 | | 12/12/2023 Poll shows cost-of-living struggle, anger over Cop28 draft deal, Australian women win Globe nods |
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| | | Morning, everyone. Anthony Albanese probably didn’t need reminding that cost-of-living pressures are the No 1 concern for Australians right now – but our Guardian Essential poll shows that 57% of households are financially struggling or in serious difficulty. We’re unpacking all the poll findings, plus looking in depth at how migration and the government’s housing market policies might affect things. The final scheduled day of the Cop28 summit in Dubai (which probably won’t be the last day) is in turmoil after the “phase-out” of fossil fuels was excluded from the summit’s draft agreement. And three Australian women are on the nominations list for next year’s Golden Globes. |
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| Australia | | Cody code | Employers will be held legally responsible for failing to take steps to prevent sexual harassment at work under a change that the sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, hopes shifts the burden of progress in workplaces. | Exclusive | The final Guardian Essential poll of the year points to a gloomy economic outlook for 2024 with only 24% of respondents thinking next year will be better than this, a figure that compares unfavourably with 40% at the same point last year. | Premier pitch | Shannon Fentiman is pitching herself as the antidote to the old regime in her attempt to be next Queensland premier as she runs against Annastacia Palaszczuk’s anointed successor Steven Miles. Plus: why Palaszczuk changed her mind about leaving. | Mental health | A growing number of Victorians are using hospital “bed brokers” to find much-needed inpatient care. | Bird boon | Widespread floods and environmental flows have been a boon for waterbirds with annual surveys in eastern Australia recording more than half a million birds – but the impact of long-term drying is showing. |
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| World | | Cop out? | Oil-exporting countries will be called upon to reduce their production drastically in the coming decades if a draft agreement published at the Cop28 UN summit overnight is accepted. But the text dodges the calls for a “phase-out” of fossil fuels, with the Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, naming Saudi Arabia as the main block to a commitment on oil and gas. | Israel denial | Israel has rejected suggestions it is trying to force Palestinians out of Gaza as Arab leaders and aid officials warn its ground offensive could leave civilians with few other options. Harvard professors have backed their president over controversial remarks about antisemitism. | Navalny fears | Supporters of Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, fear for his welfare after he has not been heard of for nearly a week and his lawyers failed to contact him. | Rwanda demand | A group of British rightwing Conservative MPs have called the government’s Rwanda immigration bill “partial and incomplete”, and urged Downing Street to amend it before a crunch vote that could seriously damage Rishi Sunak’s authority. | Golden choice | Greta Gerwig’s satire Barbie has been nominated for nine awards at the Golden Globes in January, with Oppenheimer just behind on eight. Australians Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki and Sarah Snook are all in the running for awards. |
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| | | Lenore Taylor | | Editor, Guardian Australia |
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| | Thanks for subscribing to this newsletter. Before you move on, I wonder if you would consider making a contribution to our end-of-year fundraiser. As we look ahead to the challenges of 2024, we’re aiming to raise $300,000 to power more rigorous, independent reporting.
This year, 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 this is work you value, please consider supporting more of it with a year-end contribution from $1. Every act of support, however small, gets us closer to our goal. Thank you. | | |
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| Full Story | | Is George Santos the ‘last of the great liars’? The rise and fall of the Republican congressman and serial liar George Santos poses worrying questions about the US political system in a post-truth era. Michael Safi asks why voters were not more outraged and how he was allowed to continue his career after being exposed. | |
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| In-depth | Increasing immigration is widely expected to push up house prices in the years to come as we struggle to build enough homes for newcomers. But our data reporter Josh Nicholas has found that the link between the two issues is not completely clear. Infrastructure Australia warns today that the $230bn infrastructure pipeline, the energy transition and plans to build 1.2m new homes are under threat from a shortfall of 229,000 workers. And, in an effort to put the government on the front foot on housing affordability, Jim Chalmers is going to triple the fees foreigners have to pay when buying established homes and double the penalties for leaving a property vacant. Will it make any difference? |
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| Not the news | | Describing himself as someone fortunate to be on the cusp of a seventh decade, Paul Daley considers what it means to have reached (approximately) the three-quarter time point of life. He feels “the icy spectre of mortality” less than 20 years ago when he was still in a hurry to achieve professional recognition, thinks about friendships more but “suffers dickheads way less”. |
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| The world of sport | | Rugby league | Australia can maintain its “gladiatorial” quality and reduce head injuries without a reduction in the tackle height, according to senior NRL coaches, even as English rugby league outlaws contact above the armpit. | Socceroos | TheSocceroos captain and first-choice goalkeeper, Mat Ryan, appears to be in a race against time to lead Australia’s campaign at January’s Asian Cup after suffering a fractured cheekbone in training for his club team AZ Alkmaar. | Cricket | Jofra Archer has continued his recovery from injury by playing for his old school in Barbados – but without telling his England bosses. |
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| Media roundup | Universities are fighting government plans to tax foreign students as part of an attempt to curb immigration, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. There’ll be no holiday for Victorian government staffers locked in talks with key workers threatening to strike, the Herald Sun reports. The Australian considers how two families built the Chemist Warehouse chain, which is now entering a $8.8bn merger. The Courier-Mail profiles Gary Bullock, the Queensland Labor powerbroker who persuaded Annastacia Palaszczuk to quit. |
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| What’s happening today | Economy | The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, will make a speech. | Indigenous affairs | An appeal by the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority over crown immunity will be heard at the high court. | Tasmania | Parliament will be recalled to consider an inquiry into Justice Gregory Geason. |
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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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| | | Power high-impact journalism into 2024 | | In 2023, Guardian Australia journalism exposed misinformation, held the powerful to account and gave a voice to the marginalised. Our work armed Australians with facts about the referendum, exposed corporate greed amid the cost-of-living crisis, and helped spark numerous investigations and inquiries.
Now, as we look to the momentous challenges ahead, we are aiming to raise an additional $300k to support more independent, rigorous journalism.
Here are three good reasons to make the choice to support us today. | | 1 | Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more. |
| | 2 | We are independent and have no billionaire owner controlling what we do, so your money directly powers our reporting. |
| | 3 | It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message. |
| | If you can, make the choice to support us with a year-end contribution from $1. Whether you choose to give a little or a lot, your funding will power our journalism in 2024 and the years to come. Thank you. | | |
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