Morning mail: the cost of Nauru regime, Russia sends troops to Ukraine, powerful sick notes

Good morning. Australia’s offshore processing regime on Nauru will cost taxpayers nearly $220m over the next six months. Russia has sent troops close to Ukraine’s borders. And Google warns that an upcoming Australian court ruling could have “devastating impacts” on the internet.

Australia’s offshore processing regime on Nauru will cost taxpayers nearly $220m over the next six months as it holds 107 people on the Pacific island. Brisbane firm Canstruct International has been awarded a new extension – its eighth non-competitive contract extension – for $218.5m to provide six months of “garrison and welfare services” on Nauru. The company’s total revenue from island contracts over the past five years now totals more than $1.8bn. It currently costs Australian taxpayers more than $4m a year to hold one person within the Nauru offshore regime – a little over $11,000 per person per day.

Russia has sent troops more than 4,000 miles to Ukraine’s borders and announced sweeping naval drills as Moscow expands its preparations for a potential attack on Ukraine and negotiations appear at a deadlock. A senior European Union official has said the EU will be ready to launch sanctions against Russia within days of a military attack on Ukraine. Yet countries that are supposed to be supporting Ukraine have come under fire this week. The chief of Germany’s navy has resigned after arguing at a livestreamed event that Putin “deserves respect” and Kyiv will never win back annexed Crimea – comments that Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin said “massively” called into question Germany’s trustworthiness. And the White House has been doing damage control after Joe Biden referred to a potential Russian invasion as a “minor incursion.”

Google has warned of a “devastating” impact on the internet if a court ruling that the search giant is liable for defamatory material contained in hyperlinked pages is not overturned. Google warned in a submission to the high court it will be forced to “censor” its search results if a $40,000 defamation damages award to George Defteros, a solicitor who represented Melbourne gangland figures, is allowed to stand. Defteros successfully sued Google, arguing its publication of search results that included a 2004 article in the Age about his arrest on conspiracy to murder charges – which were later dropped – defamed him.

Australia

Schoolchildren
Paediatricians say Australian children requiring extra care as a result of the pandemic need to be urgently identified for targeted intervention programs. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

The indirect effects of the pandemic on children and adolescents are as substantial – if not more so – than the impact of being infected with Covid-19, paediatricians say.

New South Wales and Victoria have announced near-identical plans to slow the spread of Covid as students return to classrooms next week, with both states relying on rapid antigen tests in the first month.

The NSW government could be forced to spend another $4.1bn over the next decade to address “significant uncertainties” surrounding a controversial $40bn rail corporation it set up to inflate the state’s budget bottom line.

Perth has registered a record sixth consecutive day over 40C as the heatwave in Western Australia continued on Sunday ahead of an expected cool change on Monday.

If you care about government integrity, here’s what to look out for before the next federal election.

The world

NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford
NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern has had to cancel her wedding to Clarke Gayford due to the latest Omicron outbreak. Photograph: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Omicron has breached New Zealand’s borders and started spreading in the community, Jacinda Ardern has said, meaning the entire country will be placed on the highest level of restrictions. The outbreak has also forced the prime minister and Clarke Gayford to cancel their wedding, which was due to take place in the coming weeks.

Afghanistan can only be saved from state collapse and widespread starvation if the definition of legitimate humanitarian aid to the country is broadened, some of Britain’s most senior former security and diplomatic chiefs have said.

The UK’s deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has refused to confirm that the Sue Gray report on alleged Downing Street parties will be published in full next week, saying the amount of detail released publicly will be a matter for PM Boris Johnson.

Italian parliamentarians will begin casting their votes for a new president on Monday after the scandal-plagued Silvio Berlusconi abandoned his dream of becoming the next head of state.

A 75-year-old Frenchman attempting to row across the Atlantic “to laugh at old age” has been found dead in his cabin at sea, his support team said.

Recommended reads

Musician Ziggy Marley
Musician Ziggy Marley has opened up about his parents. Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

As an exhibition featuring unseen photos of Bob Marley opens in London, his son talks about his father’s passion for sport, the night he was shot, and the crucial role his mother played in Bob’s success. “I’m proud of both my dad and my mum because there’s a team work going on between them,” said Ziggy Marley. “Bob wouldn’t be Bob without Rita.”

Women’s anger is not dissipating – and politics as usual won’t solve it. After the Brittany Higgins accusations, Australian women asked their leaders to listen. But as usual, leaders gave the public platitudes instead of plans. And women’s anger was once again the subject on trial. “In men, anger, no matter how unreasonable, is always reasonable,” Amy Remeikis writes. “In women, that same anger is irrational – spurred by emotion, not rationality.”

After serious illness, busy lives mean a proper convalescence is now a rarity. But a full and proper recovery takes time. GP and writer Gavin Francis reveals why a sick note can be a “powerful prescription”.

Listen

All summer we’ve seen the highly contagious Omicron variant rip through most of Australia, as a record number of people continue to get sick and die from the virus.

Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to a paramedic and a senior ICU nurse, who say the health system is being pushed to the limit.

Full Story

A paramedic and an ICU nurse from the frontline of the Omicron surge

Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.

Sport

China’s Peng Shuai
China’s Peng Shuai in action at the 2020 Australian Open. Photograph: Andy Brownbill/AP

Tennis Australia maintains Peng Shuai’s safety is its “primary concern”. Yet fans at Melbourne Park were asked to remove T-shirts and a banner bearing the words “Where is Peng Shuai?”, as they were deemed to contain political statements.

Tennis Australia’s chief executive, Craig Tiley, has dismissed suggestions that Novak Djokovic may sue the organisation and has claimed the world No 1 will be back at the Australian Open in 2023.

Media roundup

Travellers hoping to book a holiday in Europe may face being locked out, after the European Council advised member states to block visitors from Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Indefinite border closures in Western Australia has thrown Perth’s music scene into disarray, according to WAToday, with hundreds of music events cancelled.

Coming up

Cleo Smith abduction accused in court.

And if you’ve read this far …

Wondering how to pick a good school lunch box? Look for something easy to open.

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source: theguardian.com