What we learned: Thursday, 6 March
That’s where we’ll leave the Australia news live blog for today – thank-you for joining me. Our separate Tropical Cyclone Alfred live blog will continue until late this evening. It will return on Friday morning and run all through the weekend.
Here is what made the news headlines today:
Anthony Albanese would not say whether he intends to call an election this weekend, or early next week, and that his focus remains on TC Alfred.
The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, accused the PM of “playing a game of cat and mouse” and urged him to rule out calling an election amid the cyclone.
The WA premier, Roger Cook, said his labelling of JD Vance as a “knob” was a “poor” but “extremely popular choice of words” as he apologised for any offence.
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, said the state would tighten its bail laws.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, defended Australia’s defence spending as already going up “considerably” amid suggestions from the Trump administration Australia should spend more.
Chalmers also said the US had not yet made a decision around giving Australia an exemption from tariffs.
A man was shot dead by Queensland police on the Gold Coast after he allegedly “presented a firearm at police” and fled in a stolen vehicle.
Updated
PM pushes for fixed terms amid election date speculation
Anthony Albanese says repeated questions on the election date, which must be held by 17 May, reinforced the need for certainty on when Australians go to the polls in the future.
As AAP reports, the prime minister told Sky News earlier:
These are questions that have been asked this week, this month, last month, the month before. They’ve been asked for a long period of time. This is why we need four-year fixed terms to provide certainty.
12 April was firming as the most likely date for this year’s election, ahead of a Monday deadline for Albanese to make the call.
If the election is not called for 12 April, Australians are likely to head to the ballot box in May. This is because the only other Saturdays in April – the 19th and 26th – have been ruled out because of the Easter holidays and the Anzac Day long weekend.
Updated
