Hi there. It's Thursday, September 22 — Australia's National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II — and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
National Day of Mourning: What you need to know
- Today is Australia's one-off public holiday to coincide with a national memorial service for the Queen
- Organisers of "Abolish the Monarchy" demonstrations which are happening in several capital cities today are hoping to draw attention to injustices inflicted upon Indigenous Australians
- Leaders from across the country will travel to Parliament House in Canberra to join Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley for the service
- The service will be broadcast across the country on ABC TV, ABC News, ABC Local Radio and ABC iview
- One economist estimates today's one-off public holiday will cost Australia's economy close to $2 billion in lost productivity, but he says the tourism opportunities are positive
- Much of Australia's east is expected to be pretty dark and dreary today, with rain forecast from south-east Queensland all the way down to Gippsland, including inland NSW
