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: NZ minister condemns climate inaction amid cyclone destruction; interest rates tipped to hit 4.1%; and AI love letters

Flood waters in NZ
People have become stuck in flood waters and trapped on roofs in New Zealand amid Cyclone Gabrielle. Photograph: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images

It’s been dubbed New Zealand’s biggest weather event in a century. Cyclone Gabrielle has ravaged the North Island, causing widespread flooding, major destruction and leaving more than 200,000 people without power.

Satellite images show the vastness of the cyclone, hovering above the North Island and parts of the South Island, and we’ve compiled a photo gallery of the impact.

New Zealand’s climate minister, James Shaw, gave a furious speech to parliament linking the cyclone to climate change.

“We need to stop making excuses for inaction. We cannot put our heads in the sand when the beach is flooding. We must act now.”

Top news

Peter Bol strongly denied he had ever taken any banned substance.
Peter Bol strongly denied he had ever taken any banned substance. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPA
  • Peter Bol provisional doping suspension lifted | The Australian Olympian, whose athletics career was in the balance after failing an out-of-competition doping test last year, has said he has been cleared after a B sample did not match the original A sample, as Sport Integrity Australia continues its investigations.

  • Iran spying on Australian diaspora | The Iranian regime allegedly monitored the home of an Iranian-Australian critic of the Islamic republic, and extensively researched them and their family. The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, revealed the incident, saying Australian security forces managed to foil the plot.

  • Scott Morrison’s Pep-11 court ruling | The former PM’s decision to refuse Asset Energy’s application to drill for gas off the New South Wales coast has been formally quashed by the federal court. But it doesn’t mean the project will go ahead. That decision is now in the hands of a “joint authority”, i.e. the NSW and federal governments. Neither have indicated they will support it proceeding.

Consumer confidence is sinking and small businesses are struggling with rising costs.
Consumer confidence is sinking and small businesses are struggling with rising costs. Photograph: Twitter
  • Consumer sentiment dips | If the Reserve Bank’s intent is to make us less inclined to spend, it’s working. Not so gloomy for big business, however, who have seen their confidence rebound after two months of negative readings. NAB has raised its interest rate forecast, predicting the RBA will hike the cash rate to 4.1%.

  • High court hears EV tax case | Two Victorians have taken their state government to court over its electric vehicles tax, claiming it’s unconstitutional. “If our clients are successful, it will mean Victoria’s electric vehicle tax is invalid and will likely also prevent other states from implementing similar legislation,” lawyer David Hertzberg said. The high court is hearing the case from today to Thursday.

A UN aid convoy reaches Syria to help victims of the earthquake.
A UN aid convoy reaches Syria to help victims of the earthquake. Photograph: Yahya Nemah/EPA
  • Syria opens two border crossings | The Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, has agreed to allow in a greater volume of emergency aid for victims of last week’s earthquake. Aid to Syria has been mired in political controversy as the Assad regime is still in conflict with rebel-held areas devastated by the earthquake.

  • Catholic child abuse in Portugal | Catholic clergy in the country have abused nearly 5,000 children since 1950, an independent commission revealed after hearing hundreds of survivors’ accounts.

What they said …

New Zealand’s climate minister James Shaw.
New Zealand’s climate minister James Shaw. Photograph: Nariman El-Mofty/AP

***

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt as sad or as angry about the lost decades that we spent bickering and arguing about whether climate change was real or not, whether it was caused by humans or not, whether it was bad or not, whether we should do something about it or not, because it is clearly here now, and if we do not act, it will get worse.” – James Shaw, NZ climate minister

Watch Shaw’s extraordinary speech to the NZ parliament.

In pictures

Mohammed Hadi and his three children survived the earthquake in Syria.
Mohammed Hadi and his three children survived the earthquake in Syria. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian

Guardian photographer Alessio Mamo travelled to the earthquake-hit city of Idlib and captured powerful images of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria – see the full gallery.

In numbers

12.5% of Australian online survey respondents say they would use AI to write a love letter.

Survey results from McAfee’s Modern Love report also found that 72% of Australian respondents could not tell a test love-note was written by AI.

Before bed Sudoku

Difficulty level: medium. Click here to view this on our website.

Sudoku

Sign up

Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you’ll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup.

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
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.