Good Afternoon. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has set itself on a collision course with the Albanese government after announcing it will stop paying Australian publishers for news, and plans to shut down its news tab in Australia and the United States.
Meta informed publishers on Friday that it would not enter new deals when the current contracts expire this year.
The news tab – a dedicated tab for news in the bookmarks section of Facebook – will also shut down in April, after a similar shut down in the UK, Germany and France last year.
Meta confirmed the plans in a blog post at the same time publishers were informed.
Top news
Victorian Labor senator Linda White dies | The former lawyer and trade unionist died on Thursday night after health issues forced her to take leave from Senate duties in February. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described her as a “beloved friend, valued colleague, dedicated parliamentarian and devout supporter of working Australians”.
Young Matildas player Grace Wilson comes out as non-binary | The Adelaide United goalkeeper has become the first professional footballer in Australia to come out as non-binary. “The girls were lovely about it and I got a hug from every player. As soon as I said it, cheers, and applause – it was this lovely thing,” they said.
Peter Dutton doubles down on immigration attacks | The Coalition has doubled down on its question time attacks on the government over the charge of a person released from immigration detention – despite Victoria police now conceding they got the wrong man and will withdraw charges. On Friday the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, argued he was entitled to rely on an earlier Victoria police statement and media reports, as Labor went on the counterattack accusing the Coalition of a “grubby political scare campaign”.
Albanese and Dutton make final pitches in tight Dunkley byelection | As the race to win Saturday’s byelection turned to a sprint, the two leaders descended on Frankston to make their final pitches to voters on Friday – though neither would admit that its political importance goes well beyond Melbourne’s south-eastern fringe.
Four Victorian teenagers arrested over alleged firebombings and burglary | The teenagers, aged between 14 and 16, will be questioned over an aggravated burglary in Wonga Park, along with an attempted arson attack at a Mill Park restaurant and the torching of a tobacconist in Ballarat.
Tour operators and island managers ordered to pay White Island volcano eruption survivors NZ$10m | A New Zealand court has ordered the tour booking agents and managers of an island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people to pay survivors more than NZ$10m ($6.1m) and fined them around NZ$2.6m. Tour operators White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris, Kahu New Zealand and Aerius, along with the corporate owner of the island, Whakaari Management Ltd, were found to have not sufficiently ensured the safety of visitors to the island, court filings showed.
Steve Coogan and makers of The Lost King sued by academic | A former deputy registrar of the University of Leicester is suing the makers of the 2022 film The Lost King, claiming it presented him as “dismissive, patronising and misogynistic”. Richard Taylor was played by Lee Ingleby in the film, which is about the discovery of the remains of Richard III in a car park in Leicester in 2012, more than 500 years after his death.
Dozens killed in fire in Bangladesh’s capital | At least 43 people have been killed and dozens injured after a fire blazed through a seven-storey building in an upmarket neighbourhood in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. Fire department official Mohammad Shihab said the blaze originated in a popular biriani restaurant and quickly spread to the upper floors, trapping scores of people.
Haiti’s capital paralysed by gunfire | Heavy gunfire paralysed Haiti’s capital on Thursday as a powerful gang leader warned he would try to capture the country’s police chief and government ministers. The move came during the absence of the prime minister, Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya trying to finalize details for the deployment of a foreign armed force to Haiti to help combat gangs.
Full Story
Can Peter Dutton win the next election?
Polling this week suggests that the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is gaining voter approval despite the popularity of Labor’s changes to the stage-three tax cuts. Our editors discuss why we can’t rule out Dutton as Australia’s next prime minister. Listen to this 20-minute episode.
What they said …
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“We have got half a million [Palestinian] people starving. As a middle power, we need to step up our diplomacy and our support … Yesterday I joined a big section of the cross-bench on writing to Penny Wong, asking her to restore that funding.” – Independent senator David Pocock
Pocock was joined by fellow independent Sophie Scamps today in pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the Labor government to reinstate UNRWA funding.
In numbers
Over past three decades, obesity rates have increased fourfold among children and doubled among adults, according to new research.
Before bed read
Queer As Folk, Russell T Davies’ series about the lives of three gay friends, debuted in February 1999. It was a bold look at the heart of Manchester’s gay scene that provided something then rare in British television: a joyous exploration of what it meant to be gay. We take a look at the best LGBTQ+ TV shows ever made – from Will & Grace to Drag Race. Read the list.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SIS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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