Morning mail: Melbourne Covid false positives, NZ refugee resettlement, Barty injured

Friday: two positive cases of coronavirus that were part of the reason for lockdown extension overturned. Plus, world No 1 retires from French Open

Good morning – two ‘fleeting’ cases of Covid have been declared false positives amid Victoria’s ongoing lockdown, Ash Barty retired injured from the French Openand a new documentary is looking at the psychic toll of the climate crisis. This is Imogen Dewey with the main stories to see out your week on Friday 4 June.

Two suspected “fleeting” transmission cases of coronavirus that were part of the reason for Melbourne’s lockdown extension have been declared false positives. Federal and Victorian governments are also at odds over the best use of a proposed quarantine facility: the state is looking to house high-risk travellers otherwise in hotel quarantine; the commonwealth wants to boost number of returning Australians. In Melbourne, renters struggling in Covid lockdown are urging the government to bring back a moratorium on evictions. Katherine Murphy noted yesterday that the prime minister’s quibbling on financial support for Victoria is starting to look more self-defeating than reasonable. Guardian Australia can also report the federal government was urged two months ago to fund special paid leave to help aged care staff get their vaccinations, but did not do so. The nursing union says this contributed to the shockingly low vaccination rates for the nation’s aged care workforce, exposed in this latest outbreak.

(And if you’ve heard anyone mention “the Nepal variant”, here’s what that’s about.)

Queensland says it will resist a Morrison government push for states to take on greater responsibility for environmental decision-making unless it backs stronger national standards to protect wildlife. The Coalition is attempting to change national environment laws – before, critics say, having formally responded to previous recommendations. In a new David Attenborough documentary out today, one of Australia’s leading coral reef scientists is seen breaking down in tears at the decline of the Great Barrier Reef. The documentary, to be released within 24 hours of scientists warning that climate tipping points could topple like dominoes, shows the toll the demise of the planet’s natural places is having on those who study them.

An upcoming Four Corners episode examining the relationship between Scott Morrison and a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory has been delayed. An ABC spokesperson yesterday denied the story was “pulled” – sources say news management believed it was “not ready”. ABC management’s concern about the program comes as managing director David Anderson prepares for an additional appearance at Senate estimates on Monday. He was recalled to be questioned about Christian Porter’s defamation suit against the ABC which the former attorney general dropped on Monday.

Australia

“Discussions are happening” to resettle refugees from Australia’s offshore regime in New Zealand. In a move advocates describe as a massive step forward, asylum seekers medically evacuated from Nauru and PNG may also be considered.

A stoush over the cost of hormone patches is putting Australian women’s health at risk. Sandoz Australia is threatening to withdraw patches from the public subsidy list – which would significantly increase the price – if the government does not agree to a price hike.

The world

The Ethiopian government has defiantly brushed aside international calls for a ceasefire in the northern province of Tigray, saying its forces are close to “finalising operations” and will soon eliminate all armed opposition.

Benjamin Netanyahu has fought back against what he slammed as a “dangerous” coalition. Opposition parties – led by a far-right prime minister in waiting – are rushing to establish a government aimed at unseating Israel’s longest-serving leader.

Denmark has passed a law enabling it to process asylum seekers outside Europe, drawing anger from human rights advocates, the UN and European Commission.

This Sunday will see Peru’s most polarised election in living memory, between a son of illiterate peasant farmers, pledging to upend the country’s free-market economy, and the unpopular daughter of a 1990s autocrat, who faces jail on corruption allegations.

Recommended reads

Artist Richard Bell is inviting local Aboriginal activists to discuss Indigenous issues in his work Embassy: a touring homage to the ongoing tent embassy outside Parliament House, currently indoors at the MCA, in Bell’s biggest solo show to date. “We have to overcome the systemic racism in this country,” he says. “It’s just so juvenile to think you can just get away with putting it off … There’s got to be a day of reckoning. There has to be exchanges of money and land.”

“TikTok accidentally detected my ADHD. For 23 years everyone missed the warning signs.” Learning you have the condition in this way is now such a common phenomenon it has become its own meme, writes Matilda Bosley, but it can be tricky. While she was able to get her diagnosis medically confirmed, algorithms can lead people to incorrect self-diagnosis – with effects ranging from the mildly anxiety inducing to the realms of “hypochondriasis” and self-medication. Experts have a few ideas on how the platform can step in.

Plus, “70 is the new 50”: Sarah Grant explains why her Australian runway debut last night in a swimsuit was no big deal.

Listen

The latest Covid outbreak in Victoria has renewed focus on the federal government’s slow vaccine rollout, which has missed its own targets for aged care residents and workers several times. Today on Full Story, Gabrielle Jackson talks to Lenore Taylor and Mike Ticher about what went wrong.

(You can track the progress of the rollout here.)

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

Sport

World No 1 Ash Barty retired injured from the French Open as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic progressed to the third round.

Israel Folau is seeking a supreme court injunction against the Queensland Rugby League in a bid to return to the playing field – backed by billionaire businessman Clive Palmer.

David Saker, the coach in charge of Australia’s bowlers during the sandpaper Test match in Cape Town in 2018, has called on Cricket Australia to release the secret report it commissioned into the ball-tampering scandal.

Devon Conway made a glorious 200 on debut on the first day of the England-New Zealand Test at Lord’s.

Media roundup

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that NSW has been asked to donate Pfizer doses to Victoria. Also in the SMH, a “secret NDIS report” warns of backlash unless the government is “seen” to have listened. According to the Financial Review, employers will use Victoria’s lockdown to call for minimum wage increases to be limited this year. And in the Age, economist Saul Eslake argues a new economic model is needed for the stats to bounce back.

Coming up

National cabinet is meeting.

The winner of this year’s Archibald Prize will be announced.

Senate estimates hearings continue in Canberra.

And if you’ve read this far …

Forget Thelma and Louise. Two young girls in Utah stole their parents’ car so they could drive to California to go to the beach and “swim with dolphins”, authorities said. The sisters, aged nine and four, sideswiped a car and then collided with a semi-truck. Nobody was harmed during their joyride – perhaps because both children were wearing a seatbelt.

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