Morning everyone. The Albanese government is going to try to push 37 bills through the Senate today as the session heads towards a frantic conclusion. However, a contentious law to increase tax on super balances over $3m will most likely not be among them.
Today we also hear from the Biloela family about why the immigration detention bill is wrong, there’s a boom in medicinal cannabis, and Australian researchers have built a tiny model dinosaur out of DNA.
Australia
Jurassic lark | Australian researchers have created building blocks out of DNA to construct a series of nano-scale objects and shapes, from a rod and a square to an infinitesimally small dinosaur.
Exclusive | The government’s contentious plan to increase the tax on superannuation balances over $3m has been all but abandoned, amid concerns that it could expose Labor to a repeat of the damaging franking-credits campaign that helped cost it the 2019 election.
Asylum plea | Priya Nadesalingam, the Tamil woman who won a long fight for her and her family to stay in Australia, has spoken out against the Albanese government’s immigration detention bill, saying her family’s redemption would have been “impossible” without access to a mobile phone while detained.
Sales high | The medicinal cannabis business is “booming”, with Australian sales likely to have quadrupled in the past two years and total spending on track to reach $1bn by the end of the year, according to a new report.
Trouble in Tassie | Senators Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell have fallen out over the latter’s use of a map of Tasmania in her campaign logo – with the former saying it’s too similar to typography “long associated” with her JLN party.
World
‘Thank God we are home’ | Residents of southern Lebanon are heading back to their homes after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which appears to be holding so far. Follow the developments live.
Defence ‘target’ | Pete Hegseth, nominated to be Donald Trump’s defence secretary, has been targeted with bomb threats and so-called “swatting” along with several cabinet nominees and appointees of the president-elect’s incoming administration. Trump’s selection of the far-right commentator Sebastian Gorka for a senior national security post has prompted outrage and ridicule.
Tariff trouble | Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on three of America’s biggest trading partners will send prices “through the roof”, US companies have warned. It’s a view echoed by our economics commentator, Greg Jericho, in his column today.
Pakistan protests | Pakistan’s army and police have been accused of firing on civilians, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries to dozens of protesters who stormed Islamabad to demand the release of the former prime minister Imran Khan from prison.
Wales | A double killer freed from prison after being deemed a low risk has been found guilty of murdering a charitable neighbour who gave him odd jobs to help his rehabilitation.
Full Story
Could the surviving members of the Bali Nine be coming home?
Ben Doherty and Kate Lamb discuss the Bali Nine case and examine the delicate politics behind bringing the remaining members back to Australia.
In-depth
The conviction of NSW police constable Kristian White for manslaughter after using a Taser on 95-year-old Clare Nowland closes one chapter on a story that has made headlines around the world. But questions remain about how it was allowed to happen, with experts telling Jordyn Beazley that it serves as a “powerful warning” about police use of force.
Not the news
What’s it like to be the child of Hollywood legends? Well, Stephen Bogart, the son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, reveals that his parents left him for six months when Bogie went off to film The African Queen – even after his nanny dropped dead – and that “kids were second to their drinking and partying”. He tells Xan Brooks that it “took me years to feel comfortable with the whole Bogart thing”.
Sport
Cricket | Australia have barely more than a week to work out how to play Jasprit Bumrah or they risk a repeat of the first Test debacle.
Football | Australia’s most-capped player, Clare Polkinghorne, will play her last game of international football against Brazil in her home city of Brisbane.
WBBL | Sydney Thunder’s Phoebe Litchfield cracked 46 from 36 balls against Hobart last night to secure a six-wicket win and the right to play Brisbane tomorrow for a place in Sunday’s WBBL final.
Football | Liverpool are at home to Real Madrid in a clash of former winners in the Champions League this morning. Follow the action live.
Media roundup
The best-performing schools in Sydney are the ones that are limiting the amount of time children are on screens, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Age reveals the location of Australia’s most expensive streets, where the median property price can reach $45m. NT News reports a group of Chinese migrants has been found in the bush near the remote Arafura Sea coast. Bondi locals will hold a memorial tomorrow for Lofty, the legendary figure who ran the weekly Iceberg races “with an iron fist”, the Telegraph reports.
What’s happening today
Economy | Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock delivers the CEDA dinner address in Sydney at 6.30pm.
Business | Star Entertainment annual general meeting at 11am.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
