Anne Ruston defends past comments that Medicare ‘is not sustainable’ after PM names her as health minister if re-elected

Minister says Coalition is ‘not cutting Medicare’ as Labor accuses her of wanting ‘to take the universal out of universal healthcare’

Labor says the appointment of Anne Ruston to the health portfolio in a re-elected Coalition government would mean cuts to Medicare, pointing to past comments by the senator that the costs of the health scheme were unsustainable.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced on Sunday that Ruston would take over the health and aged care ministry vacated by the retiring Greg Hunt, if the Coalition wins the election on 21 May.

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Scott Morrison backs Warringah candidate amid Liberal revolt – as it happened

Prime minister under pressure as Liberals split over Katherine Deves’ candidacy; Anthony Albanese promises federal Icac within months. This blog is now closed

Victoria has recorded eight additional Covid-19 deaths overnight, with 408 people in hospital, 21 in the ICU and eight ventilated.

There were 9,559 new cases recorded.

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Anthony Albanese says PM’s broken federal Icac promise ‘fails the laugh test’ as Chalmers defends Labor campaign

Shadow treasurer says Labor ‘match-fit’ for campaign and denies first week was a ‘shitshow’

Anthony Albanese has attacked Scott Morrison for blaming a lack of Labor support as the reason he couldn’t legislate his proposed anti-corruption commission, saying the argument “fails the laugh test”, as the federal opposition defended their rocky start to the election campaign.

On Saturday, as Labor unveiled a commitment to legislate a national anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 if elected, both the prime minister and opposition leader faced questions over their ideal model for an integrity body, with Albanese suggesting Labor’s version would be stronger than the Coalition’s proposal that was widely panned and opposed by some government MPs.

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Anthony Albanese commits to anti-corruption watchdog by end of 2022, if Labor wins election

Scott Morrison under pressure over integrity commission failure and $500,000 payout to ex-ministerial staffer

Anthony Albanese says he will legislate a national anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 if Labor wins the election.

Albanese’s commitment, to be confirmed on Saturday, follows Scott Morrison declaring this week he will only revive his government’s heavily criticised integrity commission proposal if Labor and the Senate are prepared to pass it unamended.

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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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‘Massive policy failure’: retired judges blast Morrison’s broken promise on federal Icac

Former supreme court judge Anthony Whealy says Coalition’s explanation for not legislating a promised anti-corruption commission is ‘spurious’

Retired judges have criticised the Morrison government’s broken promise on the federal anti-corruption commission as a “massive policy failure”, saying the Coalition’s explanation for walking away from the pledge was “spurious”.

The Coalition is under pressure over its failure to introduce legislation establishing its proposed anti-corruption commission, despite promising to do so prior to the last election.

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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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Australian Medical Association disappointed by major party funding inaction amid hospital crisis

AMA chief to call on Anthony Albanese to ‘stand for health’, saying funding boost is urgent to alleviate pressure on medical system

The head of Australia’s peak medical body will meet with the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, to urge him to reconsider his “small target” strategy on health. Dr Omar Khorshid will warn that substantial funding is urgently needed to address the crisis in the country’s hospitals.

The message from the Australian Medical Association president comes after Albanese called him on Thursday morning in response to the association criticising Labor’s $135m urgent care clinic policy, announced this week, as “incoherent”.

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There is ‘no one News Corp view’ on election, head of company’s Australian arm tells staff

News Corp Australasia executive chairman issues all-staff memo, with scrutiny on election coverage likely to increase

Rupert Murdoch’s Australian lieutenant has told News Corp journalists there is “no one News Corp view” about the election and that individual editors are free to decide which party to endorse.

Executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, Michael Miller, said it was important to remember that “electorate issues in Surry Hills differ greatly to those in Broken Hill” and that audiences “expect us to interrogate all parties and all sides”.

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PM distances government from private member’s bill – as it happened

Morrison says Warringah candidate Katherine Deves has ‘apologised’ over social media posts; nation records at least 39 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Adam Bandt, the Greens leader, will also be talking about the Greens’ tax and Medicare plans at the National Press Club today, as Sarah Martin reports:

The Fireproof protests continue in Sydney:

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Labor to commit $135m to trial 50 urgent care clinics intended to ease pressure on hospitals

Announcement comes alongside policies to strengthen Medicare and ‘make it easier to see a doctor’ as ambulance wait times blow out

Anthony Albanese is set to announce Labor’s first major health commitment of the election campaign: $135m to trial 50 new urgent care clinics meant to ease pressure on hospitals.

The clinics will be based at GP surgeries and community health centres in at least 50 locations across the country. Labor says they will be modelled on a similar scheme operating in New Zealand.

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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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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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‘I’ll fess up’: Anthony Albanese tries to make a virtue of not knowing unemployment or cash rate

Labor leader makes mistake on day one of campaign as Scott Morrison embraces former NSW MP who said PM ‘got the welcome he deserved’ during bushfires

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, says he “accepts responsibility” for a gaffe on the first day of the federal election campaign when he couldn’t state the national unemployment figure or the official cash rate.

Albanese was asked on multiple occasions if he knew the figures during a press conference in the marginal seat of Bass in Tasmania at the start of the six-week campaign.

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The nerve centres: inside the Coalition and Labor election campaign headquarters

The parties’ election machines have been humming into gear for weeks. Here’s the who who’s of each operation

All the focus of an election is on the leaders’ planes and travelling parties criss-crossing the nation for press conferences and photo ops, but behind every decision or smallest detail are the nerve centres of the whole operation – the Coalition and Labor campaign headquarters.

As endless column inches in recent weeks were devoted to when Scott Morrison would make the trip to the governor general’s home in Yarralumla, the campaign headquarters (CHQ) for the major parties were quietly humming into gear, with key staff flooding into the central command units at the heart of the election machines.

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Australian election 2022: Scott Morrison warns voters against change as Anthony Albanese promises a ‘better future’

Prime minister calls federal election for 21 May as two leaders outline pitch to voters

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is imploring voters not to risk a change to an “uncertain” future under the opposition, while the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, says now is the time to seize the opportunity for better times ahead.

After Morrison visited the governor general on Sunday to call a 21 May election, the two leaders began the 41-day election campaign by outlining their pitch to voters.

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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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Queensland promised most amid marginal seat spree on discretionary grants, analysis shows

Guardian Australia is tracking Coalition and Labor funding commitments and highlighting pork-barrelling during the election campaign

The Morrison government has promised more than $5.6bn in discretionary grants to projects across the country as part of a massive $28bn pre-election spending spree, with almost half directed to key marginal seats.

A Guardian Australia analysis of major party spending commitments from January to March this year shows Queensland as the biggest beneficiary of commitments from the Coalition and Labor, with the state a key battleground for parties to form government.

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Australia live news updates: Scott Morrison takes credit for saving 40,000 lives from Covid in social media video; NSW records 10 Covid deaths, Vic seven and Qld two

Scott Morrison takes credit for saving 40,000 lives from Covid in social media video; prime minister expected to call federal election this weekend; hundreds of NSW residents still under evacuation orders; NSW records 10 Covid deaths; seven Covid deaths in Victoria; Queensland reports two virus deaths; police officer and driver killed in Victoria crash. This blog is now closed

Exclusive: Schools chaplaincy provider bans cohabitation and ‘sexually intrusive’ behaviour in staff’s private life

In the space of an hour on Thursday night, two Queensland Liberal National stalwarts made announcements that shook the party from the right, and then the left.

First, George Christensen announced he had formally left the LNP – ending a political farce that has seen the retiring federal MP for Dawson slide deeper into far-rightwing anti-government conspiracy, all the while remaining a member of the government.

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High court win on NSW preselections clears way for Morrison to call election

PM expected to visit governor general this weekend to trigger mid-May election after court refused to hear appeal against ‘captain’s picks’

The high court has cleared the decks for Scott Morrison to call the federal election by refusing to hear a last-ditch appeal against the prime minister’s contentious captain’s picks in key New South Wales seats.

The court on Friday refused businessman Matthew Camenzuli’s application for special leave to appeal against the NSW court of appeal’s decision upholding the controversial preselections. Chief justice Susan Kiefel said the appeal had “insufficient prospects of success”.

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