Get up to speed with all the latest updates from the federal election campaign.
Follow all of Tuesday’s updates as they happen in our live blog.
Live updates
By Jessica Riga
Labor pledges to work on Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Catherine King, was on News Breakfast earlier spruiking Labor’s major infrastructure funding announcement.
“This is the suburban rail loop and we’re making a $2.2 billion committment to the eastern component of that, actually early works have started now,” she says.
“This section will connect Box Hill to Cheltenham. But eventually a rail loop will loop right the way around all of the suburbs. It means for those of us who live in regional Victoria like myself, don’t have to come to Flinders Street to go back out to some of the western and eastern suburbs, you actually go around. This is pretty transformational for the city of Melbourne.”
But Catherine King didn’t say whether Labor would match the Coalition’s pledge in Bennelong for a $200 million upgrade to a bridge in the electorate.
“We don’t know the details of that particular announcement. We’ve been pretty careful about the sorts of projects we’re choosing.”
By Jessica Riga
Here’s what to watch out for today
Aged care is back in the election spotlight with thousands of workers in Queensland and Western Australia preparing to go on strike later today, pressuring both parties to do more for the sector.
It comes as both parties step up their campaign announcements with Prime Minister Scott Morrison heading to Bennelong in Sydney’s north-west to announce funding for a bridge upgrade.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is in Melbourne where he’s expected to appear alongside Premier Daniel Andrews as they also make a major infrastructure funding announcement.
By Jessica Riga
Key Event
Liberal candidate’s posters vandalised with ‘obscene images’
The Liberal candidate in the seat of Paterson in the state’s Hunter region has detailed what she describes as a “concerted campaign” against her.
Brooke Vitnell said her election posters have been torn down and vandalised with sexist slurs, with the aggression getting more intense in the lead up to pre-poll voting.
It comes as police and the Australian Electoral Commission investigate allegations from Independent and Greens‘ candidates about their campaign posters being doctored and ripped down in other seats across NSW.
Ms Vitnell has told Sky News that hundreds of her campaign posters have gone missing or been “slashed, graffitied, had things drawn on them [with] profanities.”
“And these are profanities that have been drawn all over many billboard-sized signs on arterial highways,” she said.
“So we’ve got buses, we’ve got a high volume of traffic going past these signs seeing these obscene images and these degrading words as well.”
By Jessica Riga
Key Event
Greens announce $24 billion environmental plan with goal of stopping all extinctions by 2030
Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world and is losing more biodiversity than any other developed nation.
The Greens’ plan hopes to halt that through investments in mass greening and restoration, stronger environmental laws, ending native logging and ensuring mines are assessed on their climate impacts before approval.
“Our forests, wildlife and oceans are dying and we are at a point in history where, if we don’t act, we face total ecosystem collapse,” Greens leader Adam Bandt said.
“The Greens are the only party in this campaign with costed plans to tackle the extinction crisis and protect our environment.”
Environmentalists have been calling for the federal government to release it’s five-yearly State of the Environment report before the election.
It has been sitting on Environment Minister Sussan Ley’s desk since December.
The report is required to be tabled within 15 parliamentary sitting days of the minister receiving it, but due to the election, Ms Ley does not legally need to release it until the next parliament.
By Jessica Riga
By Jessica Riga
Coalition promises $5 million towards establishing digital ‘skills passport’
The Coalition is promising to create a digital skills passport if it wins the upcoming federal election.
The $5 million commitment will be in partnership with the Australian Technology Network of Universities to accelerate the development of digital skills passports.
The passport is aimed at making it easier for recognition of prior learning and will be a single point of entry for credentials across university and TAFE.
By Jessica Riga
Good morning!
Welcome to another day on the federal election campaign trail.
I’m Jessica Riga and I’ll be keeping you in the loop as the day unfolds.
Everyone ready to roll? Let’s go.