A very good morning to you all. It’s Thursday and, honestly, we should be congratulated for making it through the news week this far.
It’s Matilda Boseley: why don’t we jump into the morning’s biggest headlines.
Today marks 30 years since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody handed down its recommendations and in that time at least there have been at least 474 more deaths.
Labor says if they win government, they will allocate more than $90m over four years for justice reforms to reduce the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the number of Indigenous deaths in custody.
Labor’s Indigenous affairs spokesperson Linda Burney said federal leadership on justice reinvestment was needed to tackle the root causes of crime and recidivism.
Guardian Australia’s Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist report that the opposition’s plan centres around a national justice reinvestment program with funding for more than 30 communities to design programs focused on rehabilitation, family and domestic violence, and school retention, with the aim of diverting those at risk away from the justice system.
The responsibility would be shared equally with state and territory governments, Burney said, with a national Indigenous justice reinvestment unit set up to support and monitor their progress.
There is also some good news for Queenslanders waking up this morning, with Covid restrictions easing from 6am.
This comes two weeks after Brisbane’s snap lockdown, as state health authorities successfully fought to contain two outbreaks of the highly infectious UK variant.
Masks are no longer mandated anywhere in the state except for in airports or on planes.
Although Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk recommended people still wear masks in settings where social distancing cannot be maintained.
From Thursday, people will also be allowed to stand and dance at restaurants, pubs and clubs, and all outdoor gatherings will be allowed without restrictions. Stadiums, theatres and cinemas can operate at full capacity and gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed at private residences.
Visitors will also be allowed back into hospitals, aged care facilities, disability facilities and prisons across greater Brisbane.
With that, why don’t we get right into it. If there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com