Today is October 15, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of election promises may not be scrutinised by ACT Treasury before voting closes, and a woman who tested positive for coronavirus transited through Canberra airport last Wednesday.

Today is October 14, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, the War Memorial's controversial multi-million dollar redevelopment, including the destruction of ANZAC Hall, has been backed by a heritage report commissioned by the memorial, despite the government's own heritage council saying it couldn't support the project, and Canberra parents are paying more for childcare than the rest of Australia, new figures show.

Today is October 13, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, a surge in temporary staff has added thousands of bureaucrats to the ranks of the federal public service as it mounts the government's response to COVID-19, and Greens leader Adam Bandt will push for a Senate inquiry into public service outsourcing, with the party set to "declare war on privatisation".

Today is October 12, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, the leaders of Canberra's major parties are expecting the ACT election result to be close, with fewer than 170,000 votes still in play as the campaign enters its final week, and the ACT has fared better than expected as other jurisdictions endure economy-shattering GST revenue losses because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Today is October 9, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, a Canberra Liberals election candidate and advisor to leader Alistair Coe has reportedly served as a director of a Chinese Communist Party-linked organisation which some experts say aims to influence foreign governments, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied a new wage subsidy aimed at under 35s is discriminatory, as advocates for the unemployed say the scheme is "ripe for exploitation".

Today is October 8, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, the federal budget has brought short-term relief to the nation's struggling cultural institutions, but funding is set to drop in coming years, and the government has gambled on a vaccine for COVID-19 being available by the end of next year and failed to better prepare Australia for further pandemics, leading health professionals have warned.

Today is October 7, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, the private sector will do the heavy lifting in pulling Australia out of the coronavirus recession, aided by billions of dollars in government wage subsidies and tax breaks, and the thousands of extra jobs added to the ranks of the federal public service to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic will not be a permanent fixture, with the staff cap set to stay in place for the foreseeable future.

Today is October 6, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, Josh Frydenberg has been dubbed the "Treasurer of hope" as he prepares to unveil the most significant budget in 70 years, and more than a billion dollars has been cut from the budgets of government agencies responsible for various accountability measures over the past 10 years, according to the Centre for Public Integrity.

Today is October 5, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, the government must abandon its cap on the number of federal public servants in order to build the workforce needed to push its infrastructure-led recovery, the union representing engineers, scientists and IT professionals says, and the federal government is set to spend more than $140 million on new infrastructure projects in the ACT as part of Tuesday's federal budget.

Today is October 2, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Canberra Times. In today’s update, the government wants to make it easier for businesses to retrain employees for different roles, removing fringe benefits tax from education and training that isn't directly related to a worker's current role, and Canberrans will have to book an allotted timeslot to escape the summer heat when outdoor pools at Manuka and Dickson reopen in the coming weeks, with venues capping attendees and swimming duration as part of COVID-19 plans.