Morning Mail: Intergenerational report, Bali Nine, Karmichael Hunt exclusive, ocean on Mars

Guardian Australia's Morning Mail Friday 6 March 2015 g
Intergenerational report
With the release of the much anticipated 2015 Intergenerational report, the Abbott government has warned of a debt crisis unless parliament agreed to a series of yet-to-be-legislated budget measures. But knocking you off your chair? It's really not very scary, writes Lenore Taylor. Hockey’s alarmist comments ignore findings which show that living standards will rise for 40 years, more women will find work and spending is being curbed.As he tries to reset the budget debate and push for bipartisanship, Tony Abbott​ has appealed to Labor's "better angels" after the intergenerational report was released. Economist John Quiggin says the Intergenerational report is redundant and Hockey should abandon it:"Nothing is easier than to make a forecast look scary when you are projecting 40 years into the future and you get to choose the parameters that suit your case" This year’s report is mostly silent on the economic effects of climate change – a stark contrast to the 2010 report that declared climate change "the largest and most significant challenge to Australia’s environment", with "severe" consequences for the economy, water availability and Australia’s unique environment.Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has slammed the intergenerational report as a work of fiction.
Bali Nine
The Australian government is lodging an official complaint with Indonesia about the treatment of death-row citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran – for this photo of a smiling police chief posing with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran while being transferred for their imminent executions, but also for the disproportionate show of force in their transfer. Indonesia's attorney general says Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be told their execution date 'in a few days', but this morning added their death sentences cannot be carried out this week.His comment comes after Julie Bishop confirmed floating the idea of a prisoner swap in ‘tense call’with her Indonesian counterpart. The offer was rejected. Follow all our Bali Nine coverage here
Australian news and politics
Exclusive: The orange lifeboats that have been used to send asylum seekers back to source countries will be replaced by 'fishing boats' built in Vietnam The peak body for Indigenous legal services will shut its doors after being denied a portion of $680m in federal government funding under the Indigenous advancement strategy (IAS) grants scheme. Football star Karmichael Hunt yesterday pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, but Guardian Australia can exclusively reveal that Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission originally used an obscure legal 'fiction' to charge Hunt with supplying cocaine to himself.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is suing the maker of the painkiller Nurofen for false claims after its varieties for back pain, period pain, migraine pain and tension headaches were found to be exactly the same product. Cadbury has withdrawn its application for $16m in federal funding, saying the grant requirements were too onerous.
Around the world
The US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, has been left with 11cm-long facial wounds after he was slashed by a political extremist armed with a razor at a function in Seoul. North Korea described the wounding as “just punishment” for joint US-South Korea military drills. Amid mass condemnation Iran have taken an eye for an eye, blinding a man who carried out an acid attack, his eye gouged out by doctors.An independent forensic report has shown that Argentinian prosecutor Alberto “Nisman did not have an accident, he did not commit suicide, Nisman was murdered", his family says. A Singapore court has jailed two Germans for nine months and sentenced them to three strokes of the cane for spray-painting graffiti on a train.
One last thing
Nasa says it has found evidence of a vast ancient ocean on Mars that covered one-fifth of the red planet’s surface, making it warm, wet and ideal for alien life to gain a foothold.Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I've missed, let me know on Twitter @earleyedition.