Key posts
- Australians drained $38 billion of their super in the pandemic
- Storm with power of entire hurricane season kills 308 in Africa
- US says drone hit shows Russia’s aggression
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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Australians drained $38 billion of their super in the pandemic
More than 2.6 million Australians raced to drain their superannuation accounts under the Morrison government’s $38 billion COVID early release stimulus program, using the money to gamble and buy furniture and takeaway meals.
Up to a quarter of applicants emptied their accounts within days of the program’s start.
Then-prime minister Scott Morrison announced the superannuation withdrawal policy in March 2020.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The first study of the COVID-era scheme found spending on gambling alone jumped by almost $300 among those who accessed it.
Users of the scheme withdrew more than $1000 from ATMs despite the use of cash crashing during early lockdowns.
Read more on this issue here.
Storm with power of entire hurricane season kills 308 in Africa
Malawi raised the death toll from floods triggered by Cyclone Freddy, potentially the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded, as the storm continued to dump rain on the southern African nation.
At least 255 people died and 88,312 others have been forced to flee their homes, the country’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs said in an emailed statement.
People cross a raging river in Blantyre, Malawi.Credit:AP
Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe told reporters earlier this week he will have to reconfigure the annual budget he presented to parliament two weeks ago because of the damage wrought by the storm.
In neighbouring Mozambique, at least 53 people have died and 49,000 have been displaced, President Filipe Nyusi said in a televised address yesterday.
The storm has destroyed 27,000 homes, impacted 3,908 kilometres of roads, and 66,417 hectares of farmland.
The nation’s meteorological agency warned of continuing heavy rain through areas that are already flooded.
Bloomberg
US says drone hit shows Russia’s aggression
Russia and the United States are ratcheting up confrontational rhetoric over a US surveillance drone that encountered Russian warplanes and crashed near the Crimean Peninsula, while both countries pledged to try to avoid escalation.
The Kremlin said the incident proved again that Washington is directly involved in the fighting and added that Moscow would try to recover the wreckage of the drone from the Black Sea.
US officials said the incident showed Russia’s aggressive and risky behaviour and pledged to continue their surveillance.
Russia has long voiced concern about US surveillance flights near its borders, but the incident signalled Moscow’s increasing readiness to raise the ante amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear powers.
More on the incident is available here courtesy our world desk.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for joining me.
It’s Thursday, March 16. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating slammed the AUKUS submarine deal as the “worst deal in all history”, drawing condemnation from his party with some MPs calling him out of touch. Later today former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will speak about the defence agreement.
- Victoria, Queensland and South Australia are among the states pushing back against storing radioactive waste from the nuclear-powered submarines on their land as the federal government starts looking for a site.
- During the pandemic, more than 2.6 million Australians drained their superannuation accounts, under the Morrison government’s early release stimulus program.
- The working group for the Voice to parliament will meet in Adelaide today before releasing their final advice.
- In overseas news, Russia and the United States are ratcheting up confrontational rhetoric over a US surveillance drone that encountered Russian warplanes and crashed.
- And Cyclone Freddy has killed hundreds, with up to 255 people dead and 88,312 others have been forced to flee their homes in Malawi alone.
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