Good morning: multiple states are on Covid alert, Scott Morrison is in Singapore, and Putin’s crackdown on political dissent is escalating. It’s Thursday 10 June, and this is Imogen Dewey with this morning’s biggest stories.
Queensland has recorded a local case after a Melbourne couple left their home city during lockdown and travelled to the Sunshine Coast via New South Wales – both states are now on alert. Melbourne will come out of lockdown tonight but travel from the city to regional areas is a “no go” for another week, after the state yesterday recorded one new case. Under-40s in NSW are finding ways to get the Pfizer vaccine despite not being eligible yet. “Boomers had their chance,” one said.
In other pandemic news, the US has agreed to buy 500m Pfizer vaccine doses to distribute to 100 countries, and a leading biologist has dampened his widely quoted “smoking gun” Covid lab leak theory. The Nobel laureate David Baltimore says he overstated the case and the origins of the virus are still unknown.
Scott Morrison will today discuss a travel bubble with his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, before the G7, but don’t start packing your bags just yet. The high-level talks are expected to produce a political commitment rather than a firm starting date. They are also expected to talk about South China Sea and how to handle Beijing’s actions in the region. The trans-Tasman bubble has been on hold between Victoria and New Zealand since 25 May, and Jacinda Ardern yesterday warned there would be “consequences” for people breaking her country’s coronavirus border controls after three Melburnians were caught trying to enter despite the ban. Authorities say the family were picked up at Auckland airport after flying in from Sydney (reportedly to attend a funeral).
According to documents provided to the NSW upper house, a senior public servant tasked with delivering a $50,000 payment to an agricultural group associated with Angus Taylor’s family expressed serious concerns after he was told the payment had been directed by the NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro, and should be disguised as a contract payment. Despite the concerns recorded, there is no suggestion of any actual wrongdoing by Barilaro or any other public servant – but this new controversy about grants will renew the focus on the Berejiklian government and awarding of public funds.
Australia
The Morrison government’s $600m gas power plant at Kurri Kurri is not needed and won’t cover costs, analysts say. New analysis suggests little demand is likely for the “peaking” plant before 2030, calling into question the Coalition’s claim it will reduce electricity prices.
Australian researchers have developed a microscope that works with 35% more clarity in what has been described as a significant step for quantum technology. It can capture tiny biological structures that were previously not visible, raising hope for improvements in medical imaging.
Radio ads paid for by Clive Palmer that falsely claimed Covid vaccinations had caused hundreds of deaths have been pulled after the Therapeutic Goods Administration labelled them misleading.
Young clownfish on coastal reefs are dying faster due to exposure to artificial light. In a new study researchers said species exposed for long periods to light pollution near the shore were less likely to survive than those living farther away.
The world
A Russian court has outlawed opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s nationwide political organisation on the grounds it is “extremist” in a landmark step for Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on political dissent.
An internet blackout that knocked out some of the world’s biggest websites on Tuesday was ultimately caused by a single customer updating their settings, the infrastructure provider Fastly has revealed.
Talks between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland appear on the brink of collapse as London indicated it was still considering unilateral action to keep unhindered supplies flowing from Great Britain into the region.
El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
And Buckingham Palace has become embroiled in a row over whether the Queen was consulted over the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new daughter, Lilibet.
Recommended reads
“It’s like something out of the Brothers Grimm’s darkest fantasies. Snow White’s cottage, gutted and boarded up. The Three Bears’ house, covered in graffiti and spiderwebs.” For nearly 20 years, the site of the former Fantasy Glades kids fun park in Port Macquarie has been left for nature to swallow up. A new owner is painstakingly trying to bring the nostalgic destination back to life – but as Alex McKinnon writes, not everyone in town is happy about it.
“You can’t hide from the numbers: Australian women earn less than men in any job.” Greg Jericho dives into the stats to see who’s paying what (or not) in tax. “The problem isn’t just part-time, or experience, or seniority,” he writes. “It is that women’s work is less valued – both within occupations and across the economy.”
“My sister and I are creatives marooned in the family home. Our parents want us to get real jobs.” Advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith hears the plight of two “doomed millennials” and tells it to them straight. “I know the place you’re coming from, and from that place I’m telling you, eye to eye: when the pandemic is over you have to leave your parents’ house.”
Plus: Comedian Rose Callaghan shares the 10 funniest things she’s ever seen (on the internet).
Listen
The past decade has seen the formation of a vibrant and strange genre of music called hyperpop. Its growth has been spurred on by the internet, and it has been linked to some of the most exciting young artists worldwide. Today on Full Story, the freelance music writer Shaad D’Souza speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the rise of hyperpop and what it tells us about the influence of big corporations such as Spotify.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The Tom Trbojevic factor proved greater than any home-ground advantage in Townsville as NSW annihilated Queensland 50-6 in their biggest State of Origin winning margin.
Rafael Nadal is on course for a 14th title at Roland Garros, while Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, is out after defeat to Maria Sakkari. Here’s what went down at the French Open.
Nathan Buckley will leave Collingwood football club midway through the AFL season as the winds of change continue to sweep through the club. His last game in charge, in his 10th season at the helm, will be on Monday against ladder leaders Melbourne at the SCG, and the search for a permanent replacement to take over in time for the 2022 season will begin in due course.
Australia’s baseballers, ranked sixth in the world, have pulled out of their final qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics because of insurmountable Covid-19 travel and quarantine logistics.
Media roundup
Experts have warned in the Age that Australia “must act” to halt Indonesia falling under China’s sway – an absence of face-to-face diplomacy during the pandemic has not gone unnoticed. The Australian reports that “priceless” Burrup Peninsula rock art is at risk as monitoring has been halted by disputes. And the ABC reports that police are investigating the source of a big blaze at a Bondi school that forced 130 students to evacuate. .
Coming up
Former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will take the stand today in his defamation case against three Australian newspapers after an unexpected delay yesterday.
And if you’ve read this far …
A bizarre photo of the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, “preparing” to watch the game joined a long line of images of Australian politicians watching television in “baffling and unnerving ways”.
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