Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Antoun Issa

Afternoon Update: Ballarat mass for Pell urges forgiveness; Perrottet’s Nazi outfit; and Jennifer Coolidge’s career renaissance

Ribbons adorn the fence at Ballarat's St Patrick's Cathedral where a mass was held this morning for Cardinal George Pell.
Ribbons adorn the fence at Ballarat's St Patrick's Cathedral where a mass was held this morning for Cardinal George Pell. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

There will be no state funeral for Cardinal George Pell in either Victoria or New South Wales. The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said he “couldn’t think of anything that would be more distressing for victim-survivors than that”.

There was much anguish and torment in Pell’s home town of Ballarat where a mass was held at the local Catholic cathedral urging forgiveness.

Ballarat was not only the birthplace of Pell, but the scene where up to 14 priests are alleged to have sexually abused children and as many as 50 suicides are said to have been linked to the abuse.

“Forgiveness? Yeah, I get that, totally. But not when someone is refusing to apologise or show any reason for them to be forgiven,” said one survivor of child sexual abuse who attended today’s mass.

Top news

A composite of four photos of NSW premier Dominic Perrottet apologising for wearing a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party
The NSW premier Dominic Perrottet apologises for wearing a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party. Composite: Dean Lewins/AAP
  • Dominic Perrottet’s Nazi outfit | The NSW premier apologised for wearing a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday, describing it as a “terrible mistake”. The revelations could jeopardise Perrottet’s election chances in March, with the Coalition seeking a fourth term in office. The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said in a statement that dressing as a Nazi was “not a joke” and “disrespects the millions of innocent civilians who were murdered during WWII”.

  • Thomas Sewell avoids jail time | Thomas Sewell – the 29-year-old neo-Nazi leader – has escaped jail time for a “brutal” attack on a Nine Network security guard in Melbourne in March 2021. Instead, he’s been hit with an 18-month community corrections order and 150 hours of community service.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese stands at a brown lectern as he addresses parliament in Papua New Guinea
Anthony Albanese addressed Papua New Guinea’s parliament, highlighting opportunities to work together on regional security, economics and trade. Photograph: Office of the Prime Minister
  • Albanese calls for PNG team in the NRL | The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, became the first foreign leader to address the PNG parliament, where he called for a Pacific Islander NRL team based in Papua New Guinea. Albanese is on a two-day tour of the country to deepen ties across security, economics and trade and sport.

  • Australia criticised over human rights | The continued detention of children under 14 and draconian new anti-protest laws are harming Australia’s credibility to stand up for human rights in the region, Human Rights Watch has warned. Australia has faced increasing pressure over the past few years to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years, and NSW recently came under fire for jailing a climate protester.

  • Teen charged for lighting bushfires | A 16-year-old boy has been charged with deliberately lighting fires that led to two bushfires in NSW’s Murrumbidgee region last weekend. The boy was granted strict conditional bail to appear before a children’s court on 20 February.

Jeff Beck performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana
Tributes have flowed online for guitarist Jeff Beck, who died aged 78. Photograph: Ebet Roberts/Redferns
  • Jeff Beck dies aged 78 | Often described as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Beck died after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis”, his representative said. Musicians began paying tribute shortly after the news broke, with Mick Jagger tweeting that “we have lost a wonderful man and one of the greatest guitar players in the world”.

  • Michael Flatley’s ‘aggressive’ cancer diagnosis | The Riverdance star, 64, revealed the diagnosis in an Instagram post. “Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. He has undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors.” His team said no further comment would be made and asked people for their prayers and well wishes.

  • Indigenous artefacts | A Māori tribe in New Zealand is calling for the return of treasured relics listed for sale by the auction house Sotheby’s. The auctioneer is in the process of selling a number of Māori artefacts obtained through colonisation in the 18th and 19th centuries.

What they said …

Senator Mehreen Faruqi speaks to protesters gathered in Sydney, Australia
Acting Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi has indicated her party may push the Albanese government to strengthen its safeguard mechanism. Photograph: Paul Braven/EPA

***

“The package as proposed allows further expansion of coal and gas, which is completely at odds with tackling the climate crisis.” – Mehreen Faruqi

The acting Greens leader signalled the party may push Labor to toughen its safeguard mechanism scheme, to prevent major polluters using accounting tricks or offsets to dodge deep emissions cuts.

The federal government’s proposed revamp of the policy contentiously allows big polluters to buy an unlimited number of “carbon credits” from companies that pollute less, which has raised eyebrows among climate action advocates.

In numbers

Infographic that reads: $182bn – how much Elon Musk has approximately lost (in US dollars) since November 2021 – the largest loss of personal wealth in history

The huge loss is largely due to the drop in Tesla’s share price.

In pictures

Cars travel along a highway, through a thick haze, in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran
Cars travel along a highway through a thick haze in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran. The poor air quality has a significant impact on the lives of the residents; each year, thousands seek medical treatment for respiratory conditions. Photograph: Mohamad Madadi/Middle East Images

Ahvaz, a mostly Arab city in Iran, is one of the most polluted cities in the world. It sits on the edge of what was once known as the Fertile Crescent, but a century of fossil fuel extraction has accelerated an ecological breakdown.

“Trees that had hung heavy with dates and citrus since the days of Mesopotamia now crumble to ash under the slightest touch, due to a dust-borne fungus.”

Before bed read

Jennifer Coolidge accepts the Best Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film award for “The White Lotus” onstage at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel
Jennifer Coolidge’s performance in The White Lotus scored her a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a limited series. Photograph: Rich Polk/NBC/Getty Images

Jennifer Coolidge is experiencing a career renaissance at the age of 61, after taking home the Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a limited series for her role in The White Lotus. Coolidge has been on our screens for some time; Seinfeld fans may recognise a 32-year-old Coolidge who played Jerry’s masseuse girlfriend in season five.

The actor said her career flatlined in the late 00s before becoming the award-winning icon she is today, well beyond the age of what is conventionally considered “our prime”.

Perhaps the old adage rings true after all … the best years are yet to come.

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.

Contact us

If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email.

If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email customer.help@guardian.co.uk

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.