Good morning. Massive pay rises awarded to the CEOs of major Australian corporations this year have led to calls to tax the wealthiest more in order to address inequality. The governor general delayed giving Scott Morrison additional ministries in 2021, FoI documents show. And Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi is considering an official complaint against Pauline Hanson.
The incumbent chief executives of Australia’s top 20 companies enjoyed a pay rise averaging 17.16% over the past year, more than nine times the average raise received by ordinary full-time workers, data compiled by Guardian Australia reveals. The NAB CEO, Ross McEwan, received the biggest pay rise in percentage terms among the group, with the total value of his remuneration rocketing almost 130% from $2.31m to $5.29m. Economist Richard Denniss said the government should introduce a 60% income tax on earnings above $1m a year.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has accused senator Pauline Hanson of creating a hostile and unsafe workplace, and is considering a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission after the One Nation leader told her to “piss off back to Pakistan” on social media.
The governor general kept Scott Morrison waiting longer to be officially appointed to the secret portfolios he requested in 2021 compared with earlier in the pandemic, documents obtained under freedom of information laws show. Morrison’s 2021 letters to David Hurley gave no official basis for his request to be sworn into the industry, treasury or home affairs portfolios. His earlier requests in March 2020 to be granted the power to administer the health and finance departments expressly referenced the Covid pandemic.
Australia
The New South Wales government is “ready and willing” to have discussions with Greg Norman in a bid to bring the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour to Sydney, the state’s sports minister has said.
A wobble in the moon’s orbit may be linked to mangrove cover across Australia, contributing to mass tree deaths in the Gulf of Carpentaria, new research finds.
Australia is being urged to increase its investment in climate action with a new report estimating the country is funding just one-tenth of its fair share globally.
The Russian embassy has confirmed it will push ahead with legal action over a decision to expel it from the site of its new Canberra embassy.
Australians believe their life is improving and are more confident in the government compared with last year, with much of this wellbeing boost being reported among young people, the results of a national survey suggest.
The world
The Duke of York sported an array of military medals on a civilian morning suit as he joined a procession behind the Queen’s coffin amid claims British authorities protected him from US prosecutors investigating his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Ukrainian president made a surprise visit to the frontline on Wednesday when he toured the north-eastern city of Izium, which Ukrainian forces recaptured last week as part of their stunning counteroffensive. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was “very shocked” but not surprised by the scale of the damage to the city.
Donors to a GoFundMe appeal have raised enough money to pay the $150,000 restitution an Iowa court ruled a teenage human trafficking victim must pay to the family of her accused rapist, whom she stabbed to death.
The leader of Sweden’s incumbent Social Democrats conceded defeat in the country’s knife-edge election on Wednesday, handing victory to a loose bloc of rightwing parties led by the far-right Sweden Democrats.
A woman accompanied by activists and brandishing what she said was a toy pistol broke into a Beirut bank branch and took $13,000 from her trapped savings.
Melanie C – the former Spice Girl born Melanie Chisholm and nicknamed Sporty Spice – has alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a masseur the night before the Spice Girls’ debut performance.
Recommended reads
Three months after the first bottles hit shelves, the data suggests flat pack wines are headed towards a summer of outdoor play. They’re backpack friendly, energy efficient and are proving a hit with Australian consumers, but premium producers aren’t fully sold on PET packaging.
Nurse turned comedian Georgie Carroll is here to spread cheer with the things that make her laugh online, including Joe Lycett, celebrities eating hot wings and her mum. “The is my take on the 10 funniest things on the internet. The internet is enormous and a lot of it is not at all funny, so it was a big job. But I love a challenge!”
Listen
The Bureau of Meteorology has declared a third La Niña is officially under way, increasing the risk of above-average rainfall and floods in the months ahead. In today’s Full Story, environment reporter Graham Readfearn explains why we’re seeing this rare “triple dip” La Niña, and what it means for weather patterns in Australia and across the world.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The AFL preliminary finals brim with possibility and the grand final date is there for the taking, writes Craig Little. Collingwood’s now trademark energy will be tested in Sydney, while Brisbane again look to take their chances against a refreshed Geelong.
Media roundup
The rental squeeze has got so bad in Sydney’s inner-city suburbs that rents are rising by as much as a third – and anyone who questions the massive hikes is getting the boot, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Australian is among the papers who reported on an issues paper from a review of the Reserve Bank: it picks up the suggestion that we could be told which board members voted in favour of rate hikes. And an analysis by the Age finds that soaring SUV sales are cancelling out the emission gains from EV sales.
Coming up
The monthly Labour Force Survey will give headline estimates of employment, unemployment, underemployment, participation and hours worked.
And the prime minister, governor general and others will board the plane to London for the Queen’s funeral.
And if you’ve read this far …
Lose yourself in this dreamy account of a trip along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.
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