Guardian Australia investigation reveals impoverished Australians buried in unmarked communal graves

Morning everyone. Today, a Guardian Australia investigation reveals how impoverished Australians are being buried in unmarked communal graves, a practice described by grieving relatives as “unspeakable”.

We also report on a Greens proposal to nationalise some supermarkets to drive down food prices, we examine Anthony Albanese’s predicament at the climate summit in Fiji, and what does Sandpapergate mean as Australia return to the scene of the crime? Plus France is braced for more student unrest, and a lockdown in Siberia after a lab worker dies of suspected plague.

Australia

Green grocers | More than 200 Coles and Woolworths supermarkets would be nationalised and hundreds of government-owned grocery stores opened under a $25bn proposal put forward by former Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather, channelling a similar scheme pioneered by New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

Exclusive | Hundreds of impoverished Australians, including rough sleepers, migrants and veterans, are being sent into unmarked and communal graves, most of which hold the remains of four or more people. The practice has outraged the homelessness sector and shocked relatives and friends of the dead, who say they were denied the chance to intervene and fund a proper burial.

Cop drama | Anthony Albanese landed in Fiji yesterday to attend his first UN climate summit since becoming prime minister more than four years ago. But with only two non-Pacific leaders among the 4,000 people in Nadi for the preparatory meeting for the year-ending Cop31 UN climate summit in Turkey, it was something of a mixed start.

7 October | Jewish Australians will mark the third anniversary of the 7 October attacks on Wednesday as Labor state governments condemn pro-Palestinian vigils to be held the same day.

Tech grilling | OpenAI must explain how they will stop their models from inappropriately accessing Australian data, the Labor chair of the parliament’s committee on AI has warned ahead of federal inquiry hearings to grill tech bosses. Sam Altman, whose OpenAI agents accessed Australian government data without authorisation, says he believes the world should accept “bad things” happening with AI in exchange for the benefits.

World

France unrest | France is bracing for a national day of protests and high-school blockades on Tuesday as a youth protest movement gathers pace amid a growing debate about the police response after a 15-year-old protester had his hand ‌blown off in Lens.

Plague fear | Several hospitals in Siberia have been placed under quarantine after the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague institute – reportedly after an accident at the laboratory.

Spanish snap | Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has staked his future on a snap general election announced after rightwing parties torpedoed his plan to fix the country’s housing crisis. Will his gamble pay off?

Brazil shock | Flávio Bolsonaro is in pole position to win Brazil’s presidential election, after a surge of far-right support propelled him to a shock first-round victory over the incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leaving progressive voters reeling.

Pain gap | Women report suffering more pain than men, a major global study has found, with women’s self-reported pain across 11 bodily sites – head, face, neck or shoulder, foot or ankle, hand or wrist, elbow, chest, back, stomach or abdomen, hip and knee – higher than for men.

Full Story

Cornell University gang-rape allegations and the culture behind them

When a civil lawsuit brought horrific details of an alleged gang rape at a Cornell fraternity to light, international outrage followed.

Reged Ahmad speaks to Guardian US reporter Richard Luscombe to unpack the fallout at Cornell and examine whether this case will spark real change across American college campuses.

In-depth

There’s not much to see at Peter Giesel’s gravesite: dried track marks, a shovel, some raised mounds where the soil is yet to settle. Giesel died as a “person without means”, a designation that gives state governments control over an individual’s burial or cremation. A three-month investigation by the Guardian has revealed that hundreds of people like him across New South Wales are being buried in unmarked and communal graves, with friends and relatives often unaware. Giesel’s close friend, Elaine Grady, was shocked to learn of his fate when contacted by the Guardian: “How could such a heartless thing happen to someone who gave so much of his heart to others?”

Not the news

Jack Larkin recalls mulching Canberra’s parks for his brother’s landscaping business in a job that taught him he wasn’t cut out for manual labour. He chose journalism instead, inspired by his brother’s pithy advice: “Go to university, dickhead; you’re far too smart to rake mulch for a living.”

Sport

Cricket | South Africa’s stunning Test victory in 2018 was overshadowed by the scale of national angst felt in Australia after the team’s sandpaper ball-tampering scandal. Daniel Gallan looks back as Australia prepare to tour for the first time since.

Tennis | Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final with Novak Djokovic on Monday after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd that struck a ​spectator in the eye.

Motor racing | Formula One bosses look amateurish and incompetent after the farcical scenes at the beginning of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, writes our correspondent.

Media roundup

The treasury secretary has asked staff to inform on colleagues suspected of leaking, according to the Australian. Federal Liberals say One Nation’s call to jail former Victorian premiers Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan exposes the risk of handing power to Pauline Hanson, the Age reports. A NSW south coast resident tells the Milton-Ulladulla Times of the terrifying moments when a tornado swept through the region.

What’s happening today

Canberra | Arraignment at ACT supreme court for former attorney-general Gordon Ramsay on charges of grooming a teenage boy.

Sydney | Pre-trial at NSW supreme court for SAS soldier charged with war crimes over Afghan killing.

Perth | Land forces international land defence expo.

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Brain teaser

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