Morning mail: Facebook fallout, vaccine hesitancy, Ted Cruz's Mexican escape

Friday: Tech giant’s reputation takes a hit as criticism grows of its Australian news blackout. Plus: all you need to know about renting or buying an e-bike

Good morning, dear readers. Imogen Dewey here with your morning news via email (an especially great way to get your news these days, I hear). It’s Friday 19 February, and a good time to catch up on the impact of Facebook’s news blackout, the vaccine rollout, and the Brittany Higgins allegations still rocking parliament.

“Even for a company that specialises in PR disasters, Facebook has excelled with its Australian blackout,” writes Emily Bell. Fallout continues from the news blackout we woke to yesterday (and here’s how that might be affecting you). The prime minister attacked Facebook (on Facebook) for its “arrogant” decision to “unfriend Australia”, saying the social media giant’s move will harden the resolve of his government to hold it accountable. The shadow communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said it may be “the beginning of the end” for the platform. And a UK media boss has said the fiasco shows why countries need robust regulation to stop tech firms behaving like a “schoolyard bully”.

The department that oversees Parliament House has confirmed incident reports after the alleged sexual assault of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in 2019 were not handed to police until two weeks later. Scott Morrison yesterday doubled down on claims his office knew nothing, delivering a veiled threat to Labor that the issue was not “confined to any one party in this place” – but text messages obtained by the Australian ($) have put the spotlight on just who knew what, when. And the pressure is on the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, with some Liberal MPs reportedly believing she should resign over her handling of the issue.

Just days before the first Australians will receive their Covid vaccine, a new study has found that more than 20% of Australians say they are unlikely to get the jab (a bad time to let misinformation go uncorrected on Facebook, you might say). We’re more afraid of climate change than catching Covid-19, apparently. There’s good news on the vaccine from Scotland, with Nicola Sturgeon saying there is compelling evidence itis working, but vaccine hesitancy looks to be a growing issue in Europe too.

Still, this pandemic is clearly wearing on people: a man wanted in the UK preferred to hand himself into police than continue lockdown with the people he was living with (reportedly craving the “peace and quiet” of prison).

Australia

Australia risks being left in a “parallel world” with petrol cars as the rest of the world turns to electric vehicles in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Industry experts say the Morrison government’s inaction is driving away opportunities to build a new low-emissions economy.

The NSW opposition leader, Jodi McKay, has fended off suggestions she won’t take Labor to the next state election after a tough week during which she was accused of supporting a paedophile.

Investors waiting on next week’s court hearing over the missing financial adviser Melissa Caddick say her assets must be sold and the missing millions found. Caddick hasn’t been seen since the day after her home was raided but the NSW police commissioner believes she is still alive.

The world

The Republican senator Ted Cruz has sparked an outcry after he was caught leaving Texas for a holiday at a Mexican resort while millions of his constituents endure power outages amid a deadly winter weather crisis.

Horticultural experts have identified a “super-plant” that absorbs roadside air pollution. The bushy variety of cotoneaster works best in areas of heavy traffic, researchers say, while other plants can cool buildings or reduce flooding.

Prince Philip is expected to remain in hospital for a third night of “observation and rest”. The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted as a “precautionary measure” – sources said it was not Covid-related.

Very few of the world’s rivers remain undamaged by humanity, a study has found. Pollution, dams and invasive species have caused havoc.

Recommended reads

Electric bikes are popping up everywhere, with an increasing number of Australians renting or even buying the popular vehicle. And it’s not just about a Covid-related desire to avoid public transport. As Gary Nunn explains, there’s a lot more behind the e-bike trend. If you’re curious, here’s a guide to choosing yours.

“What is the Komodo dragon in your mind doing? There are many horrifying scenes to choose from.” Helen Sullivan looks (through interlaced fingers) at “the biggest, worst lizard of the modern day”. “They lead a dusty life … Fighting one another, their torsos lifting in a way that makes me certain they are perpetually tensing their cores, forever in a push-up, a plank pose: muscles burning, burning, burning.”

Guardian Australia’s Book Club returns today at 1pm on Zoom. The topic is raising girls in the challenging world that is 2021. Madonna King and Kasey Edwards both have new books out about parenting young women amid pandemics, climate anxiety and the new kind of schoolyard bullying that follows them home in their phones. They’ll be in conversation with Lucy Clark – and with you, if you pre-register here.

Plus: “It’s like a LinkedIn that talks to you. It’s like attending a conference that never ends.” Brigid Delaney tries the invite-only social media app Clubhouse – so that you don’t have to.

Listen

“Brittany Higgins said it really well: there’s a strange culture of silence.” Lenore Taylor, who worked in parliament’s press gallery for decades, says women used to “organise themselves around it” – sharing lists of who to avoid meeting one-on-one. Taylor and Mike Ticher discuss the allegations made by Higgins, a former Liberal staffer, the government’s response and what it will take to change the longstanding culture of parliamentary politics in Australia.

Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.

Sport

Novak Djokovic has pushed through a dramatic week filled with injury, frustration and doubt to make it into another Australian Open final. And, after Naomi Osaka made light work of Serena Williams, she’ll face Jennifer Brady – one of 51 players in the singles draw confined to hotel quarantine after infected charter flights into Melbourne.

Rugby Australia has a new chief executive and a shiny new broadcast partner but, on the eve of the 2021 season, the game remains beset by problems – its decline stretching over so many years that failure now appears normal.

Media roundup

A former high court judged has condemned sexual harassment in the legal profession, as well as the culture of victim blaming, the Age reports. The Morrison government might legislate a permanent increase to jobseeker payments as early as next week, according to the Australian. And one writer in the Australian Financial Review is suggesting it might be time to pay serious attention to bitcoin, whether you believe the hype or not.

Coming up

Kevin Rudd and News Corp representatives will give evidence at the first hearing of a Senate inquiry into media diversity.

And if you’ve read this far …

A cathedral’s 800th birthday present has sparked an unholy row in Spain. A set of enormous bronze doors showing God, the Virgin Mary and a young Jesus has been slammed (figuratively speaking) by more than 31,000 people, in a petition that bluntly calls the $1.9m portals “an eyesore”.