Morning all and welcome to your live news feed for Monday April 9.

Here are the top five news stories you need to know this morning.

1. Labor leads in polls following fierce TV debate.

Labor is pulling ahead in the polls with less than two weeks until election day.

Ipsos polling reveals Labor is leading 57-43 on a two-party preferred basis, as early voting begins from today.

Newspoll also has Labor in front with support for the party at 39 per cent and Coalition slipping to 35 per cent. On a two-party preferred vote, Labor leads 54/46.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese clashed in the second leaders' debate on Sunday night on Channel Nine.

Both leaders were grilled by a panel of journalists on cost-of-living pressures, interest rates, climate policies, affordable housing and the economy.

During the debate, the prime minister admitted he made a mistake by saying getting COVID-19 vaccines into the people's arms was "not a race".

"It was a race... and we shouldn't have described it in those terms," he said.

Albanese said the government was "too little, too late" in its response to the pandemic.

"That is something that has defined this prime minister," he said. "It doesn't matter whether it is the bushfires or the floods or the vaccine rollout, or the rapid antigen tests."

"We shouldn't have described it in those terms."

After being quizzed by Anthony Albanese, Scott Morrison admits that his now famous comments that the #COVID19 vaccine rollout was "not a race" were wrong. #LeadersDebate #60Mins

RECAP: https://t.co/HSeWEnXr76 pic.twitter.com/vHyCoOiY0u
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) May 8, 2022

Viewers were evenly split 50-50 between the two men vying for the nation's top job.

2. Former Home and Away actor says he was ‘drugged and raped’.

Warning: This post deals with abuse and suicide and may by triggering for some readers.

Former Home and Away star Mat Stevenson says he was drugged and sexually abused at 18.

Speaking on Channel Seven's Spotlight: The Fame Game, Stevenson opened up about the incident following the death of his friend and co-star Dieter Brummer, who died by suicide last year after a struggle with his mental health.

"I was basically drugged and raped and dragged into a spa and thought I was going to drown, and then woke up naked somewhere," he said on Sunday.

"I was 18. And then I won my role in Neighbours the next day... I was a pretty fit guy back then too, but when you’re paralysed there’s nothing you can do."

Former Home and Away star Mat Stevenson has made a bombshell revelation on the new episode of 7NEWS Spotlight: The Fame Game, saying he was drugged and sexually abused as a teenager. https://t.co/Ry16mBEbSS
— 7NEWS Spotlight (@7NewsSpotlight) May 8, 2022

Stevenson went on to say he "suppressed" what happened and "suffered in silence".

"It came out in toxic behaviours... I basically wanted to find the bottom as quickly as I could, and I got there pretty quickly," he shared.

The actor said he is now in a good place and his "greatest role has been (as) a dad".

"I’m come through it. So Deit’s death ripped my heart out and I just don’t want to lose another bloke.

"So, if you’re suffering, reach out is the message."

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

3. Two Coalition candidates referred to AFP over enrolment.

Police will investigate a Liberal National Party candidate in the federal election over suspicions he has not been living at his registered address.

On Sunday, the Australian Electoral Commission said a review of Vivian Lobo's enrolment and candidate nomination forms prompted the referral to the Australian Federal Police.

"There is concern as to whether the information provided by him regarding his residential address on these forms is false," the AEC said in a statement.

The LNP candidate for Lilley is facing an Australian Federal Police investigation for providing a false address to the nation’s electoral commission. https://t.co/ExHUNCa5WP
— The Australian (@australian) May 8, 2022

Lobo, who is contesting the north Brisbane seat of Lilley, said he will co-operate with the investigation.

"I enrolled in the electorate as I had signed a lease in Everton Park with the intention to move in straight away," Lobo said in a Facebook post on Friday.

"However, due to my campaign commitments and difficulty with getting tradespeople to the home, I was delayed moving in."

The coalition campaign has not said whether it will continue supporting Lobo in Lilley.

He is the second coalition candidate to be referred to the AFP for investigation in recent days.

Isaacs candidate Robbie Beaton was referred on Thursday after he told a newspaper he did not live at the Melbourne property where he was enrolled.

4. Bono gives 'freedom' concert in Kyiv metro.

Irish rock group U2's frontman Bono and his bandmate The Edge have performed a 40-minute concert in a metro station in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and praised Ukrainians fighting for their freedom from Russia.

"Your president leads the world in the cause of freedom right now... The people of Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you're fighting for all of us who love freedom," Bono told a crowd of up to 100 gathered inside the Khreshchatyk metro station.

"This evening, 8th of May, shots will ring out in the Ukraine sky, but you'll be free at last. They can take your lives, but they can never take your pride," he said.

Kyiv metro. Just the legendary Bono from the band U2 sings with Taras Topola.
We are unbreakable. We are invincible. The whole world supports us.
Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦#Bono #U2 #StandWithUkraine #Artists pic.twitter.com/7QqoQ1jVtr
— Good morning, Ukraine (@good_ukraine) May 8, 2022

Meanwhile, as many as 60 people are feared to have been killed in the Russian bombing of a village school in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, the regional governor says.

Governor Serhiy Gaidai on Sunday said Russian forces dropped a bomb on Saturday afternoon on the school in Bilohorivka where about 90 people were sheltering, causing a fire that engulfed the building.

"Thirty people were evacuated from the rubble, seven of whom were injured. Sixty people were likely to have died under the rubble of buildings," Gaidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

5. NAPLAN testing takes final step to online.

More than one million students will take part in the latest round of annual NAPLAN testing this week and for the first time, all the assessments will be conducted online.

Students in years 3, 5, 7, and 9 will sit the national literacy and numeracy test across 9500 schools and campuses across Australia, and the move to online testing will benefit pupils, according to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.

"NAPLAN online is a better, more precise assessment that is more engaging for students," authority CEO David de Carvalho said.

Every student will sit NAPLAN tests online for the first time from tomorrow, with digital security beefed up to combat cheating @theheraldsun https://t.co/8ob6mEpNJ7
— Olivia Jenkins (@byoliviajenkins) May 8, 2022

It will move from May to March in 2023, giving education authorities access to results earlier in the year.

"These changes mean the valuable NAPLAN data will be more useful to teachers, schools and education authorities," de Carvalho said.

"This year's test is particularly important so that we can add to a national data set and continue getting insight into the impact the (COVID-19) has had after two years of disruptions to schooling."

You're all up to speed. We'll be back to bring you more of the biggest news stories throughout the day.

- With AAP.

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