Good morning. The Cop26 conference is well under way and Scott Morrison has addressed world leaders. Tensions are meanwhile boiling over between France and Australia as the countries’ leaders continue to row over the dumped submarine contract.
It’s been a busy day at Cop26 – Joe Biden has apologised for Donald Trump quitting the Paris climate agreement and warned that the climate crisis poses “the existential threat to human existence as we know it”. He said that wealthy, major polluters such as the US have an “overwhelming responsibility” to aid smaller countries struggling to cope with the consequences of global heating. India’s president has announced the country will meet a target of net zero emissions by 2070, but some commentators say it should be given financial support to bring the date forward. China’s president, Xi Jinping, has made no major climate pledges in a written statement, which also called on developed countries to “provide support to help developing countries do better.” And Boris Johnson is under fire for returning from the conference on a private plane.
Scott Morrison used his opening address to emphasise that Australia will probably over-achieve on its 2030 emissions reduction target as he attempted to blunt international criticism about his government’s lack of ambition. The prime minister has also unveiled an additional $500m for international climate finance, but says the funding will be directed to projects in the Indo-Pacific rather than distributed through the green climate fund.
Morrison has declared he will not “cop sledging” about Australia’s integrity after accusations from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, that Morrison lied to him over an abandoned $90bn submarine contract. Morrison said he was as transparent as possible with the French president, but did not disclose information about the Aukus deal as it was too confidential. After Macron’s impromptu attack on Morrison, text messages between the pair were leaked to the Australian media.
The global death toll from Covid-19 has passed 5 million, but some expertsbelieve the true toll may be two to three times higher than official figures suggest. Ariel Karlinsky, a member of the WHO’s technical advisory group on Covid mortality, estimated the true global death toll from the pandemic so far was “at least 10 million people” and said the most reliable indicator was excess death toll, typically 40% higher.
Australia
Changes to the disability support pension’s eligibility criteria has seen an increase in more denied claims and longer processing times, with cancer patients and those with acquired brain injuries the worst affected by the Coalition’s reforms.
There are increasing expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia could raise rates for the first time in 11 years, and earlier than its current prediction of 2024, amid rising house prices and a resurgent economy. The anticipation is leading borrowers to rush to lock in low interest rates.
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian says pork barrelling would not “be a surprise to anybody” and admitted “we throw money at seats to keep them”. But experts warn pork barrelling should not be normalised and using public funds to benefit whichever party happens to be in power is not part and parcel of “democracy”.
Rural Australians are facing life-threatening wait times for medical specialists. Remote communities face multiple hurdles when trying to access non-GP services and experts say those delays are increasing their suffering.
The world
Armed and masked men hijacked and set fire to a double-decker bus in Northern Ireland on Monday, fuelling fears of a fresh wave of Brexit-related violence.
Jersey has issued another 49 licences to French boats in an apparent attempt to de-escalate a post-Brexit row over fishing rights in which the UK and France have issued tit-for-tat threats.
Dozens of people are feared trapped after the collapse of a 21-storey apartment building, which was under construction in Nigeria.
Recommended reads
Shane Jenek, best known as his drag alias, Courtney Act, has reflected on his life and chronicled his childhood and career ascent on Sydney’s gay golden mile. His memoir, Caught in the Act, serves as a kind of personal history of Oxford Street at the turn of the millennium, with Jenek recalling, in minute detail, the many codes and subcultures of the Sydney queer scene. It’s filled with poignant moments, pieces of a complex puzzle that Jenek has only been able to properly assemble recently.
A needle and thread can go a long way to save or alter a garment, but if you’ve never used one before it can be daunting to know how to start. Nicole Mallalieu, fashion lecturer at the Australian College of the Arts, shares some basics for beginners wanting to embrace the meditative practice of mending something for yourself, whether it’s fixing a button, darning a sock, or repairing a fallen hem.
“The Morrison government’s emissions projections are a farce based on technological pipe dreams,” writes Greg Jericho. “If you listened to the prime minister or read some compliant reporting over the past week you might think the latest greenhouse gas projections are a triumph. But if you examine the figures rather than the media release, it’s clear that Australia’s task to do our share to limit warming to either 1.5C or 2C is harder now than it was projected to be last year.”
Listen
The Netflix hit Squid Games is as fantastical as it is violent – but underpinning its macabre story of impoverished contestants risking their lives for money is a real crisis of personal debt in South Korea. In Rachel Humphreys’ final episode as presenter, the Seoul-based culture journalist Nemo Kim explains the connection between the TV show and a crisis founded on a system that makes taking out a loan as easy as buying a cup of coffee.
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Sport
Thousands of people are expected to flock to the Melbourne Cup today. Organisers are implementing changes aimed at making sure horses are fit to race after the high profile deaths of seven horses in the past six years. But is the new welfare campaign just good PR or will it protect horses?
When Liu Chuanxing plays his debut match with the Brisbane Bullets this season, he will be the tallest player in National Basketball League history, towering at 7ft 5in (226cm).
Media roundup
One in five math classes in some rural areas of NSW are taught by teachers who lack any training in subject due to a shortage of math teachers, reports the Daily Telegraph. Increased use of video conferencing during the pandemic has led to an increase in body-image issues among Australians, reports the Age. A large number of medical staff at Perth Children’s Hospital are currently non-compliant with lifesaving techniques such as CPR, says the West Australian.
Coming up
The Cop26 conference continues.
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