Sky News host Paul Murray has slammed Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s “war on utes” as the minister’s big car plan appears worse than expected. “It is the war on utes,” Mr Murray said. “The attempt for people at the front end of the plane to tell the people at the back end of the plane what they must drive. “Despite the fact that twice as many utes were being sold as the number one and number two sold cars in the country than the number three or number four. “Chris Bowen says ‘there’s no ban on these things’ but of course, he’s putting a system in place that means no one will be able to sell them.”

Australia’s Navy should be much larger and “more lethal” by 2040 following the government’s $11.1 billion increase in Defence funding, according to Sky News host Peta Credlin. The Royal Australian Navy, after the completion of the additional vessels, will hold three Hobart class air warfare destroyers, six Hunter class frigates (reduced from nine), 11 new ‘off-the-shelf design’ general purpose frigates and six new large optionally crewed surface vessels to boost the long-range strike capacity, which also have autonomous capabilities. The last of the Hunter class frigates will be completed and fit for service by the end of 2043. Ms Credlin welcomed the announcement but said it has been “far too slow coming”. “Let's hope the communists in Beijing are prepared to wait that long for Australia to be ready,” she said.

Association of Mining and Exploration Companies CEO Warren Pearce says the “door is open” for government support in the nickel industry. The price of nickel collapsing as well as mine closures have resulted in the mining industry warning that thousands of jobs could be lost, mostly in Western Australia. “Thes state government’s already stepped in to provide what relief it can,” he told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “But ultimately that’s always going to require other support at the Commonwealth” “The Prime Minister this week has said he intends to extend that support to the nickel industry.”

Radio 2CC host Stephen Cenatiempo says Labor needs to show a “strong hand” on border security because Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has a history of saying “lots of things” which don’t happen. “Let’s remember he also said he was going to bring our energy cost down by $275 a year,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “He was also going to bring down the cost of living. “Albo says a lot of things that don’t actually happen. “We need to show a strong hand.”

ANU National Security College’s Jennifer Parker says it’s been a “pretty significant” day for the Navy due to cost blowouts in building frigates reaching almost $20 billion. Ms Parker joined Sky News Australia to discuss the latest cost blowouts for Australia’s defence. “So what we get for it is the largest surface combatant fleet consisting of eight ANZAC-class frigates which are ageing and three Hobart-class air warfare destroyers,” she said. “Now the ANZAC class were meant to replace by the Hunter-class frigate announced in 2018 – nine of those. “Today’s announced that the Hunter-class frigate program which has had a number of troubles will be reduced from nine to six, and we will actually get 11 general-purpose frigates.”

Sky News host Chris Kenny says the federal government has handed down its “long awaited” review of Australia’s naval fleet. Mr Kenny said it is committing to “double” the number of warships. The warship fleet will increase from 11 ships all the way to 20. The new surface fleet strategy will cost $11.1 billion over a decade. “Many experts say it’s too little too late,” he said.

Experts will lead an inquiry into Victoria’s power crisis that forced more than half a million homes and businesses into darkness. Under pressure from the state Opposition and consumers, the Allan government will launch a major inquiry into energy transmission and reliability. “We will take our advice on these matters from experts, not the same Liberal Party who privatised our transmission lines, our power stations, the distribution businesses,” Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said. The investigation will run concurrently with an Energy Safe Victoria investigation into the collapse of transmission towers in Anakie, north of Geelong. More than 2,000 properties are still disconnected after last week’s storm.

Greens Defence Spokesperson David Shoebridge has criticised the Albanese government’s “credibility” as they say there’s a five-year window to get the Defence Force up and running, whereas the strategic review talks about the 2040s. The new surface fleet strategy announced by Defence Minister Richard Marles on Tuesday will cost $11.1 billion over a decade. It increases the number of surface combatants from 11 to 26, but the six optionally crewed vessels are yet to be developed. “If you accept the government’s rhetoric, and I think there’s a lot of reasons to challenge it … they say there’s a five-year window to get Australia’s Defence Force up and running,” Mr Shoebridge told Sky News Australia. “This surface fleet review talks about having something done by the mid to late 2040s. “You can’t say both things at the same time and be credible.”

Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie says the main concern he has about the government’s new surface fleet strategy is we won’t see a new ship in the water until 2031. “The Defence Minister today announced that the Anzac frigate, HMAS Anzac would be retired, and we won’t see a replacement until 2031,” Mr Hastie told Sky News Australia. “So whilst he could announce today $11 billion over the next decade there’s only $1.7 billion over the forward estimates. “What I think is clear here is that Richard Marles went to … cabinet and he lost. “He lost against Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Jim Chalmers, and I think the real question he should be asking is what can he fix by 2026.”

Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson has blasted the Albanese government for their “cut of $600 million” to Border Force over the next four years, which are figures that come from “their own budget papers”. Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram has dismissed fears of a cut to the agency’s funding after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton launched an attack on the Albanese government for cutting its funding and leaving Australia vulnerable to asylum seekers. “They come from the Budget papers – and the government’s argument is not with the Opposition, it is with their own Budget papers,” Mr Paterson told Sky News Australia. “The actual spend for the 2022/23 financial year was $1.225 billion; planned spend for the 2023/24 financial year … was $1.197 billion, so it’s a cut of about $28 million. “Cumulatively, if you add that up over the next four years, that’s a cut of $600 million.”

Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie says the Coalition welcomes the ambition of the government's new surface fleet strategy but wants to "see real action this decade". “And I think that’s the problem with this Labor government, they’re not serious about national security," Mr Hastie told Sky News Australia. “Ever since the Defence Strategic Review was handed down last year … we’ve seen no new money; we’ve seen cuts to capability; and we’ve seen inflation eating into the defence budget. “So this $1.7 billion over the forward estimates is a drop in the ocean really. “And we’re not seeing the sort of commitment from this government to remedying the challenges that are facing the Defence Force that we really need.”

Sky News host James Macpherson has slammed the Albanese government for turning Border Force into “Border Farce” and for giving Australians a “non-existent” confidence in Operation Sovereign Borders. On Friday, around 40 men from Pakistan and Bangladesh were discovered near a small Indigenous community in Western Australia. “It’s taken 18 months for the Albanese government to turn Border Force into Border Farce,” Mr Macpherson said. “As I understand it, they think there were two boats – they’re not exactly sure how many boats actually arrived. “Not only that, but it was the Indigenous community that informed Border Force where these people made land, where they were camping for four days … so people smugglers clearly have about as much confidence in the government’s Border Force protection as we do – they know it’s pretty much non-existent.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has threatened to “take planning powers” from councils to ensure the state gets density around public transport infrastructure if they can’t get “genuine progress” towards housing. In January, Minns said the state will not meet its housing target of 75,000 new homes in 2024, which is part of a broader plan to build 1.2 million new homes across Australia over the next five years. “Unless we can get genuine progress towards housing, in particular zones, particularly around public transport, then the government will go ahead, take those planning powers over, and ensure we get density around public transport infrastructure,” Mr Minns told Sky News Australia. “During the period between when the national agreement was signed and a couple of weeks ago, the number of councils that came to the state government and said, here’s our plan for density in our community was one – one out of 130. “We’re getting some genuine all of sudden because the Minister for Planning, Paul Scully’s, come to the table and said unless you move, we’re going to take over, and I think that’s the right call given the crisis we’re facing.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says while his government is going to “do everything it can” to remove barriers to build more housing, they “need to do more” to meet targets. In January, Minns said the state will not meet its housing target of 75,000 new homes in 2024, which is part of a broader plan to build 1.2 million new homes across Australia over the next five years. “The New South Wales government is going to do everything it can to remove barriers so that we can lift the amount of houses that will be built, so that young people can have a future in a city like Sydney,” Mr Minns told Sky News Australia. “We want to get to the average of 70,000 a year so that we can meet the federal government’s target. “Last year, NSW produced 48,000 dwellings … on a per capita basis, we’re last in Australia, notwithstanding the fact that we’ve got the most pressing and most difficult housing challenges. “We need to do more.”

The government set to deliver a major border security funding package in May, Queensland's Police Commissioner reveals she may no longer continue in her role, four people injured in a lightning strike in Sydney, Victoria's stamp duty the highest in Australia, the Biden administration set to delay the US' switch to electric vehicles, and Alexei Navalny's widow claims her husband was killed with poison. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s world is crumbling around them. After years of family drama and career failures, the couple's reputation and careers are at rock bottom. Sky News All Stars James Macpherson, Kinsey Schoefield and Russell Myers take a look at where Meghan and Harry are now and if they’ll ever rebuild their shattered lives.

CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski discusses how the Chinese stock markets are faring after the Lunar New Year break. “Yesterday we saw the reopening of the Chinese market following the Lunar Year break,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. “There were some underwhelming notes in relation to what was struck there on a couple of key measures of their activity levels. “Which is part of the reason why iron ore prices fell by more than three per cent in the last day.” Presented by CommSec.

Three frigates are set to be axed from Adelaide’s Hunter warship build as part of a major restructuring of the Australian Navy. The Defence Minister will release a long-awaited response to a review of the Navy’s surface fleet today. It will reveal the cost of building the original nine frigates has blown out by almost $20 billion. To make up for the reduction in frigates, a new fleet of next-generation air warfare destroyers will be built. They are aimed at countering threats posed by China.

A woman has died in a head-on collision with another car on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Emergency services were called to Wakehurst Parkway in Narrabeen around 4:30pm Monday. The 31-year-old woman died at the scene. The 51-year-old male driver of the other vehicle was not injured. Police are preparing a report for the coroner.

An Australian engineer is leading the race to build the world’s first artificial heart. Dr Daniel Timms has created a levitating titanium heart, which is on track to be tested on humans later this year in the US. The federal government will today announce a $50 million investment in the program. The program aims to find an alternative to organ donation. The titanium heart weighs roughly 600 grams and operates by magnetic force to keep fluid circulating.