Your morning Briefing

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

Hello readers. Here is your two-minute digest of what’s making news today.

Illustration by Eric Lobbecke

Joyce ‘should go’

Australians have abandoned Barnaby Joyce, with two-thirds of voters believing the Deputy Prime Minister should either resign to the backbench or leave parliament entirely, intensifying pressure on Nationals MPs to force their leader to step down over the love-child scandal. After battling a wild political firestorm of its own making for more than a week, the Turnbull government has lost the electoral support it gained over the summer, the latest Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, reveals. Voters have strongly endorsed the ministerial sex ban, Newspoll finds, as Scott Morrison backs the PM’s rebuke of Barnaby Joyce. A progressive would never attract this level of outrage now being directed at Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, according to Jennifer Oriel, while Simon Benson ponders “that sinking feeling for a floundering Coalition”.

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ABC reporter Emma Alberici.

Alberici accuracy

The ABC last night admitted there were issues with accuracy and impartiality in two reports by its star economics correspondent Emma Alberici after an unprecedented 6000-word complaint from the Prime Minister’s office claimed her coverage of corporate tax cuts used information “based on outdated figures” and included a phrase that was “a direct lift from ALP talking points”. The ABC complaints-handling unit, Audience & Consumer Affairs, is reviewing complaints from the government and business leaders but the ABC last night defended Alberici, a former host of Lateline.

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PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA - NOVEMBER 04: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales are driven around Sir John Guise Stadium after a cultural event on November 4, 2012 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The Royal couple are in Papua New Guinea on the first leg of a Diamond Jubilee Tour taking in Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Charles in charge

The Coalition government is standing by a Julia Gillard pledge five years ago to back Prince Charles as hereditary successor to head of the Commonwealth as Malcolm Turnbull prepares to ­attend the Queen’s last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in April. The Queen, who turns 92 the day after the London meeting of 53 Commonwealth leaders and representatives ends, has been lobbying for years to have Charles succeed her as head of the Commonwealth but there are moves to have a democratic election. The passing of the leadership is seen as part of the Queen’s plans to ensure Charles succeeds her as monarch and a “transition to a change of reign”.

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23/11/16 Mc Grath Real Estate annual meeting. Founder John Mc Grath and CEO Cameron Judson. Pictured in Sydney. TheatrePicture Renee Nowytarger / The Australian

McGrath changes tack

High-profile real estate agent John McGrath has dumped plans to step up as executive chairman of his troubled agency and has instead tapped two new directors to sit on the board while he takes up a role at the coalface, trying to turn the business around. Mr McGrath is preparing to take on the new role that will bring him closer to the group’s 95 agencies, with a focus on managing and keeping the network intact after the company has endured a horror two years on the Australian Stock Exchange.

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12/02/2018: (L-R) Coach Mitch Falvey training James Magnussen at the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre on Monday ahead of the Commonwealth Games trials later this month. Hollie Adams/The Australian

Kid gloves

Here’s the thing about James Magnussen’s claim that Winter Olympians are treated softly in the court of public opinion, writes Will Swanton. He’s right. His remarks were a bit clunky and came across as a whinge, but there was truth to what he said. Exhibit A: Alex Pullin would have been torn to shreds for brushing a teammate if he was a more high-profile or mainstream Australian athlete.

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Kudelka’s view

Jon Kudelka Letters page cartoon for 19-02-2018Version: (650x366)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.