Afternoon Update: human oversight of aged care tool could return; Neil the seal safety concerns; and a valuable…

Good afternoon.

The Senate has passed legislation to return human oversight to an aged care algorithm described by elderly Australians and their carers as “cruel” and “inhumane”, with the government conceding some decisions made by the tool need review.

The integrated assessment tool (IAT), introduced in November, is used to determine the level of home support funding and care elderly people are entitled to.

But, as revealed by Guardian Australia, the algorithm underpinning the tool has frequently under-assessed people and left them without adequate care, while expert assessors were explicitly prohibited from overriding the tool when it made a wrong assessment.

Top news

‘Obviously disturbing’ if Christian Brothers’ $1 property sales deprive abuse survivors of pay, government tells court

Tasmanians warned of ‘loving Neil to death’ as 1,000kg seal’s antics feed ‘double-edged sword’ of fame

Teenagers arrested after boy left outside Melbourne hospital dies with stabbing wounds

Valuable Spanish painting left on street salvaged by man who liked its frame

Ohio authorities rescue 16 children confined to one room for four years

World Cup 2026

In the World Cup, the US have secured a place in the last 16 after a 2-0 win over Bosnia.

Off the pitch, four people have died in mass fan celebrations in Mexico City after the country’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador.

In Socceroos-related news, the team is leaning on the knowledge of assistant coach Mile Jedinak, who never missed a penalty during his international career, before their last-32 clash with Egypt on Saturday.

Jedinak said his approach was simple: “Taking the moment, controlling the situation with the ball, trying not to focus on anything else, purely: ball, me and where I was going to put it.”

In pictures

The war with Russia has caused more than 2 million Ukrainian and Russian casualties, a new study says. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates that between 400,000 and 450,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, out of a total of 1.4 million casualties who were killed, wounded or are missing. Ukrainian forces suffered between 125,000 and 150,000 fatalities out of between 525,000 and 625,000 casualties in the same period.

What they said …

“I would pretend it was all a bad dream” – Anthony Albanese

Among questions about gambling reforms and the Job-ready Graduates scheme, Thursday’s parliamentary question time included a prime ministerial slap down of Angus Taylor’s Midwinter Ball speech.

Podcast

Guardian Essential report: have Pauline’s policies plateaued her support? – Australian Politics podcast

It’s the first Guardian Essential poll after Pauline Hanson’s provocative speech at the National Press Club, where she attacked multiculturalism, climate action, the United Nations, and the ABC and SBS. Her polling numbers have since stalled, and even One Nation supporters are expressing concerns about her policy offerings.

Guardian Australia political reporter Josh Butler and the executive director of Essential Media, Peter Lewis, discuss the results of Hanson’s pitch to voters, and ideas on how to respond to the anger that’s driving interest in her party.

Before bed read

People keen to see the Bayeux tapestry faced online queues of up to nine hours when tickets went on sale for the first time on Wednesday morning. The British Museum, which is hosting the wool-on-linen artwork from September, saw almost 80,000 people queued on its ticketing website by mid-afternoon as the scramble for access began.

Daily word game

Today’s starter word is: LEY. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

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