TRANSCRIPT
The Reserve Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold when delivers its cash rate decision this afternoon.
It comes as Australia's property market returned to record highs with an 0.4 per cent increase in home prices nationally in March.
The latest Home Value Index from CoreLogic shows rises in every capital city except Hobart.
Regional areas in all states also increased.
It follows a small rise in national house prices in February off the back of a fall in January.
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The federal government is intensifying its focus on healthcare in the opening week of the election campaign, with Prime Minster Anthony Albanese announcing a new 150 million dollar commitment for a health care centre at Flinders University in Adelaide.
Funding for the new health centre will be matched by the university, to build a clinic capable of seeing 10,000 patients a year, and training 1,300 health professionals.
Health Minister Mark Butler says the clinic is one of several investments by the government in training healthcare professionals.
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The Bureau of Meteorology is warning of more heavy rainfall in western Queensland that could exacerbate already-devastating flooding in the region.
Floodwaters twice the size of Victoria have inundated the region after record rainfall, forcing many residents, including an entire town, to evacuate.
The flooding is considered the worst in more than 50 years and could last weeks - the Bureau of Meteorology is warning water levels could rise further, sparking fears of mass livestock losses.
The Bureau's senior meteorologist Angus Hines says the flooding could last for weeks and spread over state borders.
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Aboriginal leaders have submitted a complaint to a United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination, calling for urgent action to address what it calls serious human rights violations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
The complaint was submitted by Associate Professor Hannah McGlade, with the support of the Human Rights Law Centre
It says draconian state and territory laws are fuelling a mass incarceration crisis... and calls for policy change to address the use of spit hoods, solitary confinement and strip searching of children.
It also accuses federal governments of inaction on the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which found systemic problems had contributed to the deaths of 99 Aboriginal people in prisons and police stations.
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China, Japan, and South Korea have reportedly agreed to jointly respond to U-S President Donald Trump's tariffs.
A social media account affiliated with the Chinese state broadcaster, Yuyuan Tantian, has reported the news, in the wake of the three East Asian countries holding their first economic dialogue in five years last weekend.
All export powers and major U-S trading partners, they're seeking to facilitate regional trade as a buffer against Mr Trump's tariffs.
Yuyuan Tantian is reporting Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semi-conductor raw materials from China, and China is interested in purchasing chip products from Japan and South Korea.
It says all three countries have agreed to strengthen supply chain co-operation, and engage in more dialogue on export controls.
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In football, Katrina Gorry will miss the Matildas' upcoming matches against South Korea with an injury.
Her English club side, West Ham, says she's injured.
She's been replaced in the squad by Melbourne City midfielder Leah Davidson, who's played for the Matildas twice, scoring one goal.
The Matildas play South Korea in Sydney on Friday [[4 apr]] and in Newcastle on Monday [[7 apr]].
