Good afternoon. Labor’s $10bn social housing fund legislation is going nowhere, for now. The Greens joined with the Coalition in the Senate to block a move to guarantee a vote today.
That sparked a war of words, including some personal attacks, between Labor and Greens senators. The major sticking point is the Greens wanting Labor to commit more, with Adam Bandt today saying the bill is “a bucket of water to a house fire” in tackling the nation’s housing and rental crisis. Labor has made some concessions to win support from independent David Pocock and the Jacqui Lambie Network, with Lambie making an emotional plea to the Greens to pass the bill.
Read our full coverage of the housing fund fight, and this analysis from our chief political correspondent, Paul Karp.
Top news
Lehrmann prosecutor backs away from political pressure claims | Yesterday, the ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, made explosive claims that he feared there was political pressure on police not to charge Bruce Lehrmann and derail his prosecution. But today Drumgold changed tune, telling an inquiry he now believed a “skills deficit” of police explained “the many strange things” that happened in the case. Lehrmann has consistently denied allegations that he raped Brittany Higgins.
Moira Deeming serves John Pesutto with defamation concerns notice | A spokesperson for the Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, has confirmed he has received a defamation concerns notice from suspended MP Moira Deeming, less than 24 hours before the state parliamentary party is due to vote on a second motion to expel her.
Indigenous response to budget | Indigenous organisations say Labor’s budget is a “mixed bag”, boosting health but neglecting legal services. “The vital legal support for women, and particularly women experiencing domestic family sexual violence, was missing,” the Top End Women’s Legal Service chief executive, Catherine Weatherby-Fell, said.
Sydney teen dies trapped under tram | Police were called to the light rail track at George Street in Haymarket at midnight following reports a pedestrian was stuck under a tram. They arrived to find a 16-year-old girl with critical injuries. She could not be revived.
Australian life satisfaction falls to lowest on record | Young Australians had high levels of mental stress and climate worry, according to the latest findings in the wellbeing index report released by Australian Unity and Deakin University.
Poland renames Kaliningrad | The Kremlin has called Warsaw’s decision to rename the Russian city a “hostile act”. Poland will now refer to the city as Królewiec, its name when it was ruled by the Kingdom of Poland in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Google AI chatbot launches in Australia | Until now, Bard was only available in the US and the UK, but today at the company’s annual I/O conference, Google announced it would open up the chatbot to users in more than 180 countries around the world, including Australia.
Imran Khan appears before judge | At least eight people have died and 290 have been injured as protests spread across Pakistan, sparked by the arrest of the former prime minister Imran Khan. He is accused of selling millions of dollars worth of state gifts presented by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
DNA study links Americas to China | Some of the first humans to arrive in the Americas included people from what is now China, who arrived in two distinct migrations during and after the last ice age. The first was between 19,500 and 26,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheet coverage was at its greatest and climate conditions in northern China were probably inhospitable. The second occurred during the melting period, between 19,000 and 11,500 years ago.
Full Story
How Australian sports make money from gambling
As the online gambling industry grows, at least one Australian football league is taking a greater share of its revenue. We discuss why this is a problem in this 27-minute episode.
What they said …
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“Well, it’s always unfortunate to see lovers having a fight, isn’t it? … A lover’s tiff between the parties of the current government, between the Labor party and the Greens.” – Simon Birmingham on the Greens’ refusal to back Labor’s social housing bill
In numbers
The Good Guys removed an article on its website this week that had described gas cooktops as efficient and affordable without mentioning the growing health and climate concerns of burning a fossil fuel in your kitchen.
Before bed read
What do you do when an expensive laptop dies after two years? Is it worth giving the ACCC a call?
“A consumer can reasonably expect a brand new laptop will last for more than two years,” writes Kat George, an Australian consumer law and policy professional. “Unless you’ve thrown it against a wall, or used in a way other than was intended (i.e. as a cutting board), you can rely on consumer guarantees, despite your lapsed warranty.”
Have a consumer complaint? Write to Kat.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: KINE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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