Morning Mail: Billionaire wealth surges again, Reynolds repays expenses, new cancer drug hope

Want to get this in your inbox every weekday? Sign up for the Morning Mail here , and finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter Morning everyone. Inequality campaigners have highlighted that Australia’s new rich list shows the wealth of our billionaires has surged by almost $50,000 a minute in the last year. As Barnaby Joyce takes top billing at an anti-abortion event in Sydney, we look at how the rise of One Nation is amplifying the cause. Expenses repaid | Former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has paid back nearly $8,800 in parliamentary expenses after her partner claimed family reunion allowances to visit his son in Melbourne while en route to meet her in Canberra. Wealth gap | The wealth of Australia’s billionaires increased by $25.67bn in the past year, equivalent to almost $50,000 a minute, according to new Oxfam Australia analysis of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List. Joyce spotlight | Barnaby Joyce of One Nation will be the headline act at an anti-abortion rally being held in Sydney tonight in support of the bill being brought by Libertarian MP John Ruddick to restrict abortion. It reflects how the surge of the minority party in the polls is drawing attention to the issue. Exclusive | Former environment minister Peter Garrett will lead an independent inquiry into the Aukus defence pact, launched by a group of Labor veterans and public figures. Estimates opening | This week’s round of Senate estimates offers the Coalition the chance to, as our correspondent Josh Butler puts it , take some paint off the government’s budget proposals. Continue reading...