Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 19 September. Top stories Public support for marriage equality has dropped 4% in a fortnight and opposition is up 3%, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. With the postal survey campaign now in full swing, the latest poll shows 55% support for changing the law to allow same-sex couples to marry and 34% against. However, there is an upside for the yes campaign – people indicating they will definitely vote in the survey are more likely to support same-sex marriage than oppose it, and of those who have already cast their votes, 59% said yes and 37% no. The poll also shows federal Labor maintaining an election-winning lead over Malcolm Turnbull's government – 52% to 48% in two-party-preferred terms – but the gap has narrowed slightly in the government's favour. This winter was Australia's warmest on record for average maximum temperatures, which reached nearly 2C above the average and beat the previous record set in 2009 by 0.3C, according to a report released by the Climate Council on Tuesday. In July alone 72 records were broken for the highest maximum temperature, including in Sydney, which set a record high of 26.5C. Australia has set new seasonal highs for maximum temperatures 10 times so far this century and the report found that more than 260 heat and low rainfall records were broken between June and August this year. It was the fifth-warmest winter on record for average temperatures, and the driest since 2002. And a third of the country is at above average risk from bushfire damage this summer as a result of the hot, dry weather. The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has denounced criticism from environmental activists as he formally declared complete the contentious Sardar Sarovar dam. The mega-dam has become one of India's greatest environmental controversies during the three decades it was under construction, and activists say tens of thousands of villagers who will lose their homes have yet to be compensated. The dam, the second largest in the world by volume of concrete used, is expected to provide drinking water, irrigation or hydroelectricity to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, three states that regularly suffer drought. A $1.3m class action against Australian government agencies on behalf of 115 Indonesians comes to court in Jakarta again today. Lawyer Lisa Hiariej has spent five years working for her clients, who she alleges were wrongly incarcerated as minors in adult prisons and detention centres across Australia. In that time, not once has an Australian government representative showed up to meet her about the case. Hiariej says her mostly poor, uneducated clients are victims, not criminals, who were tricked into acting as crew for people smugglers, then wrongly detained and traumatised for years in Australian jails. Anger is mounting in Europe over the decision by budget airline Ryanair to cancel 40 to 50 flights every day until the end of October, affecting 400,000 passengers. The airline, which has a history of controversial consumer decisions, has admitted to a "mess-up" on pilot holidays that left 18 million ticket holders wondering if their holiday plans would be ruined. Amid a passenger revolt and a slump in the company's share price, the normally combative chief executive Michael O'Leary apologised "unreservedly". But he said furious travellers would return because of the airline's ruthless price-cutting. "Our booking engine is full of passengers who have sworn they will never fly with us again," he said. Thinking time |
When people ask ethicist Peter Singer what connects the various issues he has written about over the years – such as global poverty, the treatment of animals and the way we die – he says: "My answer is simple: I am seeking to reduce pointless suffering." The easiest to end, he says, would be the suffering of patients who know they are dying and who do not want to spend their last days, weeks or months in pain. If a doctor is willing to help a patient to die peacefully when the patient has made a careful and reasonable request for that assistance, whose interest is furthered by turning that doctor into a criminal? Most actors and musicians generally learn how to concede a prize with practised grace. But after Jackie Hoffman's entertaining outburst at the Emmys, in which the standup comic hammed up her disappointment for the watching camera, we look back at some of the legendary sourpusses who came before her – including Sean Penn, Elton John and Kayne West. Scott Morrison's claim that living standards have improved will be met with a hollow laugh, writes Greg Jericho. There isn't much point to improving productivity, increasing employment or cutting taxes if living standards don't rise. Morrison would have us believe they have done so in the past two years, but clearly his belief does not match most people's experience. And until real wages start growing, he will look massively out of touch. What's he done now? Donald Trump has posted footage of a speech criticising the United Nations for "not reaching its full potential" and being mired in bureaucracy, ahead of his first address to the general assembly later today. Media roundup A number of papers splash with Nicole Kidman's Emmy win for Big Little Lies, while the Australian and the Herald Sun also feature on their front pages the death of eight-year-old Melbourne girl Rosie Andersen, who was one of 10 Australians to die from flu so far this month. The Sydney Morning Herald runs a large picture of Lady (Mary) Fairfax, who has died aged 95, and also has a story on soaring obesity rates as campaigners push for a sugar tax. The government has pledged $3m for better access to treatment and support for eating disorders, the ABC reports. About 1 million Australians suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. Coming up Julie Bishop is representing Australia at the UN this week, with the North Korean nuclear threat and Rohinyga refugee crisis set to dominate the agenda. Bishop will take part in the UN security council meeting scheduled for 11pm AEST and is also expected to attend the session on reforming the UN and hold bilateral talks with her Japanese counterpart and an Israeli foreign ministry official. Anti-Adani protesters will rally outside Queensland Labor HQ today, demanding Labor sack Adani lobbyist Cameron Milner from its re-election campaign. Supporting the Guardian We'd like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you. |
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Doctors rally for marriage equality in Sydney. Photograph: Richard Milnes/REX/Shutterstock 
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