Australia news live: Albanese announces plan to wipe fifth of all student debt if re-elected; two men arrested after grass fire in Adelaide’s north
Key events
South Australian police have charged two men following a bushfire in Adelaide’s north on Saturday afternoon.
The grass fire burnt 33 hectares at Penfield around Womma Road in Adelaide’s north which burnt several glass houses and a shed.
Three people were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
The fire is believed to have begun when a spark from an angle grinder ignited the blaze which proceeded to burn out of control.
South Australian police have arrested two men in connection with the fire and charged them which cause a bushfire being recklessly indifferent.
The last major fire to affect the agricultural was the Pinery Creek fire that threatened Gawler and the Barossa region in 2015,
The former ambassador Joe Hockey will speak with ABC Insiders host, David Speers, on Sunday morning ahead of the US election.
Coalition senator Simon Birmingham appeared on Sky News earlier on Sunday.
We will bring you all the latest as it happens.
PM pledges to cut university student debt by 20%
All Australians will have their student debt cut by 20% next financial year, as part of a major federal government overhaul designed to boost access to education and address “intergenerational unfairness”.
The change, which will be outlined by the prime minister at a campaign rally in Adelaide on Sunday, will wipe about $16bn worth of debt and is being sold as a cost-of-living measure for young Australians.
According to government figures, a university graduate with an average debt of $27,600 will save $5,520. The 20% reduction is not capped and also applies to VET loans and apprenticeship support loans.
When combined with changes to how the indexation on student loans is set, as detailed in the May budget, close to $20bn of student debt will be removed for 3 million Australians.
For more on this story, read the Guardian Australia’s full reporting here:
Good Morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Anthony Albanese has announced a plan to wipe a fifth of all student debt if his government his re-elected. The PM is expected to outline the details of the change at a campaign rally in Adelaide on Sunday, will wipe $16bn worth of debt as part of the government’s cost-of-living measures.
Two men have been arrested following a grass fire in Adelaide’s north that alleging began after an angle grinder started the blaze. Emergency services were called to an area at Penfield on Saturday afternoon after the fire burnt 33 hectares and several glass houses.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
