Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 24 January.
Top stories
House prices in Sydney have recorded their sharpest downturn in more than two decades, falling by 10% in the past 12 months. The latest report from Domain Group for the fourth quarter of 2018 has revealed Australia’s housing market has continued to slow, with national prices recording the steepest annual fall in 15 years while Sydney house prices are back to mid-2016 levels. Prices in Sydney have now fallen by 11.4% since their peak in mid-2017 but the median house price in Sydney remains above the $1m mark first set in 2015. Nationally, house prices fell by 1.8% over the quarter and 6.5% over the year to $766,438.
A former judge of Victoria’s highest court has attacked the Coalition’s proposal for an anti-corruption body, describing it as a sham designed to shield politicians and public servants from scrutiny. Stephen Charles, a retired Victorian court of appeal judge, said there was simply “no justification” for the Coalition’s proposal to limit the commission’s powers when investigating the public sector. He said the proposal to not allow public hearings for public-sector cases – as opposed to investigations of law enforcement – made no sense. Nor did the proposed body’s narrow remit, the high burdens of proof needed to initiate an investigation, its inability to take public tip-offs and its lack of resources.
The funeral of international student Aiia Maasarwe, who was murdered in Melbourne last week, has taken place in Israel. Maasarwe, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who was studying in Melbourne, was killed after getting off a tram near La Trobe University at Bundoora. The 21-year-old was buried in her hometown of Baka al-Gharbiyye, an hour north of Tel Aviv. After arriving from Australia, her coffin was transported to the local mosque, where prayers were held for her. Cars jammed the streets, many displaying black flags. A sign outside the mosque read “violence is the language of filthy ones” in Arabic. After prayers, Maasarwe’s coffin was carried out by close family members draped in silver cloth and lowered into the ground just after 11am local time.
World
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is launching a legal challenge against the Trump administration. Assange’s lawyers are attempting to “unseal” secret US charges against him, to try and prevent Assange’s extradition to the US at a time that a new Ecuadorian government has been making his stay in the central London apartment increasingly inhospitable.
The European Union’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned that the “default” for the UK is crashing out, if MPs could not coalesce around a new vision of its future outside the bloc. “There appears to be a majority in the Commons to oppose a no-deal but opposing a no-deal will not stop a no-deal from happening at the end of March,” he said.
Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has declared himself interim president of the beleaguered South American country, in a dramatic escalation of efforts to force President Nicolás Maduro from power.
More than 500 people are being ousted from a refugee reception centre in a town close to Rome, in the first major eviction since Italy’s rightwing populist government enacted hardline immigration measures into law.
Opinion and analysis
The standoff between students and a Native American man reveals who gets compassion, and who doesn’t, writes Julian Brave NoiseCat. The US is still not ready to examine its “ugly racism” against Native Americans, and those tensions came to the fore this week when an old man and a young, white Trump supporter locked eyes. “As an Indian, the fear of a face-to-face encounter with a sneering white superior is deeply engrained in my psychology. I cannot watch that film and not think about the youth hockey opponent who knocked me down while yelling “Indian boy!” Or the man who accused my father and I of stealing our own car.”
On Wednesday, Treasury released a department discussion paper on how to tax those who work in the share economy for companies such as Uber and Airbnb. It shines a spotlight on how those who often earn below award rates gain little benefit from the flexibility of being treated as individual contractors, compared with the companies that reap profits from such earnings, writes Greg Jericho. “There is no real issue with Uber drivers having to pay tax – all workers should do that – but the treatment of them as independent contractors despite some working effectively a full-time level of hours highlights the lack of security such workers have.”
Sport
Serena Williams, her movement cramped late in the match by a rolled ankle, blew a third-set 5-1 lead, four match points, a rematch with Naomi Osaka and a chance to equal the 24 slam titles of Margaret Court in a dramatic Australian Open quarter-final in Melbourne. Karolina Pliskova remained calm as Williams disintegrated physically after her left ankle collapsed under her during a foot-fault when in sight of victory, and went on to win 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Usain Bolt will long be remembered as one of the greatest runners the world has ever seen, but he has finally given up on his dream of playing professional football, saying his “sports life is over”.
Novak Djokovic is into the Australian Open semi-finals after his opponent Kei Nishikori retired 6-1, 4-1. Nishikori sustained a thigh injury early on in what has been described as an “appalling” match. Djokovic will play France’s Lucas Pouille in semi-finals
Thinking time: who’s set to sweep Triple J’s Hottest 100?
Triple J’s Hottest 100 is being counted down this Sunday – moved, for the second year in a row, from Australia Day. Our music columnist Nathan Jolly runs down the songs hotly tipped to claim the top spots, with Australian acts set to dominate the top 20. Sydney band Ocean Alley is the frontrunner for No 1, with Childish Gambino’s racially charged This is America another strong contender.
Jolly writes: “The only other song with a real chance of taking #1 is Amy Shark’s I Said Hi, a blistering kiss off to record label executives who rejected her music during the early days of her career.”
Media roundup
A group of conservative Coalition MPs are calling for Australia Day to be protected by legislation, and the date to remain unchanged, the Australian reports. South Australia and Victoria are bracing for “scorching” conditions today, the ABC reports, with climate records broken in both states this past week. Described as a “severe heatwave”, experts expect more records will be smashed today. Kimberley MP Josie Farrer is calling on the state government to allow the use of traditional Aboriginal laws in a bid to tackle high youth suicide rates, the West Australian reports. Farrer says “white man’s” response to Indigenous social issues and crime has failed, and left her feeling “ “angry, frustrated and powerless” after a spate of deaths.
Coming up
Weather forecasters say heat records across South Australia could topple today. Adelaide is forecast to hit 45C, but the Bureau of Meteorology says the city’s 80-year-old record high of 46.1C is within reach.
Supporting the Guardian
We’d like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you.
