Morning Mail: Shock after alleged attack on MP; Australia’s banana shortage; and Boland shines in second test

Morning everyone. Independent MP Helen Haines has been critically injured in an alleged attack involving a vehicle outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, in regional Victoria. We have a full report, an explainer about what we know, and a profile.

Supermarkets are running low on stocks of bananas after cooler-than-usual weather in Queensland has hindered production, a thinktank warns that employers are using AI to monitor workers, there’s proof that bears really do love honey, and is the convenience culture out of control?

Australia

• Banana bind | Australia is facing a shortage of bananas after some unseasonably cool weather in Queensland has led to poor growth, leaving Coles, Woolworths and Aldi with sparse displays or very green stock.

• ‘The very best’ | Tributes have poured in from across all sides of politics for the independent MP Helen Haines after she was critically injured in an alleged attack involving a Toyota Landcruiser in Wangaratta in regional Victoria. The prime minister described her as “loved and admired”, while fellow independent Monique Ryan said Haines is the “very best of people”. A 43-year-old local man is in custody and the incident is being investigated by police and counter-terror officers. This is what we know so far, while Josh Butler profiles the MP first elected in 2019 who is known for championing regional causes.

• Women ‘forced out’ | Women are being forced out of employment through “sham redundancies”, losing shifts and facing hostile work environments after having a baby, according to a report by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

• Surveillance warning | Employers are increasingly using technology, from CCTV to keystroke monitoring, to track workers’ moves and it is being accelerated by the use of AI, the Human Technology Institute has warned.

• Diamond error | The British singer Ellie Goulding has apologised after promoting diamonds from the controversial Argyle mine in Western Australia, despite having spent years campaigning on mining issues.

World

• France curfew | France’s prime minister has asked regional authorities to impose partial curfews in some cities after the government admitted police had “lost control” in several places during violent weekend protests around the country. Looting continued for a second night into Monday morning with police apparently taken by surprise by the scale of unrest. Emmanuel Macron’s hollow response has underlined his isolation in government.

• Trump slump | Most Americans think Donald Trump is using the US presidency to enrich himself, according to a new poll, as his approval rating falls to a new low before next month’s midterm elections. Downing Street has criticised Pete Hegseth for downplaying the role of Nato allies in Afghanistan.

• Houthi strike | At least 53 people have been killed in a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a training camp for Yemeni government forces in the largest single loss of life since the country’s civil war reignited in September. A drone strike near a market in southern Sudan has killed 80 people, mostly commuters catching rides home.

• Over and out | Christiane Amanpour, one of CNN’s most decorated and venerated journalists, is leaving the network after 43 years.

• Honey monster | A California library had a visitor worthy of a storybook on the 100th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh: a black bear that wandered inside, reportedly raided the snacks and helped itself to a jar of honey.

Full Story

The allegations against the Greens’ Jordon Steele-John

Sarah Basford Canales and Reged Ahmad ask if the allegations about the Greens senator amount to the party’s biggest scandal, and whether the story is being driven by factional infighting.

In-depth

The news that Target will become the first fashion retailer in Australia to make its products available to order via the Uber Eats app prompts Maggie Zhou to rail against the convenience culture gone wild.

Not the news

Max Veenhuyzen writes today about the job that changed him – working in a Subway in Perth’s nightlife district – and how it set him on the road to becoming a food writer by enabling him to see the human story behind what people eat.

Sport

• Cricket | Scott Boland has once again shone with the ball for Australia on another rain-affected day of the second test in South Africa, taking two more wickets as South Africa struggled to 97-5.

• Tennis | The world No 6, Elina Svitolina, has announced she has separated from her husband, Gaël Monfils, in an emotional Instagram post in which the Ukrainian opened up about the mental toll of Russia’s war against her country.

• Football | The weekend’s final Premier League match is Tottenham against Coventry. Follow it live.

After yesterday’s alleged attack on Helen Haines, the Herald Sun fears Australia may have entered the realm of US politics. Writing in the Age, James Massola says the incident should be a turning point for Australians to reckon with growing extremism and radicalisation. The Australian says it is a “dark day” for the nation after fears of an attack on a politician. Business owners in Glenelg fear a slump in trade amid the surge in the teenage craze for violent brawls on the beach, the Advertiser reports. The Dockers captain, Alex Pearce, has spoken out about Woodside’s sponsorship of the club, describing it as “uncomfortable”, WAtoday says.

What’s happening today

• Gambling | Anti-poker machines campaign launched at NSW Parliament House at 9.30am, and Victorian coroner to publish finding into the death of man who had history of online gambling.

• Courts | High court case on Queensland government ban on two phrases used by the pro-Palestine movement.

• Education | The special envoy to combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, in conversation with the Universities Australia chief executive, Luke Sheehy.

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