Morning mail: police escape sanction, Dyson Heydon findings, Trump Tulsa memes

Tuesday: Officer cleared by internal investigation after dragging handcuffed Indigenous boy. Plus Trump’s dejected return from Tulsa set to music

Good morning, this is James Murray bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 23 June.

Top stories

A police officer in Western Australia has escaped sanction after he dragged a handcuffed Indigenous boy on to the ground, causing his head to hit the pavement. Video footage obtained by Guardian Australia shows the teenager handcuffed and surrounded by five police officers after being detained in the early hours of 7 July 2018. One officer uses his forearm to press the boy’s face into the pavement for about a minute. A witness to the scene was arrested for obstructing police, but charges were dropped after video footage contradicted statements made by the police. An internal investigation found that the police involved used force that was “necessary and not excessive”. Elsewhere, an Indigenous man was repeatedly tasered by police in the face, chest and neck in New South Wales on Monday.Footage on social media showed the man, who did not appear to be resisting, being repeatedly tasered by an officer during an arrest in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Australian shops and restaurants are routinely selling endangered fish due to a loophole in environmental laws. Species such as blue warehou, eastern gemfish and scalloped hammerhead, which are eligible for listing as “no take”, are instead categorised as “conservation dependent”, which means they can be caught in Australian waters despite being threatened. There is a broad public perception in Australia, that if a fish is being sold in a shop or restaurant then it is not endangered, says Tooni Mahto, a marine biologist and a campaign manager for the Australian Marine Conservation Society. “Most people assume that everything caught in Australia is sustainable.” Nicola Beynon of Humane Society International said the “conservation dependent” category was there for “political expediency”, and only existed to allow the catching of fish that were commercially valuable.

The former high court justice Dyson Heydon sexually harassed six junior court staff, an independent investigation has found. The high court issued a statement late on Monday afternoon saying it had become aware of allegations against Heydon last year and immediately begun an inquiry, led by the former inspector-general of intelligence and security Dr Vivienne Thom. The investigation found that six former judges’ associates were harassed by Heydon. Heydon has categorically denied the allegations. The current chief justice of the high court, Susan Kiefel, said the findings were of “extreme concern” to her and the court.

Australia

The latest Guardian Essential poll shows a majority of Australians expect a second wave of Covid-19 infections as restrictions around the world ease. With Victoria battling a new outbreak of infections, 63% believe a second wave in Australia is either very or quite likely.

The government has announced an $86m package for primary producers hit by the summer bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic as the Eden-Monaco byelection reaches its final two weeks.

A University of Sydney report says Trump’s spreading of Covid-19 misinformation has made it harder for Australia and the US to counter Chinese disinformation campaigns. The report calls on Australia and the US to strengthen their capacity to counter state-backed disinformation.

Labor has called for a royal commission into the Coalition’s unlawful robodebt scheme. Hundreds of thousands of people were illegally pursued for money over four years, and affected families say several victims took their own lives.

The world

Boris Johnson and Theresa May both ignored claims Russia had a “likely hold” over Donald Trump, according to M16 veteran Christopher Steele. Steele, who is best known as the author of the 2016 Trump dossier that formed the basis of the Mueller inquiry, provided evidence to MPs that Russia may also have covertly funded Brexit.

The fallout from Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa continues, with footage of the president disembarking Marine One back in Washington becoming an internet meme. The video of a dejected-looking Trumphas been captioned, narrated and set to music in memes.

A vast neolithic circle of stone shafts has been found close to Stonehenge. Archaeologists have described the circle as the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.

Writers represented by JK Rowling’s literary agency have resigned after the company refused to issue a statement supporting transgender rights. Rowling made public comments about transgender issues earlier this month, where she said trans women should not have access to single-sex spaces.

Recommended reads

Patrick Marlborough has an extended family of 147 people, a unique challenge in this age of social distancing and quarantine. Used to lunches for up to 50 people, the Marlboroughs have instead had to resort to an Easter egg drive-by, and picnics with chairs six-feet apart and conversations yelled from one to another. In Marlborough’s account of his rich family life, he writes about the importance of storytelling, and the stories told time and time again that cemented the Marlborough sense of themselves as a cohesive unit. Without the space and time for these repeated stories, what would happen to the Marlborough’s shared history?

No one was ready for 2020, writes Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor. But the crises of the last six months have shown that reliable, factual information is indispensable – it can save lives and soothe uncertainties. As we emerge from coronavirus lockdown with more questions to ask, Guardian Australia has a goal to grow its community to 150,000 supporters. “With fewer journalists to ask those questions, the ABC facing funding cuts, and commercial media industry ownership more concentrated than ever, and vast tracts of Australia with no reporters at all, we need to step up.”

How do we know if the Australian economy is back to normal? We could focus on the hours worked per capita, but even that doesn’t tell us what the job market really looks like, writes Greg Jericho: “How many of us will be working full-time? What about wages growth, and employment conditions? Will the work have shifted strongly towards older people with the youth left behind? Whatever the measure we use, we can hope the bottom has been reached.”

Listen

Why did Donald Trump choose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the site of his latest rally? The city was home to one of America’s worst recorded acts of racial violence in 1921, a moment marked in recent Black Lives Matter protests, and Oklahoma is now seeing a new wave of coronavirus infections. The Full Story podcast looks at a decision that has ignited fresh controversy.

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

Sport

Australia-New Zealand’s joint bid for the Women’s Football World Cup has been boosted after Japan pulled out of the race. Only Colombia and the joint Australia-NZ now remain.

Media roundup

The Australian reports that more than a million people in six Melbourne districts face the possibility of localised lockdowns to stem a new outbreak of coronavirus. The Sydney Morning Herald quotes NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who aims to keep state borders with Victoria open, even as the deputy premier, John Barilaro, says interstate travel bans could still be necessary. And ABC has a story about the return of young adults to regional centres, as more affordable housing and a lack of commute lure people from the city.

Coming up

Passengers will give evidence at the special commission of inquiry into the handling of coronavirus aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

The bushfires royal commission will hear evidence about the emergency response of local governments.

And if you’ve read this far …

Conservation experts in Spain want tighter laws covering restoration work after a copy of a famous painting by the baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo became the latest in a long line of artworks to suffer a damaging and disfiguring repair. Expert Fernando Carrera said such work needed to be carried out only by properly trained restorers. “I don’t think this guy – or these people – should be referred to as restorers,” Carrera said. “Let’s be honest: they’re bodgers who botch things up.”