G'day. It's Thursday, May 19 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here
Labor says its election commitments would cost the budget bottom line an extra $7.4 billion, but that it has identified more than $11 billion in savings over the next four years.
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers vowed that Labor's commitments are "measured and modest" but current treasurer Josh Frydenberg labelled the costings a "farce".
All this came just hours after the latest employment figures were released by the ABS, showing that unemployment had fallen to 3.9 per cent and underemployment had also dropped slightly to 6,1 per cent.
What else is going on
- Fraudster Melissa Caddick's husband has officially vacated the couple's luxury mansion in eastern Sydney, which is set to be sold by liquidators to help pay back some of the $23 million that Caddick swindled out of investors through her Ponzi scheme. The property with views of the Sydney Opera House is said to be worth between $15-$17 million.
- Construction company Metricon has been forced to deny reports it is in financial difficulty after the unexpected death of its founder just days ago. Its acting chief executive held a press conference today to push back against the reports, saying there's "no truth to the rumours" and that all staff and suppliers had been paid "on time, in full".
What Australia has been searching for online
- The Kid LAROI. The Grammy-nominated artist has become the first Aussie to collaborate with McDonalds for their "Famous Orders" series — for the record, his standard Maccas run does NOT include pickles.
- Pauline Hanson. The One Nation leader has tested positive for COVID-19 but is maintaining her anti-vaccination stance, saying, "I thank all of those people who have sent their well wishes, and apologise to those who had hoped that I would drop dead".
One more thing
There are only two days to go until election day — so if you haven't voted already, there's not much time left to do so.
We're running a Politics Explained live blog Q&A tonight (it's due to launch soon), with political reporters Claudia Long and Georgia Hitch and election analyst Casey Briggs answering your burning questions in real time.
They'll be answering questions on all kinds of stuff, but particularly the issues that are affecting young people.
If you've got a question, send it through to our @abcnews_au Instagram account and the team will try to get to the bottom of it for you. Don't miss it!
You're up to date
Thanks for reading.
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