Morning everyone. The logistics of making sure that everyone in Australia’s remote communities gets to vote in the voice referendum are staggering. We’ve been on the road with the mobile polling officials in Western Australia and, as the two campaigns go into the final week, we’re also reporting on why the former chief justice is calling the no campaign’s slogan un-Australian. In other polling news, today we find out the pecking order in our bird of the year competition.
Australia
Exclusive | The coordinated timing of two key letters sent by the federal government about its decision to block extra flights for Qatar Airways, released under freedom of information laws, raises fresh questions about the role an incident at Doha airport played in the rejection.
Roving polls | The Australian Electoral Commission says more than 16,000 people living in remote towns and communities have voted via roving mobile polling stations since voting opened this week. But in Pia Wadjarri in WA, many people are still relying on word of mouth to find out what’s happening. Australia’s former chief justice will describe the core argument of the anti-voice campaign – that “if you don’t know, vote no” – as “resentful” in a major speech in Canberra today. Following the spirit of Robert French’s speech, an open letter signed by more than 350 historians urges people to remember the past when they vote. Plus, there’s all you need to know about voting in the voice to parliament referendum
ABC order | Police in Western Australian have ordered the ABC to hand over all footage collected by its investigations flagship Four Corners for a program relating to climate protests due to air on Monday.
Covid investigation | The impact of lockdowns, school shutdowns and border closures during the pandemic will be examined by the federal government’s Covid-19 inquiry, one of the independent panel members says.
Secrecy order | The identity of a high-profile man accused of rape will remain secret for at least another week after he was granted a new interim order despite his solicitors failing to comply with previous court directions.
World
‘Genocidal’ | The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has accused Russia of “genocidal aggression” after a missile hit a crowded rural cafe, killing at least 51 people including a six-year-old boy. In Syria, more than 100 people have been killed in a drone attack on a military academy.
Nobel laureate | The Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to 64-year-old Norwegian author Jon Fosse for plays and prose “giving voice to the unsayable”. His works include the Septology series of novels, Melancholy and A Shining.
French withdrawal | France will begin withdrawing troops from Niger this week after a coup in the west African country, in what marks a turning point in western nations’ efforts to counter a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region.
‘Bear attack bad’ | A message sent by satellite by a couple camping in a remote part of Canada was the first sign that their trip had gone terribly wrong: “Bear attack bad”. They were later found dead along with their dog.
Caught out | The MCC has expelled one member and handed out lengthy suspensions to two others involved in an incident that occurred in the Long Room on day five of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.
Full Story
Newsroom edition: why we don’t have time for politics when it comes to the climate crisis
Fires and floods mark the beginning of what could be a torrid summer. Gabrielle Jackson speaks to the editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and Guardian Australia’s head of news, Mike Ticher, about why we need to act now to stop global heating.
In-depth
A parliamentary committee recommended this year that gambling ads should be banned from all media within three years to protect “vulnerable” young people from the lure of punting. But, as Anne Davies discovers in a special report today, the close links between the media and the industry that helps relentlessly promote races, such as the Everest in Sydney tomorrow, makes achieving such a ban far from a racing certainty.
Not the news
The finalists are in but who will be top of the pecking order? Will it be the laughing kookaburra, the swift parrot, the tawny frogmouth, the Carnaby’s black-cockatoo, the spotted pardalote, the Gouldian finch, the gang-gang cockatoo, the magpie, the willie wagtail or the peregrine falcon? Find out which one will be Australia’s bird of the year at 12.30pm AEDT.
The world of sport
Cricket World Cup | New Zealand have hammered England by nine wickets and with nearly 14 overs to spare in the opening game of the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad, gaining some revenge for their heartbreak in the 2019 final.
Women’s T20 | Hayley Matthews threatened to pull off another improbable run chase in Brisbane last night before Australia exposed the West Indies’ underbelly to secure a relieving Twenty20 series win.
Football | In-form Premier League strikers Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen have been called up to the England squad to face Australia in a friendly at Wembley next Friday.
Media roundup
The New South Wales government will fast-track a bill to outlaw gay conversion practices in response to a backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The federal government is planning to add three heavily armed air warfare destroyers in what would be a major boost to the navy’s firepower, the Age claims in an exclusive. The Herald Sun has been trying to find Melbourne’s worst commute and has timed four different commuters from Altona to Southbank. A boy from Rockhampton has survived being bitten multiple times by a eastern brown snake, the Bulletin reports.
What’s happening today
Canberra | A new Senate inquiry will look at the public use of consultancy firms.
Voice referendum | Stan Grant will deliver the 22nd Vincent Lingiari memorial lecture at Charles Darwin University.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day’s main news. Sign up for our Afternoon Update newsletter here.
Prefer notifications? If you’re reading this in our app, just click here and tap “Get notifications” on the next screen for an instant alert when we publish every morning.
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.
