Hi there, it's Monday, June 20. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: World swimming's transgender ban
It's the strictest policy by an Olympic sporting body. Here's what's happened:
- Swimming's world governing body, FINA, has voted to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women's competitions
- Its new eligibility policy says male-to-female transgender athletes can compete if "they can establish to FINA's comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 [of puberty] or before age 12, whichever is later"
- FINA plans to launch an "open category" as part of the new policy, and transgender men are fully eligible to compete in men's swimming competitions
- FINA's president, Husain Al-Musallam, said:
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: Child protection 'broken' in Australia
Here's the lowdown:
- The National Children's Commissioner says Australia's child protection system is "broken" and needs "urgent attention"
- It comes as a nationwide ABC investigation has revealed allegations of abuse and neglect of children in care in every state and territory
- Children's Commissioner Ann Hollonds says these allegations are shockingly "common" and there needs to be greater scrutiny:
- Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth have said they will meet with the Commissioner to discuss what can be done
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- French President Emmanuel Macron's party will lose its majority. The projected vote sees his candidates winning between 200 and 250 seats — far less than the 289 required for a straight majority in the nation's National Assembly
- Will recession happen in the US? While their Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says it'll take "skill and luck" to avoid but it's not "inevitable", last week former treasury secretary Larry Summers said it's "likely" by the end of the year:
The news Australia is searching for
- Canadian GP: Max Verstappen has survived 16-lap sprint to claim the F1 Canadian Grand Prix. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished just 0.9 of a second behind him (Aussie Daniel Ricciardo finished 11th). Yuki Tsunoda
- Juneteenth: That's the name for June 19, it commemorates the end of slavery in the US — and officially became a holiday for them last year. If you're still curious, we break it down for you here
One more thing: The *big* Logies moments
Missed it all last night? Here's a super quick recap:
Sports commentary legend Bruce McAvaney made it into the Hall of Fame with an emotional speech about his incredible career:
And Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott plus ABC presenter Tony Armstrong (who also won the Graham Kennedy award) were one mighty duo for representation, Alcott said:
"To be honest, having an Indigenous man and a guy in a wheelchair up here, on commercial TV... we’ve got a long way to go to get representation, but it's massive."
Lisa Wilkinson dedicated her win for best news coverage to Brittany Higgins.
She said that, after 40 years in journalism, the interview was "by far" the most important work she had ever done.
But the big winner?
Hamish Blake — who won the Gold Logie AND the new Bert Newton Award for most popular presenter.
Blake joked that thanks to COVID cancelling previous awards, he's won a bonus Gold Logie:
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more.
ABC/wires
