Good afternoon. It was anything but a dull day in politics, with Senator David Van booted from the Liberal party room amid allegations of sexual harassment made by independent Senator Lidia Thorpe.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said “further allegations” were brought to his attention overnight, but that his decision was not a “judgment on the veracity of the allegations or any individual’s guilt or innocence”.
The announcement came shortly after Thorpe spoke in parliament, alleging “one man followed me and cornered me” in a stairwell, and that she had been “inappropriately touched” and “inappropriately propositioned by powerful men” during her time in the Senate.
Van this afternoon repeated his strong denial of the allegations, calling for an investigation into what he says are “outrageous claims”. Watch Thorpe’s Senate speech and David Van’s response.
Top news
Unemployment’s surprise fall | Australia’s economy added 76,000 jobs last month – five times more than economists expected – bringing the unemployment rate to 3.6%, down from 3.7% last month. They are figures that will be watched closely by the Reserve Bank, which is hoping to see unemployment rise to 4.5% – that’s 140,000 people losing their jobs – by 2025 to get inflation down to its 2-3% target.
Russian embassy lease cancelled | The federal government rushed through special legislation – in just over an hour – to cancel Russia’s lease on a site for a new embassy near Parliament House, citing national security concerns.
Andrew Probyn made redundant | The ABC political editor is the most high-profile journalist so far to be targeted in a cull of as many as 100 jobs before a major restructure of the national broadcaster kicks in on 1 July. “Very good luck to the ABC. I’m still trying to come to terms with it,” Probyn said.
Massive meth bust | Six men have been charged after almost $1.7bn worth of methamphetamine was seized as part of a probe into a global smuggling syndicate. Police allege the operation involved four separate hauls in 2023, mostly involving attempts to hide the drug in bottles of canola oil in Canada, which were destined for Victoria and New South Wales.
‘Smart drugs’ don’t work | People who use so-called “smart drugs” to boost their mental performance tend to be worse at complex tasks despite tackling them with more enthusiasm, a study has found. “It’s an incredibly popular idea that if you take a little bit of this serotonin agent, a bit of this psychedelic, and mix it with some other substances, you’ll be at your best,” said a researcher. “It’s also incredibly dumb.”
Cyclone Biparjoy | More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in India and Pakistan ahead of the expected landfall of a “very severe cyclonic storm”. Biparjoy means “disaster” in Bengali.
New Zealand enters recession | The economy shrank 0.1% in the last quarter, with the downturn exacerbated by the effects of extreme weather that hit the country through February and March, devastating some of New Zealand’s key fruit and vegetable-growing regions and causing extensive damage to the road network.
Beyoncé nudging Swedish inflation | The Swedes must be “crazy in love” with Beyoncé – so crazy her two shows in Stockholm may have nudged the country’s high inflation. Analysts say the superstar’s much-hyped concert in May “probably” accounted for 0.2 of the 0.3 percentage points added to inflation by hotels and restaurant prices.
Climate activist facing jail over fake letter | Rosemary Penwarden, a 64-year-old New Zealand woman, is facing up to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of forgery. Penwarden’s crime? Writing to oil executives posing as a fossil fuel conference organiser and telling them their gathering was cancelled.
In pictures
Does Australia have a problem with sports gambling? You bet, according to cartoonist Fiona Katauskas.
What they said …
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“This was not an isolated incident. And there are others I could name who have inappropriately touched me. Invaded my space and knowingly made me feel unsafe.” – Lidia Thorpe
In numbers
On key measures, temperatures across the planet this year are off the charts, climate and environment editor Adam Morton writes. This is especially the case in the ocean.
Before bed read
Vivid Sydney has been called “obscene” and “mean” for charging people for entry ($128 for a family ticket) to the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden – a usually free public space.
Our national news editor, Patrick Keneally, took his family to the exhibition to see if it was worth it.
“If this is your first Vivid, then yes. If you are visiting from overseas or interstate, it’s also worth it. The lack of crowds is lovely and the walk is enjoyable – but if you’ve been to Vivid before, it doesn’t feel hugely different to other, free events you would have seen.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: CULT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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