PM

The outlook for Australian agriculture has rarely looked brighter, according to the latest projections from the national commodity forecaster ABARES. The value of Australia's agricultural production is expected to pass $63 billion this financial year, which is a new record. Average farm incomes are the highest they've been for 20 years.

The ACCC has made 15 recommendations to improve transparency and reporting in the beef sector. It's asking the Red Meat Advisory Council to carry out the recommendations, which will not be compulsory.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has been told that not a single state or territory is currently willing to opt in to a national support scheme for survivors. While many support the idea in principle, government officials have spoken of the complex issues involved before they sign.

The CEO of the Commonwealth Bank has told a parliamentary committee he doesn't believe young Australians regard house prices on the east coast as over-priced. The CBA is the latest bank to front the Economics Committee, as Australia's top bankers are grilled about everything from employee misconduct to credit card fees. But it was Ian Narev's comments about Sydney and Melbourne house prices that have led some of Sydney's younger generation to label the CEO a 'joke' and 'out of touch'.

The former Deputy Speaker Don Nardella has been kicked out of the Parliamentary Labor Party after refusing to pay back $113,000. Mr Nardella represents the western suburbs seat of Melton, but had claimed an entitlement technically reserved for country MPs to live more than 80 kilometres away at Ocean Grove. Labor says that's the end of the matter but the State Opposition wants the police to investigate.

The International charity Save the Children says six years of violence and bloodshed have spawned a mental health crisis among Syria's children whose impact will be felt for decades. A report released by the group today finds widespread evidence of 'toxic stress' among children trapped inside Syria, with experts warning the psychological damage could be irreversible.

Malaysia's Prime Minister has accused North Korea of holding Malaysian citizens hostage after Pyongyang banned their travel. It's the latest ratcheting up of tension between the two countries over the murder investigation of Kim Jong Un's estranged brother. Malaysian police have placed a cordon around the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur amid suspicion that people wanted for questioning for the murder are inside. Meanwhile the North Korean regime has released a statement about yesterday's missile launches. It says they have an elite unit of the army which is training to strike at US military bases in Japan.

The Premier of Tasmania says the state's pipes and drains are undermining its attraction as a world class destination. Will Hodgman says it must change and his government is going to take over the state's council-run provider of water and sewerage services. Councils say the bill's likely to be more than $1 billion.

The One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson's arrived in Western Australia with five campaigning days left before the state election on Saturday. Her remarks about child immunisation yesterday have blown up a storm, along with her admiration for the strongman leadership of Vladimir Putin and questioning of the evidence that a Russian missile launcher shot down MH17. But Pauline Hanson is still predicting the party will be returned to state parliament for the first time since 2001.

The Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Ray Griggs, has told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that the ADF is doing everything it can to ensure that child sexual abuse is a crime of the past. Senior officials from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection have also been grilled about the work that has been done to safeguard refugee children.