Good morning. It worked in the federal election, it might work in Victoria, and now Simon Holmes à Court’s fundraising group, Climate 200, is considering supporting up to 10 teal candidates in the New South Wales election. With such focused challengers on their case, Liberal incumbents might not have wanted to hear Peter Dutton indulging in what Anthony Albanese called “dog whistling” on climate issues in parliament yesterday.
In Qatar, Iran’s players lost heavily to England but scored points with anti-regime protesters back home by staying silent during their national anthem at the game in Doha.
And Indonesia is starting to count the cost of a deadly earthquake.
Australia
Election target | Simon Holmes à Court says his Climate 200 group has talked to “seven to 10 communities” where independent groups are active in NSW, signalling a challenge to sitting Liberals in the state election in March.
Police dogs | Western Australia’s Aboriginal Legal Service says police are using dogs too often in arrests involving First Nations people, with one case leaving a 13-year-old Noongar boy in hospital needing surgery.
Case failure | A rape case involving a Victorian police officer has collapsed, in a blow to a new dedicated taskforce set up to investigate serious family violence allegations within the force.
Climate politics | Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of “dog-whistling” and boosting the re-election chances of teal independents and Greens over Liberals after the opposition leader attacked Labor for supporting a fund to help the developing world recover from climate catastrophes.
Rapist identified | DNA tests on Keith Simms, a Sydney man who died earlier this year, have revealed he was the Bondi rapist who terrorised women in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for decades.
Sea worthy | Prof Trevor McDougall, an oceanographer at UNSW, has been awarded the top $250,000 honour at the prime minister’s prizes for science for his contributions to understanding the ocean’s role in regulating the climate.
World
Indonesia | A magnitude-5.6 earthquake has shaken Indonesia’s main island of Java, killing at least 162 people, triggering landslides and causing buildings to collapse.
Anthem protest | Iran’s footballers refused to sing their country’s national anthem at the start of their World Cup match with England in apparent support for the anti-government protests sweeping the country. Also at the World Cup, a US journalist says he was detained in Qatar for wearing a rainbow shirt.
Gay rights | US supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett should recuse herself from an upcoming case involving gay rights because of her continued affiliation with a secretive Christian group, the People of Praise, former members argue.
‘It smelled so bad’ | Russian forces have been accused of burning the bodies of their dead comrades at a landfill site in the recently liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Meta matter | A human rights campaigner is suing Facebook’s owner in the UK high court, claiming the company is disregarding her right to object against the collection of her personal data.
Full Story
Buy now, pay later and the revolving door of debt
Buy now, pay later services are landing vulnerable people in a spiral of debt and the Albanese government is considering new laws to protect consumers. Jordyn Beazley explains the true cost.
In-depth
It is 10 years since the $13bn scheme was launched to restore the Murray-Darling Basin. After drought and floods, Anne Davies investigates whether the plan has worked, what it means for rural and Indigenous communities, and if the joint state-federal approach has worked.
Not the news
Australian director Gracie Otto is on a roll. Her Netflix reboot of Heartbreak High has received eight Aacta nominations, including best director for Otto. And her new film, Seriously Red, starring Krew Boylan, about a Dolly Parton impersonator, is winning rave reviews – not least from the queen of country herself.
The world of sport
World Cup 2022 | England thrashed Iran 6-2 in the opening game of Group B in Qatar, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka scoring twice, while the Dutch left it late to beat Senegal 2-0 in Group A.
Socceroos | Injury-hit France are putting their faith in talismanic striker Kylian Mbappé as they prepare to defend their World Cup title against Australia, who are in turn relying on their fierce team spirit.
Cricket | Cricket Australia has paved the way for David Warner to qualify for a leadership position again four years after the ball-tampering scandal.
Media roundup
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that News Corp is “still in the dark” about the reasons for the sudden departure last week of the Australian’s editor, Chris Dore. The Canberra Times leads on comments by independent senator David Pocock that Labor’s IR bill is too big an “impost” on business. The Courier Mail says Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has backed police chief Katarina Carroll to instigate “massive changes” after a report condemned its handling of domestic violence cases. The Australian has an exclusive claiming that unions are pushing for menstrual menopause leave. The Age asks why Albanese has only just hit the stump to support Daniel Andrews’ re-election bid.
What’s happening today
LGBTQI+ deaths inquiry | The second round of hearings of the special commission of inquiry into unsolved deaths of LGBTQ+ people in Sydney.
Russell inquest | The inquest into the fatal police shooting of Aboriginal man Stanley Russell in Sydney last year continues.
Cricket | The third and final one-day international between Australia and England starts in Melbourne at 2.20pm.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
