Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says his budget's cost of living measures will take the "sting out of" surging inflation but won't go too far and drive it up further.

Balance between helping struggling Australians and keeping the pressure off rising prices was the key theme when Labor's money man sat down with 9News chief political editor Charles Croucher to discuss what's expected to be Australia's first budget in the black for 15 years.

Chalmers said inflation, though predicted to almost halve over the next 18 months, was still driving a lot of the government's budget policy and defended the decision to raise JobSeeker and other payments by $40 a fortnight, less than recommended in a recent report.

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"There's always people who say don't do anything, there will be groups who say that we should be doing more, and I respect all of those opinions right across the spectrum of views," he told Croucher on Tuesday night.

"What we've tried to do here is strike a good balance."

Chalmers said the rising prices confronting Australians weren't because government payments were too generous or wages were growing too quick but due to the war in Ukraine and supply issues in the economy.

"With this package we've targeted it, we've made it responsible over a period of time, and that's because our cost of living package is designed to address cost of living pressures, not add to them," he said.

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Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor wasn't giving his opposite number any credit for the surplus the Coalition failed to achieve throughout nine years, calling it a "big-spending" budget in a year when a "drover's dog" could have balanced the books.

"It gives with one hand, takes with the other divides Australians into those who get benefits from the government and the vast majority who are going to pay for those benefits," Taylor told Croucher.

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Behind all the rhetoric, promises and policies, these graphs tell the real story of the federal budget.

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Eurovision, the zany, annual pop extravaganza, begins this week in Liverpool.

English singer and songwriter Mae Muller will be looking to take it home for the hosts with I Wrote A Song, after the nation came runner-up last year, represented by Sam Ryder with his song Space Man.

Normally the winner of the previous contest would host the next one, but that winner was Ukraine with its folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, and the ongoing war there has made that impossible.

Britain has vowed to make the event a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity.

Who will represent Australia and why is Australia competing in EUROvision anyway?

Perth band Voyager will represent Australia at this year's competition with their song Promise.

Guy Sebastian's appearance for Australia in 2015 was supposed to be a one-off, but we've been invited back every year since.

The contest enjoys a cult following here, attracts a lot of Australian viewers, and gets widespread media attention.

This will be the first time Australia has sent a band, instead of a soloist, to the event, but our synth-metal rockers won't look out of place in the Eurovision line-up which is known for attracting diverse and eclectic performers.

In 2006, Finnish heavy metal band Lordi donned monster prosthetics for their winning performance Hard Rock Hallelujah.

The contest also delivers a generous serving of pop ballads like ABBA's infamous Waterloo which won in 1974, and has since been deemed the best song in the competition's history.

If Australia were to win Eurovision (Dami Im came second in 2016 with Sound of Silence so it's certainly not impossible) it's unlikely we'd ever host the contest ourselves, instead we'd likely co-host within a country on the European continent.

Liverpool, the World Capital of Pop

BBC Director-General Tim Davie said Liverpool, "the undisputed capital of pop music", and birthplace of The Beatles, would be "an amazing host".

The UK had become disenchanted with the contest after a string of poor results but coming second last year has reignited widespread enthusiasm, according to Muller.

"I feel like with the UK, we have the tendency to be quite like self-deprecating," Muller said.

"We don't take ourselves too seriously and I feel like that might have been like half our problem maybe with Eurovision. And I feel like now we're like, 'Let's take this seriously. Like, let's do this'."

The last time the UK won the contest was 1997, thanks to Katrina and the Waves and Love Shine A Light.

The intervening years have seen five last-place results for the UK.

For years, the Brits blamed their streak of bad results on Europe's dissatisfaction with them over Brexit.

Separating pop and politics

The contest claims to be a "non-political event" and its rules expressly state "the ESC (Eurovision Song Contest) shall in no case be politicised and/or instrumentalised and/or otherwise brought into disrepute in any way".

The contest was founded in 1956 to help unite a continent scarred by World War II, and has since grown to include more than 40 countries.

While organisers strive to keep pop and politics apart – banning overtly political symbols and lyrics – global tensions have often imposed themselves on the contest.

Russia was kicked out of this year's competition because of its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's win last year, helped by a landslide phone-vote was seen as an act of solidarity by the European audience.

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the inclusion of Israel have also affected the show in past years.

Can Aussies vote?

Yes, but not for Australia.

Australians can vote in semi final 1 held on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning AEST) (because we're competing in semi final 2 on Thursday) and the grand final on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST), if we make it that far.

Voting is conducted online here.

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A driver has escaped serious injury after his five-tonne truck caught fire on a busy Melbourne freeway this afternoon.

The truck, which contained timber and hardware products, caught fire at about 4.30pm on the Monash Freeway.

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Truck driver Jean-Bernard Toohim told 9News the fire happened within minutes.

"A bit of smoke started coming out of the engine and the fire started lightly," he said.

"It just got bigger and bigger."

The outbound entry ramp from Warrigal Road to the Monash Freeway has since reopened.

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Police are investigating after a toddler was found dead at a home on the Gold Coast.

Detectives were called to a luxury Mermaid Beach apartment complex just after 8am.

Paramedics said the girl, believed to be around two years old, was found dead inside.

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A crime scene was declared while police combed through the building and left with paper bags.

One neighbour told 9News there was "not too much commotion" but guessed there were around 10 police officers on the street.

Police have indicated the investigation could be a lengthy.

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The Victorian government has settled a $5million class action brought by public housing residents in Melbourne.

The class action was launched by residents living in nine public housing towers at North Melbourne and Flemington, after they were forced into a sudden COVID-19 lockdown in July 2020.

The plaintiffs argued they were wrongly detained and were not allowed to leave the towers for 14 days, which caused immense hardship.

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The Department of Health posted the notice of the settlement last week, which needs to be approved by the Supreme Court.

The state government denies claims outlined in the class action but proposed to resolve the matter through a settlement and without a trial.

The settlement will be divided among residents who opted into the agreement.

About 3000 residents were living across the nine towers during the time.

The immediate COVID-19 lockdown was announced at a 4pm press conference on July 4, with many of the residents unaware of the order until police arrived outside.

An investigation, led by Ombudsman Deborah Glass into the treatment of public housing residents handed down in 2020, found the immediacy of the lockdown was not based on direct health advice and breached human rights.

"The rushed lockdown was not compatible with the residents' human rights, including their right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty," Glass said.

"In my opinion, based on the evidence gathered by the investigation, the action appeared to be contrary to the law."

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The investigation found that senior officials agreed on the morning of July 4 the towers should be locked down to control coronavirus outbreak, with a next-day start anticipated to allow planning for food supplies and other logistics.

However, it was announced it would start immediately.

The government did not mention an apology in the settlement.

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There’s no reprieve for the top of the country with heavy rain forecast this afternoon.

An alleged road rage incident elevated into a violent confrontation leaving one man in hospital and three others under arrest in Sydney's west.

The incident, caught on CCTV, showed a ute crossing from the wrong side of the road to sharply cut off two cars in Bankstown.

After the traffic incident, four men jumped out of their sedan and confronted the driver of the ute before allegedly bashing him.

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The group was seen grabbing a metal pole and smashing the windscreen.

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Three men were arrested and brought to the Bankstown Police Station.

After being taken to hospital for a cut to his head, the 36-year-old driver of the ute is being investigated for being reckless behind the wheel.

No charges have been laid as authorities continue their investigations.

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Two men have been killed and two children were taken to hospital after a crash in Perth's south.

A man on a motorbike and a Nissan Navara ute collided at 5.20pm last night in Secret Harbour

Both the rider – a 20-year-old man – and the driver – a 32-year-old man – died at the scene at the intersection of Surf Drive and Warnbro Sound Avenue.

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A 12-year-old girl and boy aged four who were in the ute were taken to Perth Children's Hospital by St John WA with minor injuries.

Witness Simone Peachy said a man "started kicking down the front of the window to try and get into the car."

"I saw a gentleman grab a four-year-old out of a window and we could hear the screams of the girl just needing help," Peachy said.

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WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch saying motorcycle fatalities have increased in the past year.

"This is really a timely reminder coming into Mother's Day, particularly for motorcycles and motorists all across the State to be very, very careful, Blanch said.

Major Crash officers are investigating and are urging anyone who may have seen what happened or has dash camera footage to reach out.

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A man who handed himself into police after a 31-year-old man was shot dead in an allegedly stolen car in Melbourne's north-west has been released without charge, however officers still believe he is the man who shot the victim.

Ayman Afram was found in a stolen black BMW sedan on Vaucluse Boulevard with critical injuries on Sunday night at Taylors Hill.

9News can reveal the BMW was one of 20 cars stolen from a smash repairs shop in Mulgrave just hours earlier.

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CCTV vision captured the moment the alleged thieves rammed a garage door before taking off with a safe full of keys and vehicles including the BMW.

Hours later, the car was seen following a white Mitsubishi in Melbourne's north-west.

Detective Acting Inspector Nigel L'Estrange said yesterday that the BMW sedan was pursing another car, a white Mitsubishi Lancer, before the alleged shooting.

The Mitsubishi then crashed into bollards on Grange Terrace before the BMW pulled up behind them.

"The driver of the white Lancer has gotten out of the vehicle with the firearm and fired a shot through the front windscreen of the black BMW," L'Estrange said.

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"The BMW took off, and the two drivers of the Mitsubishi have left on foot, that is the shooter and his passenger."

The BMW is believed to have driven to Vaucluse Boulevard, where the driver contacted triple zero and fled the scene.

Ambulance crews treated the 31-year-old Craigieburn man at the scene but he died from his injuries.

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Police say a 42-year-old Caroline Springs man, who handed himself into officers before later being released pending further inquiries, is believed to be the person who shot the victim.

The alleged suspect was earlier questioned while police search for two other men believed to be involved what they believe was a targeted attack.

Police said they received a "significant amount" of information overnight and are confident they will identify the two other men who fled the scene – the driver of the BMW and passenger of the Lancer.

The parties involved are known to each other, police say.

Detectives are also keen to speak to anyone who was in the area around Vaucluse Boulevard, Grange Terrace and Johnston Way between 11pm and midnight on Sunday, including any vehicles travelling through the area that may have dashcam footage.

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