Good morning. Joe Biden moves to counteract Russia’s long shadow over Ukraine, the aged care and disability sectors reveal worrying details about the ongoing employment shortage, and why the cost of living could become a key election issue.
Some 140,000 shifts at aged care facilities are going unfilled every week, a situation the chief executive of the sector’s peak representative group has said is “absolutely a crisis” and called for “urgent help”, including the deployment of Australian defence force personnel. The government has pledged two $400 retention payments for aged care workers but this has drawn the ire of the disability sector, whose staff are not eligible for the bonuses. Thousands of potential workers have been stranded overseas due to Australia’s hard border, with only one-in-four applications for travel exemptions approved between August 2020 and December last year. In January alone, 499 aged care residents died from Covid, with 23,900 active cases among residents and staff.
The US will deploy an additional 3,000 troops throughout eastern Europe in response to continued Russian buildups along its border with Ukraine. A spokesman for the Pentagon said: “This force is designed to deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states,” including Poland, Romania and Germany. The US has an additional 8,500 troops on short notice, but both the US and Nato have confirmed that no combat troops would enter Ukraine itself. Vladimir Putin offered his first public comments regarding the crisis in more than a month, accusing the US of ignoring its security proposals.
Scott Morrison has dismissed Amnesty International’s calls to condemn Israel for “crimes against humanity”, telling media “no country is perfect”. The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, rejected the NGO’s assessment that Israel is actively perpetrating apartheid against Palestinians, adding: “We remain a firm supporter of the state of Israel.” Labor has said use of the term apartheid is “not helpful” but described the 280-page report as “concerning”. The London-based human rights organisation said the report had “demonstrated that Israel has imposed a system of oppression and domination over Palestinians”.
Australia
Three in four Australians do not support the proposal that statements anchored in religious belief should be exempt from anti-discrimination laws – a key part of the Coalition’s religious discrimination bill, a new poll suggests.
The accuracy of school ventilation audits is being heavily criticised after two reviews of classroom capacity at a school in the Blue Mountains returned recommendations that varied by 500%.
Consumer advocates warn a key recommendation of the banking royal commission has not been fulfilled, with the government accused of failing to examine the rates of commission paid to agents who sell junk insurance.
The world
Melinda French Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will no longer donate the majority of her wealth to the philanthropic organisation. French Gates remains committed to philanthropic endeavours but has said the concentration of wealth in the fund represented “an absurdity”.
At least 60 people have been killed by armed militia in a displacement camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Norwegian Refugee Council said those killed were “vulnerable families” who had fled violence.
A third Tory MP has called for a no confidence vote in UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, with the Conservative MP for South West Devon, Gary Streeter, saying he “cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice” of the British public with the “attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street”.
Norway has confirmed a new gender-neutral pronoun is likely to officially enter the language within the next year. “Hen” will become an alternative to the existing singular third-person pronouns, the feminine “hun” and the masculine “han”.
Recommended reads
“Do you know which fish I need to make ‘ota ika?” A staple of Sunday lunch in the Tongan community and a soul food often compared to ceviche, as Sela Atiola writes, it’s the little details that make this dish special. “I didn’t always appreciate and enjoy ‘ota ika as a child. The thought of raw fish chunks immersed in a cloudy, soupy pool did not charm my fledgling palate the way a Big Mac could.” But done right, this simple dish becomes a “riot of flavours” and an homage to the ocean’s importance.
Amid rising inflation, suddenly Australia’s cost of living could become a key election issue, Greg Jericho argues. “While inflation is a useful measure, it can hide the reality not just of cost of living but also of the impact of price rises of items that you cannot avoid – in effect, the cost of essential living.” And with this being experienced at different intensities across different cohorts of society, expect the issue to factor in many people’s voting preferences.
Why has a 50-year-old got a TikTok account? It’s a question veteran Australian funnyman, David Collins, AKA one half of the Umbilical Brothers, poses to himself. Thankfully, the answer is largely immaterial, as the online platform proves the inspiration for this week’s 10 funniest things on the internet.
Listen
What do we know about the “son of omicron” strain? With Australia facing record numbers of positive cases over the summer, and a new subvariant of Omicron emerging, on this episode of Full Story, Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey, discusses the best ways to prevent re-infection.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app
Sport
Washington’s NFL team has ended an 18-month quest to replace its divisive old name with the franchise’s co-CEOs unveiling the new name: the Washington Commanders. It replaces two seasons playing under the placeholder moniker the Washington Football Team.
Media roundup
Marise Payne has denied she was the cabinet minister behind leaked text messages in which Scott Morrison was described as a “horrible person”, the Australian writes. A move to make banks liable for customer scam losses was met with fierce resistance by the nation’s biggest banks, according to freedom of information documents obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald. And the West Australian says the WA premier, Mark McGowan, used out-of-context remarks by the prime minister to justify his delay to the state’s border reopening.
Coming up
A NSW parliamentary inquiry into proposed changes to the 1900 Crimes Act to prohibit the public display of Nazi symbols will take place.
The productivity commission will hand down a report into childcare, education and training.
And if you’ve read this far …
It’s the word game craze that’s sweeping the globe but the UK’s top spymaster, the chief of MI6, has taken to social media expressing his frustration at bragging users who post their results online. The rival spy agency GCHQ was quick to pounce in response, tweeting a fake Wordle image carrying the title, “Sorry.”
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.
Discover Australian Weekend
Every Saturday from 6am, enjoy early access to the best journalism planned for the weekend in one elegant app, plus a curated selection of the week’s news and analysis from Australia and the world.
