What we learned today, Thursday 24 April
Many thanks for joining us on another whirlwind day on the campaign trail. Here are all the main takeaways from today:
The Coalition unveiled a $90m package today, seeking to build on the 10-year national plan to end violence against women and children.
Under the plan, a Coalition government would criminalise the use of mobile phones to threaten and track partners and create a national register to allow police to share information about violence offenders.
The Labor minister Anne Aly said Peter Dutton had “finally cottoned on to the MeToo movement”, arguing the policies had been put forward at “the 11th hour” and addressed issues the Labor government had already been progressing.
The opposition leader pledged to cut almost two-thirds of Canberra’s federal public servants if elected, in a move Anthony Albanese criticised as “outrageous”. Dutton copped a fair bit of heat over the matter during his press conference today.
The plan would reduce size of Canberra’s Australian Public Service workforce by 59% by end of decade.
Andrew Leigh, a Canberra-based Labor MP, said the plan was “insane”, while the ACT independent senator David Pocock said it would “devastate the ACT economy” and was “pure Canberra bashing”.
Labor announced it would establish a critical minerals strategic reserve – but hasn’t yet decided which critical minerals will be included in it. The Coalition said it would not support the reserve.
Labor also flagged a $32m investment in men’s health.
Electric vehicles would cost more under a Coalition government, after Dutton today confirmed he would scrap a tax break for EV drivers in an apparent backflip. Dutton, however, said the situation was “misunderstood.”
Albanese has said his fall or stumble in Newcastle was “no big deal” after repeated criticism from the Coalition that he wasn’t being truthful.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, said one of his “proudest” moments of his leadership has been to oppose the voice to parliament.
Gina Rinehart told an Anzac Day event that Australia’s defence budget should be 5% of GDP.
More than 1.1 million Australians have already voted in the federal election.
Krishani Dhanji will be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning. Until then, take care and enjoy your evening.
Updated
Australian shares finish short week on a high note
The Australian share market is up for a second-straight week, AAP reports, as the US tones down its tough talk on tariffs.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 47.7 points, or 0.60%, today, to 7,968.2, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 49.9 points, or 0.61%, to 8,175.1.
The leading indexes gained about 2% each for the short trading week, after the Trump administration called its China tariff levels unsustainable and retracted threats to depose the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell. The Capital.com senior market analyst, Kyle Rodda, said:
The US seems to be extending further concessions and negotiating with trade partners, effectively looking for off-ramps. The market is taking that quite positively because it indicates maybe we’ll avoid the worst impacts of a trade war globally.
Eight of 11 local sectors finished higher today, with materials helping lift the bourse with a 1.2% gain.
Investors will be watching next week’s March quarter inflation print closely for hints on what the Reserve Bank of Australia will do at its May meeting. Interest rate markets have fully priced a 25-basis-point cut for 20 May, but Rodda said the future remained unwritten.
That trimmed mean inflation number probably has to come in below 2.7%, ideally, for the markets to feel confident the RBA will cut.
Updated
