Voters are getting a better idea of what the coalition would keep and cut if it wins the federal election, but fuzziness over the details is not helping Peter Dutton’s cause.

The opposition leader was forced to clean up two more campaign missteps on Thursday, as opinion polls show his chances of forming government becoming ever slimmer.

Mr Dutton on Monday said he would not repeal a fringe benefits tax break for electric vehicles, which has blown out in cost due to its unexpected popularity.

But late on Wednesday the coalition revealed they would axe the incentive, putting their leader’s earlier statement down to him mishearing the question.

Mr Dutton’s comments were the result of a misunderstanding and that he thought he was being asked about Labor’s vehicle emissions standards, the party said.

“What we said was that there’s no change to the policy. We’ve been very clear,” Mr Dutton told reporters on Thursday.

A cornerstone of the coalition’s campaign, which has featured frequent petrol station visits by Mr Dutton, has been its pledge to temporarily cut the fuel excise.

But the coalition has struggled to cut through with its messaging, with opinion polls falling away from the coalition over the course of the campaign.

Mr Dutton was also forced to clean up comments from immigration spokesman Dan Tehan, who earlier on Thursday confused the coalition’s permanent migration target with skilled visa numbers.

“We’re going to reduce the skill migration level, and we’ll take that down from 185,000 to 140,000,” Mr Tehan told ABC Radio.

“The program will continue at a reduced rate of 150,000 in years two and three, and then 160,000.”

But the coalition has not released its target to reduce skilled migration visas, which are currently limited at 132,200 per year.

Mr Dutton said he hadn’t seen Mr Tehan’s comments but reiterated his party was not seeking to increase the skilled visa intake, but instead was planning to cut permanent migration by 25 per cent.

The coalition was previously forced to backtrack on an unpopular policy of forcing public servants back to the office.

Questions also remain over the coalition’s promise to reduce the federal public service by 41,000.

Mr Dutton confirmed the cuts would come entirely from Canberra-based jobs, but with fewer than 70,000 roles in the nation’s capital and the coalition promising not to touch frontline services it’s unclear how the figure could be achieved.

ACT senator David Pocock said the coalition was being reckless with the livelihoods of public servants and the territory economy.

“The numbers don’t even stack up, you can’t cut 41,000 public servants from Canberra without touching defence, intelligence and frontline services, and still run the country effectively, it simply isn’t possible,” he told AAP.

But it wasn’t smooth sailing either for Anthony Albanese.

Mr Albanese had to grin and bear a blistering broadside from editor of the West Australian newspaper, Chris Dore, at a breakfast event in Perth, who accused him of conducting a masterclass in spin.

He was also forced to defend comments he previously made denying that he fell off the stage at an event earlier in the campaign.

As the push for The Lodge enters its home stretch, the mudslinging from party leaders has intensified as Mr Dutton ramps up accusations that Mr Albanese is a liar.

That approach is only likely to increase in the final days before the May 3 election as it is one of the most powerful tools parties have left in their arsenals to swing support, one expert says.

La Trobe University politics professor Andrea Carson said negative attacks were frequently seen in the last stages of a campaign.

“Studies show that negative campaigning works to some extent as it builds on people’s fears and fear is a powerful emotion to initiate action,” she said.

Student debt handbacks and electric vehicle subsidies will be on the chopping block if the coalition wins the federal election.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Monday said he would not repeal a fringe benefits tax break for EVs, which has blown out in cost due to its unexpected popularity.

But late on Wednesday the coalition revealed they would axe the incentive, putting their leader’s earlier statement down to him mishearing the question.

Liberal campaign spokesman James Paterson said Mr Dutton’s comments were the result of a misunderstanding.

“From the very beginning, we’ve been highly critical of this policy,” he told Sky News on Thursday.

“We don’t think it’s a good use of taxpayers’ money to subsidise people who can afford to buy a brand new electric vehicle and have everyone else pay for that.”

A cornerstone of the coalition’s campaign, which has featured frequent petrol station visits by Mr Dutton, has been its pledge to temporarily cut fuel excise.

Labor’s $16 billion promise to cut student debt by 20 per cent for more than three million Australians would also be scrapped, setting out another clear point of difference between the major parties.

For a student with the average HECS debt of $27,600, they would see their bill reduced by more than $5500.

The government has argued the measure was aimed at helping students deal with cost-of-living pressures and fixing generational unfairness.

But shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said it was unfair for students who had already paid off their student debt and for tradies, who got nothing from the policy.

As the campaign enters its home stretch, the mudslinging from party leaders has intensified.

That approach is only likely to increase in the final days before the May 3 election as it is one of the most powerful tools parties have left in their arsenals to swing support, one expert says.

Lagging in the polls before campaigns pause for Anzac Day, Mr Dutton has ramped up personal attacks on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, labelling him “weak” and a frequent liar.

The prime minister has also gone on the offensive, warning the coalition will unleash secret cuts if it wins government.

La Trobe University politics professor Andrea Carson said attacks were frequently seen in the last stages of a campaign.

“Studies show that negative campaigning works to some extent as it builds on people’s fears and fear is a powerful emotion to initiate action,” she told AAP.

“Campaign coverage becomes more negative, perhaps reflecting the campaign, the closer we get to polling day.”

While there could be many aspects to negative campaigning, Prof Carson said it traditionally centred on law and order and migration issues – areas the coalition frequently targeted when attacking Labor.

Labor’s negative messaging that the coalition will need to cut health and education to fund its nuclear plan relies on cherry-picking facts, but has been effective, according to work done by polling company Redbridge.

“Whilst their positive messaging has had some limited impact on their vote, their negative campaign on Dutton and the Liberal Party has been brutally efficient and effective,” director Tony Barry said.

Mr Albanese brushed aside concerns negative campaigning during the election would disillusion voters.

“This is an opposition that, if they have any policies, they’re either taken from overseas or they are taken from the reversal of reforms that we have put in place,” he said.

Cost-of-living pressures have led to a surge in people fronting food charities, including double-income families, with many turned away as providers struggle to meet demand.

A survey of hundreds of free food providers in the OzHarvest network found a 54 per cent increase in people being turned away from charity doors, with 77 per cent of charities reporting a rise in people seeking food in the past year.

Almost a third of people asking for help were doing so for the first time in their lives and many were double-income earners, OzHarvest founder Ronnie Khan said.

“The scariest thing for us as a country is that this is a hidden crisis and we now have people who are working who cannot afford to finish the month and food becomes the only thing they can control,” she told AAP.

The outgoings they cannot control include power bills, mortgage and rent payments, fuel for the car, health fees and phone and internet costs.

When they walked into a supermarket, they could make a choice to cut food costs but that led to less nutritional value for a family when they could not afford fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, Ms Khan said.

“Kids are coming to school without breakfast,” she said.

“If you have not got food in your belly, you cannot concentrate, so it’s a vicious cycle.”

That led to children not learning, having behavioural problems and being kicked out of the classroom, Ms Khan said.

She said there was a “new demographic of working poor” who never needed food before.

“The shame and the guilt and the lack of dignity about having to front up at an organisation that supports feeding is immeasurable.” 

OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, collecting surplus food from more than 2600 businesses, including supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, hotels, retailers, airports and retail food outlets.

Every week, more than 300 tonnes of food are saved from going to landfill and delivered to about 1550 charitable agencies.

OzHarvest is urging the government to appoint a minister to co-ordinate food security and food waste solutions and provide ongoing funding for essential food relief, along with increased welfare payments and housing affordability measures.

Josh Plumb, executive manager of Nexus Care, part of the OzHarvest distribution network, says his charity in north Brisbane has in the past five years seen a steady increase in demand and a 30 per cent rise in the past two years.

The corresponding food supply pressures meant the charity had to limit its catchment area about a year ago so it could meet demand locally, as well as reduce the size of its food parcels, he told AAP.

“More than ever before, we are hearing people say ‘I never thought I needed to access a place like this’,” Mr Plumb said.

“Single-parent families are definitely a cohort that’s large through our doors.”

But there was also a notable increase in the number of young double-parent families fronting up seeking food aid, Mr Plumb said.

OzHarvest’s yearly survey canvassed about 1550 charities in its network, with 874 responding.

Mudslinging from party leaders has intensified on the hustings as the federal election campaign enters its home stretch.

And experts say it’s only set to increase as one of the most powerful tools parties have left in their arsenal to swing support.

Lagging in the polls before campaigns pause for Anzac Day, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has ramped up personal attacks on Anthony Albanese, labelling him “weak” and a frequent liar.

The prime minister has also gone on the offensive, warning the coalition will unleash secret cuts if it wins government.

Politics professor at La Trobe University Andrea Carson said attacks were frequently seen in the last stages of a campaign.

“Studies show that negative campaigning works to some extent as it builds on people’s fears, and fear is a powerful emotion to initiate action,” she told AAP.

“Campaign coverage becomes more negative, perhaps reflecting the campaign, the closer we get to polling day.”

While there could be many aspects to negative campaigning, Prof Carson said it traditionally centred on law and order and migration issues – areas the coalition frequently targeted when attacking Labor.

“How much they move votes is hard to measure, but politicians and parties enact these messages because they think it works,” she said.

“There is some evidence that negative campaigns play well to the base and reinforce weak partisan voters’ support, rather than getting people to change political teams.”

Mr Albanese brushed aside concerns negative campaigning during the election would disillusion voters.

“What we’re doing is putting forward serious policies,” he told reporters in Collie, south of Perth.

“It’s right there. You can touch it, you can see it, and people will have their homes powered by it.

“This is an opposition that, if they have any policies, they’re either taken from overseas or they are taken from the reversal of reforms that we have put in place.”

The World Economic Forum is investigating allegations of financial and ethical misconduct involving its founder and long-time chairman, Klaus Schwab, as well as his wife, the organisation has confirmed. 

The move follows a report on Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal, which detailed accusations concerning potential conflicts of interest and mismanagement. 

The WEF stated on Wednesday that it had received a whistleblower letter outlining the allegations and has launched an internal review in co-operation with external legal counsel. 

“While the Forum takes these allegations seriously, it emphasises that they remain unproven, and will await the outcome of the investigation to comment further,” a statement said. 

A spokesperson for Klaus and Hilde Schwab denied the accusations in comments to the Wall Street Journal, rejecting claims that the couple blurred lines between personal and WEF business. 

Best known for its high-profile annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the WEF convenes global political and business leaders, academics and civil society figures to discuss pressing international issues. 

The gathering in the Swiss ski resort town has become one of the most prominent platforms for global dialogue since the WEF’s launch by Schwab in 1971. 

Schwab, a German-born economist, resigned as executive chairman last year. 

It was announced on Monday that he would also depart his role as chairman of the forum’s Board of Trustees, with the organisation quoting him as saying he had chosen to step down “at the beginning of my 88th year”.

No further details were provided. 

European Union watchdogs have fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros as they stepped up enforcement of the 27-nation bloc’s digital competition rules.

The European Commission imposed a 500 million-euro ($A896 million) fine on Apple for preventing app makers pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.

The commission, which is the EU’s executive arm, also fined Meta Platforms 200 million euros because it forced Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them.

The punishments announced on Wednesday were smaller than the blockbuster multibillion-euro fines that the commission has previously slapped on Big Tech companies in antitrust cases.

The decisions were expected to come in March, but officials apparently held off amid an escalating trans-Atlantic trade war with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly complained about regulations from Brussels affecting American companies.

The penalties were issued under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, also known as the DMA.

It’s a sweeping rulebook that amounts to a set of do’s and don’ts designed to give consumers and businesses more choice and prevent Big Tech “gatekeepers” cornering digital markets.

The DMA seeks to ensure “that citizens have full control over when and how their data is used online, and businesses can freely communicate with their own customers,” Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, said in a statement.

“The decisions adopted today find that both Apple and Meta have taken away this free choice from their users and are required to change their behavior,” Virkkunen said.

Apple accused the commission of “unfairly targeting” the iPhone maker, saying it has “spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law.”

Meta chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan said said the “commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards”.

Australian shares have recovered to their highest levels since US Liberation Day tariffs sparked a sell-off that wiped trillions of dollars from global markets.

As hints of US-China tariff negotiations buoyed investor sentiment, the S&P/ASX200 rose 103.8 points, or 1.33 per cent, to 7920.5, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 111.5 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 8125.2.

The All Ordinaries had tanked more than nine per cent in three sessions after US President Donald Trump levelled tariffs on almost every country on April 2, with almost $270 billion in value wiped from the top 500 stocks.

The move erased more than $US5 trillion ($A7.8 trillion) from global stock markets in less than a week and prompted economists to slash global growth forecasts.

Three weeks and several tariff escalations later, White House officials have called 145 per cent trade duties on China “unsustainable” and flagged a path to negotiations.

But investors needed to be wary, both of profit taking after the relief rally, and ahead of actual substance on tariff deals, IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.

“US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified his statement saying formal talks had not yet started and negotiations are likely to be challenging,” he told AAP.

“I don’t think China is going to go into talks with peace offerings when they feel they’ve been wronged.”

The glimmer of hope helped indexes in Asia rally on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surging 2.4 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei up 1.9 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI composite gaining 1.6 per cent.

All 11 local sectors were in the green, led by a 4.5 per cent rally in energy stocks as oil prices surged on fresh US sanctions on Iran and improved demand hopes for top crude importer China.

Brent crude futures were trading at $US67.65, up more than two per cent to their highest level since April 4.

Australian stocks that outperformed on Tuesday posted modest gains on Wednesday, with financials lifting 0.8 per cent and materials rising only 0.02 per cent.

Iron ore giants rallied on hopes of easing trade tensions and improved demand expectations for China, pushing BHP (3.3 per cent), Fortescue (2.7 per cent) and Rio Tinto (2.0 per cent) higher.

On the flip-side, gold miners weighed on the sector as risk-on sentiment returned and investors took profit on the safe haven, which shed 5 per cent after hitting $US3500 an ounce for the first time.

The big four banks were a mixed bag, with CBA falling 2.5 per cent after rallying to more than $168 on Tuesday, a new high for the world’s most expensive bank stock. 

NAB jumped more than three per cent, as ANZ and Westpac both gained more than 1.7 per cent each.

Local IT stocks rallied 3.9 per cent, tracking with a 2.7 per cent lift in the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight.

Tesla shares rallied 4.6 per cent overnight despite plunging revenues, after boss Elon Musk flagged his controversial role with the Trump administration would be curtailed in May.

The Australian dollar has also recovered its post-Liberation Day dive to trade at 64.18 US cents, down slightly from Tuesday evening when it was buying 64.36 US cents.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Wednesday up 103.8 points, or 1.33 per cent, at 7,920.5.

* The broader All Ordinaries rose 111.5 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 8125.2.

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 64.18 US cents, from 64.36 US cents at Tuesday at 5pm

* 90.93 Japanese yen, from 90.04 Japanese yen

* 56.35 Euro cents, from 55.75 Euro cents

* 48.18 British pence, from 47.97 pence

* 107.08 NZ cents, from 106.79 NZ cents

Devoted Australian Catholics are making the long pilgrimage across continents to pay a final farewell to “noble and modern” Pope Francis.

The pontiff died on Monday, aged 88, after a battle with a serious bout of double pneumonia.

His body is being held in state at St Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City, where a funeral mass will be held on Saturday local time.

Crowds of up to 250,000 people are expected to attend including Prince William and US President Donald Trump.

Bishop Joe Caddy of the Cairns Diocese is among the devotees making the journey to Rome on Wednesday afternoon in hope of attending the late Pope’s funeral.

The bishop had pre-booked the trip to meet a group of young people from his diocese on a pilgrimage in Rome, but the religious leader’s death has changed those plans.

He said it would be an honour to farewell the Pope in person after meeting him in September when Francis appointed him as a bishop and again during the pontiff’s trip to Asia and the Pacific.

Fr Caddy recounted telling the Pope of his powerful symbolism when Indonesia’s chief Imam kissed him on the head during a visit to the Muslim-majority nation.

“He said, ‘You know what? Before we’re Muslim, before we’re Catholic, before we’re Christian, we’re human beings. We’re fellow travellers through humanity’,” Fr Caddy told AAP. 

“I just thought that’s really emblematic of the man.”

The bishop hailed Pope Francis as a change-maker because of his regard for all humanity, the poor, the planet and climate change and his new approach of open listening rather than a top-down way.

Prayer services are being held across Australia in the lead-up to the pontiff’s funeral on Saturday and a papal conclave to elect his successor.

Outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne, 23-year-old Josh said the Pope’s death was “quite a shock, especially given that on Easter Sunday he was out in public”.

“I saw him as a caring man, treating all people equal and I feel like he’s definitely changed a lot of people’s perspective,” he said.

Oliver Di Marzo, 18, said Francis confronted the church’s child sex abuse scandal head on and was “truly a noble and modern pope”.

“When my old parish priest Father Trevor texted me the news, I was on the tram home and I was just distraught,” Mr Marzo said.

“He was such a good pope. He truly represented Christ’s message – he gave to the poor, the marginalised, the needy.”

Governor-General Sam Mostyn and Australia’s top Catholic and Cardinal Mykola Bychok will attend the pontiff’s funeral in an official capacity.

The late Pope has bucked recent convention by requesting to be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore instead of St Peter’s Basilica where his predecessors have been laid to rest.

“He chose that because there is a particular image or icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where which he visits any time he travelled before and after and on other occasions,” the Apostolic Nuncio – the Pope’s representative – to Australia Archbishop Charles Balvo told ABC News.

Church rules state the conclave of cardinals to elect a new pontiff must begin between 15 and 20 days after the death.

Cardinal Bychok will be the only Australian to help choose Pope Francis’s successor.

Memorial masses will be held in Catholic cathedrals and churches across Australia in coming days, including in Brisbane where local heads of churches, political figures and community and business leaders will attend a Requiem Mass to pray for Pope Francis’ soul ahead of his funeral.

There are 5.1 million people in Australia who identify as Catholic, according to the 2021 Census, about 20 per cent of the population.

Victim advocates and a former police officer have questioned the relevance of data showing cops are solving a higher proportion of crimes than ever before.

Legal actions for reported car thefts, burglaries and robberies have doubled in NSW since 2009, a Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report found.

Improvements were also seen for assaults, including those related to domestic violence, though closure rates for sexual assault cases have declined.

But victim advocates do not think it is anything to celebrate and said improvements could be attributed to more access to technology such as CCTV.

Police officer turned criminologist Michael Kennedy said reducing policing to the bare numbers missed the complexities of the job.

“It’s the equivalent of saying, ‘the more tickets that highway patrol gives out, the safer the roads will be’ and we know that’s not the case,” he told AAP.

“It’s an opinion being presented as a rational truth.

“But it’s not rational and it’s not true … you can’t apply that model of policing in every suburb, in every district, in every state.”

The constant chase of improved efficiency treated policing as a “business rather than a social contract” and was driving young cops out of the force, the University of New England associate professor said.

“They’re exhausted from this expectation their competency is measured by continuous improved productivity,” Dr Kennedy said.

The report, released on Wednesday, follows concerns about crime rates in several states including anti-Semitic attacks, gangland wars and violent youth offending.

Families grieving unsolved homicides and missing persons would not be comforted by the data, victims advocate Howard Brown said.

“A report comes and says we’re doing a much better job … tell that to the people who are still waiting and who have been waiting 20 years for results in the death of their loved one,” he told AAP.

“This type of thing is insulting.”

Fellow homicide victims advocate Peter Rolfe congratulated the police on the historic high rates, but questioned why murder cases didn’t follow the trend. 

The report found the rate of solving murder cases was stable at about 65 per cent.

The crime statistics bureau’s executive director said the reason for the stable rate was likely not in police control.

“I suspect the characteristics of individual cases are most influential in whether a murder is solved, rather than factors that are at the discretion of police,” Jackie Fitzgerald told AAP.

She said it should be of comfort to victims and the community that the risk of arrest for criminals was “undoubtedly higher than ever before”.

Of the 11 offences examined, nine showed a significantly higher legal action rate in 2023 compared with 2009, the report found.

About one in eight motor vehicle thefts are solved, up from one in 20.

Rates for solving domestic violence-related assault have risen from 60 per cent to 67 per cent.

Sexual assault was the only offence with a significant decline in the legal action rate, dropping from 10 per cent in 2009 to seven per cent in 2023.

The data showed hard work was making a difference, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.

“Police don’t just catch offenders – they put in the tough, behind-the-scenes work to make sure those people are held accountable, a process that is often complex (and) relentless,” she said. 

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The coalition will use higher income taxes to help pay for its pledge to dramatically boost defence spending, but it remains coy on key details like where the money will go.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Wednesday unveiled a long-awaited plan to increase spending on national security, pledging an extra $21 billion over the coming five years.

The funding would lift the nation’s defence outlay to 2.5 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product.

Spending would then increase to three per cent of GDP within the decade, in line with the figure the United States has called for allies to spend.

The money will be used to reinstate a fourth joint strike fighter squadron.

Drones, guided weapons, munitions and cyber capabilities would be included, though Mr Dutton cautioned, “we are not announcing procurement contracts from opposition”.

“It will be an important expenditure because we need to keep our country safe and if we’re to preserve peace and stability in our region,” he told reporters in Perth.

But the full details of how the increase would be funded or where the money would be spent are yet to be revealed.

Labor has questioned how the coalition will pay for the $21 billion additional spend as it had not released its costing as punters hit the polls for early voting. 

“Plucking a number out of thin air without explaining how you’re going to raise that and what you’re actually going to spend it on, that’s not defence policy,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said. 

Labor’s plan is for defence spending to rise to 2.4 per cent of GDP over a decade, accounting for an additional $57.6 billion, according to government figures.

Yearly defence spending will eclipse $100 billion by the 2033/34 financial year.

An increased budget was a good thing but numbers shouldn’t necessarily be tied to a target plucked out by an American defence official, national security analyst David Andrews said.

It’s in reference to Trump administration official Elbridge Colby saying he wanted Australia to increase spending to three per cent of GDP during a confirmation hearing for a senior Pentagon post in March.

“I don’t discount the ambition, I don’t necessarily think it’s useful to peg our funding ambitions to comments from Trump officials,” Mr Andrews told AAP.

“I’m sure he has a basis for making that assessment but we need to be doing what’s necessary for Australia’s defence.”

Mr Dutton didn’t deny the three per cent figure came from the Trump administration when pressed, but he said the coalition was guided by budget figures on how much could be reasonably spent on defence.

He said not going ahead with Labor’s income tax cuts, which baked in foregone revenue, would help fund the defence increase by saving $17 billion over three years from when they are due to come into effect in 2026.

Coalition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie refused to say whether cuts would be needed in other areas to fund the increase.

“We’ll release our costings in due course but there will always be trade-offs when you’re making decisions of state,” he said.

Defence funding needed to be sustainable and greater tax reform could help achieve that goal, Mr Andrews said.

“I’m not sure you can cut your way to increasing defence spending,” he said.

The spend was achievable but there needed to be more detail about where it would go, maritime security specialist and defence analyst Jennifer Parker said. 

More fighter jets would be nice to have but the priority needed to be on integrated air and missile defence to protect Australian bases and units as well as uncrewed systems, she said.