PM

On Business PM: A leading economist fears the level of Chinese debt could cause the next financial crisis and take Australia down with it; Pressure is continuing to build on the boss of accounting body CPA Australia to quit; And the chief scientist will hand down his long-awaited review of the National Electricity Market tomorrow, and it's expected to recommend the adoption of a low emissions target.

The election in the UK has delivered a stunning result; Theresa May's Conservative party has won the most seats but is short of the number needed to govern in its own right. It's an extraordinary crash in the Tory vote and is being called one of the great political miscalculations of recent years. Theresa May didn't need to call this election until 2020 but said it was for certainty and stability ahead of Brexit negotiations with Europe. Now there is anything but, and already there are calls for her to resign.

We spoke last night to UK political scientist Dr Will Jennings, and he said no-one was quite sure how this would pan out. He's hot off the set of a TV network, where's he's been crunching numbers through the night. He says different polls are predicting wildly different results, from a hung parliament to a 12 point lead that would return Theresa May and the Conservative Party to power.

Political battle lines are already been drawn just hours after the release of the Chief Scientist's report into the future of the energy system. Dr Alan Finkel proposed a model that would subsidise some forms of low-emission energy production, but left it to the coalition to come up with precise numbers. There's now likely to be a fight over how aggressive the target should be, with one backbencher telling PM he'd be 'very uncomfortable' with a benchmark that would give too much encouragement to renewable energy.

In the Northern Territory, places like Kakadu National Park rely upon fire to survive. In recent years Kakadu has come perilously close to losing its World Heritage status, because of feral animals and large-scale wildfires. But poor management practices are changing, and things are looking up for this precious part of Australia.

A war of words has erupted between prominent Indigenous leaders, a lawyer and traditional owners over litigation against the Adani coal mine. Traditional owners in central Queensland are using Native Title to mount a legal challenge against the Indian coal miner's proposed project. But two Indigenous leaders say the move has been influenced and high-jacked by environmental activist groups. Australia's top Indigenous lawyer has slammed those comments, and that's influenced a slight change in tune by one of the leaders.

The stereotype of a nerd, at least the one portrayed in pop culture, is usually someone white. The so-called Blerd movement - that's a blend of two words, black and nerd - seeks to challenge that. The idea originated in the US, and now it's being embraced in Australia, where it's found particular resonance with some in the Indigenous community.

Official data show lending to both investors and owner-occupiers slowed considerably in the month of April. So as budding home buyers hit the pavement this weekend, is there just a little more hope they'll be able to secure that property they've had their eye on for months?

One of the nation's foremost experts on the electricity market, Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute, is here to explain what a Clean Energy Target is and how it works. He says in this instance, there would be an obligation on retailers to source a percentage of their electricity from lower emission technologies, and that target would be in line with Australia's Paris Agreement target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

At COAG, the states and territories have agreed to enact new laws which would introduce a presumption against the granting of bail and parole where a criminal has a link to terrorism, even if it doesn't relate to their current case. The nation's Governments have also agreed to a special COAG security meeting to review the nation's laws and practices.