www.theguardian.com
Victorian premier says Liberals need to ‘please explain’ reported One Nation preference deal
Benita Kolovos
At the announcement we mentioned earlier, Jacinta Allan was also asked what she thought of reports that the Liberal party plans to preference One Nation above Labor at the next election. She responded:
That’s a really important question for the leader of the Victorian Liberal party to finally come clean and be upfront and honest with the Victorian community. No more weasel words. The time for that is over. It’s time for the leader of the Victorian Liberal party to be honest, transparent and open with the Victorian community about the preference deals with One Nation. Victorians deserve a “please explain” from the Victorian Liberal leader.
Guardian Australia spoke to two senior Victorian Liberal sources who said the party had yet to determine preferences but that it was likely One Nation would be favoured ahead of Labor, though the order would depend on the individual seats.
They pointed to the byelection in Nepean, where Labor is not fielding a candidate but it preferenced the Libertarian candidate second, followed by One Nation third and then the community independent, Tracee Hutchinson.
Key events
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, travelled to Japan today as part of another diplomatic tour to secure Australia’s fuel and energy supply chains. The government has said Australia has more fuel now than before the Iran war.
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The big defence spend continued, with the government promising three-quarters of a billion dollars to build 268 new Bushmasters in Bendigo, Victoria, over the next seven years to 2033.
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NSW police said they believe two children have died after a fire tore through a home in Bowen Mountain, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, overnight. Emergency services were called just after 2am amid reports of a fire. A man and four children were able to escape the house, but two others were unaccounted for at the time.
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Northern Territory police are calling for urgent public assistance to locate Sharon, a five-year-old girl missing from an Alice Springs town camp, at Marshall Court, Old Timers Camp, Alice Springs. In a press conference, NT police said they are looking for 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who is known to police.
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Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called the Liberal party’s decision to preference One Nation in the Farrer byelection, “a retrograde move”. He said: “One Nation – apart from preying on racism and division, its whole MO for 30 years, Pauline Hanson’s MO would be to divide Australia”.
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The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference earlier today to announce that a “record” $1.04bn will be allocated in next week’s state budget to rebuild, repair and resurface roads across the state.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow to do it all agian.
Kevin Rudd backs climate projects that ‘deliver price outcomes’
Speaking on the same climate and energy panel as Turnbull, former prime minister Kevin Rudd said climate and energy policies that delivered for working families would have staying power, if – “the good folks in communities right across Australia conclude in their head, in their hearts and in their pocketbook, that this is sustainable for them for the future.”
Policy continuity will be supported if we continue not just good messaging about this, but actually deliver price outcomes, security of supply, electricity supply outcomes, new industries and new jobs, which people touch, see, feel, hear and have in their daily experience. Otherwise, they conclude it’s all bullshit and therefore it doesn’t work.
He said there had been a change in the “political and popular firmament” since the war in Iran.
Let us seize the opportunity presented by what is now unfolding in Iran and the strait of Hormuz – and frankly the shock which working people across the world are now experiencing in terms of continued hydrocarbon dependency. They are experiencing the physical terror of becoming insecure in their supply of what they need to drive to work if they’re still using a gasoline-based car.
If you’ve got an EV at the moment, or frankly, if you’ve got a hybrid, you are much less dependent on what comes out of the geopolitics of the Gulf at present. So I’ll just leave that as a word of encouragement, and it’s out of adversity that can also precede opportunity.
Rudd was speaking on a panel with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Christiana Figueres, diplomat and architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, and Anna Skarbek, chief executive officer of Climateworks Centre, in conversation with Thom Woodroofe, for the launch of his book Power, Prosperity & Planet: Climate and Energy Policy for All.
Measles alert for Sydney
NSW Health is advising people in Sydney to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of a confirmed case.
The case is a returned traveller from Japan where the number of measles cases have recently been rising.
A full list of locations the person visited while unknowingly infected, is available on the NSW Health website.
People who attended these locations should watch for symptoms of measles. These locations do not pose an ongoing risk.
There is now an increased risk of measles in NSW, with 45 cases confirmed since 1 January 2026.
Victoria anti-corruption commission makes recommendations after investigating officer who assaulted child
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission’s (IBAC) Focused Police Complaints Team (FPCT) has made two recommendations to Victoria police after the finalisation of Operation Fig.
Operation Fig investigated allegations a 12-year-old child was assaulted by a Victoria Police senior constable in February 2025, in Melbourne’s south.
IBAC charged the senior constable with common assault in November 2025.
In February 2026, they pleaded guilty to the charge in Moorabbin magistrates court. After the guilty plea, the magistrate dismissed the charge.
As a result of Operation Fig, IBAC has made recommendations, which are not made public, to the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police.
IBAC Deputy Commissioner Liana Buchanan said it is vital that police build community trust, particularly through their interactions with vulnerable community members like children.
This matter, in which the police officer ultimately acknowledged guilt, highlights just how important it is that police officers operate within the law they enforce.
Victorian premier says Liberals need to ‘please explain’ reported One Nation preference deal
Benita Kolovos
At the announcement we mentioned earlier, Jacinta Allan was also asked what she thought of reports that the Liberal party plans to preference One Nation above Labor at the next election. She responded:
That’s a really important question for the leader of the Victorian Liberal party to finally come clean and be upfront and honest with the Victorian community. No more weasel words. The time for that is over. It’s time for the leader of the Victorian Liberal party to be honest, transparent and open with the Victorian community about the preference deals with One Nation. Victorians deserve a “please explain” from the Victorian Liberal leader.
Guardian Australia spoke to two senior Victorian Liberal sources who said the party had yet to determine preferences but that it was likely One Nation would be favoured ahead of Labor, though the order would depend on the individual seats.
They pointed to the byelection in Nepean, where Labor is not fielding a candidate but it preferenced the Libertarian candidate second, followed by One Nation third and then the community independent, Tracee Hutchinson.
SA eases emergency measures as deadly algal bloom appears to have disappeared
Months after tonnes of dead marine life were left strewn along beaches, authorities are easing emergency measures as toxic algal bloom levels decline.
Extensive monitoring showed the harmful Karenia algae had all but disappeared from South Australian waters, the premier, Peter Malinauskas, said on Monday:
For a sustained period, we have not seen high levels of Karenia – in most instances, we’ve seen effectively zero along the state’s coastline.
Some coastal regions experienced “serious devastation” to marine life that was unprecedented in living memory and recovery would take time, Malinauskas said.
We have more here:
Nick Visser
That’s all from me! Cait Kelly will pick up the blog from here. Take care.
Victoria government announces ‘record’ $1.04bn in upcoming budget to repair roads
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference earlier today to announce that a “record” $1.04bn will be allocated in next week’s state budget to rebuild, repair and resurface roads across the state.
Allan said it was “biggest roads blitz in the state’s history”, with 70% of the funds going to regional Victoria. She went on:
To give you a sense of the size and scale of the funding, that is enough to fix 200,000 potholes – or if you want to use a different metric, to remove 200,000 graffiti tags.
The funding will be spent to rebuild, repair and resurface arterial roads, maintain bridges and traffic lights, mow, slash and spray grass and weeds along roadsides and to repair or replace signs.
About $37m will be spent to clean up 10 of Victoria’s busiest freeways with rubbish and graffiti removal and mowing. They are:
Road conditions have emerged as a key issue in Saturday’s byelection in Nepean. The issue is expected to remain top of mind for many voters, especially in the regions, through to the November state election.
NT police call for help locating man allegedly linked to abduction of five-year-old girl
Northern Territory police are calling for urgent public assistance to locate Sharon, a five-year-old girl missing from an Alice Springs town camp. Here’s what they had to say earlier.
Catie McLeod
McDonald’s to open on Melbourne street once dubbed ‘world’s coolest’ after winning legal challenge
McDonald’s is poised to open a 24/7 takeaway outlet on a Melbourne street once dubbed the “world’s coolest” after the fast food giant won its legal challenge against the local council’s attempt to block the new restaurant.
Victoria’s civil and administrative tribunal (Vcat) has upheld McDonald’s application for a review of Darebin city council’s decision to reject its application to turn 323 High Street in Northcote into one of its stores.
Darebin councillors voted 6-3 at a planning meeting in November last year to reject the application for minor works that would have transformed the dilapidated building into a McDonald’s convenience restaurant.
Most of the councillors voted in line with residents against McDonald’s after listening to impassioned submissions and a petition signed by more than 11,000 people that said the outlet would “compromise Northcote’s unique character”.
But Vcat member Michael Deidun said the building already had a planning permit allowing it to become a cafe or restaurant, which applied regardless of whether the site’s operator was McDonald’s or a smaller business.
Read more here:
Liberals preferencing One Nation a ‘retrograde move’, Turnbull says
Petra Stock
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has called the Liberal party’s decision to preference One Nation in the Farrer byelection, “a retrograde move”.
Speaking at a climate and energy panel on Monday, Turnbull said:
I mean, look at the Liberal party – the party I’ve led in the parliament, in opposition and in government – instructing its voters to give preferences to One Nation in the byelection in Farrer.
I mean, that would have been inconceivable during my time as prime minister, or indeed, Tony Abbott’s, or John Howard’s.
Now, One Nation – apart from preying on racism and division, its whole MO for 30 years, Pauline Hanson’s MO would be to divide Australia – is, of course, right out there in the climate change denial business. It says, climate change is rubbish, the science is not yet proven.
[One Nation] is literally out of the dark ages in terms of economic reality.
You get a mainstream party, like the Liberal party – the party I’ve led twice, as I said – preferring that. It’s very, very sad. It’s a really retrograde move. And I hope the Liberal voters in Farrer do not preference One Nation at all. They should put One Nation last, in fact.
Turnbull was speaking on a panel with former prime minister Kevin Rudd, Christiana Figueres, diplomat and architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, and Anna Skarbek, chief executive officer of Climateworks Centre, in conversation with Thom Woodroofe, for the launch of his book, Power, Prosperity & Planet: Climate and Energy Policy for All.
Jonathan Barrett
Cheap spirits, pricey condoms: how war in the Middle East is shifting the way Australians spend
As soon as petrol prices started to rise in response to the Middle East conflict, many Australians – already grappling with high living costs – changed their spending habits.
Beyond cutting back on driving, households are slicing deeper into their budgets, with some even forgoing healthcare.
Here are four shifts in consumer behaviour, as observed by businesses across the country:
Australian shares slump as US-Iran peace talks stall
Australia’s share market has started the week lower after a planned second round of US-Iran peace talks fell apart and as closure of a key energy transport route continues to wreak havoc, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 slipped 0.26% as the broader All Ordinaries fell 0.17%.
The Persian Gulf conflict continued to simmer with the strait of Hormuz – an arterial route for a fifth of global oil and gas supplies – entering a ninth week of effective closure.
Beside the headline risk presented by geopolitics, market volatility could also be fuelled this week by central bank decisions, US company earnings, and macroeconomic data and events, including local inflation figures for March.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.68 US cents, up from 71.23 US cents on Friday at 5pm.
Angus Taylor condemns Anzac dawn service hecklers as ‘un-Australian’
Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, yesterday joined others in denouncing the people who booed at Anzac Day dawn services but said he believes welcome to country acknowledgments are overused. Take a listen.
Calls for plane crash-style investigations as road deaths rise
From AAP:
Plane crash-style investigations into car collisions could help reduce a growing number of fatalities on Australia’s roads, according to data from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA).
In the 12 months to 31 March, 1,326 people died in crashes across the country, 39 more than the previous corresponding period.
Pedestrian deaths also surged by 16.4% while cyclist deaths rose by 4.4%.
This is the 34th consecutive month that Australia’s 12-month deaths total rose, marking a 20.9% rise since the federal government’s 2021 road safety strategy was agreed to with the aim of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
