Health News at Your Fingertips

You’re both highly skilled professionals, a voter says. Isn’t the country better off if you keep your current jobs? The crowd chortles.

Frydenberg uses that to kick off a speech about Australia’s economy and the “700,000 jobs we saved with Jobkeeper”. But it’s not about the numbers, he says (after reeling off some more numbers), it’s about the people behind the numbers.

Ryan disagrees that Australia has a strong economy right now, and says she loved her job and was good at it, but that as a scientist who has seen the science on climate change – “the existential threat for us right now” – had to take action. The major parties aren’t, she says, which is why independents are stepping up:

We have to put up our hand and do this. We have to make a difference.

Rampant inflation and stagnating wages show the economy isn’t strong, she says.

“I don’t agree that Frydenberg is a moderate Liberal,” Ryan says, in answer to a question.

He sits with prime minister Scott Morrison, she says. “We are defined by our actions, not our words. Frydenberg… has never crossed the floor on a matter of conscience.”

Frydenberg says he joined the Liberal party because of its values. “I am who I am,” he says, then accuses Ryan of concealing her political background.

“She sought to conceal the fact she was a member of the Labor party,” he says.

(Ryan has even put on her website that she briefly joined the Labor party when former prime minister Kevin Rudd said he’d ratify the Kyoto agreement).

Ryan is talking about electric vehicle batteries, and the need to make them in Australia. Frydenberg is on the same page, talking about the need to refine rare minerals for batteries.

He says the government has done its bit to encourage the uptake of EVs, including committing to charging stations, subsidies via the luxury car tax, etc.

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 56 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 1,085
• In hospital: 70 (with 4 people in ICU)

NSW

• Deaths: 21
• Cases: 18,529
• In hospital: 1,529 (with 62 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 451
• In hospital: 38 (with 1 person in ICU)

Queensland

• Deaths: 11
• Cases: 8,045
• In hospital: 467 (with 14 people in ICU)

South Australia

• Deaths: 4
• Cases: 3,894
• In hospital: 218 (with 11 people in ICU)

Tasmania

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 1,086
• In hospital: 46 (with 3 people in ICU)

Victoria

• Deaths: 14
• Cases: 11,596
• In hospital: 492 (with 29 people in ICU)

Western Australia

• Deaths: 6
• Cases: 10,182
• In hospital: 271 (with 9 people in ICU)

Good afternoon! And goodness me, Amy Remeikis, what a whirlwind.

And it continues – treasurer Josh Frydenberg is debating his contender in Kooyong, independent Monique Ryan.

Tory Shepherd will take you through the afternoon and we will have coverage of Anthony Albanese’s solo appearance on Q&A tonight as well, so I hope you’ll stick around.

I’ll be back early tomorrow morning – until then, take care of you Ax

Because you’ll be seeing a lot of it, here is Anthony Albanese being questioned on the NDIS six-point plan

Daniel Hurst can’t table things at the National Press Club – no one can, as it is not parliament.

But this is what he was referring to:

The debate ends.

(Thank you to those who pointed out we had the wrong photo – that is fixed. I had my head in the debate and didn’t notice, so apologies and thanks for letting me know.)

Peter Dutton closes:

On May 21 when Australians walk into the polling booth, they will be faced with a choice. Our country is grappling with security challenges of scale and complexity that we’ve not experienced since the second world war.

Australians have a choice about who will lead our country through a dangerous and uncertain time.

It’s a choice between an experienced Morrison government that has invested in our security, has made tough decisions and has a track record of keeping us safe and our country safe.

Or the alternative? A Labor party with a weak leader and a track record of failing to properly fund our defence force.

… Under the Coalition, defence spending has increased by 60%. Navy spending is up by 76%. Army up by 49%, and air force by 132%.

Under Labor, defence spending was cut and it was cut and it was cut further.

They delayed or cancelled or cut 160 projects. The truth is that Labor can’t manage the economy and they can’t manage national security. They did it in the defence force just like they did it in our national security and law enforcement agencies.

Our country, at this time, cannot afford Labor at the next election.

Each gets a minute to wrap up.

Brendan O’Connor goes first:

This is a very important debate and it’s a very important time for the Australian people to make a decision about who is best equipped to defend this nation. Who is likely to engage? Not just … investment in defence – and to that extent we agree with the government. But who is going to employ diplomacy? Who is going to invest within the region and internationally?

Who is going to make sure that we are engaging fully, sincerely, with our neighbours. They’re not just our neighbours, as I said before, they’re our friends.

Which government really believes in investing and enhancing local defence industry to manufacture defence assets here?

I would say in answer to that question, a Labor government is more likely to be engaged in diplomacy as well as investing in defence. So the Labor government that is more likely to be investing in defence local industry, making sure that we have enforceable provisions to allow for local content in those very large contracts. I think that the government has dropped the ball.

They’ve been derelict regardless of what is said by Peter and it’s time for an Albanese Labor government.

Brendan O’Connor:

I think that is fair to say that Scott Morrison should have put in more effort, put in a phone call to the prime minister of Solomon Islands. He should explain to the Australian people who “red line” means. And that’s why you might be getting a sponsor we are getting a response from the Solomon Islands after the rhetorical red line reference was never explained.

I saw the briefing from the government as to whether something has changed so significantly as to allow the prime minister to invoke that phrase. But I don’t suppose that there is. I think it is just a rhetorical flourish. But it’s really that lack of engagement. The fact that the foreign minister wasn’t in a position to visit. It’s been a long time since a senior ministerial visit to the Solomon Islands and I think that we’ve dropped the ball, frankly