Morning mail: lobbying forced backdown over land clearing Monday: federal government took the unusual step of apologising to landowners after intervention by Queensland MPs. Plus: Merkel secures fourth term Land clearing of native vegetation in Queensland. Photograph: Auscape/UIG via Getty Images Eleanor Ainge Roy @EleanorAingeRoy Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 5 March. Top stories Intense lobbying by Liberal and National MPs forced the government to back down from attempts to stop potentially unlawful clearing in Queensland, according to freedom of information documents obtained by the Guardian. Two months after asking 51 landholders to explain why the clearances were not unlawful, the federal environment department sent a letter to the same landholders expressing "deep regret" for any distress caused. The sharp U-turn in 2016 exposes the Coalition's involvement in the full-blown land-clearing crisis that threatens to devastate trees, plants and wildlife in the eastern states. The situation is especially bad in Queensland where more land is cleared of trees than in the rest of the country combined. The latest figures show 395,000 hectares were cleared in a single year – amounting to about a football stadium of clearing every three minutes. As part of our ongoing Wide Brown Land series, our environment editor Michael Slezak has been investigating the crisis. Forecasts suggest that in the two decades to 2030, 3m hectares of untouched forest will have been bulldozed amid a rush to clear land for livestock for the booming agriculture sector. Governments meanwhile have failed to enforce restrictions. To help visualise the devastation, you can use our interactive tool to map its impact. White House officials fanned out on Sunday to support Donald Trump's planned imposition of tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, describing it as a national security issue. Amid international consternation, British prime minister Theresa May called Trump expressing "deep concern", and critics said the move was a needless provocation of allies and enemies alike. One Democratic senator said targeting China could damage attempts to reduce tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea. Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council, confirmed that China was the focus of Trump's surprise decision. "China is at the root of the problem," Navarro told CNN's Face the Nation. "China has tremendous overcapacity in both aluminium and steel. They flood the world market and this whittles down to our shores." One of Australia's most respected thinktanks has weighed into the population growth debate, saying the federal government needs to develop an explicit population policy that defines the "appropriate" level of migration, and it may need to reduce the migrant intake to improve wellbeing. The Grattan Institute says it is entering the debate cautiously, and it has deliberately not identified an optimum level of migration. But it says the Turnbull government needs to seriously consider the degree to which major cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, are struggling to cope with high population growth. Ben Raue delves into the Tasmanian election, how the minor parties' vote stalled and why Labor was not able to form government. "This election emphasises a dilemma for Labor – there are many swing voters who will only vote for Labor if they believe they can govern alone," he writes. "Yet the Greens will continue to play a major role in Tasmanian elections and the voting system ensures they will keep a toehold in Tasmania's lower house." Labor and the Greens formed government together from 2010 until 2014, but were both punished with significant drops in support at the 2014 election. "So how do you find a way to cooperate with a party who many swing voters don't like, or convince those voters that you will be able to govern alone, when that requires a big jump in your vote? Until Labor solves this problem, they will struggle to win elections in Tasmania." Angela Merkel has secured her fourth term in power after Germany's Social Democratic party (SPD) agreed to form another "grand coalition" government with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The SPD announcement ends almost six months of uncertainty in German politics, the longest the country has been without a government in its postwar history. With both Merkel's party and the SPD facing internal calls for a programmatic reboot and the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) now the biggest opposition party in parliament, the new government's stability will likely be tested. Sport The Bulldogs are one game clear on the top of the ladder, while Melbourne, inspired by a best-on-ground performance from captain Daisy Pearce, now sit equal on points with the Brisbane Lions in third. That would suggest the grand final race is down to three, but with dark horses GWS and Adelaide lurking a half-game behind in fourth and fifth, the season remains wide open. Thanks to chief executive Lawrie McKinna and his appointment of Ernie Merrick, the Jets have gone from last in 2016/17 to challengers in 2017/18. They boast increased home attendances, and as Andrew Nabbout's goal celebration showed against Sydney FC, a special connection between crowds and players. The romance of their story is a case study for what a well-functioning A-League can deliver. Thinking time Behind the scenes of Mardi Gras with Dr Marks Marching academy. Photograph: Carly Earl for the Guardian Dr Mark's Marching Academy, a community group that has taken part in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade every year for nearly 20 years, marched for the last time this year. Guardian photographer Carly Earl joined the group and documented their final walk up Oxford Street. She also hears the stories of participants in the parade – from newlyweds celebrating after the same-sex marriage vote to those struggling with a friend's suicide. One of the participants, Amanda Jane Baus, says: "I am marching this year because this time last year I was fighting for my life undergoing chemo and radiation for lymphoma. I told myself and my best friend, Claire, that we would march in 2018. That was my goal." The Oscars award ceremony kicks off at midday Australian time, and the Guardian has compiled a final list of predictions, background reading and need-to-knows, in what promises to be – in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the Time's Up campaign – one of the most memorable Oscars ever. "The consensus is that this year's best picture Oscar has boiled down to a two-horse race, between The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – the former edging ahead despite the latter winning the equivalent award at the Baftas and coming out on top at the Globes. "The commonwealth's National Heritage List has finally recognised a symbolic part of central Melbourne where the bones of many Indigenous elders lay buried," writes Paul Daley. "For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the incorporation into the list of the Melbourne Domain Parkland and Memorial Precinct (including the Kings Domain Resting Place where the elders are buried) represents long overdue official acknowledgment of the injustice and disrespect shown to Indigenous dead." Media roundup Barnaby Joyce's colleagues have lashed out at the former deputy PM, the Herald Sun reports, criticising him for casting doubt over the paternity of his unborn child. The Australian leads with the "tsunami" of child sexual assault cases in Indigenous communities, reporting agencies are "swamped" by the scale of neglect, with one minister suggesting martial law should be imposed. And the ABC has a guide on how to fake your way through this year's Oscars if you didn't have time to watch all the nominated films. Coming up Cardinal George Pell will face court for a four-week committal hearing on multiple historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants. Court will be closed for complainant evidence from Monday afternoon. Katy Gallagher's lawyers will make a submission to the high court in Canberra over her citizenship case. 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. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396