What we learned, 12 January 2024
With that we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:
New South Wales police are seeking two people in connection with anti-Jewish graffiti daubed on a second Sydney synagogue on Saturday.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says there are concerns that an accelerant may have been used to start a fire at the synagogue that then self-extinguished.
Police have released pictures of those responsible and are seeking information from the public that may help identify them.
The opposition has soft-launched its federal election campaign in the Labor-held seat of Chisholm.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has vowed to press ahead with nuclear power, cuts to migration and a clampdown on pro-Palestine protests in his speech at the event.
Dutton also pledged to “mend the relationship” with Israel if re-elected, saying one of his first acts would be to call the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, and Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, have confirmed they will attend the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump.
Thunderstorm and flood warnings have been issued for parts of Tasmania and Queensland has seen heavy rain.
We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.
Updated
Warren Mundine releases video confirming he will stand for Liberal preselection in Bradfield
Anti-voice campaigner Warren Mundine has confirmed he will run for preselection in the Sydney seat of Bradfield with the launch of a campaign video that coincided with the soft-launch of the Coalition’s election campaign in Melbourne on Sunday.
The cinematic video sombrely reflects upon Mundine’s childhood and exists as something of a meditation on the idea of hope.
Lingering shots of Mundine looking meaningfully off camera or out over a lake are followed by scenes of Mundine placing a Christian cross into his shirt, pulling up his sleeves and pulling on shoelace-less boots as a voiceover elaborates on his reluctant embrace of power for the betterment of the nation.
Young Australians are losing hope. I didn’t have to step back into this fight.
There are some who say that after all I have achieved, I have the right to hang up the boots, to rest.
But when I see the pain in the eyes of my fellow Australians, when I see leaders taking us down the wrong path, I know I can’t sit on the sideline.
As he speaks, the Australian national anthem builds in the background.
You can watch the video here:
For more, read the Guardian Australia’s previous reporting on Mundine’s Liberal preselection pitch:
Updated
