Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham has slammed Elon Musk as “dead wrong” after he failed to comply with a request from the eSafety Commissioner. Billionaire Elon Musk has mocked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s social media crackdown hours after his platform was again ordered to remove graphic content. “He’s dead wrong,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. “We all support legitimate free speech, but, ultimately, these freedoms do have limits when it comes to content and information that can be harmful. “In this type of case, what we know is images … are not only disturbing in and of themselves but they are frequently used by people to stir up trouble in communities. “Elon Musk’s arguments run completely counter to the facts and the evidence as to how this type of information is used in a dangerous way that drives disharmony and discord within our community.”

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham has called on social media companies to use their “immense technological power” to “remove” violent content from their platforms. Billionaire Elon Musk has mocked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s social media crackdown hours after his platform was again ordered to remove graphic content. “I think there’s a pretty clear message for social media companies, and that there’s one law in Australia, everybody should comply with the law in Australia and the law has been built on the basis of Australian values and Australian standards,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. “We don’t want our children or other Australians exposed to dangerous, violent online content, and we do expect social media platforms to be able to use their immense technological power … to be able to remove such content. “They definitely have the capabilities and power to remove this stuff and to do so much faster and more comprehensively than they chose to do so at present.”

Opening statements have been heard in the criminal trial of former US president Donald Trump. Mr Trump has left court after an early finish to day one. He is accused of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to keep an affair secret. Mr Trump denies the allegations and rejected claims of wrongdoing in other cases against him. “Everyone knows … I did nothing wrong,” he said. “This is a Biden witch hunt to keep me off the campaign trail.”

There are plans to ban Lake Eyre from the general public unless people get permission from the local Indigenous community to enter the area due to its cultural significance. Sky News host James Macpherson joined Sky News hosts Caleb Bond and Liz Storer to discuss the plan to limit the public from visiting the area. “The latest place to now be banned from public without permission is Lake Eyre, where the local Indigenous community have claimed that it’s sacred and has cultural significance,” says Mr Macpherson. “The National Parks and Wildlife services have agreed and so they’ve made a draft management plan that would require all visitors to Lake Eyre to get permission from the local Indigenous community before entering the lake or setting foot on it. “Helpfully, the National Parks and Wildlife services have said you will be allowed to fly over it without permission.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says a push for increased penalties for knife crime is a “knee jerk reaction”. NSW Police have called for tougher knife crime penalties, including penalties for parents who allow their children to carry them. NSW Premier Chris Minns has considered looking at existing legislation to see if potential changes could prevent attacks. “How are they going to decide whether or not parents have allowed children to carry a knife?” Mr Bond said. “What is this achieving except to be a knee jerk reaction to a tragic but rare event that we saw in Sydney last week?”

Questions have been raised over who former US president Donald Trump may choose to be his vice president ahead of the nation’s election. Sky News contributor Kosha Gada says Mr Trump is “notorious” for being unpredictable in politics and that it’s “anybody’s guess” for who would be chosen. “I would think of it in a few categories – so there are some of these moderate Republicans that have sort of come home to him or come in his direction, people like Nancy Mace, Elise Stefanik, JD Vance … who are all sort of critical or even moderate to him years ago but over the course of the past three to four years have really actually come out as strong supporters of him. “The other category is the conservative firebrands like Vivek Ramaswamy who made a name for himself in the primary Kari Lake from Arizona. “Tucker Carlson’s name has been floated out there – you know the former Fox News host who has a huge audience.”

Why we can’t take Labor’s word on the budget, Labor is ignoring people who need help, Queensland election will come down to crime issue. Plus, remember when Labor promised transparency?   See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Sky News host Caleb Bond says the upcoming federal election could spell “interesting and dangerous times” for the Labor Party after two new polls. In The Australian’s latest Newspoll survey, Peter Dutton is shrinking the gap on the better PM poll – increasing a point to 35 per cent with Anthony Albanese remaining unchanged at 48 per cent. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Resolve Political Monitor found Labor’s primary vote had reduced by two points to 30 per cent while support for the Coalition increased by one point to 36 per cent. “I don’t suspect that they are staring down the barrel of a loss but what they are very much looking at is minority government,” Mr Bond said. “Then you start talking about – well, do we go into power with the Greens? Do we go into power with the Teals?”

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says new industrial relations changes would allow unions to “force” employers to pay for delegates’ rights. A new proposal would see union delegates spend as much time on union business as the job that employers pay them to do. This comes as part of a push from the Mining and Energy Union. “That means that if a union delegate wants to do training, they can do up to five days training on whatever they like, wherever they like,” Ms Constable said. “Whatever the union delegate wants to do, the employer is going to have to pay for it.”

The next federal election will come down to the cost of living crisis, according to Sky News host Paul Murray. His remarks follow the release of the latest Newspoll and the Resolve poll. “It’s all down to cost of living,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “Same polls show 55 per cent of people – that’s higher than it was 12 months ago – don’t have enough money in the bank to pay for a big bill. “Yet Grim Jim’s out there running around today saying ‘tax cuts will help’ – they’re $15 a week mate, it’s too little, too late.”

Sky News host Peta Credlin says polls out today show preferences are settling into a “trend” with Labor trailing the Coalition. “We will start with the … polls out today,” told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “The first of course is the most watched, that is Newspoll, it has got Labor trailing the Coalition by five points. “We saw it on primary, now, this is settling into a bit of a trend, the Coalition has been leading on primary for the past six months. “On two-party preferred that gap has narrowed now to just two points.”

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled countries are violating the rights of citizens if its climate policies are not strong enough. Geologist Ian Plimer says the decision by the ECHR is “absolute madness”. “Firstly, the court should be able to show that carbon dioxide drives global warming – that’s never been done,” he told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “The second thing is they should be able to show that human emissions of carbon dioxide drive global warming – that’s never been done. “The third thing is the court should have shown that warming is actually not good for your health.”

GT Communications’ Gemma Tognini says the technology behind electric vehicles is “not all it's cracked up to be”. Tesla is in financial trouble with plans to lay off more than 10 per cent of its workforce, after a fall in electric vehicle sales. “It is flawed, the infrastructure here is undercooked,” Ms Tognini said. “Let’s not pretend that the fossil fuels and the minerals that go into a Tesla are generated ethically or in a green manner. “Because they are not.”

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman says the Online Safety Act is important because “we can’t trust” social media companies. Mr Coleman’s remarks come as X refuses to obey the Australian eSafety commissioner’s takedown order of graphic footage. “We gave her very significant powers in the Online Safety Act for precisely this kind of situation when we are in government,” he told Sky News Australia. “It is as plain as your hand in front of your face – we can’t trust social media companies. “That’s why the Online Safety Act is so important.”

A new study has revealed daily habits and routines can lead to cognitive decline, says Neuroscience Research Australia Director Professor Matthew Kiernan. “The brain is really a dynamic network,” he told Sky News Australia. “It likes being challenged. “The more that you can challenge it with new tasks (and) new experiences, the more that it functions at an optimal level. “As Professor Ray Dolan, who was the lead scientist behind the study, suggested, the more that you can challenge yourself, for instance, just taking a new way home from work, new tasks, the better the brain will function.”

US House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing criticism from fellow party members after pushing for aid to Ukraine. Despite threats to oust him from the position, his allies are confident he’ll hold onto the job. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene doubled down on her push to take down the US House Speaker following his decision to bring a vote on aid to Ukraine. “Mike Johnson’s speakership is over. He needs to do the right thing to resign,” she said. “If he doesn’t do so, he will be vacated.”

The New South Wales government is on track to lose its Triple A credit rating due to the latest GST spread. Australia’s most populous state will lose $11.9 billion over four years, while other states will see an increase. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey argues the move will cause the state to lose more revenue than the pandemic. New South Wales is one of only 21 sub-national governments worldwide to still maintain a premium credit rating. Treasurer Jim Chalmers believes it’s natural for New South Wales to seek more support. “We need to all recognise collectively state and territory treasurers of both political persuasions and federally, we all got pressures on our budget, we’ve all got to manage that,” Mr Chalmers said. “It’s not unprecedented for a state treasurer to want more money from the Commonwealth or to point the finger at the Commonwealth.”

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman says it seems like it’s “common sense” for nuclear to be part of Australia’s energy mix. Mr Coleman joined Sky News Australia to discuss the future of power in the country. He highlighted the importance of using existing infrastructure for nuclear power stations. “You’ve already got the poles and wires; you’ve already got the infrastructure running to those locations,” he said. “It seems to me that it’s common sense for nuclear to be part of our mix.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud says wind turbines and solar panels “destroy” the natural environment they are “there to protect”. Opposition leader Peter Dutton is being criticised for delaying the release of his nuclear energy policy. The Coalition was set to unveil the full details of its nuclear plans before the May Budget. “You’re actually asking for less pushback and less impact on the community because you take away the 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines because you’re plugging it into where existing power stations are,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia. “The footprint of a nuclear power plant is a matter of hectares, not hundreds of thousands of hectares in individual regions to actually put wind turbines and solar panels up that are destroying the very thing that they’re there to protect – the actual natural environment.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud says an “all-renewables approach” will be “detrimental” to Australia. Opposition leader Peter Dutton is being criticised for delaying the release of his nuclear energy policy. The Coalition was set to unveil the full details of its nuclear plans before the May Budget. “This is a complex piece, as you’ve just articulated – this is a big shift in policy, one that we need to bring the Australian people with us on,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia. “We need to be able to demonstrate about making sure that an all-renewables approach is going to be detrimental to this country – makes us more vulnerable.”