The World Today

Tony Burke was the Minister who signed off on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan when he was a Minister in the Gillard Labor government. Mr Burke says the revelations on last night's Four Corners program 'were a complete game-changer'. He says the issues have occurred largely because of changes enacted recently by the NSW Government to river rules, and that no-one foresaw that NSW would 'engage in wholesale rort and undermining of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.' He says the plan is still the right path forward, but there needs to be an independent investigation into a state devaluing a Commonwealth asset.

The Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews says his Government will accept all recommendations from an expert report on assisted dying, and hopes to have Parliament vote on legislation before the end of this year. Mr Andrews says the time has come to allow some terminally ill patients to make the decision to end their life. But Palliative Care Victoria says the Government should be investing an extra $65 million per year to improve the care options for people needing palliative or end of life care.

There's a growing number of households in New South Wales relying on hardship programs to keep their lights on, as power prices continue to rise. The State Government has set aside a record $17 million as part of its vouchers scheme this year, to help people in financial crisis. The Energy Minister has told The World Today the problem may well get worse before it gets better.

The International Monetary Fund has cut its growth forecast for the United States on concerns that about Donald Trump's ability to deliver on his economic promises to stoke the US economy. Despite its previous optimistic update in April, the IMF has downgraded US growth to 2.1 per cent for 2017 and 2018 from previous projections of 2.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent. 'The assumption (is) that fiscal policy will be less expansionary than previously assumed, given the uncertainty about the timing and nature of US fiscal policy changes,' the update explains.

In Poland, a threat from the EU and two weeks of protests that drew hundreds of thousands of people to the streets has ended with a major government back down. Poland's government had been moving to give itself the power to hire and fire judges, prompting the European Commission to warn that it would respond by cutting Poland's voting rights in the European Commission. Overnight, Poland's President said he'd block the proposal from becoming law.

The driver of a semi-trailer found packed with illegal immigrants in Texas could face the death penalty. Ten of those inside have died from extreme dehydration. A Mexican man who survived the trip says a lack of work in his hometown drove him to make the perilous trip.

Shareholders burned in the collapse of the Dick Smith electronics chain have been given the go ahead for a class action. Lawyers representing potentially thousands of investors have accused executives from the failed company of engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. Bannister Law alleges the company may have been trading while insolvent.

Health and justice advocates are calling for prisoners to be covered by Medicare to help relieve the burden on the healthcare system once they are released. It comes after new research reveals former prisoners see the doctor twice as much as the general population. Researchers say it reflects how former prisoners fall through the gaps of two different healthcare systems.

Scientists believe they may have found abundant sources of water on the moon. We already know water sources exist on the moon but this discovery may be enough to sustain a colony.

Millions of cars have been recalled around the world, because of faulty Takata airbags. Now it's been revealed that some of those airbags have been replaced with other faulty ones. The consumer group Choice describes the recall as an epic failure, and says serious questions need to be answered by manufacturers, the ACCC, and the Federal Government.