Afternoon Update: Socceroos victory hangover; TikTok bans tanning videos; and a summer guide to cool gigs
Have we recovered from the victory hangover? There were iconic scenes at Melbourne’s Federation Square, prompting envy in the harbour city where no such live site exists. That will be remedied for this Sunday’s Socceroos clash with Argentina, with the New South Wales government announcing it will set up a live site in the Sydney CBD – specific location TBD.
The victory was a heartfelt tale for player Bailey Wright, who shortly after leaving the field received a text from his wife about the condition of his seriously ill mother-in-law.
“I’ve just come in from a message from my wife,” Wright said. “I just want to dedicate this to my wife – bless her – and her mum. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if she’s still with us.”
Top news
Christine McVie dies | The voice behind Fleetwood Mac classics including Everywhere and Don’t Stop has “passed away peacefully” following a short illness. She was 79 years old. Tributes have flowed from across the music industry, with sometimes fellow band member and Crowded House frontman, Neil Finn, calling McVie a “supremely gifted songwriter and a warm and wonderful friend”.
Concussion in sport | An inquiry proposed by the Greens with Labor and Coalition support will examine concussion and repeated head trauma in contact sports at all levels, for all genders and age groups. It comes amid growing concern about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease which former AFL concussion doctor Paul McCrory has been accused of downplaying the risks of.
Medibank hacker’s data dump | The cyber-criminals behind the Medibank hack have declared “case closed” after posting a file on the dark web that looks to be the remainder of the customer data they acquired. The health insurer said it was in the process of analysing the data but that it “appears to be the data we believed the criminal stole”.
TikTok tanning ban |Thesocial media company will ban videos that encourage tanning and add educational content to its platform in its place, after concerns raised by Australian medical experts. In September, Melanoma Institute Australia co-medical directors, Prof Georgina Long and Prof Richard Scolyer, took issue with the app for its popular #sunburnchallenge hashtag.
Emissions target falling short |Australia is on track for a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030, short of the 43% target set by the Albanese government. The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said the projection is still an improvement on the Morrison government, when projections“were at only 30%”. “That is, we’ve lifted the outlook by a third in just our first six months,” Bowen said.
US railroad strike |The House of Representatives voted to approve a bill to block a railroad strike, after president Joe Biden called on Congress to intervene, warning the strike would “devastate our economy”. The sticking point is a demand for sick pay, which is not provided to workers. Progressive pushback in support of worker demands resulted in a second House vote to mandate sick pay, but it’s unclear whether that will pass the Senate.
China economy worries |As well as prompting social unrest, there are signs China’s zero-Covid strategy is throttling the world’s second largest economy.
China’s GDP is forecast to grow by 3.2% this year, well below the official target of 5.5%. This would make 2022 the slowest year for GDP growth in more than 40 years, excluding the Covid-affected rate in 2020. The IMF said this forecast could be cut even further.
Iranian shot dead |Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead by security forces after honking his car horn in celebration of Iran’s exit from the World Cup. Samak “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces … following the defeat of the national team against America”, the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said.
Collingwood Do Better |It’s been two years since an expert review found systemic racism at the AFL club. The club says it’s undergone significant transformation since, and I’ve spent the day chatting to the president and current and past players to see what’s changed. Keep your eyes on our site, story will be up 8.30pm tonight – and thanks to my colleague Kris Swales for helping with this newsletter today while I was down at the club. Full Story
Anthony Albanese and the new politics – with Katharine Murphy
The Labor party went to the 2022 election promising Australians a new kind of politics. Six months on, is the party living up to this promise? Listen to this 26-minute episode.
What they said …
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“Everyone was buzzing, screaming a lot of nonsense. So much emotion. But we want to dream big, and when we came to this tournament we always said we want to get out of the group.
The first thing Arnie said was: ‘Let’s go one more.’” – Mathew Leckie
The star’s goal advanced Australia to the World Cup’s last 16, where they’ll face powerhouse Argentina. That match will be played this Sunday 6am AEDT.
In numbers
These are results from two separate surveys conducted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australia Institute.
Before bed read
We’re handpicking the most unmissable arts, festivals and gigs in every major city all through December, January and February. Whether you’re looking for free things to do in Sydney today, family-friendly shows in Melbourne this weekend or what’s coming up this month in Brisbane or Perth, search our guide to find what’s on near you.
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