News live: Zelenskyy urges Australia to put more sanctions on Russia

Off-duty officer leaps to rescue of two people off Mornington Peninsula pier: ‘It’s just instinct’

Senior police constable Frank Ferreria was enjoying a walk with his family along Rosebud Pier on Sunday afternoon, prior to commencing his overnight shift, when he noticed a man and a boy in trouble in the water.

The 31-year-old man and 15-year-old boy had been on a family outing and decided to go into the water about 4.10pm. The teenager, who had little to no swimming experience, quickly got into trouble and as the adult attempted to help, both began swallowing water and drifting away from the pier.

Ferreria jumped into the water fully clothed and managed to pull both people to safety, returning them to the pier where they were treated by paramedics.

The ambulance officers in attendance said without the off-duty member’s actions they fear both swimmers may have lost their lives, Victoria police said.

Senior sergeant Rachel Jones said the “incredibly humble” Ferreria turned up to work this evening like nothing had happened, going about his regular duties.

Ferreria said:

It certainly wasn’t how I expected to get ready for work but I’m happy to have been able to assist. I don’t think I did anything overly heroic. I saw some people in trouble and it’s just instinct to dive in there and try to help.

Sussan Ley says Coalition policies up for review but ‘our values are not’

In that op-ed Ley carries on the sporting analogy to describe how the Coalition will regroup, as “preseason is about to begin and I know my team is hungry to get to work”.

A diversity of opinions is not, as many commentators would have you think, a sign of weakness. My team cares about the future of our party because it knows we have the right values to keep Australians strong and secure.

As leader, I have committed to a full assessment of why we lost the election.

… Our policies are up for review. But our values are not.

The Liberal party I lead will not be altering our enduring commitment to what is best for Australia’s national interest. We will always stand for lower, simpler and fairer taxes – not as an economic ideology but because we trust people to spend their own money more than we do the government.

Sussan Ley says election loss like like losing footy grand final

Sussan Ley, as the recently elected leader of the opposition, has attempted to grapple with her party’s resounding defeat by deploying a sporting analogy in an op-ed published today in the Australian.

In it, Ley writes: “if you are one of the millions of dedicated footy fans… you will know you can’t always be on the winning side.”

As a Sydney Swans supporter I know after the loss of a grand final, when you get towelled up you don’t give up.

You don’t drop your team or your belief in it either. You get a bag of ice, you watch the tapes and you get to work rebuilding.

You do the work to come back stronger and faster next season.

… Australians sent a clear message at the election. We must listen, change and develop a fresh approach. To take a term from footy, we need to look at our system.

We need to understand what sort of team we are, and we need to come up with a new agenda to take to the Australian people.

Albanese: ‘Australian people need to be proud of the way that we are seen in the world’

Speaking further about his discussions with world leaders, Albanese reflected on the way in which “Australia is really highly regarded” by the international community:

The Australian people need to be proud of the way that we are seen in the world. We’re straight talkers, we get things done, we’re a multicultural nation. There is no nation that you meet with who doesn’t say I’ve got a nephew, I’ve got someone who I went to school with, I have someone, a connection directly with Australia, that’s a big plus for us.

… I think in Australia sometimes … we talk ourselves down a bit. And part of my job as Australia’s prime minister, and as an optimist, is to talk Australia up. We can have an impact on the world. And the discussions that I had with people, whether they were longer ones, such as with Prime Minister Carney, or shorter ones, were all very warm. That is what we have very much in common.

Albanese says discussion with pope was ‘personal’ and ‘very warm’

What did Albanese say to the pope when he met him?

It was a very warm discussion. I was introduced to him as the Australian prime minister. He expressed a warmth about Australia, and I told him that it was a great honour for me to be there.

I spoke to him about my mother, [who] is I’m sure looking down from heaven with the biggest smile she’s ever had. The fact that her son was at the inaugural mass of a pope in the Vatican was quite extraordinary. So for me it was a very personal moment as well, and it was a personal discussion. It was very warm.

He expressed his affection for Australia and I told him that Australia’s 5m Catholics would be watching and wishing him well in his pontificate.

Albanese did not speak with JD Vance in Rome

Albanese says he did not speak with JD Vance while he was at the inauguration:

He arrived quite late, in terms of just prior to the mass taking place, as you will have seen.

Albanese said he had not reached out for a bilateral meeting.

Albanese says he sought Zelenskyy’s support for Oscar Jenkins

Albanese was also asked if he made any specific requests to Zelenskyy to include Oscar Jenkins part of a potential prisoner swap in the future, and responded:

What we did was to raise in a diplomatic way, seek Ukraine’s further support for Oscar Jenkins. And certainly we had a discussion about not just Oscar Jenkins but other cases as well.

Asked about Zelenskyy’s request for further sanctions on Russia, Albanese said:

We have 1,400 sanctions currently against individuals or against Russian companies. We continue to look at whatever we can do to place pressure on Russia. It’s important as well that we continue to send the message to the globe that we stand with Ukraine.

Albanese is asked about extent of Australia-EU defence cooperation

Albanese was also asked about Ursula von der Leyen’s comments about defence, and whether what she’s suggesting would tighten Australia’s coordination of its defence efforts with Nato?

Look this was just a suggestion that Ursula von der Leyen raised, there was no detail further, just it was really an assertion of Europe’s values being consistent with Australia’s values, and in what ways could we explore further defence cooperation.

Pressed further on whether he interpreted her comment in the context of defending, or helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia, Albanese said:

I wouldn’t over-read what Ursula von der Leyen’s statements were, and so I think that would be not accurate. It was a suggestion by the president that the relationship was based upon not just economic relations but based upon our values and part of [those] values is for support for international rule of law. And it’s no accident that Europe has defended the Ukrainian people and so has Australia. We will stand up for their international rule of law.

Albanese in talks on EU free trade deal, hopes agriculture issues ‘can be overcome’

Albanese has done a doorstop interview in Rome where he began reflecting on attending the pope’s inauguration, as well as discussions he has had while there on the possibility of advancing the Australia-EU free trade agreement.

I was very honoured personally to be there, I found it an incredible privilege and it was good that Australia was represented at the highest level. And I was also very honoured to be able to have a brief discussion with Pope Leo in Saint Peter’s basilica after the mass was held. I look forward to further discussions in the near future with Pope Leo.

… In addition to that was an opportunity to introduce myself to a range of world leaders who I hadn’t met before and to have brief discussions on behalf of Australia.

Since then, we’ve had two bilateral meetings with Ursula von der Leyen of the European Union. We spoke about the importance of free and fair trade, spoke about our respective trade representatives, in our case of course, Senator Farrell, seeing if we can advance the Australia-EU free trade agreement. We know that there were issues in the past over agriculture and we’re hoping that they can be overcome.

Benita Kolovos

Victoria to record surplus but $1bn below forecast

The Victorian budget, which will be handed down tomorrow, will record the state’s first surplus since before the pandemic – but it’s $1bn lower than what was forecast just five months ago.

The government this morning released some budget figures early, including an operating surplus of $600m in 2025-26. This falls short of the anticipated $1.6bn operating surplus that was forecast in December’s mid-year economic update.

However, the government says its forecast operating surpluses of $1.9bn in 2026-27 and $2.4bn in 2027-28 are an “improvement” from the December update.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, says the government was delivering the “first budget surplus since the pandemic” but at the same time proving “real help to ease the cost of living right now”.

The government says it is also on track to stabilise debt levels and reduce the ratio of net debt to Victoria’s gross state product, which is a measure of the state’s total economic output.

The treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, says:

This is just the beginning. From here net debt will continue to fall as a share of the economy, and we will see continued surpluses in the years to come – allowing us to continue to provide services and infrastructure that Victorians need.

The budget will show net debt as a share of the economy will begin to decline after peaking in 2026-27 and keep falling beyond that. A peak in debt was something economist Zac Gross said he was hopeful to see, when we spoke with him for this piece:

The Minns government says a “new era in stability and security” for the state’s 2.3m renters starts today with key changes including ending no grounds evictions.

From today the following legislation comes into force including that owners will now be required to provide a valid reason to end all lease types, tenants will now be able to apply to keep a pet in their rental home, and renters allowed to pay their rent using certain fee-free rent payment methods such as direct bank transfer.

Housing organisations have welcomed the new laws but warned in the months preceding today’s laws coming into effect they have been bracing for a spike in evictions.

The premier, Chris Minns, said:

Today marks a significant change which brings the rental market into the 21st century and makes renting fairer. More people than ever are renting, and they are renting for longer, so these reforms improve security and fairness in the rental market.

Minister for housing Rose Jackson said:

For too long, renters have lived with the fear of being kicked out for no reason. That ends today. … This is the biggest step forward for renters in a generation, we’re building a system that’s fair, modern and puts people first.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Australia to put more sanctions on Russia, while prime minister Anthony Albanese says he continues to put pressure on Russia to secure the release of Oscar Jenkins in the pair’s meeting.

The prime minister’s office has released a transcript of the leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of the pope’s inauguration.

Zelenskyy congratulated Albanese on his “historical” election win, while Albanese reaffirmed Australia’s support for Ukraine’s struggle for their national sovereignty, and right to determine their own future.

We have been participants in the discussions that have been convened by Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron. It’s always at strange hours in Australia, some very late-night meetings that I have participated in. We’ve said that if a peace process emerges, we would consider being involved in a coalition of the willing. Until then we’ll continue to provide support.

… We’ve provided now around about $1.5bn dollars in support, primarily military and defence support.

Zelenskyy thanked Albanese “very much for your military support, for your strong words and supporting the coalition of the willing”. He went on to say:

Together we can really move this situation to closer to peace, with pressure on Russia. And we are very thankful for sanctions. I wanted to raise with you also this topic which is very important, to put more pressure, more sanctions on Russia.

Albanese concluded, thanking the Ukrainian leader “for what you have said with Mr Jenkins”.

The Russian so-called courts have brought down an outrageous ruling, and we continue to seek his freedom and his return to Australia, and we thank you for the assistance in that.

Dan Jervis-Bardy

Changes to corporate tax arrangements and policies to make it cheaper to meet climate targets will be examined as part of the Productivity Commission’s wide-ranging inquiries to boost the nation’s stagnating growth.

The commission has released a list of 15 priority areas to sharpen the focus of the five separate reports it is conducting into options to lift productivity across the economy.

Among the priority areas is corporate tax, with the commission asking for feedback on possible changes to “support business investment”.

Former industry minister Ed Husic last year floated the idea of cutting the corporate tax rate to boost productivity, in comments that were sidestepped by the treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

As part of its report into the clean energy transformation, the productivity commission will examine options to reduce the cost of achieving emissions reduction targets and how to speed up approvals of new energy infrastructure.

The commission’s chair, Danielle Wood, said:

Boosting productivity is the only sustainable way to improve Australians’ living standards, but productivity growth has stagnated in the past decade. It’s now at its lowest ebb in 60 years.

Productivity growth isn’t about working harder or about having more ‘stuff’. It’s about making the most of what we have – the skills and experience of our workforce, new technologies, and our resources – so we can get more out of our economy.

In a statement, Chalmers said flatling productivity was “one of the biggest challenges facing our nation”, which was why he commissioned the five reports late last year.

We’re determined to make Australia’s economy more prosperous and productive and this work from the PC is an important part of that process.

Consultation of the priorities will open on Monday and run until 6 June.

Interim findings will be released through July and August, with the final reports due to be handed to the government in December.

The NSW SES has already had to rescue eight people in that area of the Hunter and mid north coast where coastal catchments have already responded to rainfall over the weekend.

All eight rescues were for people in flood waters in vehicles in northern NSW; all persons were safe and one was taken to hospital.

The SES has responded to 346 incidents statewide, with the majority (272) in the northern zone.

An SES spokesperson said:

We are expecting slow moving heavy rainfall to last several days across the mid north coast and Hunter regions, and we are anticipating minor to moderate flooding along coastal catchments.

We’re already seeing those coastal catchments respond quite quickly to rainfall over the weekend and, with the forecast heavy rainfall over the next few days, we’re anticipating renewed rises and many catchments to reach minor to moderate flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast widespread 24-hour rainfall totals of 50 to 100mm. However, there is the possibility for isolated rainfall to exceed 180mm in 24-hour periods.