Businesses and politicians have slammed a plan to erect a statue of former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, calling it a waste of taxpayer money.

The Victorian government confirmed the bronze statue is set to cost taxpayers more than $134,000 to be designed and built in Melbourne's Treasury Square.

Jim's Mowing founder, Jim Penman, who was a vocal critic of Daniel Andrews during the COVID lockdowns, said it is ridiculous to erect a statue to him.

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Penman called Andrew's the most disastrous premier in the state's history.

Australian Restaurant and Cafe Chief Executive Wes Lambert said hospitality venues are still suffering from the effects of the COVID lockdowns, believing that the statue is not a good fiscal move.

Jeff Kennett, a former premier for the Liberal Party, started this policy of putting up statues for former premiers who spent 3000 days in office, but even he is not thrilled with the idea of the statue.

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Kennett said it is not compulsory and called it a "waste of money".

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has defended the move, calling Andrew's a "fantastic premier".

"We're just following the policy put in place by the previous premier, Jeff Kennett."

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said that the Labor government was taking out the trash, noting the announcement would not "pass the pub test".

It is yet to be confirmed when the statue will be constructed.

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Donald Trump has alarmed Taiwan and its supporters in Washington by appearing to side with China over its own independence.

Wrapping up his two-day summit in Beijing, Trump was asked by reporters whether he would support Taiwan declaring independence from China.

"On Taiwan, (Xi) does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation, and I heard it out," Trump said.

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"I didn't make a comment."

While his predecessor Joe Biden had said the US would provide military support to Taiwan if China invaded, Trump demurred.

"I don't want to say," he told reporters.

"I think the last thing we need is a war.

"It's 9500 miles (15,000km) away. I think that's the last thing we need. We're doing very well."

When asked if Trump would allow an arms deal selling weapons to Taiwan, the president was non-committal.

The nearly $A20 billion deal has bipartisan support in Washington but is opposed by China.

A statement by the government in Taiwan reiterated their independence.

"It is widely known that China's military threat is the only real insecurity in the region," the statement read.

"Our most important and only task is to dedicate ourselves to maintaining the status quo and our determination to defend ourselves, safeguarding the freedom and democracy of our 23 million people, and ensuring that the security and stability of the Taiwan Strait are not threatened or undermined."

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Trump's statements on Taiwan have been strongly criticised by politicians in Washington.

"By raising doubts about our commitment to defending Taiwan (our close ally which is responsible for many of the powerful chips that power our technology), Trump is massively raising the risks that China will attack Taiwan," Democratic Representative Dave Min said.

"Teddy Roosevelt once defined the linchpin of strong foreign policy: speak softly and carry a big stick. Trump is doing the exact opposite of that and making the world much more dangerous."

And Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump's China trip a "complete and total embarrassment".

"We know Trump's incompetent in America. He's equally so abroad," Schumer said.

"All he's coming home with is being chastised by Xi about Taiwan."

While not criticising Trump directly, Republican congressmen also called for supporting Taiwan.

"We have to support Taiwan, just like we have to support Ukraine," Rep Brian Fitzpatrick said.

"These are the fortresses of democracy, and they're on the front lines, and we have to protect and defend them."

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Taiwan and China have a long and acrimonious history dating back decades.

When Nationalist Chinese forces lost the civil war in 1949, the government relocated to Taiwan.

From there they have governed what they describe as the Republic of China, what they consider to be a government-in-exile.

The Beijing government meanwhile considers there to be only one China, and that Taiwan is a part of China.

While they have effectively governed as separate countries for decades, Taiwan formally declaring independence from China would be seen as a provocative move.

China has long been suspected of seeking a military invasion and takeover of the island.

Taiwan is Australia's sixth largest trading partner and a major supplier of petrol, computers, phones and other electronics.

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Back-to-back cash rate hikes have put a lid on some home buyer's budgets, according to new analysis from Canstar.

Last week the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) handed down a third consecutive interest rate hike, increasing the cash rate target to 4.35 per cent.

During the March 2026 quarter, the average national new loan size fell from a record-high rate late last year, with drops in the key markets of NSW and Victoria, where property prices have been in decline.

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As the market shifted, household budgets also remained stretched by high living costs.

The financial comparison website's data revealed owner-occupier borrowers drove the decline, with the value of new loans dropping by $2.8 billion from a record-breaking December 2025 quarter.

The data showed investors also pulled back, with the value of new loans falling by $1.3 billion over the first three months of the year.

Canstar said despite the dip, new lending remained well above the levels a year ago, up 18 per cent across all loans, led by investors, which surged 25 per cent year-on-year.

However, Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said borrowing appetite was still at elevated levels, with investors leading the charge.

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"The ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) data shows the value of new investor loans is up an astounding 25 per cent compared to the previous year," Tindall said.

"With growth at that pace, it's easy to see why housing has become the focus in the federal budget, with the government under pressure to ease affordability constraints for younger Australians.

"First home buyers burst out of the gates at the tail end of last year, following the uncapping of the Home Guarantee Scheme in October.

"However, the initial frenzy appears to be cooling on the back of the RBA's return to rate hikes."

Tindall said affordability remained the housing market's Achilles' heel.

"The softening in Sydney and Melbourne prices isn't the golden ticket buyers were hoping for with the rate hikes eroding borrowing power much faster than prices are easing," she said.

"The challenge for those first home buyers who did manage to buy last year at peak prices with wafer-thin deposits, is that price dips in cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

"The March quarter could mark the start of a more cautious phase for the property market, particularly if borrowers continue to face rising repayments and tighter household budgets."

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A charity boss has condemned a Melbourne council's decision to introduce laws which will allow officials to seize belongings from rough sleepers as "baffling" and "abhorrent".

The City of Port Phillip Council, which captures suburbs including St Kilda, Elwood and Windsor, voted in favour of council officers confiscating and storing "encampment equipment" from people experiencing homelessness.

While the council claims the laws will be applied as a "last resort basis", the soon-to-be introduced powers have been met with swift backlash from homelessness advocates.

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St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria group chief executive Charlie Spendlove told Nine.com.au the council is "taking the shirt off peoples' backs who are already doing it tough".

She said it simply won't change anything and that efforts would be better spent consulting with the local community about how to provide better access to crisis accommodation.

"The mayor said this amendment isn't a solution to homelessness. So what is it about? Is it about tidy streets? Just literally bundling the problem up in a box and hoping it goes away?" Spendlove said.

"The face of homelessness has changed, particularly with the cost of living and housing prices. It is a social emergency.

"So this just beggars belief."

The local law change will allow council officers to take encampment belongings, which may include sleeping bags or tents, and store them in council service centres.

City of Port Phillip Council Mayor Alex Makin said the amendment was introduced in response to "anti-social behaviour" and will only target camps which create "safety or sustained amenity impacts".

"No fines will be issued and belongings will be available for collection free of charge," Makin said.

"Our local law provisions continue to allow camping on council land if someone doesn't have a home or has complex needs.

"Our officers will receive specific trauma-informed training before the amendment comes into effect on 1 June."

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s understood that around two dozen rough sleepers are known to stay in the City of Port Phillip Council area.

A council survey of 708 residents found 76.1 per cent opposed the amendment.

However, it was passed after five councillors voted in favour of it last week, while three opposed the law.

"When so many people tell you it's a bad decision, it baffles me that [they] doubled down on a decision instead of talking to the experts," Spendlove said.

"It just deepens the trauma. It's just abhorrent."

Spendlove said the council has ignored the inconvenient truth behind homelessness: it can happen to anyone at any time.

Sleeping rough is not the result of "bad choices", she said. It is often due to a series of crises.

"It is completely ignorant for the reality, each one of us… no one is immune," she added.

"It doesn't matter who you are in the world, you're only two or three crises away from being homeless."

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Single women aged over 55 are the fastest-growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia, according to the Council to Homeless Persons.

Spendlove said she has seen heartbreaking examples of women escaping family violence in Victoria, only to end up in an encampment or sleeping rough.

In one case, a woman was found sleeping in a tent in a park with her children.

And another mother was helped after she slept in her car in a wooded area with her four children.

Spendlove warned the City of Port Phillip may have set a precedent that will harm rough sleepers all over the state.

"I'm really, really worried for Victoria, if Port Phillip [is] going to wear this badge of honour as the first council to do this… shame on them," she added.

Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin also denounced the council's decision.

She described the local law amendment as "draconian".

"When someone has nowhere safe to go, taking their bedding or moving them from one public place to another simply shifts the crisis around and makes people less safe and connected to support when they need it most," Colvin said.

"What is needed is more homes, more service capacity, and the kind of practical support that helps people move into safety and stay there."

Makin acknowledged the "diverse views" but added that "the common ground is that everyone wants improved safety in our public spaces, including for people sleeping rough".

"Support will always be offered first to address the underlying causes of behaviour," Makin added.

Other Australian councils have faced criticism over punitive attempts to curb homelessness.

The City of Perth in February engaged the Public Transport Authority (PTA) to place speakers which emitted shrill sounds 24/7 under the Lord Street overpass in East Perth in a bid to move along homeless camps.

This was disabled after outcry from advocates and politicians.

In 2023, the City of Bunbury played The Wiggles' song Hot Potato on repeat to drive rough sleepers from gathering at a shelter.

The King Street Arts Centre in Perth also faced backlash in 2015 after using a sprinkler system in a stairwell to stop people from sleeping there.

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Passengers from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship are now in quarantine after a prolonged journey home from a stopover in the Netherlands.

The group of six were among the last to be repatriated from the MV Hondius, and included four Australian citizens, one permanent resident, and one New Zealander.

The flight departed the Netherlands yesterday and is scheduled to land at an RAAF base in Perth about 1pm AEST (11am AWST).

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The group has been taken to the Centre for National Resilience in Bullsbrook in northern Perth, where they will be quarantined for three weeks.

The six are undergoing full medical checks, including blood work, which will be flown to Melbourne for processing.

It is expected their results will be returned in a day.

All passengers tested negative for Hantavirus when they left the Netherlands and are in good health.

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Of the five passengers who live in Australia, three are residents of NSW, and two of Queensland.

So far, there have been 11 confirmed cases of hantavirus among the passengers or crew members on the MV Hondius cruise ship.

Three people have died after contracting the deadly, rat-borne illness.

It was the first-ever case of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

Health Minister Mark Butler previously said the government was taking a precautionary approach, emphasising that human-to-human transmission of the virus was extremely rare.

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Opetaia Matagi raped his adoptive daughter as a child, and another woman decades later.