Why has Gladys allowed the cricket to have spectators? Was she pushed into that decision by Tony Shepherd and the other old white men of the SCG Trust?
Another thing about the cricket – the media and every politician in NSW keeps blathering on about 24,000 people, half the normal 48,000 capacity of the SCG. That’s just for one day. The 3rd test goes for five days with the last day being the main fundraiser for the McGrath Foundation. Not everyone wants to or can afford to attend every day of a test .Do the maths. Work out the potential audience. It could well be a huge super-spreader event. No wonder Gladys has taken the week off.
That’s not all. There are two BBL series at the SCG and the Showground Stadium scheduled for January 13- 26. It has not yet been decided if spectators will be allowed.
This is a yet another flagrant example of Gladeyes’ preferencing her own political career over the well-being of New South Wales AND the rest of Australia.
Despicable doesn’t even begin to describe her behaviour.
THE PUB 
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Jennifer Duke reports that superannuation funds and the Australian Council of Trade Unions are saying the federal government’s super reforms could put Australia’s economic recovery at risk.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/unions-funds-warn-super-rule-changes-could-hinder-economic-recovery-20210102-p56rbf.html
Ross Gittins says that capitalism is the best system. but it does needs regular maintenance.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/capitalism-is-best-it-just-needs-regular-maintenance-20210101-p56r8i.html
Joanna Quilty, chief executive of the NSW Council of Social Service, expresses her concern that NSW will be left to pick up the tab if Scott Morrison cuts JobSeeker. This argument would apply to all states, one would think.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-will-be-left-to-pick-up-the-tab-if-scott-morrison-cuts-jobseeker-20210102-p56rca.html
Dennis Altman says that Labor needs to offer change, not just new faces in its ranks.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-needs-to-offer-change-not-just-new-faces-in-its-ranks-20210103-p56rer.html
Josh Butler writes that Labor is preparing for a federal election as early as September, with the Opposition promising more political “combat” after an unusually conciliatory tone throughout the pandemic.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/01/03/albanese-labor-morrison-election-2021/
As federal MPs prepare for the start of the 2021 parliamentary year, attention has turned to a six-week gap in the sitting calendar in September-October and the assumption it has been created for an election, writes Dennis Shanahan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/2021-presents-more-viable-election-opportunities-for-scott-morrison-than-2022/news-story/1673622c7ac95ddaad7453e7e7fd0fd4
The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s decision to take a bit more time to observe vaccine data from other countries will increase Australians’ trust in the program, says the editorial in the SMH.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/vaccination-program-s-success-more-important-than-its-speed-20210103-p56rgf.html
Testing clinics in Victoria have been overwhelmed by 60,000 returning travellers, prompting calls for better contingency planning and for nurses to fill shifts to help reduce wait times.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/urgent-call-for-nurses-to-fill-shifts-at-swamped-testing-sites-20210103-p56rgv.html
Economists are watching the COVID-19 numbers from NSW Health, fearing that Team Australia’s good work could be undone by an escalation in restrictions.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/covid-19-spike-threat-to-recovery-20201221-p56pb0
New South Wales has recorded eight new community cases of coronavirus as authorities revealed about 2,000 people had been told to self-isolate due to an outbreak in Sydney’s west.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/03/nsw-records-eight-new-cases-as-victorias-testing-system-faces-pressure
Daniel Hurst writes that the Morrison government faces new calls to offer targeted support to businesses in the hardest-hit parts of the Australian economy as the Coalition presses ahead with cuts to emergency wage subsidies from today.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/04/labor-calls-on-coalition-to-do-more-for-hard-hit-areas-of-australian-economy-as-jobkeeper-cuts-kick-in
Janine Perrett explains how Gladys Berejiklian is a political animal in a fight for survival.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/gladys-berejiklian-is-a-political-animal-in-a-fight-for-survival-20210103-p56rgg.html
The Australian Open faces another major disruption after the owners of 36 private apartments in The Westin Melbourne challenged a plan by Tennis Australia and Victorian health authorities to use the exclusive hotel to quarantine hundreds of tennis players.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/legal-dispute-at-quarantine-hotel-threatens-australian-open-20210103-p56rf5.html
A divided Team Australia cannot hope to sustain our economic recovery as the border wars descend into petty sniping. All states must place their trust in contact tracing to safely live with the virus, urges the editorial in the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/politics/end-the-border-sniping-to-keep-the-recovery-going-20210103-p56rdc
China enters 2021 a stronger, more influential power — and Australia may feel the squeeze even more, explains James Laurenceson.
https://theconversation.com/china-enters-2021-a-stronger-more-influential-power-and-australia-may-feel-the-squeeze-even-more-150943
The federal government’s increasingly optimistic projections for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions show the electricity market exceeding the 50 per cent renewable energy target – a figure it previously said would drive a wrecking ball through the economy, writes Mike Foley.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/renewable-energy-to-beat-labor-s-50-per-cent-wrecking-ball-target-20210103-p56re6.html
More from Mike Foley who reports that the federal government’s outlook for electric vehicle sales is overly optimistic because it assumes numbers will spike before 2030 despite a lack of policy to drive uptake and new state taxes slugging clean cars, experts say.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/energy-chiefs-accused-of-unjustified-electric-vehicle-sales-forecast-20201228-p56qif.html
“The hottest play on the planet,” Keith Pitt calls it. Resources Minister Pitt and his government are keen to open up the Northern Territory to gas fracking but, if the NT’s Beetaloo Basin is so “hot” for investors, then why do they need public money to drill it? Even more bizarrely, the industry has made it clear that it does not want public subsidies but Pitt and Co appear determined to throw public money at the gas companies anyway. Callum Foote and Michael West report on another extraordinary case of corporate welfare, environmental destruction and the political donors and large US hedge funds who we are all subsidising.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/fracking-madness-beetaloo-basin-gas-subsidies/
The AFR tells us that the banks are drilling deep into their commercial property books looking for potential trouble spots in order to avoid a GFC-style repeat.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/banks-hunt-for-property-trouble-spots-in-big-cities-20201203-p56kfz
Clive Williams believes that the Brereton inquiry exposes the army’s expensive case of ‘rank bloat’.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/brereton-exposes-armys-expensive-case-of-rank-bloat/news-story/d8ba14a5743af25eba74feefdcd8d93b
Dr Colleen Lewis tells us that Christian Porter’s Commonwealth Integrity Commission proposal is clearly missing the integrity bit. A strongly put position.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7073178/porters-commission-is-missing-the-integrity/?cs=14258&utm_source=website&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=latestnews
Insurance Australia Group could be on the hook for close to $1 billion in claims thanks to an epic error in the wording of its business interruption policies.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/iag-s-billion-dollar-pandemic-risk-is-far-from-resolved-20210103-p56rdz
Australia’s universities are set to drop out of the world’s top 100 higher education rankings and the elite sandstones must accept a much-diminished future after the loss of foreign student fees, Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Greg Craven has warned.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/universities-to-lose-world-ranking-australian-catholic-university-vicechancellor-greg-craven/news-story/3fd9a7fe94857954094ca213951c5ec0
Latika Bourke writes that there is little evidence that Britons will be scared, cajoled or guilted into saving the National Health Service from breaking point, which insiders fear could come this month.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/britain-s-bleak-midwinter-will-a-shot-in-the-arm-come-too-late-20210101-p56r4m.html
Nearly half of the state’s egg farms have failed inspections or audits after a crackdown by authorities in response to a major salmonella outbreak in Sydney. Top effort!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/industry-fails-egg-checks-after-mass-sydney-salmonella-outbreak-20210101-p56r8z.html
Anna Patty writes that young people can stay under their parents’ health insurance until the age of 31 from this year as more are expected to stay in education and live at home longer.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/extension-of-family-health-cover-to-children-until-age-31-is-timely-20201231-p56r2h.html
Ted Cruz is leading a challenge that would be the most sweeping effort to undo a presidential election outcome since the Civil War. There really are some disgusting creatures in the Republican Party!
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/rebel-republican-alliance-plans-to-back-trump-s-false-claims-in-congress-20210103-p56rdy.html
The coronavirus and a near-catastrophic election showed Donald Trump is a symptom not a cause of what ails US society, writes Robert Reich as he lists seven ways in which 2020 left America exposed.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/03/healthcare-electoral-college-covid-trump-seven-ways-2020-left-america-exposed
Reflecting on a ghastly year, Martin McKenzie-Murray writes that Trump’s final days are even weirder than Nixon’s. Quite a good read.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/reflections-on-a-ghastly-year-trump-s-final-days-are-even-weirder-than-nixon-s-20210102-p56rc3.html
Now the Swedish model has failed, it’s time to ask who was pushing it says Peter Geoghegan.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/03/swedish-model-failed-covid-19
Cartoon Corner
Peter Broelman
Simon Bosch
Michael Leunig
Johannes Leak
From the US
I keep seeing Gladys portrayed as being a ‘victim’ of outside forces. A figurehead doing the bidding of others. I have come to believe however Gladys is just as nasty,crooked and Rum Corp as any of them. An enthusiastic participant.
Trump is really getting desperate now.
‘I just want 11,780 votes’: Trump pressed Georgia to overturn Biden victory
Trump asked secretary of state to recalculate vote in phone call
Republican push to keep Trump in power seems doomed
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/03/trump-georgia-raffensperger-call-biden-washington-post
If you can stomach it (I lasted 10 minutes) here’s the full phone call – an hour of Trump lying, begging and pleading with Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to recalculate the vote so he wins. (Free of paywalls.etc, I hope.)
Interesting thread-
A Christian media site article on the same topic
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/sydneys-inspire-church-pastor-faces-indecent-assault-charge/
Leone,
That’s an insult to mongrels. They, at least, acknowledge their heritage, are proud of it, and strengthen their strain.
The current crop of Lib/Nats are despicable curs.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
NSW will not lock down Sydney suburbs involved in a new, growing coronavirus cluster, as new alerts were issued for a Woolworths, liquor store and RSL club.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/upper-beaches-to-remain-locked-down-as-cluster-grows-in-west-20210104-p56rn8.html
Professor John Dwyer urges authorities to hold the Sydney Test without spectators – and do the same for the Australian Open.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/hold-the-sydney-test-without-spectators-and-do-the-same-for-the-australian-open-20210103-p56rhn.html
The Age says that experts have given Victoria’s testing and contact tracing regime their tick of approval – some high-profile mistakes notwithstanding – as the state battles its first COVID-19 outbreak in months.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/top-of-the-game-despite-wobbles-experts-say-contact-tracing-works-20210104-p56rn9.html
Renewables are set to make up more than 60% of the energy grid by 2030, but urgent reforms are needed to avoid power failures as the market switches from coal, explains Mike Foley.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/absolute-urgency-needed-to-stop-grid-failure-as-renewables-take-off-20210104-p56rmo.html
Meanwhile Peter Hannam, tells us that Australia has resubmitted its Paris climate goal and modified its target as “a floor” that can be met without using credits from the previous accord, but has omitted any indication it will join other nations in raising its ambition.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/snub-australia-leaves-2030-climate-goals-unchanged-in-un-submission-20210104-p56rng.html
Josh Butler looks at the major political fights we should look forward to this year.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/01/04/big-auspol-events-2021/
Professor of education policy, Pasi Sahlberg, is concerned that, while we may be leading the health pandemic recovery, it seems like Australia has an education epidemic it is not treating effectively.
https://www.smh.com.au/education/the-epidemic-australia-is-failing-to-control-20201229-p56qq3.html
The editorial in the AFR declares that the Morrison government must release the independent report on the watches ‘scandal’ to repair the damage to Christine Holgate’s reputation.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/holgate-report-must-be-released-20210104-p56rky
Gladys Liu says allegations against a Chinese businessman who aligned himself with the Hong Kong-born Australian politician are concerning and should be thoroughly investigated. Such political purity!
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-mp-gladys-liu-says-allegations-against-chinese-party-donor-concerning-20210104-p56rmt.html
Jennifer Duke and Nick Bonyhady tell us that bankruptcy protections have now finished, but the looming JobKeeper deadline could be the trigger for many companies.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/employers-brace-for-march-insolvency-cliff-as-jobkeeper-enters-final-months-20210104-p56rl4.html
Paul Karp reports that the Morrison government has been warned it must consider the impact on Australia’s national interest of sending refugees back to their country of persecution after losing its legal bid to deport a convicted child sex offender.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/05/australias-national-interest-must-be-weighed-when-deporting-refugees-court-tells-government
Projections on Australia’s future are bleak if it maintains its hostility to China and cloying dependence on America, particularly when coupled with COVID-19 and a corrupt and incompetent LNP Government, writes Bruce Haigh.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/australian-sovereignty-the-long-and-short-of-it,14660
The AFP has admitted it didn’t know Paladin director Craig Thrupp was connected to security firm Black Swan when it granted two extensions to a $1.8m government contract.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/afp-didn-t-know-of-security-firm-s-paladin-links-20201228-p56qfd
The financial troubles of the Presbyterian Church in Queensland have provided some rich pickings for Sydney-based MyHomecareGroup, which has purchased the church’s home care operations for an undisclosed amount. 4000 clients and 280 staff are involved.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/myhomecare-picks-up-aged-care-assets-from-troubled-church-group/news-story/23d3890c1ce7a0d4d9cf5750187ad94f
Adam Kucharski tells us how modelling Covid has changed the way we think about epidemics.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/04/covid-model-epidemic-collaboration-experiment
These two Indue Card users explain the difficulties and impossibilities of life under this odious regime.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/04/the-cashless-welfare-card-makes-life-hard-you-cant-do-normal-things
Julie Szego wonders if trackie dacks and home schooling the ultimate contraceptive.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/are-trackie-dacks-and-home-schooling-the-ultimate-contraceptive-20210104-p56rn5.html
The AFR’s Martin Newman explains how the large number of big infrastructure jobs already happening in Australia means foreign workers will be needed for the fresh wave of recession contracts.
https://www.afr.com/companies/infrastructure/getting-visa-settings-right-crucial-for-infrastructure-boom-20201214-p56n8a
Sue Mitchell tells us about the ongoing rental war between shopping centre landlords and retail tenants.
https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/retail-rent-wars-to-resume-as-online-sales-soar-20201203-p56kga
Phil Lutton examines the mammoth task facing the organisers of the 2020(1) Tokyo Olympic Games.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-longest-200-days-tokyo-games-organisers-continue-to-face-mammoth-task-20210104-p56rmr.html
Britain is poised to lurch into a full-strength lockdown this week, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to announce shortly that England will follow Scotland and Wales into a month-long shuttering of all economic and social activity.
https://www.afr.com/world/europe/britain-poised-for-month-long-shutdown-20210105-p56rqe
The SMH editorial reckons Donald Trump’s presidency cannot end soon enough.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/donald-trump-s-presidency-cannot-end-soon-enough-20210104-p56rn2.html
All ten living former secretaries of defence, including Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, have warned the US was at risk of moving into “dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory”.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/extraordinary-warning-to-trump-against-use-of-military-over-election-by-former-pentagon-chiefs-20210104-p56rnj.html
Findings from the Royal Commission into the Christchurch terror attack can be used to better Australia’s attitudes towards ethnic diversity, writes Bilal Cleland.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/terrorism-some-lessons-for-australia-from-the-new-zealand-royal-commission,14663
Clive Williams wonders if the US and Iran headed for a military showdown before Trump leaves office.
https://theconversation.com/are-the-us-and-iran-headed-for-a-military-showdown-before-trump-leaves-office-152606
Bruce Wolpe says that as Trump continues his assault on democracy, Georgia is on Biden’s mind.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/as-trump-continues-his-assault-on-democracy-georgia-is-on-biden-s-mind-20210103-p56rhr.html
Trump’s Republicans have dumped Lincoln – they’re the Confederacy now, exclaims Lloyd Green.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/04/trump-republicans-electoral-college-sedition-secession-lincoln-confederacy
And today’s nomination for “Arsehole of the Week” goes to David Savage whom federal police have alleged helped cover up corruption when he was a high-flyer at one of Australia’s largest multinationals.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/australian-former-executive-returns-from-french-castle-to-quarantine-and-a-criminal-investigation-20210104-p56rks.html
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
Dionne Gain
John Shakespeare
Mark Knight
John Spooner
Alan Moir
From the US
How are the poms going with covid-19 ? A !!!!!! chart
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Does the CrimeMinister realise no-one, except maybe his most devoted fans, takes any notice of his ads?
The Ugly Australian.
Carlos Castaneda wrote A Separate Reality
This certainly is https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/jan/04/donald-trump-georgia-votes-joe-biden-brad-raffensperger-senate-covid-coronavirus-us-politics-live
Caveats apply
Seth Meyers –
Rachel Maddow –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbaata5SXBE
Chris Hayes –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10OXd-stDwU
Brianna Keilar –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
More to come
Bruz Pork-Barilaro is nuts.
He urges people from regional NSW who were planning to head to Sydney for the cricket to reconsider and stay at home to keep The Plague out of so far unaffected parts of the state, but he had no qualms about his government, in early December, urging Sydney people who may well have an infection to head to the same regional areas to boost tourism and businesses over the summer holidays. I’ve dreaded tourist season here more than I usually do because of the increased risk of visitors passing on infections.
Presumably the virus has an agreement not to infect anyone from Sydney heading to regional NSW but does not have any agreement to refrain from infecting regional spectators at the cricket.
He has also been asking young people who cannot take a gap year overseas because of the virus to take that year to work on farms and in businesses in regional NSW. Shame about those businesses not making enough money to put on extra staff, isn’t it.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/nsw-government-encourages-young-people-to-take-a-regional-gap-year.
Honestly, this chap is an idiot, a raving loony. He has NFI about the struggles rural businesses face now, or about the chronic youth unemployment in regional NSW, especially along the coast. He just comes up with these brainfarts and expects everyone to leap to obey.
Stephen Colbert –
Jimmy Kimmel –
A very belated merry Xmas and happy new year to all pubsters. Hope your year has started out better than mine with a death in the family. Anyhoo the only way is up, right? It can’t be worse than the barsteward of a year we’ve all endured….
Bert,
My sympathy to you and your family. Yes, the only option following any tragedy is upward and onward.
Happy 2021 to you and all of us.
Bert –
My condolences to you and your family.
Bert, very sorry for your loss.
They will live in your memories
Sorry to hear of your loss. It certainly has been a “barsteward of a year ” so yeah, things must surely be due for an upward trajectory !!
Being forced to sell your home to fund being a carer for your daughter? Just another example of what Centrelink has become under Morrison.
Thank goodness the Administrative Appeals Tribunal over-ruled the bastards.
Centrelink denied payments to family violence survivor caring for daughter with cancer
Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturns the decision, saying the woman is clearly in ‘desperate need’
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/05/centrelink-denied-payments-to-family-violence-survivor-caring-for-daughter-with-cancer
beyond wicked
Leone,
I’m surprised that the AAT Liberal-stacked managed to emit such a gracious decision.
Bert,
My sympathy to you and your family. Yes, the only option following any tragedy is upward and onward.
Happy 2021 to you and all of us.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Adam Triggs writes, “The notion that Australia is experiencing a V-shaped recovery is fuelling complacency. It is fuelling the belief that substantial reform is not required because the economy will correct itself.” He makes several good points.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7073978/its-far-too-early-to-call-this-an-economic-win/?cs=14258
Regional communities have been placed on alert after a man with COVID-19 took a 900-kilometre road trip across the state before learning he was an infection risk.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/regional-communities-on-alert-after-unaware-case-takes-road-trip-20210105-p56rwy.html
States and health experts are pleading for tougher rules to seal shut international borders and protect Australia against a worrying new strain of COVID in the United Kingdom, and leaders fear the mutated virus could exploit weak points in Australia’s quarantine system, write3s Josh Butler.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/01/05/coronavirus-uk-strain-flight-ban-australia/
Lucy Cormack reports that the NSW government will fork out millions of dollars for a six-month contract to a private consultant for the project that will phase out stamp duty in the state’s biggest tax reform in decades. Nice work if you can get it!
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/outsourcing-expertise-private-consultant-paid-5-5m-for-stamp-duty-reform-20210105-p56rvb.html
Michael Pascoe explains the graph that explains this century. This is well worth a read.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2021/01/05/michael-pascoe-wages-graph-globalisation/
As Jobkeeper, JobSeeker and other stimulus measures are wound back in 2021, it is doubtful the Morrison Government will rise to the enormous economic challenges ahead, writes Tarric Brooker.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-morrison-government-and-the-biggest-withdrawal-of-spending-since-world-war-2,14665
Harriet Alexander writes that the government’s chief backer for its controversial family court merger says the bill would give judges the power to rein in litigants who waste court time and use unfair strategies. That’s fine, but the legislation goes much deeper than this.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/big-money-and-endless-acrimony-family-court-reform-to-rein-in-dreadful-litigants-lawyers-20201208-p56llr.html
Anthony Galloway reports that Scott Morrison will not be appealing to US President Donald Trump to pardon Julian Assange following a British court’s decision to reject the US bid to extradite the WikiLeaks founder.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/scott-morrison-won-t-ask-trump-to-pardon-julian-assange-20210105-p56rtl.html
Rex Patrick thinks Morrison should make the call, though.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/scott-morrison-should-change-his-mind-and-call-trump-to-end-bizarre-assange-saga-20210105-p56rua.html
And the SMH editorial reckons the PM should urge the US to abandon its pursuit of Assange.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/pm-should-urge-us-to-abandon-pursuit-of-julian-assange-20210105-p56ry5.html
Greg Barns describes the type of imprisonment Assange would face in the US and he says that the Australian community expects their governments to take up the cudgels and rescue their fellow citizens from such cruelty and torture.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/here-s-something-for-marise-payne-and-scott-morrison-to-consider-about-julian-assange-20210104-p56rq7.html
Peter Greste opines that the Assange judge failed to realise what the case means for every journalist who ever received a secret document.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/assange-judge-failed-to-realise-what-the-case-means-for-every-journalist-who-ever-received-a-secret-document-20210105-p56rw4.html
The Canberra Times explains how the government’s troubled coronavirus tracing app has been given a major technical update, but experts are saying it still hasn’t fixed its core issues amid further outbreaks in NSW and Victoria it has done little to assist with. So it really IS like sunscreen!
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7074019/experts-say-governments-limited-covidsafe-app-still-not-effective-amid-new-outbreaks/?cs=17318
Bianca Hall writes that, while city outlets are worried recent COVID-19 outbreaks will delay the planned return of office workers, some are seeing it as a chance to rethink an ailing CBD model.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/you-can-t-really-predict-anything-slow-return-of-officer-workers-prompts-rethink-of-cbd-model-20210105-p56ruu.html
Sarah Danckert is trying to come to grips with the gap between the grim reality of COVID and stock market optimism.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/beware-the-gap-between-the-grim-reality-of-covid-and-market-optimism-20210105-p56ruy.html
John Kehoe writes that, according to according to corporate undertakers, thousands of small businesses across hospitality, retail, tourism and real estate face financial failure this year, but the rise in insolvencies will not be as bad as originally feared due to a faster economic recovery.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/fears-over-business-failures-ease-20210104-p56rk3
Australia’s mishmash of COVID border closures is confusing, inconsistent and counterproductive, says epidemiologist, Catherine Bennett.
https://theconversation.com/australias-mishmash-of-covid-border-closures-is-confusing-inconsistent-and-counterproductive-152620
A record rally in Asian LNG prices has triggered warnings that east coast gas prices could be heading back above $10 a gigajoule, spelling pain for manufacturers.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/runaway-lng-price-sends-warning-to-gas-buyers-20210104-p56rns
And the AFR says the disintegration of the National Electricity Market risks leading to more government intervention and higher power prices – unless the right reforms drive private sector investment in gas generation.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/national-energy-anarchy-must-be-solved-20210105-p56ru6
David Hayward reveals that, for all the cuts and privatisation, the federal government is bigger than ever.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/for-all-the-cuts-and-privatisation-government-is-bigger-than-ever-20210104-p56roo.html
Karen Maley looks at the conundrum facing Frydenberg as he ponders the return of ASIC’s James Shipton after the delivery of the report from former inspector-general of intelligence Vivienne Thom into Shipton’s taxation adventures.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/frydenberg-s-awkward-asic-problem-20210105-p56ru7
Christopher Knaus tells us that Centrelink denied carer payments to a family violence survivor while she looked after her teenage daughter during aggressive cancer treatment, arguing she was ineligible because of compensation from a horrific car crash seven years earlier, which the woman had used to buy a modest home. The AAT ruled against Centrelink.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/05/centrelink-denied-payments-to-family-violence-survivor-caring-for-daughter-with-cancer
Caitlin Fitzsimmons writes that US-style voter suppression could happen here too and says we shouldn’t get too smug about it. She warns that voter ID is a solution looking for a problem and one we should shun.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/don-t-get-too-smug-us-style-voter-suppression-could-happen-here-too-20210105-p56ru2.html
Labor and the Coalition will need to find ways to stop conspiracy theories and fake news bleeding into audiences critical to electoral success, warns Anne Davies.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/06/the-24-hour-meme-machine-what-the-us-election-can-teach-australia-about-digital-campaigning
How did an Australian-made transponder, a key part of drone technology, end up in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan where human rights abuses are prolific? Michelle Fahy investigates the murky trail of the drone bit and the cagey response of the Defence establishment from DFAT to DoD to Minister Marise Payne.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/australian-weapons-part-on-armenian-battlefield/
Latika Bourke has just reported that the World Health Organisation says China is refusing access to Wuhan to officials investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/china-blocks-who-investigators-access-to-wuhan-20210106-p56rzu.html
Arwa Mahdawi explains why it’s time to democratise fertility treatment.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/05/have-you-seen-the-price-of-sperm-its-time-to-democratise-fertility-treatment
Watching New Zealand’s Covid success from bungling Britain has been torture, writes Todd Atticus.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/jan/05/watching-new-zealands-covid-success-from-britain-has-shown-me-nations-make-their-own-luck
It’s back to school for Boris Johnson, the man who Marina Hyde says refuses to learn.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/05/school-boris-johnson-national-lockdown-prime-minister-mistakes
Malcolm Mackerras ranks the US presidents.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7071186/ranking-the-presidents-an-historians-parlour-game/?cs=14246
Trump is trying to thwart democracy itself, but the problem is deeper than one man, explains David Daley.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/05/trump-is-trying-to-thwart-democracy-itself-but-the-problem-is-deeper-than-one-man
Trump is a buffoon – but the next aspiring autocrat won’t be so incompetent, warns Richard Wolffe.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/04/donald-trump-autocrat-cult-democracy
Adam Cooper provides enough information on this bloke to warrant his nomination for “Arsehole of the Week”.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bail-relaxed-for-auscoin-founder-to-attend-wedding-manage-souvlaki-stores-20210105-p56rws.html
Cartoon Corner
Peter Broelman
David Rowe
Simon Letch
Matt Golding
John Shakespeare
Glen Le Lievre
John Spooner
From the US
Land of hope and glory something something something…….
.
UK PM Boris Johnson has revealed that one in 50 people in England are infected with Covid-19 as he promises to keep the country updated “jab by jab” on his mission to vaccinate the most vulnerable by mid next month…..
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-uk-locks-down-as-mutant-strain-tightens-grip/2P7CV3C6H2FNK3IAN3KVF7HULA/
BK thank you for your daily round up
Bert, I hope 2021 is a better year . . . I have some grim reading
According to climate scientists 9 of 15 climate tipping points has been activated
The work was funded by the Department of Immigration but Turner says the reports – the last of which was done in 2010 – were buried because the conclusions did not support high population growth.
The research found the economic benefits in terms of wealth per person would be outweighed by social ills including the impact on quality of life and the environment from resource use and pollution. The reports warned there would be nil net flow to the Darling River, loss of habitat and animal and plant species, traffic congestion, city water deficits and reduced biodiversity due to polluted creeks.
Turner’s findings went against the neoliberal orthodoxies as they challenged the notion of infinite growth on a finite planet. He said he and others pursuing similar research in “stocks and flows” models of the economy “found it harder and harder to get work funded”.
the latest Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration report found “there is no literature that synthesises the large scale impacts that climate change could have on Australia’s economy, and no reliable snapshot of Australia’s economic vulnerability to future climate warming in a regional and global context”.
Turner believes it would be possible to provide for everyone’s needs in a sustainable way but we would have to live a 1950s or 1960s-style lifestyle with limits such as one car and TV per household.
https://voiceofaction.org/collapse-of-civilisation-is-the-most-likely-outcome-top-climate-scientists/
No matter which way you look at the CrimeMinister’s delay in allowing use of vaccines one thing is crystal clear – he is lying to us, yet again.
Why deny Australians the AstraZeneca vaccine if the TGA had conditionally approved it months ago? Is his Pentecostal belief in the allegedly imminent End of Days influencing him again?
I rather like this thought – he doesn’t want to hand over the final payment until after the May budget. We all know how important that damn budget is to him, it certainly comes well before the health of Australians.
There’s also the widely help beliefs he has not actually ordered anything yet or Australia is so far back in the queue for supplies that nothing will be ready before March.
Was Richard Dawkins wrong?
It might come as a shock to politicians of all varieties, but not all Australians love cricket.
I loathe it, so this sort of garbage from Hazzard about watching a game between two teams of highly paid professional chaps being essential for “mental health” and “wellbeing” makes me want to vomit.
I remember when Bob Carr was NSW premier and was forced to attend a cricket match because apparently that’s what Australian premiers do, so he took a book and made a point of reading it during the game. I’ve never cared for Carr, but this had me applauding because I would have done the same thing. Carr famously disliked sport, as shown in this story –
https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/07/03/bob-carr-memoir/
Christmas Island detention centre is burning
http://www.refugeeaction.org.au/?p=15784&fbclid=IwAR2eUO5bHNDlb7r8eIqXxCW4C2uhIVEsjI2mlF6D8mAjjJxCecRqc7iyTDo
Not much today due to Georgia election
Seth Meyers –
Stephen Colbert –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
Ducky,
Ossoff’s lead when counting stopped at 2:30am was ~9,000. Looking good, with only urban and suburban votes to go. Fingers so tightly xxxd I’m not sure how I’ll manage to brush my teeth this evening.
Ossoff 16,000 + ahead. 0.4%. No recount getting close.
Everything so tightly xxd that I don’t dare venture to the loo, let alone open my eyes!
They start counting again 1 PM our time. That is also when Congress members cast their votes for the presidency.
I’m staying up, dog willing. Cask wine is assisting …
two bits worth pointing out, although th ewhole thing is worth reading
“Unfortunately, it’s also hard to believe the government’s pledges that swift efficiency is just around the corner. In the early days of the pandemic, the Netherlands’ response looked for a while admirably level-headed, but in retrospect it seems some serious strategic errors were baked in early on. A right-leaning government, proud of its pro-business credentials and nervous about losing votes to populist parties in the upcoming elections, quickly decided that the pandemic would be impossible to stop, and opted for a laissez-faire approach which sought to limit damage to the economy, abide by libertarian principles, and protect the vulnerable while quietly accepting that significant deaths were inevitable. The government’s reflex appears to have always been: do less rather than more, offer people advice rather than setting rules, and trust the public to make their own choices about how to behave. This all sounded quite nice in March, but proved woefully inadequate once people started behaving worse in the summer, and looked quite mad once infections started spiraling in the autumn. While there’s a legitimate ethical debate about some policies, the government sadly wasted weeks on laughable measures – claiming, for example, that rapidly rising infections could be curbed simply by closing bars an hour earlier. Bizarrely, a country which frets constantly about once-in-a-millennium flood risks has abandoned the precautionary principle. The refusal to encourage mask use was a totemic example: for months, anyone wearing a mask in a crowded place was liable to be treated as if they were wearing a red clown’s nose. Even in hospitals, it was for much of last year more common to see people without masks than with them. ”
…………….
“When thinking about all this, it’s often easy to exaggerate the effects of political leadership and national culture while underestimating the power of other factors which no-one can do much about, such as population density or physical geography. However, it’s also clear that the pandemic has highlighted some serious weaknesses in the Dutch political system. The Netherlands is famously run with an unusual emphasis on consensus-building, expert consultation and respectful negotiation. Governments are always coalitions, and major policies carefully hammered out by parties, unions, businesses and experts discussing them at great length. On the face of it, this is a wonderful thing – after all, many of us have spent recent years wishing other parts of the world also had leaders who were a little less confrontational and little more guided by scientific evidence. Yet in recent months it’s become clear that a system which is excellent at delivering heavyweight systemic change over the longer term (healthcare reform, flood defences) really struggles when there’s an urgent need to do unpopular things, such as mandating lockdowns or compelling mask use. Giving everyone a say takes time, and for all its apparent efficiency, the Dutch state often changes direction about as quickly as an oil tanker turning through stodgy erwtensoep (pea soup).”
Leroy,
If I read you correctly, The Netherlands is in deep trouble.
TLBD do you mean 1 am or 1pm
If 1pm you will be really stonkered
You and me too, Billie!
A very comprehensive look at all the vaccines , how they each work and where they are at.
.
.
Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker
By Carl Zimmer, Jonathan Corum and Sui-Lee WeeUpdated Jan. 5, 2021
Researchers are currently testing 64 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and 20 have reached the final stages of testing. At least 85 preclinical vaccines are under active investigation in animals.
Thanks for the good wishes. My mother in-law had a fall New Years eve and taken to Dandenong hospital told nothing wrong and sent home. Collapsed again Saturday night with a massive stroke and never woke up.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
I KNEW it! The US Capitol has been stormed by Trump supporter, stopping the vote counting and causing Pence to be evacuated. Trump now has a legacy!
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/georgia-run-offs-live-updates-democrats-on-brink-of-senate-control-joe-biden-s-us-election-win-to-be-ratified-donald-trump-to-speak-at-rally-20210106-p56s45.html
Through QAnon, the mendacity that has defined the Trump era will remain an enduring feature of right-wing politics, long after Trump slinks away, writes The New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo.
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/with-one-presidential-phone-call-qanon-shows-its-power-20210107-p56s98
All patient transport workers will soon undergo daily COVID testing as health authorities ramp up surveillance protocols across NSW’s massive quarantine operations.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/daily-covid-19-testing-for-sydney-s-quarantine-workers-20210106-p56s6u.html
Why are contact tracers using Eftpos records, CCTV footage and Opal cards when all Australians are using a perfectly good CovidSafe phone app?
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/eftpos-records-cctv-footage-opal-cards-helping-contact-tracers-contain-the-virus-20210106-p56s50.html
Sumeyya Ilanbey tells us why.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/hand-written-records-qr-codes-prove-more-useful-than-covidsafe-app-20210106-p56s3n.html
Government MPs Katie Allen and Andrew Laming, who both worked in health before entering Parliament, have backed the idea of mandatory vaccination of aged care staff.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/aged-care-industry-calls-for-mandatory-vaccination-of-staff-20210106-p56s4j.html
Correctly, Pru Goward says that our civil obedience is a strength, not a weakness.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/our-civil-obedience-is-a-strength-not-a-weakness-20210105-p56rro.html
And Nicholas Reeve opines that the failure of some modern democracies has contributed to the COVID crisis.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/failure-of-some-modern-democracies-has-contributed-to-covid-crisis-20210106-p56s2l.html
The baggage the Morrison government has lugged from one year to the next means that 2021 will be a hard slog, says John Lord.
https://theaimn.com/the-baggage-the-morrison-government-has-lugged-from-one-year-to-the-next-means-that-2021-will-be-a-hard-slog/
That Foxtel has been double dipping by charging the ABC up to $105,000 to broadcast three Matildas matches while receiving $40 million from the federal government to increase coverage of women’s, niche and community sport is just business as usual for Rupert Murdoch. John Menadue explains Murdoch’s modus operandi, going back decades, and how he always gets what he wants.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/foxtel-and-rupert-murdochs-power/
Maree Crabbe writes that porn as default sex educator heightens the risk of abuse.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/porn-as-default-sex-educator-heightens-risk-of-abuse-20210104-p56rpj.html
Louise Milligan tells us that a recent string of high-profile acquittals will prevent people from coming forward to complain of already under-reported crimes. She says there is little justice in treatment of alleged abuse victims
https://www.smh.com.au/national/little-justice-in-treatment-of-alleged-abuse-victims-20210103-p56re2.html
The SMH editorial says that better co-ordination and planning is needed for border closures and thinks people will be more willing to follow restrictions if they can see they are proportionate and compassionate.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/better-co-ordination-and-planning-is-needed-for-border-closures-20210106-p56s5b.html
Richard Denniss wonders who should pick up the tab for the costs of climate change in north Queensland.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/06/who-should-pick-up-the-tab-for-the-costs-of-climate-change-in-north-queensland
Rather than spending millions on advertising, companies like Menulog should be prioritising the welfare of their workers, writes Patrick Lukins.
https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/government-and-companies-must-do-more-to-protect-delivery-drivers,14671
Gladys Berejiklian’s defence of pork barrelling will hardly enthuse ratepayers in Batemans Bay, or taxpayers for that matter. The local government debacle over a leisure centre, which got the tick from Deputy Premier John Barilaro in dubious circumstances, is the quintessential object lesson in why governments should do their homework before they start throwing money around for political reasons. Elizabeth Minter reports.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/batemans-bay-rort-goes-wrong/
The Family Court of Australia was once the envy of the world for the way it approached disputes between separating couples. Now the government wants to do away with it. Harriett Alexander lets us know what went wrong with it.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/anything-can-happen-here-how-the-family-court-failed-to-live-up-to-its-promise-20201214-p56nbw.html
Rising inequality and increasing debt could combine to present problems for the global economy once the pandemic is brought to heel, warns Bloomberg’s Rich Miller.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/debt-doom-loop-on-the-cards-once-covid-is-contained-20210106-p56s18.html
The Conversation explains why populism erupts when people feel disconnected and disrespected.
https://theconversation.com/populism-erupts-when-people-feel-disconnected-and-disrespected-151423
Europe is taking the lead in digital market regulation with new proposed legislation designed to prevent illegal content and disinformation, writes Paul Budde.
https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/new-european-legislation-aims-to-control-digital-platforms,14669
Vatican investigators have established that the Australian international financial watchdog’s report of $2.3bn transferred from the Vatican City to Australia in the past six years is “significantly” over-estimated.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/vatican-debunks-23bn-austrac-transfer-allegation/news-story/e17d2774ff537a75e255e64e5b639d79
If Trump pardons himself now, he’ll be walking into a trap, explains Asha Rangappa in the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/if-trump-pardons-himself-now-hell-be-walking-into-a-trap-20210107-p56s96
After Georgia, Donald Trump has delivered Republicans a trifecta of defeat, writes Geoffrey Kabaservice.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/06/donald-trump-defeated-georgia-senate-white-house
Cartoon Corner
Peter Broelman
John Shakespeare
Johannes Leak
David Rowe
From the US
A tale from the days when officers were ‘gentlemen’……….
.
A British officer captured during World War I was granted leave to visit his dying mother on one condition – that he return, a historian has discovered.
And Capt Robert Campbell kept his promise to Kaiser Wilhelm II and returned from Kent to Germany, where he stayed until the war ended in 1918.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23957605#:~:text=A%20British%20officer%20captured%20during,the%20war%20ended%20in%201918.
Glued to the TV, watching history while it is happening. Biden is very impressive. Can stream it on https://livenow.news. You get a choice of channels. The senate is going to do the vote count very soon.
I hope Trump and his followers are happy now a woman has been killed.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/woman-shot-dead-as-police-rush-to-contain-washington-unrest-sparked-by-trump-inspired-mob
Stan Grant, the ABC’s resident expert on absolutely everything and right-wing shill, declared on ABC News this morning that both sides are responsible for the invasion of the Capitol.
What? How the frack did he arrive at that conclusion?
Even Republican senators are saying Trump was responsible, but apparently Stan knows better.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/electoral-college-vote-certification-2020-01-06/
The CrimeMinister – or rather, someone on his staff – made a mealy-mouthed tweet about the US insurrection, taking care to avoid any mention of Trump.
It hasn’t gone down well.
Handing back a tinpot award made by a disgraced President is the least he could do to express Australia’s disgust at what has happened in the US.
At the CrimeMinister’s presser today he refused to condemn Trump for inciting a riot then when asked if he supported George Christensen’s pro-Trump comments he refused to answer, instead, after making a comment about free speech he ended the presser and walked off.
So much for “free speech”.
Malcolm Turnbull criticises the CrimeMinister’s handling of the US crisis and weighs into the debate on whether or not he should hand back the legion of merit medal given to him by Trump.
Looks like he should never have accepted it in the first place.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/jan/07/australia-news-live-nsw-covid-hotspots-victoria-qld-cricket-mystery-case-police-vaccine
https://www.glamour.com/story/ivanka-trump-deletes-message-calling-armed-mob-american-patriots