Morning, everyone. It’s been unseasonably hot for August and it’s going to get hotter in the coming week for the majority of Australians as a “heat engine” in the red centre drives warm air eastwards. Our Canberra team reveals how Labor has quietly extended work and healthcare rights to visa-holders from Gaza, and our team in Chicago has the buildup to Kamala Harris’s Democratic party convention speech, the day after Tim Walz’s son stole the show with pure emotion.
Australia
Visa bonus | The federal government has extended work rights and Medicare access to some visa-holders from Gaza and Israel as it prepares to shift those who arrived on visitor visas since the 7 October attacks on to bridging visas.
‘Heat engine’ | Australia is on track to face its hottest August on record as a global heating-fuelled “heat engine” brings spring and summer warmth to Australia’s winter, experts forecast.
Boys behaving badly? | Lidia Thorpe has questioned whether docking the salaries of highly paid federal politicians will be enough to deter bad behaviour as parliamentarians contemplate the introduction of a sanctions body for MP misconduct.
NDIS reform | The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, has defended a new law outlining what supports those on the NDIS can access, saying those claiming the changes are the “end of the world” are wrong.
Robodebt expenses | Former Coalition government ministers have racked up another $1m in taxpayer-funded legal expenses relating to the robodebt scandal in the last year, with the list topped by $460,000 for Scott Morrison.
World
Enter Kamala | Kamala Harris is preparing for the biggest moment of her political life when she gives her keynote speech to the Democratic party convention in Chicago today but she had a setback when Muslim Women for Harris disbanded after they were refused a speaking slot. Follow the developments live. Harris has a tough act to follow in Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son, Gus, who stole the show yesterday when he burst into tears during his father’s speech.
Ukraine attack | Ukraine has carried out a damaging drone attack on a Kremlin military airfield near Volgograd as Ukrainian troops seized another village in Russia’s Kursk region. Check out our video explainer on Ukraine’s incursion into Russia.
African boom | Six African cities will have more than 10 million people by 2035, with the continent’s booming young population making it the world’s fastest urbanising region, according to a new report.
Sikh shooting | A Sikh separatist leader was attacked on a California highway this month in a shooting that his organisation has described as an assassination attempt.
Diamond find | A 2,492-carat raw diamond discovered in Botswana could be the second-largest gem-quality example ever unearthed.
Full Story
Newsroom edition: Peter Dutton is ‘flooding the zone’ with distractions
Editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and head of newsroom Mike Ticher discuss why Peter Dutton is dominating political discourse with distractions such as his claims about Palestinian refugees.
In-depth
The cost-of-living crisis has brought the inequality across Australia into sharper political focus. There are globally recognised, flexible and effective ways of measuring the complex nature of poverty which have allowed governments around the world to tackle the issue. The problem is, Australia doesn’t have a unified method to do the same. Stephanie Convery asks what we should be measuring, what counts as deprivation and how it can be done.
Not the news
Bob Hawke still casts a great shadow over Australian politics and a new book by the historian David Day about his early life attempts to explain the origin story of this totemic figure. Young Hawke: The Making of a Larrikin portrays some of the revered Labor leader’s behaviour as borderline predatory, writes Paul Daley, but some of it could have been caused by a lifelong addiction to affection and adulation resulting from his upbringing. Even so, Day says, it was perhaps “narcissism and his upbringing” that gave him the self-belief to be a great prime minister.
The world of sport
Cycling | Australia’s Ben O’Connor completed his collection of stage victories in all three of cycling’s Grand Tours by winning stage six of the Vuelta a España, and also took the overall lead after his solo run left everyone behind.
Cricket | Test cricket is poised for the introduction of a dedicated fund as the International Cricket Council looks to boost match fees and stem the talent drain to lucrative franchise leagues.
England v Sri Lanka | It’s been a tight day in the first Test between England and Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, with the hosts needing half-centuries from Harry Brook and Jamie Smith to reach 259 for six and lead of 23.
Media roundup
Australia will take command of an international taskforce protecting Red Sea shipping lanes, the ABC reports. Jim Chalmers will retain the power to override Reserve Bank decisions and there will be continuity on the board that sets interest rates, under what the Australian says is a compromise to secure Coalition support for an overhaul of the central bank. The federal government will pump an extra $100m into rebuilding Townsville’s Reef HQ aquarium as part of an effort to protect the Great Barrier Reef, the Courier-Mail reports.
What’s happening today
Canberra | The government’s rapid report into family, sexual and domestic violence prevention is being released.
Townsville | Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are among speakers at the Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit, which starts today.
Business | There will be an interlocutory hearing after the budget airline Rex went into voluntary administration.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
