Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh has criticised the Albanese government after revealing she paid $12.40 for just two litres of milk and a loaf of bread.

Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas on Wednesday, McIntosh said families were being squeezed by rising household expenses. She argued Labor’s spending decisions were contributing to ongoing inflation.

Holding up the groceries during the interview, she said: “I came by the shops and a two-litre bottle of milk and a loaf of white bread cost $12.40, and that barely feeds a couple of kids for a couple of hours.”

“This is what people are paying for milk and bread, let alone what they’re paying for their mortgages and their rents to keep a roof over their families’ heads.”

McIntosh blamed the Albanese government for the pressure on household budgets, accusing Labor of failing to curb spending while inflation remained elevated.

“We are in this position because of this government, high inflation, and they just won’t back down on their homegrown expenditure,” she said.

The Liberal MP also criticised Treasurer Jim Chalmers, claiming he was shifting attention away from domestic policy by attributing inflationary pressures to overseas events.

“I couldn’t believe Jim Chalmers today,” McIntosh said.

“If it was a drinking game and Australians had a drink every time he tried to blame the war in the Middle East, the pubs would have run dry.”

“He is lying when he is saying this is all about the war in the Middle East. There’s nothing to see here.”

McIntosh said government expenditure was a major source of inflationary pressure, pointing to the public sector’s share of economic activity and Australia’s growing debt.

“When you’ve got nearly 28 per cent of GDP coming from government spending, of course inflation is going to be high,” she said.

“We’ve got $1 trillion of debt and when you’ve got $1 trillion of debt, you’re paying off that debt. It’s like having a bad credit card.”

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“$33 billion a year is just paying off that debt. Imagine the hospital funding. Imagine the infrastructure that could be built.”

Asked whether the Coalition would have to identify savings—including to cover rising indexed payments—and whether that could involve reducing social services, McIntosh rejected the suggestion.

“We’re not looking to cut support,” she said.

‘I’m in Penrith in western Sydney where people are doing it really tough right now and I’m hearing more and more people are going onto the social welfare system, not because they want to, but because they need to.’

Instead, she said governments should focus on making sure taxpayer money delivered real results rather than just increasing spending.

‘For too long, success has been judged on the amount of money that is being thrown at programs,’  McIntosh said.

‘We need to ensure that the money is having a positive impact on people’s lives.

‘I don’t want to see the line-ups at the food banks I’m seeing now where the working homeless are making a decision between having a roof over their heads, paying the bills for having that roof over their heads, or feeding their families,’ she said.  

The government has pushed back on claims its spending is driving inflation, with Chalmers arguing global factors, including conflict in the Middle East, remain a key source of price pressures through higher oil costs.

‘Public demand growth has slowed considerably,’ Chalmers said on Thursday.

‘In fact, it came in even lower in the budget numbers we released on Monday than what we were anticipating when we released the budget in May.’

Jesse Baird was asked to leave his Paddington rental by his two female housemates after disagreements over the condition in which the home was being kept.

One of the women, who gave evidence under the pseudonym Belinda Smith for legal reasons, told the court she had first lived with Baird in a larger share house in Drummoyne from 2022.

While they were living in Drummoyne, Baird introduced her to Beau Lamarre-Condon. Smith said Baird told her the pair were in a romantic relationship.

After that lease ended, Smith and Baird chose to find a home of their own. They moved with Smith’s female friend, identified in court as Sarah King for legal reasons.

The trio began renting a property on Brown Street in Paddington on April 1, 2023.

Asked by Crown Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC whether she and Baird were friends, Smith replied: “We were cordial, but didn’t socialise outside the house.”

Smith said Baird told her he and Lamarre-Condon had ended their relationship in early 2023. However, she saw Lamarre-Condon at the Paddington property in August that year.

During a short conversation, Lamarre-Condon told her he had organised a New Year’s Eve holiday in Bali for himself and Baird, including “nice accommodation”.

The court was also shown text messages exchanged between Smith and King.

The messages centred on the nature of Baird’s relationship with Lamarre-Condon.

In one message, a housemate wrote: “Lots to fill you in on, Beau stayed last night lol.”

The response was sarcastic: “Just friends though.”

The women also discussed Lamarre-Condon driving Baird to Newcastle to pick up a new car.

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One housemate responded: “[Oh my god] just as friends though lol pretty sure Beau lives with his parents.”

Smith told the court she later questioned Baird about what was happening between him and Lamarre-Condon.

She raised the planned Bali trip and suggested Lamarre-Condon might regard the relationship as more serious than Baird did.

In November 2023, Baird allegedly told Smith that he had woken during the night and discovered Lamarre-Condon looking through his phone.

Smith said Baird was “very angry” about the incident.

The court heard the tenancy agreement was scheduled to end on March 29, 2024.

Smith and King wanted to extend the lease, but planned to bring in another female friend and have Baird leave the property.

‘Were there some issues about the way the house was kept?’ Mr Hatfiend asked.

‘Yes,’ Ms Smith replied.

She said Baird was initially upset when he was asked to move out because he had wanted to stay on the lease, but he agreed to find alternative accommodation.

Ms Smith told the court that conversation took place in January or February 2024 – just weeks before he died.

‘We remained cordial,’ she said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has taken an indirect swipe at Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers over their approach to government spending, saying every level of government must play a role in easing inflationary pressure.

The comments came after the Reserve Bank unanimously raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.6 per cent on Tuesday, taking borrowing costs to their highest level since 2011.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on Wednesday showed the Consumer Price Index climbed 4 per cent in the 12 months to August 2026. That marked an increase from the 3.5 per cent recorded in the year to July.

After the inflation data was released, Minns highlighted his government’s record on spending restraint and referred to Reserve Bank warnings about the potential inflationary impact of public expenditure, appearing to contrast NSW’s approach with Canberra’s fiscal policy.

‘I think every government has a responsibility to do what it can to take demand out of the economy,’ he said on Wednesday.

‘We have heard the advice from the RBA over the last two years that we need to be careful with public funds.

‘As a result, over the last four years, we’ve had the lowest increase in spending growth of any jurisdiction in the country, Labor or Liberal, any state, any territory, any government.

‘And the reason for that is we’ve had to make difficult decisions along the way.’

The Premier said governments had to acknowledge the limits of public finances, arguing that fiscal discipline had helped bolster confidence in NSW’s financial position.

‘We recognise there’s a finite amount of public funds to use and just recently we’ve had our credit rating reaffirmed by the ratings agencies,’ Minns said.

‘In fact, there’s been an upgrade to it which has been the result of a lot of hard work.’

Despite the pointed remarks, Minns stopped short of openly attacking the federal government, while maintaining that controlling the growth of public spending was necessary.

‘I’m not going to make a long commentary about other governments. It’s up to them and their decisions, obviously,’ he said.

‘But we want to make it clear that we’ve been careful with public money, particularly the growth in public money, and that will continue if we’re re-elected next March.’

Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock likewise avoided directly blaming the government, although she pointed to Australia’s weak productivity performance as a significant concern.

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‘The bottom line is that productivity is doing nothing. And I know we talk about productivity a lot, but it’s so important if we want the economy to be able to grow and create jobs,’ she said on Tuesday.

Minns’s comments come as tensions appear to be growing between NSW Labor and the federal government, with the Premier seeking to reinforce his own political identity.

The NSW Premier has taken different positions from his federal colleagues on several policy matters in recent months.

He has supported One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and the federal Coalition’s push for a reduction in tobacco excise, and publicly clashed with Chalmers over GST arrangements. 

Some NSW Labor MPs would like Minns to go even further.

The Daily Mail understands several state MPs believe the premier should put as much distance as possible between himself and the Prime Minister ahead of the 2027 election.

They have suggested he adopt a similar approach to former Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s decision to keep Scott Morrison at arm’s length before the Coalition’s victory in 2019.

‘I wish [Albanese] could stay away,’ one NSW Labor MP told the Daily Mail last week.

The private frustration reflects growing concern within sections of the NSW Labor caucus that the Prime Minister could drag down the party’s vote, especially in regional areas where cost-of-living pressures remain acute and support for major parties has softened.

Those worries have been sharpened by the rise of Pauline Hanson and One Nation, with the party believing it can make significant gains across regional and outer-suburban NSW at the next state election. 

When it comes to the interest rate increase, Chalmers and Albanese have rejected claims that government spending contributed to the hike. 

The Prime Minister said his government would consider new cost-of-living relief and spending cuts in the mid-year economic update due in December.

Asked whether he agreed with claims inflation was largely homegrown or with Chalmers’ argument that the US war with Iran was a key driver of the rate hike, Albanese said he agreed with both. 

‘They are not saying contradictory things at all,’ he said. 

‘The Treasurer has been very consistent, speaking about the inflationary pressures which are there in the economy. [But] the war in the Middle East has had an impact and people can’t just dismiss that.’

A man allegedly connected to the hit-and-run death of former child television star Kianna Underwood has been arrested.

Court records reviewed by the Daily Mail show that Michael Griffiths, 72, was taken into custody Tuesday by the New York City Police Department.

Underwood was struck by two vehicles in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood shortly before 7 a.m. on January 16.

The former All That star, who was 33, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Griffiths faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury. He is scheduled to return to court October 27.

In a January interview with the New York Daily News, Griffiths acknowledged that he was behind the wheel of the Ford SUV that initially struck Underwood. He maintained, however, that he had “done nothing wrong.”

The Daily Mail said it contacted Griffiths’ attorney, the NYPD and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for comment, but had not received responses.

The New York Post was first to report Griffiths’ arrest.

According to the report, Griffiths was driving a 2021 Ford Explorer when it allegedly hit Underwood after she entered the roadway without waiting for the walk signal at Watkins Street and Pitkin Avenue.

Security footage obtained by the Post appeared to show the Explorer crossing the double yellow lines while passing a vehicle stopped in the center of the lane.

The SUV then reportedly struck Underwood, sending her body across the intersection.

A police source told the Post that a second vehicle hit Underwood moments later and dragged her “several hundred feet”—a distance of more than two blocks.

Underwood suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

It remains unclear whether investigators have identified the driver of the second vehicle.

In January, Griffiths reportedly told authorities that he was obtaining a lawyer and would not answer questions about the fatal crash.

Authorities impounded Griffiths’ vehicle and reportedly reviewed surveillance footage to determine whether he was driving when Underwood was struck. At the time, his identity had not been publicly disclosed.

Records obtained by the Daily News showed that Griffiths’s vehicle in the past had been ticketed for 41 violations, 25 of which were for speeding.

Shocking surveillance footage from the scene obtained by CBS News showed Underwood leaving a doorstep in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn on Friday morning and waiting at the intersection of Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard.

She reportedly did not wait for the walk symbol when she was struck by the SUV driver, who was heading west on Pitkin Avenue and had a green light, but veered across double yellow lines to pass another vehicle, according to the Daily News.

The driver could be seen in the surveillance footage going against traffic and striking Underwood before it disappears from the video frame without slowing down.

Underwood was then struck moments later by the driver of a black and gray sedan, which dragged her body for more than two blocks before it came loose near the intersection of Pitkin and Osborn Streets.

That driver also failed to stop, but several people appeared not to notice the body until a few witnesses reached for their phones.

Griffiths claimed to the New York Daily News that he had stopped and tried to flag down other drivers to help when he saw a second car strike her and drag her body.

However, Griffiths then left the scene, which he claimed was because he needed to take medication, and he said he ‘felt like I was going to faint when the incident happened.’

The former child actress ‘sustained severe trauma to the head and body,’ police said, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

One day later, her devastated father, Anthony Underwood, shared a heartbreaking Facebook post in which he compared his daughter’s death to the time he saw a fox get run over in the Catskills Mountains.

‘Another driver pulled over and picked the fox up who was still alive and put it on the side of the road,’ he recalled. ‘All I can think about is did anyone show my baby that same compassion, as someone ran her over like roadkill.’

It now seems that Underwood, who starred in shows like All That and Little Bill, fell on hard times since her time as a child actor.

Two years ago, Angelique Bates, 45, sounded alarms about Underwood, who had been homeless in New York City, and she took to social media to call out their former crew members for not reaching out to her.

In November 2023, she shared an Instagram video and called out Nickelodeon for turning a blind eye. 

‘She’s one of us, and she needs help, but she’s not getting it,’ she said in her video before later adding: ‘Nobody’s speaking on Kianna Underwood.’

She said that the cast members acted like a close-knit family while on TV but appeared to not uphold the same behavior when they were off the set. 

After learning of Underwood’s death, Bates shared a clip with the news article headline she read and a throwback clip of the late star on the show. 

She wrote in her caption: ‘Y’all have no idea how much this one hurts…Sick to my stomach….So many people failed baby girl.’ 

Those who knew Underwood in Brooklyn have described how she would frequently ask for money.

‘She would come around and ask for a couple of dollars here and there,’ said Andy Sierra, who supervises a store nearby. 

‘I used to give a couple of dollars and buy her food. I gave her some clothes and some sneakers last Saturday.’

Speaking of Underwood’s untimely death, Sierra said it was a ‘tragedy.’

‘No human being deserves to die like that.’

Another man in the neighborhood, who refused to give his name, told the Daily News that Underwood’s boyfriend informed him of her death. 

He said that her boyfriend was cooking breakfast for Underwood when she left in the morning, adding, ‘He was just talking to her and he was begging her to stay inside the house.’

‘I’m very devastated, you know, I see her all the time,’ he added. 

‘She always had good spirits, happy, good energy. It was very sad to hear that it was her.’ 

Underwood got her big break on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That for its tenth and last season in 2005, replacing Jamie Lynn Spears.

The show produced several stars, including longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes. 

Underwood also starred in 23 episodes of Little Bill, and appeared in the film The 24 Hour Woman, starring Patti LuPone.

Additionally, she voiced a character in the animated movie Santa Baby! and dabbled in stage production, touring with the musical Hairspray.

The closest friend of Constable Mia Lay, who was killed last week when a police patrol car crashed into a tree at high speed in Sydney, has paid tribute to the young officer in a deeply emotional message.

Constable Lay, 20, died when the police vehicle she was travelling in struck a tree in Redfern at around 1.30am on Friday.

She was a passenger in a Volkswagen Tiguan driven by Constable Brandon Torrisi, 24. The officers had been responding to an urgent report of a stolen vehicle in Glebe.

In an Instagram post shared on Wednesday afternoon, Lay’s best friend Elka Summer said she would remember and treasure their friendship for the rest of her life.

“Beautiful, beautiful Mia, how much fun we’ve had together,” Ms Summer wrote.

“Last May I watched you throw your cap into the air as you graduated from the police academy and began a new chapter. I believe that was only the beginning of you truly falling in love with life.

“You were courageous and passionate, and the incredible woman you were has left behind an unfillable void.

“I’ll hold on tightly to our beautiful memories… I love you. Life is not fair.”

Ms Summer accompanied her tribute with a series of photographs showing the friends celebrating Lay’s 2025 attestation ceremony, enjoying beach holidays, spending time with friends and sharing memories from their high school years.

The tribute was posted a day after Constable Lay’s father, Clem Lay, revealed that his daughter had been thinking about joining the NSW Police Force’s Dog Squad. She hoped to follow the career path of her aunt, who is a senior serving police officer.

Mr Lay said his daughter had been enjoying her career in the force when they last discussed her future. During that time, she had also met Dan Vasquez, an officer based in Sydney’s eastern suburbs whom she considered the “love of her life”.

“She’s always been a sporty child, blessed with athletic ability. She’s always happy, full of life,” Mr Lay said.

He described her as determined and strong-willed, recalling how she had recently insisted that he paint his son’s bedroom.

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“I had finished it the day before. I was going to call her and ask her to come over and see it — to tell her, ‘I’ve finally done it’… Then the next morning, a police officer came to my door with the devastating news,” he said.

“To tell you the truth, it still hasn’t really hit home. We’re all trying to come to terms with everything that’s happened.”

He added that he hoped no one would ultimately be considered “at fault” for the fatal crash.

‘If the investigation is done correctly and in detail, that’s all I could ever ask,’ he told 9News.

‘I don’t know what to say about that speed. I just looked at pictures of the car and the shape of the car and thought, yeah, that makes sense.’

Mr Lay’s comments come after multiple police sources said the car was travelling at more than 150km/h when it hit a tree on Gibbons Street, killing the constable instantly.

As crash investigators attempt to piece together the cause of the collision, police have not ruled out charging Torrisi if he is found to have been speeding unnecessarily.

The NSW Police watchdog said it would monitor the force’s investigation into the crash to ‘ensure public confidence’.

A fundraiser set up in memory of Constable Lay has raised more than $28,000 for her family, with the money to be used to provide ongoing support for Mia’s siblings.

‘Most importantly, it will give Mia’s family the space to care for one another, to be there for each other and to grieve without the added stress of financial pressures or disrupted income,’ the organisers, who are friends of Constable Lay’s brother, wrote.

‘The Lay family are deeply loved by so many in our community. This is just one small way of showing them that we are here for them, now and in the months ahead, and that Mia will forever live on in our hearts.’

– READ MORE: The final shift of Constable Mia Lay: Patrol car was travelling over ‘150km/h’ before fatal crash 

– READ MORE: Heartbroken dad of Constable Mia Lay sends message to driver as dramatic CCTV shows police car hurtling down Sydney street