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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: new sexual harassment claim in parliament, hundreds missing in Greek shipwreck, Messi sees off Socceroos

Amanda Stoker
Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker has accused David Van of inappropriate touching in parliament. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Morning, everyone. A second female politician has accused the Liberal senator David Van of sexual harassment. We’ve got the latest on what’s happening and what the implications are for politics and the Liberals. Hundreds of migrants are feared missing off Greece as reports suggest there were many more people onboard a shipwrecked boat than first feared. Plus, we ask whether there’ll be a recession here and when eating is learning “what it feels like to be dead”.

Australia

Badiucao
Chinese-Australian artists Badiucao. Photograph: Kalbar/EPA
  • Show of support | Australian consular officials in Poland will attend the opening of an exhibition in the country’s capital by Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao on Friday, to send a message to Chinese authorities who have allegedly tried to stop the show going ahead.

  • Bus raids | A cracked windscreen, oil leaks and seatbelts that didn’t work were allegedly found by police when they raided two depots of the bus company Linq Busline at the centre of the Hunter Valley crash tragedy last night.

  • Further allegations | The former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker has accused David Van of inappropriately touching her. The claim emerged hours after independent senator Lidia Thorpe gave a harrowing description of sexual assault by an unnamed person in the corridors and stairwells of Parliament House. Stoker’s accusation was one of the “further allegations” that prompted the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, to dump Van from the Liberal party room.

  • ‘Threats, hatred’ | The NSW MP Alex Greenwich has been subjected to “threats, repeated jibes, hatred, homophobic comments and contempt and ridicule” as a result of comments made by One Nation’s Mark Latham, court documents claim.

  • Property windfall | Sydney property developers are said to be laughing about the unexpected profits they’ll reap from a change to planning rules aimed at increasing the housing supply.

World

Medical staff with a survivor at the port in Kalamata
Medical staff with a survivor at the port in Kalamata. Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images
  • ‘500 missing’ | Rescuers are continuing a grim search off the Greek coast as hopes fade of finding survivors from an overcrowded fishing boat that capsized and sank on Wednesday, killing at least 78 people. Survivors say there were hundreds of people onboard as Europe braces for what could become one of its worst such disasters.

  • Johnson disgraced | The former UK PM deliberately misled parliament over Partygate and tried to intimidate MPs investigating him, a long-awaited MPs’ report has found. He would have faced a 90-day suspension from the House of Commons had he not quit in rage last week, and now faces the reality of being out of office.

  • Taking flight | Ukrainian fighter pilots are being trained to fly F-16 jets, Nato’s secretary general has revealed, as Kyiv claimed further incremental progress in its counteroffensive against Russian forces in the east and south of Ukraine.

  • ‘Lunch of suffering’ | The Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Xiaohongshu have been inundated with comments about cold sandwiches, raw carrots and canned tuna in a trend where people are expressing astonishment at western food with the term “learn what it feels like to be dead”.

  • ‘Fierce, sensual, cerebral’ | Glenda Jackson, the British double Oscar-winning actor who bestrode the worlds of stage and screen then became a Labour MP, has died aged 87. Our film critic says she brought class to cinema, while we also have an obituary and a gallery of her life in pictures.

Full Story

Sportsbet signage at an AFL match
Sportsbet signage at an AFL match. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

Betting on a gambling ad ban, with Lenore Taylor

As the Guardian announces that it will no longer carry gambling ads, Gabrielle Jackson talks to Guardian Australia’s editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and head of news, Mike Ticher, about the growing political will to ban gambling advertising.

In-depth

Crowds in central Melbourne
Crowds in central Melbourne. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Surprisingly strong May labour force numbers released yesterday have fuelled fears of more interest rises but the jury is still out on whether that will trigger a recession. Our economics correspondent, Peter Hannam, takes a look at both sides of the argument, while we also report on ABS figures today showing the country’s population grew 1.9% last year, the fastest for 13 years, thanks to returning foreign students and migrant workers after Covid.

Not the news

A scene from The Last Daughter
A scene from The Last Daughter. Photograph: James Field/Bonsai Films

The Last Daughter is the latest screen production to grapple with the difficulties of reconciling Indigenous cultures with a postcolonial society, writes Luke Buckmaster, and this documentary results in what he calls a “very personal detective story” as stolen generations member Brenda Matthews searches for her white foster parents.

The world of sport

Argentina’s Lionel Messi at a friendly football match against Australia in Beijing
Argentina’s Lionel Messi at a friendly football match against Australia in Beijing. Photograph: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images
  • Football | A Lionel Messi goal after only 120 seconds set Argentina on their way to a comfortable 2-0 win over Australia last night but the Socceroos showed typical effort in the friendly played in Beijing last night

  • The Ashes | Just retaining the Ashes will not be enough this time around as a hungry Australia seek to right the wrongs of 2019, writes Geoff Lemon. We offer a bluffer’s guide to the greatest series of them all.

  • Golf | The first major since the controversial Saudi takeover is under way after players teed off in the US Open in Los Angeles. You can follow the hole-by-hole blog here.

Media roundup

The Herald Sun says Daniel Andrews is preparing to step down as Victorian premier and be replaced by his deputy, Jacinta Allan. Residents in Strathfield in Sydney’s inner west face a 93% increase in their rates spread over four years, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. A $260m refurbishment of the Reserve Bank’s offices has blown out to a $500m bill for taxpayers after asbestos was discovered in Martin Place, the Financial Review reports. The Adelaide Advertiser reports on the death of the yachtsman, Olympian and winemaker Sir James Hardy.

What’s happening today

  • Sydney | The first case management hearing for the Mark Latham defamation action brought by Alex Greenwich will be held.

  • Tasmania | A state parliamentary inquiry will examine planning for a proposed $715m stadium in Hobart.

  • Arts | The National Photographic Portrait Prize winner will be announced.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.

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