Morning everyone. The lurch of Trump’s America towards authoritarianism can seem comfortingly far away. But a US academic warns today that Australia, far from being immune, could see its own slide to the far right.
We have an exclusive on Chris Bowen lobbying Turkey’s first lady to help win the right to host Cop31. The wetsuits of the future that could be shark-bite resistant. And Donald Trump is facing a backlash over his comments about medicine and autism.
Australia
‘Potentially life-saving’ | Shark bite-resistant wetsuits could reduce the severity of puncture wounds and blood loss caused by shark bites, an Australian study has found.
Exclusive | Australia could be the next country to follow Trump’s America into authoritarianism and even fascism, according to an American academic and expert on the far right. Ahead of a speaking tour starting in Sydney on Sunday, Jason Stanley says that Australia’s history and treatment of Indigenous people and asylum seekers provide the conditions for a surge in extreme politics.
Exclusive | The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has appeared with Turkey’s first lady, Emine Erdoğan, at a major environment event in New York as negotiations over hosting rights for the Cop31 summit come down to the wire.
Park plan | A new master plan for Callan park, the site of a former mental hospital in Sydney’s inner west, proposes restoring the heritage buildings for health and cultural uses and possibly for a film facility while creating a second Centennial park-style green space for the city.
Tax review | A deal handing an estimated extra $60bn in tax revenue to Western Australia over a decade will come under scrutiny after Jim Chalmers asked the Productivity Commission to review the GST distribution.
World
Dallas shooting | One detainee has been killed and two others injured in a shooting at a US immigration field office in Dallas, officials said, with “anti-Ice” shell casings found reportedly found at the scene. In Oklahoma, a state official says all schools will be obliged to have a Charlie Kirk Turning Point chapter.
Ukraine plea | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to global leaders to intervene to prevent Russia from leading the world through “the most destructive arms race in human history”. Moscow has brushed off a shift in tone from Donald Trump, who yesterday called Russia a “paper tiger” in dire economic trouble.
Medical backlash | Donald Trump is facing a simmering Republican backlash over the policies of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, amid unease over the administration’s pronouncements over the causes of autism and changes to children’s vaccine policy.
Huntington’s hope | Huntington’s disease, a devastating degenerative illness that runs in families, has been treated successfully for the first time in a breakthrough gene therapy trial.
Rodents at large | In New York, the rats have succeeded in chasing off the city’s famed “rat czar” who announced her resignation. On the other side of the country, the Bay Area is being terrorised by a vicious squirrel.
Full Story
The race discrimination commissioner on the rise of the far right
The race discrimination commissioner, Giri Sivaraman, speaks to Nour Haydar about the recent spate of anti-immigration rallies, how he is “attacked all the time” for calling out racism, and why some politicians don’t want to talk about the issue.
In-depth
Our data editor, Nick Evershed, presents four charts that show how Australia will become increasingly vulnerable to danger from climate change. From increased deaths from extreme heat, to the growing risk of coastal flooding, they are a stark visualisation of our possible future.
Not the news
When Joanne Karcz and her husband retired to Dangar island on Sydney’s Hawkesbury River, home to just 300 people, they were looking for community. It took some time but they found it – and they didn’t lose their mainland friends.
Sport
Football | Ange Postecoglou makes his European coaching debut with Nottingham Forest this morning with a Europa League tie away to Real Betis. Follow it live. Fifa is not planning to expand the men’s World Cup to 64 teams in 2030, despite its president, Gianni Infantino, meeting a high-powered delegation of South America leaders to discuss the idea in New York.
AFL | The Roar Deal podcast celebrates all things Brisbane Lions. Martin Pegan hears how it’s gone through tough times to become the centrepiece of a community that stretches far beyond the club’s Brisbane and Fitzroy roots.
Golf | The expectation that Donald Trump will attend the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Long Island this weekend looks like sending an already-hyped, ultra-patriotic crowd over the edge.
Media roundup
The Australian says that Queensland premier David Crisafulli could only spare 30 minutes to talk to mining companies amid a job-cutting crisis. Family doctors will be replaced by government assessors in making decisions on NDIS claims, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Plans for a possible Geelong AFL victory parade have been scrapped by the council, the Geelong Advertiser claims.
What’s happening today
Sydney | Sentence for one of two men over alleged arson attack on Newtown synagogue.
Melbourne | Hearing at Victorian supreme court in legal challenge of the state Liberals’ $1.55m loan to John Pesutto.
Economy | ABS releases data on public, private and corporate finances.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
