What we learned today, Saturday 28 May
After six weeks of furious campaigning it’s been a quiet one. Here are the biggest stories from Saturday:
- Fifty-eight people have died across Australia from Covid-19 with a total of 39,572 new cases reported.
- The Greens have beaten Labor in their Queensland stronghold of Brisbane to get an additional lower house MP in the new parliament.
- China has signed a new bilateral agreement with Samoa promising “greater collaboration”.
- New South Wales paramedics are taking early industrial action to call for more resources to be urgently dedicated to the state’s health system.
- The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says the death of an Australian man who volunteered to offer humanitarian aid in Ukraine is a “tragedy”.
- Albanese says the Coalition “dropped the ball” on the Pacific when it ignored a submission from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade raising concerns about the region.
- The prime minister also confirmed his government has written to the Fair Work Commission to give notice it will make a submission calling for no cuts to the minimum wage in real terms.
Updated
Death of Australian man in Ukraine a tragedy, Albanese says
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has described the death of an Australian man in Ukraine as a “tragedy”.
The man is believed to be Michael O’Neill, a truck driver who volunteered to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine where he worked ferrying the wounded from the frontline.
The exact circumstances of his death are unclear.
The PM said the man’s family were receiving consular support and asked the media to respect their privacy.
“This is a tragedy and I want to give my condolences to the family of the person involved,” he said.
Updated
