Health News at Your Fingertips

In the last 24 hours, NSW has recorded 19 Covid deaths. There are 11,671 new cases, 1,481 hospitalised, with 54 in ICU.

Vicotria has recorded nine deaths related to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. There are 9,365 new cases and 494 people are in hospital, with 35 of those in ICU.

Donna Lu

As three new Omicron subvariants – BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 – begin to spread in Australia, health authorities are warning of winter surges in both Covid and the flu.

Michelle Rowland is the Labor member for Greenway in western Sydney – she was just being interviewed on the ABC.

She was asked about Labor’s strong polling:

We want to ensure that every Australian has the best opportunities to succeed, that in an environment where wages growth has flatlined, and the cost of living has gone through the roof, and here in Greenway it is very personal.

We have the second-highest rate of mortgage stress in the entire country and people have a diversity of lifestyles here, a diversity of means, but they all want the same thing at the end of the day – a government that has a plan for the future and has their best interests always at heart to make the place better.

She was also asked about Albanese failing to remember the six-point NDIS plan the other day when asked a “gotcha” question from the press pack:

I know that this will be examined closely, in terms of every minutiae of the campaign, but let me assure you that is not the frame through which the majority of Australians, certainly those here in the electorate of Greenway, view the world.

They are viewing it through the context of things getting harder, wanting to look to a better future, and wanting to know that there are policies and plans in place to make that future better for them.

I think Anthony Albanese is presenting an offering to the people of Australia that says, ‘I understand your aspirations. I understand the need to not leave anyone behind and I understand that you want Australia to do better’, and I think if Labor in the next two weeks is able to convey that message, then the Australian people will make a very informed view when they do cast their votes.

Stephanie Convery

Exorbitant rent increases, no-grounds evictions only weeks after moving in, fungi and mould infestations, and scores of denied applications. Renters have shared their horror stories of the crisis in Australia’s housing market.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan was on the ABC earlier. He was asked about former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s comments in support of the rise of independents this election.

I don’t think anybody thinks it would be in at the nation’s interest going forward if we had a hung parliament, which was made up of independence, Labor and the Greens. One of the things we want to do is offer a clear choice at this election.

He was also asked about Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s allegations this week that opponents of his new security pact with China have threatened the sovereignty of the island nation:

Our Foreign Minister was able to meet with the Solomon Islands by minister, as I understand it, in Brisbane overnight and they had a very productive conversation, talking about how we respect the sovereignty of the Solomon Islands, but how we are very concerned about the security arrangement they have with China.

And on the PM’s rhetoric around ‘red lines’ in the Solomon Islands:

We want to present strong cases as to why it is incredibly important that we don’t see militarisation of the Pacific Islanders, and that we will be doing everything that we can to support a peaceful and prosperous Pacific region, and that is our focus.

New polling suggests possible upset in Mackellar in Sydney’s northern beaches

Anne Davies

New polling undertaken for Climate 200 shows independent Sophie Scamps has a real prospect of winning Mackellar from Liberal moderate Jason Falinski in another upset on Sydney’s northern beaches.

The polling, undertaken by Ucomms last week after Scamps’s launch, shows Falinski’s primary vote at 32% with Scamps at 31.2%. With preference flows from Labor and the Greens, Scamps, a local GP, would surge ahead of Falinski.

The poll found Labor had 15.5% of the vote in Mackellar while the Greens vote was 8.6%. It found that 81% of preferences would flow to Scamps.

On a two-party preferred basis, this would see Scamps snatch the seat, 60-40. Mackellar is directly north of Warringah, the seat which independent Zali Steggall won in 2019 on a platform of action on climate change and a federal integrity commission.

Scamps has been running on a similar platform and now has a high recognition, with four out of five Mackellar voters saying they knew she was running.

The only good news for Falinski is that 7% of voters are still undecided. But when pressed to indicate how they are leaning, the undecided vote broke fairly evenly between Falinski and Scamps.

The Ucomms poll of 834 residents of Mackellar was undertaken using automated voice polling last Wednesday on behalf of Scamps and Climate 200.

Polling in single seats has its limitations because of the challenge of getting a representative demographic mix. However, the poll indicates that Scamps has gained ground since April when Climate 200 last polled Mackellar and that it is a seat to watch on May 21.

Good morning everyone and welcome to Saturday. I am Cait Kelly and I will be with you through the morning.

Here are the big stories kicking us off today:

Scott Morrison is set to announce a $20 million package today to support wineries, breweries and distilleries so they can update their infrastructure and lure more people through their doors.

The plan would see $15 million for wineries, distilleries and breweries with $100,000 grants to build or upgrade on-site facilities such as restaurants and tour areas.

A further $5 million would go to tourism and local governments to help bring more visitors to the sites.

It comes as the PM refused to indicate if he would resign as Liberal leader should the Coalition lose the election, as the prime minister fended off attacks from his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, who used a speech this week to play up the roles of independents and say moderate voices were becoming increasingly marginalised in the party.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Anthony Albanese will begin the day in Sydney, where he will showcase Labor’s policies to drive down the cost of living through childcare and energy initiatives.

The opposition has sought to turn the campaign spotlight back towards the cost of living amid rising inflation levels, low wage growth and the first official interest rate rise for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, the Australian Taxation Office is cracking down on a $850 million fraud being spruiked on social media that involves people inventing fake businesses to claim GST refunds.

Operation Protego is probing potentially fraudulent payments made to about 40,000 Australians who have each claimed on average around $20,000.

With that – let’s get into it!