outcome today is not a good one for political parties.

What this outcome shows is the Liberal party is not the Liberal party of old, it is not the party of the free vote. It is Scott Morrison’s party, at the end of the day. And I think many voters will be very disenfranchised and impacted by this. It says locally whoever runs is Scott Morrison’s pick, ultimately. It isn’t somebody picked to represent the community but somebody to do Scott Morrison’s bidding ...

The question is, who does the Liberal party speak to anymore? They’re clearly not there to represent the community, they are there to represent the views of their bosses, backroom deals that happen, and ultimately Scott Morrison – so I think it says a lot for the focus of the issues as a party. I think it says it is autocratic now, not elected. Preselection is not representative of local members.

Here’s more on the incident. ABC Ballarat is reporting a man has been taken to hospital after a joint rescue between the CFA and FRV.

It is being reported that a rescue mission is under way in western Victoria after a 16-year-old boy fell at Mount Arapiles – a rock formation that rises 230 metres above the Wimmera plains in the Grampians. The site is a popular destination for rock climbers.

Two further boys are stranded on the cliff, 7 News reports.

Nearly 1,400 people in Afghanistan who were issued with emergency visas but never made it to Australia have had their visas lapse, a Senate report reveals.

The Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee – which was previously chaired by the late Labor senator Kimberley Kitching – today tabled its final report on Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan.

The report sets out eight recommendations, including that the Department of Home Affairs “urgently improve its processes and communication in relation to Afghan visa applicants” including sending acknowledgments to all applicants.

The report includes this stark finding about emergency visas issued at the height of the evacuation operation from Afghanistan:

When asked how many people have had their subclass 499 visa lapse without being renewed, Home Affairs advised that, as at 31 December 2021, a total of 1,520 subclass 449 visas granted to evacuees from Afghanistan have ceased. Home Affairs noted that this includes:

* 53 who are in Australia were determined to already hold a valid substantive visa, such as a Family visa, or who have been granted a longer term visa since arriving;

* 1,398 who never entered Australia; and

* 69 who have now left Australia for New Zealand. Australia assisted these people with uplift from Afghanistan on behalf of New Zealand, and were granted a subclass 449 visa for the time they spent in Australia before they travelled onward to New Zealand.

It’s understood the report was substantially drafted before Kitching’s sudden death.

The main report is now in the name of the deputy chair, Liberal senator Eric Abetz. Abetz and the other committee members said they wished to acknowledge Kitching’s “outstanding work” in overseeing the inquiry. We’ll have a story on this later today.

Back in Victoria, there’s no word on how long mask mandates for students in years three to six will continue. But the health minister, Martin Foley, said they had saved “thousands of infections” in schools.

There are 94,426 active cases in Victoria among 0 to 19-year-olds in the state, and 55,930 active Covid cases among 10 to 19-year-olds alone, the second highest age group behind 30 to 39-year-olds. Numbers are possibly more accurate among that age group due to the state’s free rapid antigen test program in schools.

Here’s more on the opposition leader’s courting of the regions today from AAP.

Anthony Albanese will set up a $500m fund to encourage investment in the farm sector and earmark $656m for a regional telecommunications package if he wins government.

Addressing a National Farmers Federation conference in Canberra, Albanese said the National Reconstruction Fund would set aside money specifically for the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre sectors.

The fund aims to provide loans, equity and guarantees to investors establishing new businesses or those recovering from the stress of the pandemic.

Albanese also announced a plan to improve mobile coverage throughout Australia, including a $400m fund to expand multi-carrier mobile coverage along with an audit of blackspots:

This is a comprehensive, targeted plan that will ensure better mobile coverage on roads, on farms, and across regional communities – and better broadband as well.

Asked if he would scrap the agriculture worker visa if he won government, Albanese told an audience of farmers and stakeholders he would provide a better system:

The ag visa is not real at the moment … we will sit down with you and have an appropriate system.

Earlier, the agriculture minister, David Littleproud, criticised the Australian Workers’ Union for campaigning against the visa.

Farmers have a list of five priority areas they say need to be addressed for agriculture to thrive, including a $5bn rural telecommunications fund to improve connectivity for remote Australia.

Launching the election wish list on Tuesday, NFF president, Fiona Simson, said the importance of the upcoming federal election for agriculture and the bush could not be understated.

The federal government says former Liberal defence minister Brendan Nelson will replace media executive Kerry Stokes on the Australian War Memorial council, the latest in a raft of pre-election appointment announcements.

Andrew Gee, the minister for veterans’ affairs and defence personnel, said in a statement issued this afternoon:

Dr Nelson fills the Council position vacated by outgoing member Mr Kerry Stokes AC, who is standing down after 15 years of exceptional and dedicated service, including as Chairman for more than six years.

The news comes amid ongoing controversy over the $500m expansion of the AWM. Critics have long argued the money would be better spent helping veterans.

Nelson is a former director of the AWM and is currently president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific.

Gee said the appointment “would allow him to continue to serve the Australian War Memorial through its historic redevelopment”. He argued Nelson’s “business acumen” would “also prove invaluable”.

Gee also thanked Stokes “for his passion, leadership and vision”.

In the same statement, Stokes said:

I have enjoyed every moment in working with the dedicated staff and council of the Memorial over the last 15 years and will continue to follow closely the progress of construction to expand the facility in Canberra over the next few years.

Although Nelson joins the council, it is unclear who will replace Stokes as chairman. The decision will be made by the AWM’s council.

In unwelcome news, further rainfall has been forecast for New South Wales in the coming days, with flooding possible for the central and south coast.

An initial flood watch has been issued for Central and Southern Coastal Rivers and Macquarie and Queanbeyan Rivers.

Seven further minor flood warnings are active across the state, with a severe weather warning to be issued this afternoon between Gosford and Bega – including Sydney and Wollongong – in anticipation of high rainfall in the next 24 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Bureau of Meteorology, with falls of up to 150mm predicted in some areas:

We will have more on this shortly.

Here is the full statement from Village Roadshow Theme Parks, provided to Guardian Australia:

This afternoon an ambulance was called to Movie World to attend to a guest following an incident on the carousel ride.

The guest received a laceration to his head and was attended to by Movie World’s Nurse before being taken to hospital in a stable condition. Our thoughts are with the guest and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery.

We pride ourselves on our standards of care and quality and an investigation is being conducted as a matter of priority into the exact cause of the incident. In an abundance of caution the ride has been closed while we understand how the incident occurred.

The safety and wellbeing of guests and team members is our top priority at Village Roadshow Theme Parks and we are committed to providing guests with a fun and safe environment.

We will provide further updates when they are available.

Speaking of elective surgery:

The Victorian government’s Covid Catch-Up Plan, announced today, will inject $1.5bn to see 240,000 public patients receive surgery each year by 2024.

Frankston Private hospital will become a public surgery centre for Covid catch-up care with the capacity to support a maximum of 9,000 public patients a year once it is fully operational next year.

A $1.4bn funding package was announced by the state government in February in response to the ongoing pressures on Victoria’s healthcare system.

In Victoria, the state government has been under fire today for elective surgery lists that have ballooned in the wake of pandemic-related shutdowns.

The health minister, Martin Foley, said the “mess” was inherited by Labor when it came into government eight years ago, and, once collated, an official figure on how long the waitlist is will be released.

In Queensland, a search and rescue operation is under way for a couple who went missing on a driving holiday in the state’s western far north.

Police and local landholders have conducted extensive mobile and aerial patrols in search of 63-year-old Craig Ferguson and 59-year-old Donna-Lee Ferguson, who failed to check out of their Kowanyama accommodation on Monday.

Queensland police said:

The couple are believed to have gone sightseeing around Kowanyama and were last seen at the intersection of Shelfo and Chapman roads around 7am on Sunday morning driving a 2021 White Toyota Landcruiser with Queensland Registration 612BS4.

The couple only have access to smartphones, which are out of range where they’re travelling.

In other news, to risk sounding like a broken record, New South Wales residents are being warned to brace for further rainfall and possible flash flooding in the coming days.

Here is the latest from the Bureau of Meteorology, from a press conference earlier today:

We have a coastal trough developing from Wednesday, where we can expect to see widespread 50mm of rainfall falling ... from Upper Hunter into Greater Sydney and including the Illawarra, South Coast areas of NSW.

We are really expecting to see this trough then intensify, on Thursday ... and then we will continue to see rainfall on Friday where we have the potential for 50 to 150mm of widespread rainfall. We are then expecting the weakening of this rainfall over the weekend. I should highlight within this widespread rainfall, there is the potential for isolated heavier totals ...

So what this means for the areas expecting this rainfall is that we will see the issuing of a flood watch later today which is a heads up for potential flooding. So catchments in the Upper Hunter, the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley, and the Colo Rivers there is the potential for minor to moderate flooding. In other catchments, the Illawarra, South Coast and Far South Coast, there is also the potential for minor flooding. In addition to this, there is the potential for flash flooding as we see these very heavy rainfall totals commencing from tomorrow.

With that all tied up, there’s one matter still to be resolved – the date of an election.

While Jim Chalmers was doing his thing at the National Press Club, Anthony Albanese was at the National Farmers Federation, touting Labor’s ambitions for better mobile and broadband coverage in regional and rural areas.

The Coalition’s budget includes “unprecedented” regional infrastructure spending in key electorates off the back of securing the National party’s support for the Liberals’ net zero emissions plan.

Incoming ...

A search continues for a man who went missing after entering the Bremer River at Ipswich, Queensland early this morning.

In a very *eye roll* fashion, the last question of the day at the Press Club presses on whether there will be any new tax changes should Labor win the election – particularly the proposed 50% cut to excise on tap beer supposedly under consideration by the Coalition.

The tax break would reportedly reduce the price of a keg of beer to approximately $35, cutting the cost of a pint by 40 cents.

Chalmers:

The answer to the last one is no, sorry to the beer drinkers of Australia; on the other question, it’s the same answer as before ... we’re not proposing any tax changes beyond multinationals [and there is] potentially a conversation [to be had] with the states. And there’s a lot of different ways to answer the question but our priority when it comes to repairing the budget, emphasis on quality, maybe multinationals, dealing with rorts ... that’s our priority.

David Crowe asked Chalmers to clarify Labor’s intention to raise revenue via a tax on multinationals. The Coalition in last week’s budget also had a revenue-raising measure tightening some rules on multinational tax. Have they stolen Labor’s thunder?

Chalmers says Labor’s measure will be “beyond” what the government proposed, however the party will not head into the election with a proposal on tax beyond multinationals.

What the government propose the budget was a compliance measure, with the tax office as you rightly identified and that is something the government of both political persuasions have done at different times, I don’t think that is hotly contested, our measures on multinational tasks will go beyond that.

In terms of other tax measures, I think we’ve all made it clear, especially in the last couple of days that we’re not going to this election with a proposal on tax beyond multinationals. We’ve said they might be a conversation with states, after the election but we’re going the selection with a proposal on multinationals and beyond that.

Chalmers continued:

You know, we want to be a pro-business, pro-employer, Labor party. Because we recognise that the challenges in our economy are so vast and so substantial that you cannot meet them without a working relationship with business, with unions, with the community sector, with the states and others, to get the job done.

But there is a global movement here, and I pay tribute to president Biden ... and others, who say that we’ve got a challenge here. The playing field is not level. That disadvantages local businesses and disadvantages local communities. And so, we think that there is something measured and responsible that can be done here to fix this situation, to make it fairer. And that’s not to diminish or dismiss the substantial amount of people who are employed here ... I think that people understand, even the big employers, especially in some cases the big employers. They understand that if there is a global move afoot, Australia should be a part of it.

Back at the Press Club, Andrew Probyn raised the elephant in the room – closed borders and the impact that has had on the low unemployment rate.

What would be your approach to unemployment given that wages is one of your high priorities? And that having low unemployment is meant to spark wage increases when you have got pressures in say, aged care, that’s going to need, as you’ve just said, tens of thousands of workers? Are you a big Australia man? Or are you something else?

Chalmers says as migration settings return to “something that looks a little bit more like normal”, there’s an opportunity to work out “the best mix” for the program.

I’ve always been a supporter of a decent-sized migration program. Overall, it is good for the economy. But what that requires is that you get the constituent parts of it right and that you build public support for it. And so, migration is a big part of the story. On unemployment more broadly, we want the unemployment rate to be as low as possible. And I said in my speech, it’s falling in welcome ways, but it’s not bringing with it that wages growth that you identified in your question. It’s bringing skills shortage, but it’s not bringing wages growth that keeps up with the cost of living. So real wages are falling and so the difference between our approach to unemployment and the government’s ... is the labour market is a broader story than the just the unemployment rate.

The labour market is about underemployment. It’s about concentrated unemployment, in communities like the one that I represent, unfortunately. You know, it’s about wages. It’s about job security. And so, we take a much broader look at the labour market. We don’t declare victory just because there’s a forecast of an unemployment rate.

If you’re watching Chalmers live, you can switch over to ABC News to continue.

In Victoria, 16 million free rapid antigen tests will be distributed to schools for students and staff from this week as the state’s RAT surveillance regime continues.

Doherty Institute modelling estimates 113,500 Covid infections have been prevented throughout the first term as a result of the program, assuming a 50% compliance rate with screening of students.

Testing recommendations will remain the same, with all primary and secondary school students and staff and early childhood education and care staff and children encouraged to test at home twice a week.

Those at special schools are encouraged to test five days each week due to the higher risk for medically vulnerable children. The testing system is still voluntary.

A further 60,000 air purifiers are also on their way to schools to add to some 51,000 delivered.

It’s a Twitter war! (of stats!)

Labor has committed to handing down a budget later this year if it wins government in May. Chalmers has also acknowledged the cost-of-living crisis and inflationary pressures will continue for some months. He is asked if the trajectory continues, will Labor commit to immediate cost-of-living relief, including cash handouts?

Chalmers keeps his cards close to his chest and says “We’ll play the [ones] we’re dealt”:

We’ve said that it’s hard to imagine a world where the cash handouts and the current budget continue indefinitely. You know, that’s just being upfront about the pressures in budget ... I’m just trying to be upfront and say that it won’t continue forever. Having said that, you know, clearly, if we’re putting a budget together, whenever it might be on the advice of Treasury, clearly we’ll play the cards that we’re dealt if there’s a need for more support, clearly, we would look at that. But our starting point is that the support that passed through this parliament in the middle of last week is temporary.

Asked to confirm if the reduction to the fuel excise will need to be extended, Chalmers said:

If there is an incredibly compelling reason to leave it in, we would consider that. But to be upfront with Australians, no matter who wins government in May, it is likely that that petrol price relief will end.

Chalmers was also asked about criticism that has been levelled towards his own and Albanese’s relative inexperience.

He points out that no treasurer has handed down a budget before being in government, and says downplaying Albanese’s role as infrastructure minister shows the Coalition doesn’t see the portfolio as “key to economic growth”:

I mean, if Josh Frydenberg’s main critique of me is that I haven’t handed down a budget before I’ve handed down a budget, that applies to him, too. And by the way, it applies to Peter Costello. It applies to Paul Keating. It applies to a whole heap of others. So, I don’t, frankly, I don’t pay much attention to that. I have a heap of experience in the portfolio. The lock-up was my 16th. I don’t think that anyone in the parliament has done more than that but I wouldn’t have thought so ...

The other thing which I find extraordinary is when the prime minister opens up a similar critique of Anthony. And what it reveals is that they think that holding the infrastructure portfolio and being the deputy prime minister of Australia is not relevant to our economy. Which is a bizarre concession, but they don’t see infrastructure as key to economic growth in our economy.

Guardian Australia’s Sarah Martin is up at the Press Club. She presses Chalmers again on fiscal consolidation raised by Tingle and Coorey. Chalmers has been critical of the budget for wasteful spending. But what spending over forward estimates or medium term can Chalmers identify that Labor wouldn’t go ahead with?

And you’ve obviously been very critical of discretionary grant spending. Why not abolish the discretionary grants all together?

Chalmers says Labor thinks “there is an opportunity” to trim some of the discretionary funds.

But it’s difficult from opposition without full visibility. One of the reasons that we have estimates and other opportunities is because there’s not a lot of visibility on what the government has committed to those funds or where some of that money is going to. So that is a process that we intend to engage in.

On the other issue about an example of spending that the government does that we wouldn’t do – I think that there’s a really clear example. The government, because they had for so long, this arbitrary staffing cap on the public service, meant that ... so many billions of dollars were being spent on labour hire and contractors and consultants in areas traditionally performed by the APS ... there is an opportunity, I think, to have a good look at the spending that goes into that part of budget, to work out whether we could do more with less.

Back to the Press Club.

Laura Tingle pointed out to Chalmers that, for all his criticism of the Coalition’s budget, they waved through the tax cuts.

The big question, as you say, is what happens next ... you say that it is not a budget for the future. The budget is forecasting a big gap between spending and revenue for 10 years now. You seem to be saying, as the treasurer is saying, that will be closed by growth, with the only difference being that you’re going to have some slightly better-quality spending promises. Have you got any new set of fiscal rules about the size of revenue, the size of spending and how you’ll be working out your budget strategy?

Chalmers replies:

First of all, you’re judged not just about what’s in them but what’s not in them. And this is a budget with a shelf life of six or seven weeks. The absence is what’s in it for the future. If you want to go to the specifics of budget repair, you know, there’s a heap of spending, a heap of cash handouts in the very near-term. There’s not much budget repair beyond that except for the $3bn that the prime minister doesn’t want to talk about in terms of the secret cuts on page 49 of budget paper 2.

And so, there is, I think, a gap when it comes to budget repair in the future from the government. Now, we’ve said that there are at least four ways that you can improve the budget. The quantity of the debt matters to us, but the quality of the spending, I genuinely believe, matters as much, if not more ... yes, we’re looking for ways to make the budget more sustainable. But mostly, we’re looking for ways to make the budget deliver a measurable economic improvement.

Jumping away from the Press Club for a minute, and Papua New Guinea’s PM has weighed in on the Solomon Islands deal with China.

He says Solomon Islands is an independent state but as members of the Pacific Island Forum with shared interests PNG is “conscious” of what’s occurring there.

This is what happens when you try to Tweet while delivering a speech, Jim!

Phil Coorey asks Chalmers if Labor will take a tax cap to the election like the Coalition with a 23.9% tax-to-GDP ratio.

Are you going to be governed by a ratio of your own? And you were critical in your speech of the structural deficit hitting 0.7% of GDP in the medium term coming down from about 3% now. Are you going to try to do better? Are you going for a surplus by the end of the medium term? Can you give us any guidelines as to what will be governing your fiscal strategy between now and the election and not after the election?

Chalmers says it’s been made “really clear” that it would be hard to anticipate surpluses for some time from the intergenerational report and the budget.

That’s just the condition of the budget that we would inherit. When it comes to our fiscal strategy, you shouldn’t lightly dismiss getting value for money. The absence of that has been a big part of not having enough to show for $1 trillion in debt in the last decade or so. We’re not attracted to the government’s tax cut, and the reason we’re not attracted to it is because it seems to us like quite an arbitrary cap imposed for political reasons rather than good economic reasons.

And clearly, as the economic conditions evolve, we take advice from the Treasury and from elsewhere about the most appropriate settings but I think that we said really for some time now that the arbitrary tax cut that the government has imposed, which the government doesn’t hit by the way in the forwards, from memory, is something that they say to try to have a political argument rather than to try to generate a genuine economic outcome.

Chalmers concludes:

We know that whoever wins government on the 14th or the 21st of May ... real wages will be going backwards. Businesses will be short of staff. Industries will be short of skills. Childcare fees and healthcare costs will be too high for too many people. There will be conflict and tension in the world far away and closer to home. Our country will occupy a precarious place in global supply chains. There will be $1 trillion in debt and not enough to show for it. Petrol prices and interest rates will be about to rise again no matter who wins. A long rebuild ahead in places like Lismore and beyond.

But what I also know is that if people wake up with a new Labor government ... for the first time in nine years, there will be a prime minister, a treasurer, a cabinet and a government with a determination and resolve and a sense of responsibility to actually start dealing with these challenges ... a government that has the plans for a better future, for a stronger, more resilient, more inclusive, more sustainable economy that creates opportunities and puts those opportunities within the reach of more people. Because we want to run this country, its economy, in the interests of its people ... the election will be tough and it will be close. And the path beyond that is challenging, too. So we’re not here to muck around or muddle through. A better future depends on it.

Chalmers says Labor’s fiscal strategy will be better than the Coalition’s as it will “focus on quality and bang for buck”, like investing in the aged care sector:

Grow the economy the right way, focus on quality and bang for buck, end the rorts and waste and work with other countries to make sure that multinationals pay their fair share of tax in Australia where they make their profits. And when it comes to value for money, it’s hard to think of a better investment than in aged care. And for those of you who have been tempted to write off the blurred differences between the major parties I offer you this as an example of one of the defining distinctions between the big parties. It’s been disappointing but not really surprising to see the lengths this government will go to to deny people decent care, decent food and decent wages.

More future chat and a nod to Chalmers’ Queenslander heritage:

To paraphrase another Queenslander – I say this to Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg – this reckless rorting and wasteful spending must stop. If it’s not the time to flick the switch to austerity, it is the time to flick the switch to quality, to smart investments in our future. Because the best way to repair the budget is to get the economy growing in a broader, more sustainable, more inclusive way ...

That’s why we want to be judged on the quality of our spending to the extent that it delivers the right kind of growth. We will be investing where it counts to create more opportunities, unlock business investment and drive productivity. This has never been more important than right now where we know that our economic pressures lie on the supply side. That’s why the quality of spending matters as much as the quantity.

Chalmers says Labor has a five-point-plan for economic growth united by the belief “an economy and a society stronger after Covid than before is within our reach”.

Our plan for economic growth, investing in the future, targets cost-of-living pressures and supports sectors that will improve our lives, create more secure and new jobs and grow our economy. Each of our are designed for a generational dividend and not just a six- to seven-week political pay-off. Instead of a panicked, political pamphlet, we offer a plan and it has five parts.

1. To reduce energy costs and emissions while transitioning to newer sources of clean energy.
2. Hundreds of thousands of “fee-free” Tafe places to address skill shortages.
3. Cheaper, more accessible childcare.
4. More modern infrastructure, including “key investments” in upgrading the NBN and the digital economy.
5. A “made-in-Australia future” with co-investments in “crucial sectors” like manufacturing and the care economy to boost the resilience of small business.

Again, Chalmers says cost-of-living pressures predate the Ukraine invasion and are a consequence of stagnating wage growth:

Cost-of-living pressures haven’t just shown up out of the blue. They aren’t just a consequence of Russia invading Ukraine. They’re a consequence of the Coalition attacking wages and job security. That’s why the relief in this budget isn’t even enough to make up for the more than $3,200 fall in real wages for the average worker these past two years. But of all the failures in this budget, all the drift and disappointment of the eight before it, the most glaring omission by far is the future. Again, the warnings were plain for all to see. This time in the government’s own intergenerational report. It said if we do nothing to address our decline, we face an economy that’s smaller than expected, growing slower than before and saddled with four more decades of debt and deficits and that’s before we even factor in lower productivity growth at the most recent cycle under the Coalition.

Chalmers turns to the global supply chain hit by the Ukraine invasion and the pandemic. He warns interest rates are forecast to rise “no matter who” wins the election but continuing with the status quo is not the answer.

We know that prices for essentials like petrol, rent and childcare were already sky rocketing, even before Russia invaded Ukraine, while Australian real wages were going backwards. And we understand, of course, the invasion exacerbates this and it feeds into global investor uncertainty which had only just begun to recover in the aftermath of the pandemic and the recession. Rerecognise geopolitical risks aren’t just rising in Europe, but closer to home as well. And as we consider the implications for our national security and for our economy from a Chinese leadership which is becoming not just more assertive in tone, but more aggressive in posture.

And just the other day, factory activity in China slumped at the sharpest pace in two years, reminding us that the global health uncertainty from the pandemic still isn’t over. We’ve all heard the Reserve Bank governor warn that interest rates will rise before long no matter who wins the election. Driving up the cost of borrowing for families, businesses and governments. Now, the wrong and risky response to this uncertainty, to this context and this backdrop is to continue on the current course and cling to the status quo. The most damaging thing that Australia could do right now, the biggest economic and social harm we could inflict would be to accept flatlining wages, soaring prices, tepid investment and weak growth, as our best-case scenario – our new normal. That’s not stability – that’s stagnation.

Is “the future” going to be Labor’s election tagline?

What would a Labor budget look like? Chalmers runs through major election talking points – disaster support for communities, cheaper childcare, wages growth, an anti-corruption commission and greater investment in aged care:

If last week had seen a Labor budget handed down, it would have offered hope and support and resources to communities cleaning up floodwaters and rebuilding after bushfires. It would have delivered a plan for cheaper childcare and stronger wages growth, easing families off that punishing treadmill of rising prices and flatlining pay. It would have invested in Australian skills, small businesses and local supply chains, to grow self-reliance and resilience and make our future here in Australia.

It would have put an end to nine years of stupendous rorts, abuse and waste and funded and waste and funded a national Anti-Corruption Commission. It would have invested in productivity so we can grow the economy more strongly without runaway inflation. And, as Anthony made clear, in a way that we’re all incredibly proud of, a Labor budget and a Labor government would fix the crisis in aged care.

Chalmers continues on his assessment of the the Coalition’s budget, and how he expects their election campaign to be run – “no ambition” beyond staying in power:

We got a document that gloried in its shallowness and wallowed in its triviality. Deliberately, overtly, insultingly, conceived as a prop for the election. And celebrated by the Liberals and Nationals, not for what it would do for the country, but just for giving them something to say in their ads. Last week’s budget showed exactly what sort of campaign Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg will run. Glib, incoherent, in denial of reality and completely silent on the future. No ambition beyond their own survival, no vision beyond election night.

Chalmers says the Coalition’s budget released last week was “riddled with rots and chock-full of wasteful spending”.

A treasurer personally culpable for tens of billions of dollars of emergency support for businesses which didn’t need it. Another $5.5bn wasted on subs that will never be built. Sports rorts, car park rorts, dodgy land deals – the list goes on! And when Josh Frydenberg said from this lectern five days ago that the focus was on winning the election, and when Scott Morrison talks about the budget being a shield, they gave the game away. This was a budget designed to shield a government from the people. All about setting the Coalition up for a fourth term – not setting our country up for a better future.

Amazing – Chalmers somehow live tweeting while simultaneously speaking to the National Press Club.

Chalmers turns to the economy. He says the nine years the Coalition has spent in government has amounted to a “wasted decade of missed opportunities”.

On the face of it, the frantic last few days before an election is called might not seem an ideal time to take a step back for a moment to take stock of our economy, our country or our future. But with so much at stake, I think it’s the perfect time. Because we have learnt so much about ourselves. We’ve learnt from the mediocrity we had before the pandemic, the catastrophe we had during it and the uncertainty we’re experiencing now. From floods and fire, a pandemic, a war in Europe, before that from the first recession in 30 years and another deep and damaging downturn just last year. From the false starts and the false dawns of this recovery, marred by policy mistakes and missteps.

From a nation which rose to the occasion each time it needed to, and the government that fell back into old habits. A people who were there for each other at every single turn and a prime minister who went missing, taking credit but never taking responsibility. And now, after nine long years, three treasurers and three prime ministers, the verdict is in – average economic growth at 2.3 % under this Liberal-National government this year, lower than the 2.5% of the last Labor government. Average productivity growth at 1.1% a year under them versus 1.4% under us ... multiplying debt and deficits as far as the eye can see.

Chalmers begins his address by, during the acknowledgement of country, highlighting Labor would implement the Uluru Statement of the Heart if the government were to be elected.

Thank you to the sponsors and the directors of the National Press Club for this opportunity to speak to the press club for the first time this parliamentary term ... For the first but hopefully not the last time in this grand and auspicious great hall, recognising that the history of this place is just a tiny speck on tens of thousands of years of the world’s oldest continuous culture; acknowledging the customs, elders and traditions of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people and hoping that the Uluru Statement of the Heart is implemented in full.

Many thanks to the wonderful Matilda Boseley. I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon, starting with shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers, who is about to speak at today’s National Press Club address.

With that, I shall hand you over to the amazing Caitlin Cassidy!

By the way, if you just can’t get enough of Morrison, the prime minister is being interviewed on ABC’s 7.30 program tonight.

NBN Co has announced the next set of suburbs where people can apply to get an upgrade of their internet from fibre-to-the-node to fibre-to-the-premises (if they order a higher tier speed plan).

The company is planning to offer the upgrade to 1.7m homes by the end of next year, with the first 50,000 opening up late last month.

This month, another 90,000 homes can apply for the upgrades in the following locations:

NSW: Byron Bay, Albury, Berowra, Blue Haven, Calala, Cardiff South, Charlestown, Dubbo, East Ballina, Kanwal, Kincumber, Kingscliff, Macquarie Hills, Port Macquarie, Rutherford, Shellharbour, Suffolk Park, Watanobi, Wauchope, West Tamworth, Wyong

Victoria: Herne Hill, Highton, Horsham, Kyabram, Lara, Mildura, North Wonthaggi, Pakenham, Queenscliff, Roxburgh Park, Warragul, West Wodonga, Wodonga

Queensland: Glenvale, Newport, Norman Gardens, Palmwoods, Petrie, Wurtulla

South Australia: Littlehampton, Nairne

Western Australia: Attadale, Canning Vale, Halls Head, Wannanup

NBN Co said it planned to enable 60,000 per month to order the service, with 230,000 eligible to upgrade by the end of June, and 600,000 eligible by the end of 2022.

In Senate estimates last week, NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue said since the launch in late March, the company had received 350 orders for upgrades – 250 businesses and 100 homes.

The timing of future announcements during caretaker mode for the election is something the company is keeping a close eye on, with a caretaker review group set up in NBN Co to ensure compliance with caretaker expectations.

Rue said there would be no NBN Co advertising out during caretaker period, and he has pulled out of a speech scheduled during the expected caretaker period.

Given that this press conference is in Sydney, there is a lot of discussion about federal flood relief funding.

It’s difficult to hear the question, but here is the prime minister’s response.

(Reminder, the rules of the blog coffee game state that you must take a big sip every time the prime minister says “one-in-500-year flood”.)

Morrison:

I’ve written to the premier again, stressing that we are very happy to share in the cost of the program for the one-in-500-year flood event, that’s what we undertook to do...

We said we will go to those places that are impacted by the one-in-500-year flood event because the types of programs that they are pursuing, our programs that are done by state government, there are some things that governments do 100%, they are some things the commonwealth do 100%.

As I said, we are [doing] something the commonwealth does 100%. As I said, we’ve [supplied] $2.1 billion in support, which actually is far in excess of what the state government has responded to the floods, with a billion dollars of what we’ve committed already in people’s pockets.

We were very clear that on that particular program, we were prepared to take half the cost of those places impacted by the one-in-500-year flood event.

Morrison has been asked, given he is taking credit for the lower fuel prices today, if he will also take responsibility for them if they rise between now and election day.

The prime minister said:

I can simply say that we have provided 22 cents a litre relief on fuel tax, that’s come off to ensure that people can have lower prices. Prices will still move around but what I do know is that there will be 22 cents a litre less than what they would otherwise be...

I’m very pleased that the fuel industry has responded, we have seen the move quickly and we have seen the plus much quicker than we anticipated, and so I thank them for that. They want to give the motorist a good deal, they want to be able to pass on this cost-of-living relief and they are doing that and people can see that we have delivered that right here at the browser.

Reporter:

Is that why you selected this particular BP?

Morrison:

If you look at the prices around here, there are very similar levels. You see that in Melbourne, where I was yesterday...

In regional areas, when I was up in northern Tasmania on the weekend, it’ll take a little while for it to filter through there, they are still a bit over $2 ... but we expect to see that come down in regional areas.

Foreign minister Marise Payne says she will be leaving tonight for a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Europe to discuss the Ukraine situation.

Australia isn’t actually a member of Nato, but as an “enhanced opportunities partner” it seems we still get an invitation to sit at the grown-up table.

Payne has reiterated her view that Russia’s actions are in breach of international law:

Can I say that I am leaving this evening, as you have advised, for a meeting of Nato foreign ministers and close partners in Brussels, in relation to Russia’s action in Ukraine.

The coordination in this meeting will strengthen and enable the global response to Russia’s unlawful egregious and unprovoked actions.

They are also in breach of international law, and a breach of the UN charter, so the work that we have been doing in sanctions excluding over 500 people, identities in the last month, the support that we are provided through humanitarian aid – and that is being delivered through trusted partners on the ground in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries and through Australian aid organisations and the military support that we have provided – is key to our coordination with our international partners.

I look forward to meeting with the key members of Nato and those counterparts in the coming days in Brussels to reaffirm and reinforce Australia’s engagement in this key international operation.

Morrison:

We kept disciplined about how we were spending. Yes, we had to invest to support the Australian economy but we’ve known when to get in and support, just like we’re doing again now, and we also know when that support has been rounded out.

And as we’ve come to this pandemic, what we know is that our opponents, the Labor party, would have spent an [extra] $81 billion during the pandemic. Now we knew where we had to keep some of the measures we had before that helped our economy come through. But the Labor party wanted to keep on spending and spending and spending. And what that would have meant is that we would not have been in a position to harness the gains that we have been able to put in place, how we’ve come through this pandemic with the strongest economic rebound that we have seen in Australia in 70 years.

And yes I was right!

Scott Morrison:

I’m thrilled that here, the benefits of what we’ve done to cut fuel taxes to give people cost-of-living relief, as a result of this budget, have been felt right here at the browser and to see as prices go down to what we see here, 166.9c, we are seeing that right across the country.

The prime minister is speaking live now ... in front of a petrol station. I assume to flex the effectiveness of the budget’s centrepiece fuel excise reduction.

Let’s have a listen in.

Hundreds of thousands of fish have died after recent flooding in northern New South Wales caused “severe deoxygenation” of rivers, with researchers alarmed at discovering carcasses of species that traditionally tolerate lower oxygen levels.

Scientists are still researching the full of extent of the destruction to marine life along the Richmond river, where multiple fish kill events occurred following flooding in late February and early March. The flooding led to a total lack of oxygen in a 60km stretch of the waterway, between Coraki and Ballina on the northern NSW coast.

While data on the effects of the latest flood events at the end of March is not yet clear, Southern Cross University researchers who had been undertaking long-term monitoring of the Richmond river in a project with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment believe the final fish death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands.

You can read the full report below:

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is discussing the need to get schools in flood-affected areas back open.

We know that our children have gone through a very difficult time when we have come through the pandemic, many days, many terms, of face-to-face learning our children have missed out on. Now in these flood-affected communities once again we’ve had many young children not be able to go to school.

So [with] the education minister, Sarah Mitchell, important work has happened to ensure we’ve been able to relocate those schools in those areas that have been flood-affected to get kids back to the classroom as quickly as possible.

The NSW premier is speaking now. Let’s have a listen in.

We have a bit more detail on Peter Dutton’s missile-related announcements this morning.

In the second of two press releases issued today, the defence minister said the government had approved the accelerated acquisition of improved weapon capabilities for the Australian defence force at a total cost of $3.5bn.

The accelerated acquisitions include the joint air-to-surface standoff missile extended range (JASSM-ER) for the Royal Australian Air Force three years earlier than planned. This is now expected by 2024.

Dutton said:

The JASSM-ER will enable the FA-18F Super Hornet, and in future the F-35A Lightning II, to engage targets at a range of 900km.

The government is also acquiring the Norwegian Kongsberg naval strike missile (NSM) for the Royal Australian Navy’s surface fleet. This will replace the Harpoon anti-ship missile in the Anzac Class frigates and Hobart Class destroyers.

The frigates and destroyers will have this new capability installed from 2024 onwards. The government argues this will provide “a significant enhancement to Australia’s maritime strike capability – more than doubling the current maritime strike range of our frigates and destroyers”.

The government says it will also accelerate the acquisition of maritime mines “to secure Australia’s ports and maritime approaches”.

Dutton said:

With Australia’s strategic environment becoming more complex and challenging, our ADF must be able to hold potential adversary forces and infrastructure at risk from a greater distance. These world-class strike weapon systems will equip our forces to better protect Australia’s maritime approaches and, when necessary, contribute to coalition operations in our region.

The announcements come amid ongoing efforts by the government to focus on national security ahead of the election. As reported here earlier, Dutton also named two large US weapons makers – Raytheon and Lockheed Martin – as “strategic partners” in Australia’s own push to manufacture and maintain guided weapons.

Nine news is reporting the body of a man swept away in flood waters in Thomson in Victoria.

More details to come.

Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, says the state will scrap isolation requirements for close contacts of coronavirus cases when it is safe to do so.

The Australian health protection principal committee (AHPPC) told national cabinet last week that isolation and testing rules could be eased after the current wave of infections peaks.

Scott Morrison said on Monday he was “looking forward” to the rules being scrapped and that it was a matter for the states.

The prime minister said:

We don’t make those decisions at the commonwealth level. It is premiers who decide to shut cities down or open them up, not the commonwealth government.

Andrews, however, noted national cabinet was chaired by Morrison:

He’s asked a question [to AHPPC] on behalf of all of us … he doesn’t like the answer and that was apparently my fault. I don’t think so.

If there’s a quarrel between the prime minister and the chief medical officer, well I respectfully suggest that he sort that out. I’m in the business of following the advice of experts.

Andrews said he expected the latest Omicron BA.2 subvariant wave to peaked in the “next few weeks”.

The Liberals have attacked Labor’s aged care policy after the shadow attorney general suggested a possible pause on its one-year deadline to have a registered nurse in every aged care facility at all times, AAP reports.

Mark Dreyfus admitted there may not be enough trained nurses to implement the plan and more would need to be trained.

“We’re talking about setting the standard and if it is in fact true that there are not enough nurses in Australia to provide that level of care, we should train more,” he told the ABC.

It might be that it turns out we’ve got to pause [the deadline]. But let’s accept the royal commission’s recommendation, let’s say we need to have 24-hour nursing care in nursing homes, let’s put the nurses back into nursing homes.

Aged care services minister Richard Colbeck has seized on the comments, saying Labor’s policy had failed at its first test.

Mark Dreyfus has admitted Labor would have to pause its promise of an earlier rollout of 24/7 nurses in aged care ... [and] conceded Labor couldn’t do it if there are insufficient nurse numbers...

It has ignored the advice of the aged care royal commission and claimed they would introduce 24/7 nurses a year ahead of schedule.

Colbeck said the government supported having a nurse in aged care facilities at all times, but rolling out the royal commission’s recommendations sooner than slated “risks the closure of aged care facilities with a serious risk to residents”.

Victorian police would be required to notify the state’s Department of Health of toxic batches of drugs under an amendment to the state’s public health laws proposed by the Greens.

The Greens’ changes to the public health and wellbeing amendment bill, which is set to be debated in the upper house this week, would see certain drugs, poisons and controlled substances declared as notifiable based on their potential serious risk to public health.

This would mean police officers would be required to notify the department within a specified timeframe if they encounter the substances during the performance of their duties.

The definition of “serious risk to public health” means that alcohol or illegal drugs such as heroin would not be listed as notifiable in normal circumstances despite their impact on public health.

You can read the full report below:

Victoria’s Greens party has revamped its calls for a rent cap and the reintroduction of the government’s proposed social housing levy ahead of the state budget next month, in a bid to reduce cost of living pressures.

In February, the Andrews government scrapped its plans to introduce a housing levy, estimated to raise $800m for social housing, following heavy backlash from key industry groups.

Ellen Sandell, deputy leader of the Greens, urged the state government to fund a rent cap and the 1.75% levy in the state budget:

The biggest cost of living pressure we have right now in Victoria is the complete unaffordability of housing … young people simply cannot afford to buy a home and rents are now increasing.

The Greens also called for temporary free public transport, pointing to similar initiatives in New Zealand, California, NSW and Tasmania.

Labor says it would develop a “standard package of support” for businesses to recover after fire or flood, as the opposition continues its attack on the Coalition over its response to recent natural disasters.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles will tell the COSBOA National Small Business Summit today that an Albanese government would change how the commonwealth responds to natural disasters. According to material distributed by Labor ahead of his speech, Marles will promise his party would “consider the specific needs of small businesses in times of crisis”.

An Albanese Labor government will develop a standard package of support for businesses in times of crisis, so that business can have a sense of certainty about what support will be provided in any given circumstance.

Labor will also promise to change rules to ensure faster payment of invoices, and reduce administrative burden on small businesses to decrease the amount of time needed to complete tax obligations.

The Coalition’s small business minister, Stuart Robert, tweeted that Marles’ address was a “belated small biz speech”.

The world can still hope to stave off the worst ravages of climate breakdown but only through a “now or never” dash to a low-carbon economy and society, scientists have said in what is in effect a final warning for governments on the climate.

Greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025, and can be nearly halved this decade, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to give the world a chance of limiting future heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The final cost of doing so will be minimal, amounting to just a few percent of global GDP by mid-century, though it will require a massive effort by governments, businesses and individuals.

You can read the full report below:

Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne has described Russian soldiers’ alleged use of rape as a weapon of war and the mass murder of civilians in Ukraine as “horrific beyond description”.

She spoke with the Nine network earlier this morning.

What is important is that the international community does everything it can to hold Russia to account for their actions ...

The strongest possible focus on ensuring that Russia pays a cost for these actions.

Purebred horses, truffles and wine are among a slate of new luxury goods that cannot be exported to Russia under the expansion of Australian sanctions, AAP reports.

The further sanctions come a day after Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia called for a moratorium on all Russian goods entering the country as the Kremlin is accused of committing war crimes during its invasion.

The new sanctions include everything from tobacco to leather and furs to musical instruments on top of an already announced export ban on aluminium ores.

Another senior Liberal has taken aim at Scott Morrison, accusing him of “self-serving ruthless bullying” and claiming he has “ruined” the Liberal party.

Catherine Cusack, a NSW Liberal who announced two weeks ago she would resign from the Legislative Council over her anger about flood relief, adds her voice to a growing chorus of critics of Morrison from within his own party in an opinion piece for Guardian Australia.

Cusack explicitly endorses Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells’s “character assessment of the prime minister” and reveals she will not vote for the Morrison government in the May election.

You can read the full report below:

The shadow minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, has also appeared on ABC radio this morning to discuss this offshore windfarm proposal by the government.

But first, let’s hear what he has to say about the criticism of prime minister Scott Morrison including from those in the leader’s own party.

The concerns over the prime minister’s character are now well established, and they’re well established not by the Labor party, but the people who know him best.

I mean his own deputy prime minister called him a liar and a hypocrite*. These people know him best, they’ve served in cabinet with him, in the Liberal party with him over a period of many years ...

This is not a political attack by the Labor party. This is a character assessment by the people who work with him very closely.

*Barnaby Joyce has stated that he now regrets sending this text message while on the backbench and says he no longer believes this to be true.

An area of the Bass Coast has been tapped for a possible offshore windfarm.

Assistant energy minister Tim Wilson has been asked on ABC radio why this wasn’t done years ago.

Well, I can’t answer to why it wasn’t done in the past. But what I can say is within three weeks of being the minister responsible for this area, we passed laws to enable it to happen and now we’re getting on with the job and this is a huge announcement to build not just Australia’s offshore wind industry and same confidence to the market and to investors that there are opportunities ...

Host Patricia Karvelas:

You’re part of a government though. You’ve been in charge for a decade. Why didn’t you use the last decade to do this? ...

Wilson:

Passing laws takes times Patricia because we want to take the whole of the community with this. But this is the fundamental difference between our approach and so many other political parties that always want to make big announcements but don’t do the hard work and the detail to make sure we get it right. We want to make sure that when we invest in offshore electricity infrastructure, particularly offshore wind, that we gain community confidence to minimise environmental impacts and build Australia’s carbon-neutral industrial future.

Crews have worked into the night to retrieve the bodies of a British father and his son after five members of the same family were caught in a landslip in the New South Wales Blue Mountains.

The nine-year-old boy and his 49-year-old father died at the scene at Wentworth Pass, NSW police said.

A 50-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy were winched from the scene and taken to hospital in critical conditions with significant head and abdominal injuries following the land slip on the walking track.

A fifth member of the same family, a 15-year-old girl, was treated for shock after the incident, which was reported to emergency services at about 1.40pm (AEST) on Monday.

You can read the full report below: