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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: ‘super El Niño’ threat, tax crackdown on landlords, artist John Olsen dies

The return of El Niño spells a greater risk of drought and bushfires in Australia.
The return of El Niño spells a greater risk of drought and bushfires in Australia. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

Morning everyone. Memories are still fresh of the floods brought by La Niña, but Australians may soon be bracing for a “super El Niño” later this year and the prospect of renewed drought and bushfires, according to climate models. We’ve got a full report, plus an exclusive on how the ATO is cracking down on investment properties, and there are tributes to one of our country’s greatest artists, John Olsen, who died yesterday evening.

Australia

John Olsen
Australian artist John Olsen at the opening of his 70-year retrospective in 2016. Photograph: Calla Wahlquist/The Guardian
  • ‘Quintessential Australianness’ | Olsen, one of Australia’s most celebrated artists and who was best known for his landscapes, has died aged 95. The director of the National Gallery of Australia, Nick Mitzevich, said Olsen’s work was “quintessential Australianness”.

  • Exclusive | Banks will be compelled to hand over the data of 1.7 million landlords, including transaction details, as part of a tax office crackdown in search of $1.3bn in revenue lost from residential investment properties.

  • Voice to parliament | Julian Leeser’s decision to quit the shadow frontbench to campaign for the Indigenous voice could clear the way for the referendum’s success, some Liberals believe. But although Labor and Aboriginal leaders have praised Leeser, his calls to alter the wording of the referendum question may still be ignored by the government.

  • ‘Super El Niño’ risk | Some climate modelling is warning of a potential “super El Niño” later this year, bringing the risk of droughts, heatwaves and bushfires in south-east Australia and more coral bleaching for the Great Barrier Reef.

  • Budget saver | The government could almost halve the $50bn budget deficit by redesigning stage-three tax cuts, introducing further changes to tax breaks on superannuation and charging a 10% royalty on offshore gas, according to the Grattan Institute.

World

Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak greets US president Joe Biden on his arrival in Ireland. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
  • Fáilte, Joe | Joe Biden has arrived in Belfast today where he was met by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, at the start of a four-day visit to the island of Ireland to underpin his support for peace in Northern Ireland and to celebrate his Irish roots.

  • War game | A leak of Pentagon of documents appears to have been initially shared on the video game chat platform Discord in an effort to win an argument about the war in Ukraine, according to open-source intelligence analysts.

  • Myanmar attack | Myanmar’s military has killed dozens of people in airstrikes on an event organised by its domestic opponents, in what is feared to be one of the deadliest attacks since the junta seized power more than two years ago.

  • Gun violence ‘epidemic’ | One in five Americans has lost a family member to gun violence, according to a survey coming the day after five people were killed by a gunman at a bank in Louisville, in the 146th mass shooting this year.

  • Party’s over | Tupperware, the 77-year-old company famed for its food containers, has warned it could go bust if it cannot raise emergency funds to stay afloat as it loses market share to more innovative competitors.

Full Story

Graphic showing the TikTok logo on a mobile phone
What’s behind the TikTok bans? Photograph: Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Why are western countries banning TikTok?

Australia is following a number of western countries in banning popular Chinese social media app TikTok on government devices. Technology reporter Josh Taylor explains why the bans mark the start of a new era of online safety on social media.

In-depth

Wojciech
Prof Wojciech Chrzanowski and his colleagues have grown replica human organs in the lab. Photograph: Stefanie Zingsheim/University of Sydney

“Everyone told me it would never work,” says Prof Wojciech Chrzanowski, deputy director of the University of Sydney’s Nano Institute, as he recalls a seminar he gave 13 years ago on bio-printing. This concept is similar to 3D-printing where cells are taken from a patient and then cultivated to produce enough “ink” to print models of tissues for medical research – rather than using animals. But his team have defied sceptics and successfully grown replica human lungs in their laboratory. Melissa Davey caught up with him to find out more.

Not the news

Zach from Aunty Donna
Zach in Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe which premieres on the ABC this month. Photograph: ABC

The new show by comedy trio Aunty Donna starting on ABC tonight has their usual madcap mix of shifting realities, writes Luke Buckmaster, but Coffee Cafe is not their best work. The show feels like the zany threesome are scrambling for laughs in a format that doesn’t work as well as their Netflix outing, Big Ol’ House of Fun.

The world of sport

Matildas players celebrate with Sam Kerr after she scored
Sam Kerr opened the scoring for Australia in their friendly against England. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Media roundup

The AFR looks at the funding gap that spelled disaster for the home grocery delivery service Milk Run. New South Wales Liberal MP Anthony Roberts has advised fellow members “take a cup of concrete and harden up” while confirming he will run for the leadership, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Palaszczuk government has backed away from introducing a test when motorists renew their driver’s licence – but is still planning a “refresher”, the Courier Mail says. The South Australia premier, Peter Malinauskas, has revealed his definition of a woman amid controversy around a decision to remove gendered pronouns from state parliament, the Advertiser says.

What’s happening today

  • Hobart | Judgment in a court challenge by the Bob Brown Foundation over a lease granted by the Tasmanian government to Chinese miner MMG.

  • Canberra | The ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gotlieb, addresses the press club.

  • Economy | ABS releases the latest data on building activity and household spending.

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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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