Robodebt Royal Commission

Kirsdarke Political Observation, ,

For simplicity’s sake for the new thread starter, I think it would be best to just link to the published report of the royal commission into this despicable chapter in the Australian Government and Public Service.

https://robodebt.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/report

Related articles and opinions, among the usual politics of the day are welcome to be posted in the comments, but I will add notice to this excellent article by Laura Tingle.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-08/robodebt-royal-commission-political-populism-policy-culture/102575450

On a personal note, I think it is outrageous that the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government implemented this policy and I hope the prosecutions go far in making sure this never happens again. And I also hope that the consequences are felt across the entire public service so that filth like Kathryn Campbell don’t get to float to the top to implement sewer policies like this again.

544 thoughts on “Robodebt Royal Commission”

  6. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    Here’s Katherine Murphy’s analysis of the latest Essential poll which shows that more Australians intend to vote no than yes in the voice referendum on 14 October, but a chunk of respondents are either equivocating or still unsure about how they will cast their ballots.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/04/more-voters-intend-to-vote-no-to-indigenous-voice-despite-yes-campaign-launch-essential-poll-finds
    A furious protest in Parliament House has rocked a $3.3 billion negotiation on health after 200 pharmacists in white coats disrupted question time on Monday and sparked a warning that they had broken a pledge to negotiate the funding deal in good faith. David Crowe and Natassia Chrysanthos tell us about yesterday’s events in QT.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pharmacists-shout-obscenities-heckle-government-in-question-time-20230904-p5e1we.html
    The Voice appears to be nosediving, but it’s not PM’s biggest challenge, writes Paul Bongiorno who says that Peter Dutton has the luxury of pinning as much of the blame for people’s cost of living frustration on Albanese and the government as he can without having to come up with any solutions of his own.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/09/05/paul-bongiorno-indigenous-voice-albanese-challenge/
    Almost $1 billion a year is expected to be added to the wage bill in the gig economy and the labour-hire sector under the second tranche of Labor’s industrial relations reforms. Rideshare drivers and food deliverers would collectively receive an extra $400 million a year, with the government warning some of that cost could be passed on to consumers and restaurants, writes Angus Thompson. Another way of writing it could be to say that the workers had been denied the reasonable wages and conditions they should have got.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/almost-1-billion-a-year-could-be-added-to-gig-economy-labour-hire-wage-bill-under-ir-changes-20230904-p5e1qc.html
    The Australian has gone troppo over Burke’s new IR legislation.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/truckies-targeted-in-labors-ir-crackdown/news-story/a7bcf38e41fb12d29932a1b54f96f7c4?amp
    Although its workplace editor Ewin Hannan writes that somewhere between the calculated exaggerations of employers and Tony Burke’s deliberate downplaying lies the reality of Labor’s second wave of industrial relations changes.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/never-mind-the-rhetoric-heres-the-ir-reality/news-story/6e31953204d538395697aa630da2d44f?amp
    Some measures in Labor’s omnibus bill are eminently defensible. But business plans an ad campaign against “the most extreme interventionist workplace changes proposed in Australia”, writes Phil Coorey who reckons Labor’s wage theft bill is a Trojan horse for trickier IR issues.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/wage-theft-a-trojan-horse-for-harder-to-sell-ir-changes-20230904-p5e1qx
    Paul Karp has taken the time to explain just how the IR bill is designed to work.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/04/labor-is-promising-to-close-loopholes-that-hurt-workers-whats-changing-and-how-will-it-work
    The AFR’s David Marin-Guzman writes that the Albanese government’s next wave of workplace changes will put the onus on businesses to prove they are not caught by the tough wide-ranging laws, which bosses said remained “unworkable” and would push up prices. He says minimum conditions for gig workers, which extend to online marketplaces such as Airtasker, and pay rules for labour hire, expected to target BHP and Qantas, will require employers, contractors or digital platforms to litigate to avoid being caught.
    https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/burke-to-entrench-fair-work-powers-over-business-20230904-p5e1sy
    According to David Crowe, legal experts have dismissed a call from Peter Dutton to change the question on the Indigenous Voice before the October 14 referendum, escalating concerns about false claims amid a political storm over his proposal for a second referendum.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-wrong-on-changing-voice-question-say-legal-experts-20230904-p5e1qe.html
    Injectables such as Botox and fillers will be the focus of an upgraded health regulator review targeting rogue operators in the cosmetic industry in an attempt to “strengthen the hand of the consumer”. Laura Banks reports that the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Medical Board of Australia will begin scrutinising doctors, nurses, dentists and other practitioners who perform fillers, anti-wrinkle and fat-dissolving injections and thread lifts.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/botox-and-other-injectables-the-focus-of-cosmetic-industry-crackdown-20230904-p5e1qp.html
    Paul Keating envisaged a superannuation system which funded the aged in retirement. It has turned into a giant tax shelter where wealth is captured and passed on to descendants, and where falling home ownership was not factored in. Harry Chemay reports.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/igr-home-ownership-the-elephant-in-the-superannuation-retirement-room/
    “As summer draws nearer, so too are our plans to spend time at the beach or by a pool. But water experts are getting increasingly nervous about a problem that’s been lying dormant for years: our water supply is running out”, explains Laura Chung in an informative contribution.
    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/sydney-s-running-out-of-water-and-we-haven-t-been-paying-attention-20230830-p5e0jn.html
    It took less than a week for the Liberal Party to get back to business as usual after its promised new dawn. It’s already returned to dysfunctional disunity, writes the Herald Sun’s Shannon Deery.
    https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/shannon-deery-libs-new-dawn-shortlived-even-by-party-standards/news-story/05b29ee070675ac1e81c1bef70b32157
    NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey will deliver his new government’s first budget in a fortnight but renewed fears about sections of the state’s economy faltering have taken the shine off the occasion. The SMH editorial calls for boldness to be displayed by the Minns government.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/boldness-needed-as-economic-headwinds-hit-nsw-budget-preparation-20230904-p5e1rt.html
    Nick Bryant has seen many political ads, but this John Farnham belter is up there with the best, he declares.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/i-ve-seen-many-political-ads-but-this-farnsey-belter-is-up-there-with-the-best-20230904-p5e1s2.html
    John Farnham’s You’re the Voice is the perfect anthem for the yes vote – despite what Peter Dutton thinks, says Andrew Stafford.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/04/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-yes-campaign-john-farnham-youre-the-voice
    The ‘No’ campaign is distorting the truth on the Voice to Parliament and operating in bad faith, writes Victoria Fielding.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/no-campaign-built-on-lies-and-misinformation-,17867
    One of the No campaign’s leading figures, Nyunggai Warren Mundine, has emerged as a favourite to replace Liberal senator Marise Payne once she exits politics, say Max Maddison and James Massola.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nyunggai-warren-mundine-emerges-as-front-runner-for-liberal-senate-spot-20230904-p5e1tm.html
    The federal government is under pressure to reveal the documents that could explain its decision to shield Qantas from greater competition, as state governments and tourism groups back calls to let overseas rivals such as Qatar Airways operate more flights. Anthony Albanese told parliament he had one “substantive conversation” on the Qatar decision and said it was not with Qantas, although he did not say who it was with.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-declares-he-did-not-get-lobbied-by-qantas-on-qatar-airways-decision-20230904-p5e1q9.html
    Meanwhile, getting to the crux of the problem, the competition watchdog says the Albanese government should act on recommendations to overhaul how take off and landing slots are managed at Sydney Airport, the country’s busiest, backing the findings of a review conducted by former productivity commissioner Peter Harris and calls from airlines and airports.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/accc-urges-labor-to-move-on-sydney-airport-overhaul-20230904-p5e1td
    Elizabeth Knight tells us that Qantas’ outgoing chief executive Alan Joyce has delivered a hideous parting gift to the airline – a public relations grenade, the damage from which could take years for his successors to fix. She says that , among other things, chairman Richard Goyder will have to concede Joyce may not be the greatest ever chief executive. That would be a big concession, given how effusive Goyder has been in his praise of Joyce. Goyder has also been remarkably muted in his public comments, even as the Qantas brand is shredded around him.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-board-in-the-firing-line-of-joyce-s-parting-pr-grenade-20230904-p5e1vt.html
    Alan Joyce and senior Qantas executives should have millions of dollars in bonuses withheld, its board has been urged after the airline conceded its reputation has been flamed and as momentum builds to investigate the airline’s special relationship with government. The Australian Shareholders’ Association chief executive, Rachel Waterhouse, said that if the company is serious about restoring public trust after the surprise launch last week of legal action by the consumer watchdog there needed to be a more immediate response from the airline’s board.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/04/qantas-board-urged-to-withhold-bonuses-of-alan-joyce-and-senior-executives
    The Qantas mess has put competition policy in the spotlight. That’s good news for ACCC boss Gina Cass-Gottlieb and her campaign for merger reform, says the AFR’s Chanticleer.
    https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/qantas-furore-could-boost-accc-s-m-and-a-reform-push-20230904-p5e1xo
    The major barrier to health reform is the power of providers or at least their assumed power., writes John Menadue.
    https://johnmenadue.com/health-ministers-maybe-in-office-but-seldom-in-power/
    Melbourne’s rail network could grind to a halt if thousands of Metro Trains workers follow through on a threat to strike over pay negotiations. Patrick Hatch reports that the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said yesterday afternoon it had applied to the Fair Work Commission to hold a vote among members on taking protected industrial action, which could include strikes that last up to 48 hours.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/threat-of-melbourne-train-strike-as-metro-deadlocked-with-staff-over-pay-deal-20230904-p5e1wa.html
    Advocates are calling for an urgent and coordinated national response to the threat of invasive species after the co-authors of a major international report identified it as the leading driver of biodiversity loss in Australia. Donna Lu writes that the report, from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was produced by 86 experts from 49 countries and details the impacts of invasive flora and fauna on ecosystems globally.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/04/invasive-species-no-1-driver-of-biodiversity-loss-in-australia-and-feral-cats-have-biggest-impact-report-finds
    Another D-Day looms for Donald Trump’s $US1.3 billion ($2 billion) merger with a controversial US company, writes Stephen Bartholomeusz who tells us that if the deal does not come through, Trump won’t get control of the pile of cash, his followers who paid ridiculous prices for $US300 million of cash will crystallise their losses and Trump Media is likely to continue to wither until it disappears from the social media scene.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/trump-s-2-billion-deal-is-facing-another-d-day-20230904-p5e1qh.html
    Hatred and violence are surging across the United States as the former president lashes out at judges and prosecutors, reports Alan Austin.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/facing-life-in-prison-donald-trump-fuels-racial-violence-in-the-usa,17866

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe


    Cathy Wilcox

    Matt Golding



    Alan Moir

    Mark David

    Andrew Dyson

    Dionne Gain

    Spooner

    From the US









  8. Live updates: Alan Joyce to leave Qantas tomorrow, bringing forward retirement by two months, ASX set to open lower

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-05/asx-markets-business-live-news-sept05-2023/102814240

    Ian Verrender: Will Alan Joyce survive his final weeks at Qantas before he quits, or will the board eject him without a parachute?
    (published just before the announcement, but explains the context)

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-05/qantas-alan-joyce-fall-from-grace-qatar-accc-flights-shares/102810986

  9. Another way of writing it could be to say that the workers had been denied the reasonable wages and conditions they should have got.

    You are far too polite BK. Gig workers have been exploited for years due to @#%#! politicians being happy to turn a blind eye,allow or even defend such exploitation by unscrupulous thieving bastards.

  11. The Australian has gone troppo over Burke’s new IR legislation.

    An excellent indication that the IR legislation actually will benefit the ‘peasants’ rather than the ‘BCA Fat Cat’ demographic.

    • Beautiful! It was raining here in Freo, so I had a delightful afternoon indoors birdwatching!

  16. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    Amelia Maguire and Patrick Hatch chronicle Qantas’s week from hell.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/crash-landing-qantas-week-from-hell-20230905-p5e22m.html
    Anne Hyland tells new CEO Vanessa Hudson what to do in order to handle the turbulence.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/to-handle-the-turbulence-here-s-what-qantas-ceo-vanessa-hudson-needs-to-do-20230905-p5e255.html
    Paul Kelly says that the Prime Minister is stuck with the baggage of the Qantas storm.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/the-prime-minister-is-stuck-with-baggage-of-qantas-storm/news-story/8a8ff29fdaca648d05a8d0d85616e2a0?amp
    And The Australian says Anthony Albanese is flying blind in the Qatar flights storm.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albanese-flies-blind-in-qatar-flights-storm/news-story/dfa5f992ce280246059c32d765469cfe?amp
    The Qantas board makes a martyr of Joyce, but no one buys it, writes Elizabeth Knight who says that instead of acknowledging and taking accountability for being the most complained-about company in Australia, and one that allegedly misled and deceived its customers, the board has offered hearty praise for Joyce.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-board-makes-a-martyr-of-joyce-but-no-one-buys-it-20230905-p5e21k.html
    Elaia Visontay lays out five big issues that are plaguing Qantas that its board must address.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/06/qantas-in-crisis-alan-joyce-has-departed-but-the-airline-still-has-plenty-of-baggage
    Despite a record of poor business conduct over recent years, the Federal Government has made efforts to protect Qantas’ status as Australia’s premier airline, writes Binoy Kampmark.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/flying-kangaroo-protection-racket-in-our-national-interest,17871
    From higher prices to poorer service, former ACCC chairman Rod Sims explains how a lack of competition damages Australia.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/05/lack-of-competition-damages-australia-economy-rod-sims
    Qantas flies high on scant competition and regulation – and consumers pay the price, argues Matt Grudnoff.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/05/qantas-competition-regulation-consumers
    The jettisoning Alan Joyce came too late to help the reputation of Qantas declares the SMH’s editorial.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/jettisoning-alan-joyce-came-too-late-to-help-the-reputation-of-qantas-20230905-p5e22u.html
    Natassia Chrysanthos reports that the Coalition has declined to condemn a rowdy protest by pharmacists in the parliament despite a pointed rebuke from the speaker that the protesters’ jeers and swearing during question time was “very serious and concerning” and a reflection of the MPs who may have invited them.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/coalition-refuses-to-condemn-jeering-pharmacy-protesters-despite-speaker-s-rebuke-20230905-p5e26d.html
    The Grattan Institute’s Peter Breadon writes that pharmacists want to have their cake, eat it, and get another cake for later. He says it’s time for the Pharmacy Guild to put exaggerated claims behind them and focus on constructive proposals for a bigger, better role for pharmacies.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/pharmacists-want-to-have-their-cake-eat-it-and-get-another-cake-for-later-20230905-p5e27n.html
    The AFR says Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke will get extraordinary powers under the Albanese government’s industrial relations shake-up, with employer groups citing 32 clauses where he can change the laws to rope in more businesses.
    https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/burke-to-get-extraordinary-powers-in-ir-shake-up-20230905-p5e253
    The Liberal party has been accused of “dirty tactics” by offering non-existent postal vote registration for the referendum, directing would-be voters to a party website to harvest their personal information. Tory Shepherd reports that a “vote no” pamphlet delivered to mail boxes includes a QR code that leads to the same website the party used in last year’s election as part of a move the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) labelled “potentially misleading”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/05/liberals-accused-of-dirty-tactics-over-indigenous-voice-pamphlet-leading-voters-to-site-that-harvests-information
    Much of the Voice Referendum ‘No’ campaign is based on lies and misinformation, spread by a complicit mainstream media, writes Col Jennings.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/mainstream-media-helping-to-spread-voice-no-campaign-lies,17869
    Despite harrowing stories from women about having to “shop around” for abortion care even when their pregnancies are unviable, the federal government will not make providing abortion services a condition tied to millions of dollars in funding it allocates to major public hospitals, complains Melissa Davey.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/06/labors-refusal-to-tie-public-hospital-funding-to-full-reproductive-care-condemned-as-outrageous
    The Australian Banking Association has tabled a new code of practice with the corporate regulator, expanding protections for more small businesses – years after the Hayne royal commission first proposed that change – as well as new definitions for vulnerable customers and protections for loan guarantors, explains Paulina Duran.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/new-banking-code-drops-responsible-lending-but-expands-small-business-protections/news-story/9cf9595689222631c6a92b6978db75fb?amp
    Patients are waiting longer than ever before in NSW’s emergency departments, while hospitals and paramedics are treating record numbers with the most life-threatening conditions. Angus Thompson and Laura Banks go into the details.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/record-wait-times-more-sick-patients-nsw-s-health-crisis-laid-bare-20230905-p5e20f.html
    The CBD’s key workers are being forced to live far from their jobs because of a growing shortfall in affordable housing. It’s a problem the City of Melbourne council wants to fix.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/essential-to-our-economy-melbourne-s-plan-to-get-cleaners-retail-staff-and-baristas-into-city-homes-20230905-p5e276.html
    The NSW government has decided there is a case for extending the life of the nation’s largest coal-fired power station to mitigate our energy risk. But the growing risk for NSW actually lies in relying on one near-moribund plant at Eraring in Lake Macquarie for 16 per cent of power generation, explains Tim Buckley.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/keeping-the-lights-on-at-eraring-will-only-add-to-nsw-energy-risk-20230905-p5e242.html
    A review of NSW’s energy transition released today says shutting Australia’s largest coal-fired power station, Origin Energy’s Eraring, in 2025 would lead to reliability gaps. Callum Foote reports on a stunning reversal of politics.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/eraring-on-the-side-of-dirty-minns-to-subsidise-australias-biggest-old-coal-clunker/
    We know Australia’s got a problem when a cautious, technical, energy market operator says: “Imminent and urgent investment is needed, or the reliability of the NEM [National Electricity Market] will be at risk.” More broadly, Australia’s energy transition is at risk. But the federal government has the challenge and the opportunity to get things back on track, writes Tony Wood.
    https://johnmenadue.com/power-meltdown-putting-australias-energy-transition-back-on-track/
    Gangs of teenagers are breaking into houses, taking car keys and selling the stolen vehicles. A police strike force has been given special resources to target the thieves.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/police-blitz-on-sydney-teen-car-gangs-after-spate-of-crashes-20230904-p5e1uh.html
    India’s distinct geopolitical perspective will be on display at this week’s G20 leaders summit and, like a Bollywood star, Prime Minister Modi is ready for his close up, writes Matt Wade.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/world-s-low-income-superpower-embraces-its-global-moment-20230905-p5e22a.html
    Anthony Albanese sets forth on a trip to Asia in which most of his summit activities will be entirely useless, but it is nonetheless ­intensely important that he attend, writes Greg Sheridan who says we shouldn’t expect too much in results.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/dont-expect-results-from-anthony-albaneses-asia-tour-but-networking-is-priceless/news-story/143a8d832504be9d7924ded5ca7e9e3a?amp
    Mick Ryan explains why Ukraine’s new strike strategy has Putin on the run.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/why-ukraine-s-new-strike-strategy-has-putin-on-the-run-20230904-p5e1u4.html
    Collapsing schools are the latest sign of a crumbling country – and a lesson in Tory cost-cutting, writes Gaby Hinsliff.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/05/collapsing-schools-crumbling-tory-quick-fixes
    The attorney general of New York state is seeking $20,000 in sanctions against Donald Trump, his adult sons, other defendants and their lawyers, for repeating “frivolous” arguments rejected in court in a $250m civil suit over family business practices. In a filing on Tuesday, Andrew Amer, an assistant to Letitia James, the attorney general, noted repeated rejections of arguments deemed “borderline frivolous even the first-time defendants made them”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/05/new-york-attorney-general-trump-lawsuit

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope, who is in sparkling form!

    David Rowe

    Matt Golding





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    Simon Letch

    Some Glen Le Lievre gifs

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    From the US









  17. “The Liberal party has been accused of “dirty tactics” by offering non-existent postal vote registration for the referendum, directing would-be voters to a party website to harvest their personal information. Tory Shepherd reports that a “vote no” pamphlet delivered to mail boxes includes a QR code that leads to the same website the party used in last year’s election as part of a move the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) labelled “potentially misleading”.”

    Too right! I intend to do a postal vote for the referendum, as of this morning postal votes have not yet opened. Here is the relevant page – https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/vote/postal-voting.html

    How dare the Coalition pull this stunt! They are taking advantage of voters who believe everything they hear except the truth. My advice to anyone considering a postal vote – deal only with the AEC, and avoid propaganda from the major parties.

  23. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    Looking at what is happening with the Voice, Shaun Carney reviews Albanese’s performance ance concludes that a “return to a form of cabinet government where a wide range of ministers consistently have more substantial policy and political profiles after the one-man shows of the past few governments is not all that radical. Presenting as an ensemble piece and not a star vehicle could be the government’s salvation.”
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-bet-big-on-his-everyman-schtick-can-it-go-the-distance-20230906-p5e2d9.html
    Indigenous leader Marcia Langton has claimed death threats and abuse are being aimed at the key advocates for a Yes vote at the October 14 referendum, in an emotional call on voters to save lives by voting for change. According to David Crowe, Langton said at the NPC yesterday there was “nothing to fear” from the Indigenous Voice and warned voters against the “deceit” of No campaigners who had claimed the outcome would divide the country on race.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/langton-makes-emotional-plea-to-voters-as-yes-campaigners-face-threats-20230906-p5e2bn.html
    Recessions are commonly described as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Australia has avoided that thanks to surging population growth, but once you take into account all those extra residents, economic output per person has fallen since the start of the year, making it a per capita recession, says Shane Wright.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/there-s-nothing-average-about-our-slice-of-the-economic-pie-getting-smaller-20230906-p5e2gy.html
    Australia’s economy has got smaller on a per capita basis – like it did in the GFC and 1990s recession. “So, you know, not good”, says Greg Jericho.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2023/sep/07/australias-economy-has-got-smaller-on-a-per-capita-basis-like-it-did-in-the-gfc-and-1990s-recession-so-you-know-not-good
    Weaker consumer spending will comfort the RBA, but abysmal labour productivity is undermining the efforts to get inflation under control, writes John Kehoe who says this is the economic slowdown we had to have.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/the-big-squeeze-we-had-to-have-20230906-p5e2b8
    Rising mortgage repayments and an increasing income tax take have crunched household budgets and consumer spending, as lower commodity prices and falling productivity squeeze corporate profits and national income, writes Michael Read.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/gdp-grows-by-0-4pc-beating-forecasts-20230906-p5e2bx
    Mike Foley and Laura Chung write that another 48 native species including butterflies, geckos and crayfish have been added to Australia’s list of wildlife at risk of annihilation, spurring a new plan to cut the deadly feral cat population and exposing the challenge of delivering the government’s pledge to stop extinctions.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/plibersek-wants-war-on-cats-as-48-new-species-join-endangered-list-20230906-p5e2gc.html
    The AFR points out that Labor’s new Productivity Commission boss has previously backed slashing defence spending, increasing the GST to 15 per cent, redesigning stage three tax cuts, including the family home in the aged pension asset test, and rolling back generous superannuation tax concessions.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/danielle-wood-to-lead-pc-as-barrett-pulls-out-to-stay-with-andrews-20230906-p5e2g0
    More than $50 billion in uncollected debt is owed to the tax office as the nation’s taxation tsar puts Australian businesses of all sizes on notice. In his final speech as taxation commissioner, Chris Jordan called out the growing number of profitable businesses choosing not to pay their fair share of tax.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/09/06/businesses-tax-debt-passes-50-billion/?breaking_live_scroll=1
    When it comes to its environmental credentials, a risk-adverse Minns’ government is favouring short-term fixes over long-term reform, writes Alexandra Smith who says the climate change comes second to Labor staying in power.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/climate-change-comes-second-to-labor-staying-in-power-20230906-p5e2f9.html
    The NSW government will invest $800 million to fast-track the construction of overhead power cables to connect regional renewable projects to the grid and will use $1 billion from the sale of the state’s poles and wires to establish a new Energy Security Corporation, explains Alexandra Smith.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/once-in-a-generation-transition-nsw-labor-commits-800m-to-fast-track-transmission-lines-20230906-p5e2js.html
    Shareholders, their proxy advisers and governance experts are questioning the actions of the Qantas board led by veteran chairman Richard Goyder after the surprise early exit of former Qantas boss Alan Joyce on Tuesday. Amelia Maguire and Sarah Dankert say that senior company figures indicated on Tuesday that the board was not expecting Joyce to retire early and was also unaware of the severity of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case against the airline group until it was disclosed to the market last Thursday.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-board-under-fire-over-horror-run-20230903-p5e1l2.html
    Qantas’s trophy board sat through governance crash landing, writes Elzabeth Knight who says, “There are no noisy agitators on the Qantas board. The directors should shoulder some blame for what’s ailing the airline.”
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-trophy-board-sat-through-governance-crash-landing-20230906-p5e2go.html
    A Senate inquiry will ask Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson and her predecessor Alan Joyce to reveal their talks with federal ministers after a storm in parliament over the lobbying behind a decision that shielded the company from greater competition. David Crowe and Matthew Knott tell us that the inquiry is also likely to call Qatar Airways and the Qatari ambassador to give their account of the decision to block more flights, amid claims it led to higher prices for travellers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/qantas-qatar-execs-tapped-by-senate-inquiry-as-airline-welcome-to-reapply-for-flights-20230906-p5e2gg.html
    And Angus Thompson reports that Michaelia Cash says Alan Joyce should be called to front the Coalition’s Senate inquiry into the government’s decision to reject Qatar Airways from adding more flights to Australia.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/alan-joyce-should-front-up-to-qatar-airways-inquiry-coalition-20230906-p5e2f6.html
    The damage to Qantas’ reputation is deep, costly to mend, and will weigh on its profits as business customers reconsider their corporate accounts, brand and travel experts say. The Guardian tells us that the airline’s reputation may suffer further harm due to a looming court case over allegations it sold tickets for thousands of already cancelled flights, although marketers believe the brand can be restored with time and money.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/07/qantas-needs-to-invest-airline-faces-uphill-battle-to-fix-damage-to-reputation-experts-say
    Anthony Dennis tells us why we shouldn’t feel too sorry for Qatar Airways.
    https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/why-we-shouldn-t-feel-too-sorry-for-qatar-airways-20230906-p5e2fb.html
    A perfect storm of factors has sent ticket prices soaring – but there are ways they could be brought back down to earth, writes Tony Webber.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/what-will-it-take-to-get-australian-air-fares-down
    And Andrew Hughes writes that, from fixing the culture and customer experience, to rebuilding relationships with stakeholders, the airline that calls Australia home has much to do to earn our loyalty back.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/06/as-qantas-reputation-unravels-this-is-how-it-can-restore-trust-in-its-brand
    The Labor Government abandons transparency around Air Force VIP Flights, forgetting past lessons. Rex Patrick on Defence Minister Richard Marles blindly touting ‘security advice’ to keep secret things which can be googled.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/vip-flights-albos-secret-mission-revealed-destroy-after-reading/
    We are all accustomed to being fed nonsense by the right-wing. Sky News after dark is largely untouched by common-sense, decency, or journalistic balance. When reading the Australian, or the Telegraph, we all share an expectation that we will likely need to wade through a swamp of ideological claptrap. But it does not have to be this way, argues James Moylan about what he describes as “The Great Australian Gaslighting”.
    https://theaimn.com/the-great-australian-gaslighting/
    Putting Ampol and the Reserve Bank Governor in the same class. They’ve both been pilloried for reasons that are not entirely fair – it’s really not their fault, says Michael Pascoe.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/09/06/michael-pascoe-ampol-rba/
    A former KPMG partner who exposed serious flaws in the NSW rail corporation has told a parliamentary inquiry that he would do it again, despite it costing him his job.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/speaking-out-cost-brendan-2-million-but-he-says-he-d-do-it-again-20230906-p5e2gh.html
    The Greens have threatened to block legislation introduced to parliament on Wednesday to amend the Murray-Darling Basin plan after revelations it would fail to hit its 2024 water recovery targets.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/06/murray-darling-basin-greens-plan-block-water-recovery
    Sydney’s chronic housing crisis is costing the economy more than $10bn a year, according to research from the Committee for Sydney thinktank that also found just five major cities around the world were more unaffordable.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/07/only-five-cities-worldwide-are-more-unaffordable-than-sydney-for-housing-thinktank-says
    Sydney Metro is allowing senior managers to run private companies that recruit contractors to the agency on salaries well over $500,000 a year as the state government searches for ways to rein in cost blowouts on rail mega-projects. An SMH investigation has found scores of contracts to hire staff for Sydney Metro on more than $2000 per day. These and many other Metro contracts are conducted under “limited” tender conditions where the agency approaches a supplier or suppliers directly for services. WTF!
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-metro-farms-out-jobs-worth-2000-a-day-20230904-p5e1vy.html
    NBN finally gets an upgrade and hopefully we can afford it, says Paul Budde.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/nbn-finally-gets-an-upgrade-and-hopefully-we-can-afford-it,17873
    Tom Burton reports that a needs-based assessment system, autistic children to be treated by mainstream services, and tighter control of service providers are part of a suite of changes being pushed by a NDIS review team to cap surging costs.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/needs-test-plan-to-slow-surging-ndis-costs-20230906-p5e2fh
    Victoria’s state-owned logging business is on the verge of being dismantled and absorbed into other areas of the bureaucracy after the state government reclassified it and announced a review of its operations. Kieran Rooney reports that VicForests has been under financial pressure after recording a $52.4 million loss in the 2021-22 financial year, blaming legal battles that had stopped it from logging and forced it to pay compensation to clients for missed orders.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-moves-towards-winding-up-logging-business-vicforests-20230906-p5e2hi.html
    Gamblers sank more than $40 million into AFL club-owned poker machines in Victoria last financial year, with Carlton pocketing the most money from gamblers’ losses, reports Carla Jaeger who says Monash University gambling expert Charles Livingstone described the revenue stream as “exploitative” of vulnerable people and harmful to the reputation of the clubs.
    https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/trading-on-people-s-misery-gamblers-lose-highest-amount-in-a-decade-at-afl-club-pokies-20230905-p5e27h.html
    Australia has its own share of homegrown Right-wing extremism without importing conservative propaganda and conspiracy theories from America, writes John Card who thinks right-wing American film and music imports pose danger.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/right-wing-american-film-and-music-imports-pose-danger,17875
    The Right is obsessed with gender. This deep paranoia comes out of America and international far right movements. It harms straight people and LGBTQIA+ people differently, and we need to fight it before our copycat Right entrenches it here too, writes Lucy Hamilton who accuses Channel 7 of fostering fascist politics.
    https://johnmenadue.com/channel-7-fostering-fascist-politics/
    RishGPT recycles old soundbites as last vestiges of credibility crumble, writes the acerbic and entertaining John Crace in another attack on Sunak.
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/06/rishgpt-recycles-old-soundbites-as-last-vestiges-of-credibility-crumble
    It is time for us to use the words Occupation, Illegality and Apartheid. We are applying these words to an occupying power truculent and implacable in its determination its occupation will never end, committed to a creeping annexation to deliver it a permanent hold over Palestinian land and Palestinian people. … Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable that Australia’s oldest and largest political party would endorse Palestinian recognition. That’s now taken for granted as the very least we can do in the face of a cruel and continuing catastrophe, urges Bob Carr.
    https://johnmenadue.com/the-palestinian-catastrophe-occupation-illegality-and-apartheid/
    Election season has come. Robert Reich tells Americans what they need to do to stop Trump from winning.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/06/election-2024-beginning-how-to-stop-trump

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    David Pope

    Matt Golding


    Glen Le Lievre with a gif

    Alan Moir

    John Shakespeare

    Cathy Wilcox

    Dionne Gain

    Spooner

    From the US













  25. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    “It is about time the government woke up. The concerns about Qantas have been around since early July, yet ministers are still sending conflicting signals in early September. Perhaps they all thought an autopilot would steer them around any turbulence”, says David Crowe.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/tough-questions-on-qantas-caught-albanese-on-autopilot-20230906-p5e2li.html
    A court dispute over the treatment of women remains a key barrier for Qatar Airways in its attempts to add more flights to Australia, after Transport Minister Catherine King confirmed it was a factor despite claiming only weeks ago it was not.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/king-contradicts-herself-over-qatar-flights-now-says-strip-searches-a-factor-20230907-p5e2n3.html
    The Australian says Anthony Albanese will be the first prime minister to visit China in seven years after formally accepting an invitation to travel to Beijing this year, as the arrival of a high-level delegation boosted expectations the ruling Communist Party will soon lift sanctions on Australian wine.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/anthony-albanese-to-have-talks-with-chinese-premier-li-qiang-on-sidelines-of-asean-summit/news-story/da96b58f3b59ed2986c758dc15bfd14b?amp
    Every first-term government since Whitlam has gone backwards at their next election. It’s a sobering statistic for a government with a three-seat majority, writes Phil Coorey.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/prime-minister-takes-off-as-midterm-headwinds-hit-at-home-20230906-p5e2ey
    The SMH editorial opines that Catherine King in danger of a death spiral over Qatar confusion.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/transport-minister-in-danger-of-a-death-spiral-over-qatar-confusion-20230907-p5e2pt.html
    Meanwhile, Amelia Maguire tells us that the federal government has given its strongest signal yet that it’s about to move on recommendations to improve the regulation of airport slots, two years after they were first delivered, as consumer dissatisfaction surrounding high airfares continues.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/government-prepares-for-airport-slot-reforms-amid-airline-competition-focus-20230907-p5e2pf.html
    An excellent contribution here from Jenna Price about the pharmacy changes, how the “dickhead” protesters in parliament carried on, and Milton Dick’s perfect response. The reality of the good financial state of pharmacies in general was explained. She says, “the Speaker knows exactly which Coalition members enabled this mayhem. He won’t name names. Yet.”
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8340121/its-time-to-prescribe-some-common-sense/?cs=14258
    Interest rates could fall back to the record low levels seen during the pandemic in a few years as inflation eases, according to Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, but he warns it will become more difficult to keep inflation within the bank’s target range. Shane Wright and Rachel Clun report that in his final public remarks before his seven-year term as governor of the bank ends, Lowe said interest rates were not to blame for “some of the highest cost of housing in the world”, which had become a social and economic problem.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/lowe-s-final-message-before-leaving-reserve-bank-20230906-p5e2l4.html
    Angus Thompson reports that David Pocock is calling on the government to split up its second tranche of industrial relations reforms after he and other crossbenchers teamed up with the Coalition to push a vote on the legislation into next year.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-s-ir-overhaul-delayed-until-next-year-20230907-p5e2tn.html
    Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has accused the government of limiting the timeframe for postal votes in the Voice referendum as the electoral commission seeks answers from the opposition about its own vote-by-mail tactics, reports Paul Sakkal.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/price-says-albanese-s-voice-timing-hurts-postal-voters-20230905-p5e21g.html
    Former Speaker Tony Smith has written an excellent article here, exhorting Australians to take their referendum responsibility seriously.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/the-constitution-belongs-to-all-of-us-but-it-comes-with-civic-responsibility/news-story/266a96e884c4aa4ffca461d8a673fcd4?amp
    A naval review is poised to slash the number of frigates to be built in Adelaide, even though the move is likely to produce little in savings because the troubled $45 billion program is facing a fresh budget blowout. Andrew Tillet reports that there are widespread expectations across the defence sector the Albanese government’s review of the navy’s surface fleet will recommend the number of Hunter-class frigates ordered be reduced by at least three ships.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/late-and-overweight-frigates-worth-45b-may-face-cuts-20230907-p5e2qr
    More global heat records are being broken, with June, July and August measured as the hottest ever consecutive months, prompting United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to warn that a climate breakdown has begun, writes Laura Chung.
    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/climate-breakdown-has-begun-earth-s-hottest-three-month-span-20230907-p5e2qf.html
    The NSW government has committed $1.8 billion from its upcoming budget in a bid to get back on track for its 2030 renewables targets, but the investment in batteries and transmission will not be enough to head off the extension of the Eraring coal power station, reports Angela Macdonald-Smith.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/way-behind-nsw-commits-1-8b-to-rescue-transition-20230907-p5e2pz
    The tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has renewed plans by the Sun Cable project to develop giant solar farms in inland Australia to supply electricity to Darwin – and to Singapore via an undersea cable. Peter Hannam tells us that Grok Ventures, the private investment company of Cannon-Brookes, on Thursday finalised its acquisition of Sun Cable, months after a dispute between its billionaire backers threatened to derail the huge solar project.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/07/sun-cable-mike-cannon-brookes-takes-charge-of-world-changing-solar-project
    Approving new coalmines while pledging climate action is an untenable position – and the Albanese government knows it, declares Adam Morton.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/australia-approving-new-coalmines-while-pledging-climate-action-is-an-untenable-position
    Barnaby Joyce has labelled the estimated cost of net zero “utterly untenable”, further undermining the Coalition’s commitment ahead of a motion at the Nationals conference to abolish its policy of reaching net zero by 2050. In a speech before question time on Thursday, Joyce, a member of the shadow cabinet, encouraged debate on the motion put by his federal electorate council in New England and likened the estimated $7-$9tn cost of net zero to the Marshall plan after the second world war.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/07/barnaby-joyce-net-zero-untenable-coalition-rift-climate
    In the wake of the PwC scandal that disgraced the company, it has been discovered that its Indigenous Consulting division is still running hot. Anthony Klan reports.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/pwcs-indigenous-arm-receiving-contracts-in-wake-of-scandal,17877
    Ex-Qantas pilot David Evans, really unloads on the way the once-excellent airline, led by the boardroom, went into a terrible decline. He has some words for incoming CEO Vanessa Hudson.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-mayday-message-from-the-flight-deck-for-qantas-new-ceo-20230905-p5e27l.html
    The rebirth of Qantas as a customer-centric organisation will require more than just applying some public relations lip gloss, says Elizabeth Knight.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/forget-the-spin-restoring-trust-in-qantas-won-t-be-easy-or-come-cheap-20230907-p5e2u1.html
    Qantas’ major superannuation investors are querying how the company’s board can justify any bonus for outgoing chief executive Alan Joyce, warning his early exit “has not erased the issues that concern us”.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/alan-joyce-s-exit-is-not-enough-major-shareholders-warn-qantas-board-20230907-p5e2rh
    Alan Joyce may have parachuted out of Qantas, but public fury means there’s no end to the government’s political punishment over the Qatar decision, writes Jennifer Hewett.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/qantas-crash-landing-in-canberra-20230907-p5e2rm
    Multiple sites of possible secret or “clandestine” burials have been discovered on the grounds of one of the most violent and abusive institutions of the Stolen Generations era – Kinchela Aboriginal Boys’ Training Home on the north coast of New South Wales. At least nine “suspicious” sites of possible graves have been identified by experts surveying the area using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), Guardian Australia can reveal.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/07/kinchela-aboriginal-boys-training-home-secret-graves-burial-sites-stolen-generations-institution-children
    Under an education expert’s radical overhaul, schoolchildren would progress through levels similar to video games instead of being stuck in a “conveyor belt” system of age-based school grades. Robyn Grace takes us through the proposition.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/some-students-are-years-behind-on-the-school-conveyor-belt-but-an-expert-has-a-radical-solution-20230904-p5e1u6.html
    Caitlin Fitzsimmons produces six graphs that reveal the Closing the Gap outcomes since Rudd ‘s apology.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/six-graphs-that-reveal-closing-the-gap-outcomes-since-rudd-apology-20230731-p5dsmw.html
    A new multicultural framework needs to recognise that the well-being of Australia’s multicultural communities is closely related to, and inevitably affected by, geopolitics, and by Australia’s foreign policy towards migrants’ countries of origin. It is no longer viable to conceptualise foreign policy and multicultural affairs as two separate entities, argues Wanning Sun.
    https://johnmenadue.com/our-multicultural-framework-can-no-longer-be-separate-from-geopolitics-and-foreign-policy/
    “Whatever your politics, it’s impossible to deny the sheer dominance of the Labor government led by Daniel Andrews – who has become one of the most dominant political figures of our time. But if you look closely, hairline cracks are starting to appear”, says Annika Smethurst.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/emerging-cracks-prove-not-even-daniel-andrews-is-immune-to-the-third-term-curse-20230906-p5e2i1.html
    Former prisoner Jason Roberts is launching a lawsuit against the state of Victoria that could result in a multimillion-dollar payout over its prosecution of him for the murders of two police officers. His statement of claim says up to 10 officers, including senior police, were aware of unlawful practices in building the case against Roberts and that multiple officers said false or dishonest things to conceal it.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/jason-roberts-to-launch-multimillion-dollar-lawsuit-over-police-double-murder-case-20230906-p5e2ha.html
    The surging US dollar is setting off alarm bells as it smashes the Australian dollar and other major currencies, explains Stephen Bartholomeusz, saying it has become a big problem for the world.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/the-us-dollar-is-becoming-a-big-problem-for-the-world-20230907-p5e2nu.html
    The Australian War Memorial has installed a new 84-word plaque next to a Ben Roberts-Smith display to acknowledge he was found to be “involved and complicit in unlawful killings in Afghanistan” but “has not been charged” and is appealing.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/07/australian-war-memorial-installs-new-plaque-acknowledging-ben-roberts-smith-complicit-in-unlawful-killings
    With his popularity dropping, King Charles needs to take inspiration from Queen Elizabeth and his ex-wife Princess Diana who understood the power of fashion, writes Damien Woolnough who reckons that after one year on the throne, he needs a makeover.
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/after-one-year-on-the-throne-king-charles-needs-a-makeover-20230905-p5e25k.html
    And Charles is not the radical monarch some wished for, writes Rob Harris.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/a-year-on-charles-is-not-the-radical-monarch-some-wished-for-20230907-p5e2o4.html
    Elon Musk’s hypocrisy about free speech has hit a new low, says Margaret Sullivan.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/elon-musks-hypocrisy-about-free-speech-hits-a-new-low
    Councils, sewage, school buildings: Britain has neglected the dull but vital stuff – and is paying a heavy price, writes Gaby Hinsliff who says one of the hallmarks of a civilised nation is a state that manages basic services.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/councils-sewage-school-buildings-britain-basic-services
    “How can hundreds of Trump’s supporters be convicted and go to jail, but the man in whose name they acted not be accountable under the rule of law?”, wonders Bruce Wolpe who says the rioters acted at Trump’s behest. The fate of Trump’s armies has been decided. Trump’s fate, his reckoning with justice, is now before us.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-martyrs-or-american-traitors-just-imagine-that-assault-on-our-parliament-20230906-p5e2gf.html
    A White House adviser to Donald Trump was found guilty of contempt of Congress on Thursday when he refused to cooperate with an investigation of the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser during Trump’s presidency and who had promoted his baseless claims of mass voter fraud, was convicted in Washington’s federal courthouse after a short trial. He was convicted of two misdemeanour counts of contempt of Congress, both punishable by up to a year behind bars.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/07/navarro-trial-guilty-contempt-congress-trump-adviser-january-6
    A man allegedly speeding across Sydney’s south was filmed by the children in his car before he lost control at 136 km/h and slammed into a tree, killing two brothers, a court has heard. Jimmy Martin Brito was refused bail in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday afternoon by magistrate Philip Stewart, who said a jail sentence would be “inevitable” if the 33-year-old was convicted. Unquestionably, he qualifies for nomination for “Arsehole of the Week”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/charges-upgraded-against-sydney-driver-accused-of-killing-boys-in-crash-20230906-p5e2m7.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe

    Matt Golding


    Cathy Wilcox


    Mark David

    Andrew Dyson

    Simon Letch

    A Mark Knight catch-up




    Spooner

    From the US













  28. Golly gosh don’t these words go together like bread and butter or fish and chips..
    “Defence dept”. and ““significant” cost blowouts.”
    Those lobbyists for the war pigs must rake it in. Piss hundreds of $billions up against the wall to to pay for the constant defence ‘blowouts’ as we get screwed over by the weapons war pig companies ? No problemo. Propose spending even a fraction of the blowouts $ to alleviate poverty or amenity to improve our quality of life etc. ? ‘WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM !!!???

    Defence contractor defends $45bn frigate project

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/sep/08/australia-news-live-anthony-albanese-manila-philippines-china-xi-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-politics-cost-of-living#top-of-blog:~:text=defends%20%2445bn%20frigate-,project,-A%20defence%20contractor

  29. If there were any justice in this world Scrott Morrison would end up spending the rest of his life in court over the eleventy nine ways he corrupted governance.
    .
    Health department officials have conceded they followed the “wrong process” on the $2bn Community Health and Hospitals Program.

    In June the auditor general found the public service deliberately breached grant guidelines in relation to the program and the Morrison government decided to fund 11 projects despite the Australian Government Solicitor warning there “would likely be no lawful authority for the expenditure”.

    One of those was the controversial$4m grant to the Esther Foundation, a rehabilitation facility accused of performing exorcisms and gay conversions.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/sep/08/australia-news-live-anthony-albanese-manila-philippines-china-xi-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-politics-cost-of-living#top-of-blog:~:text=grant%20guideline%20breaches-,Health,-department%20officials%20have

  30. The term “born to rule” often gets thrown around about the Liberals and Nationals. But it’s not just a label. Turns out it’s true. There is nothing they won’t try to wreck if they don’t get to be in charge. This week the way they tried to trash every convention of the Parliament was like nothing I’ve seen before.

    In case you’ve missed it, the 5&5 is now a podcast as well. This week’s guest is Anika Wells – Minister for Aged Care and Sport.

    Here’s the 5&5.

    BEST

    We introduced our Closing Loopholes Bill
    The PM’s movie recommendation
    Has Fletch been demoted?
    Sussan Ley’s conspiracy theory
    Tanya and the RoboNats
    WORST

    Truly awful behaviour from the public gallery
    It’s like the Opposition WANT to make mistakes
    A dissent motion against the Speaker!?
    Peter (double sided) Dutton
    Angus Taylor struggles

    1. On Monday I introduced the Closing Loopholes Bill – the next stage of our workplace relations reform. Last year’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws were all about increasing pay and conditions for Australian workers. This year’s Bill is about closing the loopholes that undercut pay and conditions. The Bill will criminalise wage theft, set minimum standards for workers in the gig economy, provide a pathway to secure work for people who’ve been forced to work as casuals, and close the labour hire loophole. The Libs and the Nats just had to look at the name of the Bill to know they’d be voting against it.

    2. The PM had a very funny dig at Barnaby Joyce during Question Time on Monday. While answering a question on aviation – he reminded the House of the heady days of the Turnbull-Joyce, Turnbull-McCormack, Morrison-McCormack, Morrison-Joyce governments – describing Barnaby’s second go at being Deputy Prime Minister as “the sequel no-one asked for”.

    3. Paul Fletcher’s title might be “Manager of Opposition Business”, but he was really struggling with the management part of that on Tuesday. Opposition members like Luke Howarth and Rowan Ramsey were taking it upon themselves to jump on points of order. Mark Butler had a great interjection. “Looks like it’s open mic day. Please don’t give us karaoke!”

    4. Sussan Ley and the Opposition were back on their weird conspiracy theory about the length of the Uluru Statement from the Heart this week. On Tuesday she asked the Prime Minister whether it was in fact a one page document. Here’s how he responded: “Wait until they reveal the secret verses of ‘You’re the Voice’ by John Farnham! Wait until they find them! They are out there somewhere! There’s a 10-minute bagpipe solo in there; it goes on and on and on.” By the way, if you haven’t read the Uluru Statement yet – you can check it out here. It’s an incredible piece of writing.

    5. Tanya Plibersek has a great line during Question Time on Wednesday. While answering a question from Louise Miller-Frost on the Murray Darling Basin – the Nats kept interjecting. Tanya responded. “Mr Speaker, I hear the interjections. The National Party like to say they were on track to deliver the plan. Well, on their rate of progress, we would get there around the year 3000! We’d have robot dogs, bionic humans and the National Party water Minister lugging the last buckets of water down to the Murray-Darling Basin.”

    1. On Monday we saw some truly awful behaviour in the public galleries of the House. More than a hundred people – supposedly from a pharmacy group – jeered and booed during Question Time, egged on by the Opposition. When the Speaker had them removed from the galleries apparently they turned even nastier, verbally abusing staff. The House is a robust place, I get that. But we have to make sure that the people who are employees of Parliament House have a safe workplace.

    2. I can never work out if the Opposition actively tries to make mistakes in the House. I don’t know if it’s incompetence but at least it’s consistent, I’ll give them that. On Monday Paul Fletcher tried to delay debate on our Closing Loopholes Bill. Not content with a decade in Government where they deliberately kept wages low – they’re still trying in Opposition. But in doing so on Monday it meant he chewed up time set aside for the first speech of the new Liberal Member for Fadden. It never occurred to me that the Opposition might run interference on the first speech of one of their own members!

    3. Dissent motions are rare and they’re meant to be a big deal. In fact no-one’s moved one against a Speaker since Bronwyn Bishop was there, actually participating in debate from the chair. Everybody around the chamber – Government members, the crossbench, most of the media and about half the Opposition backbench – looked really confused when out of the blue Paul Fletcher moved dissent in a ruling by Speaker Milton Dick. Catherine King was being precisely relevant to a question that had just been asked by Michael McCormack. So there was never anything in it. The speeches that followed were hopeless beyond belief.

    In the role of Manager of Opposition Business there is no moment for you like when you decide to reach the crescendo of a dissent motion. This was like trying to reach a crescendo armed with a pair of maracas. Andrew Hastie followed and instead of a speech he just started reading out questions that had been asked in Question Time and saying answers hadn’t been good enough. In fact he kept going through their Question Time pack and started reading out questions that hadn’t even been asked yet. Peter Dutton then had a go. I started my remarks explaining what an honour it was to follow not just the leader of the Liberal Party, but also the former future leader of the Liberal Party. A whole lot of their questions had been complaining about the fact that Catherine King had consulted before she’d made a decision.

    I had this to say about consultation: “I’m not surprised they are shocked that Ministers do that these days. It used to be the case that a Minister wouldn’t even have to talk to colleagues, because the Prime Minister could just talk to a mirror and have the whole cabinet present! They were all there! Who needed stakeholders? Who needed anyone to consult with? The Prime Minister of the day could just have a quiet chat with himself.”

    4. On Tuesday Peter Dutton stood up on indulgence in the House to offer his bipartisan support for the PM’s trip to ASEAN, saying that it should be above politics. But come Question Time on Wednesday – the very next day – he was mocking the PM for the same trip. Richard Marles summed it up perfectly.

    “But what yesterday revealed the most was the character of the Leader of the Opposition. Yes, there was the trademark anger, the want to wreck. But what we now know is that the value of the Leader of the Opposition’s word lasts for precisely 24 hours. What he says today is literally meaningless tomorrow. When the Leader of the Opposition says that there is an issue above politics, what the Australian people now know is that he’s only ever about the politics. In that, as his position as the leader of his party actually denotes, he is the genuine heir of the Morrisonian legacy.”

    5. Angus Taylor struggles. On Thursday Jim Chalmers again called out the fact that Angus never asks him a question: “The shadow Treasurer does have the MPI today, and it’s a reminder that he gives the press conferences before Question Time and the speeches after Question Time but never in prime time.” Turns out Angus didn’t even want to make the speech after Question Time. There’d been a disagreement on the Opposition frontbench as to whether Angus Taylor should give the scheduled speech that would start the MPI, or Peter Dutton who was listed after the MPI should be the next person to speak. Angus lost the argument. But rather than look like he didn’t want to speak, he thought the easiest thing would be if the Speaker threw him out. So he started acting up and being disorderly. Everyone realised what he was up to and laughed when the Speaker decided – in the interests of the dignity of the House – to keep him in.

    Next, just before he was due to speak, he hurriedly scuttled out of the chamber. Which is somewhat different to the old Christopher Pyne description of leaving the chamber like a gazelle. So when it came to whether the debate would occur at all – which was meant to start with Angus – the Opposition didn’t stand up for their own motion. Every Government member stood up and said “let’s have the debate”. This makes Angus Taylor the first MP since federation to walk out on his own speech.

    Parliament’s back next week – I’ll write to you then.

    ’til then,

    Tony

    PS. I hope you’ve seen the ad already, but if you haven’t seen it – watch it. Here’s the perfect way to watch John Farnham’s “You’re the Voice” in the ad for the Yes campaign.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br8dB_0z3Fk

  31. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    George Megalogenis wonders if Dutton might be experiencing wrecker’s remorse who says Dutton is operating in a political environment that rewards those who make the most noise. A no, if nothing else, would embolden a Dutton-led opposition to campaign against any social or economic reform the Albanese government might pursue in the remainder of this term, or at the next federal election.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-peter-dutton-might-have-wrecker-s-remorse-20230906-p5e2ij.html
    Former NSW Chief Justice, Spigelman, finds the legal scaremongering on the Voice offensive.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/as-a-former-chief-justice-i-find-legal-scaremongering-on-the-voice-offensive-20230906-p5e2f0.html
    Meanwhile, Dutton’s pledge to hold a second reconciliation referendum has been called into question after his Indigenous affairs frontbencher, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, failed to declare support for the proposal.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/price-fails-to-back-dutton-s-plan-for-referendum-2-0-20230908-p5e33n.html
    A push to ditch a climate change policy is viewed as the latest attempt to damage David Littleproud’s leadership of the Nationals by inflaming the Coalition’s energy debate, writes Paul Sakkal.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/nuclear-shift-and-net-zero-feud-stir-nationals-leadership-tensions-20230908-p5e367.html
    Paul Bongiorno reckons the latest Newspoll suggests it is all taking its toll on the prime minister and his government.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/09/09/the-flailing-kangaroo
    “Philip Lowe says politicians fail Australians. How can anyone disagree?”, writes Michael Pascoe.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/09/09/michael-pascoe-philip-lowe-farewell/
    John Hewson says the word “woke” has taken on too much negative connotation in our political debate. It has become a derisive term to disparage and effectively dismiss virtually any position that doesn’t accord with the extreme conservative, hardline right agenda. I couldn’t agree more!
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/09/09/the-war-woke
    Paul Kelly pontificates that Anthony Albanese’s Indigenous voice to parliament is a gamble for the nation.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/anthony-albaneses-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-is-a-gamble-for-the-nation/news-story/f6444999e5efd8f3a5c63a1bc3e56540?amp
    The binary, stifling nature of the mainstream Voice Referendum discussion effectively provides an environment in which conspiracies get to flourish, writes Tom Tanuki.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/voice-referendum-debate-a-breeding-ground-for-conspiracy-theories,17883
    The leader of the Liberals for Yes organisation says party members have told her they are being threatened with losing preselection if they campaign in favour of voting ‘Yes’ at the referendum, reports Karen Middleton.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/09/09/liberal-yes-supporters-threatened-with-losing-preselection
    The vitriol that Janet Albrechtsen has been spewing is appalling. Here she says an indigenous Voice to parliament would be like the Pharmacy Guild on political steroids.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/on-the-voice-referendum-the-constitution-is-no-place-for-a-lobby-group/news-story/a8556cd477fea5740ed0b1ba357f72c0
    Peter van Onselen writes, “Demographic variables almost always play an important role from one election to the next. The growing divide between older and younger Australians may yet be the defining feature of the coming decades. It could also develop this way internationally, as ageing populations learn to grapple with policy implications of a shrinking working-age population. Western countries are particularly exposed on this front, but so is China.”
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/labor-walks-tightrope-in-new-age-of-politics/news-story/d8c1a50d5038c0293f7fcf0f1316358e?amp
    Laura Tingle tries to get the bottom of the Qatar issue and suggests that one of the central problems comes down to the slots at the congested Sydney airport.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-09/underlying-problem-qatar-decision-qantas-government-owned/102831416
    The Qantas saga shows Labor is crunched in a time shift – and there’s no more skating by on the vibe, says Katherine Murphy.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/08/the-qantas-saga-shows-labor-is-crunched-in-a-time-shift-and-theres-no-more-skating-by-on-the-vibe
    The Qantas Code of Conduct and Ethics is perhaps the most ignored and hypocritical document in corporate Australia. Michael Sainsbury checks out the myriad breaches.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/the-qantas-code-of-conduct-and-ethics-yes-its-real/
    Following the resignation of Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, fresh details have emerged regarding his relationship with government, writes Rick Morton who reveals that, in late 2010, amid collapsing revenues and shrinking profits, Qantas’s then fledgling chief executive, Alan Joyce, asked the Gillard government to buy a stake in the airline.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2023/09/09/exclusive-joyce-sought-sell-government-stake-qantas
    The title of Australia’s most unpopular man passed seamlessly in recent days from outgoing Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe to the outgone Qantas chief executive, writes Peter Hartcher who says, “The Spirit of Australia, by government decree, was profit maximisation. Joyce was acting within that spirit.” Hartcher then examines the issue of privatisation.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/joyce-did-what-s-expected-of-any-private-company-s-ceo-that-s-the-problem-20230908-p5e33m.html
    Anne Hyland looks at how Vanessa Hudson has spent her first few days as the new Qantas CEO.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/some-view-her-as-part-of-the-problem-how-can-vanessa-hudson-win-back-passengers-20230907-p5e2yz.html
    Greg Sheridan wonders if we can we still love a woke, insiders’ Qantas.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/can-we-still-love-a-woke-insiders-qantas/news-story/3b84ac56f67b4af0a751d5e5f19fede4?amp
    Who is Catherine King, the minister at the centre of the Qatar Airways saga? Angus Thompson provides the answers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/who-is-catherine-king-the-minister-at-the-centre-of-the-qatar-airways-saga-20230908-p5e30z.html
    Amy Remeikis reviews the week in parliament where a rowdy protest and ‘aggressive’ MP behaviour preceded a blowing of the pressure cooker.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/sep/09/the-week-in-parliament-a-rowdy-protest-aggressive-mp-behaviour-and-then-the-pressure-cooker-blows
    Labor came to power calling for transparency and open government. Sixteen months later, it seems just as guilty of obfuscation and non-disclosure as its predecessor, complains Mike Seccombe.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/09/09/foi-and-government-transparency
    The way the federal Liberal Party would have you see it, the string of senior figures pulling the pin on their political careers mid-term or at the next election is merely a sign of healthy renewal. The more honest explanation is that the party is struggling to replace its tired, outgoing MPs with new, energetic talent at a time when a tired political body is in desperate need of fresh faces opines the SMH editorial with says Marise Payne was in the departure lounge for quite a long time.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/marise-payne-is-leaving-but-has-long-been-ensconced-in-the-political-departure-lounge-20230908-p5e32z.html
    Retail chains are preparing for a tough few months as cost-of-living pressures soar, dialling back orders for stock as consumer spending slows, explains Simon Evans in the AFR.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/retailers-cut-stock-brace-for-weaker-christmas-20230908-p5e30s
    Peter Dutton’s home affairs department was warned that immigration detention was “failing” by an independent review but options to reduce reliance on detention were “not progressed”. Paul Karp tells us that the report by the former secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, Robert Cornall, found that visa cancellations sent “prison hardened detainees” into immigration detention and warned this may breach the Australian government’s duty of care to other detainees including asylum seekers.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/09/home-affairs-peter-dutton-warned-immigration-detention-duty-of-care
    Matts O’Sullivan and Wade tell us that the Minns government will move quickly to revamp a state corporation that owns billions of dollars worth of the state’s rail assets after a warning it would be forced to inject more than $600 million to prop up the controversial entity.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-600m-warning-that-tipped-the-treasurer-s-hand-20230907-p5e2ub.html
    In the first of a two-part series for The Saturday Paper, one of the architects of US President Joe Biden’s signature climate legislation reflects on its success and failures a year on, and the lessons for Australia as it crafts its response.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/09/09/lessons-the-us-energy-transition
    Once upon a time, cartoonists presented as a cynical lot who preferred a clever and witty line at the bottom of a caricature drawing to, say, membership of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge. Not any more, it seems. Not with respect to the cartoonists of the leftist kind, whines dear old Gerard.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/cartoon-capers-overlook-walkleys-philanthropy/news-story/05f037868ccadaf83a24f38c4be5f38b?amp
    Royal commissioner Peter McClellan hits back at Gerard Henderson’s recent columns accusing the commission of not including child sexual abuse cases in public schools. Cop that, Gerard!
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/commission-did-investigate-abuse-in-state-schools/news-story/c71cb17df3eb9cace6f0bab0b6b6e9a8?amp
    In this week’s media round-up, Amanda Meade writes about Annabel Crabb serving up withering response over Kitchen Cabinet critique.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/08/annabel-crabb-serves-up-withering-response-over-kitchen-cabinet-critique
    Boys in regional and disadvantaged parts of the country are joining the National Disability Insurance Scheme at up to three times the rate of their inner-city counterparts, reports Natassia Chrysanthos.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stark-city-country-divide-in-ndis-participation-shows-scale-of-challenge-for-schools-20230523-p5dajp.html
    The police squad tasked with halting Sydney’s gang war has arrested nine people, including the sister of a high-profile Comanchero boss.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sister-of-high-profile-underworld-boss-arrested-as-anti-gang-squad-swoops-20230908-p5e331.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe

    Andrew Dyson

    Matt Davidson

    Matt Golding


    Alan Moir

    Mark David

    Jon Kudelka

    Aresna Villanueva

    Simon Letch

    John Shakespeare


    Richard Gilberto

    Mark Knight

    Spooner

    From the US













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