The Socceroos will face Syria in a World Cup play-off after missing out on automatic qualification for the finals. They beat Thailand 2-1 in a frustrating game in Melbourne last night, which meant Saudi Arabia needed only a win against Japan seven hours later to move above the Socceroos in group B and go through to next year's finals in Russia on goal difference. Saudi Arabia duly won 1-0, consigning Australia to a two-leg match-up against Syria, where the winner will then face the fourth-placed team from central and North America – which will be Panama, Honduras or perhaps even the US – for the last spot at the finals. Australia's fraught and fractious campaign has left coach Ange Postecoglou under some scrutiny.
Energy regulators have told Malcolm Turnbull's government to create a reserve of emergency power to ensure there is enough available during heatwaves and storms. The recommendations are contained in a new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator that suggests an additional gigawatt of incremental dispatchable power will be needed in the system when the ageing coal-fired Liddell power station closes in 2022. The Coalition has confirmed it is in talks with AGL to extend the operating life of Liddell after a conversation, but in a statement AGL insisted its plan was to close the plant in 2022. The UK plans to end the free movement of EU labour immediately after Brexit and deter all but the most highly skilled EU workers, documents leaked to the Guardian show. The Home Office document reveals for the first time the government's plan to dramatically shift its focus on immigration to put British workers first. The proposed measures to discourage low-skilled migrants include offering them residency for a maximum of two years (while offering "high-skilled occupations" work permits for three to five years) and making it harder to settle long term and bring family members into the country. The revelations are likely to enrage many in Europe who will feel the UK is intending to treat EU nationals as second-class citizens, and could invite retaliatory action by the 27-country bloc. Sport Australia will head into the third day of the second Test in a strong position after a fruitful partnership between David Warner and Peter Handscomb guided the tourists to within 80 runs of the Bangladesh's first innings total of 305. Join our liveblog writers for every ball on day three from 1.30pm AEST. Mark Sampson, the England women's team manager who was accused of making racist remarks to two players, said his "conscience was clear" in the Eni Aluko case, and that he had been through a "difficult and upsetting time" and wanted to move on. In his first interview since the allegations surfaced, Sampson insisted Aluko's 11-year, 102-cap England career had not been ended as retaliation and reiterated that he had been cleared by an internal FA inquiry. Of the allegation that he told Aluko to make sure her Nigerian relatives did not bring Ebola to Wembley, Sampson said: "I'm very disappointed the allegation has come up. I understand it; all I can say is I didn't say that to Eni." Thinking time Every night for the past few weeks, the twin towers at the Waterloo public housing estate have begun to light up. Slated for demolition, the 30-storey buildings loom over the rest of the estate, and at 5.30pm each day new windows have started blinking on like fairy lights – blue, magenta, yellow; some fading through the colour wheel while others strobe or flash. The effect is beguiling but the public art project behind it, We Live Here, has a more serious goal: to communicate to the outside world that real people are living there – and to remind the New South Wales government of their duty to protect them. Is Peter Dutton a fit and proper person to wield such awesome powers? Dutton is already in a league of his own with the discretionary powers he can exercise as immigration minister – without accountability or transparency, writes Richard Ackland. While we don't yet know for sure what new powers he will exercise as home affairs minister, we know the range and reach of his discretions over people's lives will expand alarmingly. "There is a real question whether someone so devoid of empathy is a fit and proper person to be handed wide, discretionary and unreviewable powers as the new minister for home affairs." Belvoir's current production Hir – pronounced "here" – reminds us of theatre's potential: to be a brilliant conduit that makes ideas alive and accessible. Hir doesn't merely explore themes of gender fluidity, queer theory and the subversion of toxic masculinity, it lightens the weight of concepts that many find foreign or fraught and places them in a family setting where they detonate with wonderful dramatic power. Our reviewer Kate Hennessy, gives Hir a round of applause, and five stars. What's he done now? Donald Trump has brought to an end the Obama-era "Dreamers" programme, revoking the right of 800,000 young, mostly undocumented migrants to live and work in America. Obama called the move "self-defeating" and "contrary to basic decency". The former president said a "shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again". Media roundup The ABC says rural NSW towns have had their drinking water repeatedly tainted by dangerously high levels of pathogens. Water safety reports obtained by the ABC also reveal more than 100,000 NSW residents have been issued boil-water alerts in the past five years. Grafton, Kempsey, Scone, Jindabyne and Merimbula were cited as the five worst-performing areas in the state. The Canberra Times says ACT unit owners face a 31% rate rise over two years, which comes on top of existing 7% annual increases. Owners Corporation Network president Gary Petherbridge told the paper he'd seen some rate bills increase as much as 100%, which seemed fair because units took up less land than freestanding homes. Coming up The high court hearing on the challenge to the same-sex marriage postal survey by Andrew Wilkie, Australian Marriage Equality and others continues in Melbourne today with the court to hear from lawyers representing the government.
Victorian supreme court judge Cameron Macaulay will announce if he approves the $70m Manus Island class action settlement, which asylum seekers' lawyers say acknowledges the harm they have suffered while in offshore detention.
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Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will discuss North Korea with the US president Donald Trump on Wednesday morning. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP 
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