6 days ago
Australia news live: Tasmania budget to tackle cost of joining AFL as treasurer ponders privatisations
Update:
Date: 2025-05-28T20:30:07.000Z
Title: Welcome
Content: Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer, bringing you the best early stories and then your morning blogger will take over.
It's official – working from home is not to blame for the sharp drop in productivity in the wake of the pandemic, according to a report by the Productivity Commission today. Instead the commission points out that because people generally worked fewer hours during the lockdowns, when everybody started going back into the office when the pandemic ended productivity fell.
Rising debt, the ferry debacle and the ongoing question of a new AFL stadium hang over Tasmania's finances as the Liberal government hands down the state budget this morning. Forecasts show the deficit could blow out to nearly $10bn by 2027/28, meaning that asset sales could be on the cards. We have more details coming up.
A nine-year-old girl raised the alarm before a married couple was found dead by police with gunshot wounds inside a home in Cairns. The child alerted a family member who called police, with officers later discovering the 'traumatising' scene. More coming up.
