Good morning. The last day of September brings yet more pressure on the Morrison government to increase its climate goals, and news of a cash injection for businesses affected by lockdowns. And there’s still time to vote in the 2021 Australian bird of the year competition – our economics columnist Greg Jericho strays from his usual subject matter to tell us why your vote should go to the majestic pelican.
Australian states could deliver at least a 34% cut in national greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 based on existing pledges, prompting calls for the federal government to lift its 26% to 28% target. Bill Hare, chief executive and senior scientist with Climate Analytics, said the contrast between state commitments and the federal goals would “clearly put a lot of pressure on the Morrison government”, which remains divided over whether to adopt a net zero emissions target for 2050 or increase its 2030 goal before the Cop26 climate conference. “It shows the majority of Australians support doing more than the federal government,” Hare said.
Businesses affected by lockdowns in NSW, Victoria and the ACT will get extra cash as part of a multibillion-dollar business assistance package aimed at bridging the final six weeks of lockdown. But the financial support will stop once vaccination rates reach 80% of the adult population, which is expected to be about 21 October in NSW and ACT, and 5 November in Victoria. The announcement comes as NSW recorded its deadliest day in the pandemic, with 15 deaths. While vaccination rates are steadily increasing, some young Australians with disabilities are facing significant barriers to getting the jab, including difficulties securing appointments, inaccessible environments and challenges for those requiring sedation. Abroad, many of Australia’s closest neighbours have experienced their largest outbreaks so far. Vaccination rates are rising in much of south-east Asia and the Pacific but some of the largest countries are falling behind.
France has said any future talks between Emmanuel Macron and Scott Morrison will have to be “seriously prepared” and have “substance” as the fallout from Canberra’s decision to tear up a $90bn submarine deal continues. “Our ambassador will return with, let’s say, a message from France that will frame our next exchanges with PM Morrison. The president is always available to talk on the phone to prime minister Morrison, but you understand in the current context we need it to be a conversation of substance,” and official said. The shipbuilding company Navy Group has said Australia scrapped the deal “for convenience”, maintaining it “did not fail in its commitment” to the project.
Australia
Rural areas are struggling to attract healthcare staff, leaving some towns with “no capability” to cope with any Covid outbreak and forcing residents to travel for treatment.
The Coalition’s planned crackdown on charities and not-for-profits should be scrapped because it threatens free speech and gives the regulator overly broad powers, a Liberal-chaired parliamentary committee has found.
With just weeks to go to the key climate conference in Glasgow, the government has announced no target or policy but it does have an ad campaign. Scott Morrison’s marketing suggests Australia has a “strong track record” on emissions – but that record is news to some people, writes Graham Readfearn in a new weekly column checking the facts on climate change.
The world
Wayne Couzens used his police ID and handcuffs to ensnare Sarah Everard under the pretence she had breached Covid rules before killing her with his police belt, a London court has heard.
One of Brazil’s biggest healthcare providers has been accused of covering up Covid deaths, pressuring doctors to prescribe ineffective treatments and using elderly patient as “human guinea pigs” for the testing of unproven Covid “remedies”.
Dutch scientists may have cracked the code as to why some twins are identical, raising hope of treatment for disorders that particularly afflict twins.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met for their first face-to-face talks since the pandemic to discuss a ceasefire over Syria.
Recommended reads
The 2021 Australia bird of the year competition is in full flight, with just 35 birds left vying for the top gong. But one bird is noticeably absent among the top 10, according to pelican lover Greg Jericho. “As I go through the data of the 2017 and 2019 bird of the year polls, I bizarrely see no sighting of the Australian pelican among the top 10. So it is my melancholy duty to inform you that the polls must therefore be fraudulent. What other explanation is there?! Surely Guardian Australia readers – those intelligent and cultured souls – would not overlook such a majestic creature?” Inspired? Vote now in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia 2021 bird of the year poll.
“Justin Kurzel’s new film was always going to be controversial, dealing with an event that for some carries near incomprehensible trauma,” writes Luck Buckmaster. Nitram explores the life of Martin Bryant, who killed 35 people and wounded 23 more in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. “Kurzel and Grant recognise for example that their protagonist has mental health issues and is on antidepressants, but do not use this to excuse or explain his actions …They show Bryant as a belittled outcast, but do not say his actions constitute rebellion against society. They toy with the idea that something was deeply wrong with him from a young age, but resist the “demonic child” trope.”
“I think it’s normal to be a little nervous, but my fear of rejection and failure is just crippling,” asks a writer to advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. She replies: “When we’re preoccupied with fear, we spend so much time bracing for the moment when the bad thing happens we forget that there has to be a moment right after it, too. Inside that subsequent moment I’ve found some of the wildest, silliest, most affirming sensations I’ve ever known.”
Listen
This week Victoria’s daily case numbers overtook NSW and, with cases rising rapidly, so are hospitalisations and deaths. Some Melbourne hospitals are feeling the strain, with reports of delays in admitting some patients to emergency and an increase in emergency staff taking sick leave due to burnout. In today’s Full Story, Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey, examines how the Victorian health system is coping and whether it could get overwhelmed in the coming months.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
A grand final fairytale is within reach for Benji Marshall, the NRL’s skinny kid with sideburns who survived and thrived to become one of the most popular players rugby league has seen.
Media roundup
Almost three-quarters of doctors in Adelaide say the consultation process for the new $1.95bn city hospital has been unsatisfactory, with one doctor saying they have been consulted “but not listened to or heard,” reports the ABC. The Australian says the Women’s Big Bash League coach Duncan Harrison has been fired for “inappropriate” communication and had shared “confidential information” with a Melbourne Renegades player. The suicide rate in Australia fell in 2020 despite the pandemic but alcohol-related deaths grew, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the Age.
Coming up
A Senate hearing will examine the federal government’s handling of Covid-19.
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