Good morning. The fallout from the federal election continues, as the Liberal party mulls what went wrong and who’s to blame, and the environment takes a final hit from the former environment minister.
“On what sort of planet does the commonwealth think they don’t need a recovery plan for a Tasmanian devil?” That’s the question being asked by the Wilderness Society after the Coalition’s Sussan Ley scrapped recovery plans designed to prevent the extinction of almost 180 threatened species and habitats as one of her final acts as environment minister. Last year, the Morrison government proposed removing the requirement for a legislated plan for 185 plants, animals and habitats, including several plans that were years overdue. In March, Ley signed off on decisions to remove that requirement for 176 of the species and habitats. Ley made the decisions despite a government call for feedback receiving 6,701 responses, all disagreeing with the proposal.
After preselection chaos, the NSW Liberal party is looking to lay blame for the federal election loss. Party members are pointing fingers at the unwieldy, faction-riven state executive, at the former prime minister Scott Morrison and his “captain’s picks”, and at his delegate on the state executive, Alex Hawke, who had been widely blamed for holding up preselections by failing to make himself available for months to vet candidates. Some are also blaming Covid lockdowns, which interfered with the party’s ability to hold branch plebiscites. Meanwhile, the new Labor government continues the changes, creating a climate super-department in a bureaucratic shake-up. The Australian federal police will also be removed from the home affairs department.
The jury in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial has ruled in favor of Johnny Depp, finding that a Washington Post editorial which she wrote defamed her former husband. Heard won on one count of her countersuit, in which she demanded $100m and argued she was defamed by a Depp press agent who called her allegations “an abuse hoax”. Heard was awarded $2m, while Depp was awarded $15m. The verdict follows a six-week trial that heard from dozens of witnesses and attracted enormous attention. Now, attention will turn to the aftermath, including the possible repercussions for their careers.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Ukraine had given “assurances” that it wuld not use long-range weapons systems provided by Washington against targets on Russian territory. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the supply of the rocket systems to Ukraine increased the risk of a “third country” being dragged into the conflict. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces are suffering up to 100 fatalities and 500 wounded every day.
Australia
Australia’s energy market operator warned of potential gas supply shortages in southeastern states on Thursday due to a burst of cold weather. Australia’s energy woes are mounting, as one of the largest generators issues a profit warning and more retailers turn away customers as wholesale power prices soar.
The former prime minister Julia Gillard says a Covid-led shift to remote working could render some female employees “invisible behind the screen” and has urged bosses to ensure female employees working from home aren’t overlooked for promotion.
Australia’s new minister for republic, Matt Thistlethwaite, says the “twilight” of the Queen’s reign is a chance “to discuss what comes next for Australia”. He said the work done over the next three years would ensure the country was “ready to go in a second term of an Albanese government”.
A queer woman who allegedly experienced a “coordinated” sexual assault by two men claims police told her she “wasn’t the kind of woman who gets assaulted” when she reported the incident. The woman’s story is one of more than 300 submissions to Queensland’s women’s safety and justice taskforce.
The world
Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook and its parent company Meta, has announced she will step down from her role. In her 14 years in the job she became one of the most powerful figures in tech and oversaw a company weathering a meteoric rise and multiple controversies.
A door used by the gunman to access the Robb elementary school in Texas, did not automatically lock after being closed by a teacher, Texas state investigators say, contradicting investigators’ earlier account in which they said the teacher had propped open door.
Scientists have discovered a “catastrophic” change in blood cell composition, which may reveal why people can suddenly become frail after reaching their 70s, raising the prospect of new therapies to slow the ageing process.
A white man who shot and killed two Indigenous hunters on a country road in Canada has been found guilty of murder and manslaughter in a case that laid bare racial tensions in the region.
Recommended reads
Australia’s freshly minted prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has made a habit of casually dropping song lyrics into his public appearances. On Tuesday he quoted a line from songwriter – and committed socialist – Billy Bragg when announcing his first ministry. “Just because you’re going forwards doesn’t mean I’m going backwards,” Albanese said. While not as image-obsessed as his predecessor Scott Morrison, there’s no denying that “DJ Albo” is part of the Albanese brand. So, what does DJ Albo’s music taste tell us about him?
“The internet is basically the sun to me. I need it to live, but I know that spending all day in its glow will eventually kill me,” says comedian and Triple J host Lewis Hobba. “I get nervous when showing people things on the internet – there’s a real shame in showing people something they’ve already seen. People roll their eyes at you like you’re the second guy to invent the wheel.” Despite the nerves, Hobba has shared online bits and pieces that make him laugh, including very specific impressions, chaotic nightclub photos and a quiz about a dragon.
Ahead of a career-spanning exhibition, Indigenous Australian artist Daniel Boyd tells us about his family story, Black Lives Matter and why he is inspired by an Aboriginal warrior who took on the invading Britons. Boyd’s work has a satirical streak that dates back to his university days, when he first saw a portrait of Captain James Cook, by the British artist John Webber, in the National Portrait Gallery. Boyd wanted to “make sense of the power this painting has on the Australian public” and, through his art, began to undermine the hero myth of British explorers.
Listen
In their first few days of leadership, opposition leader Peter Dutton and deputy David Littleproud have begun to lay out a roadmap for the future of their parties, and what they will stand for as leaders. In today’s Full Story, rural and regional editor Gabrielle Chan and political editor Katharine Murphy discuss the careers of the new leaders, and how their decisions will shape the next parliament.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Ukraine’s men’s football team have just played, and won, their first game since the invasion of their country by Vladimir Putin. This World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final against Scotland was due to be played in March, but the conflict led to its postponement.
Eddie Jones has been handed a major triple injury boost before England’s rugby union summer tour of Australia with the Exeter trio of Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jonny Hill all expected to be available for selection.
Media roundup
The SMH talks to 12 Sri Lankan men who were on a boat intercepted by border force, revealed on election day. They say they are not people smugglers and had no idea there was an Australian election. The Herald Sun reports offices in Melbourne’s CBD remain less than half full, despite Covid restrictions lifting months ago. And the Origin Energy CEO has called for action to get troubled coal-powered generators working agin, according to the AFR.
And if you’ve read this far …
Have you been following #Swedengate? A Reddit post said Swedes don’t feed their children’s playmates when they visit. But why – and why has it caused an uproar?
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