TRANSCRIPT
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that if re-elected, his government will legislate to prevent the reduction of penalty rates in awards.
In a move that Mr Albanese says will ensure the wages of around three million people don't go backwards, the changes will see weekend penalty rates enshrined in law.
The change will prevent the Fair Work Commission from reducing rates in response to employer group applications.
Speaking at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney, Mr Albanese says it's important people are paid properly for working over holiday periods.
"We will support your penalty rates. It shouldn't be taken for granted. One of the things that people rely upon to get by is their penalty rates. I used to work at Pancakes on the Rocks on Saturday night, eleven pm to seven am shift because for penalty rates, that's one of the things that got me through university."
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has rejected the plan.
"The independent umpire sets the conditions. It's been abided to by from both sides of politics, and we don't propose any departure from the current arrangements."
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced tax incentives he says will aid small businesses and revive entrepreneurship, should he win office in the upcoming federal election.
The Coalition has set a target of 350,000 new small businesses to open in four years, supported by a proposed entrepreneurship accelerator scheme.
Under that arrangement, new incorporated businesses would only have to pay tax on a portion of their income in their first three years of operating to encourage reinvestment.
Mr Dutton says he wants to ensure small businesses can grow in Australia.
"30,000 small businesses have closed under this government, and we want to make sure we can get our economy and our country back on track,if we do that, then we can provide real support to families."
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says small businesses have been doing better under a Labor government.
"There are more small businesses today than there were when we were elected, we provided significant policy for small businesses, aimed at them."
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Russian authorities say Australian man Oscar Jenkins will stand trial on mercenary charges in Russian-occupied Lugansk.
The investigators allege Oscar Jenkins came to Ukraine in February 2024 from Melbourne and then fought against the Russian army between March and December 2024, before being captured in combat.
Russia and its eastern Ukraine proxies typically consider foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as mercenaries.
This enables them to prosecute fighters under its criminal code, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denies Australia has abandoned Mr Jenkins.
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Officials in Kyiv say Ukraine and Russia have carried out an exchange of soldiers' bodies amid reports of an upcoming prisoner swap.
Authorities responsible for prisoners of war in Ukraine say 909 corpses have been received from Russia.
In exchange, Russian media is reporting that 41 bodies have been received from Ukraine.
Sources close to negotiations say the swap took place ahead of a planned prisoner swap today which will involve 246 prisoners from either side and will be mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
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The Health Ministry in Yemen says a U-S strike on a fuel terminal in the country has killed at least 74 people and injured 171.
The attack marks the deadliest strikes on the country since the U-S military commenced a bombing campaign in Yemen in 2024.
The U-S military says it is targeting Yemen's Houthi militant group and vows that it will continue to do so until the group halts attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree says the continued attacks on Yemen won't deter support for the Palestinian people.
ARABIC THEN ENGLISH VO: ”First of all, the American military buildup and the continued aggression against our country will only lead to more resistance operations, targeting, clashes, and confrontation. It will not push Yemen—its proud people and faithful leadership—toward anything but greater resilience and steadfastness in its supportive stance and solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people"
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In football, Arsenal's women's team says they'll be taking inspiration from the club's men's side in tonight's European Champions League semi-final.
Arsenal's women, including Matildas stars Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, and Kyra Cooney-Cross, play French side Lyon this evening in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in London.
It comes just days after Arsenal's men qualified for the semi-finals of their Champions League by beating Real Madrid, based largely off a three goals to nil win in the first leg.
Arsenal's women's team coach, Renee Slegers, says that sets an example for her side.
“The way the men's team executed that game as a first of two legs, I think that's how we want to go about this game. I'm very happy for the men's team that they achieved what they achieved, and I think this is the first time in the club’s history that we're both in the semi-finals. So, yeah, that's great.”
