Fake site exposes alleged spy scheme; Sally McManus’s farewell; Sam Neill honoured at Logies

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Good morning.

We report today on a curious case linking a fake website impersonating a Brisbane consultancy firm with what the FBI claims is a campaign to recruit Chinese spies.

Meanwhile, we speak with the outgoing ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, whose tenure in the top job spanned the Turnbull, Morrison and Albanese governments – and helped to reshape Australia’s industrial landscape.

‘It never stops’ | After securing wage rises for low-paid workers, weathering death threats and working with three PMs, Sally McManus, the outgoing ACTU secretary, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/17/the-pm-called-sally-mcmanus-a-giant-of-the-labor-movement-now-she-just-wants-to-go-birding">is ready for a break.

Militaria concerns | Nazi artefacts https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/17/nazi-artefacts-prohibited-symbols-still-being-sold-online-australia-ntwnfb">are being openly sold in Australia three years after it was made it illegal to do so, with vendors saying they are doing so for “educational” reasons.

Vaccine scepticism | Australian medical experts are warning that a shift in child vaccination advice in the US https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/17/australia-health-fears-us-vaccine-scepticism-trump-hepatitis-b-measles-mumps-rubella">is not grounded in science and could undo decades of public health advances.

Logie awards | Sam Neill has won a posthumous best actor award at Australia’s biggest television awards – with comedian Sam Pang https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/aug/17/logies-2026-sam-pang-gold-logie-sam-neill-win-awards">taking home the night’s top honour, the Gold Logie award.

Deepfake alarm | There are warnings over a steep rise in scammers luring victims into phoney investments using deepfakes of celebrities and politicians – https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/17/deepfake-anthony-albanese-used-in-celebrity-scams-duping-australians-out-of-74m-asic-warns">including images of Anthony Albanese.