TRANSCRIPT:
- Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton go head to head for the third leaders debate
- A date set for Pope Francis' funeral
- A freak accident forces Moroccan surfer Ramzi Bouhkhiam out of the Rip Curl Pro
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton have faced each other in the third leaders' debate, hosted by Channel Nine.
After a political truce from the leaders during the day as they paid their respects to Pope Francis, both began by extending their condolences.
While the debate was generally light on policy, the more unusual questions homed in on the two leaders' character.
It wasn't long however before the debate took a personal turn, with Peter Dutton accusing the Prime Minister of dishonesty.
"In the budget, prior to you coming to office, you ripped $80 billion out of those two items in 2014."
Dutton: "Prime Minister, you couldn't lie straight in bed. Honestly, this is unbelievable."
Albanese: "Well, you can go to abuse. You can go to personal abuse. that's a sign of desperation."
Dutton: "Well as is lying"
Albanese: "That's a sign of desperation, go to the 2014 budget papers. People can do that online. It's all available for all to see"
With less than two weeks until voters make their final decision on May 3, Tuesday's debate was one of the last opportunities for the leaders to win over undecided Australians.
The esteemed panel of Nine journalists delivered their verdict, declaring Peter Dutton the winner 2-1.
Coalition has made an election pledge to spend $21 billion over the next five years on defence, which would take its share of Australia's gross domestic product to 2.5 per cent.
Opposition Peter Dutton says if his party is elected, the level of defence spending - as a percentage of Australia's economy - would then rise further to three per cent within the decade.
While the Coalition said it would use the money to reinstate a fourth joint strike fighter squadron, it did not say where else the funding would go.
Mr Dutton says the extra spending on defence was needed in uncertain times globally.
Local security sources say at least 28 people are feared killed, after suspected militants opened fire on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The attack occurred in Pahalgam, a popular holiday destination in the scenic mountainous region where mass tourism, especially during the summer months, has resurged as Islamist militant violence has eased in recent years.
It's the worst attack in the region on civilians for years.
The Vatican has announced that the funeral for Pope Francis will take place on April 26 at St Peter's Basilica.
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis has elected to be buried in Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major, and not St Peter's Basilica.
Cardinals of the Catholic Church will gather to select the next pontiff, but no clear frontrunner has emerged yet.
British Cardinal Timothy Ratcliffe says he trusts the process.
"I think that we always open ourselves to be surprised. All recent popes have been quite different from each other. And often we think, will the pope in fact continue the legacy of the previous one? But we trust that the bishop of Rome, whom we need now, will be given us. And we may be surprised."
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says a revised growth forecast for the global economy shows "trade tensions are weighing heavily on the global outlook and putting upward pressure on inflation around the world".
The International Monetary Fund now forecasts global growth at 2.8 percent for 2025, a sharp 0.5 percentage points reduction from its January estimate, with a further slowdown to 3 percent projected for 2026.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says the revised forecast is due to escalating trade conflicts and heightened policy uncertainty.
"The surge in policy uncertainty is a major driver of the economic outlook. If sustained, the increase in trade tensions and uncertainty will slow global growth significantly. Reflecting this complexity, our report presents a reference forecast which incorporates policy announcements up to April 4th by the US and trading partners."
In a statement, Dr Chalmers says the election provides voters with a choice on the major party's approaches to managing the "turmoil in the global economy".
Pre-polling booths are opening across the country and with more than half of the electorate expected to vote this way, voters in parts of the Tiwi Islands have cast their ballots.
Voting services visited the small community of Pirlangimpi yesterday offering voters their only chance to cast a ballot in person.
The community sits within the marginal seat of Lingiari, which Labor currently holds, but opposition leader Peter Dutton is hoping to flip.
This voter told NITV what he is hoping to see from whoever wins government.
"Hopefully the government will, you know, change their mind and bring some money to the Tiwi Islands, and like I said, the roads, housing - we're living in an overcrowded house. Move those COVID containers, so that way when there's COVID we get to spend more times at our homeland rather than in that community."
To surfing now...
A freak accident at Bells Beach has forced Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam out of the Rip Curl Pro with a serious-looking knee injury.
Boukhiam did not surf his elimination-round heat after the accident, knocking him out of the competition.
The 31-year-old had finished his opening-round heat earlier on Tuesday and was nearly on the beach when his foot was apparently caught in the reef close to the shoreline.
He has been sent to hospital for medical treatment.
