Top of the morning to you all.

1. Former Attorney-General Christian Porter has discontinued his defamation claim against the ABC. In a statement on Monday, the ABC said Mr Porter “has decided to discontinue his defamation action against the ABC and [journalist] Louise Milligan” over an online story published on February 26 this year. “All parties have agreed to not pursue the matter any further. No damages will be paid,” the broadcaster said. The ABC later clarified that “the only costs that the ABC will be paying are the mediation costs”.

2. As is often the case, both sides are claiming victory. The ABC says the story, “about a letter to the Prime Minister containing allegations against a senior cabinet minister”, remains online in unaltered form, with only an editor’s note beneath it. Porter, despite not receiving an apology, retraction or damages, says it is a “humiliating” backdown for the public broadcaster. The ABC issued a further statement in response to Porter’s comments.

3. There were 9 new cases of COVID-19 detected in Victoria overnight. The number includes six that were revealed in a press conference yesterday afternoon, so technically only three truly ‘new’ cases in addition to those. There were 20,484 vaccine doses administered, and 42,699 test results were received

4. Health authorities uncovered dozens of new exposure sites in Victoria overnight. More than 320 exposure sites have been identified so far, along with 4,000 close contacts. Might look daunting, but it certainly speaks to a much more effective contract tracing effort than in the past.

5. Highly skilled younger workers should comprise the majority of Australia’s migration post-pandemic, a new report from policy think tank The Grattan Institute has suggested. Facing worker shortages as a result of the country’s closed borders, the report says the rethink – while drastic – is necessary to boost the Australian economy post-pandemic. It comes amid a parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s skilled migration program, due to report its findings in July.

6. Economists have predicted Australian property prices will continue soaring throughout the remainder of the year on the back of record low interest rates. Sydney is expected to lead the market higher, with prices finishing the year 21% – or $216,300 – higher. Meanwhile, some economists warn the Morrison government’s loan guarantee scheme will likely put vulnerable buyers at risk, pushing them into a market already flooded with cheap credit.

7. A peak tenants’ advocacy group has warned Victoria’s latest COVID-19 lockdown may grow the inequality gap between landlords and struggling tenants. Jennifer Beveridge, CEO of Tenants Victoria, said recent reforms to rental laws do not offer the same protections as now-abandoned eviction moratoriums and bans on rental increases. “People who rent are usually over represented in the casual workforce,” Beveridge said, raising concerns for renters left without JobKeeper and facing the risk of displacement.

8. Meet Main Sequence: a deep tech venture capital firm that is looking to find Australian solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. It takes some of the country’s most cutting-edge technology and creates companies around it, such as using CSIRO research to create plant-based meat company v2food. Partner Phil Morle explained to Business Insider Australia how it is tackling everything from climate change to world hunger – and how its next big space venture Quasar is going to help take Australia back into space.

9. China is now allowing married couples to have three children, up from the previous limit of two. The new three-child policy is in response to a declining birthrate in China. Beijing scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit that failed to trigger a sustained surge in births. Raising children in Chinese cities remains expensive, with experts saying the main barrier to having children in China is the high cost.

10. Bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies have experienced a wild few weeks. The price swings are nothing new for crypto, but with newfound mainstream acceptance, volatility presents issues. Insider spoke with cryptocurrency experts to see how the recent “stress test” has affected the community.

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