Morning Mail: early warnings on Iran, manhunt in the high country, children killed in US ‘hate crime’ shooting

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. The prime minister is accused this morning of failing to heed the warnings of Iranian-Australians that Tehran has been harassing and spying on members of the community in Australia for years. In regional Victoria, the search for the Porepunkah shooting suspect goes on (at time of writing) with residents caught in a “surreal” national spotlight. ‘He could be anywhere’ | With police helicopters buzzing overheard, roadblocks and reporters flooding the town, residents in Porepunkah have been adjusting to the “surreal” and unusual feeling of being the focus of national attention as the hunt goes on for shooting suspect Dezi Freeman. Our reporting team dissects the crucial events before and after the shooting , while Ariel Bogle examines possible links between the suspect and “sovereign citizen” ideology. Iran warning | Critics of the Albanese government say Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been infiltrating Australia for years to surveil and harass members of the Iranian-Australian community, and say the prime minister waited too long to sanction Tehran. A 20-year-old Melbourne man, Younes Ali Younes, has been charged with torching the city’s Adass Israel synagogue in an antisemitic attack which Asio blames on Iran. No mention was made in court of any alleged links to Iran. ‘Dying waiting’ | About 87,000 older Australians are waiting to be allocated home care packages as delays rolling out support cause waitlists to boom, two senators say before an inquiry tomorrow, with many “potentially dying” before they receive the help. Property divide | Generous tax breaks for property investors are leading to “deeply inequitable” outcomes, the chair of the government’s National Housing Supply and Affordability Council has warned. Seal sighting | Recent sightings of a seal in the Yarra River have sparked excitement among Melburnians and revived memories of the seal dubbed Salvatore who appeared in the river during from the city’s Covid-19 lockdowns. Continue reading...