SBS News in Easy English 22 April 2024
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Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Sam Dover. ---- New polling suggest there is nearly the same level of support for the two major parties ahead of the May federal budget. A Newspoll which was published in The Australian shows that most voters think Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is the better leader at 48 per cent against Peter Dutton at 35 per cent. Labor narrowly leads against the Opposition, on a two-party preferred basis, at 51 per cent to 49 per cent. But Labor's primary vote sits at 33 per cent, below the Coalition at 38 per cent. Asked about these results, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek told Channel 7 her party is doing everything possible to address the cost of living crisis confronting Australians. "We want to see wages go up, and they have gone up under Labor. We want to see people keep more of what they're earning with lower taxes, and that will happen in the budget. We've also helped with electricity bill relief, lower childcare fees, cheaper medicines, making it cheaper and easier to see a doctor, extra paid parental leave, free Tafe, more support for housing, for affordable housing, that is why we're focused on these cost of living measures." ---- Meanwhile, in the Middle East... Palestinian civil defence crews say they've uncovered 210 bodies so far from a mass grave in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis. The bodies, found in the courtyard of the Nasser Medical Complex, were reportedly buried by the Israeli military after their raid on the hospital in February. Palestinian man Walid Radwan Ftima told Al Jazeera he found his mother among the bodies. "Since Eid, I have been monitoring the process of exhuming bodies from this mass grave. I came to inspect the bodies and found my mother's body which I identified by distinctive marks on her feet." A spokesman for the civil defence agency told AFP that there were no clothes on some bodies which indicated in their minds signs of torture and abuse. Israel's military says it is checking the reports. ---- The Treasury has downgraded its growth forecasts for major economies ahead of the federal budget. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is warning of a delicate economic outlook internationally amid tensions in the Middle East as well as a slowdown in China's economy. China's economic growth has been downgraded by 0.25 percentage points in 2025 to 4.25 per cent, according to Treasury forecasts. The downgrade would mean China's growth would be the weakest period since the Asian nation opened its economy up in the 1970s. Ahead of May's federal budget, Dr Chalmers says the global uncertainty has led to revised budget expectations. ---- Australian cycling star Grace Brown clams the biggest win of her career, winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic ahead of the Paris Olympics. The 31-year-old Melbourne rider was already a medal favourite for the individual time trial at Paris and her win at Liege signals that Brown is a threat in the Olympic road race as well. She is the first Australian woman to win the Belgian race which is also nicknamed La Doyenne, which has had a women's race since 2017. ---- I'm Sam Dover. This has been SBS News in Easy English.))