| | | 13/05/2024 Third energy firm linked to Centrepay scandal; inflation falling faster than forecast; fierce battles in Gaza |
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| | | Good morning. A third major energy retailer, Origin Energy, has wrongly received money from the welfare payments of its former customers via the beleaguered Centrepay debit system. Guardian Australia has previously revealed deep failings with the system, including that it helped prop up a disgraced Christian rehabilitation centre. Ahead of tomorrow’s budget, new figures show that inflation could fall to below 3% by the end of this year – but the Australian economy is growing more slowly than expected. And there is renewed fierce fighting across northern parts of Gaza, as Israeli forces attack Hamas militants in areas already left devastated by repeated rounds of fighting. |
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| Australia | | Budget 2024 | Inflation will fall back to within the Reserve Bank’s target range a year earlier than the bank has forecast, according to government figures released before Tuesday’s federal budget. | Exclusive | Energy retailer Origin is the third supplier known to have wrongly received money via Centrepay from vulnerable and low-income Australians in cases exposed by Guardian Australia. | Co-housing or no housing? | Victoria’s planning tribunal said a development in Eltham should have been backed as an innovative approach to the housing crisis – but the local council had other ideas. | What makes someone rich? | Ahead of tomorrow’s budget you’re likely to hear a lot about the “average Australian” and their financial situation. Our interactive tool shows how your income and wealth compare to others in the country, your age group and city. | ‘Bloody awesome’ | Australians have been wowed by the aurora australis in the night sky over the weekend, with the lights display so spectacular it left at least one astronomer in tears. |
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| | | | | We're funded by readers, not billionaires The Guardian is fiercely independent, which means we can report on fact, not fiction, at a time when powerful people are getting away with more and more. | | |
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| Full Story | | Could a council ban on same-sex parenting books be overturned? Earlier this month, Cumberland city council in western Sydney passed a motion banning books about same-sex parenting from its libraries. Nour Haydar speaks to New South Wales reporter Catie McLeod about the controversial decision – and the backlash to the ban. | |
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| In-depth | | With the growing uptake of electric vehicles, more road users are doing some good for the environment by reducing emissions while also doing some “bad” for government coffers by escaping paying the tax for roads. The commonwealth had state electrical vehicle taxes struck down in court, but now reform is stuck in the slow lane. Paul Karp asks: is the Coalition planning to overtake Labor and tax rich inner-city EV drivers? |
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| Not the news | | Questions like “is someone who earns over $150,000 a year rich?” or “how much does the average Australian earn?” seem like they should be easy to answer. But in practice both questions are tricky. This interactive quiz allows you to compare your own income and wealth to that of other Australians, including within demographics specific to you, such as your age, family composition and living situation. |
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| What’s happening today | NSW | Chris Dawson launches an appeal against his guilty verdict for murdering his wife Lynette in 1982. | Queensland | Judge due to deliver a sentence over the man accused of the death of Emma Lovell during a home invasion in Brisbane. |
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| Brain teaser | And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. | |
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