TRANSCRIPT
- Final pitches delivered ahead of the US election
- Labor puts cutting student loan debts at the top of its election promise
- Hawthorn wins the McClelland Trophy and the $1 million prize money
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With only two days until the US election, the presidential candidates are delivering their final pitches to voters in battleground states.
At least 75 million Americans have already cast their ballots using early voting.
That's over 48 per cent of the total number who voted in 2020.
In a repeat of tactics used in 2020, Donald Trump has baselessly claimed the 2024 election is being stolen from him.
Republicans are already laying the ground for rejecting the result of next week’s US presidential election in the event Mr Trump loses, with early lawsuits alleging fraud.
Mr Trump told supporters in Pennsylvania; they should be ready for whatever happens.
"But it is now or never. This is it. This is the moment. We have been waiting nine years for this. And we have got two days. And we have got all this crap going on - with the press (media) and the fake stuff. And fake polls. And by the way, the polls are just as corrupt as some of the writers back there. They can make those polls sing, they can make them swing. They brag about it."
In Michigan, Vice President Kamala Harris asked worshippers to put "faith in action" with their vote.
"And here is what feeds my spirit as I travel across our beautiful nation - from state to state and church to church. I see faith in action in remarkable ways. I see a nation determined to turn the page on hatred and division - and chart a new way forward."
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Labor says cutting 20 per cent all student loan debts will be its "first thing to do" if it's re-elected for a second term.
The plan will wipe around $16 billion in student debt for around three million Australians.
Separately, Labor also promises to introduce 100 thousand fee-free TAFE places from 2027, if it wins the election.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the cut means a university graduate could see their HECS debts cut by 5,500 dollars.
"We will make it easier for young Australians to save for their future. And we are going to make the system better and fairer as well. We will raise the repayment threshold, from 54 thousand dollars up to 66 thousand dollars. We will lower the rate of repayments, and we will index both to keep them fair into the future. Now this means that if you are earning 70 thousand dollars, you will save 1,300 dollars a year in repayments."
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Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has admitted he has received a free flight upgrade from Qantas for a personal trip in 2019.
Mr Clare says he received the upgrade when he travelled from Sydney to Singapore in 2019, after recently having surgery to remove a melanoma.
The remarks come after days of speculation over a claim Prime Minister Anthony Albanese contacted former Qantas boss Alan Joyce to request free upgrades while he held the transport portfolio.
Mr Albanese has flatly denied ever soliciting a free upgrade from anyone at Qantas.
Mr Clare told Sky News, he declared the 2019 flight in his register of interests.
"That was a personal trip. And that was a situation where I had just got out of hospital. I had surgery on my leg. And yep, I asked for upgrade, and I was assisted by Qantas."
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People in Moldova have voted in a presidential election that may determine whether their future is with Europe or Russia.
Moldovans have completed their second round of voting to decide if Pro-European Union president Maia Sandu can stay in the job.
Sandu's challenger, Alexandr Stoianoglo of the pro-Russian Socialist Party, previously declined to criticise Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Mihai David is a public servant in Moldova.
He says this election will decide the future of his country.
“We're heading in the right direction, today is a crucial day for us. It is a very important day, we go one way or the other. We have not had such an important day in the last 30 years."
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Hawthorn has won the McClelland Trophy, after beating Richmond by 23 points.
The trophy is awarded to the club that has accumulated the most points across both the men’s and women’s home-and-away seasons.
The result is a remarkable turnaround from last year when Hawthorn finished 17th in the race for the trophy.
The $1 million prize for winning the trophy will be split between the two playing groups at the club - with $250,000 going to AFLW players, $250,000 to AFL players; and the remaining $500,000 to the club.
