Good morning. The disparity in vaccination rates between the poor and wealthy, Indigenous and non-Indigenous has been laid bare. The Australian hospitality industry is trying to lure staff from the UK. And something has to be done about patchy mobile coverage in the bush, as well as the house price boom.
Some of Victoria’s lowest socioeconomic areas are still lagging behind on Covid vaccination rates as the wealthiest surge ahead, creating a stark divide. Prof Mark Stoove from the Burnet Institute said age, disadvantage and access were mixing together to create a perfect Covid cocktail. “The weakest part of our response we’ve found constantly to be health literacy, access to testing and vaccines, casualised workforces,” he said.
There’s also a widening gap in vaccination rates of Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations across the country. The health minister, Greg Hunt, has defended the rollout, saying the issue for Indigenous Australians was now one of “confidence and hesitation” rather than access. But the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said she was “sick of” the government using hesitancy as an excuse. “If there is vaccine hesitancy do something about it,” she said.
The hospitality industry is suffering widespread staff shortages, prompted in part by the closure of international borders and the exit of thousands of international students and working holiday visa holders. “Of 4,200 staff, 900 were working holiday visa holders who returned home at the start of the pandemic,” said Paul Waterson, the chief executive of Australian Venue Co. Now, as many places look to reopen, AVC offers big incentives to hospitality workers from the UK: from free flights to $1,000 vouchers.
When Will Picker broke his back on his NSW farm there was no mobile phone reception – so he crawled for 1km. It’s these sorts of stories that are putting pressure on federal MPs to sign on to a private member’s bill by Berowra MP Julian Leeser to oblige Australian telcos to improve poor mobile coverage. The National Farmers’ Federation chief executive, Tony Mahar, said modern infrastructure, including fast, competitively priced internet and reliable mobile phone coverage, was crucial to grow regional towns.
Australia
Guardian Australia’s Katharine Murphy listened to the first episode of the new Josh Frydenberg Podcast with Sara Grynberg. The series promises a monthly discussion about the treasurer’s journey into politics, his role as a father and husband, and “his reflections on some of the most challenging moments in his career to date”.
Australian house prices are soaring – even more than usual. Corelogic’s index says they’re up 18.4% across the country in the past year, the fastest pace of growth since 1989. Guardian Australia explains what’s happening and what can be done to bring it under control.
Drone delivery company Wing has suspended deliveries to a Canberra suburb after a nesting raven swooped a drone delivering coffee. If such deliveries are the carbon-friendly future, can birds and drones coexist?
Hydroxychloroquine sales increased by 99% in Australia at the start of the pandemic, according to new research. Prescriptions for ivermectin are on the rise too. Neither drug has been found to be effective against Covid.
The world
A former police officer has been given a whole-life sentence for the kidnap, rape and murder of a London woman, Sarah Everard. Wayne Couzens used his warrant card and handcuffs to get Everard, 33, into his car as she walked home in south London at the height of lockdown restrictions in March.
Facebook’s global head of safety faced a grilling before the US Congress in a hearing examining the impacts of the company’s products on children. The hearing came after the Wall Street Journal revealed research showing the harmful effects of Instagram on teen girls’ mental health.
The pro-refugee mayor of an Italian town has been sentenced to 13 years in jail for abetting illegal migration. Domenico Lucano, the former mayor of Riace, made his small town famous for its much-lauded model of integration of refugees as a means of reversing depopulation.
Recommended reads
Squid Game, a South Korean thriller, is on track to be Netflix’s biggest hit yet. The premise is simple enough: hundreds of desperate, debt-laden contestants compete for more money than they could dream of. All they have to do is survive a series of disturbingly cruel, win-or-die, kill-or-be-killed children’s games. Monica Tan wonders if the series has struck a chord because so many of us are feeling burned out, “over it” and searching for a path of least resistance out of the daily grind.
Bodies of Light, Jennifer Down’s second novel, is a remarkably empathic book, writes Declan Fry. Its narrator, Maggie Sullivan, is institutionalised, caught up in a world of “foster families, group homes and resi units”, and molested. We follow her into adulthood and late middle age, witnessing incidents which transform her life. Maggie shows us how we live and go on living.
Listen
As pressure to reduce Australia’s emissions to net zero by 2050 increases, there has been a slight shift in language from the Morrison government on its climate targets. But as the PM points to a roadmap for reduced emissions, Scott Morrison must appease his Coalition counterparts. In this episode of Full Story, Lenore Taylor and Adam Morton speak to Gabrielle Jackson about the shifting politics of climate action.
Full Story
Pressure is building on Morrison for climate action, will this time be different? – with Lenore Taylor
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Mohammad Zaman Khadimi was forced to make an impossible choice as he fled the Taliban for sanctuary in Australia. For this episode of Australia Reads, assistant news editor Shelley Hepworth recommends this profile by Ben Doherty about Khadimi, a young Hazara man who walked out of class one morning and into a world entirely changed.
Guardian Australia Reads
‘They will kill you’: a future leader of Afghanistan on the price he paid for freedom
Listen to the best of Guardian Australia’s journalism on Australia Reads podcast on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Subscribe for free onApple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Formula One will stage its first grand prix in Qatar in November to fill the vacant slot left by the cancelled Australian GP. The race will take place at Losail International Circuit, 20 miles outside of Doha, on 21 November with Qatar joining the F1 calendar in a 10-year deal from 2023.
Media roundup
AFR Magazine has released its power ranking, in which Scott Morrison has been unseated by four premiers. The Australian reports that the Minerals Council of Australia has endorsed a net-zero by 2050 target. Before today’s national cabinet meeting, several Liberal MPs argue that fully vaccinated Australians should be free to leave the country from next month, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Coming up
National cabinet will discuss a plan to increase ICU capacity in preparation for a surge in Covid cases as states open up, according to the Australian.
The Australian border force commissioner will talk about efforts and preparations to open the border, at a Ceda event.
Parliament will continue an inquiry into expanding membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, which both China and Taiwan want to join.
And if you’ve read this far …
Voting for the Australian bird of the year is still open, with 30 birds still in the race. Guardian Australia asked four bird-crazy children what they have to say on the matter.
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