Good morning. The first leaders’ debate marked a turning point in this year’s election campaign, with the rivalry between the two major parties set to increase in the coming weeks.
Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese clashed over the NDIS, refugee boat turnbacks and China’s security agreement with Solomon Islands in the debate. The pair traded barbs over over the China-Solomon Islands deal, with Anthony Albanese labelling it a “Pacific stuff-up” and Scott Morrison accusing him of siding with China. During the debate, which the Labor leader won by swaying 40% of the audience over the prime minister’s 35%, Morrison focused on the handling of the economy while Albanese accused the government of “not pursuing any significant economic, social or environmental reforms”. In other election news, locals in the Sydney seat of Wentworth say the Coalition under Morrison is deeply unpopular and there’s only one hot topic up for discussion: “It’s all about bloody climate change,” one says.
Australia’s coal export boom will come to an abrupt end because of an “imminent and substantial” drop in purchases by China, and coalmining communities should brace for the change, according to Jorrit Gosens, the lead author of a new study. Gosens said while both major party leaders were telling voters Australia’s coal exports had decades to run, the peer-reviewed paper forecast Chinese imports would fall in the next two the three years. “We do hope with this [study] that folks in coal mining regions, industries and governments also look at those results and figure out that they need to be a little bit more hasty with their plans to reduce their dependency on the coal mining industry,” he said.
Vladimir Putin said Russia had successfully conducted a test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal. Putin said it would provide rivals with “food for thought”. Russia’s nuclear forces will start taking deliveries of the missile this year, once testing is complete. About 6,000 civilians trapped in Mariupol have been able to leave but officials said there were far fewer than hoped, as an ultimatum by Russia to Ukrainian fighters holding out in the city to surrender passed its deadline.
Australia
The Australian War Memorial is pursuing a new sponsorship deal with the arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin despite criticism from veterans, historians and retired staff that the deal would be “degrading to the memory of our war dead”.
Victoria and New South Wales will ease Covid restrictions for close contacts from Friday, a move that has been welcomed by business leaders, but split epidemiologists, some of whom are concerned it sends the wrong message at a time when daily infections remain high.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation’s has proposed 200 drainage control areas over parts of the inland rail, after years of flood concerns raised by locals and experts.
The aged care sector has questioned the Coalition’s claims that the home care workforce has grown 13% since November, saying the figures appear at odds with the “severe staffing challenges” it is experiencing.
The Morrison government’s promise to spend $7.4bn on building a series of new dams is probably “the biggest pork barrel in history”, says the author of new research that claims other investment would deliver significantly better economic outcomes and more jobs.
The world
A UK court has formally approved the extradition of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US on espionage charges, in what will ultimately be a decision for the UK home secretary, Priti Patel.
Downing Street has gone into open battle with the Church of England over its condemnation of the Rwanda deportation scheme, with No 10 officials doubling down on Boris Johnson’s claim that archbishops were being unfairly critical.
Producers of the movie Rust have been handed the maximum fine for safety lapses before what authorities called the “avoidable” shooting death of the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.
The former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will kickstart his campaign to reclaim the presidency from his rightwing adversary Jair Bolsonaro.
Recommended reads
“Rightwing media no longer wield power as they once did. So why is Labor letting them set the election agenda?” asks Jeff Sparrow. “Each time News Corp turns its sights on a new target, Twitter campaigners blame an unprecedented ‘Murdochracy’ for the dire state of our political culture. Yet we need to remember that every significant social movement in Australian history has faced vocal – and sometimes overwhelming – opposition from the mainstream press.”
Over three generations in India, members of the Jogi family have preserved their culture with unique and detailed ink works, which people can now see at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of a new exhibition highlighting acquisitions from contemporary Indian artists in rural, regional and Indigenous traditions. The art style was born when the family, who were traditionally roving musicians and singers of devotional songs and stories, were asked by the anthropologist Haku Shah to write down the songs to preserve the cultural tradition. The head of the family, Ganesh, could not write, so Shah suggested he draw the stories instead.
Comedian Chris Parker falls asleep to TikToks each night – so who better to ask for the funniest videos online? “[The ‘Ahhh Girl’] arrived to TikTok this week and I simply love it. One girl hurts her back, makes a funny noise, and the rest of the internet mock her tirelessly for it. What a community we’ve built!”
Listen
In Tasmania, two marginal seats – Bass and Braddon – may swing again this election. While some voters in these seats feel ambivalent about the major parties, everyone knows the independent senator Jacqui Lambie and her party the Jacqui Lambie Network, whose preferences could shape the election result in the state. In today’s Full Story, Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, speaks to voters in Tasmania about salmon farming, housing, Scott Morrison and the power of the “Jacqui Lambie effect”.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The former Perth Glory coach Alistair Edwards is almost a forgotten man in A-League circles but his career and life have flourished as technical director of Malaysian side JDT.
Young gymnasts were likely to have been subjected to emotional and physical abuse at Western Australia’s Institute of Sport, according to a report by Sport Integrity Australia.
Wimbledon has banned Russian and Belarusian players from this summer’s championships over the invasion of Ukraine.
Media roundup
Melbourne’s CBD is seeing an influx of homeless people after money from a state government-funded hotel accommodation program “dried up” during the pandemic and amid a lack of affordable housing, reports the Herald Sun. In the Sydney Morning Herald, the International Monetary Fund has warned that Australia must repair the budget soon, as the country has suffered one of the largest budget deteriorations in the developed world and one of the biggest increases in debt.
Coming up
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will release its report on healthcare quality and outcomes.
And if you’ve read this far …
English Heritage is looking for budding bloodsuckers to help break a world record: it wants to stage the world’s largest gathering of people dressed as vampires.
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