Morning everyone. Our exclusive lead story reveals that some senior Liberal figures have damned the campaign efforts of Advance Australia as ineffectual – but in turn drew a spray from the rightwing advocacy group that its critics are “anonymous “bed-wetters”.
We also have another exclusive on a union accused of “predatory” recruitment tactics. And we look at whether mortgage holders are likely to get interest rates relief when the Reserve Bank meets today.
Overseas, the path to a ceasefire in Ukraine remains unclear despite Donald Trump’s “great” two-hour call with Vladimir Putin – and Jim Morrison’s graveside bust is found 37 years after it disappeared.
Australia
Bee sting | Scientists have recommended limits on urban beekeeping after a peer-reviewed study found introduced honeybees could be harming Australian native bees and risked driving them to extinction.
Exclusive | Several senior Liberal sources have questioned the impact of Advance Australia, with some arguing the rightwing advocacy group made “no difference at all” to the election result and others warning it “undermined” the party and cost it votes. The group’s boss called the critics “bed-wetting anonymous Liberals” seeking to spread blame for their loss.
Point of interest | Most economists expect the Reserve Bank to cut the cash rate by a quarter point at its monthly monetary policy meeting later today but there is some speculation about a half-point cut.
Budget boost | Victoria’s health system will receive an $11.1bn cash injection in today’s state budget, with hospitals to receive more funding and pharmacists given greater powers to prescribe medications.
Le winner | Nam Le has won the $10,000 book of the year prize at the NSW Literary awards for his book-length poem 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem, which is a follow-up to his acclaimed debut The Boat.
World
Ukraine bind | Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held a two-hour phone call overnight which the US leader described as “excellent”, adding that ceasefire talks would start “immediately”. Putin said the call was “very meaningful”, but the Kremlin again refused to support a ceasefire and the Russian president suggested that his country’s maximalist objectives in the war with Ukraine remain unchanged. Follow updates live.
Netanyahu warning | Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will “take control” of all Gaza, as three key allies attacked his “egregious” escalation of the military campaign and blockade on humanitarian aid.
Brentrance | Keir Starmer has defended a “win-win” deal with the EU to remove checks on food exports that the UK prime minister says will add £9bn to the economy and lower food prices. The opposition accused him of selling out Brexit.
Poland countdown | Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, has warned that the next two weeks will “decide the future” of the country as it prepares for a presidential runoff vote on 1 June after the first round saw centrist, pro-Brussels candidates narrowly edge out the populist right.
Paris match | A white marble bust of the late Doors singer Jim Morrison which disappeared from his graveside 37 years ago has been found in a “chance discovery”.
Full Story
Trad wives and Trump: the rise of the rightwing ‘womanosphere’
New York-based writer Anna Silman talks to Nour Haydar about the “womanosphere”, the anti-feminists telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican.
In-depth
A short time into her first shift at Hungry Jack’s, a 14-year-old girl was surprised to be sat down with a representative of the the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association and signed up for the union. She and many other young people with a similar story of dealing with the union have been speaking to our reporter Ariel Bogle to uncover a pattern of being pressured to join. Some have accused the union, which has a strong influence on Labor’s right faction, of “predatory tactics”.
Not the news
Trainers and coaches share the seven telltale signs that your exercise regime is not working, from feeling bored to getting injured too often – and what to do to fix the problems.
Sport
Rugby union | Controversy continues to rumble over the slection of seven southern-hemsiphere born players – including Australian-born Mack Hansen and Sione Tuipulotu – for the British Lions tour this winter.
Formula One | Red Bull believe Max Verstappen’s victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix showed the team can catch Oscar Piastri and McLaren in the race for the world championship.
Football | Gary Lineker, who has presented Match of the Day for 26 years, will leave the BBC after he apologised for amplifying online material with antisemitic connotations. In the Premier League, Brighton take on Liverpool.
Media roundup
The federal MyGov system “is full of issues”, a cybersecurity expert tells the Australian, as more stories emerge of people having their accounts hacked. The former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto told the Age that he will fight to raise $3m to save himself from bankruptcy. Longstanding Hunter Valley rainfall records have been broken with Williamtown and Cessnock deluged in the current downpours, the Newcastle Herald reports.
What’s happening today
Economy | The Reserve Bank will announce its latest interest rate decision at 2.30pm.
Victoria | The state budget will be handed down.
Sydney | Walter Sofronoff is at the federal court to challenge a report by the ACT’s corruption watchdog on his inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann criminal trial.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
