☕️ Alfred's arrival delayed

There’s a lot of news happening this weekend – Cyclone Alfred, an election in WA, and a possible election call by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday. We have the details of what you need to know on all three things below.

One thing is for certain: Albanese would be happy the original name for this cyclone got changed from ‘Cyclone Anthony’ to ‘Cyclone Alfred’. Cyclones are labelled according to an approved list which alternates between male and female names – but the BOM switched this one because of the Prime Minister’s name.

“Fortunately no one was injured… The investigation into the incident is ongoing but there is no ongoing threat to the community.”
Victoria Police in a statement after a 17-year-old boy allegedly boarded a Jetstar plane at Avalon Airport with a gun on Thursday afternoon.

$21 million
The amount of funding the government is immediately rolling out to provide ‘trauma-informed specialist legal services” in every state and territory to victim-survivors of sexual assault.

Halle Berry kissing Adrien Brody at the Oscars
On the red carpet at the Oscars, actress Halle Berry crashed one of Adrien Brody’s red carpet interviews to give him as kiss. As Berry approached Brody, she apologised to Brody’s partner, Georgina Chapman, saying “I have to get him back,” before kissing him on the lips. Brody kissed Berry at the 2003 Oscars when she handed him his first Oscars award for Best Actor.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is projected to make landfall this evening or Saturday morning, bringing damaging winds and heavy rain to South East Queensland and northern NSW.

Alfred is currently a Category 2 cyclone, causing coastal erosion and dangerous ocean conditions.

On Wednesday, Acting Gold Coast Mayor Donna Gates said: “This looks like the most significant event in our city in terms of destructive winds and heavy rain... since 1954.”

Tropical cyclones are ranked in severity from category 1 (weakest) to 5 (strongest).

As a Category 2 cyclone, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says Alfred is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 164km/h, which could damage “signs, trees and caravans.”

However, the BOM says it could weaken to a category 1 once it crosses the mainland coast.

On Thursday, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said: “Exactly where [Alfred] will hit and when still remains unknown.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the system’s delayed arrival means “the window for destruction in our community... is longer than we would have otherwise liked”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “A risk is of course that, by slowing up, [the cyclone] will increase in its intensity.”

Many schools, some supermarkets and public transport across South East Queensland and northern NSW have closed in preparation for the cyclone.

Communities in both states have been urged to stock up on sandbags and to organise a plan.

Minns announced on Thursday that 2,000 State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers have been deployed to NSW’s Northern Rivers region.

Crisafulli said on Wednesday: “If someone tells you to leave, leave.”

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

Western Australia is heading to an election this weekend.

The last election in 2021 saw Labor rewarded for its handling of the COVID-19 health crisis, including border closures.

Labor is tipped to hold onto government for a third consecutive term, while the Liberal Party is trying to recover support after being reduced to its lowest-ever representation in WA Parliament.

The cost of living, housing, and health have dominated the election campaign.

More than 1.8 million people are enrolled to vote at tomorrow’s election.

At the last election, when the state still had COVID-19 border closures, former Premier Mark McGowan led Labor to a landslide victory.

The party won 53 of 59 seats in the state’s lower house and secured control of the upper house. This has meant it can pass laws without negotiating with other parties.

The Liberal Party was reduced to two seats, losing its status as the official opposition party to the Nationals (who won four seats).

Most polling shows the Labor Government is expected to win the election. A Newspoll published in The Australian showed a two-party preferred split of 56% (Labor) to 44% (Liberal) at the start of the campaign.

It’s likely the Liberal Party will pick up a few seats it lost in 2021, including the inner-Perth seat of Churchlands, where Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas is the party’s candidate.

WA Labor leader Roger Cook has been Premier since June 2023.

Cook took over from McGowan, who stepped down citing “exhaustion” following his leadership during the COVID-19 years.

If the Cook Government is re-elected, Labor will be in power for 12 consecutive years.

There is no formal coalition between the Liberal and National Parties in WA. Instead, the two have an “alliance” agreement.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam is hoping to win back some of the long-held seats the party lost to Labor at the 2021 election.

National Party leader Shane Love has predominantly targeted regional seats.

The cost of living, housing, and health have shaped up as the central issues of the election.

WA’s economy is performing comparatively well to other Australian states and territories, with a budget surplus projected for 2024/25 and economic growth forecast over the next three years.

The Government has committed to reducing public transport fares across Perth and regional centres to a $2.80 flat rate per trip. The Opposition has said they're open to also adopting this policy.

Labor has committed to encouraging build-to-rent projects, aimed at boosting the stock of houses and apartments for long-term leases.

The Liberal Party has announced policies intended to encourage more first home buyers, such as reducing and changing the stamp duty tax.

Another key issue is ambulance ramping, where paramedics are forced to wait outside hospitals due to long queues. Labor has maintained it’s working to bring down ramping rates, while the Liberal Party has vowed to reduce ambulance ramping by 20%.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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Goalkeeper Steven Hall saved Saudi Arabia’s final penalty to seal the win for Australia. The side will now turn its attention to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile later this year, where Australia will compete for the first time in over a decade.

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Residents in the U.S. state of California have been encouraged to eat a local rodent, as part of an attempt to eradicate the species.

The nutria is a large rodent that has been threatening native wildlife and ecosystems in California.

Its harmful impacts have encouraged wildlife officials to promote the hunting - and now munching - of this rodent. In their words, “rather than just complaining about them, let’s put them on the menu.”

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, nutria meat is “lean, mild, and tastes like rabbit.”

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

The Australian housing market has been making headlines again with property prices continuing to climb despite some interest rate relief from the RBA last month. For young Australians hoping to buy their first home, the situation seems to be getting increasingly challenging. Ahead of a federal election where the cost of living and how (and where) young people get a first home, Sam is joined by Tim Lawless, the Head of Research at CoreLogic, to examine whether the Australian dream of home ownership is becoming more of a fantasy for younger generations.