LIVE – Updated at 01:24
Follow the day’s news, live.
01:24
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is speaking, addressing the decision to end Covid
support payments:
The Covid support payments were designed by our predecessors to end at a certain point and to restart them would cost a considerable amount of money. What we have tried to be is up-front about the challenges that we face in the Budget. Unfortunately, there is not room in the Budget for every good idea or to extend every program, even good ones, indefinitely.
Chalmers justified the decision saying that Rat tests are no longer as expensive as they were at the beginning of the year.
كان برنامج RATs برنامجًا مهمًا أدرك أنه في بداية هذا العام تقريبًا ، كان من المستحيل تقريبًا العثور على اختبار سريع وإذا أمكنك ، فقد تكلف الاختبار ما يقرب من 30 دولارًا. لقد ناضلنا من أجل بعض الوصول وبعض الوصول بأسعار معقولة للأستراليين ، وخاصة الأستراليين المعرضين للخطر للتأكد من قدرتهم على الوصول إلى هذه الاختبارات. الحقيقة هي أن الوضع قد تغير بطرق مرحب بها ، بحيث أن الاختبار يكلف أقل بكثير من ذلك الآن ويسهل العثور عليه.
Chalmers has reiterated the advice given by Anthony Albanese earlier this morning to concession card holders to stock up before the support ends.
Chalmers revealed the support is costing the government $60m a week.
It is a costly number but if you add it up with the paid pandemic leave, which was something like $60 million a week in its most recent iteration, combined that with the support for at the petrol bowser, a whole range of programs which were designed by the former government to end around this time, it is not possible to extend all of these programs.
Train derails at Bendigo after collision with a truck
01:22
A truck and a train have collided near Bendigo, causing the train to derail.
Victoria police have released a statement to say they are investigating the incident which occurred in Goornong this morning.
Emergency services were called to the collision on the Midland Highway, near Bendigo-Murchison Road just after 8am on 13 July.It is believed the collision has caused the train to derail.The truck driver, a man believed to be in his 50s, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is being treated paramedics at the scene.It is believed there are no physical injuries to passengers on the train.