Labor’s ‘practical policy’ push, Epstein scout dies, why your phone will blare a loud siren on Monday

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Anthony Albanese will put “practical policies” such as expanding paid work experience in healthcare professions at the heart of Labor’s offering when he makes his keynote speech to Labor’s national conference today.

Plus: military personnel and emergency services are learning very old-school navigation techniques in case of cyber-attacks on satellite communications, we have a quiz on how well you understand the concerns of the Reserve Bank, and we look at the unexpected challenges of life drawing with a greyhound.

Flare up | Australia’s emergency services and military personnel are being trained to read paper maps, navigate https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/23/australia-emergency-services-satellites-down">without GPS support and sail by the stars in case something knocks out the nation’s space capabilities.

‘Practical policies’ | Students in 10 fields including physiotherapy, speech pathology and clinical psychology will receive financial assistance to complete mandatory placements under a major expansion of the federal government’s paid work experience program.

The announcement https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/22/alp-announces-sweeping-changes-to-student-work-placements-as-gaza-war-looms-large-at-party-conference">will come at Labor’s national conference today as part of the government’s plans to set out “practical policies”.

China warning | Penny Wong https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/22/australia-to-warn-china-it-wont-be-bulled-by-provocative-actions-as-it-builds-military-and-nuclear-arsenal">will warn China today that Australia and other neighbouring nations will not be bullied by its “provocative” actions, after its involvement in another “destabilising and dangerous” incident this week.

Reef mapped | More than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/23/great-barrier-reef-microbiome-mapped-as-researchers-discover-500-bacterial-species-previously-unknown-to-science">have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef.

Testing testing | Virtually every phone in the country will sound an emergency siren https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/22/ausalert-test-sound-national-alert-emergency-warning-system-date">at 2pm AEST on Monday as part of the first Australia-wide test of a new national warning system called AusAlert.