Morning Mail: woman charged with 10-year-old’s murder, Naplan results ‘disappointing’, local B-girls speak out over Raygun

<span>Court sketches of Anne and Robert Geeves during the Amber Haigh murder trial.</span><span>Illustration: Leigh Hewitt/The Guardian</span>
Court sketches of Anne and Robert Geeves during the Amber Haigh murder trial.Illustration: Leigh Hewitt/The Guardian

Good morning. A 46-year-old woman has been charged with murder after investigations into the death of a 10-year-old girl on the Gold Coast.

Meanwhile, one in three children are not proficient in numeracy or literacy, according to this year’s Naplan results, leaving Australia “well behind” students in England and Canada.

Overseas, the Kremlin is battling to regain the upper hand on its own territory as it rushes reinforcements to the Kursk region amid intense fighting after the surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia a week ago. And local B-girls say the global mockery of Raygun’s Olympic performance is having a detrimental impact on them.

Australia

  • On the road again | Australians are buying cars that consume more petrol than the fuel efficiencies marketed to them, repeated AAA investigations have found – including a popular Toyota hybrid.

  • Gold Coast murder charge | A woman is due to appear in the Southport magistrates court today charged with murder after a 10-year-old girl was found dead in a Carrara home last night.

  • Amber Haigh murder trial | In closing statements, the crown alleged that the accused – Robert and Anne Geeves – acted like the teen was already dead when she was still considered missing.

  • Freedom of information | The Albanese government is urging the federal court to find that ministerial reshuffles wipe out its obligation to release certain documents.

  • What can we trust? | After a scathing report into baby foods in Australian supermarkets, 70 products were found to meet the WHO’s nutritional criteria and did not exceed limits for sugars, salt and fat.

  • Education analysis | One in three children are not proficient in numeracy or literacy, according to this year’s Naplan results, leaving Australia “well behind” students in England and Canada.

World

Full Story

The forces threatening Labor’s re-election agenda

Federal parliament is back after the long winter break and already the debate is running hot on key issues including housing, gambling and the cost of living. And with less than a year to go before the election, pressure is mounting on the government to gain ground and appeal to voters. Paul Karp and Amy Remeikis discuss what Labor wants to finish before we head to the polls.

In-depth

Kirby Bentley and Courtney Ugle’s lives have a strange symmetry. Both are Noongar women from Perth. Both have played AFL at a professional level. Both now live in Melbourne and are ambassadors for the Aboriginal-controlled organisation Djirra. And both have had their lives marked by devastating violence: Bentley’s aunt and Ugle’s mother were both killed by their partners. As the inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women reports, they demand to be heard.

Not the news

In the latest in our Taste Test series, Nicholas Jordan and five friends boldly venture forth to blind-taste 13 supermarket peanut butter brands – all of them crunchy – with the aim of finding the tastiest peanut butter to spread on toast. From a surprisingly “fluffy” product to another with “no dignity”, together they sampled the range of spreads and received a lesson in value.

The world of sport

Media roundup

Soaring house prices and high interest rates are driving would-be property owners and larger investors to “fractional” investment, where they buy smaller shares in properties rather than buying them outright, reports the Age. The University of Sydney’s staff have been warned of hiring freezes and other cuts as “financial shortfalls” loom, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

What’s happening today

  • NSW | Lawyers for Robert and Anne Geeves are set to give their closing submissions in the Amber Haigh murder trial.

  • Olympics | Members of Team Australia are due to arrive back on home soil on a chartered Qantas flight.

  • SA | The murder trial for alleged serial killer Steven Leslie Hainsworth is set to begin in Adelaide.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.