Morning mail: mines v wine, Morrison ‘fiddling’, what Trump did next

Monday: Winemakers lobby for protection from coal operations. Plus: federal government accused of delaying legislation

Good morning. Winemakers in NSW are fighting to keep mines out of their vines. The federal government has been accused of twiddling its thumbs by not acting on key election promises until the eleventh hour. And the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has told the IOC she is '“safe and well”.

Hunter Valley winemakers are fighting to protect the region from industrial development after the Chinese-owned coal producer Yancoal lodged an assessment lease for sites in the heart of wine country. They are lobbying the NSW government to pass legislation to form a protective ring around the area – as has been done for the wine-producing Barossa Valley in South Australia and Margaret River in Western Australia. “We don’t want to come up against this in 10 years’ time when there’s another exploration licence around … we want to stop its renewal so we don’t go through this process again and again,” says one winemaker, Sally Scarborough.

The federal government has been accused of delaying legislation until “five minutes to midnight” as it tries to end the parliamentary year delivering on key election promises. Labor’s climate change spokesperson, Chris Bowen, has accused Scott Morrison of “fiddling” for the past three years, and only acting on legislation for a religious discrimination act and a bill to establish a commonwealth integrity commission now there is an election in sight. “Let’s not accept any of these excuses about he had other things to do,” he says. “He could have done an Icac, he could have done religious freedom. He doesn’t believe in either. He’s been fiddling. He’s done nothing. And now as the election approaches, all of a sudden he finds a religious freedom bill in the top drawer, which has been gathering dust for three years.”

New videos and photos of the missing tennis star Peng Shuai released by Chinese state media have done little to ease international demands for assurances that she is free and not under threat. Peng, 35, had not been seen or heard from in more than two weeks since she accused the country’s former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her.A Women’s Tennis Association spokesperson said the latest footage was “insufficient” and did not address the its concerns about her wellbeing as there are no signs of her being able to speak freely and some clips appeared staged.

Australia

The Australian Fashion Council has received a $1m grant to start working with industry to reduce the country’s mountain of textile waste. It’s a sum that pales in comparison with the money on offer for recycling other products, however, and it has left some in the industry feeling underwhelmed.

The Australia Tutoring Association is expecting an increase in parents seeking private tutors for their students post-lockdown but experts say it risks exacerbating learning inequalities and extra study can impact a child’s mental health.

Some Pacific countries will take years to vaccinate just 50% of their adult population, according to new modelling. While some smaller nations have already achieved more than 90% vaccination rates, misinformation has led to vaccine hesitancy in places like Papua New Guinea, which has just 3% of its population fully vaccinated.

Police have found a piece of fabric in the search for William Tyrrell, as the search continued on the NSW mid-north coast despite severe weather warnings.

The world

Sudan’s military coup leader has announced the release of the detained civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, and other political prisoners. Hopes for a resolution to the almost month-long crisis were undermined as security forces fired teargas at demonstrators suspicious of the military’s continuing ambitions.

The Italian island of Vulcano has ordered a partial evacuation due to increased volcanic activity and gases in the area.

Meta is delaying plans to encrypt Facebook and Instagram users’ messages until 2023 amid warnings from child safety campaigners that its proposals would shield abusers from detection.

Recommended reads

Melissa McCarthy showcase the breadth of her comic abilities as she assumes different aliases in the criminally underrated 2015 action comedy Spy, playing desk-bound CIA analyst Susan Cooper, writes Vanessa Cryer. “While Cooper is polite, anxious and reserved, her spy alter ego evolves into someone cunning, agile and ruthless. McCarthy elicits the biggest laughs from her physical comedy, including some less-than-perfectly executed stunts.”

Alcohol is a drug that has its claws deep in Australian life. If you’re happy, sad, bored, have won a promotion, lost a family member, bought a house or graduated from university, these can all be seen as reasons to drink. Depending on your upbringing, cultural background and exposure to alcohol, you may believe that drinking a six-pack of beer most days is “normal” and that problem drinking is when you start drinking litres of cask wine daily. But how do you know when it’s become a problem? Addiction psychiatrist Dr Xavier Mulenga says people should speak to their doctor, and be open to treatments that go beyond a detox.

Listen

Is Donald Trump plotting to steal the 2024 election? In today’s Full Story, Guardian US’s chief reporter, Ed Pilkington, speaks with Michael Safi about what Trump has been up to since his 2020 election defeat, including touring the US and rallying his supporters with speeches pushing the conspiracy theory that he was the rightful winner. And while he’s been doing this, his supporters have been busy at state and local level challenging incumbents in elected roles who oversee state election counts – the very people Trump tried and failed to convince last time around to endorse his claim to victory.

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

Sport

The Wallabies’ soul-destroying 29-28 defeat to Wales at the weekend confirmed Australia’s first winless European tour since 1976. But the team’s ill-fated tour of Britain may yet serve them well – if they are prepared to learn from mistakes, writes Bret Harris.

The scandal associated with Tim Paine’s resignation as Test captain is a significant distraction ahead of the Ashes and it may cause a reshuffle in the team. But given the uncertainty surrounding Paine’s fitness and form, the host nation may actually emerge from the scandal stronger for the series, writes Courtney Walsh.

Manchester United have confirmed the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjær and said they are looking to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season. Solskjær’s fate was sealed at an emergency board meeting on Saturday night after the team’s 4-1 defeat at Watford.

Media roundup

People entering Queensland will need to fork out for an expensive PCR Covid test, after the health minister, Yvette D’Ath, refused to allow rapid-antigen as they are less sensitive, reports the Courier-Mail. Areas with the toughest lockdowns emerge with the highest unemployment, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Coming up

FedEx workers begin stoppages.

Climate and environmental protesters are expected to converge on the CO2CRC AGM.

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