Voters back radical housing policies, ‘sports rorts’ documents revealed, total solar eclipse

Good morning. The latest Guardian Essential poll suggests that Australian voters support more radical solutions to address the country’s failing housing system, in a warning to federal and state governments to do more to combat falling home ownership and higher rents.

Documents revealed after a three-year freedom-of-information fight show that Bridget McKenzie’s office wanted to triple funding in the controversial “sports rorts” grants – and prepared “talking points” for the senator to pitch Scott Morrison on expanding the program from $30m to $100m.

And millions of people have gathered across the US, Mexico and Canada to watch a spectacular total solar eclipse.

Almost half the population in Australia’s regions live in “childcare deserts”, a frustrating barrier for women wanting to return to work. Childcare – or the absence of it – is as important, and connected, to all the other big issues in regional Australia such as worker shortages and the lack of services. With employers in country towns crying out for staff, Gabrielle Chan argues that it’s time to join the dots.

Most of us are familiar with the pesky little flies that hover around fruit bowls and food scraps or get tipsy floating in a glass of beer or wine. What is less commonly known is that these little bugs are NOT fruit flies: they’re vinegar flies, which can quickly get out of hand. From ditching your fruit bowl to using apple cider vinegar, try these simple hacks to rid your kitchen of the pinhead-sized pests.

A group of prominent Australians are pushing for billions of dollars of Russian assets frozen by Australian authorities to be put towards financial support for war-torn Ukraine, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Clinical experts and justice officials fear the NDIS is ill-equipped to deal with sex offenders, putting the safety of the public and support workers at risk, reports the Age. Energy companies are under fire after moving customers to “punishing” time-of-use tariffs – which charge people more at peak times – with little or no notice, reports ABC News.

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