Good morning. I'm Thomas Morgan from the ABC's breaking news team. We're getting towards the business end of the election campaign, so today we're zeroing in on Medicare — can the two major parties' lofty promises on bulk-billing be delivered?

Also today, Pope Francis was known as a reformer within the Catholic Church, but will whoever is chosen as his successor follow suit? Plus, if you're ever having a bad day, just remember you're not the gladiator bitten by a large cat in the UK.

It's day 27 of the election campaign. The state of the health system is always a big issue for voters, and 2025 is no different. Both parties are throwing money at health care this at the moment, and in particular at GPs, recognising voter frustration with a steady decline in bulk-billing. But will Labor and the Coalition be able to deliver? Doctors responding to an ABC News survey don't believe they can.

Doctors will still have to decide whether to bulk-bill. While both sides are vowing to spend an extra $8.5 billion to incentivise it, doctors we talked to say they remain unconvinced it will make financial sense, and may not improve health outcomes for some people.

How do we know you're frustrated with the state of health care? Because you've told us through ABC Your Say. Reporter Ben Knight answers the questions readers have sent in about the myriad commitments, promises and proposals on offer on health.

Analysis by David Speers: Also on the cards this morning, reaction to the Opposition's big headline-grabber yesterday, promising to outspend Labor on defence if elected. The motivations for this are obvious (it's the US and China), but Peter Dutton has learnt from his previous mistakes, and is being careful with his language.

We're also getting a greater insight into the Coalition's policy commitments. Peter Dutton would scrap plans to provide relief to student debt holders and nix EV subsidies. But he has also unveiled a $90 million boost to combating domestic violence, including a national database to track offenders.

• His final hours: The pope greeted the faithful on Easter Sunday in his popemobile, giving his followers hope he had recovered from a long bout in hospital. Hours later, he was dead. The ABC's Riley Stuart is at Vatican City and has the inside look at Pope Francis's final acts, including a meeting with an adversary.
• Francis' legacy: The pontiff's Jesuit background primed him to be a reformer within the Catholic Church, and it's true he did more to elevate women than any of his predecessors. Pope Francis' desire to shift the church's focus from sin to suffering may have got some traditionalists' noses out of joint, but it will be up to his successor to cement, or narrow, his reforms.
• The faithful have begun paying their respects to Pope Francis. The pope's open coffin has been carried in procession from the Vatican to St Peter's Basilica, where it will lie in state until Friday. 

• ABC Exclusive: The Australian Navy's latest fleet of tug boats ordered by the Defence Department were secretly built at a Chinese shipyard. Documents show company Damen said the tug boat build would be sourced from "Australia and overseas", but did not specify any work would occur in China.
• Atlas Network: You've probably never heard of it, but the organisation has become a key player around the world, influencing free market think tanks and showing them to influence policy in more than 100 countries, including Australia. Across the Tasman, Atlas's influence has now been thrust into the spotlight.
• Russia-Ukraine: Donald Trump says a peace deal between the two sides is "very close", but is accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of making comments that are "harmful" to negotiations. The Ukrainian leader earlier rejected any notion Ukraine would cede its claim to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
• 'Sons of dogs': Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas did not mince words overnight, angrily telling Hamas it should release the remaining Israeli hostages. The Palestinian Authority is seeking to play a greater role in Gaza once the war is over.

— You read that right. Archaeologists have made a fascinating discovery at a "gladiator graveyard" in the UK: a skeleton complete with bite marks from a lion, tiger or some other big cat that lived there in the third century. What a way to go.

Macquarie University Roman historian Ray Laurence says the discovery could lead researchers to unlock more secrets about a relatively unknown part of life in the Roman Empire.

We're back on the election to round out today's newsletter, with an interesting way of visualising how Australian politics has shifted since the 1970s.

Once upon a time, the vast, vast majority voted for either red or blue. But as we can see in this story, we've slowly ventured away from the two-party system. Will that continue in 2025? We'll know in nine days' time.

PLUS: Earlier this week One Nation switched up its preferences to give the Coalition second billing on its how-to-vote cards. So how much can preference deals change the results in some seats?

That's it for today. Thanks for your company, we'll be back at the same time tomorrow morning.

Thomas and the ABC News Digital team.

Two new surveys have cast doubt on whether the signature health policy of this election campaign can be delivered.