Good morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 26 November.

Top stories

The latest Newspoll translates to a 20-seat loss for the Coalition if an election was held today. Scott Morrison and the Coalition enter the final parliamentary sitting weeks of 2018 trailing Labor by 10 points, and with a primary vote of 34%, following a rout for the Liberals in the Victorian election at the weekend, with voters in Melbourne’s conservative-leaning eastern suburbs deserting the Liberals and returning the most progressive government in the country for another term. Labor is ahead of the Coalition on Newspoll’s two-party-preferred measure 55% to 45% in the latest survey, which is a weaker result than last week’s Guardian Essential poll, which had the ALP ahead of the government 52% to 48%. Morrison’s indicators are holding up, however: the prime minister’s approval rating is up four points in a fortnight, and his disapproval down five. Morrison also remains ahead of Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister on 46%, up four points, to Shorten’s 34%, down two.

Morrison’s minority Coalition government is likely to face its first significant test on the floor of the lower house today with a vote on whether to establish a national integrity commission. Labor and the crossbench are preparing to push for the anti-corruption body after independent Kerryn Phelps is sworn-in as the member for Wentworth and the Coalition officially enters minority government. Meanwhile, a surge in company tax is expected to push budget revenue $9.2bn higher than expected in the May 2018-19 budget, according to Deloitte Access Economics’ latest forecast.

Theresa May has insisted she is not sad that Britain is leaving the EU. The prime minister was speaking after EU leaders met for a special summit in Brussels and formally endorsed her Brexit deal, following a discussion lasting less than an hour. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, said Sunday was a “sad day”. But asked if she shared the sentiment, May said, “No: but I recognise that others do; I recognise that some European leaders are sad at this moment.” John Crace writes: “Where the EU has moved on to bargaining and depression – the third and fourth stages of grief – May is stuck in the first. Denial.” If the deal doesn’t survive the “meaningful vote” in the House of Commons on 10 December, here’s how the Christmas meltdown could play out.

Australia’s three major political parties failed to declare sizeable donations from corporate interests seeking lucrative government work, mining approvals or favourable tax policies, the Guardian can reveal. The Liberals failed to declare a $10,000 donation from Raytheon, an arms manufacturer that was at the time vying for defence contracts, including on Australia’s major shipbuilding and submarine projects. Federal Labor failed to properly disclose a $100,000 donation from the car salary packaging industry, received the same financial year the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, wrote a letter to the industry, pledging to maintain generous tax arrangements. The Western Australian Nationals failed to declare a $20,000 cheque it was handed by Mineral Resources, an iron ore miner seeking government approval to access new deposits in environmentally sensitive and unique mountain ranges.

Faulty medical implants – from contraceptives to artificial hips – harm patients around the world. A Guardian investigation launching today has found the international implants system is dogged by poor regulation, lax rules on testing and a lack of transparency. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has collected 5.4m “adverse event” reports over the past decade. These included 1.7m reports of injuries and almost 83,000 deaths. Nearly 500,000 mentioned an explant – surgery to remove a device. In the UK, regulators received 62,000 “adverse incident” reports linked to medical devices between 2015 and 2018. A third of the incidents had serious repercussions for the patient, and 1,004 resulted in death. In Australia, women have been urged to join a class action against the manufacturer of Essure, a permanent contraceptive, after allegedly suffering from nickel poisoning and chronic pain.

Indian police are staking out the area where an American was killed by Andaman tribespeople – and consulting anthropologists. Police believe Chau, 26, a self-styled adventurer from Washington state, was killed nine days ago on the forested island in the Bay of Bengal. His death at the hands of the one of the world’s most mysterious communities has thrown up two new questions: can Chau’s remains be recovered? And can anyone be prosecuted for killing him?

Sport

Rugby Australia must intervene in the coaching and selection of the Wallabies if the team is to have any hope of success at the World Cup in Japan next year, writes Brett Harris.

Huddersfield Town warmed the hearts of their travelling supporters on a chilly afternoon at Molineux with their first away win of the season, courtesy of two goals from Aaron Mooy, to climb six places in the table.

Lewis Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a superb run from pole position for his 11th victory of the season.

Thinking time

Donald Trump spent Thanksgiving confronting a glimpse of what life might look if the electorate forces him into early retirement. While at his opulent Mar-a-Lago estate – or “the southern White House” as he called it in a teleconference with the military – perhaps the 72-year-old reflected on some of his recent lowlights. Trump is approaching the midway point in his presidency and, some argue, a point of no return. This weekend, top democrats accused Trump of lying about the CIA’s Jamal Khashoggi report. The recent midterm elections left him wounded, House Democrats are said to be aiming a “subpoena cannon” at every aspect of his life and special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation appears to be nearing its endgame.

Housing is less affordable in 2018 than it was during the height of the property boom. In a new report, the McKell Institute argues that the case for negative gearing reform is stronger in 2018 than it was during the height of the property market boom. The report also found that housing cost to income ratios have also got worse in all capital cities except Perth and Darwin. Despite the reduction in the number of taxpayers claiming a rental loss, the increase in interest rates – especially on interest-only loans – has seen the commonwealth’s tax expenditures on negative gearing increase by $1.6bn.

This is the sex women really want. Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Goop pop-up store in Notting Hill features a glass cabinet of sex toys as well as cashmere jumpers. Author Stephanie Theobald says, “It might still need the Trojan Horse of ‘wellness’ to get women’s sexual pleasure through the door, but it’s great that it is being talked about in the mainstream.” Sharon Walker talks to five women at the forefront of the pleasure revolution.

Media roundup

“Victorian rout a federal crisis” is the headline dominating the Australian Financial Review’s front page, with the news that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg will hold crisis talks with Victorian federal MPs on Monday. The Australian writes that senior Liberals warn the Morrison government that it’s on track for a “hammering” at the 2019 election. “Special leave is refused with costs”: with six words, the NSW government has launched action to recoup millions of dollars in legal costs from the now jailed former minister Eddie Obeid and his family, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Coming up

Kerryn Phelps will be sworn in as the new independent MP for Wentworth and will give her first speech to parliament.

The National Australia Bank chief executive, Andrew Thorburn, will appear at the banking royal commission’s final policy hearing, followed by NAB chairman, Ken Henry.

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