ABC radio news and current affairs afternoon program reporting on Australia and the world.

The Federal Government is allocating more than $7 million to roll-out more diphtheria vaccines as the outbreak worsens in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

The Federal Government is preparing a support package to help states and territories manage Australia's biggest outbreak of diphtheria in decades.

The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have spent the day defending the decision to overhaul the country's capital gains tax system.

The Federal Government is fending off claims by the Opposition that it is effectively introducing a "death tax" through its newly-announced changes to a tax on trusts.

The Federal Government is listing one of the nation's neo-Nazi organisations as a prohibited hate group.

The Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will deliver his budget reply speech this evening, including a plan to restrict welfare services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme to Australian citizens.

The federal government's planned changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount are prompting fierce debate after being unveiled in the Budget.

Plans to reform the tax system have been revealed in this year's federal budget.

The Albanese government has released its long-awaited response to a landmark gambling report which called for a complete ban on online gambling advertisements.

Liberal MPs have spent the day talking down the idea the party will be forced to form a coalition with One Nation to have any chance of forming government again.

Three Australian women linked to the Islamic State group have faced court after returning to Australia.

A group of thirteen women and children with links to Islamic state is arriving in Australia after fleeing a refugee camp in Syria.

The Prime Minister has announced the Federal Budget will include a $10 billion fuel security and resilience package to make the nation more self-sufficient.

The Reserve Bank Board has raised interest rates for the third time this year in a bid to curb rising inflation.

On the first day of public hearings at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Jewish Australians have told the inquiry how public abuse is affecting their lives.

The family of Alice Springs five year old, Kumanjayi Little Baby has called for calm after a riot broke out in the outback town last night.

NT Police have found the body of a missing five year old girl who they believe was abducted from a home in Alice Springs five days ago.

The Northern Territory Police believe that someone is helping hide a man wanted in relation to the abduction of a five year old girl in Alice Springs.

The search for a missing five year old girl is continuing in Alice Springs, three days after she was last seen with a man recently released from prison.

More questions are being raised about the security surrounding the United States President after an armed man attempted to get close to Donald Trump and other officials.

The Israel - Lebanon ceasefire has been extended for three weeks as thousands of Lebanese civilians return home.

The Government has defended plans to overhaul the NDIS despite criticism from disability advocates.Â

The Health Minister has announced plans to reduce the number of participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 150 000 by the end of the decade to cut costs.

Iran is yet to confirm it will attend fresh peace talks with the US as the ceasefire deadline approaches.

Iran has threatened to retaliate after the United States Navy attacked an Iranian container ship.

A fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is in place, but it is not clear if the Iran-backed group Hezbollah will abide by it.

With the nation's fuel supplies under threat because of the Iran war, the Federal Government has described a fire at a Victorian oil refinery, as "a setback".

The American President, Donald Trump, says peace talks between the US and Iran could resume in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in a matter of days.

The Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has announced the first part of his "Australian Values Migration Plan."

After the failed peace talks between the US and Iran, Donald Trump is now planning to use US navy ships to blockade Iranian ports.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed his military will continue to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite agreeing to enter into peace negotiations with the Lebanese government.

The ceasefire agreement in the Middle East is looking tenuous this evening, after Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed hundreds of civilians.

The United States, Israel and Iran have agreed at the last minute to a two-week ceasefire, but it seems the three nations have differing ideas about the terms of the truce.

Australia's most famous modern day soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been charged with murder after an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

Iran is vowing to retaliate if Donald Trump follows through on threats to attack Iranian power plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened by tomorrow.

In his first address to the nation since the start of the war in Iran, the US President Donald Trump has claimed the military operation has been a major success.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is to address the nation this evening to outline what the government is doing to ease the effects of the fuel crisis and to urge Australians to play their part in protecting supplies.

Iran is warning the United States that if ground troops enter the war in Iran none will return home alive.

After the biggest manhunt in Victorian history, police have shot dead fugitive Dezi Freeman who was wanted for killing two police officers last year.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle has made landfall on WA's north west coast.

Iran has rejected a U.S peace proposal and countered with its own terms to bring the conflict to an end, including that it be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz.

Australia and the European Union have signed a free trade agreement and a defence and security pact.