Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 10 September.
Top stories
More than 1.1 million Australian children will be affected by this month’s cut to the coronavirus supplement, advocates warn, saying the $550-a-fortnight payment has been “life-altering” for single mothers and that its withdrawal could prompt “distress and fear”. The government’s move to reduce payments is not aided by youth unemployment figures, writes Greg Jericho, with a slow jobs recovery meaning there are some 12 unemployed people for every one job vacancy. And, the NSW government has been accused of running a secretive “Hunger Games”-style approach to arts funding, with 84 arts organisations competing for just $50m of support.
Greece is facing an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis” after a major fire has raced through Europe’s largest refugee camp, leaving about 13,000 people requiring emergency shelter and aid. Riot police were flown to the Aegean island of Lesbos to prevent former residents from entering the port city of Mytilene, but miraculously there have been no recorded fatalities. Repeatedly described by humanitarian organisations as a “stain on the consciousness of Europe”, the camp has become a magnet for men, women and children moving westward from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.
The Labor veterans Steve Bracks and Julie Macklin have handed down “the first of many” party-reform recommendations after Victorian Labor’s branch-stacking fiasco. Ensuring branch members are self-funded and banning cash payments are two initial proposals, with the introduction of an enforceable code of conduct a potential future move. The discussion paper acknowledges that previous attempts to root out branch stacking have failed but suggests a beefed up recruitment and retention function could help grow party membership legitimately.
A family friend of Scott Morrison has been banned by Twitter for “engaging in coordinated harmful activity”. A crackdown on the proliferation of far-right conspiracy content included an account run by the longstanding associate of the prime minister. Twitter is in the middle of a broader crackdown on QAnon content and is trying to reduce the amplification of accounts spreading “clear and well-documented informational, physical, societal and psychological offline harm on our service”. BurnedSpy34, a prominent and prolific member of the Australian QAnon scene, was permanently suspended.
Australia
A rightwing Australian thinktank with links to US conservatives has mounted a high court challenge against Australia’s foreign influence transparency scheme. The legislation, designed to disclose the influence of foreign operatives on domestic politics, has been likened to something from “the old East German Stasi”.
A government move to freeze the rate of employer contribution to superannuation could cost future governments billions, economic modelling has suggested. Legislated to increase at 0.5% a year until 2025, savings from any mooted reduction could eventually be lost in the form of increased pension costs.
Crossbench anxiety over media concentration has prompted the federal government to consider a request for funding for the national newswire, Australian Associated Press.
The world
An area of about 2.3m acres has burned in California, while in Washington state fast-moving fires have destroyed large swathes of the town of Malden. High winds and unprecedented temperatures have exacerbated fires across the US west coast.
Joe Biden has called Donald Trump’s Covid-19 response a “life-and-death betrayal of the American people”, capitalising on revelations the president told the renowned journalist Bob Woodward in February that he knew the virus was deadly but sought to “play it down”.
The crackdown on Belarus’ opposition leaders continues, with the Nobel prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich the last of a seven-person council remaining at liberty, despite masked intruders also attempting to storm her Minsk apartment.
Recommended reads
It’s been described as the “white gold” of the 21st century – but lithium is now coaxing Australian miners and environmentalists into an unlikely alliance. And while third-generation coalminers like James Brown might not be that bothered by climate change, in lithium – a key component needed for batteries and renewable energy storage systems – he and many others see the basis for a “green recovery”, writes Max Opray.
“The coronavirus launched its silent assault on the Australia Day long weekend without revealing its ultimate weapon.” In Australia’s three long-run booms of prosperity, migration has played a major role. But a year with predominantly closed borders risks an economically depressed and culturally more divided continent, writes George Megalogenis.
“My best friend of 20 years and I had an argument.” In this week’s Leading Questions column, Eleanor Gordon-Smith ponders how to save a relationship after what seems a major betrayal. “[As] in all betrayals – even the ones when all sides agree that’s what it was – the act will mean something different to the person on the other side. Nobody hurts the people they love without their reasons.”
Listen
Initially, Australia’s PM tried to bluster his way through the coronavirus, and then he tried to reinvent himself as a consultative listener. So what have we learned about the nation’s leader through the Covid-19 pandemic? On this episode of Full Story, David Marr dissects the issue with Katharine Murphy.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Less than a decade on from Cadel Evan’s triumphant Tour de France win in 2011, Australia’s contingent at cycling’s pre-eminent event numbers just two riders. But is domestic cycling facing a “lull between waves”, Kieran Pender asks.
And speaking of Australians at the Tour de France – it’s been a champagne day for Caleb Ewan who won his second stage of this year’s grand tour, snatching victory on Stage 11 in a tight finish that saw Peter Sagan relegated a position for pushing.
Serena Williams is through to the US Open semi finals, after a come-from-behind win over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Earlier, Alexander Zverev also came back from a set down to beat Borna Coric in the men’s draw.
Media roundup
The intimidation of two Australian journalists based in China was retaliation for Asio raids on four Chinese journalists, writes the Financial Review, with an intelligence source saying the move was simply “tit-for-tat reciprocity”. Fifo workers in Western Australia could have their mandatory quarantine periods reduced, reports the West Australian, under a plan being hatched between the WA government and mining leaders. And Brabham Automotive has launched a street-legal version of its BT62 hypercar, according to the Adelaide Advertiser, but any chance to drive such a machine will come with a $1.5m pricetag.
Coming up
The federal Covid-19 inquiry will hear from the finance department and the Productivity Commission.
The coronial inquest into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of teenage Sydney siblings Jack and Jennifer Edwards continues.
And if you’ve read this far …
It’s known as entering a daily state of torpor. And while that sounds a tempting default position for humans during the coronavirus era, for hummingbirds it’s little short of an energy-saving miracle. Thanks to new research, the tiny birds have been found to be able to reduce their body temperature to as low as 3.3C – the lowest of any non-hibernating animal.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
