Bodies of Indigenous families’ loved ones left in morgues after collapse of funeral insurer Youpla

Federal government urged to provide compensation, as minister says families can apply for state-assisted or ‘pauper’ funerals

Aboriginal families in at least two states have been forced to leave the bodies of their loved ones in morgues because they can’t afford a funeral after the financial collapse of their insurer, which has previously been exposed for its “misleading and deceptive” conduct.

The collapse last month of Youpla Group has sparked calls for compensation for the more than 13,000 low-income Aboriginal people who face losing all they have paid into the funeral fund.

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Australian politics live: Morrison to visit Perth as Liberal divisions grow over Katherine Deves; Albanese gets mixed reception at Bluesfest

Anthony Albanese gets mixed reception at Bluesfest in Byron Bay, while Scott Morrison has a brain fade moment at a press conference and walks away from a young woman asking him about climate policy; NSW records four Covid deaths and Victoria one. Follow all the latest news

New South Wales has released its Covid numbers for the last 24 hours, with 11,166 new cases and sadly four deaths.

It might be a little later today before we hear from the Liberal campaign, given the time difference with Western Australia.

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Woman dies after 10 people rescued from water at Batemans Bay beach

Three people are in hospital following a rescue operation at Surf Beach on the NSW south coast, police say

A woman has died and three other people are in hospital after being pulled from the water at a beach on the New South Wales south coast on Easter Sunday.

Ten people had to be rescued from the ocean at Surf Beach, about 8km south of Batemans Bay, by surf lifesavers and members of the public.

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Ruston will ‘take the universal out of universal healthcare’, Labor says – as it happened

Labor says Anne Ruston as health minister if Coalition re-elected should ‘send a shiver down the spine’; WA records eight Covid deaths, NSW six, Victoria two and Tasmania one. This blog is now closed

Marise Payne has told the ABC’s Insiders she does not share the views expressed by Katherine Deves about transgender and gender diverse people that have prompted calls for her to be dropped as the candidate for Warringah.

She tells host David Speers:

I don’t share Ms Deves’ comments that she has made, but importantly she has apologised and withdrawn those views and as the prime minister said yesterday, in public life, we do have to be very careful about the way we express our opinions.

It is a matter for the organisation in New South Wales. I need to get on with my job, that’s what I’m doing. I don’t agree with the remarks she made, I’ve made that explicitly clear.

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Modular homes on way to accommodate New South Wales flood victims

More than a month after they were announced 2,000 temporary pod homes are being sent to flood-affected communities

Up to 2,000 modular homes will be sent to accommodate displaced flood victims in northern New South Wales, a month after the state government announced the measure.

The temporary modular “pods” will be rolled out on the Northern Rivers, with the first 25 recovery pods to be delivered to Ballina, followed by additional sites to be named across Tweed, Byron, Richmond Valley and Lismore in coming weeks.

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NSW Liberals should decide whether Katherine Deves is disendorsed, Marise Payne says

Foreign minister says she has made it ‘explicitly clear’ she does not agree with comments made by Warringah candidate

Senior government frontbencher Marise Payne has distanced herself from the controversial Liberal candidate for the Sydney seat of Warringah, saying it is a matter for the party organisation whether Katherine Deves is disendorsed.

The foreign minister was pointed in her remarks on the range of captain’s picks overseen by Scott Morrison in lieu of normal preselection processes in New South Wales, telling the ABC’s Insiders program: “Some of them are fabulous candidates.”

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Dutch golden age painting worth up to $5m discovered at Blue Mountains property

Experts say 400-year-old work is likely collaboration between Dutch master Willem Claesz Heda and his son

A 400-year-old “one in a million” Dutch painting worth up to $5m has been found at a property in the New South Wales Blue Mountains.

Called Still Life, the work was recently located at the National Trust of Australia-managed Woodford Academy during a restoration project.

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More than $3bn of social housing sold by NSW government since Coalition took power

Data also reveals the government has fallen well behind its own targets for new dwellings

The New South Wales government has sold off $3bn worth of social housing during its decade in power, while failing to meet its own targets for new properties.

New figures released through parliament this week show that since it was first elected in 2011, the Coalition has sold off 4,205 social housing properties across the state.

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Pork this way: which electorates have been promised the most in the election campaign?

On a per-voter basis, Coalition-held seats of Bass in Tasmania and Canning in WA given biggest spending commitments so far

Voters in the Tasmanian marginal seat of Bass are the most spoilt in the country, with each voter promised the equivalent of almost $6,000 in spending commitments in the opening stages of the election campaign.

In the first week of the six-week campaign, almost $500m has been pledged by both major party leaders as they crisscross the country. The focus is on a handful of marginal seats that will decide the election.

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Australia news live updates: One Nation dumps Brisbane candidate; Anthony Albanese and Jenny Morrison attend same Easter service; 26 Covid deaths

Rebecca Lloyd reportedly ditched from One Nation because she refused to work with party leaders; airport staff shortages cause baggage issues; more aged care deaths in 2022 than first two pandemic years combined; campaign trail ‘truce’ for Easter weekend; NSW records 16 Covid deaths, Victoria records seven deaths; Queensland records two deaths; first election debate confirmed for 20 April. Follow all today’s news

NSW has recorded 16 Covid deaths and more than 15,000 cases.

Queues are so far moving faster than expected at major airports, after a week of huge delays. There were some concerns about another chaotic day at the airport on Good Friday. About 80,000 passengers were due to travel through Sydney airport alone.

Queues are moving well at Sydney airport even as hundreds of people fill the country’s busiest airport as they head out for Easter holidays.

Airports around the country will remain busy over the break and school holiday period.

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Australia on alert after new Omicron XE Covid variant found in NSW

The combination of BA.2 and BA.1 is thought to be highly contagious and comes as mandatory negative Covid tests for travellers to Australia is scrapped

Health authorities are urging caution after the emergence of a hybrid Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Australia.

The recombinant variant, known as XE, is a combination of BA.2 – “stealth Omicron” – and BA.1 – the original and highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.

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PM cancels afternoon campaigning – as it happened

Members of Scott Morrison’s security detail injured during campaigning in Tasmania; at least 45 more Covid deaths around Australia, with 21 in NSW. This blog is now closed

If you are in Sydney, you can have a little treat – free public transport (for 12 days).

As AAP reports:

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NSW oysters off the menu this Easter amid contamination fears

Flooded catchments and sewage spills have forced the closure of harvesting areas across the state

NSW oysters will be off the menu this Easter long weekend with prolonged heavy rains and flooding forcing the state’s food authority to close every harvesting area across the state.

Overflowing catchments and sewage spills, caused by extreme rainfall, have left the industry reeling during a period that is normally one of its busiest.

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Broken Hill nursing home bracing for ‘worst-case scenario’ after four residents die from Covid

Nurses are being flown in from interstate amid staffing shortage after 30 positive cases reported, including inside the Alzheimer’s unit

Nurses are being flown in from interstate to ease staffing shortages at a far western New South Wales aged care facility where four residents have died with Covid over the past fortnight.

The fourth death at St Anne’s in Broken Hill was confirmed on Wednesday after the outbreak first hit the facility in late March, with 30 people so far testing positive.

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Koala IVF could help save species from extinction

University of Newcastle scientists suggest frozen sperm could be used to impregnate females in breed-for-release programs

Freezing koala sperm could become a key part of a strategy to save koalas from extinction by 2050.

University of Newcastle scientists Lachlan Howell and Ryan Witt say koala “biobanking”, could be harnessed with IVF technology to help the endangered species reproduce.

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Australia politics live updates: Joyce announces $1.5bn Darwin port facility; Coalition costing of Labor policies ‘laughable’, says Gallagher

Deputy PM promises $1.5bn investment for new Darwin port; Labor senator takes shot at Coalition’s ‘dodgy costings unit’; Scott Morrison promises to create 1.3m new jobs in the next five years; Anthony Albanese announces greater mental health support for regions; nation records 38 more Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news

Scott Morrison has called in to Adelaide radio station FiveAA to speak with David Penberthy.

Penberthy wanted to know whether Morrison’s standing contributed to the collapse in the Liberal party’s vote in the recent South Australian state election.

It’s a federal election.

It’s a macro number that we do right across the economy.

I think prime minister Ardern was appropriate when she said she wasn’t going to engage in a domestic election in Australia. I would say this – this is a recommendation of the royal commission. This is a recommendation that arises out of the situation that we see older Australians facing. Neglect, people are being neglected.

Now, what we are saying is let’s work to bring in more nurses to the sector ... a lot of nurses leave the sector every year, or leave their employer. We need to train more Australians to get into this workforce, and yes, as is currently the place, migration will be part of the story but not all of the story.

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Sydney’s Easter Show shuts down ride after photo shows boy was not strapped in

Freefall ride appears to have started while the four-year-old boy’s harness remained above his head

Organisers of Sydney’s Royal Easter Show have shut down a ride and launched an investigation after a four-year-old boy was not secured to his seat.

An image posted to social media appears to show the freefall ride had begun with a young boy on the end seat sitting with his harness still raised above his head, while other riders’ harnesses were locked down. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon.

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Plibersek says election ‘a test of leadership, not memory’ after Albanese mistake – As it happened

The PM campaigned in Gilmore in NSW, while Labor leader is in Bass in Tasmania; Tanya Plibersek defends Anthony Albanese after opposition leader addresses his rates stumble; phone voting available for people in isolation on election day; NSW reports three Covid deaths and Victoria one. This blog is now closed

Scott Morrison just appeared on ABC breakfast TV, where he was asked about his relationship with the Liberal candidate for Gilmore, Andrew Constance.

Q: Andrew Constance said that you got the welcome that you deserved [in the region after the bushfires]. Emotions are still running deep in the bushfire-affected communities. Are you concerned about that being repeated today?

With Andrew Constance being part of my team and choosing to be part of that team, I think that that addresses it. Andrew and I spoke not long after the terrible experiences that particularly he and others and so many went through, and we worked the issue. We ensured that we addressed thing like small business payment and we got the money on the grouped and supported people in the areas that the federal government were responsible for. And I really thank Andrew for the way that we came together and really started to work together to address those issues. He’s a fine advocate for this part of Australia on the south coast of New South Wales.

He’s demonstrated that time again. And the fact that he wants to be part of my team and is running here as our Liberal candidate in Gilmore, I think that that addresses those issues fairly, squarely, that we’ve actually addressed the short comings that he was outlining at the time and we’ve gone forward with a strong plan to ensure that we’re providing that support. Not just in relation to the fires, but in relation to other natural disasters. And we’ve seen so many of those over the last three years.

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Leaders make first pitches to voters after PM sets poll date – as it happened

Scott Morrison says federal election about choosing between ‘a government you know and a Labor opposition you don’t’; Anthony Albanese says ‘Australians deserve better’ at campaign launch; at least 13 more deaths from Covid. This blog is now closed

Very glad to report the ABC has a live feed of the PM’s plan taxiing along at Sydney airport. Thoroughly engaging stuff.

The ABC is now reporting the PM has jumped aboard the official prime ministerial jet at Sydney airport, heading to Canberra.

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British-born man dies after being caught in New South Wales floods

Tony Ikin, a dog breeder, had been travelling to Royal Easter Show when his car was submerged at Cobbity

A UK-born man has died after being caught in flood water on the outskirts of Sydney.

The body of the 68-year-old was found in his van on Friday morning at Cobbity about 43 miles south-west of Sydney’s central business district, New South Wales police said in a statement.

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