Good morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Tuesday, May 19. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage this morning. Here’s what is making news today.Jim Chalmers’ fifth federal budget handed down last week was the worst-received economic statement since this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor began tracking voter perceptions of the budget in May 2021. Just 24 per cent of people polled following last Tuesday’s budget agreed with the proposition that the policies announced this year would be
“good” or “very good” for them and their household.The World Health Organisation has sent 4.7 tonnes of aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo to address the Ebola outbreak it has declared a public health emergency of international concern. US President Donald Trump says he is holding off on a military strike on Iran that had been planned for Tuesday (Washington time) because “serious negotiations” are underway. Trump did not offer details about the planned attack but said in a social media post on Monday
that he had instructed the US military “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”Overnight, the IDF intercepted an activist flotilla in international waters off Cyprus, halting the latest attempt to challenge a naval blockade of Gaza and draw attention to the grim living conditions for Palestinians in the war-battered coastal territory.And a specialist team has located the bodies of four missing Italian scuba divers
who died in an accident in underwater caves, Maldives officials said this morning. It is believed the bodies were found deep inside an underwater cave in a Maldive atoll.Latest PostsWashington: US President Donald Trump said he is holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday because “serious negotiations” are underway.Trump did not offer details about the planned attack but said in a social media post on Monday (Washington time) that he had instructed the US military “to be prepared to go forward
with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”President Donald Trump.AP Photo/Mark SchiefelbeinThe president had not previously disclosed that he was planning a strike for May 19, but over the weekend he warned, “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.” Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire struck in mid-April could end if Iran did not strike
a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement.Trump said in his social media post that he was calling off the planned strike at the request of allies in the Middle East, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.APJim Chalmers’ fifth federal budget handed down last week was the worst-received economic statement since the Resolve Political Monitor began tracking voter perceptions of the budget in May 2021.Just 24 per
cent of people polled following last Tuesday’s budget agreed with the proposition that the policies announced this year would be “good” or “very good” for them and their household, while 35 per cent of people said it would be “poor” or “very poor”, and 41 per cent of voters said they were unsure or neutral over the document.That contrasts unfavourably with the five previous budgets tracked by Resolve, with Josh Frydenberg’s March 2022 budget and Chalmers’ May 2024 budget both registering overall ratings of 40
per cent in favour.About 35 per cent of voters said the May 2021 budget was “good” or “very good” for them and their households, while the budgets of October 2022 and March 2025 both registered scores of 28 per cent.Good morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Tuesday, May 19. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage this morning. Here’s what is making news today.Jim Chalmers’ fifth federal budget handed down last week was the worst-received economic statement
since this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor began tracking voter perceptions of the budget in May 2021. Just 24 per cent of people polled following last Tuesday’s budget agreed with the proposition that the policies announced this year would be “good” or “very good” for them and their household.The World Health Organisation has sent 4.7 tonnes of aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo to address the Ebola outbreak it has declared a public health emergency of international concern. US President Donald Trump says he is
holding off on a military strike on Iran that had been planned for Tuesday (Washington time) because “serious negotiations” are underway. Trump did not offer details about the planned attack but said in a social media post on Monday that he had instructed the US military “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”Overnight, the IDF intercepted an activist flotilla in international waters off Cyprus,
halting the latest attempt to challenge a naval blockade of Gaza and draw attention to the grim living conditions for Palestinians in the war-battered coastal territory.And a specialist team has located the bodies of four missing Italian scuba divers who died in an accident in underwater caves, Maldives officials said this morning. It is believed the bodies were found deep inside an underwater cave in a Maldive atoll.
Australia budget poll Resolve Political Monitor, Jim Chalmers, Ebola Democratic Republic of Congo, WHO 4.7 tonnes aid, Donald Trump Iran strike negotiations, IDF flotilla Cyprus, Gaza blockade, Maldives scuba divers bodies found
Ebola hits 110?? that number just sounds made up honestly.
Only 24% liked the budget and now they act surprised. Like what did they think was gonna happen, people don’t get free money lol. Also why is it always “good or very good,” that’s such a weird question.
Wait so the budget is the “worst received” since 2021 but they’re just polling like once? That’s not a real metric. And “Ebola hits 110” I thought Ebola was mostly in Africa not like spreading like that everywhere. Maybe it’s counting suspicious cases or something.
IDF stopped a flotilla off Cyprus and everybody’s talking like that’s normal now, meanwhile my feed is just full of that Iran strike stuff. Trump saying “prepared on a moment’s notice” is so scary like what if negotiations fail? And the scuba divers in the Maldives… underwater caves are one thing but “found deep inside an underwater cave” makes it sound like a movie. I don’t know, whole news day feels cursed.