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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: ‘perverse’ rewards for coalmines, US Congress in turmoil, kids’ gambling affecting schooling

Coal is unloaded onto large piles at the Ulan Coal mines near Mudgee.
Around 20% of coalmines would be allowed to significantly increase their emissions under Labor’s revamped safeguard mechanism, a new analysis has found. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Morning everyone. The murky nuances of climate policy get a little bit murkier today with our exclusive story showing that 10 coalmines could increase their greenhouse gas pollution until 2030 while being financially rewarded by the government. We have the extraordinary story of a missed train and a $2,000 cab ride, and there’s turmoil in the US Congress after hard-right Republicans forced a vote to oust their own speaker.

Australia

Facebook logo
The Australian privacy regulator has been locked in court proceedings with Facebook, now Meta, since 2020 over the Cambridge Analytica breach. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images
  • Paedophile named | The identity of a childcare worker accused of being one of Australia’s worst paedophiles has been revealed as Ashley Paul Griffith. He has been charged with 1,623 sexual offences against children in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas.

  • Exclusive | Scrutiny of the safeguard mechanism – the government’s main policy to deal with major polluters – will increase after analysis carried out for the Lock The Gate alliance shows some are being rewarded for increasing emissions in what’s been called a “perverse outcome”.

  • Facebook posts ‘not sensitive’ | The private messages, pictures, email addresses and the content of Facebook users’ posts are not “sensitive information”, the social media giant has argued in court as it fights a protracted case over the Cambridge Analytica data breach.

  • School addiction | Addiction to gambling is affecting children’s ability to learn and concentrate “before, during and in school” at a critical time in their brain development, the head of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia has warned.

  • Ship situation | International shipping companies have signed a deal that will stifle competition and lead to Australian consumers paying more for imported goods, the former competition watchdog Rod Sims says.

World

Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes, assuming every House Democrat votes against him. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
  • Expelling McCarthy | The US House of Representatives will vote on a motion to remove Kevin McCarthy (pictured) from the speaker’s chair after the Republican’s own hard-right enemies set up the move in retaliation for his alleged “collaboration” with Democrats to avoid a shutdown of the government.

  • Bangkok shooting | A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after a shooting at a luxury shopping mall in the centre of Bangkok. Emergency services said at least three people were killed and three injured in the incident.

  • Iran tension | A 16-year-old girl has been hospitalised in Tehran amid reports she was beaten by Iran’s feared “morality police”, putting the country back on edge a year after mass protests erupted over the treatment of women.

  • Crypto trial | A federal court in Manhattan has started hearing the case against erstwhile crypto star Sam Bankman-Fried, with jury selection.

  • Trans ban | Trans hospital patients in England will be banned from being treated in female- and male-only wards, under plans announced by the UK health secretary.

Full Story

Labor senator and Yawuru man Patrick Dodson
Labor senator and Yawuru man Patrick Dodson speaks to Guardian Australia just 10 days before the referendum. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The voice AMA: the ‘father of reconciliation’ Patrick Dodson calls for ‘courage’

Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to Labor senator and Yawuru man Patrick Dodson (pictured) about the need for courage after the referendum and how a no vote would “tarnish” Australia’s international standing.

In-depth

A composite image of a taxi, receipt, globe and train
Gabrielle Chan’s very long taxi ride: ‘There were no leisurely coffee stops on the meter, though there was one toilet break.’ Composite: Guardian Australia

We’ve all endured the consequences of trains that don’t leave on time. But it’s usually when they’re late. Our rural affairs writer, Gabrielle Chan, recently missed her train to Melbourne because it was 30 minutes early, necessitating a $2,096.32 cab ride courtesy of the taxpayer to make sure she got to her destination.

Not the news

melissa
A selection by Guardian writers and editors of the best Australian books out in October. Composite: Allen & Unwin/ UQP/ Penguin/ Bloomsbury Publishing/ Hardie Grant/ Scribe/Ultimo Press/ Transit Lounge/ Black Inc

Our writers and editors have been reading the best new books of October and among them is Killing for Country by David Marr. He delves into some shameful family history to find the truth about “murdering ancestors” who were members of the Native Police and involved in the massacre of Indigenous Australians. Melissa Lucashenko uses Aboriginal history past and present as her inspiration for the “gripping, moving and very, very funny” Edenglassie, and there’s also travel writer Robyn Davidson’s long-awaited memoir, Unfinished Woman.

The world of sport

Tom Rogic
Former Celtic and Australia midfielder Tom Rogic has announced his retirement. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
  • Football | The former Celtic and Australia midfielder Tom Rogic (pictured) has announced his retirement at the age of 30 to focus on his family after revealing his wife is expecting twins after “struggles and heartache with fertility treatment”.

  • Cricket | Australia have concluded their World Cup preparations by firing with the bat, experimenting with the ball and seeing off Pakistan by 14 runs in their final warm-up match in Hyderabad.

  • Trans plan sinks | World Aquatics’ plans to debut a new open category for transgender athletes at this week’s swimming World Cup in Berlin have been cancelled after no entries were received.

Media roundup

The Australian dollar has fallen to its lowest point for 11 months of US63.08c after the RBA kept rates on hold yesterday, the Financial Review says. A truck driver has told an inquiry that he stayed awake for 13 days after taking meth to help keep alert while driving, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Taxpayers were “slugged $1.3m” in fees on lawyers sent to London to arrange the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games, the Herald Sun reports.

What’s happening today

  • Canberra | Public hearing into Australian Antarctic Division funding.

  • Queensland | Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to deliver the state of the state address.

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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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