Good afternoon.
The grandmothers of missing toddler Gus Lamont say they are “devastated” after police declared the four-year-old’s disappearance a major crime.
When Gus went missing from his family’s sheep station in September, he was initially thought to have wandered off. Police yesterday said someone in his household had been identified as a suspect – but stressed it was not one of his parents.
Lawyers for Gus’ grandmothers, Shannon and Josie Murray, released a statement on Friday, saying: “We are absolutely devastated by the media release of SAPOL Major Crime. The family has cooperated fully with the investigation and want nothing more than to find Gus and reunite him with his mum and dad.”
Top news
Most statin side-effects not caused by the drugs, study finds
Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel walks free after police informant scandal
Horror in Wellington as millions of litres of untreated sewage flow into the sea
Australia off to a flyer at Winter Olympics as tearful Valentino Guseli nails final jump
In pictures
Australian aerial photographer Andrew Vukosav takes his striking images while flying solo in his Cessna 182, named Valerie. The plane has a high-resolution camera fixed to its underbelly to capture landscapes that challenge cliches of the outback.
What they said …
***
“That is fabulous news – and how amazing it is that I am at Magic Beach while you are telling me.” – Alison Lester
The author’s 1990 classic has won Guardian Australia’s poll to find Australia’s best children’s picture book of all time, in which more than 100,000 votes were cast. She was informed she’d won while at the very same beach (in Victoria’s Walkerville South) that inspired her.
Podcast
Is the politics of an RBA rate rise too ‘basic’?
After the Reserve Bank’s first rate hike in more than two years, Guardian Australia’s political editor, Tom McIlroy, speaks to the economics editor, Patrick Commins, and Lea Jurkovic, the economics correspondent at the Australian Financial Review, about the indicators that informed the central bank’s decision this week.
You can also read business editor Jonathan Barrett’s analysis here.
Before bed read
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, is due to visit Australia next week, invited by the government as a gesture of unity after the Bondi terror attack. But George Newhouse, former mayor of Waverley and a member of the Jewish community, questions the decision to restrict protests with “exclusion zones” for the public.
“Yes, Jewish Australians must be able to walk through Bondi without fear or harassment. But Palestinians and their allies must also be able to stand in Martin Place and criticise the manner in which the Israeli government conducts itself … The question is not whether we value safety or liberty more but whether we have tipped the scales too far in one direction.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: ALL. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
