⏱️This edition of the National Account’s newsletter is a four-minute read.
👋 G’day everyone, Archie here.
I hope your Monday has been as painless as possible, because I’ve got the news for you! So let’s crack into it🗞️.
If the government is true to its word about wanting stronger national gun laws, it can have them next week with the Greens’ support
🗣️ Why did he say that?
New gun laws are set to pass parliament this week after the Prime Minister separated an omnibus bill grouping controversial hate speech laws with firearms legislation.
I reported on Thursday that experts say there hasn’t been enough time for proper public consultation on the laws.
On Saturday, Anthony Albanese announced the bill would be separated, with the gun laws set to be introduced to parliament tomorrow, and the hate speech laws a work in progress.
For my full rundown, check out today’s video:
Around the Grounds 🦘
Across the country, things are happening at a local level that have an impact nationally. Here are the stories you might not hear about in the traditional media.
🐦 Pests or prized racers? Melbourne’s pigeon divide
In Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, pigeons are seen as a public nuisance and a “magnificent” sporting bird.
While councils warn that feral pigeons damage buildings and spread disease, a shrinking community of racing enthusiasts says the birds are elite athletes with a century-long local history, caught in a debate over how we live with wildlife in our cities.
Read that story by clicking below 👇
🌊 Flash floods tear through West Vic towns
Severe storms dumped more than 180mm of rain in just four hours, triggering flash flooding across Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and forcing about 400 people from their homes and holiday parks.
Rivers burst their banks, cars were swept into the ocean and authorities say it is still not safe to return, just days after nearby bushfires burned through the Otways.
I’m speaking with the West Vic Brolga’s Zara Cuthbertson more about this later in the week.
Read that story by clicking below 👇
🔥 Heading south to lend a hose
Young RFS volunteers on Sydney’s North Shore James Barney, 21, and Connor Murphy, 20, were among those deployed to Victoria as extreme bushfires tore through the Goulburn Valley last weekend.
Sent to the small town of Yarck, the pair found themselves surrounded by flames driven by winds of up to 100km/h, with fires “basically wrapping around the town”.
Read that story by clicking below 👇
😟 What went wrong?
The Liberals’ review into a shambolic election campaign has now itself become a shambles, with concerns its release to the public could spark a defamation lawsuit from the very man in charge during the campaign, former leader Peter Dutton.
The review, written by former NSW minister Pru Goward and former federal Finance minister Nick Minchin, was commissioned in the wake of the Liberals’ woeful performance at the 2025 election.
According to the ABC, Dutton was not given the right of reply to the claims made in the report, and believes his former chief of staff, Alex Dalgleish, is unfairly targeted.
The party’s secretariat has reportedly delayed the review's release as it works out how to deal with the Dutton dilemma.
Thanks for catching up with me. I hope you enjoyed this issue, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just reply to this email and I’ll be on the other side 👋.
I’ll be back on Wednesday.
Cheers, Archie