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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: Major ‘reboot’ for NDIS, voice opposition hardens, Europe air fares soar

Ministers will vow to target ‘unethical practices’ and ‘shoddy therapies’ in a shakeup of the NDIS.
Ministers will vow to target ‘unethical practices’ and ‘shoddy therapies’ in a shakeup of the NDIS. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

Morning everyone. Bill Shorten, one of the driving forces behind the creation of the national disability insurance scheme, will stand up at the press club today and admit it “is not delivering the outcomes Australians with disability need and the Australian public expects”. In short, it needs a “reboot”. We’re looking at that today along with the latest Essential poll on the voice, plus why you have to pay so much to fly to Europe this winter.

Australia

Solar panel farm in South AustraliaSolar panel farm at sunset located in South Australia
A solar panel farm in South Australia. The Clean Energy Council says Australia’s renewable energy sector must grow at double its current pace to meet emissions reduction targets. Photograph: moisseyev/Getty Images/iStockphoto
  • Renewables push | The renewable energy industry must double its output to meet the Albanese government’s emissions reduction goals, the Clean Energy Council says, despite work starting on more than 5,000MW of large-scale wind and solar farms last year. And with climate concerns in mind we’ve an explainer on the next El Niño, when it might come and how strong it might be.

  • ‘Shoddy therapies’ | Bill Shorten, the government services and NDIS minister, will today announce measures to target “unethical practices” and “shoddy therapies” in the national disability insurance scheme.

  • Voice poll | Opposition to the Indigenous voice to parliament is hardening although the proposed constitutional change enjoys majority support with 60% in favour, the latest Guardian Essential poll finds.

  • Rental crisis | Councils are urging people with empty holiday homes and Airbnbs to move them on to the long-term rental markets in a bid to deal with the housing crisis.

  • Flu fear | People should be proactive about getting winter vaccinations amid warnings that flu infections are already on the rise, experts say, and possible peaking by June – earlier in the year than was the case pre-Covid.

World

Eldagsen
Boris Eldagsen’s award-winning picture. Photograph: © Boris Eldagsen, Germany

Full Story

UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) Haymarket Campus - university library and clock tower. Quay Street, Ultimo. Australian university architectureUTS (University of Technology, Sydney) Haymarket Campus - university library and clock tower. Quay Street, Ultimo. Australian university architecture
The University of Technology, Sydney campus. Photograph: CulturalEyes/AusGS2/Alamy

Blowing the whistle on Australia’s ‘broken’ university system

University teachers say cost-cutting, an increase in casual work contracts and lower academic standards have all contributed to a hollowing out of the university sector. Caitlin Cassidy talks about her reporting on the crisis.

In-depth

A woman takes a picture of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
Paris is a popular destination for Australian travellers. Photograph: Lewis Joly/AP

Australians’ pent-up thirst for travel is helping to drive air fares to Europe almost 50% higher than the same period last year, with the average return fare to popular destinations now $2,571, according to data compiled by booking site Kayak. Passengers are paying the price for two years in the pandemic when airlines made no money, with so-called “revenge” travel to make up for those lost lockdown years creating a surge of demand, although experts expect fares to start falling by 2024.

Not the news

Back stage at the Enviroteens rehearsal in Hobart
‘I got a bit teary, because it was like I’d walked into my own mind,’ says Andrew Marlton AKA First Dog on the Moon. Photograph: Brett Boardman

New theatre production The Carbon Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable Enviroteens, which follows young superheroes who must overcome obstacles to save the planet, will have its world premiere in Hobart tomorrow. It is, of course, the work of Guardian Australia’s very own cartoonist, First Dog on the Moon. He and the cast talk about making climate change fun.

The world of sport

kenya
  • Athletics | Defending champion Evans Chebet of Kenya won the Boston Marathon overnight in 2:05:54, with compatriot Hellen Obiri, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5,000m, winning the women’s race to complete a clean sweep for the east Africans (pictured).

  • Oil stops play | “Just Stop Oil” protesters forced a stoppage in play at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, interrupting a match by jumping on the table and releasing a packet of orange powder.

  • Chelsea ‘embarrassment’ | Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly told the players the season was “embarrassing” in a dressing room speech after the defeat by Brighton on Saturday.

  • Cricket | Aunty Faith Thomas, the first Aboriginal woman to play Test cricket for Australia when she made her debut in 1958, has passed away aged 90.

Media roundup

One in 10 Australians say they are unlikely to vote in the voice referendum, according to a poll in the Sydney Morning Herald. An Australian man has died while walking the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea, the ABC reports. South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas tells the Advertiser that millions of dollars will be ploughed into regional sporting grounds as a legacy of the AFL Gather Round.

What’s happening today

  • Canberra | Sentencing remarks in the case of Witness J, who was jailed in secrecy after being convicted for the disclosure of confidential information.

  • Economy | The RBA will release the minutes from the last monetary policy meeting.

  • Health | Cancer-related death rates among young people have more than halved over the past few decades, according to AIHW report today.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.

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