Morning everyone. The company at the centre of the investigation into contaminated mulch in Sydney will argue in court today that the pollution of its product could have occurred outside it facilities and therefore it cannot be blamed. We have the full exclusive story.
Plus, we dig into the big question of whether the Coalition’s nuclear plans make sense; and Joe Biden is about to announce a bold plan to bypass Israeli control and deliver aid straight to Gazans.
Australia
Nowland settlement | The family of Clare Nowland, who died after being allegedly Tasered by police in an aged care home, has reached a confidential settlement in their civil case against the New South Wales government.
‘Unjustified impact’ | Greenlife Resource Recovery, the landscaping materials company at the centre of the New South Wales asbestos crisis, is expected in court today in an attempt to have an order preventing it from making mulch products thrown out.
Re-detention hearing | The high court has agreed to hear two appeals that threaten the legality of the re-detention of more than 100 non-citizens who had been sentenced and served more than a year in prison.
Gambling problem | An Indigenous leader and independent MP has accused the Northern Territory government of having “a clear conflict of interest” with the $50bn online gambling industry and of ignoring First Nations health and advocacy groups.
Meta bid | Australian media companies could seek compensation from Meta for its use of online news sources in training generative AI technology, researchers have said.
World
Gaza port plan | US forces will build a temporary port on the Gaza shoreline in the next few weeks to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale to circumvent Israeli controls.
State of the Union | Joe Biden will announce the port plan today in his State of the Union address which will also make much of Democrat attempts to protect the reproductive rights of women from Republican-driven rulings. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been boosted by the court decisions, and Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán is putting his chips on the table with a trip to visit Trump in Florida.
Haiti chaos | Haiti has been rocked by seven days of bedlam as gangs launched a wave of attacks while the president was overseas, our Latin America correspondent reports.
Banksy bust | Police in Spain say they have smashed a ring that allegedly forged works by Banksy that it sold for up to $2,500 apiece.
Epoch struggle | The quest to declare the Anthropocene an official geological epoch has split the world of science after the validity of a leaked vote that apparently killed the proposal was questioned.
Full Story
Newsroom edition: the Liberal party’s policy problem
Gabrielle Jackson talks with head of newsroom Mike Ticher and national news editor Patrick Keneally about how the Dunkley byelection exposed the Coalition’s lack policies on key issues.
In-depth
The Coalition appears set to commit itself to a policy of building nuclear reactors across Australia to replace ageing coal-fire generators. But the plan faces many hurdles, such as the considerable problems of timing (it could take up to 20 years before nuclear power is on stream), cost (nuclear is the most expensive way to generate electricity), dealing with waste, finding someone to build them, and overcoming opposition. Graham Readfearn powers up some answers.
Not the news
They were one of Australia’s biggest ever bands, but being a member of Midnight Oil was not always a rock’n’roll dream. In his new memoir The Silver River, co-founder and guitarist Jim Moginie (pictured on the far right) explores what our reviewer Nigel Featherstone describes as the overall “sadness” of the band’s story – how a boy from the suburbs fulfilled his dream to “belong” in a band but how it ultimately “became a beast of burden”.
The world of sport
AFL | Sydney’s new recruit Brodie Grundy played a starring role as the Swans kicked off the season with a tough 22-point win over his former team the Demons at the SCG.
Formula One | Christian Horner’s accuser has been suspended after the Red Bull boss’s exoneration by an independent investigation into “inappropriate behaviour”.
Cricket | England suffered another batting collapse in the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala as they were all out for 218 before the home side ended on 1-135.
Media roundup
Many papers are leading with the charging of a suspect in Samantha Murphy case and the local Ballarat Courier quotes his defence lawyer saying his identity has been suppressed because of a “legitimate risk” to his safety. Two brothers have been ordered to pay $20,000 after chopping down five trees on their Brisbane riverfront development site, the Courier Mail says. A Sydney man has revealed to the Daily Telegraph how he sneaked into one of Taylor Swift’s concerts last month.
What’s happening today
Media | FWC hearing on ABC application to have Antoinette Lattouf’s claim rejected.
Sydney | Directions hearing for Greenlife Resource Recovery facility over asbestos contamination.
Tasmania | Seven independent state election candidates give a press conference about the fight to end native forestry.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
