Health News at Your Fingertips

And that’s a wrap on this blog for today. Stick around on the site this evening though, as we’re expecting Labor leader Anthony Albanese to give a solo appearance on the ABC’s Q&A later tonight, and we’ll bring you all the details and analysis.

Earlier today, Albanese visited a clean energy expo to inspect electric cars and solar panels, and later gave a speech to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He also spoke at a press conference about the NDIS, at one point being berated by reporters when he appeared to need to refer to documentation to answer a question from a reporter about the party’s policy in this area.

Prime minister Scott Morrison was hit with more heat over the Solomon Islands-China agreement, getting repeated questions on the matter at press conferences, during which he denied he had inflamed the situation but refused to say exactly when he last spoke to Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. The latter, meanwhile, blasted the “lack of trust” and “tacit warning of military intervention” by neighbours over the China pact – not directly referring to Australia but the implication was clear.

Peter Dutton and Brendan O’Connor debated all matters defence at the National Press Club, with Dutton calling the Guardian “a trashy publication” after Guardian political reporter Daniel Hurst asked a question about the implementation of the Brereton reforms.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, meanwhile, debated his teal independent opponent Monique Ryan for the seat of Kooyong on matters including climate crisis, job keeper payments, refugee policy, China, gender equity and more. Ryan said the legacy of the federal government will be a “toxic miasma of division, disappointment and debt”. Frydenberg argued Australia has “very big issues” including climate change, the pandemic and an unstable region and said he still had “a lot of work still to do.”

And Australia has today recorded at least 56 deaths from Covid-19, with case numbers nationally reaching over 54,000 in the last reporting period.

Thanks for sticking with us! Politics Live pros Amy Remeikis and Tory Shepherd will be back with you tomorrow.

Adam Morton

One of the most striking statements on climate change during the election campaign has come from an unlikely source – the owner of the country’s most power-hungry industrial plant.

Tomago Aluminium, near Newcastle, consumes about 11% of all power generation in New South Wales. For years, its management has warned about the economic impact of policies to cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past, Tomago’s chief executive, Matt Howell, argued that a shift away from coal would push up prices and could lead to blackouts and the closure of the smelter. His argument that Australia would stop “making things” if it did not have baseload fossil fuel power was published on the front of the Daily Telegraph and praised by right-wing commentators including Peta Credlin and Ray Hadley.

But times, and opinions, change. This week, Howell issued what was effectively a challenge to Australia’s biggest emitter, AGL Energy, to embrace renewable energy much more rapidly, and declared that Tomago was prepared to give up coal-fired power by the end of the decade.

Read more here:

And here’s your other daily election campaign briefing from Josh Butler, including the what, when, where, and how of the major parties’ movements today.

Lots of baked goods on the campaign trail today, which, frankly, is making me hungry.

Art! Here is some!

A painting of actor-director Taika Waititi has won the Packing Room prize – the award given out by the workers who unpack and hang the finalists for the Archibald prize, the $100,000 national award given to the best portrait of a person “distinguished in art, letters, science or politics”, painted by an Australian resident.

Here is a selection of this year’s finalists (the winner will be announced next week):

The family of a north Queensland mother missing in Mexico, whose two-year-old daughter, Adelynn, was found alone at a Cancún church, are pleading with authorities to help swiftly bring the child to Australia.

Tahnee Shanks, 32, was last seen in the Yucatan peninsula resort town on Monday, where she was holidaying with her Mexican partner and Adelynn’s father, Jorge Aguirre Estudillo, who is also reportedly missing.

Her brother Ben and mother, Leanne, will travel to Mexico on Friday to try to take custody of her child and bring her to Australia.

Dan Shanks, Adelynn’s uncle, says the family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his sister’s safe return.

Read more here:

The latest episode of the best election campaign podcast is out! I don’t say that lightly – I am a genuine check-my-watch-to-see-if-it’s-out-yet fan of my colleagues’ work in this series.

As we mentioned, Anthony Albanese is running the Q+A gauntlet solo tonight. Scott Morrison, though, appears to be not so keen to do so yet.

Some nasty weather is coming Tasmania’s way tonight. If you’re in any of these areas please do check your local conditions and look after yourselves.

Paul Karp

A charity has demanded a Queensland Liberal MP stop using a testimonial in promotional material, saying it did not consent to its use.

In a pamphlet titled “What are locals really saying about Trevor Evans”, the MP quotes from three charities – the Pyjama Foundation, Gingercloud Foundation and Arts Access – with the former two also quoted on his website.

All three are registered charities and bound by rules that prevent them from advocating for particular political parties or candidates.

The material does not explicitly advocate a vote for Evans, but was distributed just weeks out from the 21 May election.

In Evans’ pamphlet the Pyjama Foundation chief executive, Bronwyn Sheehan, said:

Trevor is seriously supportive of our local community. He takes a keen interest in the work of the Pyjama Foundation and in what we are doing to help support kids in foster care.

In a statement to Guardian Australia, the foundation’s board said it and Sheehan became aware of the promotional material on Tuesday.

Read more here:

Good afternoon everyone, we’re nearly at the end of day 25 of the election campaign but there are still a few news hours left to go yet, so hang in there! I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be taking you through the evening. Thanks Tory Shepherd for all your work today!

Stephanie Convery is stepping in now to take you through the rest of the day, including the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, on Q+A. Let’s hope that’s more than a pop quiz.

I’ll see you tomorrow!

Labor’s Josh Burns and Nationals MP Darren Chester are duking it out over the opposition’s plan for ending live sheep exports. Calla Wahlquist had this story earlier:

Of course there’s an Australian fallout from the Roe vs Wade news. Benita Kolovos on the Liberal MP who apparently couldn’t help himself:

There have been 7,424 Covid deaths in Australia:

Adam Morton has the latest Temperature Check. My, how times change: