Morning everyone. The culture within the army’s special forces will be reviewed regularly as a result of the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes, Guardian Australia has learned from a freedom of information request. We’ve got the full story, plus an exclusive analysis showing where house prices are falling fastest, and an investigation into Australia’s troubled university sector. In the US, at least five people are dead in a shooting in Kentucky.
Australia
Housing slump | House prices in affluent suburbs have suffered falls of up to 25% from their pandemic peaks led by Mona Vale in Sydney and Kew East in Melbourne, according to analysis by Guardian Australia.
Defence rethink | More regular reviews of special forces troops will be carried out after an oversight panel led by the former intelligence inspector general Vivienne Thom carried out confidential interviews last year with 17 people who have regular working relationships with Special Operations Command.
Teacher turnover | Poor discipline in schools is contributing to a “high level of teacher attrition” while student engagement is falling, the OECD claims, as it lists teacher turnover and “supply challenges” as key difficulties.
Covid warning | Covid-19 cases are expected to rise across Australia, doctors have warned, after family gatherings over the Easter long weekend and amid concern about increasing pressure on hospital staff.
Word play | Australia’s best Scrabble players have battled it out for the right to play in the world cup. Melbourne accountant Naween Fernando came out on top with a dominant display.
World
Louisville shootings | At least five people have been killed and six injured after a gunman opened fire at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky overnight. The attacker was among those shot dead.
Biden call | Joe Biden has all but confirmed that he intends to run for the Oval Office again in 2024, but is not prepared for a formal announcement yet.
Lama apology | The Dalai Lama has apologised after he faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour after kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to “suck his tongue” at a public event in India.
Classified leak | The recent leak of more than a hundred secret US defence documents, already the worst in years, might be the “tip of the iceberg” of a huge trove of material.
Trigger point | A punk band from Germany say they were “humiliated” and “degraded” and after being refused entry to the UK for their British tour due to “opaque and confusing” post-Brexit rule changes.
Full Story
Why Dutton is wrong about the voice
Thomas Mayo, a Kaurareg and Kalkalgal Erubamle author and director of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, talks about why he thinks Peter Dutton is wrong about the voice.
In-depth
Australian universities are in crisis and have “completely lost their sense of direction”, a senior academic from a leading university has told Guardian Australia, blaming cost-cutting, casualisation and “ridiculous” teaching loads. The academic, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job, said universities had become like supermarkets, and had fired so many staff that students were now like customers “checking their own goods out”, responsible for their own education.
Not the news
More and more twenty- and thirty-something-year-olds are going on holiday with their parents, according to travel trade publications who are calling multigenerational holidays one of the industry’s biggest post-pandemic trends. Emma Ruben talks to three families to find out why.
The world of sport
Tennis | Alex de Minaur has hammered Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.
AFL | Geelong delivered the best 15 minutes of football any team has played so far this year to blow Hawthorn away at the MCG.
Golf | LIV rebel Phil Mickelson rolled back the years with a final-round flourish at the Master but futures of the two biggest names in golf – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – are up in the air after Augusta failures.
Media roundup
Retailers have warned the federal government faces a $5bn hole in its budget because of collapsing tobacco sales, the Australian reports. The Sydney Morning Herald says NSW’s social housing agency has been criticised for attempting to sell publicly owned terraces in inner Sydney as tens of thousands of people face decade-long waiting times for housing assistance. Housing is also on the agenda in Queensland where the Courier Mail finds that in nine Brisbane suburbs there are more properties available on Airbnb than the private rental market. The Cairns Post reports on the hunt for a “monster” 4.5m long crocodile after two attacks in recent weeks.
What’s happening today
Melbourne | A class action against a contraceptive device that allegedly left women in severe pain will begin in Victoria’s supreme court.
Inequality | The Australia Institute releases a report showing more than 90% of economic benefits are going to the top 10% of Australians.
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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.
