Ley leads Coalition reform push, fears over school absenteeism, club’s Savage truth

Savage stress | “Lady guests” will be welcomed into one of Australia’s oldest private clubs as the cost-of-living crisis pushes the men-only Melbourne Savage Club into a six-month trial of mixed dining.

Ley’s line | Sussan Ley will ask Coalition MPs to endorse a more inclusive policy development process designed to empower backbenchers and include more diverse voices as she tries to address some of the problems of the Dutton era.

Exclusive | NSW government members have suggested cannabis reform is inevitable after a parliamentary inquiry found the current regime is discriminatory because people with means can obtain medicinal cannabis legally while others are criminalised.

Country ‘insult’ | Queensland’s Labor opposition claims the state’s public servants have been issued a “strict directive” not to include acknowledgments of country in email signatures, calling the policy an “insult”.

Exclusive | With a growing number of children missing more days at school, a new report has urged the federal government to collect national data on chronic absenteeism and embed layers of support in schools to tackle the crisis.

Ayatollah threat | Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has threatened to respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East. The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth (pictured), has maintained that the strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities were successful but – as senior international reporter Peter Beaumont writes – the saga is reminiscent of the tailoring of intelligence that led to the 2003 Gulf war. Australians who were advised by the government to flee Iran via its border with Azerbaijan meanwhile say they were marooned at the crossing without consular help for days.

Border closure | Israel has closed crossings into northern Gaza, cutting the most direct route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of people at risk of famine, as airstrikes and shelling killed dozens more people in the devastated territory. In the West Bank, Palestinians are mourning three people they say were killed by the IDF when they tried to defend themselves against a group of 100 masked settlers.

Mamdani’s message | Zohran Mamdani said his brand of campaigning and leftist political stances can translate to anywhere in the US after he won a surprise victory in the Democratic party’s mayoral primary in New York.

‘Inequality spiral’ | A group of 40 former presidents and prime ministers has warned the world is facing an “inequality spiral” that could see the first trillionaires emerge while nearly half of humanity still languishes in poverty.

Bezos bash | The €40m wedding party being hosted in Venice by Jeff Bezos and his wife-to-be, Lauren Sánchez, serves as a perfect illustration of such inequality with famous faces jetting from all over the world for the three-day bash.

Cricket | Australia’s bowlers hit back after a poor morning session to bowl out West Indies for 190 and regain the initiative in an absorbing and fluctuating first Test at Bridgetown.

Football | Holly McNamara has scored her first international goal but Joe Montemurro was left with plenty to ponder after his side scratched out an unconvincing 3-0 win over Slovenia in Perth in his first outing as Matildas coach. In Miami, Juventus are playing Manchester City in the Club World Cup. Follow it live.

Women in sport | The pay, ranking and status of female athletes should be protected when they have children, according to recommendations released yesterday and backed by the federal government.