Good morning. Aged care Covid deaths soar in Australia, Muslim Australians abandon Labor in key marginals and the US pledges Nato cooperation with Finland and Sweden.
Covid deaths inside aged care facilities are occurring at rates unseen during the first two years of the pandemic, as government data reveals at least 60 people are dying a week, with more than 350 deaths since the start of the election campaign. Aged care works are preparing to strike tomorrow, citing frustration about low pay, heightened workforce pressures and workload. Scott Morrison has described every death as a “terrible loss” but explained that the high number of deaths is due to people dying “with Covid” but not necessarily “because of Covid”. Anthony Albanese flagged a new national strategy to reduce the deaths if Labor wins the election. Virologists, meanwhile, have accused both Labor and the Liberals of failing to address slowing booster uptake rates amid a creeping “complacency” in pandemic planning.
As the federal election enter its final few days, Guardian Australia looks back at what we learned from visiting marginal electorates across the country. While one voter in a Tasmanian marginal seat described the two would-be prime ministers as “two cheeks, same arsehole”, Guardian staff have identified seven key policy areas in which the main parties diverge. In western Sydney, Muslim Australians have expressed frustration at Labor taking “our community for granted for so many years”, with a younger generation of Muslim voters considering alternatives. And, in case you were wondering, the child Scott Morrison knocked over on the soccer field in Devonport last night is fine.
The US will work with Finland and Sweden in the event of a “threat of aggression” as the two nations edge closer to Nato membership. President Joe Biden said the US would maintain its “robust exercise activity and presence” in the Baltic Sea region, and counter “any threats to our shared security”. In Ukraine the treatment of nearly 1,000 soldiers from Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steel plant is unclear, with the Kremlin confirming they’ve been sent to a prison colony in a Russian-controlled area of the Donetsk region. A Russian soldier has pleaded guilty to shooting an unarmed civilian during the first war crimes trial in Kyiv. More than 10,000 cases have been registered over the past few months.
Australia
The number of Australians turning to crowdfunding to secure their accommodation has quadrupled in the past year in the face of dramatic rent increases and low vacancy rates in major cities across the country.
The rate of tropical rainforest die-off has doubled since the 1980s, with research suggesting global heating could see forests releasing more carbon dioxide than they absorb.
Burnout is driving an increasing number of healthcare staff out of hospitals in regional NSW, with policy failure at state and federal level “forcing many GPs to close up shop”.
The world
The EU is planning to commit €210bn over five years to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas, announcing a major increase in solar and wind power and a target of 45% renewables by 2030.
Sudanese refugees fleeing massacres will be forcibly returned to Rwanda by the UK Home Office, with asylum seekers being issued “notices of intent” under a controversial new policy.
Cryptocurrency crashes will not reduce the sector’s environmental footprint, Dutch researchers have suggested, with energy-intensive rates of “mining” remaining steady, despite nearly $1tn being wiped off the sector in the past month.
Recommended reads
“It was 2010 and DVD sales in Australia were booming.” Olivia Bennett and her mum had stumbled across an absolute bargain: five VHS cassettes for 50c at Lifeline; and after multiple trips they were well on their way to a thousand-strong collection of their favourite films – from Jim Henson’s Labyrinth to Pete’s Dragon. Michael Sun talks to several “collectors” and finds that there’s “something about a physical medium – the tactility of it … There’s just something innately comforting about that.”
When Australians go to the polls this Saturday, their real wages will be about the same rate as they were when Tony Abbott took office in 2013. As Greg Jericho explains: “It really does put all talk about a strong recovery from the pandemic into context. Yes, GDP has recovered, and yes unemployment has fallen, but the ability of workers to buy things with their wages has fallen.”
Geraldine Quinn bought her family’s first dial-up modem so it’s safe to say she was in on the ground floor when it comes to online giggles. And as our guest curator for this week’s 10 funniest things on the internet she’s delivering Alex Jones as you’ve never seen him before.
Listen
The case for a federal anti-corruption commission: It’s a broken promise that has dogged the Morrison government, while Anthony Albanese says he’ll have one in place before 2022 is out, if Labor wins office. On this episode of Full Story, chief political correspondent Sarah Martin explains why the watchdog is needed.
Competing plans and broken promises for a federal integrity commission
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Glasgow Rangers and Eintrach Frankfurt remain lockstep during the Europa League final, with the score 1-1 midway through the second half. For the latest results and reaction, see our live blog.
The English national team is set to “unlock some seriously good cricketers” if their new managing director, Rob Keys, is to be believed. With Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson recalled, and Matthew Potts and Harry Brooks promoted, there’s also a new-look No 3 batsman who has tongues wagging.
Media roundup
Workers face a $4,000 real wage cut as inflation outstrips wage growth, the Sydney Morning Herald writes. Climate 200 convener Simon Holmes à Court has been filmed by Josh Frydenberg in a heated conversation with the Liberal senator Jane Hume at a Melbourne prepoll, the Courier-Mail reports. And the ABC reports on a 130% increase in flu cases in Queensland.
Coming up
Anthony Albanese will release Labor’s policy costings.
The Chris Dawson murder trial continues in Sydney.
And if you’ve read this far …
It was bought for a few hundred quid for its striking illustration, consisting of bats and cranes. But an extremely rare 18th century Chinese vase from the court of the Qianlong emperor has gone under the hammer at auction for almost £1.5m. Not bad for a “decorative thing” bought on a whim.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.
Discover Australian Weekend
Every Saturday from 6am, enjoy early access to the best journalism planned for the weekend in one elegant app, plus a curated selection of the week’s news and analysis from Australia and the world.