What you need to know this morning
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of news from Australia and around the world this Wednesday, October 28. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- Politicians will receive a safety boost that could include a wider use of emergency alarms, as the government fast-tracks a security review following last week’s attack on independent MP Helen Haines. The AFP received almost 800 security complaints from federal politicians in the first six months of this year, commissioner Krissy Barrett told the Senate yesterday.
- The woman accused by Greens senator Jordon Steele-John of sending hundreds of messages has hit back, expressing dismay the WA senator went public with details about their relationship. The Perth woman said she had been shocked when she saw intimate details posted on Instagram by Steele-John, and that the senator was trying to discredit her.
- Crossbench MP Allegra Spender is leading the charge to block Labor’s changes to investor taxes. Spender is trying to convince the government to abandon overhauling the capital gains tax discount, a key change made in a suite of tax reforms announced in the May budget.
- And Israelis have headed to the polls for their first national elections since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. The election is widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent nearly two decades in power. You can follow along with our live election coverage here.
Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro headed to the US after losing election, sources say
Sao Paulo: Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the US after losing the presidential election and refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports, two sources said.
The US Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bolsonaro’s lawyer also did not respond.
It was not immediately clear where Bolsonaro was heading, what time he would arrive or whether he would seek asylum. US President Donald Trump’s administration has previously alleged Flavio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil.
Flavio’s departure for the US threatens to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power, and Reuters reported ahead of Sunday’s election on a US State Department campaign to restore them to office.
Shadow treasurer doesn’t rule out cuts to healthcare, aged care if elected
Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson refused to provide detail about how the Coalition would budget for changes it had promised to deliver if in government, but did not rule out cutting spending on healthcare and aged care.
Speaking to ABC’s 7.30 last night, Wilson was asked how the Coalition would pay for commitments it had made to extra defence spending, reversing Labor’s changes to investor taxes and tax breaks for big superannuation accounts.
David Speers asked: “Is there a risk you’re going to run the budget even deeper into deficit?”
“That’s not our focus at all,” Wilson responded.
What you need to know this morning
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of news from Australia and around the world this Wednesday, October 28. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- Politicians will receive a safety boost that could include a wider use of emergency alarms, as the government fast-tracks a security review following last week’s attack on independent MP Helen Haines. The AFP received almost 800 security complaints from federal politicians in the first six months of this year, commissioner Krissy Barrett told the Senate yesterday.
- The woman accused by Greens senator Jordon Steele-John of sending hundreds of messages has hit back, expressing dismay the WA senator went public with details about their relationship. The Perth woman said she had been shocked when she saw intimate details posted on Instagram by Steele-John, and that the senator was trying to discredit her.
- Crossbench MP Allegra Spender is leading the charge to block Labor’s changes to investor taxes. Spender is trying to convince the government to abandon overhauling the capital gains tax discount, a key change made in a suite of tax reforms announced in the May budget.
- And Israelis have headed to the polls for their first national elections since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. The election is widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent nearly two decades in power. You can follow along with our live election coverage here.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
