Good afternoon. The 14th of October will be the day Australians decide whether to recognise First Nations people in the constitution and create a voice to parliament to advise government on Indigenous affairs.
The prime minister announced the date and kicked off the yes campaign in Adelaide – a deliberate choice given South Australia is a key state that will influence the outcome of the referendum. Fresh polling shows the yes vote is slightly ahead in the state (43% yes, 39% no, 18% unsure).
Our editor, Lenore Taylor, writes that the referendum will have “consequences far beyond immediate partisan advantage, above all for the lives of Indigenous Australians”, and that votes should be informed by “facts, not fear”.
Top news
Inflation eases to 4.9% | It is the figure’s lowest level in 17 months, led by falling prices for fresh produce and automotive fuel and reducing the likelihood the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates again.
Judge wrongly jailed man in property dispute, court finds | Federal circuit court judge Salvatore Vasta made “serious and fundamental errors” when he locked up a man known as Mr Stradford in 2018, a court found. Vasta – still an active judge – sentenced Stradford to 12 months for contempt of court during a routine property dispute with his former wife. Stradford took the unusual step of suing Vasta personally, alleging the judge’s conduct amounted to false imprisonment. Federal court justice Michael Wigney agreed, awarding Stradford $309,450 in damages.
Melbourne’s ‘soft’ crackdown on Airbnbs | The City of Melbourne is inching toward a crackdown on short-term rentals like Airbnb to tackle the housing affordability crisis. But experts say the proposed 180-day a year cap and $350 registration fee is only a “toe in the water” and will have minimal impact on freeing up rental properties.
Japan and South Korea should join Aukus, UK committee suggests | An influential UK House of Commons committee has proposed expanding the alliance to include the two Asian powers to help develop advanced defence technology.
Planes hit in major drone attack on Russian city | A drone attack on the city of Pskov in north-western Russia has damaged four heavy transport planes amid reports of attacks in six regions across western Russia. The attacks appeared to be the biggest since Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022 – watch a video of the attack. Meanwhile, new documents reveal that Vladimir Putin urgently moved his A$155m superyacht from a German shipyard to Russia weeks before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Pope chides ‘backward’ US conservatives | Pope Francis has criticised some conservatives in the US Catholic church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time. “I want to remind these people that backwardness is useless, and they must understand that there’s a correct evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals,” he said.
US man marries partner hours before her death | Kyle Adcock married his cancer-stricken beloved, Amy Drouillard, in her final hours last week and is now working on adopting her son, telling a local television station that “it was hard not to fall in love with both of them” after meeting them.
European football clubs call on Luis Rubiales to resign | The Union of European Clubs, which represents 121 teams from around the continent, has issued a statement urging Rubiales to stand down with immediate effect as president of the Spanish football federation. This intervention is the first from a collective European football organisation regarding Rubiales’s case.
In video
Watch a 1m30s cut of Anthony Albanese’s rousing speech to announce the referendum date.
What they said …
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“With a referendum there’s not two tribes here. You’re not voting Labor, Liberals, Greens or whatever. We’re voting for Australia here. That’s the only choice we have, and whether to make Australia even better through recognition of First Peoples.” – Noel Pearson
In numbers
Gas prices were also higher, up 13.9% from July last year.
Before bed read
The former Greens leader Bob Brown has penned an op-ed calling on the federal and Tasmanian governments to halt the “needless massacre” of Tasmania’s forests.
“The clearfell logging is expanding south and west but two forlorn trees have been left standing because the loggers have come under public surveillance. When they firebomb the area those trees are likely to burn too.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: ANAS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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