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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Antoun Issa

Afternoon Update: Congress chaos after House Republican speaker ousted; temporary migrants being exploited; and New Zealand’s hottest September on record

Matt Gaetz (L) and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) at the US Capitol in Washington, DC
US Republican Kevin McCarthy became the first speaker of the House to be removed from the job after a motion to oust him, just nine months after he secured the role. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Good afternoon. The US Congress has fallen into chaos after the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted by the hard-right of his own party – the first time in US history a House speaker has been removed.

The move to oust McCarthy was led by Republican Matt Gaetz, who was outraged by McCarthy’s deal with the Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. It’s little surprise that a majority of Americans say they have little or no confidence in the future of the US political system. Read the five key takeaways from McCarthy’s ouster, and a profile on Gaetz.

Top news

At least 21 people have died in bus crash near Venice. A view of the scene after bus crash near Venice on 04 October in Mestre, Italy
A coach that crashed off an overpass in Venice was carrying a group of tourists who were returning to a campsite in Marghera, reports say. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
  • Horrific Venice bus crash | At least 21 people have died and 15 have been injured after a tourist coach crashed off an overpass. Officials said the vehicle fell 30 metres (98ft) on to electricity lines and caught fire at about 7.45pm local time. Those on board included Ukrainian, German and French citizens, according to Venice prefect Michele Di Bari. Two of the dead were children. The Italian driver, aged 40, was also killed.

 CCTV of exploding e-bike battery in inner-Sydney hostel.
Twenty-two firefighters and six fire trucks responded to the battery explosion in a Darlinghurst hostel just after 9am Wednesday. Photograph: NSW Fire and Rescue
  • E-bike battery explosion in Sydney hostel | One person has been injured and 70 evacuated after a blaze in Darlinghurst that is believed to have been sparked by a lithium battery. Watch the video of the explosion.

  • Homes lost to NSW bushfire | The NSW Rural Fire Service has confirmed properties have been lost in a bushfire on the NSW south coast, but were not able to say the exact number or location. The prime minister is visiting the region, warning that Australia is in for a challenging summer. Across the border, Victoria downgraded its bushfire warnings, but added flood warnings in other parts of the state.

People stand in line outside the Brisbane City Hall during early voting for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum
A successful yes vote in the voice referendum would boost Australia’s ‘credibility’ globally, says the head of the Pacific Islands Forum. Photograph: Jono Searle/EPA
  • Pacific view on the Indigenous voice | The head of the Pacific Islands Forum says a yes vote would “elevate Australia” on the world stage. More than 600,000 people have placed early votes in referendum, Anthony Albanese confirmed today.

  • Indefinite immigration detention to face high court challenge | Lawyers for a stateless Rohingya refugee are seeking to overturn a 20-year-old precedent that allows those who can’t be deported to be kept detained. The case is due to be heard in November.

A man uses his phone to record a job add posted on a noticeboard at a backpacker hostel in Sydney, Australia
A review of the Australian visa system revealed temporary migrants were subject to sexual exploitation, human trafficking and organised crime. Photograph: Steven Saphore/Reuters
  • ‘Grotesque abuses’ of temporary migrants | The Albanese government has launched a crackdown on the exploitation of temporary migrants, after a review of the visa system found that more than 45% of backpackers and more than 40% of international students are earning less than $15 an hour – well below the minimum wage. It comes as new figures reveal the nation’s skill shortage has doubled since 2021.

  • Commonwealth Games bill climbs | Another $1.3m in legal fees has been added to the $380m Victorian taxpayer bill for the state’s cancellation of the games. Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, says the Labor government is “operating in chaos” after it was revealed they hired lawyers weeks before the cancellation.

A screen grab of ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on the ground beside a procession of foreign Christian worshippers carrying a wooden cross in the holy city of Jerusalem
Intimidating behaviour by ultra-Orthodox Jews beside a procession of Christian worshippers was lamented as the latest in an alarming surge of religiously motivated attacks. Photograph: Twitter
  • Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting as Christians pass in Jerusalem | A video of ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on the ground beside a procession of foreign Christian worshippers carrying a wooden cross in the holy city of Jerusalem has ignited intense outrage and a flurry of condemnation in the Holy Land.

  • New Zealand’s hottest September on record | Every region in the country experienced above-average temperatures, with one area hitting 29.6C.

In video

David Pocock alongside a gang-gang cockatoo
‘These charcoal-coloured cockatoos are incredible,’ says independent ACT senator David Pocock of the gang-gang cockatoo. Composite: The Guardian/Alamy

David Pocock is throwing his support behind the gang-gang cockatoo in this year’s bird of the year poll. Watch the video here.

What they said …

***

“Since House Republicans assumed the majority in January, we have witnessed time and again the feckless, incompetent and chaotic Republican leadership that has done nothing but bend the knee to Donald Trump and make a mockery of our institutions.” – Democratic National Committee

In numbers

Infographic that reads: 16% increase in the number of young people aged 24 and under who sought help for gambling in the last financial year

MPs are calling for an urgent parliamentary inquiry after new revelations showing children as young as 10 are getting hooked on gambling.

Before bed read

Paul Stewart, Laura Thompson, Djaran Murray-Jackson and Andy Gargett, four doorknockers for the yes campaign in Melbourne.
‘I assumed doorknocking would mean butting heads with people who aggressively shared different values. I decided to give it a go anyway.’ Photograph: supplied

It’s easy to be stuck in an echo chamber on the voice. Laura Thompson, co-founder of Clothing the Gaps, writes that she left her bubble to talk to people about the voice.

“What I encountered was better than I could have imagined. It was definitely not as scary as I thought, and people approached our conversation with curiosity and respect.” Read about her experience.

Daily word game

Wordiply screenshot

Today’s starter word is: ROTA. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

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