A new poll conducted for The Australia Institute reveals that more than half of Australian voters believe Donald Trump is a greater threat to global security than Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The YouGov poll of 1502 people found more than more than twice as many (59%) Australians now believe Australia’s interests are better served by a more independent foreign policy rather than a closer alliance with the United States (23%). Just one in eight (13%) Australians believe the US is a “very reliable” security ally.

The poll shows a further erosion of confidence in the US under President Trump. A year ago, a similar poll found that 31% of Australians believed Trump was a greater threat to world peace than Putin (27%) and Xi (27%).

Now, 52% feel that Trump is a bigger threat than Putin (17%) and Xi (16%).

Key findings:

• More One Nation voters (35%) believe Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than Putin (18%), and about the same number think Xi is the biggest threat (32%).

• One third (33%) of Australians now believe the AUKUS security agreement is not in Australia’s best interests.

• 68% of Australians, including 53% of One Nation voters, oppose Australia’s involvement in the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

Link to full report.

Beef season two stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan made an on-set decision that proved rather expensive.

The Hollywood stars play the leads in new episodes of the hit Netflix show, playing a couple whose marriage starts to disintegrate after their lives collide with a newly engaged pair (Cailee Spaney and Charles Melton).

During the eight-episode season, there are many scenes of rage and passion, and it’s been revealed that, for certain moments, Isaac and Mulligan listened to music while performing their character beats.

However, when it came to the edit, these earphones had to be removed and, according to creator Lee Sung Jin, they “cost a fortune to paint out”.

Speaking on a podcast breaking down the first episode, Sung Jin said: “You two were always playing songs as you performed.”

Isaac revealed he initially had one for a scene in which he played a Moog synthesizer, but enjoyed the experience so much he thought he might try to listen to songs that matched the scene he was performing. After telling Mulligan about his plan, she asked for one also.

::: spoiler Potential spoilers They both wore earwigs for one particular scene in which their characters passionately kiss.

“That was amazing because it timed out unbelievably well to the moment,” Mulligan said. “The beat would drop on the [kiss]. We were so delighted every time, we were like, ‘It did it again!’”

Isaac added: “Yeah, the rhythm was lining up. We had to do that because you couldn't have the music playing to cover up the audio, so we liked [wearing the earwigs] so much. We were like, ‘Why don't we keep doing that in other scenes?’ And so we started doing that and it was great.”

During another scene involving blackmail, the pair were listening to “really chaotic” music by Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard, which Isaac said “added to the tension”.

However, one song that didn’t fit with the rhythm was one suggested by Mulligan – Meat Loaf’s 1993 epic “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”.

“We did so many takes on the blackmail scene that eventually I was like, ‘Let’s do Meat Loaf!’ Halfway through, we were like, ‘No, that doesn't work.’” :::

The Electoral Commission of South Australia has uncovered more than 600 ballot papers that were not counted in the recent state election, including dozens from the closely contested seat of Narungga on the Yorke Peninsula.

Narungga has been declared for One Nation's Chantelle Thomas, who won the seat by a margin of just 58 votes.

The electoral commission has ordered a further count in Narungga since the discovery.

It says the ballots include 77 unopened absent ordinary ballot papers and four declaration ballot papers that were returned in the neighbouring district of Stuart.

Just a thread for anyone voting or watching along to comment in over the course of the day. ABC's live coverage starts from 6 PM local time.

In the same week Hanson refused to apologise for telling Sky News “how can you tell me there are good Muslims?”, 58% of respondents to the Essential poll said they either would vote for One Nation, or were open to voting for them, at the next election due by 2028.

Among all respondents, 25% said they would “definitely” back the rightwing populist party at the next election, with 33% saying they’re “open” to it. Only 28% said they would “never vote for One Nation”, with 14% unsure.

February’s Essential poll finds a substantial number of Labor voters are also open to One Nation.

Among respondents who said they voted for the Coalition, 17% said they would definitely vote One Nation next time, with a startling 51% saying they were open to doing so. Among Labor voters, 12% said they’d definitely vote One Nation, with 33% saying they’d be open to it.

Awful change, basically killed GMaps WV overnight.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing Coles in a lawsuit described as "the case of the century" by a former ACCC boss.

Yesterday, the ACCC accused Coles of a "planned" campaign to mislead customers with fake or "illusory" discounts on hundreds of common household items from dog food to yoghurt and bottles of Coke.

The consumer watchdog claims the supermarket giant jacked up prices for a short time before cutting them and including items in the "Down Down" promotion.

It claims the "Down Down" price was actually more than, or the same as, the regular price.

In evidence this morning the judge overseeing the case, Justice Michael O'Bryan, asked Coles to explain what it was telling customers with its prominent marketing campaign, featuring giant red hands pointing down.

"It's really asking a bigger question about what ordinary consumers understand about the Down Down program," Justice O'Bryan said.

"I don't know if I've seen a statement from Coles which directly answers that question."

In response, legal counsel for Coles John Sheahan KC said: "In terms of what consumers would take from the advertising campaigns and the red hand — not much."

"It's an indication that Coles is trying to keep prices low," he said.

Justice O'Bryan probed further, asking if Coles would accept that "Down Down" was a promotion and showed a discount.

"Yes," Mr Sheahan responded.

I can see the potential as a less intimidating way to get casual players and friends into the game. The guaranteed shorter game time is also pretty good for when I want to play one more at the end of the night but don't want to endure a possible 45+ minute slogfest.

However, the complete randomness of the items in a game where certain heroes are not very playstyle flexible and can be hard countered by actives feels pretty stupid at times. I played a game as Vindicta where the enemy got Knockdown in Round 1 and I could barely play the game until Round 3 where I got Unstoppable (which had a way longer cooldown). Item choices are hidden until a round starts, so there is no way to know whether you're going to be hard-countered and need to build unconventionally in response. I feel like they should be able to balance the game mode better but I'm not sure how serious they're taking it right now.

Last year the tax contribution by Australian mining companies dropped. It was the only segment to tip in less tax. Every year the ATO drops the numbers on Australia’s biggest companies. Billions flowing in, billions vanishing offshore, and too often, zero tax paid.

From mining giants and tech titans, to insurers and Rupert Murdoch’s empire, we break down who’s lifting and who’s leaning. The truth is simple: if they don’t pay, you do.

We go through the zeros and heroes of our tax system and find out extensively who pays what

Watch as we name names, expose the shenanigans, and ask the obvious question how long are Australians going to foot the bill for corporate greed?

I love a good Michael West rant. Always dripping in sarcasm!

In short:

The American Broadcasting Company has axed Jimmy Kimmel Live! for comments the host made referencing the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has received hundreds of complaints intended for America's ABC about the show being cancelled.

The vast majority of complaints sent to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation contained expressions of dismay, with many citing concerns about free speech and the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

lol

Article may be paywalled. Here is an alternative link if you need it.

Rupert Murdoch's family has reached a deal that guarantees eldest son Lachlan will retain control of his father's media empire after the elderly patriarch's death.

James, Elisabeth and Prudence will each receive more than $US1 billion ($1.52 billion) for their shares in the companies, The New York Times reported, citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the negotiations.

Fox said the three siblings would also be prevented from ever buying back into the companies.

Media Watch rips into everyone (including the ABC) over the shambolic coverage of the Erin Patterson trial.