Morning Mail: Larissa Waters quits as Greens leader; Sydney datacentre scrapped; and SpaceX rocket blasts off

Morning everyone. The Greens will choose a new leader next week after Larissa Waters shocked Australian politics last night by announcing she was standing down due to ill health.

There will also be intense focus on the Reserve Bank at 2.30pm this afternoon when it is expected that interest rates will be lifted again to curb inflation. Our research reveals the huge turnover in One Nation MPs, AI godfathers warn governments to prepare for an “explosion” in the technology, the huge wave menacing the coast of California, and Magda Szubanski’s “elegant, insightful” new book.

Australia

• Leaving party | More than half of the One Nation MPs elected to state or federal parliaments have left the party before the end of their term, according to Guardian analysis, with 28 of the 51 people elected under Pauline Hanson’s banner either resigning midterm or being expelled.

• Rate risk | Two or even three more Reserve Bank interest rate hikes would be “devastating” for the property market but still leave housing more unaffordable than ever as higher borrowing costs trump lower prices, experts say.

• Waters quits | The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, has announced she will step down due to ill health, with a party room meeting scheduled for next week to choose her successor. Deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, and senators Sarah Hanson-Young, David Shoebridge and Nick McKim are contenders to take over.

• Off centre | Plans for a controversial $1.2bn datacentre in Lane Cove in Sydney’s north have been withdrawn, with the developer blaming “emerging” regulations from the state and federal governments.

• Corruption questions | Queensland’s anti-corruption commission has investigated just 20 of more than 6,000 complaints in the past year.

World

• ‘Kelvin wave’ | Concerns are mounting about an ocean phenomenon known as a Kelvin wave that could raise sea levels along the California coastline by up to 30cm, as scientists say El Niño is supercharging the threat of storm surges and flooding in the coming months.

• AI ‘explosion’ | Two of the “godfathers” of modern AI and senior executives at OpenAI and Anthropic have warned governments to prepare for an AI “intelligence explosion”, which they say could be the most consequential technological development in history. They did so as Nvidia unveiled a new security platform that the chipmaker said can stop AI agents from going rogue.

• Base arrests | Five British nationals have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of terror offences at an air force base in south-west England, police have said. Questions remain over whether Iran was involved in the suspected plot.

• Screen study | The effect of high screen time on children is as significant as parental behaviour and premature birth, if not greater, a global study has found.

• SpaceX liftoff | SpaceX has sent its enormous Starship rocket into Earth’s orbit for the first time on a milestone flight intended to pave the way for future missions to the moon and Mars.

Full Story

From fuel wars to AI: the forces driving the RBA rate decision

With inflation proving stubborn and global economic pressures mounting, Australians are bracing for another potential interest rate rise. Could pushing the cash rate to its highest level since 2011 send struggling households over the edge?

Economics editor Patrick Commins joins Reged Ahmad to unpack what’s driving today’s decision and what it means for the broader economic outlook.

In-depth

As the debate around migration becomes more intense, our reporter Achol Arok has been talking to immigrants such as Shamsullah Sadey. The 19-year-old year 12 student fled Afghanistan for a new life in Australia and wants to be a doctor, but feels he is now seen as more of a problem than a contributor to society.

Not the news

Tim Byrne welcomes Magda Szubanski’s latest book, I Can’t Tell You But I Will, which combines the story of the life and decline of Szubanski’s mother and the author’s public activism in the fight for marriage equality to produce an insightful and deeply elegant anti-celebrity memoir.

Sport

• NRL | Nathan Cleary has told fans “I’ll be back” in a social media post from his hospital bed after the Penrith star underwent emergency surgery on a horrific ankle injury. He also urged fans not to blame Knights’ hooker Phoenix Crossland for the tackle that caused the injury.

• Football | Israel captain Manor Solomon claimed his country was “10 times better” than Ireland as fallout intensified from their Nations League match and stated bluntly: “They hate us and we don’t like them.”

• Cricket | A Cambridge professor is working on a prototype bamboo bat to replace willow.

The Telegraph says 1,500 workers fear for their future as a critical Hunter Valley mine ruling nears. Jake Kolodjashnij of the Geelong Cats is retiring from the AFL following fresh neuropsychology scans and tests after his concussion injury, the Advertiser reports.

What’s happening today

• Politics | Centre for Public Integrity webinar into the $560.9m community infrastructure program.

• Economy | 2.30pm RBA interest rates decision

• Business | Case management hearing against Jetstar for failure to refund Covid customers at federal court Melbourne.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.