Good morning. Jim Chalmers will paint a less-than-positive picture of the country’s finances as he uses the state of the economy speech to outline the challenges ahead. The Federal Reserve has again raised its benchmark interest rate as the US teeters on the edge of a recession. And Australia is failing to hit more than two-thirds of its Closing the Gap targets.
The treasurer will use today’s state of the economy speech to trim the national growth estimates, citing global economic “headwinds” including higher inflation and slowing global growth. “Australia is outperforming much of the world but that doesn’t make it easier to pay the bills at home,” Chalmers will say. Instead of the 4.25% growth in 2021-22 as estimated before the election, GDP growth will come in at 3.75%. An IMF economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, has said the world is “on the edge of a global recession”. But others are more optimistic, at least in terms of inflation.
With US inflation running at a four-decade high, the Fed announced another three-quarter of a percentage point increase in its benchmark interest rates yesterday, the second such increase in just over a month.
Australia is failing to address the systemic disadvantages experienced by First Nations communities, according to the latest Closing the Gap data released by the Productivity Commission. With just four of the 13 targets on track, the minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said the report showed more work was needed.
Australia
Victoria’s first openly gay state MP, Andrew Olexander, has slammed the leader of his former party, Matthew Guy, for failing to condemn a newly preselected Liberal candidate who has a history of attacking transgender rights. Moira Deeming was preselected at the weekend to replace Bernie Finn at the November state election. In a 2020 interview, Deeming claimed teachers were actively trying to change children’s gender and sexual identity and criticised initiatives aimed at celebrating gay and transgender students.
With costs of about $25m and possibly millions in damages at stake, and after laying bare the brutal reality of Australia’s decades-long war in Afghanistan, the Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial also has existential implications for Australian journalism. As Roberts-Smith awaits the verdict, Ben Doherty examines the case so far and what it could mean for the future.
A Queensland government-owned water corporation is holding back 96 documents detailing its business dealings with Adani, refusing to answer questions or release any information about the nature of agreements it says are commercial in confidence.
Most water tanks used by colonic irrigation clinics harbour colonies of bacteria at levels that exceed those allowed in public swimming pools, an audit of the businesses in NSW has found.
The photographer Thomas Parrish spoke with Ukrainians living in Australia about the experience of watching the conflict unfold in their home country. Some have lived here for years, others just a few months, and some witnessed the Russian invasion of Ukraine firsthand.
Almost $3m of taxpayer money handed to a Queensland theme park for a state-of-the-art facility to protect endangered koalas has been diverted to build a flashy new rollercoaster.
The world
Germany has accused Moscow of engaging in a “power play” over energy exports, as Russian state-run Gazprom further throttled gas supplies into Europe.
Saudi Arabia plans to build a 100-mile-long mirrored skyscraper megacity across desert and mountain terrain, providing a future home for 9 million people. Is it the ultimate in high-density living, or a grandiose science fiction fantasy?
James Lovelock, the creator of the Gaia hypothesis, has died on his 103rd birthday. The climate scientist died at home in the UK on Tuesday surrounded by loved ones, his family said.
Recommended reads
After 37 years, Australia’s beloved soap is coming to an end on Thursday. Anna Spargo-Ryan talks you through what’s been happening on Ramsay Street before we head into tonight’s last – and very long – episode of Australia’s longest-running TV drama. And fans tell us their favourite memories of the show.
The Commonwealth Games open this week in Birmingham, with the Australian team set to face off against some of the world’s finest athletes over 11 days. How can sports lovers follow the action? Who is in the Australian team? Just how difficult will the time difference make watching the opening ceremony? Don’t stress, Guardian Australia has everything you need to know right here.
Australia is home to less than 0.5% of the world’s population but has one-fifth of its poker machines, but the pokie-free Petersham Bowling Club could set a very positive trend. Brigid Delaney interviews the manager, George Catsi, on the trials and tribulations of resurrecting the beloved Sydney inner-west institution.
Listen
Neighbours launched the careers of the likes of Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie and Guy Pearce and has taken many zany plot twists – including numerous untimely deaths, one disappearance at sea and a few secret families. But for much of its history, the show didn’t reflect the diverse population of Australia, and has also faced allegations of racism on set. In today’s Full Story, writer Anna Spargo-Ryan explores why audiences kept coming back for more, and the complex legacy of Neighbours.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The NRLW star Karina Brown has spoken out about the NRL players who are declining to wear a rainbow jersey for Manly, saying the controversy has left her upset and disappointed. Seven Sea Eagles have opted to miss this weekend’s NRL match against Sydney Roosters rather than wear the club’s “everyone in league” jersey. The club revealed the design on Monday, hoping to recognise minority groups such as the LGBTQI community pushing for more acceptance and basic human rights.
Media roundup
The new Senate president, Sue Lines, says she would like to see the longstanding tradition of reading the Lord’s Prayer at the start of each sitting day “gone”, reports the Australian. The Canadian-headquartered e-commerce giant Shopify has axed 1,000 staff globally, leaving Australian employees waking up to an email telling them they would be unemployed, the Brisbane Times reports.
Coming up
NSW train workers will go on strike, with commuters being told to work from home or delay travel.
A man will appear in court over the 2005 death of the German backpacker Simone Strobel.
And if you’ve read this far …
Research shows your dog knows the difference between you being unkind, and you being merely hopeless.
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