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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: Vaping ‘health emergency’, World Athletics trans ban, TikTok grilled in Washington

Vaping is a ‘public health emergency’ according to one expert submission to the TGA.
Vaping is a ‘public health emergency’ according to one expert submission to the TGA. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Morning everyone. It’s the day after an emotional and momentous announcement, of the detail of the proposed constitutional change that will establish an Indigenous voice. We have the news, the politics and the analysis you need.

Plus, Australia is facing a “public health emergency”, according to experts contributing to a review of laws around vaping. The smoking substitute was perhaps once seen as benign but now threatens a new generation of nicotine addicts, with health professionals calling for import bans.

Overseas, World Athletics has voted to exclude transgender women from female events. There’s still no sign yet of a Trump arrest. And what happened when the TikTok boss went to Washington.

Australia

Staffers applaud after emotional PM reveals referendum question wording for Indigenous voice to parliament.
Staffers applaud after emotional PM reveals referendum question wording for Indigenous voice to parliament. Photograph: Reuters
  • ‘We’re all in’ | Despite Anthony Albanese’s emotional announcement of the voice to parliament wording, Peter Dutton has again declined to state his position on the referendum but Indigenous leaders are glad that the prime minister didn’t wait to find out. We are also looking at what happens next.

  • ‘I couldn’t think straight’ | An “overwhelming” number of health experts and authorities support tightening border controls around nicotine vaping products, with many wanting an import ban on non-nicotine vaping products as well, the drugs regulator has told the government after a major review.

  • ‘Deeply unsettling’ | Labor and the Coalition have been accused by the Greens of taking a “deeply unsettling approach” to transparency around Aukus after the major parties blocked the publication of documents about nuclear safety and waste issues.

  • ‘Pulverised’ | Independent senator Lidia Thorpe was knocked to the ground after a struggle with police and private security guards when she tried to disrupt an anti-trans protest outside Parliament House in the latest flashpoint caused by British ultra-conservative activist Kellie-Jay Keen.

  • Priced out | There is no longer a single local government area across metropolitan Sydney or Melbourne where houses are affordable for early career essential workers, with police commuting huge distances and nurses living in cramped share homes.

World

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew before the House energy and commerce committee on Thursday.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew before the House energy and commerce committee on Thursday. Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Full Story

Crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef.
Crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef. Photograph: Scott Ling/Institute for Marine and Antarct/AFP/Getty Images

Does Labor’s climate policy meet this critical moment?

Gabrielle Jackson talks to the climate and environment editor, Adam Morton, and live news editor, Patrick Keneally, about whether Labor’s key climate policy will address the urgent call to action from the IPCC.

In-depth

minns
The battle between NSW Labor’s Chris Minns (left) and the Coalition’s Dominic Perrottet will make for fascinating viewing on Saturday night. Photograph: Mick Tsikas, Bianca de Marchi/AAP

The New South Wales election is shaping up to be the closest for 16 years with Labor trying to muster the magic nine new seats required to form a government. Our state reporter, Michael McGowan, looks at the key targets for Labor such as Penrith, Parramatta and Heathcote, along with Dominic Perrottet’s must-holds such as Lane Cove and South Coast.

Not the news

- First time eating a banana
‘It took me a few days to work up the courage’ … Arwa Mahdawi with the dreaded fruit. Photograph: Courtesy of Arwa Mahdawi

How can someone get to adulthood having never tried a banana? Well, 10 of our valiant writers volunteered to explain why particular foods are their own kryptonite, but also to go one step further and actually try to eat them. So, while Ammar Kalia finds the hitherto unknown pleasures of Tomato Cup-a-Soup “surprisingly delicious”, and Arwa Mahdawi just about tolerates her banana, Emma Beddington’s fear of hard-boiled eggs remains intact: “I’d rather eat a fistful of cat litter.”

The world of sport

A composite image for The Brisbane NRL Derby
The Dolphins meet the Broncos in a round-four NRL clash that has captured the imagination of Brisbane. Composite: Getty/AAP/Guardian Australia

Media roundup

The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age both have pictures of independent senator Lidia Thorpe being knocked to the ground after she tried to interrupt an anti-trans rights rally in Canberra. The Herald Sun reports that Victoria police faces legal action unless it disciplines officers for failing to stop neo-Nazis from saluting at a rally in Melbourne last Saturday. A man was taken to hospital after being attacked by a bull shark off the Pilbara coast, the West Australian says.

What’s happening today

  • New South Wales | Final day of campaigning for tomorrow’s state election.

  • Courts | Case management hearing in ex-Commando’s defamation case against the ABC over Afghanistan war crimes reports.

  • Melbourne | Federal infrastructure minister Catherine King and Victorian deputy premier Jacinta Allan to speak at CEDA’s infrastructure conference.

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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.

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