Your morning Briefing

Welcome to your morning roundup of what’s making news and the must-reads for today.

Good morning readers. Here is your two-minute digest of today’s top stories and analysis.

Rainbow warriors: Melbourne crowds celebrate Yes day. Picture: Getty Images

Senate to debate compromise, ScoMo fights for parents’ rights

Malcolm Turnbull has cleared the ground for a compromise on same-sex marriage that aims to protect religious freedom, as he vows to pass laws by Christmas to heed the nation’s emphatic 61.6 per cent vote in favour of the historic social reform. Federal parliament acted ­swiftly on the “people’s vote” to start debate on the new marriage laws, with Attorney-General ­George Brandis making a surprise offer to toughen protections for free speech and assuage the fears of No voters who object to the contentious change. Treasurer Scott Morrison is leading behind-the-scenes negotiations with supporters of the Dean Smith same-sex marriage bill, as conservative MPs demand the preservation of parental rights but concede on protections for businesses that refuse commercial dealings with gay wedding ceremonies.

-

Wedding blues: Lyle Shelton, a spokesman for the Coalition for Marriage, says the fight is not over for the No campaign. Picture: AFP

Will we go quietly? No.

The No campaign against same-sex marriage has warned it won’t go “quietly into the night” and has pledged to escalate its defence of freedom of speech and religion at future elections. In a swipe at the Coalition, ­senior No campaign sources warned that conservative voters felt increasingly abandoned by the Liberal Party and accused it of not arguing strongly enough to uphold freedom of religion, speech and conscience. Senior conservatives in government, including Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, who was ­responsible for the survey, have come under pressure from No campaigners.

-

Broken trust: Julian Simpson, right.

Diplomat dies after ‘trust game’ goes awry

An Australian diplomat accidentally fell five stories to his death from a Manhattan building terrace early Wednesday morning after playing the “trust game,” according to a law-enforcement official familiar with the investigation. New York City police found Julian Simpson, the 30-year-old second secretary to the United Nations for Australia, dead at 1:15am on the second floor terrace of the apartment building on Clinton Street near East Houston street, the official said.

-

Looking down: Rate rise outlook imperilled by wage freeze. Picture: AFP

Stalled wages hit rate rise outlook

Stalled wages growth across Australia has cast further doubts over the outlook for an interest rate rise, amid signs the economy has increasingly become stuck in a low-inflation cycle. New figures show wages growth remained weak despite a big jump in the minimum wage, suggesting underemployment in the broad labour market and higher than usual anxiety over job ­security.

-

Bearded wonder: Australia's Mile Jedinak celebrates scoring a goal against Honduras. Picture: AAP

Captain Courageous rockets send Roos to Russia

They were forced to do it the hard way but 22 games and 29 months after they started the long journey, the Socceroos finally made it in the end, last night ensuring their place at a fourth straight World Cup Finals with a 3-1 win over Honduras at ANZ Stadium. On an intense night of nerves and high emotion in front of 77,060 screaming fans, Captain Courageous Mile Jedinak proved to be the hero, scoring a second-half hat-trick that earned the Socceroos their spot at the finals in Russia next year. After the game the players revealed T-shirts that read, “Time To Take On The World” after becoming only the 11th team to make all four World Cups since 2006, joining the likes of Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain and England.