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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Paul Gallagher

Morning Mail: Police officers let off over racist comments; catastrophic floods in Libya; Morocco quake death toll rises

Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll said last year that officers making racist comments ‘should not be in the organisation’.
Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll said last year that officers making racist comments ‘should not be in the organisation’. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Good morning. Queensland’s police commissioner Katarina Carroll said at a press conference last year that she believed officers making racist comments “should not be in the organisation”. However, today we reveal that officers recorded making “sickening” remarks while working inside a Brisbane watch house have escaped punishment.

Overseas, there are early reports from Libya where a powerful storm led to the collapse of two ageing dams, which unleashed catastrophic floods that may have drowned as many as 2,000 people in the city of Derna. And in quake-hit Morocco, small mountain villages are still waiting for help to arrive as the death toll continues to rise.

Australia

David Pocock is considering a private senator’s bill to split Labor’s industrial relations bill.
David Pocock is considering a private senator’s bill to split Labor’s industrial relations bill, saying ‘changes can be made now to benefit Australians’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

World

A woman searches the rubble of her home in Imoulas village in the Taroudant province, Morocco.
A woman searches the rubble of her home in Imoulas village in the Taroudant province, Morocco. Photograph: Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images

Full Story

An aerial view of the old Kinchela Aboriginal Boys’ Training Home
An aerial view of the old Kinchela Aboriginal Boys’ Training Home, where an estimated 400 to 600 Aboriginal boys between the ages of five and 15 were incarcerated under the policies of the Stolen Generations. Composite: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/KBHAC

The secret graves of the stolen generations

A Guardian Australia investigation has identified multiple sites of potential secret burials on the grounds of one of the most notorious institutions of the Stolen Generations era. Lorena Allam and Sarah Collard speak to Laura Murphy-Oates about how they broke the story and why survivors are calling for an urgent investigation into the possible clandestine graves.

In-depth

Sarah Cox developed abnormal anorexia after being told by her GP to lose weight.
Sarah Cox developed abnormal anorexia after being told by her GP to lose weight. Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian

Sarah Cox was admitted to hospital and placed on a feeding tube because she was malnourished, yet hospital staff discharged her with a weight-loss plan. Her eating disorder began after she was told by her GP to lose weight and that her BMI was too high at multiple appointments – despite displaying no indicators of poor health, such as blood test abnormalities or high or low blood pressure. Experts say her case shows that official dietary guidelines are contributing to eating disorder risk, and that health – not weight loss – needs to be the focus of public health messaging.

Not the news

Anna Jones’s roasted strawberries with lemon and black pepper.
Anna Jones’s roasted strawberries with lemon and black pepper. Photograph: Matt Russell/The Guardian

Strawberry season is in full swing, with affordable prices and strong supply coming from Queensland and Western Australia. From berry-crowned tarts and fruit ketchup, to a refreshing granita and the classic milkshake option: there’s something for everyone in our 11 recipes to help make the most of every $2 punnet.

The world of sport

Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the 2023 US Open tennis championships.
Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the 2023 US Open tennis championships. Photograph: Andrew Schwartz/Sipa/Shutterstock

Media roundup

Anti-voice volunteers have been told not to identify themselves upfront as no campaigners and to deploy fear and doubt instead of facts as they make hundreds of thousands of calls to persuadable voters, reports the Age. Lawyer and academic Dr Anna Cody, the new sex discrimination commissioner, says Australia should no longer take a single-issue approach to equality as she flags a focus on LGBTQI+ issues, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Indigenous Australians and First Nations people are being offered ticket discounts of up to $170 under concessions provided by the nation’s elite ballet, musical, arts, cultural and sporting bodies and institutions, reports the Australian.

What’s happening today

  • New South Wales | A hearing is scheduled in a Sydney court over Ben Robert-Smith’s failed defamation cases.

  • Western Australia | Anti-Woodside climate protesters are scheduled to appear in court in Perth.

  • Cricket | Third ODI between South Africa and Australia scheduled this evening at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.

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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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