Christian ‘police state’ warning, university pay shock, why Melbourne shunned Kyle and Jackie O

Royel assent | Royel Otis and Troye Sivan were the big winners of this year’s Arias, with the indie band winning four awards including best group and best rock album, while the pop solo artist won album of the year for Something to Give Each Other.

‘Thought crime’ | The Australian Christian Lobby has claimed Labor’s hate speech laws would turn Australia into a “police state” by creating “thought crime” despite the fact the laws are directed towards threats of force or harm.

University challenge | Hundreds of university executives are raking in more money than state premiers, a new report reveals. In New South Wales, 89 executives in the sector earn more than Chris Minns’s $416,440 salary while in Victoria 62 make more than Jacinta Allan’s $481,190.

Future plan | Australia’s $230bn sovereign wealth fund will be retooled to help build houses, improve infrastructure and combat global heating under a new investment mandate, the Albanese government has announced.

Treaty talks | Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly will ask for decision-making powers over how Indigenous history is taught in schools, as part of nation-first treaty talks.

House vote | The House ethics committee is expected to meet to vote on releasing a report examining allegations of sexual misconduct against the former Republican representative Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US justice department. Follow developments live. Trump’s lawyers have asked the judge overseeing his Manhattan hush-money criminal case for permission to make yet another play for dismissal.

Shadow war | Ukraine has fired UK-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, while the US has temporarily closed its embassy in Kyiv after receiving warning of a “potential significant air attack”.

Plastic waste | Oil and chemical companies who created an alliance to end plastic pollution have produced 1,000 times more new plastic in five years than the waste they diverted from the environment, according to data obtained by Greenpeace. Plus: the latest on Australia’s push to host a Cop summit.

Succession play | Lachlan Murdoch faced down a shareholder vote on Wednesday aimed at weakening his family’s control over their media empire.

Pop farewell | Members of One Direction and the X Factor judge Simon Cowell were among mourners at Liam Payne’s funeral in England.

World Cup 2026 | The Socceroos have managed to put themselves in a half-decent position to qualify directly for the tournament – but they cannot keep relying on other results going their way.

Cricket | India have had a topsy-turvey couple of years and have some unfamiliar faces as they look to win three Test series in a row down under.

The Spin | It is a decade since Phil Hughes died after being hit in the neck by a short ball at the SCG. Taha Hashim asks how much the game has changed since.

Tasmania | Australian Antarctic research conference in Hobart.

Environment | Launch of report titled Unwrapped 2024: Plastic Use in Australian Supermarkets by the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

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