Good afternoon. The greed of the fossil fuel industry and inaction of wealthy countries have been singled out as the primary drivers of the world’s climate crisis.
Speaking at the UN climate ambition summit in New York, secretary general António Guterres said “humanity has opened the gates to hell” by allowing the climate crisis to worsen. More than 100 leaders were asked to take part in the summit, but most of the world’s biggest carbon emitters were absent – including the leaders of the US, China, India, Britain and France.
Meanwhile, Twitter/X has been ranked the worst out of five major tech platforms for spreading climate change misinformation.
Top news
Covid-19 inquiry will exclude state decision | The federal opposition has labelled the Covid-19 inquiry, announced today by Anthony Albanese, as “a witch-hunt against a previous Coalition government” because of the exclusion of states and territories. Albanese said the inquiry would consider commonwealth responses to the pandemic but not “actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments”. Albanese rejected the criticism the inquiry would protect Labor premiers as “absurd”.
Josh Frydenberg won’t contest next election | The former treasurer has been appointed chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Australia and New Zealand division, meaning he won’t try to win back the blue ribbon Victorian seat of Kooyong – for now.
WA decriminalises abortion | Abortion has been removed from Western Australia’s criminal code and access will be easier for women as part of sweeping reforms passed by the state parliament. The new laws do allow health practitioners to conscientiously object and refuse to provide treatment, but they must transfer the patient to another service provider or give them information on where to access it.
Australian MPs lobby US for Julian Assange to come home | Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, teal independent Monique Ryan, Liberal senator Alex Antic and two Greens senators, Peter Whish-Wilson and David Shoebridge, are in the US to lobby the government to abandon its extradition proceedings against Assange.
Russell Brand removed from Australian wellbeing festival lineup | Brand had been due to appear at the Wanderlust festival events being held in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in February and tickets had already gone on sale. But in the light of recent sexual assault allegations – strongly denied by Brand – a company spokesperson confirmed in a statement that he would no longer be appearing.
Big pay rise for AFLW players | The average wage of AFLW players will rise to $82,000 by the end of 2027, up from the current $46,000, in the first joint collective bargaining agreement covering female and male players. The length of AFLW seasons will be increased to 10 games.
Thousands protest ceasefire deal in Armenia | Protesters have clashed with riot police in Armenia’s capital after Azerbaijan claimed victory in a 24-hour offensive in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Demonstrators voiced anger at the Armenian government’s handling of the crisis, which has resulted in a ceasefire agreement that includes provisions for the local Armenian government to disband its military.
Saudi-Israel relations closer to normalisation | Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has told Fox News that ongoing negotiations with Israel mean the prospects of normalised relations between both countries is getting closer every day, but that treatment of Palestinians remains a “very important” issue to be resolved.
Poland-Ukraine grain dispute | Poland will no longer send arms to Ukraine in order to focus on its own defence, the Polish prime minister has said, a few hours after Warsaw summoned Kyiv’s ambassador amid a row over grain exports. Tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv were sparked by Poland’s ban on Ukrainian grain imports to protect the interests of its farmers, and have intensified in recent days.
Full Story
The serious allegations against Russell Brand
The comedian, presenter and actor has been accused of sexual assault, emotional abuse and rape between 2006 and 2013 – allegations Brand denies. Senior news reporter Alexandra Topping explains why such stories can be particularly difficult to investigate. Listen to this 30-minute episode.
What they said …
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“This climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis. It’s not complicated. It’s the burning of oil. It’s the burning of gas. It’s the burning of coal. And we need to call that out.” – Gavin Newsom, governor of California
Newsom was speaking at the UN climate ambition summit in New York.
In numbers
The median amount lost on the resale was $30,000, according to CoreLogic.
Before bed read
A Melbourne TikToker who has been exposing “shit rentals” has now launched a website where renters can anonymously name and shame subpar rental properties and real estate agents.
By the time of writing, there were already more than 200 reviews.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: WAI. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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