Morning mail: George Christensen claims thousands for ‘e-material’, electric cars give hope for manufacturing, and preventing mildew

One of George Christensen’s anti-vaccine mandate Facebook ads had an audience reach of more than one million people, according to the social media company. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Good morning. Federal parliament resumes today, with the controversial religious discrimination bill on the agenda. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the bushfires threatening homes in Western Australia and following the latest news on the Neighbours saga.

Taxpayers have been paying more than $10,000 a month for George Christensen’s “e-material” in the same period that he racked up an $85,000 Facebook advertising bill for issues including “vaccine discrimination” and a conspiracy theory about the “unelected global elite”. Government records show Christensen claimed $12,641 for e-material in the second quarter of last year, jumping to $33,500 in the third quarter as the controversial Queensland MP began ramping up his campaign against vaccine mandates.