Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Jordyn Beazley

Afternoon Update: Stan Grant goes to police; building fire in central Sydney; and electricity bills go up again

Stan Grant
Stan Grant Photograph: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Good afternoon. A man has been charged for allegedly making online threats against Stan Grant after the ABC journalist made a complaint to NSW police.

Police said the 41-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday and has been charged and released on bail.

The Wiradjuri journalist stepped away as Q+A host on Monday night saying he needed a break from the media after becoming the target of racist attacks in the following the ABC’s coronation coverage.

Monarchists and sections of the media have been highly critical of the ABC coverage. The ABC ombudsman on Thursday cleared the broadcaster’s coronation coverage of editorial breaches, finding the discussion of the history of colonisation and the role of the crown was appropriate, although the timing was “jarring” and distracting for some.

Top news

Ben Roberts-Smith
Ben Roberts-Smith will learn next Thursday if he has won his defamation case against three Australian newspapers. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
  • Ben Roberts Smith verdict expected soon | Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, will learn next Thursday if he has won his defamation case against three Australian newspapers over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

  • Coroner rules Melissa Caddick is dead | The New South Wales deputy state coroner Elizabeth Ryan has concluded that the fraudster Melissa Caddick is dead while savaging the credibility of her husband, finding he withheld information from police. But the court but has been unable to make any definitive findings about her fate, saying suicide was a possibility.

  • Electricity prices to rise | Electricity prices will rise by up to a quarter in July in some states after the Australian Energy Regulator issued its decision on the default market offers that set the baseline for retailers.

  • Destructive fire in central Sydney | A building has been engulfed by flames and collapsed near Sydney’s central station. Fire and rescue crews are at the scene and roads are closed around the site.

Peter Dutton in parliament
Anthony Albanese has lashed Peter Dutton’s opposition to the Indigenous voice referendum. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
  • Peter Dutton seeking to ‘amplify misinformation’ | Anthony Albanese has lashed Peter Dutton’s opposition to the Indigenous voice referendum, accusing him of amplifying misinformation and making contributions “simply unworthy of the alternative prime minister of this nation”.

  • PwC to stand down employees | PwC has agreed to a federal government order to stand down employees involved in the alleged misuse of confidential information, as scrutiny now turns to a potential conflict of interest in AFP’s use of the consultancy firm while it investigates the breach.

  • Twitter glitches on Ron DeSantis | After Elon Musk invited Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, to the somewhat niche Twitter Spaces – a dedicated audio streaming feature on the social media platform – to announce his run for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, it buckled under the demand of more than half a million users. Viewers were greeted with blank windows, broken snatches of conversation and other technical glitches.

Tucker Carlson seen on a screen
Fox News has dismantled Tucker Carlson’s home studio after the network fired him last month. Photograph: Szilárd Koszticsák/EPA

Full Story

Stan Grant on his final evening hosting the ABC’s Q+A program.
Stan Grant on his final evening hosting the ABC’s Q+A program. Photograph: ABC

One of Australia’s most prominent Indigenous journalists, Stan Grant, has stood aside from his ABC TV Q+A hosting job saying that the national broadcaster’s management failed to support him against “relentless” racial abuse stoked by rightwing media.

It has been called a moment of reckoning for the Australian media industry.

Freelance journalist Rhianna Patrick and the chief executive of Media Diversity Australia, Mariam Veiszadeh, speak to Jane Lee about how media organisations are failing their staff and what needs to change.

What they said …

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton in the House of Representatives.

***

“It is disappointing but not surprising that the loudest campaigners for a no vote have already been reduced to relying on things that are plainly untrue.” – Anthony Albanese

In parliament, Anthony Albanese has lashed Peter Dutton’s opposition to the Indigenous voice in the referendum debate. The PM has also effectively ruled out making changes to the proposed constitutional alteration, shrugging off a late push from some voice supporters to remove its power to make representations to executive government.

In numbers

25% – how much power prices will rise in Victoria.
Power prices rise Photograph: The Guardian

In New South Wales, South Australia and south-east Queensland, electricity prices will rise by between 19.6% and 24.9%.

Before bed read

Tina Turner celebrates with the Brisbane Broncos after the 1993 rugby league grand final at Sydney Football Stadium.
Tina Turner celebrates with the Brisbane Broncos after the 1993 rugby league grand final at Sydney Football Stadium. Photograph: NRL Photos

It has been 28 years since Tina Turner featured in her final campaign as the soundtrack of rugby league, yet such is the reverence in which she is held in Australia, news of her death has cast a long and dark pall over the game.

Daily word game

Wordiply image

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

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.

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.