Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Kris Swales

Afternoon Update: PM targets Dutton ‘weakness’; Djokovic retires injured from semi; and why New Zealanders love popping a manu

Anthony Albanese arrives at the National Press Club in Canberra flanked by ABC journalist Laura Tingle
Anthony Albanese arrives at the National Press Club in Canberra flanked by ABC journalist Laura Tingle. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Anthony Albanese has used his first major speech of the year to turn some of Peter Dutton’s own rhetoric against him. The prime minister responded to the opposition leader’s claims he is a weak leader by telling journalists weakness is “not having the guts to come to the National Press Club” – whose offer to speak Dutton is yet to take up during his leadership stint.

Albanese also revealed federal Labor had secured new school funding agreements with South Australia and Victoria, a move greeted as a “very big win” for public education by the Victorian government.

Dutton, meanwhile, has hosed down suggestions the Coalition’s policy on tax breaks for small business would extend to playing a round of golf.

Top news

In pictures

In our daily gallery of photo highlights from around the world, students protest after reports of a mass culling of stray dogs in Morocco as part of a cleanup of streets in advance of the Fifa World Cup.

What they said …

***

“You’re playing for your country. That needs to be elite. And if you’re not elite, you’re not going to be able to play for the Socceroos.”

Four matches into his tenure as coach of Australia’s men’s football team, Tony Popovic has laid down a marker for his players.

In numbers

People have queued for hours to catch a glimpse – and whiff – of Australia’s most famous (for now) plant before it dies. “It has been a privilege to watch,” writes Bec Shaw of Putricia’s allure, “and a much-needed break from the obnoxious loudness of our current times.”

Before bed read

No one in New Zealand is entirely sure where, or how, the “manu” emerged. But the diving style developed by Māori and Pasifika communities has become a national pastime – and the bigger the splash and more inventive the jump, the louder the cheers.

Daily word game

Today’s starter word is: TWEE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter.

And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters, including The Stakes, your guide to the twists and turns of the US presidential election.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.