A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Sam Dover.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended changes to the stage three tax cuts in an address to the National Press Club, saying the move will help ease cost-of-living pressures.
Under the changes, all taxpayers will pay less tax, as the Albanese government will drop the lowest tax rate from 19 per cent to 16 per cent, meaning workers will pay less on the first $45,000 they earn.
The original scheme under the Coalition government lowered tax rates for high income earners but did not do much for low-to-middle-income Australians.
Mr Albanese says these changes will help to make tax more fair and support Australians struggling with the cost of living crisis.
"It is the best way forward because it's the best way to help Australians struggling with their costs of living without putting pressure on inflation this plan will boost the family budgets of middle Australia and boost workforce participation in our economy."
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A Captain Cook memorial statue has been cut off at the ankles and a statue of Queen Victoria covered in red paint in Melbourne on the day before Australia Day.
Police are investigating criminal damage to the Cook statue at St Kilda's Jacka Boulevard.
Police say several people were seen loitering in the area around the time of the incident.
Premier Jacinta Allan says the statue will be fixed.
"Obviously, Victoria Police are investigating the circumstances around what's happened with these statues overnight and will let Victoria Police undertake their work. This sort of vandalism really has no place in our in our community and I want to signal today that we will be working with council to repair and reinstate the statue in St Kilda that has been vandalised overnight."
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Queenslanders are preparing for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, which is expected to hit the coast tonight.
The strengthening system is predicted to cross the coast as a category two cyclone between Ingham and Bowen, bringing destructive winds and torrential rain.
Liberal MP Phil Thompson is in Townsville, and told Sky News the community is coming together today to prepare.
"We're all putting in and and helping out filling sandbags for those that that need it and for those houses that are prone to flooding it. We've been here before we've had a fair few natural disasters and cyclones. People are struggling to get those sandbags filled and to get extra sandbags here, but all in all the communities wrapping around each other and helping out but it's going to get windy and it's going to hit us quite hard, I believe later this evening."
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And in tennis, Spanish rising star Carlos Alcaraz has been knocked out of the Australian Open after a quarter-final loss to German fourth seed Alexander Zverev. [[Jan 25]]
In another late-night match on Rod Laver Arena, Olympic champion Zverev defeated Alcaraz in the first set two sets and survived a fightback to push through into the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 win.
It was the first time Zverev had beaten a top-five ranked opponent at a grand slam level and equalled his best result at Melbourne Park.
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I'm Sam Dover. This has been SBS News in Easy English.
