Yahoo News Morning mail: Morrison warns stimulus will end, deep ocean heating, how to spot a dunnart
Good morning, this is James Murray bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 26 May.
Top stories
Scott Morrison will today warn that government support measures are only a temporary form of “medication” for a sick economy and microeconomic reforms will be needed to spur growth. In an address to the National Press Club the prime minister will put households, businesses and states who are expecting further taxpayer support on notice. And in a special investigation, launched today, Guardian Australia looks at the impact of the government’s recovery spending and asks: what happens after September, when most of these measures run out?
China’s trade bans are retaliation for Australia leading calls for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19, according to more than half of the respondents to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The survey finds strong support for the country’s stance on “standing up to China” and a huge decline in in those with a favourable view of the bilateral trading relationship. But respondents were split on whether Australia should avoid a trade war or impose its own tariffs on Chinese imports.
The world’s deep oceans may experience climate change seven times higher than current levels by the second half of this century, even if global emissions are cut dramatically. The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found different parts of the ocean would change at different rates as the extra heat from increasing levels of greenhouse gases moved through the vast ocean depths. Prof Jorge García Molinos, a climate ecologist at Hokkaido University and a co-author of the study, said: “Our results suggest that deep sea biodiversity is likely to be at greater risk because they are adapted to much more stable thermal environments.”
Boris Johnson’s beleaguered political aide Dominic Cummings says he drove to popular tourist destination Barnard Castle during lockdown to test his eyesight. Cummings made the claim while refusing to resign over his alleged flouting of lockdown rules when he was symptomatic in April. Cummings, who masterminded the Vote Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum, is under huge pressure to step down but has been backed by the prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Australia
Lawyers for Drew Pavlou, a student facing expulsion over his pro-Hong Kong protests, have demanded that the University of Queensland sack the Chinese diplomat Xu Jie from his role as an adjunct professor. Xu made comments “praising [the] violence” of a pro-Beijing group who targeted peaceful protesters including Pavlou.
Australia’s peak cycling organisation is calling on governments to fast-track the construction of planned bike lanes as bike sales surge. Queensland’s transport and roads minister, Mark Bailey, said he expected many of the new riders would “stick with it permanently”.
A scheme allowing welfare recipients to opt out of the controversial cashless debit card program is experiencing delays of up to five months. Data shows that of the 859 applications lodged since September, only 30 have been accepted.
The Australian government says it will not commit to net zero emissions by 2050, and is not due to set a new target until 2025. The statement was made after Boris Johnson, who hosts the next major climate meeting, urged all countries to hit the target, noting that 121 nations had already done so.
The world
The WHO has suspended a trial of hydroxychloroquine over safety fears after a study shows taking the drug could raise the risk of death and heart problems. The antimalarial has been touted by Donald Trump as a preventative measure for coronavirus.
Trump has spent the Memorial Day weekend playing golf and insulting female politicians. Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams were derided for their looks or weight, while Trump’s former opponent Hillary Clinton was denounced as a “skank”.
Queen’s guitarist Brian May says he was “near death” after a heart attack while gardening. May used a series of posts on his Instagram account to describe the episode, which led to the discovery of three blocked arteries.
Recommended reads
Greg Jericho highlights a looming issue for the Australian economy: healthy exports in the mining industry might be good for GDP but do little to help the average Australian. With agricultural exports included, despite many being under threat from Chinese tariffs, exports as a whole are more important to Australia than ever before . “The value of our exports is now bigger than that of the entire domestic private sector,” Jericho writes. The biggest reason for that change is China’s rocketing demand for iron ore but the downside is that mining creates relatively few jobs compared with its effect on GDP. Most Australians work in the service sector, which saw an almost 10% fall in export value in March.
If you now need cheering up, why not try reconnecting with nature while contributing to science with a bit of dunnart spotting. Scientists are asking the public to pick out wildlife in images of Kangaroo Island as part of a survey of native animals. Endangered dunnarts are a relative of quolls and Tasmanian devils, and notoriously hard to spot. “I have seen photos starring wallabies, beautiful firetails, and even a brush-tailed possum, looming over the camera like a fluffy Godzilla,” writes Bronwen Scott.
Listen
Today’s Full Story podcast looks at the scientific race to understand Covid-19. In the five months since the world learned about coronavirus it has killed hundreds of thousands of people. In that time, what have scientists found out – and what do they still not know?
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The AFL has announced a series of “blockbuster” fixtures to restart the 2020 season with a bang. Highlights include the Victorian heavyweights Richmond and Collingwood, who will kick off the stalled season on 11 June.
Reopening stadium gates for NRL fans will be dependent on the advice of medical experts, according to the health minister, Greg Hunt. “Our goal is to get Australians back to as much normality as possible as soon as possible, but our guideline is to do it safely,” Hunt said.
Media roundup
Experts fear doctors and nurses treating patients with Covid-19 may be wearing counterfeit face masks, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian reports on the first wave of job losses at universities as Deakin announces it is cutting 400 jobs. And the Australian Medical Association is pushing for enhanced health education to combat the rise of the anti-vaxxer movement, reports the Age.
Coming up
The accused child sexual abuser Malka Leifer is back in an Israel court for an extradition hearing.
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