Good morning. Vladimir Putin appears unwilling to compromise as ceasefire talks begin. The Australian government will release its pre-election budget today. And heavy rains in NSW and Queensland have forced residents in recently flooded areas to evacuate again.
Ukraine’s neutrality and the status of contested areas in the east could be on the table in ceasefire talks due to start on Tuesday, but with Russia’s invasion largely stalled, Kyiv will make no concessions on territorial integrity, officials have said. As negotiators arrived in Istanbul for their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, both sides played down the chances of a major breakthrough and a senior US official said Putin did not appear ready to compromise. Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russian authorities of disrespect towards the families of their own dead soldiers, criticising Moscow for not agreeing on a scheme to have the remains of those killed in action returned to Russia. Meanwhile, billionaire Roman Abramovich and a Ukrainian peace negotiator suffered symptoms consistent with poisoning earlier this month, according to a source with direct knowledge of the incident.
Australia has lost influence in the Pacific by failing to act on climate and cutting foreign aid, Labor leader Anthony Albanese says, amid concerns about China’s proposed security deal with Solomon Islands. Australia and New Zealand are worried the draft agreement could jeopardise regional stability, with China having the opportunity to base navy warships in the Pacific less than 2,000km off the Australian coast. The prime minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, is due to address parliament in Honiara on Tuesday about security cooperation with China.
Just 15% of projects announced in the government’s multibillion dollar infrastructure budget splurge have been endorsed as priorities by Infrastructure Australia, with the Coalition instead funnelling billions of dollars into must-win marginal seats. A Guardian Australia analysis of the 144 projects being funded by the government in Tuesday’s budget shows that just 21 are included on Infrastructure Australia’s current list of priority projects, accounting for $5.7bn of the approximate $16bn in new funding. Josh Frydenberg’s pre-election budget will also project Australia’s unemployment rate to drop to 3.75% this year, its lowest figure in 50 years, with the Coalition to talk up a “remarkable” post-pandemic recovery. And Queensland’s transport minister has described the budget eve announcement of a train line from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast as being in “circus sort of territory”, saying the promised money appeared “plucked out of the sky”.
Australia
New data has identified the affluent Gold Coast suburb of Paradise Point as having the highest value of property at risk of coastal erosion in Australia. An estimated $1.4bn worth of property within 6.4km of the coastline in Paradise Point is at “very high risk” of coastal erosion or storm-surge-related damage within the next 30 to 60 years, according to analysis by CoreLogic.
The NSW government has approved less than 400 disaster relief grants for flood-ravaged northern rivers businesses, despite receiving almost 8,000 requests for help since applications opened almost a month ago.
Qantas says it is concerned about the message sent by the Fair Work Commission after it ordered the airline to reinstate a male safety instructor who it fired for allegedly staring at a female colleague’s chest for 10 seconds.
South-east Australia could face gas shortages as soon as the 2023 winter because of delays for a planned NSW import terminal and falling Bass Strait output, according to the annual review of the sector by the Australian Energy Market Operator.
The world
UN chief António Guterres on Saturday condemned an exchange of attacks between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition, calling for “restraint” on all sides in the seven-year conflict.
Shanghai has begun its phased lockdown as an Omicron-fuelled Covid-19 wave spreads through mainland China’s most significant financial hub, resulting in the highest caseloads in the country since the early days of the pandemic.
Donald Trump appears to have committed multiple felonies as he sought to return himself to power on 6 January, a judge said in a ruling Monday that ordered Trump lawyer John Eastman to turn over hundreds of emails to the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack.
Myanmar’s top general has vowed to intensify action against homegrown militia groups fighting the military-run government, saying the armed forces would “annihilate” them.
Recommended reads
Two years after Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic, was released from Tehran’s Evin prison, she remains marked by her ordeal and anxious that western governments have no better strategies to respond to Iran’s “blackmail”.
Dogs, diseases and droughts – aided and abetted by land clearing and bushfires – have pushed vulnerable koala populations into rapid decline. It is now hoped that a two-year-old koala named Jagger can help secure the fate of endangered colonies along Australia’s east coast.
In a new documentary, Sarah Snook voices the element as it tells its own story – making us fall in love with carbon before showing the damage it can wreak.
Listen
Nine years after it was offered, Australia has accepted New Zealand’s offer to resettle 450 refugees. While human rights advocates and the federal opposition have welcomed this announcement, they’ve also questioned the motivation and the timing – so close to the federal election.
Guardian reporter Ben Doherty speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about why the government took so long to accept the offer, and Behrouz Boochani – a journalist and refugee who was detained on Manus Island – discusses what refugees can expect from a life in New Zealand.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
In its 153 years, the Richmond Union Bowling Club, which inspired the movie Crackerjack, has survived fires and gentrification. These days it welcomes all at its Pride Cup.
Alana King’s willingness to embrace difference from a young age first set her on the path towards World Cup glory. “I want to do something different,” said the 26-year-old leg spinner.
Media roundup
The Bureau of Meteorology says flash flooding is possible across the Gold Coast, with 100mm of rain forecast for Tuesday, the ABC reports. A report has called for greater transparency on how taxpayer funds are being spent by aged care operators, the Age has reported.
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