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Tom Walker's Very Very – cheer yourself with a short fix of standup – video

With comedy festivals cancelled around the world, Amazon Prime is releasing 10 original Australian standup specials to tide you over. Filmed at Melbourne's Malthouse theatre during the Before Times, the biweekly series has featured names like Celia PacquolaZoë Coombs Marr and Dilruk Jayasinha – with Tom Gleeson and Anne Edmonds  coming up soon. A few minutes of each is being published exclusively on Guardian Australia, and this week we have the exceptionally odd new show from Tom Walker, which was directed by Zoë Coombs Marr.

• The full version of Tom Walker's Very Very is released today. Amazon Prime is offering a 30-day free trial here

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Tom Gleeson's Joy – cheer yourself with a short fix of standup

With comedy festivals cancelled around the world due to the coronavirus crisis, Amazon Prime is releasing 10 original Australian standup specials to tide you over. The biweekly series was filmed at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre and has featured Celia PacquolaZoë Coombs Marr and Dilruk Jayasinha. A few minutes of each is being published exclusively by Guardian Australia and this week we have eventual Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson's show Joy. Come to hear about the disgusting wonders of parenting; stay for the killer punchline 

• The full version of Tom Gleeson's Joy is out now. Amazon Prime is offering a 30-day free trial here


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Asic looking at new investment product offered by Dunk Island developer Mayfair 101

Corporate watchdog’s move comes after a court earlier banned Mayfair 101 from advertising two other products

The corporate watchdog is looking into a new investment product issued by Mayfair 101, the group that has bought the cyclone-ravaged Dunk Island resort, after alleging in court that it had misled people by comparing its previous offerings to bank term deposits.

On Thursday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued a general warning against advertisements that compare fixed-interest products to bank term deposits as part of a broader crackdown on potentially misleading marketing by investment groups.

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Sydney harbour master tells Ruby Princess inquiry he 'did not understand' email

NSW Health assessment the cruise ship was ‘low risk’ introduced ‘an unfortunate element’ into his decision-making

A New South Wales harbour master has told an inquiry he “did not understand” an email that told him to treat the Ruby Princess “as if it has a positive Covid-19 result” when it came into Sydney Harbour on 18 and 19 March.

Cameron Butchart, who was the duty harbour master on 18 March, said NSW Health’s assessment that the ship was “low risk” introduced “an unfortunate element” into his decision-making.

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case postponed over Covid-19 and national security concerns

Victoria Cross recipient’s suit against Nine newspapers can’t be held until in-person hearings resume after coronavirus

The highly anticipated defamation trial brought by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith against the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald will not go ahead next month after the federal court ruled a remote hearing under Covid-19 rules may breach national security.

The delay in the case came as justice Anthony Besanko said he had to consider whether to delay the trial despite a submission that Roberts-Smith and his family are suffering from the ongoing publication of articles by the Nine newspapers.

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My favourite game: England v Australia, fifth Ashes Test, 1968 | Stephen Bates

A Derek Underwood-inspired England – assisted by the Oval’s resourceful spectators – beat the final-day flood, clock and Australian resistance to start my lifelong obsession with cricket

I was clearing out some old papers a while back when a small pink slip fell out. Even after 50 years I knew instantly what it was because it had been stuck to my bedroom wall when I was a teenager: indeed the old brown shadows of the tape were still there. It was the ticket for my first day’s Test cricket: the fifth Test against Australia at the Oval on 22 August 1968: Derek Underwood’s match and the game that started a lifelong obsession.

We joined my friend Matthew and his mother – two teenagers, what were we thinking of, taking our mothers? – and caught an early train from deepest Berkshire. London was a big, strange place where we rarely ventured and never as far south as SE11. We were square to the wicket and the players were so distant as to be indistinct, almost lost against the crowd.

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Covidsafe app: how to download Australia’s coronavirus contact tracing app, how it works, what it does and problems

The app will ask for your name (or pseudonym), age range, postcode and phone number. Scott Morrison says the Australian government’s covid safe tracking app won’t be mandatory to download and install, but its uptake numbers could play a part in easing Covid-19 restrictions

The Australian government has launched Covidsafe, an app that traces every person running the app who has been in contact with someone else using the app who has tested positive for coronavirus in the previous few weeks, in a bid to automate coronavirus contact tracing, and allow the easing of restrictions.

Here’s what we know about the app so far.

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Coronavirus Australia numbers: how many new cases are there? Covid-19 map, statistics and graph

Is Australia flattening the curve? We bring together all the latest Covid-19 confirmed cases, maps, stats and graphs from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT to get a broad picture of the Australian outbreak and track the impact of government response.

Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of how many confirmed cases of coronavirus there are in Australia.

Here, we’ve brought together all the figures in one place, along with comparisons with other countries.

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The three-step plan for reopening Australia after Covid-19 and what Stage 1, 2 and 3 looks like

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has detailed a gradual opening up of society with the timing the stages to be determined by the states

Scott Morrison and the chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, have laid out a three-step plan to reopen Australia after the coronavirus crisis. Morrison said he hoped step three could be achieved in July, but it would be up to each state and territory when they moved from one step to the next.

Below are some of the areas that will be opened up at each stage, according to the plan – and you can see the timeline for easing restrictions in each state here.

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Blind date: ‘I'd had quite a lot to drink and broke into song’

Harry, 32, a TV producer from London, meets Jayson, 25, a journalist from Hong Kong, in our latest virtual date

What were you hoping for?
A fun chat that didn’t involve a quiz.

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Dying too young: coronavirus, my Māori family and me

Lockdown has granted me the blessing of getting to know my father, but it has also underlined the severe health inequalities we face

I hardly recognise the man in front of me. He staggers on one leg, his eye twitches, his stomach stretches past his waist.

“I got some fry bread for us,” he grins, his toothless smile reminding me he is getting old and so am I.”

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Angie McMahon, Cut Copy, Alex the Astronaut and others: Australian music for isolated times

Each Saturday we add 15 (or so) new songs to a Spotify playlist to soundtrack your physical distancing amid coronavirus – and help artists you love get paid


We’ve published a bunch of articles about how the coronavirus crisis has impacted the Australian arts industry. But there are small things you can do. It’s an imperfect solution, but streaming Australian music can help.

Each week, in partnership with Sounds Australia, Guardian Australia will add some 15 new songs to a playlist for you to put on repeat.

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Coronavirus and culture: 'We're waiting it out in paradise'

When the coronavirus crisis hit, Yolngu elders moved back to east Arnhem Land homelands where they found freedom, peace, and power

Adapting to change is something Yolngu are good at, senior Rirratjingu songman Witiyana Marika says.

When the coronavirus first started making news, community leadership met to plan how they would manage if Covid-19 arrived in eastern Arnhem land. Senior men and women met with the emergency taskforce, the local Miwatj health service and the Laynhapuy homelands organisation to take the most vulnerable people further away from risk.

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Pandemic nesters: what it's like to move back with your parents during lockdown

Some people have found returning to the family home a blessing, but for others it has been anything but smooth sailing

Covid-19 has reshaped geographic boundaries. It has left many financially distressed. Expatriates have returned from overseas for indefinite periods of time, and vulnerable people require more help than usual. For all these reasons, and many more, adult children have found themselves doing something that might previously have been unthinkable: moving back in with their parents.

Some are finding the experience transformative. One woman, who left New York for her parent’s rural home, told me that the space and country air have made her reconsider whether she will ever return to the city. But there are also downsides. “I’m craving male attention more than I ever have before,” she confessed. When flirting over apps stopped cutting it, she wound up ordering a vibrator in an unmarked box, and fended off her younger siblings in order to retrieve it from the mailbox.

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Queensland deputy premier Jackie Trad stands down over corruption investigation

Trad says she will cooperate with investigation into allegation she interfered in appointment of school principal

Queensland’s deputy premier and treasurer, Jackie Trad, has stood down from ministerial duties over an investigation into the appointment of a Brisbane principal.

The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is investigating the recruitment and selection process for the principal of the Inner City South Secondary College.

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Already in this crisis we are slipping into over-optimism about the economy and over-pessimism about debt | Wayne Swan

Deep recessions have long shadows and already there is a gaping hole opening up in our pandemic response

The great recession was followed by Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and the rise of authoritarianism particularly in Europe.

Big economic events have big political consequences.

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Kate Garraway says husband Derek Draper is 'still very ill' in intensive care as she speaks of 'torture' over 'horrific virus'

"I am very aware that I'm not the only one going through this torture" Read our live coronavirus updates HERE




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Rochelle Humes announces she is pregnant with husband Marvin in Easter themed Instagram post

Rochelle Humes has revealed that she is expecting her third child with husband Marvin in an Easter themed Instagram post.




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Ricky Tomlinson and friends sing cover of Ken Dodd's Happiness to raise money for the NHS

Tomlinson appears in a bathtub wearing nothing but a shower cap in the cover video




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Bill Oddie remembers his friend and comedy partner Tim Brooke-Taylor in touching tribute

The comedian's death was announced over the weekend




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Rita Wilson details coronavirus ordeal and warns of treatment side effects

The actress and her husband, Tom Hanks, were both hospitalised with the deadly virus




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Alex Beresford shares heartbreak after step-grandmother 'dies alone' in nursing home

The cause of death is currently unknown




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Amanda Holden's gardening outfit is a cut above

The TV star is adding some sparkle to her household tasks




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Love Island's Paige Turley reveals post-lockdown singing career ambitions

Turley and her boyfriend Finn Tapp are currently staying with her parents in Scotland




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Love Island's Mike Boateng admits he lied to take day off from police force

The incident took place in December 2018




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Johnny Depp joins Instagram and thanks fans for 'unwavering support'

The actor amassed more than a million followers in one hour




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Kate Garraway says husband Derek Draper is still in a 'deeply critical condition' in hospital

Draper is one of the thousands of people in the UK to have been diagnosed with coronavirus




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Ariana Grande covers Hercules classic I Won't Say I'm In Love in Disney Family Singalong

The 7 Rings singer sang all six parts of the classic ballad




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Taylor Swift cancels all appearances and live performances for the rest of the year

The singer has announced she will no longer be touring her Lover album this year




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Piers Morgan slams 'prima donna millionaire' Victoria Beckham for furloughing fashion brand staff

Beckham is also sacrificing her own pay




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Tom Hanks details coronavirus ordeal and reveals wife Rita Wilson 'went through a tougher time'

The actor and his wife both tested positive for the virus in Australia




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Sir David Attenborough and Danny Dyer among celebrities teaching new BBC home schooling learning programming

Parents are getting a helping hand from some famous faces




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Amanda Holden recruits daughter Lexi for hilarious make-up tutorial with a twist

Hoping to recreate Holden's signature glow? You've come to the wrong place...




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Rochelle and Marvin Humes reveal they're expecting a baby boy in super sweet Instagram video

The baby will be the pop couple's third child




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Nicole Scherzinger takes on TikTok dance challenge - and aces it, naturally

The star gave the Blinding Lights TikTok challenge a go while clad in fluorescent exercise gear




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Amanda Holden is our lockdown style inspiration in cut-out floral mini-dress

The Heart Radio star is still bringing a touch of glamour to her working day




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Apprentice star Thomas Skinner and girlfriend expecting first child

Skinner joked that Lord Sugar could be in the running to become a godfather




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Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson welcome baby girl

The baby is the couple's first child




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'This job puts things into perspective': Love Island's Malin Andersson explains why she's returned to work as a carer

Andersson said it has been "humbling" to return to her old profession during the coronavirus crisis




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'It's grandad!' Chris Tarrant's grandson impressed by Michael Sheen's performance in Quiz

Sheen's uncanny performance got the seal of approval from the four-year-old




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Doctor Who stars past and present unite for message to NHS workers

The message will feature in this evening's Big Night In on BBC One




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Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague accused of 'breaking lockdown rules' after travelling back to Manchester

The pair were previously spending the lockdown period at Hague's family home




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Kate Garraway shares update on husband Derek Draper's health as he remains in intensive care

"Where there is life, there is hope," Garraway wrote in her emotional post




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Craig Revel Horwood and boyfriend Jonathan Myring announce engagement

The couple met while the judge was on the Strictly tour




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Katy Perry dresses up as hand sanitiser for at-home episode of American Idol

Perry never misses out on an opportunity to dress up...




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Gemma Collins and James Argent's relationship timeline in full

The course of true love never did run smooth, after all




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Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid 'expecting first child'

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid are reportedly expecting their first child together.




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Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik relationship timeline: From how they met to their brief split and baby rumours

The couple have been on and off since 2015




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Irrfan Khan dead: Bollywood and Slumdog Millionaire actor dies, aged 53

The star, who also appeared in Jurassic World, died after being hospitalised with a colon infection