Reconciliation in this country could be lost forever if the referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament fails, the First Nations leader Noel Pearson warned today.
Pearson was responding to Peter Dutton’s demands for more detail on the voice.
The opposition leader’s insistence on detail has previously drawn accusations he is leading a “shadow campaign” to derail the referendum.
Experts say the detail should come later – in a bill to be debated in parliament that would contain all the workings of the voice. In simpler words, referendum (and constitution) first, bill second.
Pearson said that the opposition leader “may be just choosing to play a spoiling game”.
Top news
California mass shooting suspect dead | The suspect who killed 10 people during a lunar new year celebration in Monterey Park – just outside of Los Angeles – has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officials have identified the shooter as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, and the motive for the attack is still under investigation.
New Omicron booster closer to approval | Australia’s medical regulator has given a provisional green light to the first Covid-19 booster shot for two Omicron variants. The Pfizer jab will be for those aged 12 and over, and targets the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Approval now goes to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, which will provide advice to the government in coming weeks.
$65,000 Centrelink debt | An age pensioner who was erroneously told she had one month to pay back a $65,000 robodebt will “never get over” what happened to her, a royal commission has heard. “It turned my life upside down,” Rosemary Gay said. “I’ve never earned that much money, how could I owe that much money?
Domestic violence background check | Residents of NSW would be able to find out if their partner has a history of domestic violence by checking with police, under a scheme proposed by the Coalition and backed by Labor.
Cathedral lockdown sex party | The Vatican is investigating rumours of a “sex party” at a British cathedral which is alleged to have happened during lockdown. Multiple people are said to have complained that Father Michael McCoy, dean of Newcastle Cathedral, approached them to attend a party at a time when gatherings were not permitted. McCoy, 57, killed himself in April 2021.
Ghislaine Maxwell | The convicted sex trafficker and former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein has called the infamous 2001 photo of Prince Andrew alongside the then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre a “fake”. “I don’t believe it’s real for a second,” she said.
France protests cost testicle | A 26-year-old man had a testicle amputated after being clubbed by police in the groin during demonstrations in Paris last week. About 1 million people marched in cities across France last Thursday opposing president Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Bolsonaro accused of Amazonian genocide | Brazil’s president Lula da Silva accused his predecessor of committing genocide against the Yanomami people of the Amazon, amid public outrage over a humanitarian catastrophe in the country’s largest Indigenous territory. The Yanomami’s supposedly protected lands have been plunged into crisis by government neglect and the explosion of illegal mining.
Full Story
What will be Jacinda Ardern’s legacy?
Over the past five years she garnered admirers around the world, but to Ardern’s critics, her soaring rhetoric was not always backed by desired legislative reforms. Listen to this 26-minute episode.
What they said …
***
“Any further increases in the cash rate beyond the current 3.1% could unnecessarily tip Australia into recession in 2023.” – Stephen Smith, Deloitte
One of the nation’s biggest consultancy firms has painted a bleak picture for the year ahead, saying Australians are at the mercy of the central bank while warning of a possible recession.
In numbers
The latest turnback was a Qantas flight to Sydney that had to return to Fiji on Sunday evening after pilots received a report of fumes in the cabin. The Qantas Group averages about 60 air turnbacks per year.
Before bed read
It will soon be three years since Brexit and the golden age that was promised by Brexiteers is nowhere to be seen. “The UK is the sick man of the G7, the only member with an economy that is still smaller than it was before the pandemic,” writes Andrew Rawnsley, chief political commentator of the Observer.
“The sad and cruel truth is that strategic blunders as colossal as Brexit can’t be corrected easily or swiftly. Some mistakes have to be paid for over many years. This, alas, is the UK’s fate. Not a golden age, but ages of regret.”
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
