Good morning. Major flooding continues across Victoria, with large towns at risk of inundation as river levels continue to rise. Thousands are without power and more than 100 schools will be closed today. And today Guardian Australia launches a new podcast series Ben Roberts-Smith v the media, looking at the so-called defamation trial of the century.
Thousands of homes in Shepparton and other regional Victorian communities are expected to be inundated or cut off in the coming days amid the state’s worsening flood crisis. About 6,000 properties were without power yesterday and more than 9,000 people had applied for emergency support payments.
The federal government is setting an ambitious goal to end violence against women and children within one generation, with the release of a new national plan on family violence calling for better crisis housing and assisting men to develop “healthy masculinities”. The national plan sets out dozens of areas for improvement across state and federal jurisdictions, with major focuses on boosting housing, and engaging men and boys in prevention processes.
Xi Jinping celebrated China’s crushing of Hong Kong’s autonomy and warned Taiwan that the “wheels of history” are turning towards Beijing taking control of the island democracy as he opened a key Communist party summit. Xi also made a veiled attack on the US’s increasingly explicit support for Taipei, denouncing “foreign interference” for exacerbating tensions.
Australia
Increasingly dire forecasts for the global economy will see last-minute downgrades to Australia’s economic figures in next week’s federal budget, with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, warning of “an increasingly perilous path” for world markets and key trading partners.
The principal of a Queensland religious school interrogated students about whether they knew a teacher was living with her boyfriend, amid concerns the teacher’s “lifestyle” went against its “biblical moral standards”.
A Brisbane real estate agency urged landlords to consider raising rents by more than 20% – more than double the rate of inflation – as Australia grapples with a worsening rental crisis. The agency claims most tenants “are agreeable” to the rent increases, which Tenants Queensland calls “opportunistic price-gouging”.
The cost-of-living crisis and inadequate welfare payments are fuelling a rise in food insecurity, according to a new report. The report estimates about 500,000 households on any given day experience food insecurity.
The world
The new UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has insisted that Liz Truss is in charge despite her premiership looking increasingly in peril as he warned of further public spending cuts and failed to rule out more U-turns after her disastrous mini-budget.
Russia continues to conduct “massive, forced deportations” of Ukrainians that “likely amount to a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign”, according to a US-based thinktank. In its latest assessment of the conflict, the Institute for the Study of War notes that Russian officials have “openly admitted to placing children from occupied areas of Ukraine up for adoption with Russian families”.
Ghislaine Maxwell has spoken from a US prison cell about how she feels “so bad” for her “dear friend” Prince Andrew. The remarks will cause fresh embarrassment for the Duke of York as he has repeatedly tried to distance himself from the disgraced socialite.
The co-founder of Donald Trump’s beleaguered social media company has turned whistleblower, alleging the firm violated federal securities laws and that the former president pressured executives to hand over lucrative shares to his wife.
Ireland’s gangland trial of the century will begin in Dublin today. The crime boss Gerry “the Monk” Hutch is to be tried for a 2016 murder that stoked a tit-for-tat feud that claimed 18 lives between 2015 and 2018.
Recommended reads
More and more people are diversifying their roles for a living. That might be either out of necessity, since the pandemic messed with regular incomes, or out of choice. This week the branding expert Lindsay Rogers helps Alex Kelly, a documentarian, campaigner, and impact producer – among other things – find a coherent way to sell herself.
In a few months thousands of young people will receive an Atar – the culmination of 13 years of schooling. But is the system fit for purpose? We ask seven education experts and one student: if the role of Atar is to match students with the most suitable post-school pathway, is it working? Here’s what they say.
Listen
Australia’s most-decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, is seeking to defend his reputation against reports in three newspapers that he says falsely accuse him of being a war criminal. His lawyers argue Roberts-Smith has been unfairly targeted by envious comrades and assisted by credulous journalists. The newspapers’ lawyers say their reporting is true, and that Roberts-Smith broke the “moral and legal rules of military engagement”, something he denies outright. But who is Roberts-Smith, and how did he earn the military’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross? Ben Roberts-Smith v the media is a five-part series that will be released daily via Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast this week.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup campaign got off to a disastrous start yesterday as the former champions crashed to a 55-run defeat by Namibia in Geelong. Bowled out for 108 after chasing 164 for victory, the 2014 champions can afford no slip-ups in their qualifying matches against United Arab Emirates tomorrow and the Netherlands on Thursday.
Media roundup
The NSW casino regulator will fine Sydney’s Star casino a record $100m for its failure to stem criminal activity and money laundering, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. And the Australian looks at a new report from the Grattan institute that reveals under-resourced teachers are turning to YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest to source classroom materials.
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