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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Kris Swales

Afternoon Update: PM to address nation; Porepunkah grapples with Dezi Freeman’s death; and a miracle dog rescue

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Question Time in Parliament House, Canberra.
Anthony Albanese during question time at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Good afternoon.

Anthony Albanese will deliver an address to the nation tonight at 7pm AEDT, when he’s expected to encourage Australians to play their part in the fuel crisis, including helping to save fuel for areas that need it.

It comes after Jim Chalmers revealed Covid-era support measures for businesses struggling with soaring fuel prices, including more generous ATO payment plans and doing away with penalties and interest on unpaid tax debts. Petrol and diesel prices have already fallen across the country as Labor’s fuel excise cut takes effect.

There have been just a few addresses to the nation by prime ministers this century, including Scott Morrison in March 2020 at the beginning of the Covid pandemic and Kevin Rudd during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Follow the Guardian’s live coverage of Albanese’s address here.

Top news

In pictures

Helicopter vision shows rescuers finding a border collie named Molly near a waterfall in remote New Zealand. Molly had been missing since 24 March after becoming separated from her owner, who was seriously injured after falling 55 metres down the waterfall.

What they said …

***

“I always thought of him because he seems to just walk everywhere … His victims are running away, they’re sprinting, but he just catches them.”

It is a situation experienced by many motorists: one driver overtakes another only to find the slower car is right behind them when they reach a red light. Now a researcher has used mathematics to reveal why the situation feels inevitable – and named his law of traffic in honour of Jason Voorhees, the Friday the 13th horror franchise villain who always catches his prey.

Full Story

What Labor’s changes mean for the price of your petrol

Despite previously saying there would be no cut to the fuel excise, that is exactly what Anthony Albanese has done. Political reporter and chief-of-staff Josh Butler speaks to Reged Ahmad about whether this will bring down fuel prices and what restrictions and measures consumers could face if the crisis continues.

Listen to the episode here

Before bed read

Many in the alpine region of Victoria are celebrating the death of Dezi Freeman, who was shot by police on Monday after seven months on the run after allegedly killing two police officers in cold blood and injuring a third. Others are more sympathetic to the fugitive – and some refuse to believe he’s dead.

Daily word game

Today’s starter word is: MERC. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

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