Morning everyone. After two weeks of escalating rhetoric and division around the voice to parliament referendum, the no camp has taken a majority lead in our polling series for the first time. Our Essential poll today shows 51% intending to vote no on 14 October. We also have a push to shame manufacturers behind “shrinkflation”, there has been a controversial prisoner swap between the US and Iran and we’ve interviewed Sean Penn about his documentary on Volodomyr Zelenskiy and his bromance with the Ukrainian president.
Australia
In God he trusts | Scott Morrison has told a church congregation in Perth that God will “sort out” the world’s problems as he warned about an “increasingly hostile” world in a sermon during which he also claimed he “stepped down” as prime minister.
Hope for yes camp? | Despite seeing the no camp take a majority lead for the first time, 29% of the electorate are not fully committed either way and are still “persuadable”. One reason for the no lead might be their use of TikTok; as our reporters explain here, negative videos are spreading “like wildfire” and leaving the yes camp flatfooted.
Canberra stabbing | A young woman was in a critical condition in hospital and another in a stable condition after they were stabbed at the Australian National University campus in Canberra yesterday. A 24-year-old man, who is not thought to be a student at the university, has been arrested.
Police racism | A key adviser to the Queensland police on First Nations issues says more urgency is required to fix racism in the ranks, amid concerns the service has failed to address widespread cultural problems.
‘Shrinkflation’ alert | Australian supermarkets should follow the lead of French giant Carrefour and shame brands by alerting shoppers when a packaged food product has reduced in size, a leading consumer group says.
World
Iran deal | Five US prisoners detained in Iran have left the country by plane to Qatar as part of a controversial $6bn prisoner swap deal that could signal a new direction in diplomacy by the Biden administration. Some of the prisoners, such as Siamak Namazi (pictured above landing in Qatar), have been held for several years.
Musk rant | Elon Musk has accused George Soros’s foundation of wanting to destroy western civilisation as the tech tycoon prepares to meet the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in California.
Brand ‘insulting’ | One of the women who has made sexual assault accusations against Russell Brand has called his response “insulting”, claiming he sent a BBC car to bring pick her up from school when she was 16. Here’s what we know about the story so far.
Crash landing | Liz Truss has dismissed the argument that she crashed the UK’s economy while she was prime minister and sought to primarily blame “groupthink” from the Bank of England, the media and civil service.
Empty gesture | A Danish artist who pocketed large sums of money lent to him by a museum – and submitted empty frames as his artwork – has been ordered by a court to repay the funds.
Full Story
The big Australian companies cashing in on healthcare
Some of Australia’s largest companies are getting into healthcare, claiming they are making medical appointments and prescriptions easier to access. Health reporter Natasha May tells Laura Murphy-Oates why some experts are not convinced about “McMedicine”.
In-depth
On the first day of the Russian invasion, actor and director Sean Penn was in Ukraine making a documentary about the country’s president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy. He has continued to be a high-profile supporter of Ukraine and on the release of the film, Superpower, he tells our Washington correspondent about his bromance with Zelenskiy.
Not the news
The reboot of Neighbours gathers speed with the appearance of Australian television’s first biracial, queer couple. Naomi Rukavina (pictured) plays Dr Remi Varga-Murphy who, with her tradie wife Cara (Sara West) and their two sons, are the newest family to move to Ramsay Street. She tells Sian Cain it “feels bloody excellent”, especially after being told there was no way someone like her would ever make it in TV.
The world of sport
Rugby league | The success of the New Zealand Warriors is the NRL feelgood story of 2023 after they hammered the Knights to reach this weekend’s preliminary finals.
Champions League | The Champions League kicks off again tomorrow morning and Milan are looking to bounce back from their 5-1 derby defeat when Newcastle come to town. In Manchester, Pep Guardiola is aiming for back-to-back titles.
Football | Soaring demand for Matildas tickets has prompted Football Australia to move a crucial Olympic qualifier in October to a larger stadium as interest in the World Cup semi-finalists shows no sign of abating.
Media roundup
The Atar scores demanded for popular university courses such as nursing, engineering and commerce has declined over the past five years, according to an analysis for the Sydney Morning Herald. Witnesses have told the Canberra Times about the “terrifying” moments when three people were stabbed at the ANU campus. Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, is still no closer to catching Labor than we he took on the job, says a poll in the Herald Sun. Queensland officials have warned that listeria-tainted chicken breasts could be spread through kitchen hospitals, nursing homes and cafes following three outbreaks in the state, the Courier Mail reports.
What’s happening today
New South Wales | Labor’s first budget for 10 years will be handed down from midday.
Adelaide | The defence minister, Richard Marles, is to speak at a submarine conference.
Business | There is a hearing in Launceston about bank closures across rural and regional Australia.
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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.
