Politicians from both sides in Australia have weighed in today on US President Donald Trump's apparent stumble when he said he did not know what AUKUS was.

Trump was hosting visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House when the pair were asked by a reporter whether they'd be discussing AUKUS, under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

"What does that mean?" Trump replied.

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After being told by the British journalist about the defence agreement involving the three nations, the US president said "we've had a very good relationship with Australia".

Since Trump took office last month, the future of the AUKUS alliance, which Australia will spend $368 billion on to acquire a fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines by the 2030s has been under scrutiny.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told Today this morning he was sure the US president supports AUKUS, putting the slip down to confusion over acronyms.

"Not everyone, you know, gets the acronyms, and all the rest of it, but there's no doubt in my mind that the president strongly supports the alliance between our three countries and strongly supports AUKUS."

"He stated (his support) previously and the submarine deal, which we negotiated when we were in government when I was defence minister, will underpin the national security of our country for the next century. And it's an important relationship."

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Senior government frontbencher Murray Watt also said he was unfazed about Trump's slip-up.

"Obviously, President Trump has got a lot on his plate and lots to remember. And you'll see that very quickly he was able to make the point about the strength of the relationship between Australia and the US," Watt said.

"We've already seen both the Secretary of State and Secretary for Defence in the US talk about president Trump's support for the AUKUS arrangements, so that's what really matters, rather than whether someone remembers an acronym in the middle of a meeting." 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent played a straight bat when 9News' Jonathan Kearsley in Washington asked him if the president knows what AUKUS is.

Bessent replied: "I think we're going to have to limit the questions to Americans who he can understand."

Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Trump was well aware of the AUKUS alliance.

He was speaking as the Australian government made a $US500 million ($798 million) payment to Washington as part of the AUKUS deal.

One American politician said on Thursday that Trump should have been better briefed by his aides about the importance of AUKUS.

Congressman Joe Courtney, a Democrat who represents a district of Connecticut where the US Navy submarines are made, said on X the deal was vital for American jobs.

"POTUS talk to your Secretary of Defense who just received a $500M check from Australia as part of the AUKUS agreement. A great deal for America."

The AUKUS pact was signed by Trump's predecessor Joe Biden to counter China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia, the US and Britain signed the AUKUS pact nearly four years ago, with the aim of maintaining a "free and open Indo-Pacific".

Under the deal, Australia would purchase three Virginia-class submarines from the US and build five of a new AUKUS-class submarine in cooperation with Britain.

But there have been concerns over the US's ability to produce nuclear-powered submarines for its own military needs, aside from its deal with Australia.

A Melbourne couple's lives were changed forever after they won the $30 million Powerball prize last night.

They revealed that a dream had inspired their choice of numbers, and they held the only Division One winning entry in Powerball draw 1502.

"I had a dream about these numbers – 1, 7, 11 and 22. There were other numbers, but I didn't remember them all," he told The Lott.

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The couple from Point Cook scored division two 19 times, bolstering their total win to $30,440,758.20.

The man revealed he had the numbers in his head and had written them down on a ticket a few years ago, hoping they would pay off.

"Thank you for this call. This is the best call I've ever had," he said.

"It's come at the perfect time. It just takes the pressure off. We're pretty low-key. We'll still go to work tomorrow. We just want to enjoy life. We'll speak to a financial advisor and invest.

"We don't want for much, so this means we are well and truly set. It's just amazing!"

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Their winning ticket was purchased online.

The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1502 were 26, 22, 7, 35, 1, 11 and 25, with the Powerball number being 3.

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Here's a look back at the actor's life and career.

Emergency services were called to the scene in Courtenay Place about 8.25pm.

An alleged repeat youth offender is behind bars after being charged over a horrific crash that claimed the life of an elderly pensioner on a mobility scooter.

The same boy is accused of targeting the home of a blind man and several other serious crimes.

Allan Smillie, 76, was coming home from the shops on his mobility scooter on Saturday morning in the Logan suburb of Kingston when his life was cut short allegedly by the actions of a 17-year-old boy.

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Police arrested the Waterford West boy at the scene and announced a string of charges had been laid against him on Sunday night.

It's alleged the teen failed to stop the Ford Focus he was driving at a stop sign on Anthony Street about 10.40am, colliding with a Holden Barina and then Smillie.

Smillie's family member, Melissa Griffin, said: "It's just really hard to comprehend what's happened.

"The whole family is shattered."

Kristyn Marshall said Smillie had been "left him for dead".

Smillie's niece, Kaylee On, told 9News: "We're not going to hear his voice anymore, you know, as soft as he was, we will not ever hear that again, and it's devastating, it really is, mate."

Police will allege the child was behind the wheel of a car he took from his parents and was unlicensed.

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"The vehicle had three occupants in it, they all ran away from the vehicle after the incident," Mark White from Queensland Police said.

A member of the public pinned down the accused teen until officers arrived.

A girl filmed running from the scene is also understood to be assisting police.

The teenage boy was charged with seven offences over the incident including dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death whilst adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, leaving the scene of an incident without getting help, unlicensed driving and drug possession.

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He was also charged with nine property charges over alleged offences on Thursday in the Logan area.

He's accused of a string of crimes, including ramming a Logan family home in December.

Among those inside was a man who is legally blind.

He chased the group off his property.

Detectives are investigating a number of other break-ins and whether they're linked to the teen.

His case was briefly mentioned in the Beenleigh Magistrates court this morning.

He'll be back before a magistrate next month.

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A cyclist has opened up about the moment he was rammed by a car in an alleged hit-run in Melbourne's Bayside over the weekend.

Justin Spencer, 53, was riding at the back of a group along the Nepean Highway in Seaford just before 8am on Saturday when he was allegedly struck by a blue Volkswagen Golf, police said.

Vision filmed by a rider in front of Spencer shows him falling to the ground from the impact of the hit.

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Speaking to 9News, he described feeling like he'd been hit by "a freight train".

"A massive hit. I was just in total shock," Spencer said.

"I do concede how lucky I was because the outcome could've been a lot worse."

As the father of two lay injured on the ground, the Golf allegedly swerved at the group in front of him, before speeding off.

Spencer moved himself onto the Seaford nature strip before he was surrounded by witnesses wanting to help.

He was treated at the scene and is awaiting surgery for a broken hand.

Spencer says he still deliberately avoids cycling during weekdays and busy times.

"I can understand the frustration… people are going to work and they've got a cyclist blocking… I would be frustrated too," he said.

"The right-hand lane was clear for this guy, if he was in such a rush he could've gone past."

Police will allege the driver of the Golf fled the scene after the collision occurred.

Witnesses claim he had at least two other passengers in the car.

A 20-year-old Cranbourne North man has since been charged with a string of offences, including reckless conduct endangering life, dangerous driving and failure to render assistance.

He was bailed to appear before the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court on April 3.

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Doctors say a multibillion-dollar spend on Medicare will not hit bulk-billing targets because it doesn't match the actual cost of care.

With an election looming, both the federal government and opposition have now pledged to significantly increase rebates for visits to the doctor.

After announcing his planned $8.5 billion boost to incentives for doctors who bulk bill, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a GP clinic in the Melbourne marginal seat of Chisholm today.

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"It makes a difference, the quality of health care," he said.

"We believe that people should be able to see a doctor for free."

He has set a bulk-billing target of 90 per cent by 2030 if he wins the election.

It's currently 77.5 per cent, with the gap widening between the Medicare rebate and what patients pay.

In NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, the average out-of-pocket cost for a standard visit to the GP is $43.

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GP visits in Queensland ($44), Tasmania ($48) and the ACT ($50) are all more expensive.

The cheapest are South Australia at $36 and the Northern Territory at $40.

Every state and territory is well above the $26.70 extra being offered to GPs to bulk bill. 

"Extending the bulk-billing rates to everyone doesn't mean that everyone's going to get bulk-billed because the Medicare rebates still don't exceed the cost of care in most places," RACGP president Dr Michael Wright said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he believed "the doctors are right to be sceptical".

Dutton has cut-and-pasted Labor's policy as his own, throwing in an extra half a billion dollars to restore mental health support.

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"We have to have a strong general practice network because if we don't, people just turn up to emergency departments," Dutton said.

It means no matter who wins the next election, Medicare is a multibillion-dollar winner.

When asked on Today how the government would afford it, Health Minister Mark Butler said it'll be laid out in the next budget update.

The health minister perhaps let slip there won't be a full budget in March, which would mean the nation will soon tumble into an official election campaign.

Video shows a glass hurled at a chef’s face in El Humero.

Exclusive: The owner of a car allegedly stolen by former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann says she's never met him before and can't explain why it was taken. 

In the small Tasmanian hamlet of Mountain River, 30 minutes out of Hobart, Gail Oates and her Toyota Prado are making national headlines.

"I just don't understand it," she told 9News.

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Her 4WD was taken in the early hours of Monday, November 20, 2024.

The alleged thief was Lehrmann.

Oates, who had hidden her keys inside the car, says she noticed the vehicle was missing when she left the house at 7am to drive her son to work.

"Panic, panic, absolute panic, because I knew that was my pride and joy the Prado – so I rang the police straight away," she said.

But by midday, it was returned with the keys and a full tank of fuel.

"It was so weird and bizarre," she said.

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She says police showed her security vision of a man at a nearby service station.

"(He) put fuel in my car and bought a bottle of Coke," Oates said.

"(Police) then came and asked me if I could identify him and I did not know him from a bar of soap."

Oates only discovered today the man charged is the former Liberal staffer.

She says she's never met him before but her son briefly worked with him.

"I've never met that man before in my life, I've only seen him on the news," Oates said.

There are media reports the 29-year-old has been living in Tasmania since last year when he lost his defamation battle against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson when a judge found, on the balance of probabilities, he had raped Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House.

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Lehrmann dialled into Hobart Magistrate's Court today, charged with one count of stealing a motor vehicle.

He is yet to enter a plea and the case is expected back in June.

Police were called to an address on Emmett St about 4.40pm.