Good morning. The falling popularity of bulk billing among GPs is creating a serious problem for parents. The Guardian’s Essential poll reveals a lot of people want governments to help pay bills by putting a cap on essential services such as energy. Plus, the dire consequences of the high cost of abortion are revealed in a new study.
Most people think Australia’s economic system is “broken” and want the government to take a more active role, including by imposing price caps on essential services, the latest Guardian Essential poll suggests. The findings come as the government prepares to bring industry and unions together at next week’s jobs and skills summit. The survey of 1,065 people also found strong support for industry-level bargaining and a super profits tax.
Parents and carers say it is getting harder to find a clinic that bulk bills children, prompting concerns it could mean lower immunisation rates. Prof Julie Leask, a social scientist, says the rise of out-of-pocket expenses for visits to the doctor will most often affect poorer families. But GPs say Medicare rebates are not enough to make bulk billing sustainable. Some choose to bulk bill just some patient groups such as children and pensioners.
Queensland women are self-harming and searching for pills on the black market to induce abortions as they face chronic delays, financial pressures and a lack of support from healthcare providers, a new study has found. The University of Queensland study revealed that 43% of clients of pregnancy counselling service Children by Choice surveyed by the researchers had been exposed to family or intimate partner violence, including reproductive coercion and abuse.
Australia
Strong winds are expected to continue to lash Australia this week and, while the peak speeds are not anticipated to be exceptional, the vastness of the area affected will be unusual.
Anti-aircraft noise campaigners say they will target investors in Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) as they threaten to ramp up efforts to force a curfew and cap on flights over the city.
The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has ruled a controversial $4.5bn fertiliser plant near ancient rock art on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula can go ahead after being told it had the support of a local Aboriginal corporation.
Australia-wide rabbit invasion resulted from a single introduction of just 24 animals in 1859, new research has confirmed. Using historical and genetic data, scientists have pinpointed the origins of what they call “the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded”.
Non-union workers would be forced to pay fees for union pay deals while the requirement to advertise jobs domestically, before sponsoring foreign workers, would be abolished in favour of a higher wage floor, under two proposals by Unions NSW. Under the plan employers could be forced to pay a skilled visa applicant 30% above the industry median wage before sponsoring an offshore worker, a move designed to incentivise training Australians.
Star Entertainment will be grilled in a series of public hearings into its suitability to hold casino licences in Queensland amid a series of damaging reports. The hearings start on Tuesday and run through to next Monday. Here are some key things to know about the inquiry.
The world
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, in Montreal. Photograph: Christinne Muschi/Reuters
The German chancellor is visiting Canada on what he has described as an urgent mission to extricate Germany from its dependence on Russian gas and pursue new energy supplies, as pressure mounts on his government to come up with solutions to tackle a looming crisis.
Russia has accused Ukraine’s intelligence services of carrying out the murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue, raising fears of a violent retaliation. If the accusation against Ukraine is true, it would mark a significant embarrassment for Russia’s security and counterintelligence apparatus, which failed to prevent the attack in an elite Moscow postcode and then let the suspects slip away.
China, the world’s second-biggest economy, is in a rocky economic period marked by rolling Covid clampdowns. Here we break down China’s economic outlook – and what it means for Australia and other countries.
British Airways has announced another round of cancellations, axing 10,000 flights to and from Heathrow until the end of March next year as it adapts to the persistent staff shortages that have hit aviation.
New Zealand’s flood- and slip-prone regions do not have the mechanisms in place to cope with rapid environmental changes brought about by the climate crisis, Jacinda Ardern has said after visiting the aftermath of a monster storm.
A classified CIA report shows the agency was unable to find any evidence to support Israel’s decision to label six prominent Palestinian NGOs as “terrorist organisations”.
A record-breaking drought has caused some rivers in China – including parts of the Yangtze – to dry up, affecting hydropower, halting shipping, and forcing major companies to suspend operations.
Recommended reads
From US smash-hit kitchen drama The Bear to James Corden starring as a chef in Jez Butterworth’s forthcoming “relationship whodunnit”, you’re going to be watching a lot of ovens because fictional chefs are about to take over TV.
In the paintings of Waanyi artist Gordon Hookey, armies of tough kangaroos and other native animals, such as possums, goannas, crocodiles and snakes, represent Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Invasive species such as cane toads and camels, meanwhile, “represent the ugliness of invasive peoples to our lands, country and culture”. The 61-year-old’s art is funnier than that might suggest and startling in its rowdy satire.
For years Hugh Brody lived with the Inuit community in Canada’s far north. But it was only later, when the suicides began, that he learned of the epidemic of abuse that had unfolded during that time.
Listen
When women have children, separate from their partners or care for their loved ones later in life, their retirement savings take a hit. Reporter Stephanie Wood talks to Jane Lee about how compulsory superannuation is still failing women 30 years after it was introduced in Australia.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Tim Paine could be back playing in Tasmania in six weeks as Australia’s former Test captain prepares for his cricket comeback. Paine is training with Tasmania’s state squad as an uncontracted player as he plots a return for the first time since losing the Test captaincy in a sexting controversy.
Media roundup
Voters have swung behind Labor with a surge of support to give the new federal government a strong lead in the community with a primary vote of 42%, up from 33% at the election just three months ago, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. And the peak body representing Christian schools has “grave concerns” schools will close if new laws dramatically reducing their ability to preference staff and students of faith go ahead, WAToday reports.
Coming up
Anthony Albanese is due to release advice from the solicitor general on Scott Morrison’s secret ministries.
NSW train delays are expected to continue due to industrial action.
And if you’ve read this far …
Dressing for feel: four tactile approaches to putting on clothes.
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