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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: two police among six dead in Queensland ambush and siege, poll reveals hopes for 2023

At least two gunmen are still at large after they opened fire on police at Wieambilla, killing two officers.
A major investigation is under way after an ambush and a siege that killed six people in Wieambilla, Queensland. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Morning, everyone. Queensland’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, fought back tears as she paid tribute to the two police officers shot dead in an ambush at a remote property west of Brisbane yesterday afternoon. Police later shot and killed two men and a woman after a siege at the property. A member of the public also died in the standoff which Anthony Albanese described as “heartbreaking”. A major investigation is under way, police said in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

In other news, two out of five Australians think their standard of living will be better next year than it has been this, our latest polling suggests, and One Nation is on track to get its first Victorian MP as the state’s complex upper house votes are finally calculated.

Australia

Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne
Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP
  • Poll optimism | Australians are bracing for more higher prices in the shops, more expensive power bills and increased interest rates in the year ahead, but 40% of Guardian Essential poll respondents think 2023 will be better than 2022.

  • Wieambilla shooting | Police in Queensland are mourning the death of two colleagues shot dead in an ambush at a property at Wieambilla about 270km west of Brisbane. Two other officers were injured. Police later shot and killed three people at the site.

  • Passport problem | Government figures show almost 20% of priority passport applications are not being finalised on time despite people paying an extra $225 to jump the queue.

  • Gas ‘bullies’ | Energy users and the former boss of the competition watchdog have applauded the Albanese government for staring down the “bullies of the gas industry” with its plan to cap energy bills.

  • Victorian election | One Nation’s Rikkie-Lee Tyrell is on track to win a seat in Victoria’s upper house to become the party’s first MP south of the Murray.

World

A London ambulance
A London ambulance. Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock

Full Story

Itamar Ben-Gvir
Itamar Ben-Gvir. Photograph: Corinna Kern/Reuters

The far-right radical in Israel’s new government

Bethan McKernan explains how Itamar Ben-Gvir, a man once considered too extreme to serve in the Israeli army, has ended up as minister for national security, after his party, Jewish Power, made considerable gains in last month’s election.

In-depth

Sandy Flat farmer and coalmine worker Simon Hicks recharges his EV at home using surplus rooftop solar.
Sandy Flat farmer and coalmine worker Simon Hicks recharges his EV at home using surplus rooftop solar Photograph: Michael Burge/The Guardian

The network of EV charging stations across rural NSW is expanding thanks to a $39m government scheme to encourage uptake but it hasn’t gone down well with everyone. We went to check out a new multibay site about to open in the New England town immortalised in the Peter Allen song, Tenterfield Saddler.

Not the news

Tasters of craft and natural hot sauces at Mat’s Hot Shop
Tasters of craft and natural hot sauces at Mat’s Hot Shop Photograph: Mat’s Hot Shop

Once something of a fringe condiment, hot sauce is finding the wider popularity and craft status to make it a suitably hot commercial proposition. Australian producers are finding their place in the growing market, with one likening the contours of the market to “profiling wine”.

The world of sport

Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Media roundup

The Sydney Morning Herald says Shell has suspended its role in a “landmark gas supply deal” in response to the Albanese government’s plan to cap fossil fuel prices. The Australian reports that Christian Dior has been ordered to release funds it holds in the name of the con artist Melissa Caddick and details about her spending habits at the fashion house. The Courier-Mail warns that a large storm is “barrelling towards the south-east” of the state, bringing heavy rain and high winds. The NT News says that after months of talks, “burnt-out” territory teachers are about to get a pay rise.

What’s happening today

  • Search questioned | A class action has been launched in NSW by people who were invasively and unlawfully strip-searched by police at music festivals.

  • Cavoodle case | The Sydney barrister Gina Edwards is suing Nine Network for defamation over an A Current Affair story about the alleged theft of an Insta-famous cavoodle.

  • Bomb sentence | Two brothers who went on a bombing spree targeting portaloos, cars and a washing machine will be sentenced in Melbourne.

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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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