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Your noon Briefing: Shorten agrees to medivac briefing

Your 2-minute digest of the day’s top stories and a long read for lunchtime.

Hello readers. Bill Shorten agrees to be briefed on the medivac bill’s implications, and Donald Trump jumps at the 2020 stump.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 04: Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten arrives during the State Commemoration for the 10 year anniversary of the 2009 Victorian bushfires on February 04, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The Commemoration marks 10 years since the devastating 2009 Victorian bushfires and remembers the 173 people who lost their lives, those impacted across the state and beyond, and acknowledges those who contributed to the response. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 04: Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten arrives during the State Commemoration for the 10 year anniversary of the 2009 Victorian bushfires on February 04, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The Commemoration marks 10 years since the devastating 2009 Victorian bushfires and remembers the 173 people who lost their lives, those impacted across the state and beyond, and acknowledges those who contributed to the response. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images)

Medivac briefing

The Opposition Leader has accepted a security briefing on the implications of a Labor-backed bill that would give doctors powers to order refugee transfers.

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Gloucester NSW, generic tourism shots supplied by Destination NSW
Gloucester NSW, generic tourism shots supplied by Destination NSW

Mine ditched

A last-ditch bid to build a new coalmine near Gloucester has been crushed.

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Parliament House in Canberra, Australia.
Parliament House in Canberra, Australia.

Cyber attack

Australia’s security agencies are investigating a “cyber-security incident” on the parliamentary computing services in Canberra.

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**This picture has a scanned reverse - see associated content at the bottom of the details window**Gough Whitlam, Prime Minister of Australia (1972-1975), pictures of the Dismissal 11/11/1975.
**This picture has a scanned reverse - see associated content at the bottom of the details window**Gough Whitlam, Prime Minister of Australia (1972-1975), pictures of the Dismissal 11/11/1975.

Letters stay secret

A bid to access secret letters between the Queen and governor-general about the Whitlam government’s ultimate dismissal has been lost.

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President Donald Trump gestures as a conductor as people in the chamber sing "Happy Birthday" to Judah Samet as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. Same turned 81 on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Donald Trump gestures as a conductor as people in the chamber sing "Happy Birthday" to Judah Samet as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. Same turned 81 on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The long read: Trump on the 2020 stump

The US President has kick-started his campaign for re-election. Vivian Salama and Natalie Andrews report.

Jason Gagliardi

Jason Gagliardi is the engagement editor and a columnist at The Australian, who got his start at The Courier-Mail in Brisbane. He was based for 25 years in Hong Kong and Bangkok. His work has been featured in publications including Time, the Sunday Telegraph Magazine (UK), Colors, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, Harpers Bazaar and Roads & Kingdoms, and his travel writing won Best Asean Travel Article twice at the ASEANTA Awards.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/briefing/your-noon-briefing-shorten-agrees-to-medivac-briefing/news-story/41216a2ec96a9c8912f6fa7d3c4fe7fa