Good morning. Russia has widened its assault on Ukraine, hitting a military base near Poland, killing at least 35 people. Scott Morrison has left open the possibility of a petrol excise cut in budget. And the Baftas are currently under way with the winners to be announced this morning.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is muscling up for another fight with business and the federal government as he pushes forward with Australia’s first paid sick leave trial. “The notion that we all collectively benefit from people not having any sick pay and having to choose between keeping their family fed or keeping their community safe, they’re not choices people should have to make,” Andrews said. He was unapologetic about the need to raise money to pay for social reform, and clearly prepared to contrast his record with that of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, federally.
