| | | 29/11/2023 Vape store surge defies impending ban, how the referendum was lost, Maxwell miracle in India |
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| Martin Farrer |  |
| | | Morning everyone. The battle to stop the spread of vaping is intensifying amid a surge in the number of shops selling the products. Our top story this morning shows that 600 outlets in New South Wales looked to cash in on the highly profitable trade despite tough new federal rules coming in next year. There is alarm about the appearance of lethal fire ants in Australia, and concern about diversity in Queensland police. And India had some cheery news as all 41 workers were rescued 17 days after being trapped underground, but their cricketers have been buried by an incredible Glenn Maxwell century in the latest T20. |
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 | Australia | | Renewables slump | New investments in solar and windfarms and batteries declined further in the September quarter, falling below one-tenth of the pace required for Australia to meet its decarbonisation targets. | Exclusive | Anti-nicotine campaigners are concerned that the surge in the number of shops selling vapes in NSW shows that they believe the industry will succeed in watering down a federal ban on the importation of nicotine and non-nicotine vapes from March next year. | Exclusive | Queensland police say they are recruiting a more inclusive and diverse workforce, but we reveal today that less than a quarter of recent recruits are women, with First Nations people and those from diverse backgrounds also underrepresented. | Ant explainer | Fire ants have been discovered in NSW – what are they, why are they on the march south and what dangers do they pose? | Lehrmann lies | Over the course of giving evidence in his defamation case against Network Ten, Bruce Lehrmann admitted to six lies including to his former boss Linda Reynolds, in a TV interview and to Parliament House security. |
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| World | | Tunnel rescue | All 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas for 17 days have been rescued thanks to “rat miners” who drilled through rocks and debris to free the men. | Israel ‘warned’ | Israeli intelligence was given a highly detailed warning that Hamas was planning a raid to take over kibbutzim on the Gaza border and overrun military posts, according to reports, but a senior official dismissed it as “an imaginary scenario”. Hostage and prisoner swaps are continuing but Hamas has accused the Israelis of breaching the truce. | Marbles row | The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart for going back on assurances that he would not use a visit to Britain as a “public platform” to lobby for the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens, Downing Street has said. It comes amid hopes that the treasures held at the British Museum could be returned to Greece. | Exclusive | Prosecutors in Georgia will not offer plea deals to Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election and will instead to force them to trial. | Turning it up to 11 | Paul McCartney and Elton John will appear in the sequel to cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, with filming due to start early next year. |
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| | | Lenore Taylor | | Editor, Guardian Australia |
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| | Thanks for subscribing to this newsletter. Before you move on, I wonder if you would consider making a contribution to our end-of-year fundraiser. As we look ahead to the challenges of 2024, we’re aiming to raise $300,000 to power more rigorous, independent reporting.
This year, our journalism held the powerful to account and gave a voice to the marginalised. It cut through misinformation to arm Australians with facts about the referendum and exposed corporate greed amid the cost-of-living crunch. It sparked government inquiries and investigations, and continued to treat the climate crisis with the urgency it deserves.
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| Full Story | | The new Australian generation bucking political trends Our data journalist Josh Nicholas explains how voting patterns have changed over decades and why younger voters are turning away from the two-party system. | |
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| In-depth | | As an extensive survey reveals that the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum would probably have passed if the Coalition had not decided to campaign against it, the Western Australian senator Pat Dodson has announced he is standing down from political life. Asked what lesson he would take from the voice defeat, Dodson took aim at the partisan nature of Canberra politics and said simply: “You can’t have a treaty with yourself.” Katharine Murphy witnessed a most dignified departure from a man through whom “history seems to flow”. |
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| Not the news | | From the collaborations of Tracey Emin and Louise Bourgeois (pictured) featuring penises and pregnant bellies, to Kiki Smith tapestries portraying a female nude “enmeshed with the fecundity of the earth”, the National Gallery of Australia has placed art by women in the spotlight. The new exhibition shows how female artists of the 20th century have been consumed with the body – and changed the way it has been depicted. |
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| The world of sport | | Cricket | Glenn Maxwell produced another miracle century to catapult Australia to a last-ball win over India by five wickets in the third Twenty20 at Guwahati. He and captain Matthew Wade (pictured) plundered 43 off the last two overs, including Maxwell hitting 6-4-4-4 off the final four balls. | AFLW | Brisbane Lions will contest their fifth AFLW decider in eight years with a roster packed full of players from Queensland. | Formula One | Mohammed ben Sulayem, the president of Formula One’s governing body, has defended historic sexist remarks and revealed that he was subjected to a racist slur as he campaigned to become FIA president. |
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| Media roundup | A prominent anti-Zionist campaigner and academic has told the Australian how he was struck in Sydney’s Double Bay by a stranger who called him a “self-hating Jew”. The Herald Sun reports that land tax in Victoria will be tripled on properties that remain unused for three years. It costs more of your household income to pay a mortgage in Wollongong than any other city in Australia, according to the Illawarra Mercury. |
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| What’s happening today | Canberra | Apology to survivors of the drug thalidomide in federal parliament. | Brisbane | Mention for 14 Extinction Rebellion protesters who disrupted Queensland parliament and face up to three years in jail. | Melbourne | Monash University panel on the future of teaching at 7pm. |
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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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| Join the Guardian panel | | Be part of our growing research panel who are helping us to shape our Guardian Labs content. Prize draw every month where three winners receive a $50 voucher. |
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| | | Power high-impact journalism into 2024 | | In 2023, Guardian Australia journalism exposed misinformation, held the powerful to account and gave a voice to the marginalised. Our work armed Australians with facts about the referendum, exposed corporate greed amid the cost-of-living crisis, and helped spark numerous investigations and inquiries.
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| | 2 | We are independent and have no billionaire owner controlling what we do, so your money directly powers our reporting. |
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| | If you can, make the choice to support us with a year-end contribution from $1. Whether you choose to give a little or a lot, your funding will power our journalism in 2024 and the years to come. Thank you. | | |
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