The final ceasefire of World War One, the war to end all war except it didn’t.
Let these images help us remember the animals who served. Let us also remember the farm animals, pets and wildlife who were the innocent victims of human stupidity, stubbornness and sense of superiority. We had a choice. They did not. Lest We Forget.
Only one horse was taken back to Australia at the end of WWW. Some were transferred to the British Army in India, some went to the abattiors to become meat for the troops. A lot were shot by their own riders to give them a quick and humane end. It is understandable but tragic that these horses were fated not just by the logistics of returning., but our animal diseases quarantine laws.
Of course WW1, in my opinion, was just the royal houses of Europe and Britain, all related, squabbling over territory. A family feud played out with the lives of millions. Then the end of WW1 was the beginning of World War Two, followed by the cold war, and the crazy era of nuclear Mutually Assured Destruction.
(I will load citations later).
THE PUB 
Integrity watchdog to examine allegations of police misconduct during Bruce Lehrmann case
ACT attorney general says complaints surrounding prosecution of Brittany Higgins allegation referred to federal integrity and corruption commission
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/09/bruce-lehrmann-trial-case-brittany-higgins-police-act-attorney-general-refers-federal-integrity-corruption-watchdog
The AFP is saying Drumgold’s allegations were just smears, but can they be believed? I don’t think so.
Seth Meyers –
Stephen Colbert –
Chris Hayes –
Lawrence O’Donnell –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
Leone
Thanks for your response about BK.
F.M
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/09/hooray-the-good-times-have-arrived-and-we-can-finally-enjoy-summer-again
Victoria final scores
Labor 56
Liberal 18
National 9
Greens 4
Narracan deferred.
What a beautiful set of numbers. I think the msm outdid themselves.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers. Sorry it’s a bit late, but his monster took a lot of time to pull together.
Peter Hartcher contrasts the abilities of Labor’s female ministers and all those on the opposition front benches.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/women-kick-goals-for-labor-while-liberals-languish-on-the-bench-20221209-p5c4zw.html
Albanese is ending the year on top, but 2023 is unlikely to be so kind, says Michelle Grattan who is already doing a Smethurst – talking about a 2025 hung parliament.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/albanese-ends-year-on-top-but-2023-is-unlikely-to-be-so-kind-20221209-p5c4yt.html
In a monstrous spit, Paul Hewson says the Morrison government was the worst in Australia’s history – and it paid the price. Read it.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2022/12/10/the-worst-government-our-history
Six months on, Lisa Visentin looks at the women who plunged the Liberals into crisis.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/six-months-on-the-women-who-plunged-the-liberals-into-crisis-20221207-p5c4jg.html
Paul Bongiorno has a good look at the way the political year is ending.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2022/12/10/covid-positive-end-anthony-albaneses-year
The editorial in The Saturday Paper begins with, “David Littleproud is parliament’s leading aptronym. He does what his name says. Like a dentist called Stephanie Tooth or a plumber called Stephen Turd. Littleproud voted against marriage equality. He promises to ensure the Nationals will oppose the central recommendation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. He is intent on leaving behind even less than that with which he arrived.”
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/editorial/2022/12/10/voice-coaching
Australia is becoming a more fractured nation – loyalty to institutions, religions and political party is in decline. People are less ready to follow authority figures. And the 2022 election was a watershed with the major parties winning only two-thirds of the primary vote. National politics is at a threshold moment, says Paul Kelly.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/portrait-of-a-politically-fractured-nation/news-story/83999f65a3ae114a97966fabb90caca4
Energy made the headlines, but his reset on diplomacy is Albanese’s real power play, writes Katherine Murphy who says that the government has lowered domestic tensions, enabling it to adopt a more grown-up foreign policy that can improve ties with Washington and Beijing.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2022/dec/09/energy-makes-the-headlines-but-reset-on-diplomacy-is-albaneses-real-power-play
Peter van Onselen writes, “by this time next year voter sentiment could be very different. The Albanese government will be halfway into its term, with two budgets under its belt, and the electorate will expect results from a team that campaigned to bring down power bills and do something about low wages. And you can bet Peter Dutton will amplify any failures on these fronts.”
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/interest-rates-reckoning-looms-large-for-labor/news-story/9c3f4a421d9acde9dc6ea78b95654f02
David Crowe reports that the federal government will spend $1.5 billion on payments to reduce household and small business energy bills from April next year under a deal with the states to cap the price of coal and gas and help vulnerable customers.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-announces-1-5b-in-bill-relief-from-april-as-states-agree-to-cap-coal-price-20221209-p5c4zb.html
Australians have no cause to be grateful for a new deal on energy that is likely to deliver a 47 per cent increase in their electricity bills over the next two years. It could have been worse. The federal budget forecast a 56 per cent hike only six weeks ago and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had to use severe measures to prevent that happening. But the emergency option unveiled on Friday – price caps on coal and gas – could not get a bigger benefit for households without inflicting real damage on energy producers, says Crowe.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-s-big-spending-call-yields-small-household-savings-20221209-p5c57h.html
In chasing lower power prices, the federal government opted for a course riddled with landmines and other unintended consequences, and a negotiation where the states had the upper hand, explains Phil Coorey.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/if-the-solution-looks-messy-that-s-because-it-is-20221209-p5c53f
Voters are so far positive about the Albanese government, even though its power bill relief and other policy initiatives tend to lack political razzmatazz, writes Laura Tingle who says Labor is heading into the new year with a burst of energy.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-heads-into-the-new-year-with-a-burst-of-energy-20221208-p5c4op
Chris Bowen, Climate Change and Energy Minister in Anthony Albanese’s government, and Greens senator Jordon Steele-John are true believers in the need for global reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The difference is that the former is aware of the difficulties involved in Australia meeting its emissions-reduction target while the latter seems to be in denial about the costs involved in going further, says Gerard Henderson.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/our-green-left-climate-true-believers-must-berealists-too/news-story/a25789ae30d75b462358a609fde3780e
It’s clear the economy is already started slowing and there is more trouble ahead in 2023. Limiting the decline will be a tricky task for the government and the RBA, opines Ross Gittins.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-hard-times-are-coming-for-the-australian-economy-20221208-p5c4uj.html
Australia is heading for a major turning point, as a post-pandemic spending binge is replaced by the cold, hard reality of high inflation and rising interest rates, says Ronald Mizen.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/get-ready-for-the-economic-hangover-from-a-blinder-2022-20221208-p5c4u0
Covering the royal commission, Luke Henriques-Gomes writes that the Australian government had multiple chances to press ‘stop’ on robodebt – and ploughed on anyway.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/10/the-australian-government-had-multiple-chances-to-press-stop-on-robodebt-but-didnt
In the week before Scott Morrison gives evidence to the robo-debt royal commission, extraordinary details have emerged about how the public service shaped the ombudsman’s supposedly independent advice on the scheme, writes Rick Morton who tells us how bureaucrats kept robo-debt alive
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/10/how-bureaucrats-kept-robo-debt-alive
Here is a superb contribution from Malcolm Knox on robodebt.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/our-middle-class-bubble-made-robo-debt-disgrace-possible-20221208-p5c4v6.html
Things are hotting up over surrounding the investigation, etc of the Lehrmann case.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/leaked-email-claims-lehrmann-case-prosecutor-did-not-consult-police-before-releasing-foi-20221209-p5c51l.html
The ACT government is considering an independent inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann case. At the same time, a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions alleges political and police interference in the matter, writes Karen Middleton who provides a lot of information.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/10/exclusive-inquiry-likely-lehrmann-prosecution
And Jack Waterford thinks the inquiry into alleged police sabotage of the Bruce Lehrmann rape prosecution has the capacity to bring the Australian Federal Police into the biggest crisis of its 43 years, with impacts spreading beyond the contract arrangements by which it delivers policing services to the ACT. Waterford is red hot!
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8013124/the-biggest-crisis-in-the-afps-history-demands-a-fearless-investigation/?cs=14329
Dean Levitan explains, how would things differ from the aborted criminal case if Bruce Lehrmann proceeds with defamation action.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/09/if-bruce-lehrmann-proceeds-with-defamation-action-how-would-it-differ-to-the-aborted-criminal-case
Pentecostal church movement executives agreed to keep the details of an urgent meeting discussing Frank Houston’s paedophilia a secret, a New South Wales court has been told. Keith Ainge, a former Assemblies of God in Australia (AOG) secretary, said the meeting at the Sydney Qantas Club in late December 1999 came about urgently at the request of Frank’s son Brian Houston, then the national AOG president.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/09/urgent-church-meeting-frank-houston-kept-secret-court-told-hillsong-founder-brian-houston
Elle Hardy has an overall look at the Houston trial.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/law-crime/2022/12/10/the-trial-hillsong-founder-brian-houston
Matthew Knott tells us that the Albanese government is deploying a special form of targeted sanctions for the first time, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on 13 alleged human rights abusers including the head of Iran’s notoriously brutal morality police.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/wong-unleashes-sanctions-regime-for-first-time-targeting-iran-and-russia-20221209-p5c52a.html
In this op-ed, Penny Wong explains why she’s imposing sanctions on human rights abusers.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/penny-wong-why-i-m-imposing-sanctions-on-human-rights-abusers-20221209-p5c51i.html
Emails revealing Stuart Robert’s connection to a consultancy firm lobbying for contracts in his portfolio also reveal the staggering inadequacies of the lobbyists register, writes Mike Seccombe.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/10/stuart-robert-and-the-lobby-register-sham
Australia will push for Japan to be included as a quasi fourth member of the AUKUS security pact as it seeks to elevate its partnership with Tokyo to unprecedented heights, Defence Minister Richard Marles has declared.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/japan-australia-relationship-becoming-a-powerful-force-marles-20221209-p5c4zc.html
Does Australia need new laws to combat right-wing extremism, asks Keiran Hardy in the wake of Claire O’Neill’s comments at the NPC this week.
https://theconversation.com/does-australia-need-new-laws-to-combat-right-wing-extremism-196219
After the defeat at the 2022 State Election, the Victorian Liberal Party now has a chance to better its reputation by learning from Labor’s climate policy, writes Jono La Nauze.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/victorian-libs-leadership-conundrum–its-the-climate-stupid-,17052
Here’s Amanda Meade’s weekly round-up of media matters.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2022/dec/09/lachlan-murdochs-whirlwind-week-from-us-court-testimony-to-sydney-christmas-party-as-elites-rub-shoulders
What sort of country are we? That’s the question implicit in Lachlan Murdoch v Crikey, explains Richard Ackland.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/10/what-sort-of-country-are-we-thats-the-question-implicit-in-lachlan-murdoch-v-crikey
The east-coast electricity grid could be operating for periods using only renewable energy in less than three years if transmission infrastructure is urgently upgraded to handle the surge of intermittent wind and solar energy, explains Josh Gordon.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-hurdle-preventing-australia-from-worldwide-feat-on-renewable-energy-20221207-p5c4hn.html
Police and the Australian Taxation Office have raided 35 businesses across five states as part of an international crackdown on the use of software to avoid paying tax. The ATO said the raids, conducted with the Australian Federal Police, targeted businesses suspected of supplying and using illegal electronic sales suppression tools (ESST) in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2022/12/10/tax-software-national-crackdown/
Almost 8000 tonnes of plastic bags have been found in warehouses across three states as investigations continue into the collapse of Australia’s largest soft plastics recycling program. The Age tells us that investigators in Victoria, South Australia and NSW uncovered the waste as part of a probe into the REDcycle program that was suspended last month after The Age revealed the business had been secretly stockpiling plastics for years.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/environmental-watchdog-finds-six-secret-stockpiles-and-3000-tonnes-of-hidden-coles-woolworths-plastic-bags-20221209-p5c52o.html
A bullying incident at Waverley College that led to six students being expelled over “assault and humiliation-type behaviours” has sparked an external investigation and calls for the school to consider a cultural audit at the all-boys institution. These Liberal incubators really are something!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cultural-audit-recommended-for-waverley-college-after-students-expelled-for-bullying-20221209-p5c52c.html
Energy markets are so tight that only a few degrees Celsius, or a few windless days, are what separate Europe facing blackouts from having enough power to make it through the winter, explains Javier Blas.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-worst-of-europe-s-energy-crisis-isn-t-over-20221206-p5c3xk.html
The ACCC deserves praise for the thoroughness of its investigation, and the determination displayed in its successful prosecution of BlueScope Steel in the cartel case, but there is more to do, says the AFR’s Chanticleer.
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/accc-gets-a-welcome-cartel-victory-20221209-p5c528
Given the circumstances of Dominic Perrottet becoming Premier last year and his June pledge “to support in principle” cleaning up pork-barrelling, you might think the NSW Government would be a little careful about grants continuing to run along party political lines. But old habits die hard, writes Michael Pascoe who tells us that analysis of the $200 million NSW’s Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund (MSCF) shows Labor seats continuing to do disproportionately badly – much worse than mere coincidence might dictate – while Coalition and key crossbench seats fare as you might suspect they would.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2022/12/10/pork-barreling-nsw/
The Court was gripped by high drama in Troy Stolz’s case against ClubsNSW yesterday as the Australian Government Solicitor contacted parties over pokies lobby claims the whistleblower breached confidence in contacting MP Andrew Wilkie’s office. Callum Foote and Michael West report.
https://michaelwest.com.au/feds-to-step-into-troy-stolz-case-after-clubsnsw-hammers-pokies-whistleblower-for-four-days/
The Queensland government has fined embattled casino operator Star $100 million and ordered an independent manager to monitor its operations but has held off from suspending its Brisbane and Gold Coast licences. Matt Dennien reports that the company has been found unfit to hold its three casino licences across NSW and Queensland, after two independent inquiries sparked by a 2021 investigation by this masthead that found it had enabled extensive alleged criminal activity.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/queensland/star-slapped-with-maximum-fine-of-100m-given-deadline-to-get-house-in-order-20221209-p5c53p.html
The time to start preparing for war with China is now, writes Greg Sheridan.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/the-time-to-start-preparing-for-war-with-china-is-now/news-story/5461d85d7b64557aa5a80d522c21dba2
This year’s AUSMIN further advertised how the lure of submarines has facilitated the US military colonisation of Northern Australia. AUSMIN meetings are now performative art. The Australian side acts as though it has agency and the Americans pretend they aren’t just a resentful fading hegemon, writes Mike Scrafton.
https://johnmenadue.com/americas-shiny-submarine-lure-reels-in-australias-sovereignty/
For those still interested, the erosion of episcopal authority from the clerical sex abuse scandal continues at pace, writes Francis Sullivan who is concerned that the Catholic Church is still investigating itself.
https://johnmenadue.com/why-is-the-catholic-church-still-investigating-itself/
The road map for China’s battered economy is highly uncertain after the easing of zero-COVID policies as it confronts challenges other countries have not had to face, writes Keith Bradsher.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/how-will-china-turn-its-economy-back-on-the-world-is-about-to-find-out-20221209-p5c4yg.html
The unipolar world is dead and American control of the Middle East is a wreck, opines Dennis Argall.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-crushing-of-the-unipolar-world-in-the-middle-east/
Chris Barrett writes about how Indonesia’s new morality laws are being received.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/jail-for-everyone-sex-ban-puts-spotlight-on-indonesia-s-law-and-order-crackdown-20221208-p5c4qi.html
As an Indonesian lawyer living in exile in Australia, Veronica Koman finds it deeply troubling that the changes to the Indonesian criminal code are seen through the lens that toey tourists will be denied their freedom to fornicate on holiday in Bali.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/this-is-more-sinister-than-a-bali-bonk-ban-my-people-s-freedom-is-on-the-line-20221208-p5c4w4.html
The US is a rogue state leading the world towards ecological collapse, declares George Monbiot.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/09/us-world-climate-collapse-nations
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
David Pope
Alan Moir
Simon Letch
Matt Golding
John Shakespeare
Jim Pavlidis
Jon Kudelka
Michael Leunig
Fiona Katauskas
Glen Le Lievre
Mark Knight
Leak – who never gives up
From the US
https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_single-media-image-desktop@1/v1670512015/sbr120822dAPR.jpg.jp
“This is one of the best articles about how Wikipedia works that I have ever seen”
Elon Musk really is an idiot. He’s rich. That just makes him a rich idiot.
30 years ago today –
Why Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech still matters
Keating’s 1992 speech, the first true acknowledgement of colonisation’s damage by the Commonwealth government, has remained a touchstone of the reconciliation journey.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/paul-keatings-redfern-speech/pv2n4jg0v
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/10/bruce-lehrmann-case-judgment-reveals-why-contested-allegation-he-tried-to-kiss-higgins-was-admitted-as-evidence
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
It took a fortnight to count but the final result in the November 26 Victorian state election made clear as of Friday evening, should have fear ricocheting around Peter Dutton’s party room. It underscored the depth of the trench into which Scott Morrison and his religiously inclined ilk have driven the once mainstream Liberal brand. Quite deliberately, writes Mark Kenny who says a Scott Morrison early exit from Parliament is a possibility as the Liberal fallout continues. This is an excellent contribution in which Kenny also reckons there is a big chance the Morrison’s “pray-mate” Stuart Robert might also leave soon.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8014478/signs-point-to-an-early-morrison-exit-libs-nationwide-can-only-hope-and-pray/?cs=14258
And Victoria’s emergency departments are so short-staffed they are often running at part capacity and are “sometimes unsafe”, doctors say. Aisha Dow writes that doctors fear that some smaller emergency departments, particularly in regional Victoria, could be forced to close temporarily because they cannot operate safely due to gaps in their rosters.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/why-victorian-emergency-departments-aren-t-opening-all-beds-20221209-p5c57g.html
Waitlists for elective surgeries at Sydney’s children’s hospitals have blown out to record numbers amid a protracted staffing crisis that doctors say is putting the safety of their young patients at risk. Kate Aubusson reports that almost 4000 children were on elective surgery waitlists for the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Randwick (2500 and 1398 respectively) at the end of September, and close to 1000 children had their surgeries delayed beyond clinically recommended timeframes.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/hospital-staffing-crisis-puts-4000-children-on-surgery-wait-list-20221209-p5c55u.html
Recommendations from the NSW Coroner following the death of Bernard Gore, lost inside Bondi Westfield, and other inquests have led to a substantial shift in what police call “Standard Operating Procedures” when a person goes missing – which police stress is not a crime – that Sim is keen to continue. NSW Police now deploy geo-targeted text messages to all phones connected to particular mobile phone towers, as well as issuing media releases for all missing persons deemed high-risk and posts on Facebook to the police’s 1.4 million followers. Modern milk cartons.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-modern-milk-carton-how-police-find-missing-people-in-the-digital-age-20221209-p5c520.html
When the final result for the upper house of Victoria’s new parliament is revealed, Legalise Cannabis candidates may have won as many seats as the Greens, possibly one more. Dan Andrews should heed the message and get serious about drug law reform. Jon Faine says that Victorians could adopt a socially progressive and commercially sustainable model that also just happens to create an endless and substantial revenue stream for government, namely legalising marijuana.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/will-dan-andrews-smoke-a-peace-pipe-with-legalise-cannabis-in-the-upper-house-20221209-p5c54i.html
The outgoing head of Victoria’s corruption watchdog says politicians misused the Independent Broad-based Anticorruption Commission for political gain during last month’s election campaign and reforms are needed to stop IBAC being treated like a political football.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-s-corruption-watchdog-treated-like-a-political-football-commissioner-says-20221210-p5c58w.html
Peter FitzSimons has interviewed Qantas boss Alan Joyce who gave an explanation of why your Christmas airfares are sky high.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/qantas-boss-alan-joyce-explains-why-your-christmas-airfares-are-sky-high-20221209-p5c55y.html
Qantas is pulling back capacity to keep its airfare prices high as cagey chief Alan Joyce profiteers from the airline’s dominant market position and political clout. Michael Sainsbury reports on the insipid ACCC report into airline competition.
https://michaelwest.com.au/airfares-outstrip-costs-accc-report-lets-qantas-off-the-competition-hook/
If ever we need a federal government to intervene in a human rights crisis in this nation, then it is now. There are almost daily headlines about the appalling abuse of children in detention centres and the preparedness of state governments, and the Northern Territory to cynically and callously play the ‘law and order’ card at the expense of some of the most vulnerable members of our community, argues Greg Barns.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-crisis-in-youth-justice/
Jonathan Freedland says that the coup attempts in Germany and the US confirm the key terror threat is the far right
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/09/global-terrorism-racist-white-jihadism-far-right
Cartoon Corner
Peter Broelman
Reg Lynch
Matt Golding
Matt Davidson
Mark Knight
From the US
Two contrasting articles – first Alan Joyce’s lies about Qantas, where he blames the Ukraine war for high airfare prices followed by Michael Sainsbury’s demolition of those lies.
Brilliant juxtaposition, BK.
From Kangaroo Court –
ACT Police media officer tried to help Bruce Lehrmann by stopping the media from naming him after a court attendance notice was issued
https://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2022/12/11/act-police-media-officer-tried-to-help-bruce-lehrmann-by-stopping-the-media-from-naming-him-after-a-court-attendance-notice-was-issued/
Excellent summary of the Lehrmann case so far and a revelation that should end Lehrmann’s threats to sue for defamation.
“Lehrmann couldn’t get his lies straight and then he left Brittany Higgins naked on the lounge to go home to his girlfriend which goes a long way to explain why Lehrmann refused to hop on the witness stand.”
10 years ago today
Happy Anniversary
Good times!
Great memories, good times, bad times and I think looking forward to better times for the country.
My how time flys when you are having fun. Thanks, joe6pack, for giving us this site. Thank you to all the moderators, and Fiona, for keeping us alive here in this space.
Hard to disagree
We’re in Lying Cow domain
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/12/bruce-lehrmann-trial-acts-top-prosecutor-complained-about-linda-reynolds-disturbing-conduct
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
A federal pledge to fund a pay rise for aged care workers has gained 59 per cent support from Australians ahead of the likely $1.8 billion annual cost of the move, but voters are not so sure about using taxpayer cash to boost childcare pay as well, writes David Crowe about a Resolve Monitor poll.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/voters-support-funding-aged-care-wage-rise-while-ir-laws-show-party-divisions-20221211-p5c5c2.html
Ross Gittins tells us that the price of better government is higher taxes.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/who-knew-the-price-of-better-government-is-higher-taxes-20221211-p5c5cx.html
The Albanese government has just delivered a masterclass on political compromise or created a self-inflicted major headache. Tony Wood says it walked into an economic, political and social problem in Australia’s energy sector where no potential solution would satisfy everyone.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/winning-compromise-there-for-the-taking-on-energy-prices-20221211-p5c5cf.html
A federal bid to control the price of gas has sparked a furious response from energy producers who fear an open-ended regime that lasts beyond the temporary price cap unveiled on Friday, with analysts claiming the Labor plan is a “declaration of war” on the industry. The energy industry is mobilising against a long-term “reasonable price provision” after seeing the proposal in a Treasury consultation paper issued late on Friday after a national deal to impose price caps on coal and gas.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-s-energy-plan-could-go-beyond-price-cap-in-declaration-of-war-on-the-industry-20221211-p5c5e8.html
Angela Macdonald-Smith tells us about the frantic industry responses to the government’s actions on the energy crisis.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/near-nationalisation-shock-gas-market-changes-revealed-20221211-p5c5b6
The AIMN’s Rossleigh writes, “It’s been a good week for Peter Dutton because – now that the Albanese government has announced something on energy prices – Dutton knows what it is that he’s against. For the past few weeks, he’s been reluctant to express a view on the subject in case it turns out that Labor have ruled it out and he’ll be left agreeing with them.”
https://theaimn.com/peter-duttons-plan-for-cutting-energy-prices/
Tim Buckley explains how multinational fossil fuel corporations operating in Australia will book a staggering $120-140 billion gross profit this calendar year on exports of our sovereign public LNG and coal assets. He says, “This situation is a clear fiscal policy and regulatory failure. It requires a policy solution as an urgent political and pragmatic necessity. Thankfully, on Australian energy policy, the adults are back in the room.”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/fossil-fuel-exporters-140b-profit-as-bills-soar-20221209-p5c57b.html
On the robodebt royal commission, the SMH editorial says that many of the mandarins who dealt with robo-debt seem to have put the interests of the government above their obligation under the public service code of conduct to act with integrity and honesty. Yes, but why?
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-s-not-just-the-politicians-who-deserve-scrutiny-over-robo-debt-20221211-p5c5et.html
Business collapses are expected to nearly double next year as experts predict that mounting costs and climbing interest rates combined with a significant slowdown in consumer spending and a more aggressive tax office will push businesses over the edge, explains Jessica Yun.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/serious-red-flag-insolvency-experts-see-increase-in-collapses-in-2023-20221208-p5c4rl.html
If the PM wanted to lower Tanya Plibersek’s profile with environment, it hasn’t worked, writes Anthony Galloway.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/if-the-pm-wanted-to-lower-tanya-plibersek-s-profile-with-environment-it-hasn-t-worked-20221209-p5c57j.html
Labor proposal to fix Australia’s broken environmental protection system could revolutionise sector, predicts Adam Morton.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/11/labor-proposal-to-fix-australias-broken-environmental-protection-system-could-revolutionise-sector
Coalition financial services spokesman Stuart Robert is refusing to say whether he had been doing business with an offshore entity controlled by his business partner while also serving as a minister. As the MP faces an inquiry into his business links and lobbying for lucrative contracts, James Robertson reveals that he was holding shares in businesses related closely to companies and offshore transactions that involved some of the most disreputable players in the industry.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/11/stuart-robert-offshore-business/
Adele Ferguson and Ben Cubby report that one of the country’s biggest bulk billing medical centre chains and mental health providers systematically rorted Medicare over a number of years while authorities failed to act on a series of tip-offs and red flags. The company, Tristar Medical Group, collapsed in May this year, leaving hundreds of patients without access to medical services and owing creditors $23 million.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/medical-centre-chain-rorted-medicare-as-authorities-ignored-tip-offs-20221207-p5c4g6.html
At both federal and state levels, the Market Gods Cult has failed to deliver. It’s been a tragic waste of human and economic potential. It’s time to resort to rationality in our TAFE arrangements, declares Neil Hauxwell.
https://johnmenadue.com/a-story-of-how-the-market-gods-failed-tafe-and-what-needs-to-be-done/
The recent public debate about Indigenous recognition in our Constitution has gone pear-shaped, and with a mark of nastiness that is not only unbecoming but also unhelpful. We need to redouble our efforts to have our politicians return to a bipartisan approach, following the appropriate steps for a successful referendum. We need a return to parliamentary procedure and civil public discourse so we might accord just constitutional recognition to Indigenous Australians, urges Frank Brennan.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/nastiness-must-stop-in-our-debate-over-the-voice/news-story/8763baf90f6a7e00b57518dfb986859d
James Guthrie and Adam Lucas write, “This is the second instalment of a two-part series based on our recent submission to the Australian Government regarding tax transparency and the fossil fuel industry. The first part examined how transnational fossil fuel corporations are routinely engaged in accounting practices which enable them to avoid paying the Australian Government hundreds of billions of dollars in income tax. This second part provides recommendations for minimising these tax avoidance practices and recouping some of the wealth these corporations have extracted from Australia.”
https://johnmenadue.com/multinational-tax-integrity-and-tax-avoidance-by-the-fossil-fuel-industry-part-2/
Christopher Knaus reports that The Australian Capital Territory’s top prosecutor privately complained of the “disturbing” conduct of former cabinet minister Linda Reynolds during the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, including her alleged coaching of his defence team, her attempt to solicit transcripts and the presence of her partner in court.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/12/bruce-lehrmann-trial-acts-top-prosecutor-complained-about-linda-reynolds-disturbing-conduct
Meanwhile, former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has spoken with at least two television networks about conducting a sit-down interview in what would be his first public comments after ACT prosecutors dropped a charge against him over the alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins, writes Zoe Samios.
https://www.theage.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/bruce-lehrmann-considering-sit-down-television-interview-20221211-p5c5de.html
The Parliamentary Inquiry into War Powers heard the pros and cons of a parliamentary vote to go to war versus the status quo, that is, the Prime Minister alone can make the call. Zacharias Szumer reports on the hearings and the big points of concern.
https://michaelwest.com.au/war-powers-inquiry-just-as-britain-has-the-gurkhas-the-americans-have-us/
Police are investigating after students at a Catholic school in the Victorian town of Kilmore were allegedly tied up and whipped with belts by their classmates in front of a cheering crowd. Assumption College has expelled three students and suspended 18 over the alleged assault of several year 10 boys, which was filmed and widely circulated among the school community via social media. And we fund this stuff!
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-investigate-whipping-of-students-by-classmates-at-catholic-school-20221211-p5c5da.html
Terminally ill people who end their lives with voluntary euthanasia could be denied the last rites from a Catholic priest when Queensland becomes the fourth state to operate a right-to-die program on January 1. Uniting Church ministers in the state will also have discretion to refuse absolution to those who choose voluntary assisted dying, The Australian understands.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/nation/catholic-priests-to-deny-last-rites-in-vad-backlash/news-story/8988218b0fcb5a93533fcb4999b01130
Rupert Murdoch rarely has to answer for the alternative realities presented by his hugely profitable US cable network, Fox News. Its conspiratorial claims of a parade of cover ups from the 2012 Benghazi attack to the climate crisis and Covid-19 have been lapped up by Fox viewers and scorned by much of the rest of America, and then the world moved on. But on Tuesday, the 91-year-old billionaire media mogul will be obliged to answer difficult questions under oath about the inner workings of Fox. Let’s hope the hammer comes down!
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/11/rupert-murdoch-fox-dominion-lawsuit-deposition
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
Alan Moir
Peter Broelman
Megan Herbert
Mark Knight
Leak
From the US
There seems to have been a real flood of private school students expelled for objectionable behaviour lately. Where do they go, all the private school students who have been expelled for revolting behavior?
Do they go to other private schools which are less vigilant about such behaviour? Or, as seems more likely, do they go into the public system where they will cause more behaviour problems for already hard-pressed teachers to deal with?
Public school teachers have more than enough problems to deal with without having to teach civilised behaviour to the spoilt brats expelled from privileged private schools.
I blame parents for this. They raise their kids to believe they are better than others, they set examples of nasty behaviour to what they see as their social inferiors. These students need far more than being merely passed to other schools to cope with.
Robodebt is aptly named. I can’t recall, I don’t remeber…etc. Can’t remember why they wrote stuff. Can’t remember how they felt at the time of occurring. I is like that movie where things happen, then they get zapped by a pen, and they carry on like nothing happened. Pocketing their very highly remunerated salary. Bah Humbug!!!!!
These people are top-level public servants, yet it seems they never bothered to read information, they never bothered to look at flawed legislation and never can’t remember a thing that might have been said to them.
Do these idiots deserve the lavish salaries they are paid? I don’t think so. Speaking as a former employer I would not employ any of them, not even as a bin emptier. Even the most menial tasks seem to be beyond them.
Robodebt is interviewing a passing parade of senior public servants exhibiting all of the horrible behavioural hallmarks of bureaucrats
Friday Ms I have to change the wording of every report that crosses my desk
followed by I had a nervous breakdown keeping the out of date badly written poorly maintained database running
This morning Mr Always-Speak-in-negatives
followed by Mr Silence while I think slowly and someone else supplies the answer
TLBD am I right in guessing that activities reported to Centrelink during the day are stored in a transaction file. Overnight the transaction file is applied against the database.
Is Centrelink’s quite a high error rate caused by poorly trained counter staff or poorly designed database
Don’t know about Centrelink DB updates but I would be surprised if they didn’t have overnight application of daily transaction files.
New YouGov poll out for Queensland.
2PP: ALP 50/50 LNP (No Change)
Primary Votes: ALP 34% (0) LNP 38% (0) GRN 13% (-1) ON 11% (+1) OTH 4% (0)
Palaszczuk Approval 40% (-5) Disapproval 41% (+2)
Crisafulli Approval 31% (0) Disapproval 27% (+4)
Preferred Premier: Palaszczuk 39% (-2) / 28% (0) Crisafulli
The question wording is in the Public Polling Methodology Statement.
Click to access yougov-au-221203-QLD-Public-Polling-Methodology-Statement-first-print.pdf
Poll Bludger has a quick summary.
https://www.pollbludger.net/2022/12/12/yougov-50-50-in-queensland-2/
I would never vote for anyone in the Shooters and Fishers Party because (a) I don’t live in an electorate where this party runs and (b) because of Robert Borsak. I do not understand why anyone votes for them.
This is what Borsak gets up to in his spare time –
Then there are his appalling comments about Helen Dalton who saw the light and ditched his party in March this year.
F.M. –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/12/what-even-was-2022-wrapping-the-year-with-the-first-dog-on-the-moon-institute
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Here’s Katherine Murphy’s take on the latest Essential poll.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/essential-poll-three-quarters-of-voters-believe-cost-of-living-crisis-will-worsen-but-majority-give-albanese-thumbs-up
“Whether by accident or design (the latter more likely), the Albanese government has executed a bait and switch on the gas industry. Having telegraphed for many weeks that a price cap would be imposed on gas and coal for a limited period, the government has thrown a grenade into the market”, writes Elizabeth Knight who says it was a manoeuvre that has caught the gas industry off guard and sent some participants into crisis mode.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/the-government-s-bait-and-switch-has-caught-gas-producers-flatfooted-20221212-p5c5oh.html
The global energy supermajor, Shell, has suspended its role in a deal designed to prevent east coast gas shortfalls in response to the Albanese government’s plan to cap fossil fuel prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/east-coast-gas-supply-pact-at-risk-as-price-controls-loom-20221212-p5c5lh.html
The political atmospherics now are very different to when the miners took down Kevin Rudd and his Super Profits levy in 2010, writes Phil Coorey who reckons Labor is up for the fight.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/mining-tax-style-campaign-go-for-it-says-labor-20221212-p5c5o4
Gas producers selling a molecule above the $12 per gigajoule price cap in the wholesale market could face penalties of $50 million or more, under proposed laws to force down gas and electricity prices. The Albanese government wants to hand the maximum powers available to the consumer watchdog to enforce the Commonwealth’s proposed 12-month gas price cap, which applies only to uncontracted gas offered on the wholesale market from currently operational gas fields.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/gas-producers-face-50m-penalty-for-breaching-price-cap-20221212-p5c5j6
David Crowe writes that a federal law to spend $1.5 billion on household power subsidies could be put to parliament on Thursday in a Labor bid to confront the Coalition over its complaints about a sweeping energy package that aims to ease pressure on prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-drafts-1-5-billion-law-to-challenge-dutton-on-power-bills-20221212-p5c5i8.html
Desperate times justify unusual economic measures to curb power bills, writes Jess Irvine who tells us about some of the alternative approaches being floated.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/desperate-times-justify-unusual-economic-measures-to-curb-power-bills-20221212-p5c5n9.html
Greg Sheridan is full of praise for Claire O’Neill in this contribution.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/foreign-interference-in-australia-pervasive-through-cyber-technology-money/news-story/230d175ec0baa48d586cd893a4609b71
Peter Hartcher tells us that the US puts greater value on Australia as an ally now than any time in decades.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/us-puts-greater-value-on-australia-as-an-ally-than-any-time-in-decades-20221212-p5c5ix.html
Luke Henriques-Gomes fills us in on yesterday’s royal commission hearing.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/12/tax-officials-who-raised-concerns-about-robodebt-were-fobbed-off-inquiry-hears
The latest attacks on ABC journalist Louise Milligan show that ‘cancel culture’ is alive and well at The Australian and Sky News, aided and abetted by the federal opposition’s shadow communications minister, writes Jonathan Holmes.
https://johnmenadue.com/muzzling-milligan-free-speech-for-some-but-not-for-others/
Natassia Chrysanthos and Tom Rabe report that Dominic Perrottet has vowed to stare down a scare campaign against poker machine reform after the powerful clubs lobby group launched its first major offensive since its war against the Gillard government a decade ago.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/not-going-to-be-threatened-perrottet-stares-down-clubsnsw-scare-campaign-20221212-p5c5jc.html
James Massola reports that ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr is preparing to order a formal inquiry into the trial of Bruce Lehrmann after an extraordinary war of words erupted between the territory’s director of public prosecutions and police.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/act/act-government-prepares-to-launch-inquiry-into-lehrmann-trial-20221212-p5c5ok.html
Jack Waterford says that the inquiry into alleged police sabotage of the Bruce Lehrmann rape prosecution has the capacity to bring the Australian Federal Police into the biggest crisis of its 43 years, with impacts spreading beyond the contract arrangements by which it delivers policing services to the ACT.
https://johnmenadue.com/alleged-police-sabotage-of-the-bruce-lehrmann-rape-prosecution-demands-proper-investigation/
Covid has again surged through aged care homes, with weekly deaths in residential facilities eight times higher than at the end of the previous wave, as Health Minister Mark Butler handed down a new plan to move the nation’s health settings away from “Covid-19 exceptionalism”. Latest Department of Health figures yesterday showed new infections rose by more than 3000 cases in nursing homes last week, while the death toll hit 63.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/nation/covid-havoc-in-agedcare-homes-as-cases-deaths-surge/news-story/a292f08c42ab35621cb54c959af2f048
Police have shot dead three people after an ambush at a remote property in Queensland’s Western Downs in which two officers and a member of the public were killed, bringing the total number of fatalities to six. Awful!
https://www.theage.com.au/national/queensland/multiple-officers-involved-in-shooting-west-of-brisbane-20221212-p5c5rv.html
A recent article addressing the backlog in refugee cases contains misleading information and does little to offer solutions to problems in our migration system, writes Abul Rizvi.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/asylum-advocates-continue-to-mislead-on-abuse-of-system,17063
Indonesia has moved to avoid a costly blowback from new laws criminalising sex outside marriage, insisting that visitors need not be concerned while urging other governments to refrain from “megaphone diplomacy”. Authorities in Jakarta and in Bali have been taken aback by the international reaction to the morality-based provisions, which feature in an updated, highly controversial criminal code passed by parliament last week. Who would have thought?
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/bali-as-usual-officials-race-to-contain-panic-over-new-criminal-code-20221212-p5c5np.html
The far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has bragged that had she and the former Donald Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon been in charge of organizing the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the violent crowd would have won, and everyone in it “would’ve been armed”. What a disgraceful specimen!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/12/marjorie-taylor-greene-jan-6-capitol-attack-armed-speech
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
John Shakespeare
Andrew Dyson
Peter Broelman
Fiona Katauskas
A gif from Glen Le Lievre
Mark Knight
Spooner
From the US
If you open Tom’s tweet there is a thread with lots of examples.
Seth Meyers –
Stephen Colbert –
Rachel Maddow –
Chris Hayes –
Lawrence O’Donnell –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
Marise imitating a certain German sergeant …
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/i-dont-know-marise-payne-unsure-why-advice-for-legal-change-to-robodebt-disappeared-from-policy-plan
Great to see the owls have reappeared. Thanks, tlbd.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Luke Henriques-Gomes lays out a lot of questions he would like to see Morrison asked at the royal commission today. They are rippers.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/14/scott-morrison-in-the-spotlight-what-will-the-former-pm-be-asked-at-the-robodebt-royal-commission
Ross Gittins describes 2022 as the year our trust was abused to breaking point.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/2022-the-year-our-trust-was-abused-to-breaking-point-20221213-p5c5tv.html
As 2022 comes to a close, Australians can enjoy a reprieve from the algorithms of fear and outrage, says Peter Lewis.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2022/dec/13/as-2022-comes-to-a-close-australians-can-enjoy-a-reprieve-from-the-algorithms-of-fear-and-outrage
Some of the nation’s most respected economists have called on the federal government to reconsider the size, shape and timing of the $254 billion stage three tax cuts, saying they pose a risk to the budget and will push up inflation. Shane Wright refers to full-page advertisements in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Wednesday, 100 financial experts – including former competition watchdog chair Allan Fels, the architect of HECS Bruce Chapman and tax expert Miranda Stewart – signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arguing the cuts in their current form were unaffordable.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/top-economists-urge-government-to-rethink-stage-three-tax-cuts-20221213-p5c5u9.html
The Albanese government operates from political strength in seeking parliamentary and public support for its energy price caps – but its intervention in energy markets, both short term and longer run, is fraught with risks that will raise alarms about regulatory overkill, says Paul Kelly.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/pms-energy-policy-wins-the-politics-but-there-are-lots-of-risks/news-story/6345d78de4867d88a21a48f14d6bb11d
Paul Bongiorno says that a politically charged Albanese bracing for a high-voltage end to the year. A good read.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2022/12/13/energy-albanese-greens-bongiorno/
Anthony Albanese will meet gas industry representatives ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary vote on a price cap and code of conduct, but is standing firm against threats by Shell and Woodside Energy to defer or reduce investment. The government is also accusing the federal opposition of siding with the gas companies against households and small business after indicating it will vote against the legislation, writes Phil Coorey.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pm-to-meet-gas-industry-but-holding-firm-against-threats-20221213-p5c5tn
Anthony Albanese’s latest plan to subsidise foreign coal and gas companies is just absurd, opines Richard Denniss.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/14/anthony-albaneses-latest-plan-to-subsidise-foreign-coal-and-gas-companies-is-just-absurd
Scott Morrison approved tens of billions in foreign takeover deals after secretly being appointed Treasurer last year, compromising Australia’s national interest. Sydney Airport, electricity giants AusNet and Spark Infrastructure. All gone. Michael West reports.
https://michaelwest.com.au/a-royal-commission-into-scott-morrison-he-sold-off-the-farm-in-secret/
The next two days could well decide the outlook for the US economy and, with it, much of the rest of the world’s, writes Stephen Bartholomeusz. Today in the US, November inflation data will be released. It will be followed on Wednesday by this year’s final meeting of the Federal Reserve Board body that makes interest rate decisions, the Fed’s Open Market Committee.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/the-two-days-that-could-determine-the-fate-of-the-global-economy-20221213-p5c5ut.html
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has settled a compensation claim with the Commonwealth after launching civil legal action. Her legal team confirmed the parties settled the claim last night after a day of mediation.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/higgins-commonwealth-reach-settlement-in-compensation-case-20221213-p5c63i.html
Over 14 years as a criminal defender in Canberra and the region, I’ve had hundreds of clients, perhaps a couple of thousand. I’m still waiting for the first one who will get the decided benefit of having the police “run dead” in his or her matter, writes criminal lawyer Andrew Fraser.
https://johnmenadue.com/lehrmann-case-pointing-finger-at-police-blows-smoke-over-manifold-incongruities/
Ben Cubby reports that GPs are sharing tactics for maximising Medicare billing on doctors-only Facebook groups, including sharing a list of so-called “little frauds”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/little-frauds-debated-on-doctors-only-facebook-groups-20221111-p5bxku.html
Concession holders in eastern states and South Australia will get the lion’s share of the $1.5 billion the government is promising in bill subsidies after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory did not need as much help responding to the energy crisis, writes Lisa Visentin.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/hardest-hit-east-coast-states-to-get-lion-s-share-of-bill-subsidies-20221213-p5c5w8.html
Michael Read writes that a blowout in public hospital wait times has pushed almost 760,000 Australians to sign up for private health insurance, marking a sharp turnaround in an industry that observers have long warned was in a membership “death spiral”.
https://www.afr.com/politics/surgery-wait-times-push-760-000-on-to-private-health-cover-20221213-p5c5uh
The Guardian tells us that police in Australia examine conspiracy theories behind shooting deaths of two officers and four others.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/australian-police-try-to-understand-conspiracies-that-led-to-shooting-deaths-of-two-officers-and-four-others
This article in The Conversation explores how the Queensland shootings highlight increase in anti-police sentiment around the world.
https://theconversation.com/queensland-shootings-highlight-increase-in-anti-police-sentiment-around-the-world-196476
Matthew Knott writes that a senior US congressman says Australia should not give up hope of purchasing nuclear-powered submarines off-the-shelf from the United States, insisting the strained American shipbuilding industry can rise to the challenge of the AUKUS pact.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/ready-made-nuclear-subs-still-a-stop-gap-option-for-australia-20221213-p5c5uc.html
According to Patrick Hatch and Matt O’Sullivan, Labour shortages, material price hikes and an overstretched construction industry are tipped to inflict budget and schedule blowouts on Victoria’s major infrastructure works.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/state-warned-on-risk-of-megaproject-delays-and-budget-blowouts-20221213-p5c5yr.html
Rachel Clun and Clancy Yeates tell us that digital wallet providers like Apple Pay will soon face oversight from the Reserve Bank, opening the door to breaking the digital wallet monopoly and allowing banks to enter that market. The central bank will also get powers to intervene to keep the stock exchange trading in a crisis under government changes to modernise the country’s financial systems.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/new-reserve-bank-powers-coming-for-digital-wallets-and-asx-payments-20221213-p5c60c.html
Lucy Cormack reports that opponents of poker machine reform are targeting NSW voters with a mysterious “robo-call” campaign that includes untested claims about the impacts of cashless card technology amid an increasingly contentious political dispute over the state’s lucrative gambling industry.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/listen-mysterious-robo-calls-deployed-by-pokie-reform-opponents-in-new-tactic-20221213-p5c5y0.html
Meanwhile, eleven current and former directors and executives of embattled casino giant Star Entertainment Group could be slapped with fines of more than $1 million each and banned from sitting on company boards if the corporate regulator proves its claims of widespread breaches of the law. Looks like ASIC means business.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/asic-takes-action-against-11-star-executives-20221213-p5c5tb.html
Elizabeth explains why Star’s corporate board stars are being sued by ASIC.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/governance-questions-why-star-s-board-of-corporate-stars-are-sued-by-asic-20221213-p5c5wy.html
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s blockbuster prosecution of 11 Star Entertainment Group executives and directors for allegedly breaching their duties under the Corporations Act sends a shot across the bows of all boards of public companies, declares the editorial in the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/asic-s-star-line-up-a-shot-across-directors-club-bow-20221212-p5c5qn
Another day of revelations in the Brian Houston trial.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/crime-news/2022/12/13/houston-vague-about-abusing-children/
Australian universities now self-identify as deeply integrated units within the agencies of the State, the Australian Defence Force, and industry. They have become part of an encompassing strategy of Sinophobia and Australian fantasies of long-range attacks on China, says Michael McKinley.
https://johnmenadue.com/identity-breakdown-and-the-universities-from-academies-to-government-agencies/
A swath of everyday products and services has been accused of potential “greenwashing” after a new report found two-thirds of green claims made to shoppers came with no easily accessible evidence to back the claims. John Collett explains how consumers prefer to purchase from businesses that are environmentally responsible, however, they can be deceived by greenwashing, which is where companies overstate or lie about their green credentials.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/two-thirds-of-companies-in-misleading-greenwashing-claims-20221209-p5c50i.html
Eryk Bagshaw writes that coronavirus hotlines are overwhelmed in Beijing, hospitals are running out of beds in Guangzhou and medical facilities in Hebei province are relying on one-third of their staff to keep them running. COVID-19 is running rampant throughout China. It’s Covid take-off!
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/covid-is-running-rampant-in-china-and-its-hospitals-are-overwhelmed-20221213-p5c5wi.html
Rob Harris tells us that the European Union has struck a political deal to impose carbon tariffs on imports of polluting goods such as steel and cement, in a world-first scheme which aims to support its domestic industries against those from countries with weak climate laws.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/eu-becomes-first-major-economy-to-legislate-world-first-green-tariffs-20221214-p5c63w.html
After more than 50 years of false starts, nuclear fusion is finally taking a resolute step closer to becoming the world’s newest energy source. Yesterday the US Department of Energy announced that scientists at a laboratory in California managed for the first time to generate more electricity from a fusion reactor than they needed to trigger it.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/us-says-scientists-have-made-breakthrough-in-nuclear-fusion-energy-20221213-p5c5sz.html
The consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent in November, indicating that the worst increases in the cost of living have probably passed.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/us-core-inflation-slows-giving-fed-some-breathing-room-20221214-p5c63s
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Simon Letch
John Shakespeare
Fiona Katauskas
Mark Knight
Spooner
From the US
“Luke Henriques-Gomes lays out a lot of questions he would like to see Morrison asked at the royal commission today. They are rippers.”
Indeed they are! But Scummo will refuse to answer. He will lie, deny all responsibility, blame unknown others and do all he can to dodge answering tricky questions, despite the scheme having his grotty fingerprints all over it.
Looking forward to some good snark from Amy
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2022/dec/14/robodebt-royal-commission-live-scott-morrison-appear-evidence-social-services-centrelink-latest-updates-news
#hedidnotanswerthequestion is high on the bingo card.
https://robodebt.royalcommission.gov.au
Previous days Robodebt Royal Commission hearings are posted on Youtube
12 December is here
13 December is up also with Colleen Taylor’s evidence starting
And they’re off!
Can’t listen to that lying cur
The fact that DHS was salivating at the prospect of retrieving $1.2 billion dollars from 836,000+ welfare recipients when the pool of welfare recipients is about 1,000,000 indicates a problem or three
1. why were such a high % of recipients overpaid
2. are the expected savings figures real
3. why does department believe all income support payment recipients are thieves
4. badly coded old system patched with bandaids that
5. doesn’t update transactions properly
6. probably because operator coding errors
7. because insufficient training provided to contract employees
8. Centrelink has replaced permanent staff with contractors
Catherine Holmes is taking no prisoners. She is demanding Yes / No answers from Scovid.
Well – I tried to listen to Scummo but the sound of his voice overcame me and I had to turn it off.
I stopped listening to his pressers early last year for the same reason. I opted for transcripts if I really needed to see what he had said, most times I didn’t bother.
“I don’t recall.”
Ah!
Funny how all the government witnesses seem to be suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s.
Last night Kathryn Wilkes of No Cashless Debit Card Australia posted a video on Facebook advising that a man had contacted her about an alleged debt he allegedly owed Indue. The reason, Indue said, was because HE HAD PAID HIMSELF TWICE.
How is it possible to pay yourself double your usual payment when it is all done by Services Australia who were tasked with sending payments to Indue?
Indue said they don’t lie (utter bullshit) and this man definitely owns this money.
One of the comments on the video said “Robodebt Mark 2”. Exactly.
Labor! Another square done on the bingo card.
Provisional Totals
Labor 15
Coalition 14
Greens 4
Legalise Cannabis 2
AJP, SFF, PHON, LDP, LDLP 1 each
ALP+Greens+(LC or AJP+1 other) = majority
A situation not dissimilar to the federal upper house.
From October. Random poster did better with his predictions than most pundits.
Morrison will be shark fodder by the time the RC is finished with him.
It is abundantly clear that he wanted HIS RoboDebt system come hell or high water. He just ignored any concerns raised by anyone.
test
Just checking. I haven’t been able to post for a while so I’ll try again.
Stephen Colbert –
Chris Hayes –
Lawrence O’Donnell –