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

Morning Mail: unions call for big wage boost, elder cut from Obama event, Pope in hospital

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus is leading the call for a higher minimum wage. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Morning, everyone. Inflation may have eased a little last month but the rising cost of living is still a big worry for many Australians, prompting the peak union body to call for a rise in the minimum wage which is “simply about survival”. We have a full report into who might benefit and by how much, plus analysis of the the country’s wage paralysis.

In Melbourne an Indigenous elder has taken deep offence after she was allegedly barred from giving a welcome to country for Barack Obama, and we’re also behind the scenes as contenders arrive for the Archibald art prize.

Australia

Aunty Joy Murphy
Aunty Joy Murphy. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
  • ‘Too difficult’ | An Indigenous elder, Aunty Joy Murphy, has been barred from giving the welcome to country at a speaking event by former US president Barack Obama after being told she was being “too difficult”.

  • ‘Essential’ pay rise | Australian unions have called for a pay rise of 7% for the lowest-paid workers, lifting the national minimum wage by $1.50 an hour to keep pace with inflation which is running at 7.1%. The ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, said the rise was “essential” to help workers “keep their heads above water”. Our economics commentator Greg Jericho says the doomsayers are wrong: the sky won’t fall in if people get a decent pay rise.

  • ‘Horrific’ | Coles and Woolworths say they will review the sources of the pork they sell after it emerged that they buy from Victorian abattoirs allegedly involved in the “horrific” gassing of pigs.

  • Legal lacking | Australia’s queer community needs greater legal protection amid a series of attacks, LGBTQ+ advocates say, with Victoria, South Australia or Western Australia identified as having no laws to protect people from vilification.

  • Censor switch | Australia should ditch its censorship of certain fetishes and some instances of violence in pornography, according to a review that also proposes an M rating on games with paid loot boxes.

World

An artist’s impression of a black hole in the Milky Way
A newly discovered ultramassive black hole is one of the largest ever found. Illustration: ESA/Hubble/PA

Full Story

Transgender rights supporters are held back by police during a rally outside Parliament House in Melbourne
Transgender rights supporters are held back by police during a rally outside Parliament House in Melbourne. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Australia’s queer community is under attack – are our laws letting it down?

Laura Murphy-Oates talks to non-binary performance artist and activist Kitty Obsidian and Guardian journalist Cait Kelly about whether Australia’s laws are failing to protect the queer community.

In-depth

Melting ice floes in Antarctica
Melting ice floes in Antarctica. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The melting of ice around Antarctica will cause a rapid slowdown of a major global deep ocean current by 2050 that could alter the world’s climate for centuries, according to a team of Australian scientists. Their research suggests that if emissions continue at today’s levels, the current in the deepest parts of the ocean could slow down by 40% in only three decades. The knock-on impact could include radical changes in rainfall.

Not the news

Karyn Zamel with her portrait of Marina Finlay
Karyn Zamel with her portrait of Marina Finlay. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

More than 2,000 works will go through Art Gallery of NSW’s packing room this week as artists deliver their entries for Australia’s most prestigious portrait, landscape and genre prize, the Archibald. Natasha May talks to artists including Bern Barry and Karyn Zamel (pictured), subjects including the children’s author Libby Hathorn, and a judge, Alexis Wildman.

The world of sport

Peter Bol at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Peter Bol at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPA
  • Athletics | Doping authorities accused of botching Peter Bol’s sample are staying silent amid concern about the “potentially massive” global ramifications of the Olympian’s case.

  • Tennis | Australia will face Great Britain along with France and Switzerland in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals in Manchester in September

  • Rugby league | Shaun Wane is still “tortured” by England’s failure to win last year’s Rugby League World Cup as they begin a three-match Test series with Tonga.

Media roundup

The Age says thousands of public sector jobs face the axe in Victoria as the government looks for a 10% budget cut. People taking Vegemite overseas are having the 145g travel tubes confiscated at airports because it is classed a gel, the Courier-Mail reports.

What’s happening today

  • Childcare | The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release figures on preschool education including fees, enrolment, attendance and service providers.

  • Sydney | Female leaders in business, technology, health, housing and media discuss overcoming adversity with speakers including Grace Tame, Alexis Wolfe and Prof Michelle Ryan.

  • Courts | A Sydney bodybuilder and former Mr Australia faces multiple domestic violence charges against six victims.

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day’s main news. Sign up for our Afternoon Update newsletter here.

Prefer notifications? If you’re reading this in our app, just click here and tap “Get notifications” on the next screen for an instant alert when we publish every morning.

Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.

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.