Good morning. Adam Bandt will launch a scathing attack on the Liberal party as jostling over the climate bill reaches a climax. “Virtual” nurses may be needed to meet the 24/7 aged care staff mandate. And an official visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi has sparked a furious response from China.
Adam Bandt will declare the Greens are in a “powerful position” and the Liberals are “irrelevant” as he outlines his party’s position on Labor’s climate target bills during an address to the National Press Club today. With the Albanese government pressing for a vote on the legislation in the House of Representatives this week, the Greens met twice yesterday to consider their stance. Crossbenchers believe they have secured agreement for amendments including a five-year statutory review of the legislation. The Greens have pushed Labor to ensure the 43% emissions reduction target for 2030 is a floor and not a ceiling, and for the inclusion of a climate trigger in environment laws.
The Albanese government should consider allowing “virtual” nurses to help meet a new 24/7 staff mandate for aged care homes, a leading health executive says. Martin Bowles, the chief executive of Calvary Health Care, says chronic staff shortages in the sector will make it hard to meet the round-the-clock requirement and remote nurses should be considered. The aged care minister, Anika Wells, said health department modelling found that 869 extra nurses were needed to fulfil the new mandate but others say the number could be much higher.
The US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has landed in Taiwan for a controversial visit to the self-ruled island, offering “unwavering commitment” to supporting its democracy as already heightened tensions with China escalate. China’s ministry of defence said the People’s Liberation Army had been put on “high alert” and announced a series of targeted military operations, including missile tests in the waters east of Taiwan and drills encircling the main island for four days after Pelosi leaves.
Australia
A negative Indian Ocean dipole event has been declared, increasing the chances of above-average rainfall over much of Australia during the rest of winter and spring.
Productivity in Australia is growing at its slowest pace in 60 years, undermining the ability to lift living standards, with decarbonisation and Covid challenges threatening to drag the rate down further, the Productivity Commission has said.
Fifteen per cent of clients seeking pregnancy counselling have been subjected to “reproduction coercion and abuse”, a study has found, as polling suggests a majority of Australian voters want governments to take action to address barriers to accessing abortion care.
A senior NSW public servant tasked with recruiting for a New York trade role awarded to John Barilaro will appear before a parliamentary inquiry today to answer further questions about the process after the release of additional documents.
Weekend breakfast fry-ups could be in danger as eggs become the latest food product caught up in supply chain woes. Reduced production on a number of farms has affected the supply of locally produced eggs in some regions.
The world
Russia has claimed Washington is “directly involved” in the war in Ukraine and had passed on intelligence that had led to the “mass deaths of civilians”, accusing the White House of supplying targeting information used by Kyiv to conduct long-range missile strikes.
Families torn apart by the deadly September 11 terrorist attacks celebrated Sunday’s killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the top al-Qaida leaders behind the 2001 attacks, but they continued demanding accountability for the Saudi Arabian government’s alleged role.
A spokesperson for Taylor Swift has denied that the US pop star is responsible for “most or all” of the trips taken on her private jet after she was alleged to be the highest-use celebrity by the sustainability marketing firm Yard, calling the claim “blatantly incorrect”.
Recommended reads
In our weekly interview about objects, Peter Helliar tells us about his serious love of notebooks. “I genuinely find a piece of white paper exciting,” the comedian says. “I have always loved the endless possibilities that a blank page presents.” Unfortunately, this makes it all the more difficult when he loses one. “I was devastated,” he says. “That notebook represented my future. All those amazing thoughts, genius ideas and killer punchlines.”
As any parent of teens will know, talking to them isn’t easy at the best of times. And when those conversations are about a topic as potentially complex as money, scaling Mount Everest might feel like an easier proposition. Fortunately, that finance author Michelle Bowes has a useful acronym for tackling the topic – Talks: Tackle your own money taboos; Acknowledge your shortcomings; Lift examples from real life; Keep the conversation going and Stay positive.
Elsy Wameyo’s debut EP is a dizzying assemblage of rap, R&B and soul that celebrates her Nilotic Kenyan heritage and her spirituality, she tells Shaad D’Souza, a lot of which she learned during her latest recording sessions. “[After doing all that research] I knew who I was – I felt like I had this coat of power that I had been wrapped in, and no one could touch me.”
Listen
Australia is leading the medal tally at the 22nd Commonwealth Games, with the swimmer Emma McKeon becoming the most successful athlete in the Games’ history. All while the swimming team is at the centre of a media frenzy involving the personal life of pop star turned professional swimmer, Cody Simpson. In today’s Full Story, Guardian Australia’s deputy sport editor, Emma Kemp, explores the highs and lows of the event so far.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Mollie O’Callaghan has shocked Emma McKeon and Shayna Jack to clinch Commonwealth Games gold in the women’s 100m freestyle as Cody Simpson finished fifth in the men’s 100m butterfly final on the penultimate day of swimming. Australia raked in more gold medals on day five, when Australian pole vaulter Nina Kennedy comfortably won gold, Kate McDonald upset gymnastics golden girl Georgia Godwin and the men’s wheelchair basketball team stood atop the podium.
Media roundup
Australia’s defence force will be reshaped under an ambitious review to be announced today by Anthony Albanese and the defence minister, the Australian reports. Cricket Australia will make David Warner a big-money offer to play in this season’s Big Bash as part of a bid to revive the Twenty20 competition and head off potential court action by Channel Seven, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Coming up
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address an Australian National University event and will take questions from students.
The people’s choice award for the Archibald prize will be announced.
And if you’ve read this far …
Trains were halted in south-eastern England for more than an hour on Monday due to a “giant tortoise”.
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