Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Donna Demaio: Australia Correspondent on the boost to defence spending expected in Labor's budget

Transcript

Donna Demaio: Australia Correspondent on the boost to defence spending expected in Labor's budget · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We're off to Australia. Done and Toamaya. Good morning to you,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you. We are counting down to the
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: federal budget. What's been happening.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, we're down to the next few hours and
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: then it's being handed down by the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: It's his fourth budget tonight. It's particularly important, as you
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: can imagine, because of the looming federal election. Of course,
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: we don't know the date yet of the election, but
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: it can't be later than May seventeen. But a budget
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: can certainly influence voters. Some things we know already one
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: point two billion dollars for the cleanup bill post x cyclone. Alfred.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: I've also had the PM hinting that there could be
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: support for the local steel and aluminum industry facing those
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: twenty five percent tariffs imposed by the US. There could
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: be some help to reduce student debt. There's going to
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: be extra childcare funding, some bill subsidies because we know
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: all about the pressures of the cost of living, education
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: boost for Queensland. There's also women's health services funding boosts.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: And interestingly, I thought we hear that Labour's going to
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: make its biggest defense spending increase since World War II,
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: bringing forward one billion dollars in defense spending. And that's
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: obviously to boost our military capability.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: You need to set the military on those fire ants
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: in Queensland.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, dear May, the Queensdake government has announced extra funding
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: to help tackle invasive fire ants. Would you believe this
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: month alone, sixty people have reported extreme reactions to fire
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: ant stings and twenty three people had to be hospitalized.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: And well, we're hearing that residence of Queensland. They're effectively
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: under assault from these fire ants on farms in backyards
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: and we know that six months ago the previous government said,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: well people had to take responsibility for controlling the pets.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Well now we've heard from the current government they're going
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: to spend an extra twenty four million dollars over the
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: next two years to try to control them. That makes
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: it sixty one million dollars to try to take care
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: of these fire ants which can travel five kilometers in
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: one single flight. They damage crops, they eat seeds, and
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: of course there's painful stings that sadly can lead to
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: allergic reactions, anaphylaxis even and possibly death in some cases.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: So they're saying that if they don't take care of
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: this situation, at the cost of the economy could be
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: billions of dollars over the next several years.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Evil little biggers here those bites. I mean, that's why
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: they call fire ants. It stings like fire. And I
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: thank you Donald Demio for more from Early Edition with
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge. Listen live to News Talks it Be from
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.