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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Imogen Dewey

Morning Mail: royals’ wealth exposed, Inland Rail blowout, Putin’s paranoid lifestyle

Illustration of the crown sitting on top of a pile of cash, on top of a vast stretch of land divided into a patchwork series of lots. Purple background
The Guardian’s Cost of the crown series exposes the entrenched secrecy around the royal family’s money and wealth. Illustration: Doug Chayka/The Guardian

Good morning. A new Guardian investigation cuts through the entrenched secrecy around the British royal family’s money and wealth. The Inland Rail project is in strife, still. The dust is far from settled on the Trump arraignment. And traces of the last ice age have given us a “warning from the past”, scientists say.

Let’s get into this morning’s major stories.

Australia

Liberal leader Peter Dutton (right) and deputy leader Sussan Ley
Liberal leader Peter Dutton (right) and deputy leader Sussan Ley announced the party’s opposition to the Indigenous voice to parliament on Wednesday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

World

The Cost of the crown series illustration featuring King Charles III
The Cost of the crown series asks challenging questions of King Charles III – sharpening a centuries-old debate over whether royal profits should be given to the public instead. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images/AP

Full Story

Greens senator Barbara Pocock
Greens senator Barbara Pocock. A shorter work week has been backed by a recent Senate inquiry with support from members of Labor, the Coalition and the Greens. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The case for the four-day work week

The Easter break is making this is a four-day work week for many of us. But what if every week was like this? Today on Full Story, Greens senator Barbara Pocock and Guardian Australia chief political correspondent Paul Karp speak to Laura Murphy-Oates about successful trials in Australia and around the world – and why it might work.

In-depth

Mark Speakman, the NSW Liberal MP for Cronulla
Mark Speakman, the NSW Liberal MP for Cronulla and a potential leadership contender after Dominic Perrottet stepped down, is said to be weighing a move to federal politics via a run in Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

It’s been twelve days since the NSW election, and no one’s in a hurry to apply for the job of opposition leader. (One MP said it was as if the Liberal party has become “catatonic”.) But with speculation that former PM Scott Morrison could soon announce his departure from federal politics, attention is focused on his seat of Cook. Anne Davies and Tamsin Rose today examine the complex game of political musical chairs being played out in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

Not the news

Justine Clarke
‘The play’s central thesis – that Gillard was harmed by sexism and confronted it meaningfully with this speech – leaves no room for the nuances. And it feels like a missed opportunity.’ Photograph: Prudence Upton

More in former PMs. A new play by Joanna Murray-Smith, one of Australia’s most produced playwrights internationally, tells the story of Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech. As Cassie Tongue writes, “Murray-Smith’s work often centres the inner lives of women, and their tension with the people and societies around them.” But despite an electrifying performance from Justine Clarke, this work fails to reckon with the complexities of Gillard’s legacy.

The world of sport

Will Whiteacre, a young netball player from Victoria
The rise of men’s netball is opening up new pathways. Photograph: May Bailey/Clusterpix

Media roundup

As reported by ABC, Fiji prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka is looking into a Pacific leader’s claims he was spied on by the Chinese government during a Fiji visit. The Fin predicts the week’s final trading session will see the ASX slip. And apparently you all took my weather advice seriously yesterday – the Australian says that nearly two-thirds of Australians will stay home this Easter.

What’s happening today

  • Inland Rail | Ministers Catherine King and Katy Gallagher will speak to media about a review that savages the Coalition’s past handling of the project. In two years its predicted price tag has almost doubled, to more than $30bn.

  • ABS | Figures will be released on international trade, jobs and wages.

  • Sydney | The Royal Easter Show starts 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.

The Morning Mail is taking a break over the long weekend – we’ll be back with you on Tuesday 11 April. Stay well.

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