Morning Mail: First home buyers’ scheme twist; explosive drone scare at German airport; butterflies on the move

Want to get this in your inbox every weekday? Sign up for the Morning Mail here, and finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletterGood morning. Nearly 1,500 properties bought using the government’s first home buyers’ 5% deposit scheme have ended up being converted into investments: we dig into the data to find out more.A drone carrying explosives was found at a German airport. Meanwhile, Ukraine is pleading with its allies for more air defences after Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles.Operation Richmond | A new report has highlighted how – via a “staged” meeting and a secret deal – a union boss exerted “extraordinary influence” on the Daniel Andrews government in Victoria.‘It shouldn’t benefit the wealthy’ | The government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers has enabled the purchase of almost 1,500 properties that were turned into investments, data shows.‘Easy cash grab’ | Jetstar’s new carry-on luggage charge means the airline has joined a growing number monetising basic services in the sky. And: what’s one more humiliating ritual for the masses, James Colley asks.Analysis | Ex-NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s brother Jean-Claude was the star witness at the Icac hearings yesterday. It won’t be the last we hear from his family, Anne Davies writes.Datacentre stoush | The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has vowed to override states opposing national rules that new AI datacentres are to be powered by renewable energy and not fuelled by gas. Continue reading...