| | 19/08/2024 Asic’s crypto site crackdown, Sydney Metro extension opens, Larry Emdur’s golden moment |
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| | | Good morning. Asic bosses have admitted that cracking down on scam websites can be a vast game of internet whack-a-mole. The regulator took down an average of 20 sites each day in the first year of its operation to target fake cryptocurrency schemes and sham online trading platforms. The US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, has landed in Tel Aviv for 11th-hour talks with Israeli officials amid struggles to get a Gaza ceasefire deal over the line. Meanwhile, commuters are onboard for today’s cross-harbour opening of the Sydney Metro’s multibillion-dollar extension. And the Australian rider Kaden Groves has sprinted to victory in stage two of the Vuelta a España. |
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| Australia | | Logie awards | TheMorning Show presenter Larry Emdur has reflected on once being “television’s most axed man” after winning the Gold Logie at the Logie awards on Sunday night. | All aboard! | Tens of thousands of commuters are expected to ride on the Sydney Metro’s city extension this morning as the first new train line running underneath the city centre in more than four decades opens. | Online scam sites | More than 7,300 websites have been taken down in the first year of operation of Asic’s service targeting investment scams, the regulator has revealed. | Gambling levy | An Australia Institute proposal suggests that a 2% levy on gambling companies’ revenue would compensate media companies for the loss of $240m in advertising spend. | New South Wales | The NSW Liberal party says it will be left with “no other option” than to take legal action if it isn’t given more time to nominate all its council candidates. |
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 | Full Story | | Who cared? The disappearance of Amber Haigh – part 8 All the evidence in the trial of Robert and Anne Geeves for the murder of Amber Haigh has now been heard. Guardian Australia reporter Ben Doherty tells Bridie Jabour about the final week in the NSW supreme court, each side’s closing submissions – and what happens next. | |
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| In-depth | | The door to a tech tax is clearly ajar. It’s not clear whether this late into its first term the Albanese government can join up all the complex pieces of work required to make it happen. But patch-up jobs and sweetheart deals for some traditional media have reached the end of their useful lifespan. If we have decided journalism is worth paying for, writes Paul Karp, then governments should do it across the board. |
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| Not the news | | Have you ever wondered about the unspoken moments in your life that can provide more information than a thousand words? In the latest of our The modern mind series, in which experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work, the Melbourne psychologist Sara Mussa shares why dismissing the loudness of modern life is the key to regaining the stillness of the present. |
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| Media roundup | There are fears pristine sites such as Mataranka Springs are at risk of drying up as the NT government hands out new water licences to developers in search for the next boom crop, ABC News reports. Grassroots Labor members have issued a please-explain to Victoria’s treasurer over the mooted privatisation of the state’s births, deaths and marriages registry, the Age reports. Research estimates that by 2028, nearly a quarter of music creators’ revenues will be at risk due to generative AI, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. |
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| What’s happening today | Queensland | The inquest into what appeared to be an ambush of police by three extremist Christian conspiracy theorists at Wieambilla continues. | NSW | A public hearing on the impact of the state regulatory framework for cannabis will be held in Sydney. |
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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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