Australian news and politics recap: Tuesday April 10, 2025

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In today’s episode of Newsworthy, Ben O’Shea discusses a Teal candidate’s cringe rap and the Liberal Party’s AI Tim Cheese Brainrot meme.

Plus, Grumpy Albo returns as the Prime Minister gets snippy with a reporter and O’Shea explains Donald Trump’s tariff pause.

Aussies have been warned over the chance two tropical cyclones may develop off the coast over the next week.

The Bureau of Meteorology says there’s a “high risk” of Tropical Low 29U developing into a tropical cyclone.

There’s a “moderate chance” the system, currently forming in the Arafura Sea, could develop as soon as Friday.

The warning stated this would most likely happen over waters north to northwest of Darwin and is expected to move southwest into the Timor Sea over the weekend before shifting west-southwest early next week.

“As it moves over waters north of the Kimberley, the chance of tropical cyclone development increases to high early next week,” the Bureau of Meteorology alert stated.

“Coastal communities in the Kimberley should keep up to date with the latest forecasts.”

Read more here.

AAP’s Callum Godde reports: Jacinta Allan is wearing the unwanted crown of Australia’s most unpopular leader, with polling suggesting she could be a drag on Labor’s Federal election hopes.

The Victorian Labor premier is on the electoral ropes but vowing to keep punching, even if she costs her party the Federal election.

A poll of 2013 Victorians by independent polling firm Redbridge, published by The Herald Sun on Thursday, showed Premier Jacinta Allan’s net satisfaction rating was minus 35.

It’s the lowest of any political leader in the nation, with state Labor also trailing the coalition 51-49 on a two-party-preferred basis.

Political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said the state Labor government’s popularity has been sliding since Daniel Andrews handed the reins to Ms Allan in September 2023.

“That (two-party-preferred result) is putting Labor in a state election-losing position,” the Monash University senior lecturer told AAP.

“That’s a massive swing of around six per cent (since the 2022 election).”

The RedBridge co-director and former state Labor campaign strategist Kos Samaras said it was hard to envision Ms Allan reversing the tide ahead of the 2026 state election as voters views were “baked in”.

Ms Allan’s slumping personal popularity could also taint the party’s federal Labor push to retain marginal Victorian seats such as Chisholm, Aston and Bruce, Dr Ghazarian said.

“It’s grim reading for Labor ... it’s really troubling.”

Read the full story ​here​.

Peter Dutton has arrived in the seat of Macnamara, Labor, held by Josh Burns.

He’s at another fuel station. Discussing the fuel excise...

This is his sixth fuel station stop on his election campaign trail. He had a day off yesterday and did five days straight before that.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton and shadow health minister Anne Ruston have announced a $15 million pledge to the National Suicide Prevention Research Fund.

Touring a Lifeline facility in the federal seat of Melbourne on Thursday, Mr Dutton said it was “disappointing” Labor had cut funding to the critical service.

The service helps fund a wide range of research and projects which aim to prevent suicide, including high school awareness sessions, suicide prevention training, and harnessing virtual reality to counter suicidal thoughts.

The fund has also provided programs to a remote Kimberley prison to help tackle high rates of suicidal harm in the region.

Mr Dutton said the Coalition were committed to funding front line services and spoke about the “confronting” scenes he witnessed during his experience as a police officer.

“There are many Australian families, many of us, who have been touched in different ways by suicide,” he said.

“We’re all impacted by… our lives experiences.

“I will never forget delivering a message to a mother one night.

“Her screams still stay with me (after) her son… had died by suicide.

“And I’ve been to suicide scenes and they are confronting and anything that we can do as a country we should be doing that and more.”

In what seems to be a trend this election campaign, today’s energy debate was interrupted by a shouting climate protester.

Just after Energy Minister Chris Bowen made his opening statement, a protester interrupted shadow minister Ted O’Brien’s opening. The protester was yelling about Labor and the Liberals, shouting: “When are you going to stop”.

Mr O’Brien tried to speak over the protester, but had to stop momentarily.

An unruffled Mr O’Brien simply said: “Can we just proceed and ignore.”

The protester was removed, and the debate went on.

Climate protesters have disrupted Labor and Liberal politicians several times during the campaign so far.

Anthony Albanese was shouted at earlier this week, at an event announcing major investments in mental health. The protester said Labor’s approval of coal mines was damaging people’s mental health.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is in the seat of Melbourne on Thursday afternoon for a mental health funding announcement.

Mr Dutton is expected to tour Lifeline in the suburb of Abbotsford.

The Melbourne electorate is held by Greens leader Adam Bandt who Mr Dutton slammed in a morning press conference over his intention to control an elected Labor minority government.

AAP’s Ethan James reports: One of the most marginal seats in Australia, which sits in a battleground state, is poised to again go down to the wire at the upcoming Federal election.

Forestry industry-funded polling of 712 residents in the mostly rural Tasmanian electorate of Lyons has Labor ahead 50.94 per cent to the Liberals’ 49.06 on a two-party preferred basis.

Former state leader Rebecca White is running for Labor, after replacing incumbent colleague Brian Mitchell, against Liberal Susie Bower.

Lyons is currently held by Labor with a margin of less than one per cent as national polling points to a tight race between the major parties to form government after the May 3 election.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton campaigned in the seat on Sunday, cementing its importance in the federal contest.

Read the full story here.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has faced off with Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien at the National Press Club, ahead of the May 3 election.

The central debate revolved around whether energy prices will decrease under each party’s plan, with each criticising the other’s approach.

Mr Bowen said “the pledge I give is that energy prices will be cheaper under us than under Mr O’Brien.”

While Mr O’Brien said “under our plan in the short term we will see gas prices coming down. For industry, by 15 per cent, 7 per cent to household and for wholesale electricity 8 per cent or your billet home electricity, 3 per cent.”

“The Coalition will not spend $264 billion, which Labor plans to spend as part of its experiment of all eggs in one basket renewables only,” Mr O’Brien said.

Chris Bowen then responded, “anybody who predicts energy prices in this complicated geopolitical environment, I think is making a punt so I will not do that.”