PM

To celebrate the 375th anniversary of the Dutch explorer Abel Tasmania finding Tasmania, a group of Dutch boat building students has travelled to Tasmania to build a boat for the Australian Wooden Boat Festival that is being held in Hobart this weekend. The timber has been salvaged from a hydro dam, and the celery top pine is believed to be 500 years old.

There's been a major legal breakthrough in the decades long campaign for justice over the unsolved murders of three Aboriginal children from the NSW town of Bowraville. A man who has previously been acquitted of the murders of two of the Bowraville children, has again been charged with their murder. The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared at Newcastle court today, over the deaths of four-year-old Evelyn Greenup and 16-year-old Clinton Speedy-Duroux. Whether the case proceeds any further, will depend on an application to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal by the Attorney General.

There's fresh evidence that the Glencore mine in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland is a source of lead pollution and local residents are being urged to get tested to determine their exposure. The Queensland University study commissioned by the mining giant has found mine emissions can travel for kilometres right across town and present a potentially 'significant pathway' for lead into people. Among the concerns is the threat that lead poses to young children and their development. But the study concluded the risk is low if a diligent approach is taken by those living in the shadow of one of the country's biggest mining operations.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rounded on Labor after yesterday's power blackout in South Australia, blaming the opposition for 'ideological' support for renewable energy. But Labor says the Government could and should have done more to stop yesterday's blackouts by firing up reserve gas-fired capacity at Pelican Point.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has defended its move to cut electricity to thousands of customers in South Australia last night. 90,000 homes and businesses lost power because of insufficient generation due to the hot weather. New South Wales facing a similar prospect tomorrow. But with forecasts showing a potential lack of power reserves across the rest of summer and those to come, concerns have been raised about the vulnerability of other states in the future.

Budget cuts are biting at the New South Wales corruption commission. The ICAC will have five fewer investigators this year, as a result of cuts in last year's New South Wales State Budget. The Commission says that could mean fewer investigations. PM can also reveal that no candidates have yet been interviewed to fill the role of the three new commissioners.

Canon law experts have told the child sexual abuse Royal Commission that if all the Australian states enacted mandatory reporting laws the Catholic Church would be compelled to report the clerical sexual abuse of children. The Commission is examining how the Church's canon law has been used to cover up abuse and protect paedophile priests.

The National Debt Helpline has told PM it's buckling under an unprecedented number of calls from Australians seeking financial counselling. PM understands as many as 14,000 phone calls went unanswered in January due to a lack of staff. Experts claim Australia is on the verge of a debt binge hangover.

The Prime Minister's flayed the Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for his past association with the late packaging billionaire Dick Pratt, calling him a 'simpering sycophant' and suggesting he drank French champagne while selling out workers. Labor described the verbal barrage as the sign of a desperate Prime Minister auditioning for the next challenge to his leadership of the Liberal Party.

The fate of the Federal Government's increased spending on childcare, the cuts to paid leave for new parents and welfare, now lies in the Senate where the numbers are delicately poised. With Labor and the Greens up in arms about welfare cuts that they say will affect some of the most vulnerable Australians. The Social Services Minister Christian Porter has a challenging job ahead of him, negotiating with the Senate cross bench.