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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: Sydney-Melbourne rail in ‘six hours’, Violet Coco’s epiphany, Trump ‘in trouble’

An academic believes that straightening 200km of track between Sydney and Melbourne could reduce the journey time from 11 hours to six.
An academic believes that straightening 200km of track between Sydney and Melbourne could reduce the journey time from 11 hours to six. Photograph: mikulas1/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Morning everyone. The lack of a decent rail service between Sydney and Melbourne is one of the great Australian mysteries, with seemingly enough feasibility studies into high-speed links to fill the MCG. But a rail expert has told us that one answer lies in upgrading the existing steam-age line so it can take faster, tilting trains, which would reduce the journey from a daunting 11 hours to just six. That’s much faster than by car – and much greener too.

We also have more about the background of the Train brothers and the Wieambilla shootings, and the first interview with climate activist Violet Coco since her release from prison.

Australia

Ronald Train, father of Nathanial and Gareth Train who together with Gareth’s wife Stacey ambushed and killed two police officers in Queensland on Monday, 12 December before being killed in a shootout with police, in an interview with A Current Affair on Wed 14 December
  • Wieambilla shootings | Details about the strict religious upbringing of Gareth and Nathaniel Train, their tangled personal lives and their father Ronald’s evangelical church are continuing to emerge. The latter, pictured, told A Current Affair last night: “I’ll stand before God for what they’ve done” but said he did not bear responsibility for their acts as adults.

  • Exclusive | The Sydney to Melbourne train journey could be transformed into a viable passenger and freight alternative to road and air – at a fraction of the cost of high-speed rail plans – if 200km of the track were straightened and made usable for medium-speed rail, according to University of Wollongong expert Philip Laird.

  • ‘It really scared me’ | Violet Coco has spoken about how bushfires three years ago sparked her epiphany in the fight against climate change. “It really scared me … Before that I had never considered doing anything like this.”

  • Animal rights | Australia’s independent live export monitoring program has weakened significantly since resuming from a Covid-related pause, with animal rights observers sent on just five ships.

  • Cyber counterattack | The government is considering using new sanctions powers against cyber-attackers for the first time, sparking calls for the Russian criminals suspected of being behind the Medibank hack to be the initial targets.

World

trump desantis
  • Trump ‘in trouble’ | Donald Trump’s hopes of regaining the White House are “in trouble”, according to a campaign insider, after Florida governor Ron DeSantis took a huge 23-point lead in polls for the Republican nomination.

  • ‘Runaway train’ | The spread of Covid-19 in China is now “impossible” to track and the authorities have stopped recording asymptomatic cases in their daily tallies. One resident said: “This thing came on like a runaway freight train.”

  • Bali death | An Australian university student, Niamh Finneran Loader, has died suddenly in Bali, where she had travelled to receive dental treatment.

  • Channel tragedy | Four people have died after a migrant small boat got into difficulties in the English Channel, prompting UK home secretary Suella Braverman to vow to end the crossings.

Full Story

Nuclear Command Bunker Space for Sale395269 09: A man wearing a nuclear biological protection suit stands at the entrance to a decommissioned U.K. Nuclear Command Bunker October 3, 2001 in Kelvedon Hatch, England. Interest in the bunker has increased due to fears of a terrorist attack. Individual bunker quarters sell for $50,000. (Photo by Sion Touhig/Getty Images)

Building for end times: the boom in bunkers

Tom Cruise has one. So does Donald Trump. But the threat of nuclear war and a global pandemic have spurred a boom in survival bunkers that is not limited to the super-rich. Bradley Garrett explains.

In-depth

An aid shipment bound for Ukraine including generators and heaters on a train, as a part of humanitarian aid for Ukraine, at Liben railway station in Prague, Czech Republic, December 14, 2022. REUTERS/David W Cerny

Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, millions of dollars worth of equipment – from medical-grade thermals to X-ray machines – has been packed on to Qantas flights and taken to Ukraine (pictured). Volunteers risk their lives to get it to the frontlines. Liz Paslawsky, the Australian daughter of Ukrainian migrants, and an organiser for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, says what is now needed is cash so that Ukraine can buy generators to survive the harsh winter. “How can Australians help?” she asks rhetorically. “By giving whatever they can.”

Not the news

Racegoers Attend The Championships Day

What better way to celebrate Christmas than with some delicious Australian sparkling wine? Thomas Carr has taken one for the team by tasting some bubbles and recommending a range of bottles from some budget buys for under $20, mid-price sparklings of the red and pink kind, plus one bougie brut.

The world of sport

FINA World Swimming Championshipsepa10364969 Lani Pallister of Australia smiles after winning the Women’s 800m Freestyle fastest heat during the FINA World Swimming Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, 14 December 2022. EPA/JOEL CARRETT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Media roundup

The Age says the Queensland shootings have sparked calls for a renewed police focus on the threat from the conspiracy theorist fringe, while the Courier Mail reports on the killers’ “elaborate plan” to ambush the police officers. The NT News says tourism has recovered more quickly from the pandemic than in any other jurisdiction and that visitors are spending 30% more than they did pre-Covid.

What’s happening today

  • Parliament returns | The federal parliament returns to consider the government’s energy cap legislation.

  • Labour stats | Australian Bureau of Statistics to release the latest unemployment numbers, along with population figures.

  • Education | Thousands of year 12 students in NSW will end a tense wait when Atar exams scores are released this morning.

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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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