Good morning. Victorians face Covid restrictions again as case numbers grow, South Africa continues to suffer significant violence and unrest, and the mourning family of Frank “Gud” Coleman call out a lack of respect from corrective services following his passing.
A former member of the Morrison government’s immunisation advisory body has hit back at the prime minister’s criticism of the group, calling Scott Morrison’s comments “unfair” and “disappointing”. Morrison blamed Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (Atagi) on 2GB radio on Wednesday for being “overly cautious” about the AstraZeneca jab, suggesting this had slowed the Covid vaccine rollout. Former member, Debra Petrys, said Atagi had been “unfairly put in the spotlight”, while public health expert Bill Bowtell also claimed the federal government’s failure to diversify its vaccine supply was the most critical setback for the vaccine rollout, not the advice of Atagi.
Victoria has reintroduced a requirement to wear face masks indoors, after 11 new community Covid-19 cases were identified and more high-traffic exposure sites, including Highpoint shopping centre and the Melbourne Cricket Ground, were identified. That prompted Western Australia to reintroduce border restrictions with the state. New South Wales has extended the Sydney lockdown for at least two additional weeks, after the state recorded another 97 Covid cases. The prime minister also announced that workers from lockdown-affected regions of Sydney would become eligible for Covid disaster payments from Thursday.
The family of an Aboriginal man who died inside a NSW prison have said they “weren’t afforded any sort of dignity and respect” by Corrective Services NSW, after hearing of his death via Facebook before authorities had contacted them. News of Frank “Gud” Coleman’s death came via a relative, with Corrective Services NSW only confirming the news six hours after Coleman’s death. A spokesperson for the company said “incorrect” contact details were partly responsible for the delay. It’s the second coronial inquiry the family will face, with an investigation into the shooting death of Frank Coleman’s son, Ricardo, also set to be conducted.
Australia
A former Nationals party president has raised concerns that “recycling” Barnaby Joyce as leader could prompt more women to leave the party. Christine Ferguson said she was worried the party was “losing its way” and condemned Matt Canavan’s comment that farmers were no longer the party’s core constituency.
A former Queenslander of the Year and Queensland Liberal National party candidate has apologised for derogatory social media posts about a female journalist. Jim Bellos said the posts don’t reflect his 30 years of service as a police officer.
A group of Sydney private school students has been given permission to bypass the city’s Covid lockdown, to relocate to another campus in a regional part of the state as part of a six-month long “rite of passage” camp.
The world
Police in South Africa have called on residents not to form vigilante groups, as looting and violence continues nearly a week after the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma sparked widespread unrest. Seventy-two people have died.
One of the world’s most important carbon sinks, the Amazon rainforest, is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is storing. Deliberately lit fires for land clearance have been blamed for the recent spike in CO2 emissions. Academics and environmental activists have warned that the Amazon’s collapse is inevitable if Jair Bolsonaro remains president of Brazil.
The Taliban are claiming one of their most strategic gains yet, announcing the seizure of a major border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The site known as Friendship Gate is the second-busiest entry point into the country and a major route for smuggling.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital suffering a persistent case of hiccups, with the 66-year-old complaining of abdominal pain and a possible bowel obstruction. The popularist leader has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks, amid ongoing criticism of his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recommended reads
From speculative fiction to Bildungsroman, this year’s Miles Franklin shortlist includes several less commonly chartered Australian literary genres. But told with “energy, tenderness and threads of optimism” as Jen Webb writes, dense subject material such as environmental destruction or migrant abuse are handled with relative lightness. From Madeleine Watts’ debut novel, The Inland Sea, to Amanda Lowrey’s eighth novel, The Labrynth, the 2021 shortlist is also a broad cross-section of both emerging and established literary talent from across Australia.
“From societal to educational to economic woes – migrants are the easy target,” writes Greg Jericho. The head of the Reserve Bank has suggested that migration may have lowered wages growth, but Jericho argues it’s an overly simplistic narrative. “Essentially migrants increase the supply of people looking for work, but also the demand of things that need people to work to provide. In effect – both taking away and adding to the pressures on wages.” Furthermore, not only were Philip Lowe’s comments a little misleading, it’s a position that’s also out of step with the latest research.
Very rarely when we’ve asked Australia comedians for their 10 funniest things on the internet do they come back to us with detailed schemas. But Tom Cashman is a “break it all down” kinda guy, and from angry rants against trumpet players to nostalgic Trump impersonations, he’s covered some core comedy bases this week.
Listen
As the west coast of the United States and Canada swelter under record-tumbling temperatures of over 45C, Guardian US environment reporter Oliver Milman examines whether the recent heatwave has prompted a reckoning with the climate crisis more generally.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Leading NRL clubs have called for the Rugby League World Cup to be postponed 12 months, citing the Covid-19 context in the UK as grounds to delay October’s tournament. With Australian players potentially facing 14-day quarantine periods, some clubs worry the favourites could name a weakened lineup.
Queensland have avoided a clean sweep in the State of Origin, recording a narrow 20-18 win over NSW in a fiery encounter on the Gold Coast. Kalyn Ponga’s return for the Maroons sparked the home side, saving face in a 2-1 series loss.
Lionel Messi has reportedly signed a five-year contract with Barcelona, ending speculation the six-time Ballon D’Or winner would leave the Catalan giants.
Media roundup
Australia will have to wait until 2023 to produce its own mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer or Moderna, the Age suggests, with scientists calling on the federal government to boost investment for regional vaccine production. Sydney’s prolonged lockdown will cause the national economy to shrink and cost thousands of jobs, according to the Australia Financial Review, despite $5bn in support payments. And sexual harassment training for federal politicians will not be introduced until September, will last as little as one hour, and will be optional, the ABC reports.
And if you’ve read this far …
It’s a place where “talking about poo is not taboo”. But in the historic village of Richmond, Tasmania, not everyone’s wild about the tiny museum “dedicated to all things poo”, which calls itself (you won’t see this coming): the Pooseum. In fact, it has been embroiled in a three-year legal wrangle over the size of its poo signage – a stoush that’s finally been resolved, in the museum’s favour. Now the next battle: what becomes of the Pooby-Doo statue.
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