What happened on Monday 2 October 2023
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the main developments:
Campaigners for both sides of the Indigenous voice referendum have hit the hustings as early voting opens across the country. Midnight Oil and NRL grand final hero Nathan Cleary have voiced their support for the yes campaign.
Very few human remains were found following a horror road crash that killed six people – two adults and four children – in the Northern Territory, authorities say.
September was one of Australia’s driest month since records began with a national average rainfall of just 4.83mm. The Bureau of Meteorology originally announced it had been the driest on record, but revised this to one of the driest months later on Monday.
Leaders of the embattled consulting giant PwC are expected to be called before a Senate inquiry later this month as fresh allegations emerge of more confidentiality breaches.
The News Corp-backed betting agency Betr is in the process of paying out $40m in bets after Penrith’s grand final win on Sunday, which the company believes is an Australian record.
Thanks for reading. Have a pleasant evening.
Updated
Yes campaign launches new ad
The yes campaign will launch a new broadcast ad highlighting infant mortality rates, employment and life expectancy issues for Indigenous Australians, in the final fortnight of the voice referendum campaign.
The striking, black-and-white ad was shared today by Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, the main yes campaign vehicle. It ends with the new slogan “a no vote means no progress” – a theme and message the yes campaign and Labor government have been airing in recent days.
As Guardian Australia reported on the weekend, the yes campaign’s final weeks will aim to highlight what the voice’s supporters believe are the consequences of a no vote for Indigenous Australians.
The new campaign message is an answer to the anti-voice group’s “if you don’t know, vote no”.
The ad notes infant mortality rates for Indigenous Australians are twice that for the wider population, that employment rates are half, and life expectancy is eight years less.
Updated
