Morning Mail: Pauper’s grave for ‘king of town hall’; Antarctic penguin numbers decline; and The Castle in real life

Morning everyone. Our exclusive top story reveals that a well-known Sydney rough sleeper was buried in an unmarked communal grave without the knowledge of his support workers as we continue our investigations into the scandal.

Elsewhere, the story of the couple who led the fight against a coalmine expansion in the Hunter Valley has been called a real life version of The Castle, and a British billionaire is revealed to have warned as early as the 1980s that Jeffrey Epstein was a “sexual deviant”.

Australia

• Pill boom | The number of pharmacies stocking an abortion pill increased by almost 50% when restrictions were relaxed, with researchers saying the findings suggest deregulation of abortion promotes safer and faster healthcare.

• Exclusive | Homelessness support workers say they are shocked that they did not know that a Sydney rough sleeper known as the “king of town hall” for his constant presence on the steps of the building was one of the people “without means” who ended up being buried in unmarked graves.

• ‘Catastrophic loop’ | The drastic land use changes wreaked by colonisation created a “catastrophic wildfire loop” that rendered south-east Australia more susceptible to climate-fuelled bushfires, experts say.

• Policy problem | What is the right level of immigration into Australia? The main political parties all have different proposals for this key issue, but what exactly are they all suggesting?

World

• ‘All preventable’ | Two decades before Jeffrey Epstein came under federal investigation, the British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith – who died in 1997 – told a confidante that Epstein was a “sexual deviant” who was recruiting children for illicit activities. “It was all preventable,” the confidante has told the Guardian.

• Penguin fears | The world’s largest penguin colony has declined by two-thirds since 2011, most likely because of the climate crisis, a study has revealed.

• Paxton pain | Ken Paxton, the Trump-backed Republican in a tight Senate race in Texas, has admitted privately that rising fuel prices as a result of the president’s Iran war are hurting his party ahead of the midterms. Why are the midterms so important?

• Birthday bombing | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia’s military of deliberately killing civilians and bombing residential buildings as a macabre gift for Vladimir Putin, who celebrates his 74th birthday on Wednesday.

• Brazil coup fears | Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right frontrunner to become Brazil’s next president, has vowed to “re-democratise” the South American country, increasing fears about a move into authoritarian rule if he wins power.

Full Story

The Coalition’s race to the bottom on migration

Tom McIlroy joins Matilda Boseley to discuss whether being more extreme on immigration than One Nation is a vote winner, and why the most vulnerable will be hit hardest by the Coalition’s plan.

In-depth

The successful attempt by two retired teachers in the Hunter Valley to prevent the expansion of a coalmine next to their farm has been likened, writes Lisa Cox, to “a real-life moment from The Castle”. Our environment editor Adam Morton notes that critics were quick to point out Anthony Albanese’s language opposing legal action to stop a coalmine sat in contrast with the message he delivered over the past three days at a climate conference in Fiji.

Not the news

The Melbourne singer-songwriter Gretta Ray talks to Katie Cunningham about suffering a serious illness while on the brink of her big breakthrough, rebuilding her life, and her new album Heartsong out later this month.

Sport

• Football | After Lionel Messi played his final match for Argentina, Marcela Mora y Araujo reflects on how the legendary player turned football into a sacred mystery.

• Tennis | Coco Gauff said she had been left drained by the racist abuse she experienced during the China Open after losing in the last 16 to Elise Mertens.

• Rugby union | Demand for South Africa and New Zealand tickets for the Nations Championship finals weekend has been greater than those for England despite Twickenham hosting the inaugural competition’s finale.

A former Reserve Bank board member tells the Financial Review that his successors have been caught “off guard” by the surge in inflation. The Hobart Mercury leads with a story that Tasmanian seaweed could be fed to cattle to slash emissions by the cows. Deleted posts by the accused flydubai hijack pilot expose alleged misogynistic commentary, homophobic abuse and details of life in Melbourne, according to the Age.

What’s happening today

• Business | Datacentre builder Firmus kicks off book building before its IPO.

• Sport | Bathurst 1000 begins at 9am.

• Politics | Victorian Greens campaign launch at 5.30pm.

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Brain teaser

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