Aukus decision worst ever by Australian government, says Gareth Evans

Aukus will be one of the worst defence and foreign policy decisions ever made by an Australian government, and Donald Trump is only allowing it to destroy Chinese nuclear threats to the US mainland, the former foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans says.

In evidence to an inquiry into the $368bn defence agreement with the US and UK, Evans, a cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, warned the transfer and construction of submarines to Australia from the early 2030s is effectively merely an extension of the American military fleet.

He said a future US administration would not come to Australia’s aid in the event of an “existential attack” and would only assist in a military conflict if its own assets on Australian soil are threatened.

“The notion that extended nuclear deterrence justifies our prostration – that the US really would be prepared to sacrifice San Francisco for Sydney, let alone Miami for Melbourne – is, and always has been, a ludicrous delusion,” Evans told the inquiry.

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Into the HyperVerse: inside a crypto scheme that cost investors millions of dollars

When Guardian Australia senior reporter Sarah Martin heard a friend’s hairdresser had invested in a cryptocurrency scheme called HyperVerse and potentially lost all her money, she decided to investigate.

In this short documentary, interviews with former HyperVerse participants are woven through Sarah’s recounting of the rabbit hole she fell down as she investigated the scheme and tried to find out who was responsible for it all.

Watch the documentary here.

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“Did she though? Did she? What evidence is there?” – Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese cast doubt on Pauline Hanson’s claims One Nation received $1.5m of donations in a day of fundraising this week.

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The politics and profit of a World Cup in Trump’s America – Full Story podcast

Kick-off is just hours away in what is already shaping up to be one of the most controversial and complex Fifa World Cups as geopolitical disputes and allegations of corporate greed cast a shadow over the tournament.

Football journalist Samantha Lewis speaks to Nour Haydar about why she is more nervous than ever on the eve of the cup about the impact the many problems could have on the world’s most-watched sporting event.

Listen to the episode here

Before bed read

Football Australia is yet to establish a national museum more than a decade after it pledged to create a space that would ensure “a strong connection between football’s present and its past”. A small country pub with a big Socceroos history helps to fill the void, writes Martin Pegan.

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