High schoolers across the country have ditched school and taken to the streets, joining the coordinated university union protests against Pauline Hanson.
Flyers reading “Say No to Pauline Hanson”, “fight against racism” and “stand up against the far right” were distributed by organisers from the National Union of Students. One speaker said to the crowd: “She’s hanging out with Gina Rinehart in her private jet. She’s going to Mar-a-Lago, she’s hanging out with Trump.”
Responding on social media, Hanson said students should instead be protesting against the cost-of-living crisis and stagnant national wage growth. But students have not been deterred. Despite being urged not to skip class, Melbourne high school student Jules Arpula said there was “nothing more important” for students to do on Thursday.
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In pictures
Days of rain has caused widespread flooding across the Philippines capital, Manila, and filled the city’s waterways with debris. A massive cleanup operation involving teams of workers and heavy machinery is under way.
What they said …
***
“Yes, definitely.” – Andrew Bragg
Asked on ABC Radio National whether low-income earners should accept substandard housing, the shadow housing minister, said: “We’ve got to be clear, there are trade-offs here”.
Housing inequality groups including the Australian Council of Social Services have criticised Bragg’s suggestion, saying quality housing was both more affordable and safer for vulnerable portions of the community.
Podcast
The 21 million women and girls the world forgot
Five years after the Taliban retook power, women inside the country explain how they have been silenced, while the Afghan journalist Zahra Joya asks why the world has looked away.
Listen to the episode here.
Before bed read
It was the wedding of the century – and remains shrouded in mystery. But in his first public comments, American football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as “the best night of my life”.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: TICE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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• The headline on the article “Bondi shooting hero Ahmed al-Ahmed has assault charges dropped”, featured in yesterday’s newsletter, was amended on 12 August 2026. A previous version incorrectly said Ahmed al-Ahmed had been cleared of the charges.
