Read the national news blog for rolling updates on today’s top stories.
Read the national news blog for rolling updates on today’s top stories.
Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley says allegations of violence against women perpetrated by CFMEU officials represent a test for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as she calls on Labor to stop accepting support from the union.
The latest instalment of the Building Bad investigation, a co-production of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, uncovered shocking examples of mistreatment of women, including an attack caught on camera where a woman was bashed by a bikie-linked health and safety representative on his lunch break from a government-funded project.
CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith admitted the union has let women down in its response to violence.
Posting on X, Ley accused Labor of being “bankrolled by tainted CFMEU money”.
“This is now a test for the Prime Minister. Labor MPs can’t say they are for protecting women whilst taking money, volunteers and support from the CFMEU.”
Cyclone Alfred will punch a $1.2 billion hole in the federal budget while posing a threat to inflation, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is warning as he and the Coalition come under pressure to boost the economy’s speed limit by embracing politically contentious reforms from tax to home construction.
Amid new forecasts suggesting a fall in revenue will contribute to larger budget deficits and more debt, Chalmers will use a speech on Tuesday to reveal Alfred – which hit south-east Queensland and northern NSW a week ago – will also slow an economy that is already struggling to grow.
In the speech, Chalmers will say:
I expect that these costs and these new provisions will be in the order of at least $1.2 billion, a substantial amount of money and that means a big new pressure on the budget.
At (the mid-year update), we’d already booked $11.6 billion for disaster support nationally over the forward estimates. With all of this extra funding we expect that to rise to at least $13.5 billion when accounting for our provisioning, social security costs and other disaster-related support.”
Read the full report from senior economics correspondent Shane Wright here.
A massive fire tore through an overcrowded nightclub in North Macedonia on Sunday, killing 59 people and injuring 155 in a chaotic escape during a live concert. The tragedy focused national attention on corruption in the small Balkan country as authorities detained 15 people.
The death toll may rise further, with 20 of the injured remain in critical condition, according to Health Minister Arben Taravari. The government has declared seven days of national mourning.
The pre-dawn blaze in the eastern town of Kocani left mostly young people dead and injured due to burns, smoke inhalation and a stampede in the desperate effort to reach the building’s single exit, officials said. People as young as 16 were among the casualties, they said.
Videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting the ceiling followed by scenes of chaos inside the club, with young people running through the smoke as the musicians urged them to escape as quickly as possible.
The fire caused the roof of the single-story building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris. Police cordoned off the site and sent in evidence gathering teams in an operation also involving state prosecutors.
Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 15 people were detained for questioning after a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper license. He said the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.
AP
Good morning and welcome to the national news blog. My name is Josefine Ganko, and I’ll be leading our coverage for the first half of the day.
It’s Monday, March 17.
Here’s what’s making news this morning.
- Amid new forecasts suggesting a fall in revenue will contribute to larger budget deficits and more debt, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will reveal that ex-tropical cyclone Alfred will slow an economy that is already struggling to grow.
- The CFMEU has admitted it let women down in its response to violence as shocking examples of mistreatment emerge.
- The federal budget will receive a $700 million boost off the back of lower-than-expected NDIS spending.
- The Greens are offering to support Labor on key measures in return for an immediate slashing of student debt and tripling of the bulk-billing incentive debt in a last-ditch attempt to “Dutton-proof” them beyond the federal election.