The Treasurer reacts to a Newspoll ranking Labor's budget the worst in decades; the World Health Organisation declares a global health emergency over an Ebola outbreak; and Queensland and New South Wales reveal their lineup for the first State of Origin game.
Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- The Treasurer reacts to a Newspoll ranking Labor's budget the worst in decades.
- The World Health Organisation declares a global health emergency over an Ebola outbreak.
- Queensland and New South Wales reveal their lineup for the first State of Origin game.
Jim Chalmers has reacted to a Newspoll showing Labor's budget is the least popular since 1993, with 52 per cent of voters saying they will be worse off as a result.
Addressing the media in Brisbane - where he announced a deal to provide 50,000 homes for Queenslanders including 21,000 reserved for first home buyers - the treasurer said he understands some Australians will have strong views about the changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing.
But he said his job is to take difficult decisions to get more Australians into their own homes.
"It would surprise me more if we got some sort of bouncing the polls from the difficult decisions that we're talking about budget. The budget was full of hard decisions are not handouts, and we don't hand down budgets expecting to make some kind of big near-term positive difference to opinion poll five days later. We make these decisions to make a big positive difference to the housing market over time particularly for young Australians who've been locked out for too long."
Despite the budget's unpopularity, the Newspoll showed Anthony Albanese well ahead of Liberal Leader Angus Taylor as preferred prime minister, with 46 per cent support compared to 38 per cent.
Meanwhile a Resolve poll for the Sydney Morning Herald published yesterday positioned Mr Taylor as voters’ preferred prime minister, leading Mr Albanese 33-30, with 37 per cent of people undecided.
.
The World Health Organisation has declared an international health emergency over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 88 deaths and 336 suspected cases reported so far.
The Bundibugyo strain can kill up to half of those infected and there is currently no vaccine.
The virus has now spread to the major DRC city of Goma - and has also claimed a life in neighbouring Uganda.
Goma was seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in early 2025, a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands.
Resident Alain Bisimwa said people in Goma are really scared.
Swahili then English VO: "In truth, we are truly afraid of this Ebola epidemic. We’ve been hearing about Ebola for several years now, first in Equateur province, then in North Kivu, and now here in Goma, which is truly heartbreaking. We are asking the government to implement measures because we don’t know what to do. The insecurity is already a problem, and now this disease has added to it.”
The WHO warned the true scale is likely far larger than reported, given the high positivity rate of initial samples and the remote, hard-to-reach areas where cases are concentrated.
It is urging robust global efforts to limit its spread.
.
A warning this story contains references to domestic violence.
New South Wales Police have arrested nearly one thousand people and seized 94 firearms, during a four-day domestic violence crackdown.
Operation Amarok, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday, resulted in 2,063 charges, 299 arrest warrants and 391 breaches of apprehended domestic violence orders.
Among those arrested was a 28-year-old Fairfield man who was charged with repeatedly stabbing a woman and a 51-year-old charged with intentional choking.
NSW Police said the operation was designed to turn the pressure back onto offenders, warning anyone using violence, intimidation or coercive control will be pursued.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
The Men’s Referral Service, operated by No to Violence, can be contacted on 1300 766 491.
.
As National Volunteer Week kicks off, new data shows that 9.5 million Australians volunteered in 2025, despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
More than five million Australians volunteered through organisations, contributing more than 618 million hours - up from 490 million hours in 2020.
CEO of Volunteering Australia Mark Pearce says this effort is commendable and also a sign that demand across communities is increasing.
"Even with real constraints such as the rising living costs, time pressures and a whole lot of structural barriers, people are still stepping forward. In fact, volunteers are contributing more hours, which speaks volumes about the commitment to community and to supporting people in need and that's really, really encouraging."
.
To sport now and in NRL,
Queensland and New South Wales have each revealed their lineup for the first game of this year's State of Origin, which kicks off in Sydney on May 27.
The 20-man Maroons squad enters camp in Brisbane today to begin preparations for the series opener, with 14 returning players and four making their Origin debut.
Wearing the Queensland jersey for the first time are players Jojo Fifita, Sam Walker, Max Plath and Briton Nikora.
Blues Head Coach Laurie Daley delivered some surprises, with Sydney Roosters captain James Tedescho taking the place of Dylan Edwards - a move the coach said was a tough call.
"We could only find a place for one. There was some discussion around whether one of them might be on the bench, but that didn't think that was the right fit. In the end, Teddy got the job but just more around how we want to play."
