TRANSCRIPT:
- A frantic final day of campaigning for the major parties as polling shows a clear leader;
- At least ten killed in a multicar pileup at a Philippines tolling booth;
- Transgender players banned from women's football in the UK.
Both major party leaders are embarking on a high speed blitz across key marginal seats today in a final bid to shore up support before polls open on Saturday.
The frantic final day of campaigning follows new analysis that predicts the Coalition will experience its worst result in nearly 80 years in Saturday's election.
The YouGov modelling points to the Coalition losing 11 seats to drop to 47 seats - though Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he believes they can win.
REPORTER: "How are you feeling? Do you need a miracle to win?"
DUTTON: "I feel confident. I feel good about where our candidates are. We've selected some amazing people... And they have done more work. They're more connected with their local electorates, and that's why I think you will see a lot more surprises seat by seat."
The analysis also points to an 84 seat win for Labor, well above the 76 needed for an outright majority.
But the Prime Minister says he puts no faith in polling since Labor's 2019 shock defeat to the Scott Morrison-led coalition, in defiance of predictions.
"We take nothing for granted. No prime minister has been re-elected in this country having served a full term since 2004. We have a mountain to climb."
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Richard Marles has called for calm with one day left of early voting before the main election day, amid concern of rising tensions at polling booths across the country.
The Deputy Prime Minister has cited homophobic comments made by member for Bennelong Jerome Laxale's father this week as an example of what he says has been an increasingly hostile campaign atmosphere.
Mr Marles has told Channel Nine it was an unacceptable comment.
"Jerome, our member for Bennelong, has dealt with it. It was unfortunate, but he's dealt with it. But I think what we have seen on polling booths across the last two weeks is a level of combativeness that I've not seen before. And you know, it's not healthy. I mean, obviously it's not very pleasant. If you're one of the people handing out and you're in that, in in that kind of environment. But a bigger issue is it's just not good for voters."
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A speeding passenger bus has slammed into a row of vehicles lined up at a highway toll booth in the northern Philippines, killing 10 people including children.
More than two dozen others have been injured in the multiple-vehicle collision in Tarlac city, north of Manila.
The bus driver has been taken into custody.
He has reportedly told investigators he fell asleep at the wheel shortly before the accident.
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The South Australian government has formally apologised to women in the state who were injured by faulty pelvic mesh implants.
Health Minister Chris Picton says he was sorry for the pain, embarassment, and gaslighting they endured.
Meanwhile more than 1,000 women injured from the defective implants are still awaiting assessment for compensation, two years after device makers Johnson and Johnson, Ethicon and Boston Scientific agreed to pay $405 million in a settlement approved by the Federal Court in early 2023.
Administrators for the company have now told the court difficulties in obtaining the necessary medical records are to blame for the delay.
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Iron ore giant Rio Tinto says it is committed to remedying the past after being criticised at its annual general meeting for its relationship with traditional owners.
A spokesperson from the Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation had told the Perth AGM that the group had yet to update its agreement with traditional owners.
That is despite pledging to reform its business practices after it blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia in 2020 for an iron ore mine.
The event sparked public outrage and led to a government inquiry and the exit of the company's chair and chief executive.
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A Brazilian nun acknowledged as the world's oldest person has died at the age of 116.
Her congregation, the Company of Saint Teresa of Jesus, says Sister Inah Canabarro died of natural causes just weeks short of becoming 117.
She had been confirmed in January as the world’s oldest person by LongeviQuest, an organisation that tracks supercentenarians around the globe.
LongeviQuest says the world’s oldest person is now Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old British woman.
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Transgender women football players are to be banned from English women's teams.
The sport's governing body the Football Association says its decision follows a UK Supreme Court ruling last month on the legal definition of a woman under equality law.
It is not clear how many players would be affected by the policy that takes effect on the 1st of June.
But activist and player Natalie Washington says this will mean the end of her particular sporting career.
"The FA (The Football Association) has been quite steadfast in their support for the participation of trans women up to now, so I was... I was shocked and I was clearly upset and disappointed that, you know, this means that I'm having to stop playing football."
