Welcome, readers, to the Afternoon Update.
As Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against Brittany Higgins continued today, the Western Australian supreme court heard that the Liberal senator was “incredibly angry” when she made the decision to leak confidential documents to a columnist from The Australian.
Reynolds said she shared the documents, which related to Higgins’ personal injury claim and were marked “confidential”, with Janet Albrechtsen as she believed the journalist was “fair and balanced”. When asked why the documents weren’t sent to Samantha Maiden, the news.com.au journalist who broke the story about Higgins’ alleged rape, Reynolds explained that Maiden at the time was “monstering” her staff.
The senator denied any wrongdoing sending the documents via her personal email rather than her official government email. Reynolds said it was “not at all” an attempt to avoid being discovered.
Reynolds said she was motivated to share her opinion that the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, was “stitching [her] up”. She said she was pleased to see the article in The Australian claiming she had been “muzzled”.
Top news
NZ PM takes swipe at Australia | The New Zealand prime minister, Christopher Luxon, justified the removal of Māori language from an official invite to an Australia minister as it “pays to be incredibly simple” with Australians. But Tony Burke, Australia’s multicultural affairs minister, shut that quip down, saying he has known what the word “Aotearoa” means since 1982.
Close call after scaffolding fall | Scaffolding fell from a building in central Sydney today, hitting an Australia Post van on the street below. The two Australia Post staff inside narrowly escaped injury.
Man behind ‘democracy manifest’ meme dies | Jack Karlson, who immortalised the phrase “this is democracy manifest” in what has been described as the pre-eminent Australian meme, has died aged 82.
Wieambilla killers ‘rocked’ police vehicle with bullets | The inquest into the Wieambilla shootings has heard that the Trains “rocked” an armoured police BearCat vehicle with a volley of accurate gunfire.
RBA ‘will not hesitate’ to raise interest rates again | After holding the cash target for another month, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has said the central bank is willing to raise rates again to reduce inflation.
Non-stop Perth-London flights paused amid Iran-Israel tensions | Qantas has paused the route due to hostilities between Iran and Israel. Flights from Perth to London have been rerouted to avoid airspace over the Middle East as the region braces for a possible Iranian attack on Israel.
Three Taylor Swift shows cancelled after police foil planned attack | The Vienna leg of the blockbuster Eras tour has been cancelled after two people were arrested over an apparent plot to launch an attack in the Austrian capital.
Thousands rally for Harris and Walz | A high-energy crowd of about 15,000 supporters came to cheer on Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz as their swing-state tour arrived in Detroit. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has expressed his doubt in a peaceful transfer of power if Donald Trump loses.
Israel minister condemned for Gaza comments | The EU, France and UK have condemned Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, for suggesting it might be “justified and moral” to starve people in Gaza.
In pictures
Archibald prize: Marcia Langton portrait wins people’s choice award
The artist Angus McDonald has won the Archibald prize people’s choice category for his portrait of the Indigenous rights leader and academic Marcia Langton.
What they said …
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“If they’re giving away gold medals for whoever has the most fun, I got it wrapped up” – Andy Macdonald
Thanks to the Paris Olympics, the world has gone mad for skateboarding. While Australia celebrates our youngest athletes dominating the sport, the UK is applauding 51-year-old Macdonald, Team GB’s “Rad Dad”.
In numbers
The Qantas board has decided to cut Alan Joyce’s final pay packet after his tumultuous final year in charge of the carrier that included a string of legal scandals before his early exit.
Before bed read
‘Don’t kill the actors’: three friends’ quest to stage Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto
When Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen decided to stage Shakespeare’s tragedy in the anarchic online game, unexpected humanity emerged from the mayhem.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: RAVE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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