Good afternoon. The fallout from the David Van sexual harassment allegations have rolled on today, with the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, calling on the Liberal senator to quit parliament.
The escalation comes amid news that a third allegation of misconduct by Van has been brought to Dutton’s attention, after claims in the Senate from independent senator Lidia Thorpe and former fellow Liberal senator Amanda Stoker. Van maintains Thorpe’s allegations are “disgraceful”, said he could not recall the events described by Stoker, and disagrees with Dutton’s decision to dump him from the Liberal party room.
In other news, the speed-cubing world record has been broken – done in an astonishing 3.13 seconds!
Top news
Female politicians back Thorpe | The independent senator has found support from female politicians across the political spectrum. Independent MP Helen Haines and Liberal MP Bridget Archer commended Dutton for his swift action against Van, with Archer affirming Thorpe’s assessment of a “toxic” culture towards women in parliament. The Greens senator Larissa Waters said: “It feels like we’re back to square one [on women’s safety in parliament] and it breaks my heart.”
Former VFL star found to have sexually abused child | The former Australian Rules footballer Barry Cable – now 79 – repeatedly sexually abused a Perth girl over a five-year period in the 1960s at the height of his playing career, a civil court has found. The woman has been awarded $818,700 in damages.
Crown cops $20m fine | The casino was slapped with the fine after failing to pay its fair share of Victoria’s casino tax. Victoria’s royal commission into Crown Melbourne found the casino giant improperly claimed tax deductions by including the costs of certain promotional activities as amounts paid out as winnings.
AGL upgrades profits forecast | The energy giant is expecting a higher underlying profit after tax of $255m to $285m (previously $200m to $280m) as it prepares to slug customers with bill increases of up to 30% starting 1 July. “It’s a tough period for everyone,” the chief executive, Damien Nicks, said.
The most keenly anticipated Ashes since 2006-7 | … is about to get under way. And that’s largely because England have – at last – turned into a competitive outfit. Here’s a bluffer’s guide to the Ashes, a more serious preview from the Australian angle, and one zooming in on the English.
Victorian Greens threaten to block planning laws | Victoria – similar to New South Wales – is proposing to fast-track approvals and limit council powers to object to developments to help improve housing supply. But the Greens are withholding their support unless the Andrews government makes 50% of homes in new developments either public or affordable.
Horrific Canada crash | At least 15 people are dead after a crash in the province of Manitoba between a semi-trailer truck and a vehicle used to transport elderly and physically disabled people.
Speed-cubing world record broken | American champion cuber Max Park has smashed the previous benchmark of 3.47 seconds set by China’s Yusheng Du in 2018 for a 3x3x3 Rubik’s cube with a time of 3.13 seconds. Park will enter the Guinness Book of World Records after his feat at the Pride in Long Beach 2023 event in California.
Conor McGregor sexual assault allegation | A representative for mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a woman at Game 4 of the NBA finals last week. The woman alleges McGregor assaulted her in a bathroom, where he kissed her and forced her to have oral sex. She says she elbowed McGregor and escaped. McGregor’s representative said the “allegations are false”.
Trump tax investigation closed | There’s one less legal headache for Donald Trump, after a New York prosecutor closed a multi-year investigation that focused in part on whether the twice-indicted former president or his company misled authorities to reduce taxes on properties they own.
In pictures
Even in heavy news weeks there are tender moments to capture.
Doug Gimesy was documenting work at the Joey and Bat Sanctuary near Melbourne when he met a wombat whose mother had been killed by a car. Gimesy watched as a young veterinary student bottle-fed the orphaned joey, then touched her nose to the joey’s in a tender moment of interspecies bonding. See the full gallery of the 10th BigPicture Natural World photography competition.
What they said …
***
“I became the perpetrator. I became the person that was demonised … I had a media pile on that day. And it wasn’t until a white woman stood up and said ‘yeah, this happened to me, too’ that the media took notice. And I think that is a great example of the media landscape in this country and that is systemic racism.” – Lidia Thorpe
In numbers
Why aren’t Australians listening to Australian music?
Before bed baking
The days are short and the nights are cold – so why not make some tamarind caramel brownies? Here’s the recipe.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: HORS. 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. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.
