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Good morning!
In case you missed it, The Daily Aus will be hosting a free Politics in the Pub event tonight in Sydney. I personally commit to good food, good conversations and hopefully, good vibes.
You can register for the free event here. Can’t wait to see you!
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
"I actually felt nauseous as I ran in, because in my head I'd resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to die.”
NSW police officer Amy Scott during the coronial inquest into the Bondi Junction Westfield stabbing attack in 2024. Scott was the first police officer on the scene, confronting and killing attacker Joel Cauchi within minutes of her arrival.
Stat of the day
275
The number of times workers are interrupted during an average day with emails, meetings and messages, according to Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index.
Word of the day
Brouhaha [BROO-haa-haa]
Definition: a noisy and overexcited reaction or response to something
In a sentence: "The brouhaha in this classroom is beyond me!"
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
The Liberal Party has won Canada’s election, their fourth consecutive win. The party took power at the 2015 election, led by Justin Trudeau. Following Trudeau’s resignation amid poor polls earlier this year, former governor of the central bank Mark Carney took over as party leader. Support for the Liberals surged in recent weeks, sparked by Carney’s election and the party’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre has officially conceded defeat and lost his seat.
Queensland Police has charged a teenager after a vandalism attack on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s office. It’s the third time the Brisbane site has been targeted this election. Police were called to the office in Dutton’s electorate of Dickson early on Tuesday, where the facade of the building had been covered in red paint and anti-Dutton posters. An 18-year-old woman has been charged with wilful damage and is due in court next month, as police continue searching for three other people. Dutton faced further disruptions on Tuesday afternoon, cancelling a planned press conference due to anti-nuclear protestors. The Opposition Leader, who described the vandalism of his office as “outrageous,” said he supports democratic processes, but doesn’t want situations where “people… are being intimidated.”
Recommendation of the day
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I’ve got 1 minute
The murder trial over the three alleged mushroom killings starts this week
The murder trial of a woman accused of killing three people by serving them poisonous mushrooms has begun in the Victorian Supreme Court this week.
Erin Patterson was charged with murder after three people died following a meal at her home in July 2023.
Patterson maintains her innocence and has pleaded not guilty.
The trial is expected to run for the next six weeks.
Poisoning
In July 2023, Erin Patterson hosted her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her husband’s aunt and uncle, Heather and Ian Wilkinson, for lunch.
Patterson served a beef Wellington, which she said contained dried mushrooms.
Following the meal, all four became critically ill. Don, Gail, and Heather died, while Ian spent several weeks in hospital.
In November 2023, Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Trial
The trial will be held in the town of Morwell, about 45 minutes from Patterson’s home in south-east Victoria.
The first step is jury selections.
Members of the public are randomly drawn from a ballot and presented to lawyers on both sides, who can object to their selection. This process repeats until a panel of at least 12 jurors is agreed upon.
The court is expected to hear opening statements this week, with the trial scheduled to run until June.
Reporting by Achol Arok.
I’ve got 2 minutes
What are the major parties promising on housing?
Housing has become a central focus of the 2025 election.
In recent years, record-high housing price growth has contributed to the cost of living crisis.
In the lead-up to the election, now just days away, TDA is breaking down the key election issues.
Let’s take a look at how the major parties are promising to tackle the housing crisis.
Affordability
The median dwelling (houses, apartments) price in Australia is $976,000, based on the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is up from $691,000 in 2019.
Renting has become increasingly expensive over the past few years.
The national median rent is $654 a week, according to data from property analyst CoreLogic.
Vacancy rates are also low at 1.6%. This measures the number of properties that are available on the market.
Labor
5% deposits for all first home buyers, expanding an existing, more-limited scheme for first-time owners. (Usually the minimum deposit is about 10%.)
Building 100,000 new properties set aside for first home owners, through grants and programs via the states and territories. The homes would be on the “affordable” end of the market, according to Labor’s Housing Minister Clare O’Neil.
Expanding current schemes, including the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, a program that splits ownership of a property between a buyer and the government.
Coalition
Up to $50,000 to dip into superannuation to buy a first home. The superannuation used in buying a home will need to be returned if the property is sold.
Ability to deduct mortgage interest payments from income tax. This would apply to interest payments on the first $650,000 of a mortgage and is limited to first home buyers.
$5 billion for critical infrastructure, set aside to develop water, sewerage, and roads around housing developments, which the Coalition estimates will unlock 500,000 new homes.
Greens
Limit tax breaks (such as negative gearing) for property investors to one investment property.
Freeze rent increases for two years, which would be enforced by the states and territories through national cabinet. The Greens said they would then cap it at 2% increases over the following two years.
Set up a government property developer, which would oversee the construction of 610,000 homes built over the next decade.
Reporting by Harry Sekulich.
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What: To celebrate Betty's Bestie Day, for one day only Betty's is offering you and your ride or die 2 for 1 burgers with six burgers to choose from. PLUS get a free soft drink when you order through the Beach Club Rewards app!
When: Thursday, May 1st. T&CS apply.
Head to a Betty's Restaurant this Thursday for 2-for-1 Burgers!
🍊 Who is the most dominant athlete of 2025 so far?
🍊 Widespread blackouts have derailed the Madrid Open.
🍊 The NBA playoffs are underway - here’s what to know.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, soccer, and more…
Give me some good news
Researchers have discovered the oldest known ant fossil in Brazil.
The 131-million-year-old specimen proves that ants existed around the world at the same time as dinosaurs. A team of experts from the University of São Paulo discovered the fossilised female ant in limestone from a well-known geological site in Brazil’s north-east. The specimen has been identified as the extinct wasp-like “hell-ant”. According to findings published in the journal Current Biology, it means “ants spread through global ecosystems earlier than once believed”. The discovery “represents the earliest undisputed ant known to science.”
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA tidbit
A man in Japan was rescued twice in four days from Mt Fuji.
Why, you may ask?
He went back for his phone.
The Chinese tourist had chosen to hike the Fujinomiya trail during the off season – a risky choice due to the current weather conditions. He then developed altitude sickness, a phenomenon that occurs when someone climbs too high too fast, and was rescued from the mountain.
Just a couple of days later, the man ascended the peak for a second time, which police said was to retrieve his phone and belongings he had left on the trail.
He once again fell ill, and was once again rescued.
Reporting by Rosa Bowden.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
We are now just mere days away from the federal election.
Today, we’re talking about what voters have said is the biggest issue influencing their vote this election: cost of living!
In fact, nearly two thirds of young people listed cost of living as their main concern at this election, according to a TDA survey conducted by Resolve Polling.
So, what are the parties proposing to do about it? We’re breaking that down in today’s podcast.
TDA asks
