Morning Mail: Aged care ‘signature’ fees trigger class action; McCartney’s gift to Taylor Swift; T20 glory for Australia

Want to get this in your inbox every weekday? https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/23/morning-mail-newsletter-best-daily-news-email-guardian-australia-free-sign-up-inbox-subscribe?CMP=cvau_sfl&CMP=mm_sfl">Sign up for the Morning Mail here, and finish your day with https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/13/afternoon-update-newsletter-best-daily-news-email-guardian-australia-free-sign-up?CMP=cvau_sfl&CMP=mm_sfl">our Afternoon Update newsletter

Good morning.

A new class action against a leading aged care firm claims it charged some residents for services they could not use – for example, high teas for people on restricted diets, and Foxtel for unconscious patients.

In other news, Queenslanders may end up paying to clean up abandoned mines, and we look at Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour, off-limits for decades and now for sale in the big Defence property selloff.

Dirty legacy | Queenslanders are being warned they could be left https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/06/fears-queenslanders-could-be-forced-to-pay-for-mine-cleanup-as-lnp-reviews-environmental-red-tape">to pay for the cleanup of abandoned mines if rehabilitation laws are weakened, after the government announced a plan to cut “red tape”.

Aged care fight | Residents at an aged care provider https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/06/australian-aged-care-firm-accused-in-class-action-of-charging-residents-for-high-teas-and-classes-they-couldnt-use-ntwnfb">have launched a class action lawsuit alleging fees for services such as high teas and exercise classes were illegally charged to clients who can’t use them.

Analysis | In 2020 Australia’s biggest super fund dumped its shares in Whitehaven.

Now it is the coalminer’s single biggest investor. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/06/australiansuper-coal-investment-superannuation-net-zero-pledge-climate">What happened to AustralianSuper’s net zero pledge?

Fish deaths feared | A plan to improve river flows after catastrophic fish kills in the northern Murray-Darling Basin is in doubt after the federal government https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/06/fish-deaths-murray-darling-nsw-failed-funding-bid-better-water">refused a $360m funding request.

Mystery debris | Suspected space debris found washed up on north Queensland beaches https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/05/mysterious-debris-found-on-queensland-beaches-could-be-space-balls-and-may-contain-toxic-rocket-fuel">could be “space balls” left over from rocket launches.