The World Today

As we mentioned at the top of the program, we've lost veteran journalist and broadcaster, Mark Colvin. He died this morning aged 65 after a long battle with illness. He contracted an illness while on assignment in Rwanda in the 1990s.The illness meant he needed a kidney transplant. Well the woman who gifted a life-saving kidney to Mark Colvin has spoken of her grief today. Mary Ellen Field was interviewed by Mark about her role in the News of the World phone tapping scandal in the UK. Mark Colvin and Mary Ellen Field became friends and later by chance, she, was found to be a compatible donor. It came at a crucial moment.

Peter Greste, the Australian Al Jazeera reporter jailed in Egypt for 400 days, has been paying tribute to Mark Colvin. Greste says his spirits were lifted in captivity when he learned the PM presenter was supporting the campaign for his release.

Some of Australia's political leaders have expressed their condolences on Twitter for respected journalist and broadcaster Mark Colvin who passed away this morning after struggling with a rare auto-immune disease for more than 20 years.

Mark Colvin is being remembered as one of Australia's greatest journalists, he spoke to fellow broadcaster Simon Marnie about his career. Mark Colvin worked at the ABC for the entirety of his career and was the inaugural voice of The World Today in 1983.

The Prime Minister is selling the Federal Budget as 'fair and responsible', but he's conceded families will face higher taxes and bank shareholders could suffer under two of the major proposals unveiled last night. The $6 billion levy on big banks looks set to get through Parliament with Labor's help, but the plan to increase the Medicare levy to help pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme is not yet as certain.

The Treasurer is calling the biggest new tax in his budget a 'senate tax' saying the Medicare levy increase is only necessary because senators blocked the Government's earlier savings measures. But this big-taxing 2017 budget also needs to make it through the senate. So, will those obstructionist senators give the Treasurer a break this time? Joining The World Today are three of the key senate decision-makers, Larrissa Waters, Nick Xenophon and Jacqui Lambie.

The decision to hit Australia's five biggest banks with a levy on their liabilities has been slammed as a 'very bad idea' by a former chief executive of the one of the big banks. David Murray - the former Commonwealth Bank chief executive and Future Fund chairman says banks will be tempted to pass the cost of the levy to borrowers which would translate to an interest rate rise of as much as 20 basis points. Alternatively, Mr Murray warns banks might be forced to take on more risk to make up the shortfall at a time when regulators want banks to be 'unquestionably strong.' He says it would be almost impossible for the Government to monitor how banks manage the new tax.

First home owners are mulling over the budget, to determine if they'll benefit from proposed changes. Not all are convinced that using their super fund to save for a deposit will help a great deal, while others say that if the Government expects people to move to regional areas, it needs to invest in jobs, infrastructure, and transport.

The Federal Budget has allocated $33.4 million to the setting up of the national redress scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Supporters of the scheme have welcomed the funding and are urging the states, churches and charities to opt-in to the scheme. The shadow Attorney General says the federal government needs to speed up the scheme's implementation.

Some welfare recipients and drug experts say the Federal Government's plan to drug test people on the dole is a policy mistake. As part of the Coalition's budget reforms, 5,000 new welfare recipients will undergo randomised drug testing in a trial. But experts say it's expensive, potentially unreliable and could ultimately make some peoples' drug problems worse.