In this bulletin;
- Leaders make their election pledge in Brisbane;
- Tropical Cyclone Dianne makes landfall of northern West Australia;
- And in Tennis, Russian-born tennis star, Daria Kasatkina, granted Australian residency.
The Prime Minister has made his first stop of the campaign at an urgent care clinic in the Opposition leader's seat of Dickson in Queensland.
Both leaders have begun their first full day of campaigning, following the prime minister’s announcement that Australians will head to the polls on the 3rd of May.
Mr Albanese is spending the day in Brisbane where Labor hopes to gain ground in Queensland, currently holding just five of the state’s 30 seats.
He’s promising cost-of-living relief through tax cuts and more bulk-billed G-P visits by strengthening Medicare.
"Health care is so important, and what this election is about is strengthening the economy, strengthening Medicare versus Peter Dutton's plan for cuts to everything except your taxes. That is what is at stake in this election."
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Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, says Australians cannot afford to continue under a Labor government.
He has criticised the Albanese government’s approach to cost-of-living relief, telling Channel Seven that he will provide immediate cost-of-living measures if elected.
"We've got to help people in the short term, because over the last 12 months, we've just had the biggest number of small businesses that have failed in our country's history, and a lot of families are really doing it tough. So we need to provide support in the short term. And the Prime Minister's saying, well, in 15 months time, he'll give you 70 cents a day in a tax cut. Our plan is to provide a 25 cent a litre reduction in petrol and diesel and unleaded prices. Now that's going to be about $14 a week straight away."
Mr Dutton says that will be followed by structural reforms that include the Coalition's gas reservation plan on the East Coast which he says will bring electricity prices down.
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The Opposition Leader has told reporters that before the election he will reveal which visa categories the Coalition would target to cut permanent migration by 25 per cent.
In response to a question from SBS about whether he is alienating migrant voters he said, 'there are many migrant families I've spoken to around the country who are desperately worried for their kids' as they can't afford to buy a house'.
He added that 'so many from all parts of our society are experiencing exactly the same as everyone else, and that is that it's tougher to find a house under this government'.
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Rural communities in northern Western Australia are being warned to prepare for days of isolation after Tropical Cyclone Dianne made landfall early this morning.
Christie Johnson with the Bureau of Meteorology says the category one system crossed the coast east of Cockatoo Island and is expected to weaken within hours.
It’s moving south and is forecast to pass east of Derby around midday.
"We're talking winds up to a hundred kilometres an hour now that's enough to bring down trees and lines and cause damage to properties. We're also talking about heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding. R rainfall totals of 70 to a 100 millimetres over a six hour period, maybe even up to a hundred and fifty millimetres in that period. Now we are expecting the system to move inland and rapidly weaken back into a low pressure system, it's likely to continue to move southwards through Saturday, and then on Sunday tend more south to south. Easterly as it moves into the interior of Western Australia."
Flash flooding is likely across northern and western Kimberley, and heavy rainfall could extend into the northern interior over the weekend.
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And in tennis,
Russian-born tennis star Daria Kasatkina is switching allegiances to Australia after her application for permanent residency was accepted by the government.
The world number 12 has been playing on the tour as a neutral athlete after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing under their own flags following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In an Instagram post, Kasatkina expressed her joy in gaining permanent residency in Australia, saying she was 'delighted' to let everyone know her application for permanent residency has been accepted by the Australian government.
