Good afternoon, readers. Welcome to Afternoon Update.
The fallout continues after Friday’s arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, which is now being treated as an act of terrorism by Victoria police.
The Victoria police chief commissioner, Shane Patton, declared the fire a suspected terrorist attack at a press conference on Monday, following advice from the Australian federal police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, this afternoon announced that the AFP has established special operation Avalite to combat antisemitism.
Earlier, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, launched an extraordinary attack on the Labor MP Josh Burns claiming the Jewish politician has failed to speak up about antisemitism in the community. The opposition leader’s comments came just hours after Chris Bowen accused the Coalition of “disgusting” attempts to politicise the attack on the Ripponlea synagogue, saying it should be a moment for national unity rather than political point-scoring.
Burns was quick to dismiss Dutton’s comments, saying his electorate office had been targeted and he has been standing up for his community “every day”.
Top news
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Barry Keoghan hits back at ‘inhumane’ abuse and harassment of his family: ‘I can only take so much’
In pictures
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has fled to Moscow. Islamist-led rebels declared they had taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. The presidential palace in Damascus has been overrun by rebel forces and now people are taking selfies in the grand reception rooms.
What they said …
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“They haven’t even seen our plan yet.”
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, criticises a CSIRO report at a press conference today after the report again found that “firmed” solar and wind are the cheapest new electricity options.
In numbers
More than 160 Guardian Australia readers told us about their experiences of living amid a housing crisis wrought by low housing supply, high interest rates and the Covid-19 pandemic – not to mention tax settings that favour investors.
Today, a median-income household would hypothetically need 50.6% of its income to service a new mortgage on a median-value dwelling, according to Corelogic data.
Before bed read
Instead of a before bed read this evening, why not have a before bed browse?
Guardian Australia’s discerning writers and editors have searched high and low for the best (and budget-conscious) Christmas presents for babies, toddlers, kids and tweens this holiday season, and there’s something for everyone.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: ANDS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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