Good morning. The prosecution of a Queensland company over alleged systematic bribery of Nauru officials for favourable mining contracts is in the headlines today. Getax Australia has accused Australian authorities of mishandling the case and applied to the court to permanently halt the company’s prosecution.
Meanwhile, capping short-term rentals such as Airbnb has been touted as a way to help alleviate NSW’s housing crisis. But a move to install such measures in Byron won’t come into effect until the middle of next year – if at all.
And overseas, there’s been a death at the Burning Man festival where thousands are stranded by floods.
Australia
Housing crisis | Byron council’s planned 60-day cap on short-term rentals such as Airbnbs is meant to help ease housing pressures but won’t come into effect until the middle of next year – at the earliest.
Exclusive | A Queensland exporter accused of bribing Nauru officials for favourable mining deals has applied to have a charge of foreign bribery permanently stayed, arguing “a fair trial is impossible”.
Transparency scrutiny | The Albanese government has been accused of “blatant hypocrisy” by its political opponents as more than 2,000 requests for answers remain unanswered in the Senate.
Head hunting | Australia’s rush to build renewable energy to replace ageing coal-fired power stations is being hampered as the push for clean energy in the US lures key talent, particularly engineers.
‘Life-changing’ | The government is moving to close a loophole allowing employers to undercut workers with cheaper labour hire as part of a new tranche of workplace reforms.
World
‘Powerful argument’ | A top Democratic senator is arguing that Donald Trump could be disqualified from running in the 2024 US presidential elections under the 14th amendment. Also – does the US political system have an age problem?
Tactical change | The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says he will dismiss his defence minister as the ministry needed “new approaches”. Yesterday Ukraine claimed to have broken a Russian stronghold’s first line of defence.
Typhoon Haikui | More than 40 people have been injured and thousands evacuated as the first big storm to hit the Taiwan directly in four years swept across the island.
Burning Man | Police are investigating a death at the festival as 70,000 revellers are stranded in the Black Rock desert of Nevada after heavy rains turned the ground to a muddy quagmire.
‘Psychological harm’ | A UN torture expert has repeated calls for the UK to review indefinite prison sentences after highlighting the case of a man who has been in jail since 2012 for stealing a phone.
Full Story
Labor’s new rules for the gig economy
The government’s long-awaited plan to protect gig economy workers comes before parliament this week. Under the bill, the Fair Work Commission will be given the power to set minimum standards for hundreds of thousands of “employee-like workers” on digital platforms such as Uber and Hungry Panda. Paul Karp talks with Jane Lee about whether the proposed reforms go far enough to keep workers safe.
In-depth
Australia is placing a lot of chips on the red, white and blue, making its big bet on the US based on the assumption that Asia really matters to the movers and shakers in Washington. But how does that assumption stack up? Sam Roggeveen from the Lowy Institute believes that if US motivations to maintain leadership in the region are waning, then Australia will have made a historic mistake by putting it at the centre of its security strategy.
Not the news
Andy Griffiths is a big kid, an ex-punk rocker and a former teacher rolled into one, all of which has shaped his view of books as a final frontier: a place of anarchy and danger where children have permission to imagine the wildest, funniest, scariest things they can conceive. The “bum-poo-fart author” talks to Sian Cain about why the newest Treehouse book will be the last in the series.
The world of sport
NRL | Rabbitohs miss finals as Panthers claim minor premiership.
US Open | Australian men Alex de Minaur and Rinky Hijikata storm into final 16.
Football | Ange Postecoglou continues his unbeaten run with Spurs; Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa; Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United.
Cricket | Head stars as Australia secure 3-0 Twenty20 clean sweep against South Africa.
Media roundup
New data exposing the severity of the Victoria’s ambulance ramping crisis shows how paramedics have spent a cumulative 120 years waiting for sick or injured patients to be admitted to overcrowded hospitals, reports the Age. New modelling suggests that the reliable supply of energy in NSW would be boosted if Australia’s largest coal-fired power station was kept partially open for an extra two years, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. The conventional path of millennials leaving the bush to head into the big smoke chasing better opportunities has flipped in the past five years, with more 25- to 39-year-olds moving to regional areas than the other way, says the Australian.
What’s happening today
Victoria | Trial scheduled to begin in class action against Monsanto over exposure to Roundup or Monsanto-branded herbicide products.
New South Wales | A public hearing is scheduled in the NSW parliament inquiry into birth trauma.
ABS | Australian Bureau of Statistics set to release latest mineral and petroleum exploration and monthly household spending figures.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
• This article was amended on 4 September 2023 to remove a reference to the Canberra Raiders missing the NRL finals. The Raiders finished eighth and made the finals.
