Good morning. The RBA is again expected to raise the cash rate today, marking the fastest run-up since 1994. And as the UK abandons its plan to cut tax for high earners, pressure is growing on the Labor government in Australia to do the same.
Police in Queensland and New South Wales failed to investigate a series of alleged sexual assaults against a 14-year-old girl, lost key documents related to the case, and later told the alleged victim that her formal statement had been “destroyed”, a Guardian Australia investigation has found. Karen Iles’s case was assigned to Queensland detectives, but there is no evidence that a substantive investigation ever took place, or that named suspects and witnesses were ever interviewed or contacted.
UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has performed a sharp U-turn on a controversial plan for a tax cut for high earners, telling the Conservative party conference it had been a “tough day”. Kwarteng abandoned his plan to abolish the 45% top rate of income tax but his mea culpa speech left media commentators underwhelmed. Meanwhile in Australia, “A shift on stage-three tax cuts would move the first Albanese budget from B for boring to B for big,” writes Katharine Murphy. “Labor understands any broken promise will be weaponised by its political foes. But an economic storm is brewing, and it’s time to change tack.”
Optus isn’t the only company with a swag of your sensitive personal documents, warns a digital rights activist. These days renting a home requires you to hand over immense amounts of information such as ID, bank statements and employment history. Australians are very concerned about the risks of scammers gaining access to their personal information, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The latest survey was taken after Optus confirmed a massive data breach.
Australia
Citizen scientists have reportedly found about 60 endangered greater gliders in a dozen Victorian areas that have been targeted for logging, which should now trigger the terms of a temporary court injunction to prevent logging.
The RBA is expected to raise the cash rate for a record sixth consecutive month. Today’s rate rise is tipped to be 50 basis points, taking the rate to 2.85%, but lower rises are expected for the rest of the year, economists say, with the possibility of a pause in the longer term.
Qantas’s ageing fleet is flying under the radar. The airline’s planes are relatively old, making them less efficient. Aviation experts say there will be greater pressure to retire older aircraft as regulators increasingly focus on fuel efficiency standards.
Confidence in the federal government across measures of leadership and integrity has rebounded since the election. Public confidence in the new Albanese government has jumped to 61 points in the September quarter, after hitting a a low of 52 points in the March quarter.
The world
Iranian students have stepped up their protests in defiance of a crackdown by security forces, who allegedly cornered and shot a number of students at a prestigious university in Tehran on Sunday night.
An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers have been sacked and 18 others are being investigated for their responsibility in the firing of teargas inside a soccer stadium that led to a crush, killing at least 125 people, officials said.
The Kremlin is unclear on which areas of occupied Ukraine it has “annexed”, Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has said. The surprising admission came in a phone call with journalists, during which Dmitry Peskov was peppered with requests to clarify which Ukrainian territory Putin had laid claim at a pomp-filled Kremlin ceremony last week.
Brazillians are in shock at Jair Bolsonaro’s startlingly strong performance in Sunday’s Brazilian election.
Recommended reads
Time for a trip to the bookstore. Guardian Australia editors and critics have picked out the upcoming titles they’ve already devoured, or can’t wait to get their hands on to share. This month’s titles include Reasons Not to Worry by Brigid Delaney, Seeing Other People by Diana Reid and Tripping Over Myself by Shaun Micallef.
One of the most pressing issues at the heart of fashion and sustainability is the underutilisation and overproduction of clothing. Here are some tips on how to resell clothes successfully and responsibly.
Listen
It’s been five years since former tax officer Richard Boyle blew the whistle on aggressive debt collection tactics used by the Australian Tax Office which he claims ruined people’s lives. Now he could face jail time for going public, but this week he will argue that he’s entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution under Australia’s whistleblowing laws. In today’s Full Story, reporter Christopher Knaus explains to Laura Murphy-Oates how this case is a major test of Australia’s whistleblower laws.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The golden west is now in a golden age, writes Nick Tedeschi. Penrith, just the third NRL team to win back-to-back unified competitions in three decades, were as close to perfect as they come.
Media roundup
The Age reveals the results of a new study showing how boarding schools fail Indigenous students – and telling the stories of the students affected. And the Australian says Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott is calling on governments to give better support to the four million Australians with disabilities not eligible for the NDIS and says the $32.9bn scheme should continue to grow if “demand says so”.
Coming up
The RBA will make a rates announcement.
The Australian Medical Association will address critical problems facing general practice.
Tanya Plibersek will launch a threatened species action plan.
And if you’ve read this far …
An “ordinary” Chinese vase put up for auction in France and valued at €2,000 (£1,745) has sold for almost €8m after a ferocious bidding war among buyers convinced it was a rare 18th-century artefact.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.
Discover Australia Weekend
Every Saturday at 6am, enjoy early access to the best journalism planned for the weekend in one elegant app, plus a curated selection of the week’s news and analysis from Australia and the world.
