Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 12 June.
Top stories
Three insurers for the Adani coalmine have confirmed that they will offer no further support to the project, with previously supplied insurance cover now expiring. A spokesperson for AXA XL told Guardian Australia that a new company policy on coal had sparked the decision to break ties with Adani, saying: “We are all committed to a long-term ‘exit’ strategy reducing exposure to the thermal coal industry.” Liberty Mutual and HDI have also confirmed they will not continue to back the mine, with the latter confirming that it would no longer underwrite any risks for newly planned coal-fired power stations or coalmines. An Adani spokesperson has confirmed that the company still has “the requisite insurance requirements in place”.
Only one of the six commissioners on Scott Morrison’s publicly funded Covid-19 commission has volunteered to release their conflict-of-interest declarations, as the key body for shaping Australia’s non-health related recovery strategy faces increasing scrutiny. The former Labor politician and now Industry Super chair, Greg Combet, has agreed to do so, with three other commissioners declining to comment. The Australian Institute’s Richie Merzian has condemned a perceived lack of transparency, saying: “The roles of the NCCC commissioners are, by design, intended to influence government. It is clearly in the public interest for any conflicts of interest to be publicly declared.” The crossbench senator Rex Patrick is also urging “full disclosure”.
New coronavirus infections have surged in India, with the world’s second-most populous nation recording nearly 10,000 new cases on Thursday. Health experts have predicted that the infections rate will not peak before the end of next month, with hospitals in the megacities Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi reportedly overrun. India has more than 285,000 confirmed cases, with 357 people dying in the past 24 hours alone. Globally, stock markets have tumbled significantly after a US labor department announcement of a further 1.5m job losses prompted the Dow Jones to shed more than 4%. Some 44 million Americans have signed on for benefits in the past three months, with the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, calling Covid-19 the “biggest economic shock” in memory.
Australia
A coalition of justice groups has issued a five-point plan to reduce Indigenous incarceration, but the most effective way to stop black deaths in custody could be to start holding police and prison officers personally responsible, Labor’s Pat Dodson has said.
The Liberal MP Rowan Ramsey has called for a higher jobseeker rate to be maintained past September as an incentive for welfare recipients to take up the cashless debit card. The South Australian has been pushing for welfare sector changes, saying: “I think there are other reforms we can make.”
A Queensland company yet to receive $4m of pre-election funding promises has accused the federal government of using it as a political pawn. Shine Energy, run by Indigenous traditional owners from Birri and Widi country, was promised the money to start a feasibility study for a new coal-fired power plant near Mackay.
A NSW court has prohibited a planned protest on Saturday about the ongoing detention of refugees, leaving activists vowing to continue with the event. The police commissioner, Mick Fuller, cited public health grounds for the force’s opposition to the gathering.
The world
The senior Republican Kevin McCarthy has expressed support for a Democratic bill calling for a national ban on police use of chokeholds, with the House minority leader also indicating backing for legislation tabled by Elizabeth Warren to rename US army bases that were named after Confederate generals.
At least 39 people have been confirmed dead after last week’s shipwreck off the Kerkennah Islands of a boat from Tunisia bound for Italy. According to the UN refugee agency, attempts to make the voyage have increased by 150% in 2020.
The former prime minister of Lesotho paid hitmen to have his estranged wife murdered, police have alleged. Thomas Thabane and his second wife are said to have contracted gunmen so that the latter could “assume the position of first lady”.
A Canadian conservation officer fired for refusing to kill two black bear cubs has won a protracted legal battle, calling the decision – against two provincial governments and his own union – a “vindication”.
Recommended reads
Grappling with the same challenges surrounding work and family faced by thousands of Australians during lockdown, Robert Merkel has renewed admiration for Australia’s undervalued childcare professionals, writes Shelley Hepworth. From navigating the maze of mixed messages around school closures, to realising first-hand the exhausting emotional labour involved in raising a child: “It is incredibly tiring and [it reveals] the lack of respect we show to professionals looking after children and, historically, women at home looking after children.”
The Melbourne-to-Sydney train journey has a grim reputation. “Slow, overly long (at 11 hours and 17 minutes, making it longer than the Melbourne-Shanghai flight), uncomfortable, dull – it’s never made the list of the world’s great rail journeys,” writes Brigid Delaney – and don’t get your hopes up about the lunch offerings.
Imagine a romcom like High Fidelity, only with STIs instead of feelings. Welcome to Lovesick, a British laugh-out-loud comedy packed with genuine chemistry, writes Sinead Stubbins. “Creator Tom Edge infuses the show with enough humour and acute social observation that it cuts through the sweetness. All the love triangles and charming banter are often played out against personal tragedy: marriages fail, people die, grief affects the characters for the arc of a season.”
Listen
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults make up 2% of the national population but at least 27% of the prison population. On this episode of Full Story, Laura Murphy-Oates talks to Michael McGowan about a key driver of the disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous Australians.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Adored by many as an expression of Southern pride, the Confederate flag has had a chequered history in Nascar racing. But as sports across the US come to grips with the anti-racism movement, Bubba Wallace’s strong stance might just have saved stock car racing from itself, writes Andrew Lawrence.
The ever-colourful Geoffrey Boycott has been retired from Test Match Special. But for his colleague of four decades, Vic Marks, there was more to this “remarkably single-minded man” than many knew.
Media roundup
One-third of all domestic investigations by Asio are now into rightwing extremists, the ABC reports, with the spy agency claiming groups are using Covid-19 as cover to recruit and spread disinformation. State governments are contemplating charging returning Australians for their hotel quarantines, writes the Sydney Morning Herald. And the world’s tallest residential tower is coming to the Gold Coast, says the Courier-Mail.
Coming up
Scott Morrison and state premiers will discuss the timetable for easing Covid-19 restrictions, including a discussion of border openings and physical distances rules.
And if you’ve read this far …
They were discoveries that stunned the world of archaeology. A third century engraving depicting the crucifixion of Christ found in a Roman city in Spain; shards containing examples of Basque language predating known examples by 600 years … until traces of modern glue and references to the 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes emerged.
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