As well as important information, this is a reminder that Australia is fortunate to have a service such as The Therapeutic Goods Administration.
We can have confidence in the health products and medicines available in Australia.
The TGA is just one part of a system constructed to make Australia a modern, first world country.
We do not have to endure prescription medicines being advertised directly to consumers, unlike in the USA. Direct advertising to consumers is banned. I am sure that is frustrating for some drug companies.
In the USA, advertisements along the lines of, ′Do you have a headache, and a itchy toe? See your doctor and check out XYZ disease. XXXXX drug treats XYZ with good results.′
You can imagine the resulting scenario in the doctor′s office, as fearful patients demand XYZ medicine and doctors fearing malpractice suits deal with the demands. We don’t have to put up with this pressure.
Australia has many progressive policies, systems and entities to give the 25 million of us the best chance of a decent life. However, Coalition attacks on these things has seen much suffering, misery, financial ruin and deaths. ROBODEBT is a case in point. The Coalition of the Liberal and National parties committed the worst act of bastardry in 100 years against thousands of vulnerable powerless citizens from the poorest class: social security recipients.
So we must protect the progressive, fair, humane, and compassionate of our society and its systems, and strive to strengthen these attributes.
Note: This recall information came from a Disabilty Care agency.
See below from TGA:
Following a safety investigation by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), 55 products containing pholcodine are being cancelled from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods and those currently on pharmacy shelves are being recalled from pharmacies.
The cancellation and recall actions are being taken because of a link between pholcodine-containing medicines and an increased risk of anaphylactic reactions (a sudden, severe, and life-threatening allergic reaction) to certain medicines used as muscle relaxants during general anaesthesia (called neuromuscular blocking agents).
Pholcodine has been used in a wide range of over-the-counter pharmacy medicines to treat non-productive (dry) cough, particularly in syrups and lozenges. It is also used in combination with other medicines in products that treat the symptoms of cold and flu.
…
Now let’s ponder on how fortunate we in Australia are in a chaotic and unfair world, and remember that the biggest threat we have is corruption, and a right-wing government!
THE PUB 
Ross Gittins’ article is a very good read.
Ever wondered who is on this Productivity Commission we hear so much about? I did the highly unusual thing of actually looking it up and found the usual gaggle of conservative appointments, some made just weeks before the last election, all dripping with degrees, some with professorships, mostly public servants, and not one who has ever had to wonder how they will both pay the rent and feed the family on their meagre incomes.
Here is the current list –
https://www.pc.gov.au/about/people-structure/commissioners#:~:text=based%20in%20Melbourne.-,Alex%20Robson%20%2D%20Deputy%20Chair,term%20commencing%20in%20March%202022.
Many of their terms will expire this year. Whoever controls this body needs to install some ordinary people who know exactly what it means to struggle with inadequate wages and know how much real training is overlooked for financial gain for employers. The whole lot needs to be cleaned out and replaced.
“The energy market operator’s urgent warning of a gas shortage has heated up a political brawl between the Greens and the federal government as time runs down for Energy Minister Chris Bowen to reform the safeguard mechanism to deliver on Australia’s legally binding climate target, reports Mike Foley.”
What gas shortage?
Ignore the fears from the gas industry, Australia has more than enough gas
https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/ignore-those-spruiking-for-gas-companies-australias-demand-for-gas-is-falling/
We have a gas shortage ,riiiiiight. Looks to me like a gas mismanagement problem.
Update. How dumb are we. to manage this nifty trick ? Global 800lb gorilla for gas exports annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd………
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/australia-looking-likely-to-import-gas-to-fix-looming-shortfalls-20230317-p5ct1i.html
From Teh Grauniad .We read…………
Oh how cosy……………………
Sir Charles Marles still shoveling bullshit. Banging on about trade routes needing protection , especially teh ones involving petroleum.
Come on Charlie boy, how about naming the country. Or would that point out the bullshit you are spinning re ‘nucular’ submarines. The country is Singapore and so why don’t we look at the map. Yep, best suited for conventional subs . https://images.theconversation.com/files/220042/original/file-20180523-51121-1lmvkqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2#image.jpg
Charles Marles fails to mention one bigly point, not surprising given the stupidity we have shown re supply of petroleum. If a war kicks of with China it will be a regional if not global war, a couple of conventional missiles into Singapore* will pretty much cripple Straya . Goodbye 50%+ of our petroleum supplies. Pretty easy peasy way to effectively take out one opponent. Ah, but we have a ‘strategic reserve’ Ya mean the one we cunningly placed in the US of A ? 😆
Has anyone heard what happened to the alleged petrol stocks allegedly held by the US, the stores Scovid once boasted about, or have they vanished like so many “agreements” Scovid the Grifter made?
It’s a Scovid special.
So enough to last (drum roll) 43 hours and 20 minutes.
Out bigly reserves will fill this single tanker to just over 1/2 full (55%)
I knew Well Done Angus was hiding it in a pot under his bed!
From Renew Economy –
What Australia could do with $368 billion on the very real climate threat
https://reneweconomy.com.au/what-australia-could-do-with-368-billion-on-the-very-real-climate-threat/
7 News on the Vic Libs kerfuffle
9 News on the same
The anti-trans issue has mostly been a negative for the US Republicans (see below) but they are locked in.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Humanity has a last-ditch chance to make meaningful cuts to greenhouse gases and secure a habitable future for life on Earth and our actions this decade will have profound consequences for thousands of years, says the definitive report on climate change. Miki Perkins and Nick O’Malley take us through this important report.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/we-have-everything-we-need-to-fix-the-climate-crisis-but-we-need-to-do-it-now-20230320-p5cthx.html
There is grim reading in the UN’s final warning to world leaders in the last decade we have to act, but there is also a clear set of directions. And hope, writes O’Malley.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/our-last-climate-chance-act-now-on-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-20230320-p5cti8.html
The Commonwealth’s former top energy adviser Kerry Schott is urging the Greens to back Labor’s signature climate policy as Adam Bandt doubles down on his demand that new fossil fuel projects are vetoed in return for his party’s support, reports Mike Foley.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/schott-fires-at-bandt-over-climate-policy-as-greens-double-down-20230320-p5ctqz.html
The judge who led the investigation into alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan is expected to be the Albanese government’s pick to head the first federal anti-corruption body. Paul Sakkal tells us NSW Court of Appeal Justice Paul Brereton has been nominated by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to run the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), according to senior federal sources not authorised to speak publicly because the appointment has not been publicly confirmed.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/war-crimes-investigator-tapped-to-lead-first-federal-corruption-watchdog-20230320-p5ctmr.html
A decorated former special forces soldier faces life in prison after becoming the first current or former Australian Defence Force member to be charged with war crimes under Australian law. Matthew Knott reports that Oliver Schulz, 41, was arrested yesterday morning by the Australian Federal Police in the NSW southern highlands.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/former-sas-soldier-arrested-for-war-crime-20230320-p5ctnt.html
“Anthony Albanese has a chance of securing a completely unpredicted dominance in Australian politics, which could last several electoral cycles. This arises out of genuinely good performance in national security, and what seems an Araldite-like grip on millennial voters. Let me give you the headline tip. If the referendum for the voice is successful, Albanese will win a slashing re-election victory”, writes Greg Sheridan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/battle-for-millennial-hearts-won-by-passion/news-story/56b6d37f7fa7ad03ddfa176236db770b?amp
The Australian reckons Anthony Albanese’s signature $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund is facing defeat in the Senate amid a crossbench revolt fuelled by warnings from experts and superannuation funds that not enough is being done to avert a “perfect storm” rental and housing crisis.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albaneses-10bn-housing-australia-future-fund-facing-defeat-in-the-senate/news-story/0012ea3df57c776454829e735b536f27?amp
A frustrated Anthony Albanese summed up the state of play in the Australian Parliament as key issues are coming to the final votes in the Senate, and it should give anyone who wants to see the Liberals return to government any time soon pause for thought, writes Paul Bongiorno. The Prime Minister in question time said he would continue to implement his agenda “to take the government forward, unlike those opposite who just say what they are against and haven’t come up with a single constructive idea in the past 10 months”. Bongiorno thinks this reckoning time in the Senate strands the Coalition.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/03/21/paul-bongiorno-reckoning-time-senate-coalition/
Matthew Knott tells us that the Coalition is arguing that a project of such cost and magnitude as AUKUS deserves a standalone statutory oversight committee rather than periodic accountability through the politically charged Senate estimates process. The government has rejected this, but the idea may have merit IMHO.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/away-from-the-prying-eyes-fight-erupts-over-how-to-keep-tabs-on-aukus-subs-plan-20230320-p5ctoy.html
Crispin Hull asks, “Will AUKUS mean jobs for the boys or will the poor be picking up the bill?”
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8127494/will-aukus-mean-jobs-for-the-boys-or-will-the-poor-be-picking-up-the-bill/?cs=14329
The drums of war are banging as the debate over the AUKUS submarine deal reveals deep divisions about what Australia’s role should be in a US conflict with China. But what does the people of Australia think? And should they have a say? War Powers reform remains just talk but is more urgent than ever, Zacharias Szumer reports.
https://michaelwest.com.au/could-this-one-reform-stop-australia-from-going-to-war-with-china/
We’ve long said no to US. A yes now could be nuclear, warns Bob Carr.
https://johnmenadue.com/weve-long-said-no-to-us-a-yes-now-could-be-nuclear/
Albanese a pale shadow of Keating, even on subs, opines Jack Waterford.
https://johnmenadue.com/albanese-a-pale-shadow-of-keating-even-on-subs/
Alexandra Smith writes that Dominic Perrottet’s signature election promise to set up a superannuation-style savings fund for children is not a clear voter winner, with the majority of people undecided or against the plan.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/the-verdict-is-in-from-voters-about-perrottet-s-future-fund-for-children-20230320-p5ctm7.html
If Perrottet loses, it won’t be because of climate policy, says David Crowe.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/if-perrottet-loses-it-won-t-be-because-of-climate-policy-20230319-p5cteq.html
The independent agency charged with scrutinising the cost of NSW election promises has warned Labor may struggle to secure the savings needed to pay for higher public service wages, in a new assessment which also concludes the party would deliver smaller budget deficits in the next two years than a Coalition government.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/warning-sounded-after-cost-of-promises-put-under-microscope-20230320-p5ctrr.html
On the home stretch to polling day, Labor leader Chris Minns is not bypassing any chance to peddle his central campaign pitch: that Premier Dominic Perrottet will sell off the last of the state’s public assets, specifically Sydney Water. Lucy Cormack writes that the agency that controls the state’s essential drinking-water supply will be privatised, Minns claims, if a future Coalition government is to pay for $50 billion in unfunded infrastructure promises.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/labor-says-perrottet-will-privatise-sydney-water-but-is-that-fact-or-fiction-20230320-p5ctog.html
Labor is odds-on for a narrow victory in NSW election, but it is far from a sure bet, writes Andy Marks.
https://theconversation.com/labor-is-odds-on-for-a-narrow-victory-in-nsw-election-but-it-is-far-from-a-sure-bet-201174
After the level of corruption and incompetence demonstrated by the Perrottet Government, Labor’s chances of a state election victory should be more obvious, writes Ross Jones.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/nsw-labor-should-have-perrottet-on-toast,17344
Opposition Leader John Pesutto has every right to be angry that just three months into the job his leadership already faces its biggest test, writes Annika Smethurst who refers to the party’s candidate vetting process that let this peanut through.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/pesutto-should-be-angry-his-liberal-allies-didn-t-detect-deeming-danger-20230320-p5ctpw.html
Liberal MP Moira Deeming has vowed to fight her expulsion from the party room in a vote that MPs are billing as a major test for leader John Pesutto who has expressed his confidence of ridding the party of her.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/deeming-vows-to-fight-move-to-expel-her-from-party-room-20230320-p5ctpl.html
Gas can be fixed, but it will take good government to do so, writes Tony Wood.
https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/gas-can-be-fixed-but-it-will-take-good-government-to-do-so-20220222-p59yr0
According to Paul Sakkal, Malcolm Turnbull will take over from ex-Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd as co-chair of Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission. Turnbull, who was Liberal leader less than five years ago has urged Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to distance his party from Sky News to boost its electability, saying the party he once led had been in “coalition” with News Corp.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/turnbull-to-take-over-news-corp-royal-commission-campaign-20230320-p5ctof.html
Malcolm Turnbull and Sharon Burrow combine to write that Rupert Murdoch – Australia’s biggest media mogul – succeeded where Vladimir Putin failed. He turned Americans against each other, promoting anger, hatred and lies. Murdoch knew Donald Trump’s claim that the election was stolen was a lie but his Fox News network persuaded millions of Americans that it was true. And so, they say, he created the environment that made January 6, 2021 possible; thousands of Americans assaulting the Capitol and trying to overthrow the election. If this mob had found speaker Nancy Pelosi or Vice President Mike Pence they might well have killed them. That was their stated intent. Read it!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/murdoch-succeeded-where-putin-failed-time-for-a-fox-hunt-20230320-p5ctkd.html
“Does Australia have the appetite for economic change, or are we stuck with a system that rewards the rich?”, wonders Van Badham who says decades of rewarding the wealthy for being wealthy at taxpayer expense has created a fortified ghetto of advantage.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/20/does-australia-have-the-appetite-for-economic-change-or-are-we-stuck-with-a-system-that-rewards-the-rich
Bankers are acutely aware they will face more problems with pandemic-era home loans than the rest of their massive mortgage portfolios, explains Karen Maley.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/why-bankers-are-worried-about-their-2021-and-2022-vintage-home-loans-20230320-p5ctix
Members of construction industry super fund Cbus are doubly exposed to an anticipated downturn in commercial property values because their employment and retirement savings are exposed to the sector, former banker David Murray has warned.
https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/super-fund-members-face-double-risk-from-commercial-property-exposure-20230317-p5ct1h
“Airlines and travel agents have been promising that airline capacity will continue to recover and fares will come down – what’s happened?”, asks Elizabeth Knight who says the promised airfare price relief looks like a mirage.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/why-the-promised-airfare-price-relief-looks-like-a-mirage-20230320-p5ctnr.html
At this stage there is little interest in how to dispose of the high level uranium waste from AUKUS SSNs, let alone put First Nations voices to the fore. This is unlikely to change while the nation’s most prominent journalists see it as their job to promote the dominant military doctrine and boost the demonisation, says Brian Toohey.
https://johnmenadue.com/nuclear-safety-agency-silent-on-disposal-of-aukus-radioactive-waste/
It seems there is little appetite to revisit the dark days of the pandemic, but we must interrogate how the nation handled the crisis, urges Nick Bryant who examines how Covid changed the face of Australia.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-did-covid-change-the-face-of-australia-the-answer-matters-20230316-p5csr6.html
A new ranking has outlined the companies that are leading the charge for committing to electric vehicles and those lagging behind, writes David Ritter.
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/corporations-hitting-accelerator-for-electric-vehicle-fleets,17343
Consumer finance provider Latitude Financial has been forced to stop adding new customers from clients such as Apple, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi as it tries to contain the damage from hackers that are still active in its computer systems.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/harvey-norman-jb-hi-fi-customers-hit-in-latitude-finance-hack-20230319-p5ctgc.html
Amazon on Monday said it would axe another 9000 roles, piling on to a wave of layoffs that has swept the technology sector as an uncertain economy forces companies to get leaner. In a remarkable turn for a company that has long touted its job creation, Amazon will have eliminated 27,000 positions in recent months, or 9 per cent of its roughly 300,000-strong corporate workforce.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/amazon-deepens-tech-sector-gloom-with-another-9-000-job-cuts-20230321-p5cttf.html
Bloomberg explains how scandals ended Credit Suisse’s 166-year history. It tells us about boardroom spies and trade debacles bringing the bank down.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/boardroom-spies-trade-debacles-how-scandals-ended-credit-suisse-s-166-year-history-20230320-p5ctig.html
Of course Boris Johnson is guilty of misleading parliament – stand by for another Tory civil war, says Simon Jenkins.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/20/boris-johnson-guilty-midleading-parliament-tory-civil-war-commons
US maternal mortality is more than 10 times higher than in Australia. A disgusted Moira Donegan looks at why this is so.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/20/us-maternal-mortality-rate-climbing-health-crisis
Joe Biden has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express “concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests and to encourage compromise. Does this make Biden antisemitic?
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/concerned-biden-calls-netanyahu-over-plan-to-limit-court-powers-20230320-p5ctnk.html
Things are about to get even uglier in the Divided States of America, writes Farrah Tomazin. Facing possible charges over alleged hush money paid to an adult film star, Donald Trump has launched a pre-emptive strike to control the narrative, rally supporters to his side, and play the victim as he attempts another shot at the White House.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/bracing-for-impact-us-political-world-waits-for-donald-trump-indictment-20230320-p5ctrw.html
The French government has survived two votes of no confidence but Emmanuel Macron continues to face protests and strikes over his decision to use executive powers to push through an unpopular rise in the pension age.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/20/emmanuel-macron-survives-first-confidence-vote-amid-protests
Perry Duffin reports that the Disability Royal Commission has condemned a major Sydney NDIS provider for pursuing profit over safety, being led by a dysfunctional board beset by infighting, silencing concerned staff, and failing to safeguard the vulnerable. Definitely candidates for “Arseholes of the Week” nomination.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-woman-drowned-in-a-bath-a-carer-abused-clients-sydney-ndis-provider-condemned-20230320-p5ctq0.html
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
Fiona Katauskas
Alan Moir
David Rowe
Mark David
Cathy Wilcox
Andrew Dyson
Matt Golding
John Shakespeare
Dionne Gain
Mark Knight
Spooner
From the US
Yep and meanwhile……………………….
Labor won’t block new fossil fuel developments.
22 Feb 2023
.
Coal mines to be spared from emission reduction rules: Labor
21 Apr 2022
.
Labor backs coal beyond 2050 | The Saturday Paper
19 Apr 2021
.
Climate warrior Chris Bowen wants to subsidise coal mines
13 Dec 2022 — The plan is “clearly a subsidy” for coal consumption, said Richard Denniss, the executive director of the Australia Institute
Nicholas Stuart thinks the government has no intention of building Aukus submarines and puts up a very good argument.
Australia’s submarine dance with the US is just a show. Albanese doesn’t intend the subs will ever be built
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8128402/albanese-doesnt-ever-intend-to-actually-build-subs/
Even though this means the government has lied to us let’s hope he is right.
LOL, the peasant went on about them being built here “These virtually guarantee that no submarine will ever be built here again.” . Nothing about Straya buying the submarines (at inflated prices) from our past and current colonial masters the UK and USA. It’s our decades long SOP after all.
It all sounds like the crud we were fed re stage 3 tax cuts. Labor’s support of the tax cuts was actually a 5D chess move, a ‘cunning plan’ that would see the S3 tax cuts not being implemented.
What will Labor do about the ‘stratification’ and increased inequality flowing from this ? I’m thinking SFA.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/living-frugally-won-t-work-bleak-outlook-for-sydney-home-buyers-20230317-p5ct2r.html
Oh wait they are doing something about the lack of affordable housing ………………..
And where, exactly are those immigrants supposed to live, or are the geniuses who formulate Labor policies planning to bring back 1950s type migrant camps full of Quonset huts for everyone and communal bathrooms. Or will they pay rental assistance to these “lucky” immigrants, assuming they can find somewhere to rent?
Can’t said geniuses see that 200,000 immigrants a year will only increase the demand for housing and especially rental properties?
Given the number of ‘investment properties’ pollies own they’d see it as a wonderful way to boost the value of their ‘investment’. From figures in a Crikey article late last year nearly 40% of Federal pollies owned 3 or more properties.
About fracking time something was done! A country that can afford to fritter away more than $368 billion (much more, because costs will definitely increase substantially over time) on useless, out-of-date, second-hand submarines can certainly afford to increase Jobseeker by a substantial amount. Other Centrelink payments need to be increased as well, but Jobseeker has to come first.
Cross-party anti-poverty push targets ‘inadequate’ jobseeker payments
Liberal and Labor MPs Bridget Archer and Alicia Payne unite in call for welfare boost
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/21/cross-party-anti-poverty-push-targets-inadequate-jobseeker-payments
At last – someone in Labor is saying the nuclear subs are not a good idea.
Labor MP breaks ranks on Aukus citing ‘considerable risks and uncertainty’ – video
https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2023/mar/21/labor-mp-breaks-ranks-on-aukus-citing-considerable-risks-and-uncertainty-video
Good on Josh Wilson for saying what anyone with a brain knows to be true!
My MP. The only reason I even consider Labor these days.
Chris Hayes –
Rachel Maddow –
Lawrence O’Donnell –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
😆 Mr Pot, let me introduce you to Mr Kettle.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Peter Martin tells us the unnerving truth about how the AUKUS submarines will be paid for.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/australia-aukus-submarines-368-billion-some-money-thin-air/102124540
Labor’s old guard is following Keating into the trenches over the $368b submarine deal, writes David Crowe.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-s-old-guard-follow-keating-into-the-trenches-over-368b-submarine-deal-20230321-p5cu1h.html
That Labor MP Josh Wilson shattered the remarkable unity the Albanese government has had up until now by publicly opposing the AUKUS agreement demonstrates the job ahead of the government to socialise its younger members, the ALP activist base and the whole millennial generation on national security. Wilson’s strange public rebellion, before he can possibly be across the detail of everything AUKUS involves, was the government’s first outbreak of disunity. If it’s a one-off, it’s unimportant. If it’s a trend, it’s the worst news Labor could have, says Greg Sheridan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/rogue-labor-mp-josh-wilson-puts-first-dent-in-partys-aukus-unity/news-story/9f63ac60fadea1a3c42b53984c9e3948?amp
Gareth Evans lays out three big questions Australia’s leaders must answer about the AUKUS deal. He says that for all the hype, the submarines we are buying are really fit for purpose; whether an Australian flag on them really means we retain full sovereign agency in their use; and if it does not, whether that loss of agency is a price worth paying for the US security insurance we think we might be buying.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/gareth-evans-the-three-big-questions-australias-leaders-must-answer-about-the-aukus-deal
Paul Keating’s Press Club criticism of the AUKUS agreement revealed the true nature of our mainstream media, writes Bilal Cleland.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/paul-keating-fires-shots-at-aukus-corporate-press-takes-casualities,17346
As the Government seeks to respond to an increasing number of questions about what it extolls as the game-changing decision to purchase nuclear powered submarines (SSN’s) it has been tweaking the spin about the reasons it has taken for this budget shaking decision, says Mack Williams.
https://johnmenadue.com/marles-at-least-get-the-spin-on-the-subs-right/
Defining what makes housing affordable will be key to legislating the government’s $10 billion housing fund, after Greens and crossbench senators made their support for the bill contingent on a list of demands, writes Rachel Clun. Fair enough.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/what-s-affordable-housing-depends-who-you-ask-crossbench-mps-want-a-legal-definition-20230321-p5ctv6.html
Using affordable housing as an example, Michael Pascoe reckons not being Scott Morrison isn’t enough in a crisis.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/03/22/michael-pascoe-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese-crisis/
The nation’s prudential regulator has begun asking banks to declare their exposures – in some cases daily – to start-ups and crypto-focused ventures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and volatility at global lenders. The AFR refers to three sources who requested anonymity to speak freely said the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority had told banks to improve their reporting around crypto assets and provide daily updates to the agency as it sought to gain more insight into exposures and vulnerabilities in the system.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/banks-told-to-report-on-crypto-start-up-risks-20230321-p5cu04
Natassia Chrysanthos reports that Health Minister Mark Butler has he will not give in to demands for vapes to be sold freely like cigarettes, despite a push from the Nationals and industry lobby groups who say regulated retail sales are the only way to curtail Australia’s pervasive black market. Butler has told Labor caucus “the tobacco industry has found a new way to develop a generation of nicotine addicts and we will not stand for it”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/campaign-for-vaping-without-prescription-goes-up-in-smoke-20230321-p5cu0k.html
The latest IPCC report makes it clear no new fossil fuel projects can be opened. That includes us, Australia, declares Adam Morton.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/the-latest-ipcc-report-makes-it-clear-no-new-fossil-fuel-projects-can-be-opened-that-includes-us-australia
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has substantially narrowed Premier Dominic Perrottet’s lead as preferred premier, giving Labor an election winning boost ahead of this Saturday’s state poll. Four days from the election, Labor leads the NSW Coalition on a two-party preferred basis of 53 to 47 in the AFR Freshwater Strategy NSW Poll, and the two major parties sit neck-and-neck in primary stakes with 33 per cent of the vote.
https://www.afr.com/politics/undecided-voters-are-warming-to-labor-poll-20230321-p5ctxp
Lucy Carroll reports that the NSW Coalition is pledging $50 million to private schools for new classrooms and upgrades.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/coalition-pledges-50-million-to-private-schools-for-new-classrooms-upgrades-20230320-p5ctsm.html
Education is key to the NSW election this Saturday. Student outcomes have been declining in NSW for years while the gap between rich and poor students grows. Callum Foote investigates the Liberal and Labor party policy platforms.
https://michaelwest.com.au/pass-or-fail-liberal-labor-education-pitches-ahead-of-nsw-election/
NSW Labor’s wages policy is admirable in intention but addled in execution, declares the SMH editorial.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/labor-s-wages-policy-is-admirable-in-intention-but-addled-in-execution-20230321-p5ctwu.html
Ross Gittins has more on the Productivity Commission’s report and writes about the damage many years of neoliberalism has done.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/most-of-us-don-t-really-want-to-be-rich-for-better-or-worse-20230321-p5ctvz.html
While recommendations have been made by the Productivity Commission on skilled migration reform, there are still improvements that could be made, writes Abul Rizvi.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/productivity-commissions-migration-reform-ideas-a-curates-egg,17345
Paul Kelly says that the pressure on Australian living standards that the Albanese government has pledged to rectify now looms as a perilous political journey given the Productivity Commission five-yearly inquiry into how Australia’s prosperity can be improved.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/labor-at-mercy-of-productivity-politics/news-story/8a1472ae464e424935c9db3ec1bd39f0?amp
The banking crisis that hit Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week has spread. We recall with a shudder two recent financial contagions: the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which led to a deep Asian recession, and the 2008 Great Recession, which led to a global downturn. The new banking crisis hits a world economy already disrupted by pandemic, war, sanctions, geopolitical tensions, and climate shocks, explains Jeffrey Sachs.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-global-banking-crisis-and-world-economy/
We like the idea of recycled single-use plastics because it takes away the guilt around how cheap and easy it is. But most cannot be converted into a useful product at a reasonable cost, writes Nick O’Malley who says we are deluding ourselves if we think it can be recycled.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/let-s-just-stop-pretending-we-are-going-to-recycle-all-this-plastic-20230321-p5ctvq.html
Sumeyya Ilanbey explains how a new report lays bare the failures of Victoria’s criminal justice system, calling for efforts to reduce recidivism, early intervention, an increase in home detention and for judges to get more discretion over sentencing.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/jailing-is-failing-how-to-fix-a-justice-system-that-punishes-disadvantage-20230320-p5ctsr.html
John Pesutto has scored a victory in his bid to expel Moira Deeming from the parliamentary party room over her involvement in an anti-trans rights rally, with two-thirds of Liberal MPs rejecting an attempt to delay the vote to oust her.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bid-to-delay-expulsion-of-deeming-fails-as-details-of-pesutto-s-motion-revealed-20230321-p5ctvl.html
A successful trial of zero-emissions electric trucks in south-east Queensland using exchangeable batteries has raised hopes they could be rolled out for large fleets to help Australia reduce transport emissions on the pathway to net zero by 2050. Unlike rechargeable electric cars, which have to be plugged in at home or use public charging stations, the Australian-first trial for the construction sector used removable batteries, which were just swapped out at the depot at the end of a 10- to 12-hour shift.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/swap-and-go-truck-batteries-help-tackle-transport-emissions-20230321-p5ctzq
Nicola Gobbo is attempting to negotiate an immunity deal that could result in the barrister-turned-informer avoiding criminal prosecution for her involvement in the Lawyer X scandal in exchange for providing evidence against more than a dozen current and former police officers.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/gobbo-working-on-immunity-deal-in-return-for-rolling-on-police-20230321-p5cu14.html
Key stakeholders were locked in discussions on the Indigenous voice to parliament on Tuesday evening, with the Coalition considering a backflip towards supporting Labor’s referendum machinery changes in a potential rare show of bipartisanship on the issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/21/coalition-considers-backflip-to-support-labor-referendum-changes-after-last-minute-negotiations
Denying our First Nations people a voice will achieve nothing, argues John Lord.
https://theaimn.com/denying-our-first-nations-people-a-voice-will-achieve-nothing/
Emma Koehn writes that retail giant Woolworths is muscling into virtual healthcare by making telehealth appointments with doctors, naturopaths and dietitians available through its wellness platform, HealthyLife. Patients will be able to log on to HealthyLife and make a same-day booking with a general practitioner via a partnership with ASX-listed digital health company Global Health. What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/no-brainer-woolies-muscles-into-telehealth-20230320-p5ctno.html
George Hyde examines why neo-Nazis are infiltrating public rallies in Australia.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/03/20/far-right-nazi-australia-extremism/
Christopher Knaus explains the twisted tactic the Catholic church uses to block claims by abuse survivors.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/mar/22/it-crucifies-you-every-time-the-twisted-tactic-the-church-uses-to-block-claims-by-abuse-survivors
As the dust settles on the Robodebt Royal Commission, an examination of how the scheme was orchestrated clearly shows its architects should face prison time, writes Paul Begley in quite a detailed assessment.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/robodebt-crooks-are-getting-away-with-murder,17347
A non-profit national disability insurance provider pursued a “single-minded” financial growth strategy at the expense of the safety of its clients, dished out “inappropriate” bonuses to staff and spent “large sums” on alcohol, the disability royal commission has found. Luke Henriques-Gomes tells us that in a new report released yesterday, the commission also criticised the federal disability watchdog – which regulates national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) providers – for its handling of complaints centred on the NDIS provider Afford.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/21/ndis-provider-pursued-financial-growth-over-client-safety-disability-inquiry-finds` `
Rob Harris reports that Boris Johnson has acknowledged he misled the House of Commons – albeit unintentionally – over coronavirus rule breaches, while also lashing out at the parliamentary committee established to probe his conduct. He faces being suspended or even expelled from parliament, if MPs decide he deliberately misled them despite his assurances that lockdown rules had been followed were made in “good faith”. Conservative MPs will be given a free vote on any recommendations, meaning they will not be told how to vote by party leadership.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/boris-johnson-admits-misleading-parliament-over-lockdown-parties-20230322-p5cu5r.html
Boris Johnson’s best defence is he’s a known liar incapable of lying, writes John Crace in acidic style.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/21/boris-johnsons-best-defence-is-hes-a-known-liar-incapable-of-lying
AMP, one of the oldest financial institutions in Australia, has been trying to engineer a turnaround after a major fall from grace. Clancy Yeates looks at its chances of success.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/after-years-of-struggle-can-a-beleaguered-amp-reinvent-itself-20230319-p5cter.html
Sydney lawyer Sevag Chalabian has been sentenced to 12 years in jail over washing $24 million in blackmail money linked to the Plutus Payroll scam. Enjoy your porridge, Sevag!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/king-of-the-camouflage-money-laundering-lawyer-joins-clients-behind-bars-20230227-p5co0b.html
A woman marrying for the fifth time at 92? Just imagine what Murdoch’s newspapers would say, writes Zoe Williams.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/rupert-murdoch-newspapers-woman-marrying-fifth-time
Scotland Yard is institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic and the London public are being let down by a force that no longer has a functioning neighbourhood policing service, a damning report concluded yesterday. It wouldn’t be the only police department so described.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/scotland-yard-institutionally-racist-sexist-and-broken-says-review-20230321-p5ctzb.html
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
David Pope
Matt Golding
Cathy Wilcox
John Shakespeare
Simon Letch
Mark Knight
Leak
From the US
Richard Denniss writes for The Conversation –
Australia’s 116 new coal, oil and gas projects equate to 215 new coal power stations
https://theconversation.com/australias-116-new-coal-oil-and-gas-projects-equate-to-215-new-coal-power-stations-202135
What the hell is wrong with this government? Are they so so much in thrall to the oil and gas industries that they will ensure Australia manages to destroy this planet?
Meanwhile in the real world
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-just-warned-we-need-to-cut-emissions-by-60-percent-but-the-u-s-is-years-away/
Fast, Deep Cuts in Emissions Are Needed to Avoid ‘Climate Time Bomb
’https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fast-deep-cuts-in-emissions-are-needed-to-avoid-climate-time-bomb/
Meh, Albo’s Labor says GAGF to that idea.
Was Dom after special favours? How typically Liberal. Meanwhile ordinary people in NSW wait far too long for an ambulance to arrive, especially in Sydney.
Surely if one’s wife is really paralysed and in bed you’d call a doctor, not a lawyer.
Dominic Perrottet denies he called health minister to get faster ambulance response for his sick wife
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/22/dominic-perrottet-denies-he-called-health-minister-to-get-faster-ambulance-response-for-his-sick-wife
friendlyjordies –
I think a few government ministers need to listen carefully to this.
This is all I got today
Lawrence O’Donnell –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
Looks like the blowtorch is on the Victorian Liberal party this week. The ratbag right is not at all happy with John Pesutto’s call to expel Moira Deeming, and it might be the case that he becomes the shortest serving leader in the history of the state Libs. Even shorter than Trevor Oldham’s 134 days, who died tragically in a plane crash in India on the way to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.
Bzzzzt ,,pht…….. does not compute Mr Dreyfus.
No people of faith” are discriminated against, although some so-called “Christian” cults should be.
This reeks of Scovid’s failed attempt to have anti-discrimination laws apply to Christians,
We might as well have not had the last election, because little seems to have changed.
Ain’t that nice, Fed Labor has a Minister for Frickin’ Frackin’ .
.
Victoria’s premier has launched a broadside at the federal resources minister for suggesting the state should look at lifting moratoria on some of its gas fields,
Daniel Andrews ………… state’s chief scientist that found there are no known or probable onshore reserves in the state that can be conventionally extracted.
.
“If you want us to frack the place, no, that’s not happening. That is not happening and we couldn’t have been clearer,” Andrews told reporters .
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/mar/22/australia-politics-live-voice-referendum-labor-coalition-albanese-dutton-aukus-defence-submarines-economy-health-housing-interest-rates-vic-qld-nsw-election#top-of-blog:~:text=16.35%20AEDT-,Not,-going%20%E2%80%98to%20frack
Dumb-arses-R-US. Gawd only knows what our numbers would be now after all the ‘RED ALERT’ from teh meeja.
Click to access Polling-August-2022-Australian-and-Taiwanese-attitudes-on-China-Detailed-Results-Web.pdf
Interestingly it is not the ‘old fogies’ suffering from ‘Yellow Peril’ syndrome.
Do you think China will launch an armed attack on Australia…?
‘Soon’ or ‘Sometime’
Age 60+ 40%
Age 50-59 34%
Age 18-29 60%
personal update
We have just picked our largest Mango coming in at 1.136 kg, not a guiness book of records contender but still very impressive.
We will be noshing it sometime in the next couple of days.
https://scontent.fper7-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/336652236_1181072342597826_3258397685101440190_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=ae9488&_nc_ohc=5jRzg1AaHQoAX99M6V8&_nc_ht=scontent.fper7-1.fna&oh=03_AdQpNJ4aWmzH55twtzOqzjTwMd9AM6TMW3NWGObkGyTUmQ&oe=644258A4
Congrats ckwatt. I’m not a fan of Mangoes, hope it tastes as good as it looks.
Congratulations on your super-mango!
That is one hell of a mango !!!
F.M –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/22/it-was-a-perfect-day-in-hobart-to-stand-up-for-trans-rights-which-are-human-rights-fyi
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Barring a late implosion, Labor looks set to scrape over the line. But before a result has been declared, the finger pointing has started, says Alexandra Smith.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/even-if-minns-labours-to-victory-there-will-be-a-party-post-mortem-20230321-p5ctx6.html
“The cost-of-living crisis is real, but are we blaming the wrong people?”, askes EY’s Chief Economist, Cherelle Murphy.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-cost-of-living-crisis-is-real-but-are-we-blaming-the-wrong-people-20230317-p5ct1u.html
Jordan Baker and Perry Duffin report that police are monitoring militant religious groups after tension over LGBTQ-rights erupted into a violent attack on pro-trans protesters, who one fringe leader said should be “dragged by their … hair” away from a south-west Sydney Catholic church.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/time-to-rise-christian-activist-charged-after-protest-violence-20230322-p5cufb.html
The state election campaign has been a civilised affair. Then, on Tuesday, a crowd of hundreds, predominantly men, set upon a small group of protesters outside a Catholic Church hall where the NSW leader of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Mark Latham, spoke on “protecting schools from alphabet activism and lawfare”. Out of nowhere, the politics of hate has cast a pall over the election, says the SMH editorial.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/politics-of-hate-cast-a-pall-over-state-election-campaign-20230322-p5cu98.html
Hannah Mouncey argues that the silent response to neo-Nazi, anti-trans Melbourne rally shows the nation’s true sentiments.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8130678/silent-response-shows-trans-hate-is-nations-default-stance/?cs=14258
Sumeyya Ilanbey report that Liberal MPs are lobbying leader John Pesutto to find a less severe punishment for Moira Deeming as moves to expel her from the parliamentary party over her role in an anti-trans rights rally threaten to destabilise the Coalition.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/liberals-fight-for-deeming-reprieve-as-anti-trans-rights-saga-splits-party-20230322-p5cud7.html
Unsurprisingly, The Australian’s culture warrior Peta Credlin comes in to support Deeming.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/mp-shouldnt-be-ousted-for-standing-up-for-women/news-story/6e1c4324442b4005605413dc2d890388?amp
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns says his election promise to reveal the extent of Sydney’s multibillion-dollar tolling contracts will have no major market implications after Treasury advised it found no damage in the release of similar toll deals.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-labor-gets-all-clear-to-release-secret-toll-contract-details-if-it-wins-govt-20230322-p5cubl.html
James Massola and Paul Sakkal tell us that Anthony Albanese will secure a crucial agreement on the wording of the Voice referendum, avoiding a damaging split between Labor and Indigenous leaders.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-strikes-key-peace-deal-on-voice-20230322-p5cuci.html
The AUKUS deal and Australia’s commitment to costly submarines have raised concerns that our foreign policy is being led by the military, writes Professor Adil Khan.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/australias-foreign-policy-now-run-by-the-military,17351
Angus Thompson reports that doctors who diagnose tradies with deadly silicosis face more than $8000 in fines if they fail to report the patient’s name and workplace to a new national registry that will track the disease fuelled by the popularity of engineered stone kitchen benchtops. Draft legislation proposed by the federal government will force clinicians to hand over details within 30 days about stonemasons and other workers who contract the lung disease – caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust – including what is known about the circumstances of exposure.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/doctors-to-be-forced-to-report-silicosis-cases-to-new-national-registry-20230321-p5ctui.html
If Australia wants to be an attractive destination for risk-capital, we need to rethink the political and regulatory environment needed to reverse investment decline, urges the editorial in the AFR which says the Productivity Commission report falls short of the full-blooded incentive-sharpening structural tax reform agenda that could have been placed on the desk of Treasurer Jim Chalmers. It’s an omission when the structural defects in the tax system are so well-known.
https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/declining-business-investments-warrants-honest-conversation-20230321-p5cu2o
The treasurer is right: we can’t afford another decade like the last. But that demands a game-changing performance from him, writes John Kehoe
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/australians-need-jim-chalmers-to-get-more-ambitious-20230317-p5csx5
The Age says spending on consultancies has rocketed 200 per cent since the Andrews government was elected, with government departments forking out almost $1 billion over eight years to a handful of private sector companies for advice, research and analysis.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/andrews-government-spending-on-consultants-soars-200-percent-20230320-p5ctnb.html
According to Nick McKenzie and Anthony Galloway, a senior Australian neo-Nazi linked to an international terror group has gone to fight in Ukraine amid efforts by security services to stop domestic extremists gaining overseas military training.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/senior-neo-nazi-slips-out-of-australia-to-fight-russian-army-20230322-p5cudj.html
Australia’s housing rental system has broken down, with new research showing landlords would be better off putting money into superannuation while tenants face some of the worst conditions in the developed world. Shane Wright says analysis to be released today by financial and property services companies LongView and PEXA will show 60 per cent of landlords are receiving lower returns on their properties compared to an ordinary balanced super fund.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nation-s-rental-system-is-broken-for-tenants-and-landlords-20230322-p5cu76.html
Julie Hare reports that the Albanese government is negotiating with the Biden administration to tap into its $US369 billion ($550 billion) carbon reduction fund to fire up a local battery manufacturing capacity, while dismissing critics who say Australia is not up to the task without massive public investment.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australia-in-talks-to-tap-us-carbon-fund-for-batteries-boost-20230321-p5cu4e
Labor and Liberal parties doubled down on their support for harsh anti-protest laws after a District Court judge overturned a 15 month prison sentence given to activist Deane Violet Coco last year. Wendy Bacon has the story.
https://michaelwest.com.au/state-of-no-dissent-liberals-labor-double-down-on-protest-laws-despite-coco-judgement/
Angus Thompson explains how poker machine designers use psychological methods to attract and keep people hooked. He asked experts to break down five key design features of modern electronic gaming machines and how they work to keep users playing, reinforce habits and create addicts.
https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2023/why-pokies-are-addictive/index.html
The Great Southern Reef is in more trouble than the Great Barrier Reef, explains Graham Edgar.
https://theconversation.com/the-great-southern-reef-is-in-more-trouble-than-the-great-barrier-reef-201235
Next NSW government must do much more on water and climate, argues Jacqui Mumford.
https://johnmenadue.com/next-government-must-do-much-more-on-water-and-climate/
The US Federal Reserve, as expected, voted for a 0.25 of a percentage point rate increase. Policymakers see rates at 5.1 per cent by year-end, according to the median estimate in the Fed’s latest quarterly summary of economic projections.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/fed-lifts-key-rate-by-0-25ppt-to-4-75pc-5pc-range-20230323-p5cui3
The justification for selling Credit Suisse at 7 per cent of book value and vaporising its bonds is that the bank is in worse trouble than supposed. Either Swiss regulators are exaggerating – in order to expropriate $US17 billion (3 per cent of Swiss GDP) – or global monetary tightening has already done widespread systemic damage, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-should-expect-more-financial-shocks-until-the-message-sinks-in-20230322-p5cu7p.html
Credit Suisse is an anomaly. John Hawkins explains why Australia and New Zealand are safe from ‘bank run’ contagion.
https://theconversation.com/credit-suisse-is-an-anomaly-why-australia-and-new-zealand-are-safe-from-bank-run-contagion-202126
Banking is the confidence trick that lies at the heart of capitalism, but preserving the trick has meant that banks have become arms of the state. The banking crisis gripping the US and Europe is the inevitable result of the past 12 months of rate hikes – it (almost) always happens, says Alan Kohler.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/03/23/banking-paradox-capitalism-kohler/
There’s something peculiar in a Democrat president acting to preserve investors’ right to choose while supposedly free-market Republicans want to take those choices away, says Stephen Bartholomeusz.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/biden-strikes-back-as-the-war-against-woke-capitalism-rages-20230322-p5cu6t.html
Rishi Sunak has escaped an overly damaging Commons rebellion over his revised plan for post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade, winning a vote on the measure with 22 of his own MPs voting against the deal. Among the Conservative rebels were Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, another former party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, and the former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and Simon Clarke.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/22/tory-mps-rebel-as-rishi-sunak-northern-ireland-brexit-plan-passes
Western democracy is weaker in this new cold war than it was in the first one, opines Rafael Behr.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/22/power-russia-china-west-putin-xi-
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
Fiona Katauskas
John Shakespeare
Alan Moir
Andrew Dyson
Dionne Gain
Mark Knight
Leak
From the US
This would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. The Rum Corps gets a mention.
We tried to fit all the NSW scandals into 20 minutes. [Actually 17 minutes.] Here’s how far we got.
https://7ampodcast.com.au/?cid=44da109154ba001048e464efa25c4824
Michael West –
😆 ” full-blooded incentive-sharpening structural tax reform agenda” What a nice way of say tax cuts for the rich and business ‘community’ and less gruel and more whipping for the peasantry. It is what the AFR ALWAYS supports and they are AbFab when it comes to using flowery euphemistic phrases to describe that .
Did the earth move for you, BK ?
Earthquake shakes Flinders Ranges region
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Flinders region this morning was reportedly felt as far away as Adelaide.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/flinders-ranges-region-hit-by-48-magnitude-earthquake-reportedly-felt-in-adelaide/news-story/d37b982179e8135f77fe35cb25dae86a
Chris Hayes –
Lawrence O’Donnell –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
on this day
In 1895 Nettie Honeyball (a pseudonym), co-founder of the British Ladies’ Football Club, led her team onto the pitch at Nightingale Lane, Crouch End, north London, for the first official women’s association football match. A report in the British Medical Journal declared that: “We can in no way sanction the reckless exposure to violence, of organs which the common experience of women had led them in every way to protect.” However, The Sportsman reported: “I don’t think the lady footballer is to be snuffed out by a number of leading articles written by old men out of sympathy both with football as a game and the aspirations of the young new women. If the lady footballer dies, she will die hard”;
I love it.
Puffy
I am going up to Fitzroy Crossing WA, actually to an Aboriginal Community about two hours out, for two months.
I will have internet so I can touch base here and hopefully celebrate another Liberal government kicked out.
I have to catch a lift from RFDS plane in Broome because the bridge out of Fitz is still down. The floods are playing havoc with the community stores because goods now have to be trucked from Halls Creek and then some back road by 4WD and the added costs are crippling. The communities’ CEOs have had no luck in getting any extra funding to cover this cost.
It seems it is everyone’s responsibility but no one’s!
Anyway, next time you hear from me it will be from way out in the donga!
Puffy
Have a great trip ! The floods up there were ‘biblical’ so good luck with whatever battles you will have due to their aftermath .
Being so remote it is easy for ‘out of sight, out of mind’ from those outside of the area.
Blood boiler !!! Should be a murder charge. Such negligence was NOT an ‘accident’ .
Workers ‘crawling along beams, wearing thongs’ before teen’s death, court told
https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/workers-crawling-along-beams-wearing-thongs-before-teen-s-death-court-told-20230323-p5cusx.html
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
The Liberals have deployed a last-minute mass mailout from former prime minister John Howard in Sydney’s west, including the key seat of Penrith, as they pin their poll hopes on a narrow Morrison 2019-style path to victory in which undecided voters ultimately stick with the government. It’s Weekend at Bernies’ time!
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/liberals-fire-off-last-minute-howard-mass-mailout-in-western-sydney-seats-20230323-p5cuq7.html
The SMH editorial, after a long preamble, says, “There is a considerable case for change now. But, on balance, the Herald believes Perrottet should be given the chance to show the people of NSW what he’s capable of. The ultimate decision, though, is yours alone to make.”
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/both-leaders-are-decent-smart-and-capable-but-one-offers-a-more-ambitious-vision-for-nsw-20230321-p5ctwp.html
In NSW, Labor is favoured to end the Coalition’s 12 years in office at the forthcoming election. If it wins it faces a formidable task. The task is not merely what Labor says: review toll roads and buses; rebates for motorists; reconsider a few mega projects; deal out electoral bric-a-brac. It will need to address systemic rot, bad governance, Commonwealth gullibility and avoid becoming prey to spivs. A formal public inquiry is needed, declares John Austen.
https://johnmenadue.com/sydney-transport-job-ahead-for-labor-links/
Angus Thompson reports that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he is seeking urgent advice from the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police after independent senator Lidia Thorpe was tackled by an officer after trying to confront an anti-trans rally outside Parliament House. Thorpe says she was “pulverised” by the police. Was her fall one Rick Flair would be proud of?
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/senator-lidia-thorpe-clashes-with-police-at-anti-trans-rally-20230323-p5cunr.html
Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, and Senator Lidia Thorpe might appear to have nothing in common. But their attention-seeking, hold-no-prisoners’ approach, and their blatant disregard for others overshadows the advocacy they adopt to win supporters. Thorpe is entitled to feel upset, even outraged, at Keen’s views. We all should be. But Thursday’s stunt by Thorpe showed – just like Keen – that she has little regard for anyone else, or a bigger picture, in her pursuit of personal publicity, writes Madonna King.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/03/24/keen-transgender-madonna-king/
Shane Wright tells us that Jim Chalmers has said to business leaders there would be a boost to government revenue due to higher commodity prices, but the budget still faced severe financial challenges.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/boosted-budget-facing-more-spending-economic-uncertainty-chalmers-20230323-p5cuns.html
Paul Sakkal goes into the detail of Albanese’s announcement on the Voice.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-s-voice-announcement-explained-20230323-p5cumy.html
Peter Dutton has again declined to state his position on the Indigenous voice referendum, despite the Liberal party coming under pressure to decide its stance on the constitutional change now the amendment and question have been released.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/23/dutton-declines-to-state-position-on-voice-referendum-despite-pressure-on-liberals-to-decide-stance
Asking for details of the Indigenous voice is a distraction. It will be parliament that decides the details. And this is how it should be, declares ormer high court judge Kenneth Hayne.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/23/all-australians-own-the-constitution-now-we-have-the-words-to-prove-it
In revealing the new wording to be put to voters, Anthony Albanese challenged Australians – not least Peter Dutton – to back the constitutional change, writes David Crowe.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-re-all-in-pm-hopes-carefully-chosen-words-amplify-support-for-voice-20230322-p5cuam.html
Anthony Albanese’s announcement of his government’s preferred wording for the voice is a historic moment. George Williams writes that the referendum will be Labor’s first attempt to change the Constitution since 1988, and the nation’s first referendum since John Howard put the republic to a vote in 1999. As the emotion of the press conference demonstrated, there is a lot riding on this poll. For good or ill, the vote will be a turning point in the nation’s relationship with its first peoples.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/a-decisive-win-on-the-long-road-to-referendum/news-story/83eabb91de19aa0cf5134fd797da7ea6?amp
Tony Wright says we have, with the Voice, a prime minister wavering between hope and dread.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-voice-can-t-wait-a-prime-minister-wavers-between-hope-and-dread-20230323-p5cunn.html
Michelle Grattan says that a ‘No’ vote in the Voice referendum would put a serious dent in Australia’s image abroad.
https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-a-no-vote-in-the-voice-referendum-would-put-a-serious-dent-in-australias-image-abroad-201157
Paul Sakkal and James Massola write that Anthony Albanese is poised to fight for a historic referendum victory without bipartisan support after he unveiled details of the Voice to parliament’s scope and powers, releasing a final revision of the wording that would limit the Indigenous body’s authority over parliament.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/very-long-time-in-the-making-albanese-reveals-voice-referendum-question-20230323-p5culk.html
“Productivity is all well and good, but what’s in it for Australia’s workers?”, wonders Greg Jericho who says, “Productivity is important, but just as important is who benefits from its growth. Too often suggestions about improving productivity are actually about increasing the benefits to companies. After nearly a quarter of a century of lost gains, it is time to focus more on the need to give workers the chance to properly benefit.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2023/mar/23/productivity-is-all-well-and-good-but-whats-in-it-for-australias-workers
The Greens must put pragmatism before ideology to pass the safeguard mechanism or risk another 2010-style dead end, says the AFR’s editorial which reckons the cost of Green-left purity is too high.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/the-cost-of-green-left-purity-is-too-high-20230323-p5cup7
Lawyers for Network Ten have questioned “how on Earth” it was reasonable for Bruce Lehrmann to sit on his hands and not file a defamation claim for 12 months, despite being told he had a “red hot defamation case”, was going to “make millions” and that he didn’t need to worry about a criminal prosecution, reports Christopher Knaus.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/23/texts-show-it-was-unreasonable-for-bruce-lehrmann-not-to-file-defamation-claim-within-year-defence-says
The Australian Medical Association is calling on governments to divert people away from incarceration and implement the recommendations of the 1991 Aboriginal deaths in custody royal commission. Paul Karp reports that the AMA has also reiterated its call for states and territories to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, particularly due to the disproportionate impact on Indigenous people.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/24/ama-calls-for-governments-to-implement-royal-commission-recommendations-on-aboriginal-deaths-in-custody
National Australia Bank’s recent testimony at the Senate Inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia – that it is “committed to being where its customers are” – is misleading. Dale Webster reports.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/no-straight-answers-from-nab-testimony-on-bank-closures,17348
Vape flavours would be banned, individual product packages would have warning labels, and importers would need a permit to bring vapes into the country under a crackdown being recommended by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to stamp out vaping among young people, reports Natassia Chrysanthos.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/vape-flavours-would-be-banned-and-import-permit-required-under-crackdown-20230323-p5culh.html
The world’s leading central bank has opted to keep up the fight against inflation rather than ease the pressure on a bank sector in crisis. There is a lot riding on the decision, explains Stephen Bartholomeusz.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/the-fed-just-made-its-choice-it-could-have-serious-ramifications-20230323-p5cujb.html
Waleed Aly argues that Putin’s war has uncomfortable parallels with our invasion of Iraq.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/putin-s-war-has-uncomfortable-parallels-with-our-invasion-of-iraq-20230323-p5cukf.html
Having been handed just enough rope by his parliamentary colleagues, Boris Johnson may have finally ended any chance of being British prime minister again, writes Rob Harris
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/four-hours-of-chaos-may-have-killed-off-any-hope-of-a-johnson-comeback-20230323-p5cuk5.html
Boris Johnson has been sliced and diced, and the real winner is Rishi Sunak, writes Martin Kettle.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/22/boris-johnson-rishi-sunak
“Taiwan will be ours, but war with Australia is a fallacy”, writes China’s ambassador to Australia in an op-ed.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/taiwan-will-be-ours-but-war-with-australia-is-a-fallacy-20230322-p5cuaj.html
Fox Corporation executive chairman Rupert Murdoch along with Fox News TV hosts including Tucker Carlson will likely be forced to testify during a trial next month over more than $US1 billion in defamation claims against the network by Dominion Voting Systems.
https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/murdoch-told-he-will-likely-have-to-testify-in-fox-news-defamation-case-20230323-p5cujw.html
Sam Levine tells us why Dominion is already the winner of the $1.6bn lawsuit against Fox News.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/23/dominion-fox-news-defamation-lawsuit-winner
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_1668/t_resize_width/q_62%2Cf_auto/e4cddca656244371eec31abc096e1df692d32089
John Shakespeare
Andrew Dyson
Glen Le Lievre
Mark Knight
Leak
From the US
Being the AFR it points to Labor’s plan, well actually a lipsticked SfM plan, being essentially useless.
WHY do the Libs insist on dragging out that desiccated old coconut and war criminal Howard in every election?
Is his “appeal” supposed to target older voters? If so they have drastically overestimated said appeal. He is worse than yesterday’s man, he is a non-event famous only for dragging Australia into an illegal, US-lead war (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/16/iraq.iraq)and for being one of only two PMs to lose both an election and his seat in the same election. (The other was Stanley Bruce in 1929.)
My reaction to seeing him wheeled out………….
friendlyjordies –
James O’Brien – (with and excellent rant, how he managed the whole rant without swearing is a testament to his self control) and I like his coffee mug stay till the end to see it.
Brilliant!
Michael Steele (for Chris Hayes) –
Lawrence O’Donnell –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
L O’Donnell sub –
F.M –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/24/this-is-the-last-ever-cartoon-about-climate-change-of-course-it-isnt
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
In a long and detailed contribution, George Megalogenis says that there is an AUKUS truth which is that flawed allies may not always see the world as we do.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-aukus-truth-flawed-allies-may-not-always-see-the-world-as-we-do-20230323-p5cun2.html
Paul Keating’s verbal torpedoes aimed at the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal have begun hitting their targets in the Labor Party, writes Paul Bongiorno.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2023/03/25/labor-rift-over-submarine-deal
And John Hewson reckons Paul Keating has a point on AUKUS.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2023/03/25/paul-keating-has-point-aukus
Greg Sheridan tells us how the Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping summit changed the geo-strategic reality.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/how-the-vladimir-putin-xi-jinping-summit-changed-the-geostrategic-reality/news-story/de8d072d63ecd460f4df1ca7ccd6ec19?amp
Doing a “Smethurst”, Alexandra Smith writes that it’s down to the wire with Minns and Perrottet to face judgement today , but a last-minute revival from the Coalition is possible.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/down-to-the-wire-minns-and-perrottet-to-face-judgment-20230322-p5cug9.html
Michael Pascoe says, “Integrity – the lack of it – is at heart of voters’ NSW election dilemma”.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2023/03/25/michael-pascoe-nsw-election-integrity/
As voters head to the polls in NSW, the cost of living crisis looms large as a defining electoral issue. Households across the state have been feeling the crunch. In the final instalment of our series highlighting the similarities and differences in Labor and Coalition policies, Callum Foote looks at which party will do the most to address everyday expenses.
https://michaelwest.com.au/cost-of-living-rental-crisis-soaring-tolls-loom-large-as-nsw-voters-head-to-the-polls/
Liberal Party officials in NSW are bracing for significant swings in crucial marginal electorates on Saturday, a result which would mean the Coalition is out of government in every mainland state in the country and Labor’s untested leader Chris Minns takes the helm of the nation’s biggest state.
https://www.afr.com/politics/nsw-liberals-fear-revolt-in-key-marginal-seats-20230324-p5cv2c
The presence of neo-Nazis at a transphobic rally in Melbourne last weekend is evidence of how fringe groups operate to find common purpose, focusing on the most vulnerable, posits Sam Elkin.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2023/03/25/terf-wars-and-neo-nazis
Dutton walked out of the apology. Now he’ll walk out on the Voice, predicts Peter Hartcher.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-walked-out-of-the-apology-now-he-ll-walk-out-on-the-voice-20230323-p5cun8.html
Peter Dutton is stuck in no-man’s land on the voice – and he risks cementing his reputation as a wrecker, opines Paul Karp.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/25/peter-dutton-is-stuck-in-no-mans-land-on-the-voice-and-he-risks-cementing-his-reputation-as-a-wrecker
Ken Wyatt has warned Liberals that opposing Indigenous voice could add to ‘perceptions’ that the party is ‘racist’.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/24/ken-wyatt-warns-opposing-indigenous-voice-could-add-to-perceptions-liberals-are-a-racist-party
As the wording of the Voice referendum question is released, the Murdoch media’s “news” drives resentment with propaganda as constant as drums of war. The pounding message for its audience is that every development is a zero sum game, one that only defrauds this “conservative” base, writes Lucy Hamilton.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-voice-newscorps-dangerous-zero-sum-games/
Paul Sakkal and James Massola write that Anthony Albanese has ramped up pressure on Peter Dutton to declare his party’s position on the Voice to parliament, but moderate Liberals and conservative Voice supporters say the final wording of the referendum has failed to alleviate their concerns about the way the Indigenous body would operate.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/final-voice-wording-fails-to-alleviate-moderate-liberals-concerns-20230324-p5cuwz.html
The Voice debate turned a corner this week, but it’s splintered into so many shards that confuse and dazzle, says Laura Tingle.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-25/wording-voice-referendum-question-unsure-how-make-a-difference/102142918
The editorial in The Saturday Paper on Albanese’s Voice announcement is a good one to read.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/editorial/2023/03/25/the-truth-burns
After days of late-night negotiations, the Albanese government has a referendum question for the Voice and the machinery to implement it, but the Coalition remains split, writes Karen Middleton.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/03/25/inside-the-voice-negotiations-i-want-it-done-all-australians
The Australian tragedy of 2023 is about to unfold. In the most important decision of his prime ministership and of his career, Anthony Albanese has finalised his proposed constitutional referendum for an Indigenous voice declaring his mission is to change this country, pontificates Paul Kelly.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/anthony-albaneses-flawed-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-fails-the-test/news-story/d96cd012a35919935dd0847d65c86f76?amp
Moira Deeming was given three options, and that’s when the quarrel began, say Michael Bachelard and Sumeyya Ilanbey.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/moira-deeming-was-given-three-options-that-s-when-the-quarrel-began-20230323-p5cuk9.html
Liberal MPs who back Moira Deeming say the case has opened a “can of worms” and argue her expulsion from the party room would set an unrealistically high threshold for the future.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/liberal-mps-argue-deeming-s-expulsion-would-raise-behaviour-bar-too-high-20230324-p5cv1y.html
John Pesutto is trying to rebuild the Victorian Liberals, but a ‘seismic’ moment could be his undoing, writes Richard Willington.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-25/john-pesutto-leadership-test-moira-deeming-rally-expulsion/102142642
Julia Banks tells us why the modern Liberal Party seems unable to ‘do the right thing’.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/03/24/julia-banks-why-the-modern-liberal-party-seems-unable-to-do-the-right-thing/
Nyadol Nyuon tells us how News Corp captured the Liberal Party. He says News Corp has done to the Liberals what it has done to journalism.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2023/03/25/how-news-corp-captured-the-liberal-party
Despite the warning from the just-released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis Report that a liveable future may be slipping through our fingers, in Australia we find ourselves once again spectators to “climate wars”, say Penny Sackett and Chris Barrie.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/while-you-fight-climate-wars-we-lose-the-climate-battle-20230323-p5cune.html
The Greens are facing one of the biggest decisions of their political lives as Labor’s climate policy hangs in the balance, says Adam Morton.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/24/the-greens-face-one-of-the-biggest-decisions-of-their-political-lives-as-labors-climate-policy-hangs-in-the-balance
As Labor continues to pursue its flawed and inadequate safeguard mechanism, the IPCC says the world has one last chance to avoid climate catastrophe, writes Mike Seccombe.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/03/25/ipcc-this-the-last-chance-avoid-catastrophe
In this week’s media round-up, Amanda Reade talks about News Corp columnists opting for bothsidesism on Nazis at the anti-trans rally.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/24/news-corp-columnists-opt-for-bothsidesism-on-nazis-at-anti-trans-rally
Michaela Whitbourn writes about the revelations seen in court yesterday on the Bruce Lehmann defamation hearing.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/think-about-what-you-did-anonymous-email-to-bruce-lehrmann-revealed-20230324-p5cuz3.html
Numerous text messages are being used to debate why Bruce Lehrmann chose not to initially sue for defamation over stories about Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape. Karen Middleton takes us through the court hearing so far.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/media/2023/03/25/the-bruce-lehrmann-defamation-suit
On April 1, the aged care interest rate will see its sixth consecutive increase, taking the rate from 4.01 per cent in October 2021 to 7.46 per cent. This is a marked increase, and will likely affect how people choose to pay for their aged care accommodation. It’s a real minefield.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/aged-care-interest-rate-increase-sees-daily-payments-almost-double-20230324-p5cuz2.html
Unsurprisingly, Gerard Henderson says that the solution to the ABC’s slump is less bias, not more money.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/solution-to-abc-slump-less-bias-not-more-money/news-story/8c583962a76b2072a66ef66fbdfc090f?amp
An announcement by the Victorian Government of a new mental health commission is worthless when mental health laws are being routinely broken, writes Simon Katterl.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/mental-health-reforms-dying-at-the-altar-of-politics,17361
As a teacher of 40 years, Garry Warren tells us that boys need boundaries now more than ever.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/as-a-teacher-of-40-years-i-know-that-boys-need-boundaries-now-more-than-ever-20230323-p5cumk.html
Years of NAPLAN data reveal a decline in Australian students’ writing skills and one researcher argues the test itself is contributing to the problem.
https://www.theage.com.au/education/literacy-researcher-blames-naplan-for-poor-student-writing-skills-20230324-p5cuxq.html
Tony Wright tells us about the night president Lyndon Baines Johnson, drunk as a skunk, was conveyed through Canberra’s late-night streets while lying in the rear footwell of a police car.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/when-a-visiting-us-president-got-drunk-as-a-skunk-at-the-lodge-20230323-p5cunh.html
The collapse of Credit Suisse and the problems with America’s smaller banks may seem part of a broader malaise. But they’re also the victims of their own poor decisions, explains Sarah Danckert who says they were exposed as idiots.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/banking-badly-what-went-wrong-at-credit-suisse-20230323-p5cum4.html
The bank failures that have forced the US government to step in again with emergency support highlight the dangers of weak regulation, and raise concerns about how far this contagion could spread, explains Martin McKenzie-Murray.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/economy/2023/03/25/what-the-us-bank-crisis-means-australia
Beware of dangerous disinformation. Taiwan is not part of China, says international security advisor, Benjamin Herscovitch.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/beware-of-dangerous-disinformation-taiwan-is-not-part-of-china-20230324-p5cuxu.html
China became an economic powerhouse by opening itself up to the world. But Xi Jinping’s decision to align with Russia could have damaging consequences, suggests Li Yuan.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-s-economy-at-risk-as-xi-plays-the-isolation-game-20230324-p5cuuv.html
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
Alan Moir
Matt Golding
Jon Kudelka
John Shakespeare
Andrew Dyson
Peter Broelman
Glen Le Lievre
Dionne Gain
Joe Benke
Leak
From the US