Seven schools in Sydney have been identified for precautionary asbestos testing, the number of homes razed by fierce bushfires in western Victoria has risen to 44, It's been revealed landlords are spying on renters, a cyclone watch in place for the Northern Territory has officially been upgraded to a cyclone warning, Donald Trump will stand trial next month accused of falsifying bank records, Red Bull racing boss Christian Horner says allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him are 'a distraction', and Taylor Swift's first concert begins in Melbourne tonight.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has slammed Labor for always putting “defence last” and “ripping out” $1.5 billion under the Albanese government despite increasing spending across the economy by $209 billion. “It’s clear that Labor always puts defence last,” Mr Dutton said at a press conference in Adelaide on Friday. “They’ve always got an area to spend money, and defence becomes the piggybank for a Labor government that can’t manage the economy. “We know that in 18 months, the Labor government spent an extra $209 billion, but defence has had money taken out of it. “A billion and a half dollars has been ripped out under Labor, and there’s a human cost to that because people in South Australia will lose their jobs under the Albanese government.”

The woman killed during the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade in the US has been identified as a local radio host. 43-year-old Lisa Lopez-Galvan was a host for local Kansas City station KKFI. Thousands of people gathered in downtown Kansas City for the celebratory parade and rally after the Chiefs' Super Bowl win. 22 attendees, including eight children, were injured in the shooting at the end of the parade. Three people have been detained for questioning. No motive has been identified yet.

Independent MP Zali Steggall and Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie have clashed over whether Australia should adopt nuclear power, with Steggall calling McKenzie’s arguments “rubbish”. Opposition Energy Spokesman Ted O’Brien has said if Australia was open to nuclear, Liddell could be used to install four 300-megawatt small modular reactors or one 1.1 gigawatts larger reactor. “Complete unicorn and just absolute make-believe that Bridget and the Coalition are in,” Ms Stegall told Sky News Australia. “We have to transition to modern-day technology, and for Australia, it is simply not nuclear, and the Coalition seem unable to acknowledge that. “They simply are trying to delay the transition to renewable, which must occur between now and 2035.”

Network outages have affected six different banks across Australia. Customers from People’s Choice, Defence Bank and Ubank started to experience issues early yesterday morning. Bank Australia, Beyond Bank and P&N Bank were also affected. Some customers have been told to take care when making payments. The major banks are unaffected by the outage.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has revealed his predecessor spent more than half a million dollars on polling during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is understood former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk surveyed Queenslanders between 2020 and 2022 on her tight border policies. She has previously denied conducting the polling. Ms Palaszczuk claimed her government was only taking advice from health experts despite contracting pollster Ipsos. The state government charged the pollster with uncovering Queenslanders' thoughts on how restrictions should be eased.

Tens of thousands of Victorians remain without power following severe storms in the state’s southeast. AusNet says around 500 crews are working to restore power to most areas by Saturday evening; however, some properties may not be reconnected to the grid for nearly a week. According to the Herald Sun, some urgent triple-zero callers on Tuesday were forced to wait up to six minutes as the service issued a plea for help to off-duty staff. Premier Jacinta Allan says repairs were impacted by safety concerns, and closed roads from fallen trees. “We also do want to acknowledge that there is going to be a smaller number who are going to be impacted for a longer period of time,” she said. “We are looking at how we can get in and provide support for those communities that are going to be affected for longer.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says having S plates on cars driven by seniors would be for everyone’s “safety”. There are calls for S plates to be displayed for senior drivers in addition to the already existing L and P plates. Ms Storer said the senior driver’s plate would be an “opt in” and not a requirement. “We’re talking about everyday seniors who are still on the road. “And would like to let people know, ‘hey be a little bit more patient with me’.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says the elderly are “more likely to die on the road” than anyone else. Mr Bond said there has been suggestions raised on having S plates for senior drivers to “point out” their age. “The idea of putting an S plate on someone’s car to say that they are a senior, I think is discriminatory. “We are one of the only places in the world that actually has P plates for provisional drivers. “If you mark it with an S plate, it will actually make people more encouraged to get angry.”

American millionaire spends $2 million per year in the hopes to stave off “death”, Sky News host James Macpherson says. “100 tablets every single day,” Mr Macpherson said. “He gets regular blood transfusions from younger people. “Including his 18-year-old son, and he has got a team of 30 doctors and clinicians – measure every aspect of his life. “This is at a cost of $2 million a year all in the hope of staving off death.”

An American millionaire follows a strict blueprint in the belief he can “reverse the ageing process”, Sky News host James Macpherson says. “How far would you be prepared to go in order to never die,” Mr Macpherson said. “Would you even want to live forever? “An American millionaire who has been following a strict blueprint he believes can reverse the ageing process. “46 years old but he dreams of being 18 again.”

Western Australian real estate agent Tony Maddox faces jail under the “abused” Aboriginal heritage laws after building a bridge over a creek on his property. Sky News Australia host Andrew Bolt said the Aboriginal heritage laws were being used to defend what in his opinion is “the imaginary”. “Tony is a real estate agent in Toodyay, north-east of Perth, and he decided to build a bridge over the tiny creek at the front of his property that kept washing away the path," he said. ”And while he was at it, he added bit of a pond which was quite nice. “Little did he know that he was angering the Rainbow Serpent that nobody has ever seen.”

The government spending $40 million on an ad campaign for tax cut changes is part of a “much bigger issue” surrounding the cost of living, IPA Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild says. “This has always been political and the evidence for that is growing by the day,” told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “This spending campaign – the issue here the government has is that the broken promise looks political. “Now they are backing it in with publicly funded advertising. “This gets to a much bigger issue as well – these tax cuts are one very small part of a bigger cost-of-living challenge.”

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson says the Labor government is using the school curriculum to “indoctrinate children”. Ms Henderson told Sky News host Peta Credlin that they should be focussing on “educating them”. “Get back to basics, focus on improving our literacy and numeracy. “The standards are just not good enough in our country. “We don’t want activism in the classroom.”

Sky News host Rita Panahi has slammed a new “genocidal chant” by “anti-Israeli” protesters at Columbia University. More than 500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators turned out for the “All Out for Palestine” protest on February 2. Students poured fake blood around the university as they screamed: “We don’t want two states. We want all of it”. Ms Panahi said the protesters sound “a lot more clear” in wanting to wipe out Israel. “Where does that leave the Jews? As a smart woman once said, when people show you who they are, believe them,” she said.

Sky News host James Morrow says the latest employment figures are a “big warning bell” for the government. The unemployment rate rose further, more than expected, in January, jumping to 4.1 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. “It’s not good,” Mr Morrow told Sky News host Rita Panahi. Mr Morrow said bank economists see the “softening” employment market continuing. “The pressures are really starting to show,” he said.

Sky News host Peta Credlin has called for stronger observation into who is eligible for the NDIS and what they are eligible for as it appears the scheme is a “massive racket”. One website Care2Cruise, describes itself as "a service provider dedicated to offering short-term accommodation, on cruise ship journeys, to participants of the NDIS". Some of the cruises offered to NDIS participants included one called Melbourne Cup Splender with an "adult-only retreat". Ms Credlin said she is all in favour of people with serious disabilities getting support but questioned why the taxpayer should be subsidising people's holidays. “Last year, of participants under 14, fewer than just two per cent left. Why would anyone leave anyway given what's available?” she said.

Health Minister Mark Butler says the Albanese government’s tax cuts will build on all the other measures put in place to make it “cheaper and easier” to see a doctor in Dunkley. Mr Butler was asked during Question Time on Thursday how the Labor government’s tax cuts will help healthcare workers keep more of what they earn. “These bigger, better tax cuts from the Treasurer and Prime Minister build on all of the other measures that we’ve been putting in place to make it cheaper and make it easier to see a doctor in Dunkley,” he said. “Like the Frankston urgent care clinic that has already seen 11,000 patients fully bulk-billed. “Or the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive delivered in last year’s budget.”

Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Jacinta Price has called for an inquiry into the government's Indigenous spending. Ms Price questioned where the Albanese government's $250 million that they put last year to support the crisis in central Australia was invested. "Very little seems to have been done," Ms Price told Sky News Australia. "Nothing has been done in terms of supporting the school that takes care of our most marginalised kids. "What I'm calling for and what I continue to call for is an inquiry into the way money is being spent. "We have a massive Aboriginal industry that is being built on the backs of the misery of our most marginalised. "We have a Closing the Gap report that comes out every year that reports failings."

GB News presenter Darren Grimes has called out The Body Shop for focusing on “whackery and wokery” over sales and customer service following reports the beauty business was going into administration. Administrators will reportedly focus on reducing its costs as up to 200 stores face a risk of closing. The Body Shop came under fire in 2020 after implying author JK Rowling needed to educate herself on transgender rights. “I actually think this goes to show the commercial curse of being woke, a woke joke, it struck again,” he told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “We saw this with Bud Light, we saw this with so many other of these woke corporates that are focused on the wrong priorities, and it comes back to bite them on the behind.”