Australia news LIVE: Rescuers continue to search Ukrainian theatre for survivors as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues; Treasurer touts budget repair

Key posts

  • Rescuers continue to search Ukrainian theatre rubble
  • Frydenberg to switch to budget repair as cash flows in
  • This morning’s headlines at a glance

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Rescuers continue to search Ukrainian theatre rubble

Authorities in Mariupol say people are coming out alive after successfully hiding in a bomb shelter at the theatre where hundreds of people, including children, were sheltering, prompting hopes of a miracle in the besieged Ukrainian city.

Local MP Sergiy Taruta made the announcement on Facebook, which was translated by an official adviser to the Ukrainian government on Telegram.

The destroyed Mariupol theatre.

“After a terrible and scary night of uncertainty on the morning of the 22nd day of the war, finally good news from Mariupol,” Taruta wrote.

“The bomb shelter withstood! The blockages began to be dismantled and people are coming out alive.”

Hundreds of civilians had been taking shelter in the grand, columned theatre after their homes were destroyed in three weeks of fighting in the southern port city of 430,000. Satellite imagery from earlier this week, via Maxar technology, showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the theatre spelling out the word “CHILDREN” in Russian to alert warplanes to those inside.

More than a day after the airstrike, there were no reports of deaths. With communications disrupted across the city and movement difficult because of shelling and other fighting, there were some conflicting reports on whether anyone had indeed emerged from the rubble.

An official from the local mayor’s office, Petro Andrushchenko, told The Associated Press the theatre had a relatively modern basement bomb shelter designed to withstand air strikes.

The rescue efforts continue.

with AP, Reuters

Frydenberg to switch to budget repair as cash flows in

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will use his pre-election budget to start repairing a fiscal bottom line severely damaged by the COVID-19 recession, but do so without resorting to deep cuts that could jeopardise the nation’s economic recovery.

In a speech to be delivered later today, Mr Frydenberg will reveal the March 29 budget will show a “substantial” improvement in the coming financial year’s deficit, which only a few months ago had been forecast to reach $98.9 billion.

Josh Frydenberg selling the 2021-22 budget in May last year. This year he will reveal a much improved, but still deeply red, bottom line.Credit:Jessica Hromas

And in a direct challenge to those within the Coalition pressing Mr Frydenberg to move more quickly to repair the budget, the Treasurer will argue debt as a share of the economy can be reduced without running budget surpluses.

Read the full story here.

This morning’s headlines at a glance

Good morning and thanks for reading our live coverage.

It’s Friday, March 18. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll bring you some of today’s biggest stories as they unfold.

Here’s what you need to know before we get started.

  • British military intelligence suggests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled on the ground. However, Ukrainian cities continue to come under heavy bombing from the air. In the besieged city of Mariupol, a local Ukrainian MP says people are “coming out alive” from a theatre that was sheltering hundreds of people, including children, when it was hit by a powerful bomb. The theatre had a bomb shelter which survived the bombing and authorities are trying to free people from the wreckage, according to Ukrainian authorities. Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden will speak to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday (US time) to discuss Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Germany’s national parliament, the Bundestag, via live video.Credit:Getty

  • In federal politics, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is due to give a taste of the upcoming federal budget today. The Morrison government has previously suggested that the budget will tackle cost-of-living concerns. Mr Frydenberg is due to speak on ABC radio later this morning and is expected to speak about the need for budget repair in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It comes after women led the charge to drive down the nation’s unemployment rate to a 14-year low.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

  • Elsewhere in Australia, and victims of the recent NSW floods who live in four local government areas will receive additional support payments a week after people in neighbouring LGAs were told they could access the same payments. The Morrison government has come under fire because residents in Tweed, Byron, Ballina and Kyogle in northern NSW had previously missed out on an announcement regarding additional support. Their federal member is a Labor MP, while neighbouring federal electorates – also ravaged by the recent floods – are held by the Coalition.

A Tweed farmhouse surrounded by floodwaters earlier this month. Credit:Getty

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