Morning everyone. Today’s national cabinet meeting to discuss the fuel crisis will have plenty of talking points after the price of crude oil spiked again after Israeli attacks on Iran’s biggest gasfield, and Iran’s retaliatory threat to attack energy infrastructure across the Gulf region. We have all the latest from the Middle East, as back home Australian farmers explain why they are stockpiling diesel.
With two days before the state election, South Australia’s premier faces questions over why he hasn’t pushed for tighter gun control. Plus, we look at how supersized driveways are devouring Sydney’s front gardens, the mystery of Australia’s disappearing fashion designers, and the potential Socceroo star who got away.
Australia
-
Gardens gone | Sydney’s increasingly supersized driveways are shrinking suburban front yards as residential redevelopment accelerates, a study of homes in the city’s outer suburbs has found.
-
Gun shy | The SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, assured gun lobbyists that he had no plans to strengthen firearm laws in the state despite agreeing to a national crackdown after the Bondi beach massacre.
-
Fuel squeeze | As the national cabinet convenes for an emergency meeting about fuel supplies today, Catie McLeod hears from regional distributors and farmers who have defended themselves against accusations of stockpiling. Greg Jericho says the government must use the fuel crisis to increase fuel duty on big producers.
-
Police ‘intrusion’ | The New South Wales police force is overusing intrusive technology to monitor the phones and computers of people suspected of committing less serious crime, the commonwealth ombudsman warns.
-
Quantum leap | Australian scientists have developed what they say is the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery which charges in a fraction of a second.
World
-
Iran threat | Iran has threatened to attack energy infrastructure across the Gulf region in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its largest gasfield. Crude oil has spiked to $110 a barrel. Tehran confirmed that its intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, was killed in an overnight strike. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has intensified. Follow the latest developments live.
-
Cameo performance | UK Reform leader Nigel Farage called for the release of the imprisoned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug-trafficking in a series of videos on Cameo.
-
Putin problem | A high-profile pro-Kremlin loyalist has turned on Vladimir Putin in a manifesto to his 90,000 Telegram followers.
-
Ballroom glitch | A federal judge has attacked as “brazen” Donald Trump’s plan to replace the White House’s East Wing with a $400m ballroom and may terminate the project.
-
Gaul guy | An ancient skeleton unearthed near Dijon in France is the latest to be found sitting upright, leaving scientists to puzzle why the Gauls chose to bury some of their dead in a seated position facing west.
Full Story
What UK Reform leader Nigel Farage will say for money
The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, has a lucrative extra gig sending paid-for Cameo messages. An analysis of more than 4,000 show they include videos for a neo-Nazi group and a rioter. Henry Dyer reports.
Full Story
What Nigel Farage will say for money
In-depth
The NDIS regulator is receiving an increasing number of reports of abuse, injuries and unauthorised restraint involving people in shared living arrangements, according to an exclusive report by Chris Knaus today. He talks to Sam, who suffered four years of neglect in a disability group home, and had hoped the NDIS would make such stories a thing of the past.
Not the news
Australia produces many talented fashion designers but many of them move overseas to develop their career. Lucianne Tonti finds out what’s behind the brain drain and why some, like Natalia Grzybowski, choose to stay put: “We can have a fantastic industry, so I’m always going to encourage people to stay,” she says.
Sport
A large majority of Australians want to stay out of the American war on Iran, a poll in the Nine newspapers shows. Victorian Labor “insiders” are plotting to dump Jacinta Allan as leader before state elections later this year, the Herald Sun claims. People in the isolated Cape York community of Coen are worried that supplies are running low, the Cairns Post reports, as Tropical Cyclone Narelle nears.
What’s happening today
-
Economy | Jim Chalmers gives his pre-budget address to the Australian Business Economists in Melbourne, plus there is employment data from the ABS and the RBA’s latest financial stability review.
-
Northern Territory | Inquest into the death of murderer Bradley Murdoch at Alice Springs local court.
-
Energy | Australian Energy Regulator publishes a draft default market offer ruling for 2026-27, setting standard energy plans for households and small businesses in SA, NSW and south-east Queensland.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
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
