This is SBS News in Easy English... I'm Biwa Kwan.
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Ahead of Australia's federal election on 21 May, debate continues over the federal government's housing policy.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday that first home buyers will be allowed to draw money from their retirement fund, known as superannuation or super, to help buy a house.
From 1992, a policy of compulsory super was introduced which meant that employers would put a portion of a person's wages into a super account - to be managed by a super fund to grow through compounding interest.
The money could then be withdrawn as income in retirement.
Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the government's proposal to withdraw super money early to buy a house is not a good idea.
[["If you gut people's super savings that means down the track, more people dependent upon the pension, more pressure on budgets in the future. That is what it is about. That is what this debate is about. But this government. Every opportunity they have to attack super they do so."]]
Superannuation Minister Jane Hume has admitted the new housing policy could cause a short-term rise in house prices - as more buyers enter the market.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says criticism of the plan misses the bigger picture, which is about helping people buy their first home.
[["The proportion of first home buyers of the entire real estate market is marginal. And therefore many of the assumptions that others have made about this have been based on false assumptions. And our policies are designed to just ensure people can access to their money."]]
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The federal Labor party says Australia's diplomatic relationship with Pacific nations cannot be strengthened without action on climate change.
Pat Conroy made the remarks at Pacific Climate Security Summit [[Mon 16 May]].
Mr Conroy is expected to be the Pacific and international aid minister if Labor wins government.
He told the summit a Labor government would create a new fund to help Pacific Island nations with climate adaptation and renewable energy projects.
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Australia has the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the world, with about 40 people dying from the virus every day.
Almost 7,800 Australians have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
And the total number of Australians who had contracted the virus is now more than 6.45 million.
Australian Medical Association vice-president Chris Moy says more resources need to be put into an ongoing response to COVID-19, including dealing with the growing number of Australians with long COVID.
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As National Volunteer Week begins [[16-22 May]], new research reveals that volunteers are essential to Australia's ability cope in times of crisis.
A report from Volunteering Australia finds that there are more than one million volunteers helping during times of crisis, including 400,000 people in emergency response roles.
Volunteering Australia Chief Executive Mark Pearce says these volunteers have played a crucial role over the past twelve months - during the pandemic and with extreme weather events.
[["When we think about volunteering within Australia, it's interesting to reflect upon the size of the volunteering eco-system. If we consider that volunteers within organisations account for around about five million people. That's around a quarter of the size of the Australian population, and in addition to that about 6.5 million volunteers contribute their time and heir efforts and their expertise informally within their community each and every year."]]
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In sport, more names have been added to the Australian team competing at this year's Commonwealth Games.
Australia's three medallists from the Tokyo Olympics will join the Australian track and field squad.
The athletes are high jumper Nicola McDermott, javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber and decathlete Ash Moloney.
This year's Commonwealth Games will be held in the UK city of Birmingham from 28 July to 8 August 2022.
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This is SBS News in Easy English, I'm Biwa Kwan.
