Good morning, this is Lauren Waldhuter bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 31 August.
Top stories
Clive Palmer and his companies have donated more than $80,000 to a Queensland election war chest. The payments to his spoiler political party over the past three weeks include paying coal company staff to support his anti-Labor campaign. Liberal National party sources have also told the Guardian a deal has been done to secure preferences from Palmer’s United Australia party. The party has already launched an advertising blitz telling voters to give “Labor the boot”. During the 2019 federal election Palmer said he deliberately decided to “polarise the electorate”.
The Health Services Union wants the Medicare Levy raised to fund vital improvements in aged care. In its final royal commission submission the union says boosting wages should be a key priority to attract higher-quality staff and reduce the rate of churn. The Morrison government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic across aged care is facing ongoing scrutiny after outbreaks in some facilities. The future of his government’s jobseeker scheme is also in the spotlight as Melbourne recipients brace for a “devastating” $300 cut to welfare benefits. Plans to taper the coronavirus supplement will hit just two weeks after stage four restrictions are set to end. Recipients say they’re already dreading it. Meanwhile, university students learning under lockdown are feeling “disconnected” as they head back to class online. But some good news from the pandemic: Australia’s gas emissions have dropped to their lowest level since 1998 under Covid-19 restrictions.
The rush to find a Covid-19 vaccine could make the pandemic worse, scientists have warned. They say the global race to find a cure could lead to an “inferior” vaccine being bought and used. Many countries have already secured doses of promising vaccines. Meanwhile, India reported 78,761 new Covid-19 cases – the highest daily number recorded anywhere in the world. In Germany, 300 people were arrested at a rally against coronavirus restrictions. 38,000 people attended the protest – double the number expected. Elsewhere, all passengers on a flight from Zante in Greece to Cardiff in Wales have been told to self-isolate after seven people on board tested positive for coronavirus.
Australia
The federal government is being urged to spend $3.3bn on renewable energy in the next decade. In its pre-budget submission, the Australian Industry Group warns the cost of “climate-related impacts and risks” are set to hit the country hard, even in the best-case scenario.
Construction and mining industry super fund Cbus says it will slash emissions from its investments by 45% within the next 10 years. It’s a warning to carbon-intensive companies that they’ll need to make changes if they want to stay in the fund’s $54bn portfolio.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Victoria has increased by 7.2% since the end of June, and household spending in the state has slumped during stage four restrictions, according to analysis from Treasury. The analysis says discretionary spending in Victoria down 45%.
The world
There are fears violence could erupt in the US city of Kenosha when Donald Trump visits later this week, following the shooting of black man, Jacob Blake. Tension has been high since Blake was shot seven times in the back by police last Sunday, sparking protests.
Threats of a government crackdown didn’t stop tens of thousands of protesters marching through the Belarus capital Minsk. They are still demanding the country’s authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko step down, weeks after an election widely considered rigged. Crowds were met by a strong police presence and there were at least 100 arrests.
A three-year-old girl was lifted several metres into the air after becoming tangled in the strings of a kite at a festival in Taiwan. She was rescued unharmed after crowds below struggled to pull the kite back to earth. Watch the ordeal here.
Tony Abbott’s record on labour and environmental issues has raised questions about the UK government’s intention to use him as a trade envoy. The former prime minister is reportedly being considered for Britain’s Board of Trade to advise Boris Johnson on a post-Brexit trade strategy.
Recommended reads
Birds are keeping Suzy Freeman-Greene sane during Melbourne’s lockdown. Not many of us pause to appreciate the creatures that grace our skies but Freeman-Greene has a newfound appreciation. “Seeing a wild, swooping kestrel hunt its prey near my Melbourne home was exhilarating. I could taste its freedom.” She writes that it’s now more important then ever to protect threatened species. “Of course, birds don’t exist to soothe and divert humans, even if their beauty, variety and songs are one of the most wondrous things on earth. They are in crisis, thanks to us.”
The Democratic and Republican national conventions have offered two radically different diagnoses of the problems confronting America. Held virtually for the first time due to the pandemic, the primetime television split screen put the country’s division into the spotlight. David Smith gives his take on the two parties’ pitch for tackling race, Covid-19 and the economy.
Meet the people turning their basements into secret fantasy worlds. A wine cellar? Sewing room? Too predictable. Amelia Tate takes us on a tour of the replica streets and even theme parks people have built beneath their homes. Jason Shron’s basement hisses as you step through its blue-and-yellow, 200lb door into the replica vintage train carriage he’s created. “The great thing was it ended up looking exactly as I’d envisioned it,” the 45-year-old says of the $10,000 project which took four-and-a-half years to complete.
Listen
2020 has been a difficult year for the royal family. Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman discusses the fallout from Finding Freedom, a biography of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who made the bombshell announcement to step back as royals. Freeman also looks at the latest allegations surrounding Prince Andrew.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Sydney FC have claimed their 5th A-league title in a thrilling last-minute victory. Rhyan Grant’s chested goal in extra-time proved the unlikely match-winner in the grand final against Melbourne City.
England have beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second Twenty20 match. They chased 196 runs to second the victory at Old Trafford.
Media roundup
The ABC reports on new diplomatic cables from Australian officials in China that highlight confusion about an “unidentified respiratory disease” during the early weeks of the pandemic. The Age reports there’s growing pressure on the Victorian government to declare coronavirus a workplace injury for frontline workers who contract it while on the job. Increasingly fragile relations between Australia and China feature in the Australian Financial Review, which reports Scott Morrison believes Beijing has changed its behaviour, not Canberra.
Coming up
Parliament will sit today, with the Morrison government expected to face more scrutiny of its Covid-19 policies.
We’re expecting to hear early observations from the bushfire royal commission as the next season draws closer.
And if you’ve read this far …
If you’re a snake catcher in Melbourne, business is booming. The sun’s out which means snakes are out too and they’re finding it harder to hide. It’s great news for Raymond Hoser who runs Snakebusters in Melbourne’s east: “Because people are at home and they’re not out and about ... we’ve got a perfect storm where people will see more snakes.” He expects callouts to increase from now on, peaking at 20 to 30 a day by October. His advice won’t be hard to take: “If you see a snake don’t go near it.” He adds: “Without treatment you’re likely to die. With treatment you probably won’t die.”
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