A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
Welcome to SBS News in Easy Engish. I'm Gareth Boreham
Power bills in Australia are set to rise from July, after the Australian Energy Regulator decided to pass on increases to the benchmark power price.
It means bills for hundreds of thousands of Australians will increase by $100 or more per year.
Wholesale energy prices have soared more than 140 percent in the last year - due in part to international factors including the invasion of Ukraine - and subsequent demand for coal and gas.
The new federal government is also blaming its predecessor.
Chris Bowen, who will likely be Energy Minister in the new government, says the Morrison government didn't act fast enough on renewable energy and transmission infrastructure.
"There are international factors at play here, of course geopolitical circumstances are impacting on Australian markets in many ways. But the fact of the matter is, the lack of energy policy, the lack of investment in new energy, the lack of investment in renewable energy and the lack of transmission over the last nine years means that Australians are paying more for electricity than they should be."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government will take great care to be economically responsible- but has vowed to meet all of it election campaign promises.
After meeting with the Reserve Bank, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has admitted rising interest rates will have an impact on economic growth.
Mr Albanese says his government faces substantial economic challenges with the coalition leaving a financial situation worse than what it previously admitted.
But he's told Sky News his government will give taxpayers a better return on spending than its predecessor.
"I want to make sure that we have an economy that works for people, not the other way around. We made commitments at the election campaign. We will stand by all of them. We'll go through, line by line, our budget, in order to be fiscally responsible. And I'm sure, at the end of that process, we will get a better outcome for the nation than the sort of, quite frankly, rank rorting, that we saw of public funds under the former government."
The Queensland government will introduce legislation to ban hate symbols, including the swastika.
If the laws are passed, it will become a criminal offence to display symbols that incite hate or fear.
An exception is likely to be made for some religions that use the swastika as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.
The move is in line with the findings of a parliamentary report, in which Queensland's Legal Affairs and Safety Committee made 17 recommendations seeking to combat hate crimes and vilification.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the decision has not been taken lightly.
“Late last year police seized a Nazi flag flown near a Brisbane synagogue. (Shame). Only a few months earlier a train carriage in the suburbs was gratified with swastikas and Nazi slogans. (Shame). The Member for Capalaba had a swastika painted on his electorate office. The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies said it showed a rise of antisemitism that cannot be ignored. Mr Speaker, our government agrees. Mr Speaker let me make this absolutely plain. Nazism is evil.”
Victoria introduced a similar bill to ban hate symbols, with the New South Wales government expected to follow suit.
To sport and in tennis, Spaniard Rafael Nadal has celebrated his 300th grand slam match victory, defeating Corentin Moutet at the French Open.
Nadal won in straight sets, booking his spot in the third round.
The fifth seed - who turns 36 next week - had been in trouble with rib and foot problems in the lead up to the event..
Only one Australian remains in the singles draw.
Daria Saville is through to the third round after defeating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (ka-vitta-va).
I'm Gareth Boreham, this is SBS News in Easy English
