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| | | | 07/04/2025 Australia’s wildlife on the brink; climate protester settles with Victoria police; more tariff turmoil looms |
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| | | Good morning. Some of Australia’s most loved native species, including the koala and the hairy-nosed wombat, are on the brink; our new Last chance series is charting the extinction crisis that the federal election is ignoring. The first species we’re highlighting is the Carnaby’s cockatoo, great flocks of which used to blacken the skies over Perth but now cast barely a shadow. We also report that Victoria police will pay $90,000 to a climate protester who claimed their head was slammed into a wall, door and the ground in 2019. Plus: global markets are set to nosedive further this week as Donald Trump’s tariffs kick in and world leaders weigh up retaliatory action. |
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Australia | |
| Exclusive | A climate protester who alleged their head was repeatedly slammed by members of Victoria police’s riot squad in Melbourne in 2019 has reached a $90,000 settlement with the state. | Election 2025 | Ben Britton has been dumped as a Liberal candidate for the NSW seat of Whitlam after it was revealed he had expressed controversial views on fringe podcasts before his preselection. | Fact check | Peter Dutton claims cutting at least 80,000 new international students across Australia will make it easier for you to find a rental property. Is there any evidence to back up his claim? | Flight drama | A Jordanian national has been charged after he allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit door on an aircraft travelling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Sydney on Saturday. | Health in a tub | When the world’s oldest person, Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, died last year at 117, it was speculated that her daily diet of yoghurt had kept her going. But what does the science say? |
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World | |
| US tariffs | Markets are bracing for a volatile week and analysts are warning of recession in the US, UK and EU as world leaders weigh up retaliation to Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs. Trump officials are giving conflicting lines on tariffs amid markets turmoil. | Exclusive | Trump’s national security adviser accidentally included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic in a Signal group chat about plans for US strikes in Yemen after he mistakenly saved his number months before under the contact information of someone else. | Marine Le Pen | The French far-right leader has told supporters in Paris she will fight the “political ruling” that could bar her from the next presidential election after her conviction for embezzling funds. | Gaza crisis | Israel has changed its account of the killing of 15 Palestinian medics after phone video contradicted its claims that their vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire. | Russia-Ukraine war | It would be unsafe for Russia to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in occupied Ukraine due to “major problems”, claims the company that runs the vast six-reactor site. |
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Full Story | |
| Gina episode 2: Like father, like daughter Gina Rinehart’s father helped change the course of Australian history when he lobbied to overturn the ban on iron ore exports in the 1950s. In her own life, Rinehart has made several attempts to gain influence and campaigned successfully against Kevin Rudd’s mining tax. In episode 2 of Gina, Sarah Martin explores the extent to which both father and daughter have influenced governments of the day. | | |
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Not the news | |
| In the latest of our Internet wormhole series, Elias Visontay dives into a website where myriad users debate the stature of the rich and famous. Celebheights.com’s database is derived from quotations, resumes, picture comparisons and in-person encounters. The debates can be fiery and – from the trigonometry of high heels to adjustments for bad posture – the methods are (sometimes) scientific. |
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What’s happening today | Nationwide | Federal election campaigning continues across the country. | NSW | The energy and water ombudsman is expected to release a report into the rollout of smart meters. | ACT | The Parkinson’s Australia national conference is being held in Canberra. | Environment | The Aussie Bird Count results are set to be released. |
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Brain teaser | And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. | |
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Contact us | If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email customer.help@guardian.co.uk |
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A message from Lenore Taylor editor of Guardian AustraliaI hope you appreciated this newsletter. Before you move on, I wonder if you would consider supporting our work as we prepare for a pivotal, uncertain year ahead.
The course of world history has taken a sharp and disturbing turn in 2024. Liberalism is under threat from populist authoritarianism. Americans have voted to install a president with no respect for democratic norms, nor the facts that once formed the guardrails of public debate.
That decision means an alliance critical to Australia’s national and economic security is now a series of unpredictable transactions, with a partner no longer committed to multilateralism, nor efforts to curb global heating, the greatest threat we face. We just don’t know where this will lead.
In this uncertain time, fair, fact-based journalism is more important than ever – to record and understand events, to scrutinise the powerful, to give context, and to counter rampant misinformation and falsehoods.
As we enter an Australian election year, we are deeply conscious of the responsibility to accurately and impartially report on what is really at stake.
The Guardian is in a unique position to do this. We are not subject to the influence of a billionaire owner, nor do we exist to enrich shareholders. We are here to serve and listen to you, our readers, and we rely on your support to power our work.
Your support keeps us independent, beholden to no outside influence and accessible to everyone – whether they can afford to pay for news, or not.
If you can, please consider supporting us with just $1, or better yet, support us every month with a little more. Thank you. | | |
| Lenore Taylor
Editor, Guardian Australia |
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