Hi there. It's Wednesday, November 24 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of the news you need to know about.
One thing you should know
Coalition backbencher George Christensen has used a speech in federal parliament to liken state and territory COVID-19 restrictions to the despotic regimes of Nazi Germany and Cambodia.
Just in case the name doesn't sound familiar, we're talking about this guy:
- Christensen has been a vocal opponent of COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccinations, including on social media
- He's compared state leaders' pandemic responses to Hitler, Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot
- He was photographed alongside QAnon supporters at an anti-lockdown rally in July
He also called for "civil disobedience" as a "solution" to the "totalitarian path" that Australia is apparently on.
When asked, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament that he would condemn "any encouragement whatsoever" of civil disobedience, but at no point did the Prime Minister condemn Mr Christensen by name.
What else is going on
- The AFL draft is on tonight, and Australia's most promising youngsters are expected to be snapped up pretty quickly by clubs lining up for those crucial first picks. Follow the discussion, tell us your predictions and follow all the picks in our live blog.
- It's Australian music's night of nights! The ARIA Awards are kicking off and there's a stack of big names vying for triangular-shaped gongs after another tough year for the entertainment industry. The ceremony will be streamed live from Cammeraigal Country on YouTube, starting at 7:30pm AEDT.
What Australia has been searching for online
Grammy nominations. The long-awaited list featuring the who's who of music was released today, and Jon Batiste leads with an impressive 11 nods. H.E.R., Doja Cat and Justin Bieber are up for eight awards each (the ceremony will be held early next year).
Brian Laundrie. According to the Laundrie family's lawyer, the sole suspect in the death of travel blogger Gabby Petito died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His skeletal remains were positively identified last month after they were found in a Florida nature preserve.
News alerts you might have missed
- NASA's one-way mission to crash a spacecraft into an asteroid has blasted off from California. The spacecraft will travel for the next 10 months
- A young girl from Victoria has tested positive for COVID in SA, the day after the state reopened its borders to most interstate travellers
Not signed up for ABC News alerts and want updates like these in real-time? Head to the ABC News app homepage ➡️ Settings ➡️ Notifications and tailor your alerts to what you want to know.
One more thing
What some are calling the world's biggest sex event is officially underway.
No, not between humans, SHEESH. It's the annual mass coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef, which sees trillions of eggs and sperm released into the ocean to reproduce. It looks like this:
"The conditions were magical with the water like glass and beautiful light coming from the moon," marine biologist Gareth Phillips.
Mr Phillips says the reef hasn't "looked as good as it has for a long time", with the mass spawning a welcome sight for reef researchers after the severe coral bleaching that hit the reef in 2020.
You're up to date
We're grateful you're here.
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