The two months preceding a wedding are notoriously hazardous. But consider the two months Anthony Albanese has just had.

Good afternoon, everyone.

All hell broke loose at what became known as the SCG when a couple of thousand people, including a teenage Banjo Paterson, stormed the pitch Test cricket gets described as a gentleman’s game, but this is a lie. Rashes of gentility break out here and there, but it’s still a game birthed by rascals, popularised by crooks, and sustained by the patronage of louts. This story is one of the finest examples, just after the third Test ever played. It was Melbourne 1879 when Fred Spofforth lived up to his nickname of “The Demon”: he rissoled England with 6 for 48 in the first innings and 7 for 62 in the second, taking the first Test hat-trick along the way. In a timeless match, Australia won in three days. Notionally amateurs, the tourists were there to make bank from gate receipts at as many games as possible. In true English everyman style they were led by a captain named Lord Harris. After Melbourne, they headed to Sydney to play twice against New South Wales. The state team also had Spofforth and won the first game easily, so before the second match the punters backed them off the map. The old Association Ground, which would later become the SCG, packed in 10,000 people. Continue reading...

The public stoush is really about whether the party will drop the charade or maintain it while shuffling some words * Want to get this in your inbox when it publishes? Sign up for the Clear Air Australia newsletter here The best thing that can be said about the Coalition’s internal brawl over whether to abandon its support for reaching net zero emissions by 2050 is that it has some honesty in it. Not much honesty, but if you look closely you may see some light breaking through. The federal Liberals and Nationals have never supported the idea of reaching net zero by 2050. Some individual MPs have, but not the parties. We know this because they have not backed a policy to help meet it since Scott Morrison adopted the target in 2021 to try to deflect rising pressure at home and abroad. Continue reading...

People without university-educated parents are 36% likely to enrol in degree, compared to 59% of students whose parents are tertiary educated * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Jason Clare was the first person in his family to go to university, finish high school, or graduate Year 10, he told the Universities Australia’s annual gala dinner in 2022. “My mum and dad never even dreamt of going to university,” the education minister said in his first address to the peak body for the higher education sector. Continue reading...

For a Coalition desperate to prove it can govern again, ignoring millennials and gen Z is a curious kind of strategy The 2025 election defeat should have been a wake-up call for the Liberal party on the issue of climate and young people, yet it it seems like the message is still not getting across. As it meets today to determine the future of its net zero policy, the party seems hellbent on accelerating itself further towards irrelevance among the growing cohort of voters demanding stronger action on climate change. Continue reading...

Look at all those zeroes – look at them! * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

Lights may be enjoyed from Tasmania and New Zealand, experts say, but also as far north as Sydney and Perth Skywatchers may be treated to a celestial delight on Wednesday evening, with a severe solar storm making it possible to view the southern lights across large parts of Australia – possibly including Sydney and Perth. An intense geomagnetic storm, caused by several powerful bursts of energy from the sun, has led the Bureau of Meteorology’s space weather forecasting centre to issue an aurora alert for “mid to southern parts of Australia”. Continue reading...

Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart has previously donated to Institute of Public Affairs but thinktank won’t say if she remains a donor * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A thinktank known for its rejection of the climate crisis and a conservation group that has opposed renewable energy projects refused to identify their funders during a fiery Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation on Wednesday. Chair of the committee, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, asked Rainforest Reserves Australia’s vice-president, Steven Nowakowski, who had funded nine full-page newspaper advertisements promoting an open letter attacking a shift to renewable energy and promoting nuclear. Continue reading...

This astounding documentary traces the uses of psychedelics in palliative care, weaving together medical trials with ancient traditions People often discuss different ways to live: a new diet here, a behavioural change there, perhaps some added spiritual dimension to help one through the maelstrom of existence. But what about new ways to die? The latest film from multi-hyphenate artist Lynette Wallworth – whose eclectic oeuvre includes documentaries, video installations and virtual-reality productions – attempts a difficult task: linking the reality of death to the idea of new possibilities, maybe even new beginnings. Not in terms of an afterlife: the core idea is more about how improving the process of dying might also improve how we live. Edge of Life explores the medical use of psychedelics in palliative care – particularly psilocybin, a psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms. Research into psychedelics in psychology and psychiatry has surged in recent years, and the film highlights one small part of this: an Australian-first clinical trial conducted at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s hospital by Dr Justin Dwyer and Dr Margaret Ross, who feature prominently. Continue reading...

Exclusive: NDIA defines machine learning as a subset of AI that uses algorithms to learn from data and make decisions or predictions * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast National Disability Insurance Agency staff are using machine learning to help create draft plans for NDIS participants, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal. Documents related to NDIA’s use of AI released under freedom of information laws showed 300 staff participated in a six-month trial of Microsoft’s Copilot AI from January last year. Continue reading...

Labor’s proposed media bargaining incentive to apply to platforms with Australian-derived revenue of at least $250m, according to Treasury * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Meta and other tech companies refusing to sign content deals with Australian news outlets face millions in new fines, with Labor’s proposed media bargaining incentive set to impose penalties based on the local revenue of major platforms. Large social media and search platforms with Australian-derived revenue of at least $250m will be subject to the new rules, irrespective of whether they carry news content, according to new detail released by the assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino. Continue reading...

The party’s imminent move to abandon the 2050 climate goal makes the environment the loser and Labor the biggest winner * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Fronting the media after a marathon party room meeting on Wednesday, shadow energy minister Dan Tehan said the Liberals’ imminent move to dump net zero policies was built on two foundational principles. The first was that Australia must have a stable and reliable energy grid with affordable power for households and business. The second required emissions to be reduced in a responsible and transparent way that “ensures Australia does its fair share”. Continue reading...

Certainly not the climate * See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here Continue reading...

Under the deal, Woodside paid Monash University $43m over seven years and company was given naming rights to building on one of the Melbourne campuses * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A contentious partnership between Monash University and Woodside Energy will end after a campaign by staff and students over concerns about the relationship, but discussions are under way about future collaborations. The Monash University vice-chancellor, Prof Sharon Pickering, appeared before a Senate committee hearing examining university governance on Wednesday, where she confirmed that the existing partnership is due to end “at the end of this year.” Continue reading...

Melbourne Cricket Ground, then touring Australia In the band’s ‘ancestral homeland’, Accadacca’s first Australian concert in a decade shows Angus Young is still a frenzied force to be reckoned with On Wednesday afternoon, 374 bagpipers gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square to play AC/DC’s It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock’n’Roll), setting a new world record just up the road from where Bon Scott and the band famously played the song on the back of a flatbed truck riding up Swanston Street 50 years before. It’s the one hit AC/DC no longer plays live, retired out of respect to Scott after his death in 1980. But you barely notice it is missing when their live shows are this stuffed with classics: an audible thrill ripples through the 80,000 punters in Melbourne Cricket Ground when AC/DC opens with If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) then tears straight into Back in Black. Who else could play such a huge hit so early in a show? But Accadacca can, in what is essentially a greatest hits celebration that goes for more than two hours. Continue reading...

We cannot claim to be of the right of politics yet shy away from targets that hold us to account, especially ones that were once the Liberals’ own * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast It has been suggested to me that my views on our society’s relationship with the natural world come from my Celtic upbringing fused with the Anglican faith, which I still practice. My starting point when considering any matter concerning the health of our environment is that nature must be at the centre of all decision making. For the world sustains us, and we must be respectful to it in all our endeavours. As a Liberal senator with a “conservative” disposition, this manifests itself as a deep and abiding commitment to leave the planet healthier than when I was born. I confess that there are times during debates in the party room when I reflect whether I am in a “real conservative” minority. Continue reading...

Opposition leader Sussan Ley to announce decision made by shadow ministry a day after five-hour party room debate The Liberal party will abandon a firm net zero emissions target, siding with the Nationals to end the Coalition’s commitment to the climate goal. The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is expected to announce the decision on Thursday afternoon after the Liberal shadow ministry met to finally resolve a position following months of bitter infighting. Continue reading...

The geomagnetic storm, caused by powerful bursts of energy from the sun, also postponed the launch of two Mars-bound Nasa spacecraft in the US * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Skywatchers enjoyed a stunning treat on Wednesday night, with the southern lights visible across large parts of Australia and New Zealand. The aurora australis that lit up the sky resulted from what has been dubbed a “cannibal” solar storm. Continue reading...

Former Advance chair and Catholic education leader appointed in changes that come amid breakdown in teacher pay negotiations * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Queensland Liberal-National government has ousted two union-linked board members from the state’s curriculum body and will replace them with conservative figures, including the founding chair of the rightwing lobby group Advance. The Queensland Teachers’ Union president, Cresta Richardson, and the branch secretary of the Independent Education Union of Australia, Terry Burke, will both be removed from the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority board, the education minister John-Paul Langbroek’s office confirmed on Thursday. Continue reading...

Officeworks among retailers to have sold some of the affected Creatistics, Kadink and Educational Colours products since 2020 A range of colourful children’s sand products imported from China and sold at leading Australian retailers have been recalled due to concerns they may contain asbestos. The Australian Consumer Competition Commission (ACCC) said the sand, which is brightly coloured and designed for children to play with, was recalled because the products may contain tremolite asbestos. Continue reading...

Sussan Ley appears to have given up trying to meet voters where they are, instead allowing conservative MPs to dictate policy to keep her job – and keep the Coalition together * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Six months ago on Thursday, the new Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, stood in the opposition party room at Parliament House and promised the Coalition would meet voters “where they are”. Six months on – and after another messy few weeks for the Liberals and Nationals – Ley was back in the same spot confirming the Liberals had dumped support for net zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...