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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: dementia prescriptions reveal crisis point, Trump rejects debate rematch, fire ants threaten koalas

A woman pushes an older woman in a wheelchair
A neuroscientist has warned that Australia is in the ‘frontine’ of the dementia crisis. Photograph: HighwayStarz/Getty Images

Morning, everyone. Australia is at the forefront of the dementia crisis, a neuroscientist warns today, as new figures show that the number of people taking medication for the disease has increased by almost 50%. Ministers are fighting to save the government’s stalled environment agenda from left and right, and there are fears for a koala population after the discovery of fire ants in the area.

Overseas, Donald Trump says he won’t debate Kamala Harris again – and we report on the conspiracy theorist being blamed by Republicans for the former president’s pet-eating rant.

Australia

  • Ant alarm | Fire ants have reached protected koala habitat and a koala priority area in south-eastern Queensland, with experts warning of the danger the highly invasive pest poses to native wildlife.

  • Dementia crisis point | The number of dementia medication prescriptions has jumped by almost 50% in Australia in the past decade as more people seek out therapies that may slow the disease’s progression.

  • Development dance | Anthony Albanese is rejecting demands from the Greens and Senate crossbenchers to subject development projects to climate-impact assessments and remove forestry’s effective exemption from environmental protection law as the government’s green agenda comes under fire from left and right.

  • Seat struggle | The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is locked in a struggle with Bill Shorten’s old union, the Australian Workers’ Union, to pick the next candidate for the safe Labor seat of Gorton, potentially leaving Anthony Albanese to make the final decision.

  • Cold snap | Much of south-east Australia will experience a blast of cold weather this weekend as a cold front that brought hailstorms to Victoria moves into NSW. Sunday’s temperatures could be 8C below the September average.

World

Full Story

Could Albanese’s social media ban for children do more harm than good?

Chief political correspondent Paul Karp speaks to Reged Ahmad about why the government is trying to regulate the internet and whether it can legislate young people off social media.

In-depth

From a winner celebrating Yankunytjatjara land to Adelaide sunsets, and from the women’s fight against fundamentalism to the pink cockatoo, we have an arresting gallery of some of the finalists from the 2024 Bowness photography prize aiming to capture the essence of contemporary Australia. Enjoy.

Not the news

Liane Moriarty, the bestselling author of Big Little Lies, has said she doesn’t want to be known as a mystery or thriller writer. Her new work, Here One Moment, about a plane passenger who appears able to predict the deaths of her fellow travellers, has an element of mystery. But Adele Dumont reckons the book is “disappointingly orderly” and lacks the interaction of characters that distinguish her other work. “For a book with such a macabre premise, it is disappointing that the end result is best described as beige,” Dumont says.

The world of sport

  • NRL | The finals season is upon us and Alex McKinnon assesses the chances of the eight contenders, from the Storm’s smooth predictability to Newcastle’s rank outsiders.

  • Formula One | McLaren will give Lando Norris priority over his Australian teammate, Oscar Piastri, in the championship battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the team has confirmed.

  • Football | Mikel Arteta was saluted by the Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke for taking “the team to another level in an Arsenal way” after the manager signed a new contract until 2027.

Media roundup

Renewables hit a record share of generation on Monday, the Financial Review reports, but they might be about to plateau for now. The Daily Telegraph shares pictures of some of Australia’s “worst hoarder houses” and their “eye-watering” price tags. Tasmania’s minority Liberal government has handed down a budget full of cost-of-living relief, the Mercury reports. The Broncos have called in a team of investigators to examine the performance of their coach, Kevin Walters, the Courier-Mail reports.

What’s happening today

  • Welfare | We are expecting the final report into the robodebt scheme.

  • Canberra | There will be a hearing in the parliamentary inquiry into the transition to electric vehicles.

  • Sydney | There will be a case management hearing in Asic’s case against The Star executives over money laundering breaches.

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters, including The Stakes, your guide to the twists and turns of the US presidential election.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.

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