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.”

The fact that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s popularity is still “highly unsatisfactory” will be “worrying” for Labor, says former Howard government minister Peter McGauran. Mr McGauran’s remarks follow the latest Newspoll results. “He got rid of a lot of the barnacles affecting the government’s standing,” Mr McGauran told Sky News Australia. “They thought they could start to begin to recover now. “The fact that they’re still in the doldrums, the Opposition are competitive even though the government’s got its nose in front, and the Prime Minister’s popularity is still highly unsatisfactory, will be worrying for them.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud says Australia should “back ourselves as a country” by using “reliable, cheap energy” like nuclear. The latest Newspoll suggests voters are backing the Albanese government’s plans for renewable energy projects and sovereign manufacturing. Labor is ahead in the two-party preferred vote 51 to 49 per cent. “Even in The Australian poll where they’re trying to say that the Australian people have given a tick to Albanese’s plan about manufacturing solar panels, giving subsidies for that, the question goes to the heart of do they want manufacturing in this country,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia. “We all do, but how it’s sustainable isn’t through giving subsidies that the Australian taxpayer can only afford for a certain amount of time; it’s actually setting the fundamentals to underpin that, which is reliable cheap energy … which nuclear energy can provide the manufacturing sector. “There’s a clear difference between ourselves and Labor, and polls are showing that Australian people are more and more open to understanding that there is a technological solution. “We should back ourselves as a country.”

Tech Council of Australia Acting Chief Executive Ryan Black has outlined AI’s potential to boost the economy by $115 billion a year by 2030 in his pre-budget submission. Mr Black believes this is possible through countering the “60-year low” in Australian productivity growth. However, there are concerns this AI boost will replace jobs. Mr Black told Sky News Australia that there is no cause for concern as “AI augments jobs rather than replaces jobs”. “It automates tasks within a job,” he added. “It allows them [workers] to focus more on the high-value aspects of their job.”

Katherine Bennell-Pegg will be the first astronaut to represent Australia in space. Whilst there have been other Australian astronauts who have travelled to outer space, they have represented other nations like the US. She recently graduated from the European Space Agency in Germany. Ms Bennell-Pegg, who was raised in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, will return to Adelaide to work at the Australian Space Agency. Whilst at the Australian Space Agency, she will prepare for missions to the International Space Station and beyond.

Former US president Donald Trump is set to stand trial in New York City over hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Mr Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his alleged role in the hush money scheme prior to the 2016 Presidential election. This trial could be the first of four he will face as he also juggles his time on the campaign trail for the 2024 US Presidential election. The former US president has pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming they are politically motivated. He has criticised the process, calling it a “witch hunt”.

Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes has labelled the Albanese government as the “definition of hypocritical” after Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen called Peter Dutton a “liar” for delaying the release of his nuclear policy. 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. “It’s a pretty big call there for Chris Bowen to come out calling Peter Dutton a liar when, at no stage, did they admit the lies that they told over the changes to the stage three tax cuts,” Ms Hughes told Sky News Australia. “I mean, this government is absolutely just the definition of hypocritical.”

Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite says Opposition leader Peter Dutton “can’t be trusted” because he “can’t deliver” on his nuclear policy commitment. 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. “The Opposition leader gave a commitment and if you can’t deliver on that commitment, then he can’t be trusted,” Mr Thistlethwaite told Sky News Australia. “They’ve been spruiking this policy for about 12 months now, and the Australian people have the right to know what this policy is all about, particularly where the Coalition are planning to situate these nuclear power plants.”