| | | 15/02/2024 Police referral in crypto scam, Australian link to Iran drone research, Subianto ahead in Indonesia vote |
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| Martin Farrer |  |
| | | Morning everyone. The US$1.89bn HyperVerse crypto scandal takes another twist today with our top story revealing that Australia’s corporate watchdog referred the company to Victoria police over concerns about “possible fraud offences” in 2020 but no action was taken. Another exclusive story shows that Australian academics collaborated on drone research with an Iranian university now blacklisted for links to the country’s military. Overseas, former general Prabowo Subianto looks set to win power in Indonesia, and Nikki Haley has stepped up her attacks on “unhinged” Donald Trump. |
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| Sign up for The Crunch newsletter | | Get the most important charts and dataviz direct to your inbox every fortnight. | | Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties | | |
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 | Australia | | ‘Weatherproof’ grid | Victoria’s energy minister will push for a national approach to weatherproof the electricity grid after a deadly storm left hundreds of thousands across the state without power. | Ponzi pause | When the corporate watchdog referred information about the alleged “Ponzi scheme” known as HyperVerse to Victoria police, Asic believed that the matter was under active consideration. However, nearly two years later, the police passed it back – by which time the company was imploding with many Australians out of pocket. | Exclusive | Academics in the UK, Australia and the US collaborated on research related to drone technology with an Iranian university that is under international financial sanctions and known for its close ties to the military. | ‘Sleaze’ crackdown | Independent senator Lidia Thorpe says parliament has waited too long for a workplace enforcement body, and has called for “sleazy” politicians to be excluded from sitting weeks and fined for bad behaviour. | ‘End the climate wars’ | Environmentalists have implored Queensland’s opposition party to “end the climate wars” by backing the government’s carbon emissions reduction target. |
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| World | | Haley attack | Donald Trump is “unhinged” and “diminished”, said Nikki Haley, the former president’s last rival for the Republican presidential nomination. Separately, Trump has written a Valentine’s Day message to his wife, Melania, which doubles as a fundraising message to his supporters. | Indonesia frontrunner | The Indonesian defence minister, Prabowo Subianto, a former general dogged by allegations of human rights abuses dating back to the Suharto dictatorship, is on course to win the country’s presidential race. | Amazon threat | A study published in the journal Nature today finds that, by the middle of the century, 10% to 47% of Amazonian forests will be threatened by a combination of impacts including global warming, changing rainfall, longer dry seasons, deforestation and fires. | Gaza talks | Negotiations involving several countries on a Gaza ceasefire deal have entered a second day in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, as mediators struggle to make progress in the face of a threatened Israeli offensive on Rafah. | Black Sea strike | Ukraine claims to have severely damaged and sunk a Russian landing ship in its latest drone attack against Moscow’s Black Sea fleet. |
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| Full Story | | Why Peter Dutton doesn’t want the right to disconnect The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the right to disconnect laws passed this week will damage productivity. Paul Karpexplains what the legislation means for you and why it is shaping up to be an election battle. | |
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| In-depth | | The New South Wales environment watchdog raised concerns about mulch manufactured last year that it could not inspect. Meanwhile, the scandal over mulch contaminated with asbestos turning up in parks around Sydney continues to grow. Our explainer reveals that there are no specific requirements to test mulch for contaminants and the Greens now want a root and branch overhaul of the regulations to prevent a repeat. |
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| Not the news | | An independent Australian theatre company from regional Victoria has been awarded the prestigious Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement in theatre by the Venice Biennale. Geelong’s Back to Back Theatre, pictured, which draws its ensemble cast from neurodivergent and disabled communities, is the first Australian company or individual that has been recognised in the Biennale’s theatrical category. Artistic director Bruce Gladwin says theatre “should challenge people and it doesn’t always suit everyone”. |
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| The world of sport | | Women’s cricket | After two historic wins by South Africa’s women’s cricket team over Australia – one each in the T20 and ODI series – the two begin an eagerly anticipated Test in Perth today. | Champions League | Lazio take on Bayern Munich and Kylian Mbappe’s PSG play Real Sociedad in this morning’s last 16 ties. Follow them live. | Super Bowl | Travis Kelce says his confrontation with his Kansas City Chiefs head coach during Sunday’s match was “definitely unacceptable”, while the vanquished 49ers coach has denied his team will never be able to win the big prize. |
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| Media roundup | Firefighters in Victoria have told the Age of the worst fire conditions since the Black Summer fires of 2019. After winning the day in court yesterday, an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald thinks Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech might have been misjudged but Ten should have stuck with her. The tiny Queensland town of Toobeah, 330km south-west of Brisbane, has been split over a freehold transfer of land to the local Indigenous corporation, the Courier Mail reports. A cyclone watch is in place for parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland with coastal communities in the firing line, NT News reports. |
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| What’s happening today | Coronavirus | Hearing at federal court in Sydney as airline workers fired for refusing Covid vaccine sue Virgin, Jetstar and Qantas. | Business | Financial results from Whitehaven Coal, Wesfarmers, Origin Energy and Telstra. | New South Wales | Public hearing into the equity and accessibility of outpatient mental health care. |
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| Brain teaser | And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow. | |
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| Contact us | If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email customer.help@guardian.co.uk |
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| | | Lenore Taylor | | Editor, Guardian Australia |
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| | I hope you appreciated this newsletter. Before you move on, I wonder if you would consider supporting Guardian Australia. As we look ahead to the challenges of 2024, we’re aiming to power more rigorous, independent reporting.
In 2023, our journalism held the powerful to account and gave a voice to the marginalised. It cut through misinformation to arm Australians with facts about the referendum and exposed corporate greed amid the cost-of-living crunch. It sparked government inquiries and investigations, and continued to treat the climate crisis with the urgency it deserves.
This vital work is made possible because of our unique reader-supported model. With no billionaire owner or shareholders to consider, we are empowered to produce truly independent journalism that serves the public interest, not profit motives.
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If you can, please support us on a monthly basis from just $2. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you can rest assured that you’re making a big impact every single month in support of open, independent journalism. Thank you. | | |
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