Good morning, this is Imogen Dewey bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 18 December.
Top stories
Multiple states and territories reintroduced border restrictions with New South Wales overnight, throwing Christmas plans into disarray amid concerns the growing Covid-19 outbreak in the state could worsen in coming days. NSW arrivals into Western Australia and people travelling from Sydney’s northern beaches to Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, NT and Tasmania will have to quarantine for 14 days. Northern beaches residents have been urged to stay at home for at least three days after a cluster spiked from five to 17 cases. Health authorities have released a list of hotspots where Covid-positive people have visited while infectious. Those who attended some locations must isolate immediately for 14 days, others must monitor for symptoms.
A host of European leaders are in quarantine after French president Emmanuel Macron was “very likely” infected with Covid-19 during last week’s European council. France recorded 18,254 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the country’s health director said on Thursday, speaking of a “worrying development of the pandemic” a week before Christmas. With more than 2.42 million cases, France is the fifth-worst infected country in the world. Meanwhile, tough coronavirus restrictions are expected to be in place across much of the UK until at least February, experts have said, as they warned of a “harsh” two to three months ahead. EU member states have announced that they will begin vaccinations on 27 December – and Sunday has been set as the new deadline for a post-Brexit trade deal.
Hundreds of corporations and business lobby groups have backed Zali Steggall’s 2050 net zero target bill. Tesla, Origin Energy and Atlassian, among others, made parliamentary submissions to back new climate change legislation that can be ratcheted up in line with changing scientific evidence. The concept is modelled on existing bills in Britain, New Zealand and Ireland and requires the government to set a rolling emissions budget and establish an independent climate change commission. It is unclear whether Labor will ultimately lend backing – and the proposal is opposed by the Morrison government – making it highly unlikely the bill will be brought on for debate.
Australia’s freedom of information system is the worst of any country involved in Julian Assange case, says an Italian investigative journalist. Stefania Maurizi has spent the past five years attempting to secure documents on the case using FOI laws in Sweden, the US, the UK, and Australia. In the UK, her FOI battle led to explosive revelations, including that prosecutors had destroyed sensitive and revealing emails relating to Assange. But she says Australia’s lack of transparency is by far the worst: the three-year delay she faced attempting to secure government documents made her want to “unearth what the Australian authorities want to hide”.
Australia
Australia’s newest coal-fired power plant has been deemed worthless by its Japanese owner due to difficulty in refinancing loans for coal projects, as analysts suggest the industry is in decline.
A victim of the Coalition government’s botched robodebt scheme has been refunded more than $56,000 in Centrelink debts later found to be unlawful.
Clive Palmer could seek “unquantifiable” commonwealth compensation following a dispute with the Western Australian government. Thanks to a clause in Australia’s free trade agreement with Singapore, taxpayers could be on the hook for billions.
A Victorian woman is facing almost 300 animal cruelty charges after wildlife officers allegedly found the carcasses of 140 protected native birds, including 128 wedge-tailed eagles, at her property.
The world
Neighbours of Donald Trump’s infamous Mar-a-Lago golf club are warning the president he can’t live there after he leaves the White House. As vaccines are distributed across America, the record for new Covid cases and deaths has yet again been shattered.
A video released by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram purports to show some of the hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped last week in north-west Nigeria.
Floating barges fitted with advanced nuclear reactors could begin powering developing nations by the mid-2020s, according to a Danish startup company.
Recommended reads
“In a year that has been anything but ordinary, Australian films more than held their own,” writes our film critic. From Relic to The Invisible Man, here are the 10 best Australian features from 2020.
“It is a lonely business, being a Tom Cruise fan in 2020 … And so it befalls me, as his solitary champion, to step to his aid now, like Ethan Hunt in a tuxedo taking on a posse of earpiece-wearing hitmen, as behind him an orchestra plays Nessun Dorma.” Sirin Kale tries to make the case that a leaked recording of the movie star yelling at crew on his latest blockbuster doesn’t necessarily show what you think it does.
‘Conscious’, ‘slow’ or ‘cruelty-free’ may sound appealing but these surface-level claims could just be a distraction. “Marketers know we are primed and waiting with our wallets open, and the sheer scale of eco-claims means the watchdogs can’t keep up.” writes Clare Press. She shares tips for dodging greenwashed gifts – and the right time to call on your inner cynic.
Listen
The 2020 death toll from shark attacks in Australia is the highest in 86 years. In this episode of Full Story, we speak to Chantelle Doyle, who was bitten by a shark while surfing in Port Macquarie and lived to tell the tale. Plus, Graham Readfearn talks about the science around sharks and shark attacks.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
For an international sport that sees hundreds of riders and staff crisscross the globe on a weekly basis, Covid-19 posed an existential threat. In March, Australian cycling team Mitchelton-Scott became the first member of the World Tour peloton to withdraw from all forthcoming racing as a result of the emerging pandemic. Other teams soon followed, until all races had been suspended indefinitely. Then, cycling entered the world of esports.
Russia’s doping ban has been halved but its name and flag have been barred from the next two Olympics. Athletes who can prove they weren’t involved in the doping scandal can compete as neutrals, but not under Russian colours.
Australia edged ahead on day one of the Adelaide Test against India after Virat Kohli’s needless dismissal.
Media roundup
The federal aged care watchdog failed to issue a single sanction in Victoria during the height of the state’s deadly second wave, the Australian reports. Yesterday’s budget update brought good news, but also a reminder of the “coronavirus hangover” looming for the country’s physical and economic health, says Nick Feik in the Monthly. And the Sydney Morning Herald reveals Bob Carr has written to “about 70” government contacts in Europe, Asia, the Pacific and the US about the Morrison government’s “strong resistance” to action on climate change.
Coming up
The prime minister is putting the finishing touches to a reshuffle of the federal ministry following the retirement of frontbencher Mathias Cormann.
The Bureau of Meteorology will release its national Christmas weather outlook.
And if you’ve read this far …
“I went into my laundry and screamed. The giant lizard was still there.” It’s not a terrifying B-movie, it’s the true story of how Brigid Delaney tried (and failed) to eject an uninvited guest, and got a stranger from Twitter involved in the process.
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