2023 Beginning of Summer Open Thread

Kirsdarke Political Observation

Other than the Mulgrave by-election in Victoria on 18 November, there is little occurring in the way of Australian elections over the Summer.

This is a good opportunity for a general open thread to cover these bare months of politics, and hope for the best that the summer won’t be as bad as meteorologists have predicted. But going from its early start, it’s been pretty dreadful so far.

477 thoughts on “2023 Beginning of Summer Open Thread”

  1. A beauty from John Birmingham

    https://aliensideboob.substack.com/p/so-youve-decided-to-sue-for-defamation

    Congratulations on your soon-to-be-inescapable nightmare. Not everyone would have the courage to pick up that double-edged sword and start whacking themselves in the dick with it. Especially not after they cut off all of their fingers. Even fewer people would then insist on picking up the bloodied legal gladius between their teeth for another go around. You are indeed a very special individual.

    Before you embark on this preposterously expensive and reputationally dangerous adventure, however, please read our pamphlet and decide whether you are litigation-ready.

    As a first step, check whether you might be a nineteenth-century gentleman hypocrite. Our defamation laws were written by nineteenth-century gentlemen hypocrites to protect the interests of shameless mutton-chopped douche-bollards just like themselves.

  4. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Laura Tingle explores the conundrum the Albanese government faces over the Stage 3 tax cuts.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-16/stage-3-tax-cuts-should-they-cost-of-living-government-question/103234474
    Jim Chalmers can see the sunlit uplands. There’s fog in the air, there are menacing clouds – inflation, high energy prices, weak growth and elevated interest rates – but there’s a road through to a better economic future in the mid-year budget review this week, writes Paul Kelly who lays out what he thinks is Labor’s plan for political recovery.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/jim-chalmers-road-to-political-recovery/news-story/7bacf48ea17854a3e2fad1f371301cfc?amp=
    This week’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook belled the cat on the government’s political strategy as it counts down to an election in 12 to 18 months. It is an economically contradictory approach, but Labor strategists believe they can sell it politically to voters, and they probably are right, says Peter van Onselen.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/where-is-paul-keating-when-you-need-him/news-story/71b63033f6e2b23cf0ce28a9d1827816?amp=
    Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says she is on a mission to end the hierarchical “command-and-control” culture that has dominated the sprawling department she leads following the departure of controversial former secretary Michael Pezzullo. Matthew Knott tells us that, in an end-of-year interview, O’Neil also spoke about her testy relationship with Peter Dutton, claiming that the opposition leader seems “visibly bothered” by her in private national security meetings.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/o-neil-takes-aim-at-dutton-s-tough-guy-legacy-in-home-affairs-20231215-p5err7.html
    Peter Hartcher also examines Clare O’Neil’s ministership. He says O’Neil is no soft target, and now she has to demonstrate that the immigration system isn’t either.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/this-young-minister-has-arrived-but-other-arrivals-will-be-her-burden-20231215-p5erup.html
    Karen Middleton explains how apandemic-related visa class devised and extended by the previous government created an enormous pool of unskilled workers who were left open to exploitation and overwhelmed the immigration system.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/immigration/2023/12/16/the-morrison-era-visa-that-flooded-the-immigration-system
    John Hewson praises Labor’s credible plan for immigration. He says that, in keeping with its destructive intentions, the opposition has become overtly defensive about the immigration and refugee system that collapsed under previous Coalition governments, as noted in the findings of the recent review by Dr Martin Parkinson, who declared Australia’s migration program “not fit for purpose”.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/12/16/labors-credible-plan-immigration
    Millie Muroi writes that NAB chief executive Ross McEwan said he expected a rebound in economic growth by the second half of next year but that the economy would continue to slow into 2024. He made the point that the Australian dream of home ownership probably feels further away for many, warning that a shortage of homes is one of the biggest problems facing the nation.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/nab-boss-warns-on-housing-affordability-as-house-prices-rise-20231215-p5err0.html
    The third week of evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten has highlighted the ugly collision of media and politics, writes Rick Morton in quite a detailed description of some of the exchanges at the trial.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/media/2023/12/16/please-dont-make-me-sound-cheap-tabloid-journalist
    Lurking in the background, Higgins’ partner is now in the spotlight, writes Harriett Alexander after yesterday’s sitting of the Lehrmann defamation trial.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/lurking-in-the-background-higgins-fiance-now-in-the-spotlight-20231215-p5ertd.html
    Jim Chalmers has said Australians could receive more help with cost-of-living relief in the budget next May and confirmed the government is working up new policy measures to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions, writes Katharine Murphy about an end-of-year interview with him.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/16/australia-next-budget-when-may-cost-of-living-inflation
    Deborah Snow writes that the reanimation of claims and counter-claims about a cover-up by the Morrison government is one of the more absorbing aspects of the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case, now about to enter its fifth week before the Federal Court in Sydney.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/key-questions-about-cover-up-claims-dominating-lehrmann-case-20231214-p5ernf.html
    Victoria’s local councils say they would relinquish some of their planning powers if the state did the same, as they called for a new metropolitan planning body to guide the development of Melbourne. Royce Millar reports that, in a break with its traditional strident defence of council planning authority, the Municipal Association of Victoria says both levels of government need to concede ground and work together to address the challenges of population, housing and environmental crises, and minimise corruption risks.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/councils-ready-to-give-up-some-planning-powers-if-the-state-does-the-same-20231215-p5erqf.html
    Here’s Tory Shepherd’s weekly media roundup.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2023/dec/15/ita-buttrose-rallies-abc-staff-in-christmas-message-while-murdochs-annual-party-goes-missing
    Nick McKenzie, who must have a bundle of exposés in work at all times, now lifts the lid on the unconscionable behaviour of the now defunct company, Phoslock.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/from-top-of-the-world-to-bottom-of-the-lake-inside-the-fraud-and-bribery-that-sank-1bn-company-20231207-p5eptk.html
    Australians are being short-changed billions of dollars in interest on their $1.4 trillion in savings as banks deliberately woo new depositors at the expense of loyal customers, a damning report by the nation’s competition watchdog has found.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/mortgages-up-but-australians-miss-out-on-interest-on-deposits-accc-20231215-p5erqp.html
    In the final two months of 2023, the Australian political landscape was plagued by negative bias campaigning tactics similar to those of Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison. It is unsurprising, considering that negativity is a core element of their political philosophy. They appear incapable of recognising any positive aspect of their opponents’ policies whatsoever. Regrettably, political negativity can be a highly effective tool. If enough mud is thrown, some of it will eventually stick. Today’s hard right does not settle for merely a handful of mudslinging; they go for bucketfuls, writes John Lord.
    https://theaimn.com/negativity-bias-what-is-it-and-how-its-used-in-politics/
    In this essay, Julia Baird spears the myth that men hunt, women gather.
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/gender/men-hunt-women-gather-right-no-let-s-spear-this-myth-20231215-p5errk.html
    Almost 7 million Australians suffer from a long-term mental health condition, according to research that shows the prevalence of chronic health conditions has reached the highest level since records began. Euan Black reports that, based on responses from about 13,100 households, the National Health Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found the share of Australians suffering from a chronic mental or behavioural condition increased from 20.1 per cent in 2017-2018 to 26.1 per cent last year.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/nearly-half-of-australians-chronically-sick-20231215-p5erqi
    Mike Seccombe writes that the government has been accused of giving in to pressure from Santos – as revealed by a series of emails from its chief executive.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/environment/2023/12/16/emails-reveal-labor-caved-santos
    The Department of Defence has engaged a former Defence Deputy Secretary as a highly paid consultant to find a place on Defence land to store submarine nuclear waste. Rex Patrick takes a look at a search for the impossible.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/nuclear-waste-fifty-years-of-searching-still-nowhere-to-dump-it/
    Two abuse survivors have won the first major challenge to the Catholic church’s use of permanent stays since a high court decision in October. Earlier this year, two survivors, one of whom is dying, were blocked from suing the Armidale diocese over abuse they allege they suffered from alleged prolific paedophile priest David Joseph Perrett.
    https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/dec/15/two-alleged-abuse-survivors-win-first-challenge-against-australian-catholic-churchs-legal-tactics
    The federal government is under pressure to follow its closest international security partners by imposing targeted financial sanctions on an alleged mastermind of the shocking October 7 attacks in Israel and other senior Hamas officials. Matthew Knott reports that the United States and United Kingdom announced a fresh round of sanctions against Hamas fundraising officials this week, prompting questions about why Australia was not joining with its AUKUS partners in a co-ordinated effort to punish members of the listed terror group.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-accused-of-being-missing-in-action-on-hamas-sanctions-20231215-p5ersk.html
    Labor’s ‘policy shift’ on Gaza may have been inelegant, frayed and contested, but was in no way incoherent, writes Katharine Murphy who says that, as adversity increases and polarisation reasserts itself as the national default, everything gets harder for the incumbents.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/16/labors-policy-shift-on-gaza-may-have-been-inelegant-frayed-and-contested-but-was-in-no-way-incoherent
    Paul Bongiorno writes about Albanese taking the front foot on the Israel–Hamas war. He says that the conflict has seen an exponential rise in anti-Semitism in this country – all the more reason to be grateful for the measured and strong leadership shown by Albanese, Trudeau and Luxon in their statement.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/12/16/albanese-takes-front-foot-israel-hamas-war
    The decision to back a United Nations resolution on the Israel–Hamas war cane after lobbying from key cabinet ministers, say Karen Middleton and Jonathan Pearlman who take us inside Albanese’s ceasefire position.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/world/middle-east/2023/12/16/inside-albaneses-ceasefire-position
    The Australian government has warned that violent acts by Israeli settlers are “terrorising Palestinian communities” in the occupied West Bank, joining with western allies to denounce an “environment of near complete impunity”. Two days after voting in favour of a UN general assembly resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, the Australian government has strengthened its objections to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, writes Daniel Hurst.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/15/australia-denounces-israeli-settler-attacks-on-palestinians-in-occupied-west-bank
    There’s only one way out of this Gaza war and Netanyahu is blocking it. Joe Biden must force him from power, argues Jonathan Freedland who says the Israeli leader opposes the viable way forward and now acts only for himself.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/15/gaza-war-benjamin-netanyahu-joe-biden-israel-us
    When he was stopped from wearing shoes with a message of solidarity for Gaza, Usman Khawaja did something better. His black armband says so much more than a slogan and gives the ICC a new problem, opines Malcolm Knox.
    https://www.smh.com.au/sport/khawaja-may-let-black-do-the-talking-but-words-are-never-just-words-20231214-p5erma.html
    Prince Harry has scored a rare victory against the British tabloids after the High Court ruled he was the victim of unlawful information gathering by Mirror Group Newspapers, awarding him substantial damages. Rob Hariss tells us that Harry has now called for a criminal investigation into the papers and individuals involved after the court found there had been the “widespread” use of unlawful practices by the publisher to gather information, including phone hacking.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/prince-harry-was-a-victim-of-phone-hacking-by-mirror-newspapers-court-rules-20231215-p5erw8.html

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  6. Memories – the delights of Christmas sharing with a Labrador.

  13. Preferred PM: Albanese 46 (0) Dutton 35 (0)
    Albanese: Approve 42 (+2) Disapprove 50 (-3)
    Dutton: Approve 39 (+2) Disapprove 48 (-2)

  14. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    From the latest Newspoll, Simon Benson fashions, “The Albanese government has ended the year by reasserting Labor’s electoral lead over the Coalition amid a modest rebound in support but will head into 2024 with voters unimpressed by Anthony Albanese’s performance as Prime Minister.”
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/newspoll-anthony-albanese-a-drag-on-labors-recovery/news-story/05ded91a0aaebd8e88c3a1c507ff97ea
    Phil Coorey writes that the latest The Australian Financial Review/Freshwater Strategy poll shows that while cost of living remains unrivalled as the top concern of voters, unrest over immigration and asylum seekers has begun to grow, and voters are unimpressed at the government’s handling of it. It was a 50/50 outcome.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-loses-lead-pm-s-ratings-slump-poll-20231217-p5es0f
    Treasurer Jim Chalmers has slammed critics who claim he has failed to reform the economy and lift the nation’s growth, pointing to dozens of changes as proof that Labor has done more in one year than others did in a decade. David Crowe and Shane Wright write that, promising more reform in the year ahead, Chalmers said the government would consider further help on the cost of living in the May budget and cited the recent increase in real wages as a sign that Labor was delivering results for households.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-have-done-more-chalmers-vows-to-reform-economy-with-big-agenda-20231217-p5es01.html
    Ross Gittins explains how full employment has changed the economy. This is a very interesting article.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/how-full-employment-has-changed-the-economy-20231217-p5es04.html
    Hybrid models of work became necessary during the pandemic, but employers seem to be tiring of this flexibility and it’s women who will be disadvantaged by a hard-line approach, explains Sean Kelly.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-employers-stop-people-working-from-home-one-group-will-pay-dearly-20231217-p5eryp.html
    Nick McKenzie and David Marin-Guzman write that it is often reported that Mick Gatto is the last man standing from Melbourne’s bloody gangland wars, but it is less well known he is still going strong in the face of repeated attempts from various authorities to curb his ubiquitous role in the construction industry. What a top guy!
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-can-cause-you-grief-gatto-s-words-of-warning-to-construction-whistleblower-20231217-p5eryv.html
    Dodgy NDIS providers will be in the sights of a new taskforce that will target businesses charging exorbitant prices for services, support and equipment. Sarah Basford-Canales reports that the taskforce, made up of the consumer watchdog and two national disability insurance scheme agencies, will target differential pricing – a practice whereby providers charge people on the scheme a higher price than those who aren’t.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/17/new-taskforce-to-crack-down-on-price-gouging-by-unscrupulous-ndis-providers
    An exasperated Alan Kohler declares that when the world burns, China will be driving the fire engine.
    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/12/18/kohler-china-climate-change-energy
    As Defence Minister, Richard Marles is uninspiring. He’s not across his brief. His recent statement saying Australia will not be taking US or UK nuclear waste under the AUKUS program, he is plainly wrong and contradicted by his own Department. Rex Patrick reports.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/defence-minister-richard-marles-is-wrong-australia-is-taking-us-and-uk-nuclear-waste/
    Kate McClymont continues the drip, with reports of more men coming forward with claims about Alan Jones’ behaviour. A common factor was the “classic abuse of power”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/classic-abuse-of-power-more-men-come-forward-with-claims-about-alan-jones-behaviour-20231217-p5es03.html
    Anthony Albanese denounced Scott Morrison’s secrecy – but now he’s perpetuating it, complains Paul Karp, saying that the government continues to refuse freedom-of-information access to minutes of a committee established by the Coalition.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/18/anthony-albanese-denounced-scott-morrisons-secrecy-but-now-hes-perpetuating-it
    Josh Gordon writes that the state government’s economic modelling reveals that more interest rate pain could have a devastating impact on Victoria’s already precarious financial position.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/rising-interest-rates-threaten-to-pummel-victoria-s-budget-20231217-p5erzg.html
    A report handed to education ministers last week has outlined a plan for real change after decades of reforms that have failed to bite, writes Doug Taylor who says it represents a chance to fix the inequity chasm in Australian schools.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/a-chance-to-fix-the-inequity-chasm-in-australian-schools-20231212-p5equc
    Whether to rub one’s eyes in utter disbelief or revere the sheer impudence of it? Australia’s fossil fuel juggernauts are calling on the government to give them more subsidies to keep their old coal clunkers going. Tax-scamming foreign gas players have their paws out too. Michael West reports.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/fossil-fuel-juggernauts-call-for-more-subsidies-to-keep-coal-clunkers-going/
    Google and Facebook will come under stricter oversight from the nation’s competition watchdog under federal plans to ensure the global giants compensate Australian news businesses to use their content. David Crowe tells us that the federal government will draft new laws to toughen the regime and encourage the digital media companies to negotiate in good faith with news providers, clearing the way for commercial deals next year.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/facebook-and-google-to-face-accc-oversight-under-tougher-rules-for-using-news-20231217-p5es02.html
    A nationwide promise to phase out expanded polystyrene from consumer packaging such as of white goods and electronics is more than a year behind schedule, with the packaging industry saying it was never a workable proposal. Graham Readfearn writes that, in March 2021 the Morrison government announced expanded polystyrene used to package and protect a wide range of consumer products would be phased out by the middle of last year.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/18/australia-polystyrene-packaging-ban-phase-out-details-not-viable
    The head of the NSW police watchdog has called for stronger powers to intervene in investigations launched when a person is injured or killed while dealing with officers, saying the agency’s powers were narrowly confined and effectively “ring-fenced” by current laws, writes Michael McGowan.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/we-can-t-investigate-at-all-police-watchdog-chief-wants-more-powers-20231214-p5erlg.html
    Slowing traffic on parts of WestConnex to reduce chronic congestion on the City West Link and Victoria Road in Sydney’s inner west during morning peaks is under consideration, while a crucial turning point in Annadale is set to be reinstated next month to help improve traffic flows, explain Matt O’Sullivan. Sounds like a bit of a “Hail Mary”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/slowing-traffic-on-westconnex-an-option-to-reduce-rozelle-traffic-crawl-20231217-p5erz9.html
    The number of vehicles on NSW roads is growing by about 100,000 per year. The road system can’t catch up, so it’s time to change tack, argues researcher Greg Baker.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-re-running-out-of-road-in-sydney-so-think-twice-about-that-new-car-20231217-p5erzy.html
    Oil and gas majors Woodside and Santos can overcome competition concerns to make their proposed $80 billion merger work, creating a giant Australian liquid natural gas company with a well-diversified asset base, fund managers and analysts say.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/80b-oil-and-gas-merger-will-beat-competition-concerns-says-industry-20231213-p5er5u.html
    Unless the left can articulate a plausible vision of the future, some progressives will continue to be attracted by the uncluttered certainty of conservatism, says the New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-s-driving-former-lefties-to-the-right-20231217-p5eryu.html
    Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, has been convicted of embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail. A George Pell victory, it would seem.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/george-pell-s-great-vatican-rival-convicted-of-corruption-20231217-p5es0e.html
    “King Charles has appointed a homeopath. Why do the elite put their faith in snake oil?”, asks Martha Gill who says the aristocracy and celebrities are in thrall to medical quackery that while useless can be far from harmless.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/17/king-charles-has-appointed-homeopath-why-do-elite-put-faith-in-snake-oil
    Donald Trump has said that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” repeating language that has previously drawn criticism as xenophobic and echoing of Nazi rhetoric. Trump made the comments during a campaign event in New Hampshire yesterday where he railed against migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border, which hit new highs in September. He has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration if elected to a second four-year term in office.
    https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/trump-says-immigrants-poisoning-the-blood-of-america-echoing-nazi-rhetoric-20231217-p5erz3.html

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  19. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Dozens of high-profile Labor figures, including members of the Albanese and Minns governments, have signed an open letter declaring the human rights of Palestinians have been “grossly violated” and accusing Israel of policies aimed at “the domination of one people over another”. Michael McGowan tells us that the letter, co-ordinated by the NSW Labor MP Anthony D’Adam and Greens MP Jenny Leong, calls for a “permanent ceasefire and a just and lasting peace” in Gaza, and urges the Albanese government to recognise Palestine as a state “entitled to be free of occupation” and “examine” its relationship with Israel. The Australian will be all over this!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/labor-mps-break-ranks-to-accuse-israel-of-domination-of-palestinians-20231218-p5es4k.html
    Coming to the end of 2023, the year hasn’t worked out quite as well as Anthony Albanese would have wanted. It has been much more to Peter Dutton’s liking, and therein lies the challenges for both leaders going into the new year – the final stretch of the parliamentary term, writes Paul Bongiorno.
    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/12/19/paul-bongiorno-politics-summer
    Shane Wright writes about a Productivity Commission report on the plethora of microtaxes that inhabit Australia. It’s all very well to complain about this, but Australia does not collect enough revenue overall to support the services, etc that people want and need.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/taxes-got-your-goat-you-re-fooling-nobody-by-calling-it-a-levy-20231218-p5es4y.html
    Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected the health insurance industry’s request to deliver the biggest premium rise in at least six years, as the government tries to quell voter discontent over the rapid increase in the cost of living, reports Michael Read.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/labor-rejects-biggest-health-insurance-premium-rise-in-six-years-20231212-p5eqsu
    Any negative notion Labor strategists might hold about Peter Dutton’s abilities might want to be now studiously reconsidered, says Simon Benson.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/the-political-contest-for-2024-will-be-a-battle-between-two-starkly-different-leaders/news-story/0a0110c9deb3d1ac6d96eb65ef629732?amp=
    The problem for the country with the Coalition’s approach of opposing much and proposing little is that the political heat is not being put on Labor to genuinely revamp its policy approach in the new year, declares the AFR’s editorial which says Dutton’s political tactics are no governing agenda.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/dutton-s-political-tactics-are-no-governing-agenda-20231212-p5equf
    Michaela Whitbourn and Clare Sibthorpe detail some of the evidence provided at the Lehrmann trial by Linda Reynolds’ former chief of staff and others. Certainly an interesting day.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/lip-reader-to-give-evidence-after-analysing-cctv-footage-in-bruce-lehrmann-case-20231218-p5es3f.html
    Former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown was dramatically compelled to give evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial on Monday on the proviso the federal court’s live stream was disabled while she was in the witness box, report Amanda Meade and Elias Visontay.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/18/brittany-higgins-told-senior-colleague-she-remembered-bruce-lehrmann-on-top-of-her-defamation-trial-hears-ntwnfb
    Meanwhile, Brittany Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz have departed Australia to reportedly start a new life in France after a gruelling couple of years of court trials.
    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/people/2023/12/18/bruce-lehrmann-antenna-up
    “How did we allow this mind-blowing number in when we have a housing crisis, a hospital-waiting crisis, a congestion crisis, an endangered-species crisis and an infrastructure crisis? And when more than three quarters of voters surveyed say that it is too many”, poses Crispin Hull. To answer, he says, we should go back to the launch of the federal Liberal Party’s 2001 election campaign.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8463250/how-immigration-policies-affect-the-cost-of-living-in-australia/?cs=14258
    New outer suburbs could be built with fewer kindergartens, libraries and sports fields because developer contributions relied on to pay for the crucial community infrastructure are falling hundreds of millions of dollars short. Adam Carey reports that the huge funding shortfall is forcing councils to review how much infrastructure they can afford to build in fast-growing communities, and to consider cutting or scaling back planned projects intended to make the outer suburbs more liveable.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/new-suburbs-risk-missing-out-on-kinders-libraries-amid-council-funding-woes-20231215-p5erqo.html
    Some of the nation’s biggest pastoral companies generate enough greenhouse gas emissions to be counted as major polluters, says the Climate Change Authority. The authority criticised the use of certain categories of “veteran” carbon credits in the safeguard mechanism, which allows for offsetting with ACCUs that only guarantee sequestration of carbon for 25 years.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/climate-body-targets-cattle-barons-on-methane-emissions-20231218-p5es6u
    Scientists from Western Sydney University are preparing to boot up the world’s first-ever supercomputer that simulates the design and phenomenal power of a human brain. Angus Dalton tells us that the technology could cast off bottlenecks that restrain traditional computers – including their enormous energy demands – and supercharge artificial intelligence, potentially giving rise to new forms of AI that aren’t algorithms but rather physical, genuinely intelligent decision-making devices. This is a “WOW”!
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/first-supercomputer-that-replicates-the-human-brain-firing-up-in-sydney-20231214-p5ergb.html
    It is no accident that the Australian “conservative” movement has transformed into an echo of the toxic American Right. Fossil fuel money and a giant international network of junktanks bear much of the blame, writes Lucy Hamilton.
    https://theaimn.com/the-americanisation-of-australian-politics-watching-the-atlas-network/
    Less than half of Australians who seek a refund for a cancelled flight receive it within a month while one-fifth of those seeking a refund wait more than six months, a poll has claimed, as the government considers a compensation scheme and a passenger bill of rights. The consumer advocate Choice also claimed, in a survey of about 9,000 Australians, that two in five respondents said they had a flight cancelled or delayed in the 12 months between October 2022 and this year.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/18/two-in-five-australians-had-flight-cancelled-or-delayed-over-12-months-survey-says
    “Scientists are on the verge of a male birth-control pill. Will men take it?”, asks Jill Filipovic who says it’ll be another test of whether heterosexual men are actually willing to share the responsibilities of adult life.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/18/male-birth-control-will-men-take-it
    North Queensland’s record-breaking floods are a frightening portent of what’s to come under climate change. Explains Professor Steve Turton.
    https://theconversation.com/north-queenslands-record-breaking-floods-are-a-frightening-portent-of-whats-to-come-under-climate-change-220039
    The Saudi Arabia-led OPEC+ cartel hatched a plan to tighten its grip over the world’s oil prices. But it has backfired spectacularly, explains Stephen Bartholomeusz.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/the-oil-cartel-is-caught-in-a-trap-of-its-own-making-20231218-p5es3l.html
    “Joe Biden is too old, and Donald Trump is too crazy, but we are likely to be dealing with the second-term presidency of one of them. Either would provide huge challenges for Australia strategically, which is one reason the Albanese government should send a naval ship to the Red Sea to assist the US-led Combined Maritime Forces resist mainly Yemen-based Houthi attacks on international shipping”, writes Greg Sheridan who says it’s impossible to see a feeble Biden becoming a better president in his second term. And Trump is now so crazy, so obsessed with revenge, while still having a canny sense of the issues that might propel him to victory, that a second Trump term is dangerously unpredictable, though it would surely be chaotic.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/trump-or-biden-both-men-come-with-challenges-for-australia/news-story/a2e6e5b334352461e89d1f4f83ca7fce?amp=
    Bloomberg’s Francis Wilkinson writes that, in 2024, corporate leaders will have to decide whether they want to stick with the GOP, aligning their habitual partisanship with a large helping of authoritarian thuggishness. But she says that a catastrophic moral and strategic failure by business elites to safeguard capitalism’s golden goose might be all too predictable.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/golden-goose-wall-street-needs-to-stand-up-to-the-threat-of-trump-20231218-p5es2e.html
    The Democrats chose Biden because he could beat Trump. But that was then, writes Bruce Wolpe.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/democrats-chose-biden-because-he-could-beat-trump-but-that-was-then-20231218-p5es38.html
    Of all the falsehoods spread by MAGA Republicans, an underrated one poses grave danger, as Alan Austin reports.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/trumps-greatest-economy-a-lie-that-could-end-americas-experiment,18183
    A leading American progressive said Donald Trump was using “horrific … dehumanising and fascist rhetoric”, after the former president told supporters immigrants were invading the US and “poisoning the blood of our country”, repot Martin Pengelly.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/18/trump-immigrants-rally-congress-reaction-pramila-jayapal

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Alan Moir

    Glen Le Lievre

    Andrew Dyson

    Cathy Wilcox

    Spooner

    From the US















  21. At (very) bloody last!

    “It is beyond dispute that Israel is committed to policies designed to entrench the domination of one people over another in the territories of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Attempts to deny this, or smear those who allege it, are an attempt to defy truth and reality,”

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/19/israel-gaza-war-labor-figures-ceasefire-letter-palestine-hamas-bob-carr

  24. Tears before bedtime

    “Reedy said the CCTV showed that everyone was having fun at the party but “what stuck out” for him was that Higgins was being plied with drinks.

    Whybrow said the transcript had Lehrmann saying “drink that all now” and Higgins saying “I don’t want to”.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/live/2023/dec/19/bruce-lehrmann-defamation-trial-updates-day-19-fiona-brown-evidence-brittany-higgins-lisa-wilkinson-the-project-ntwnfb#top-of-blog

  26. Jo Dyer’s latest on the defamation trial.

    https://theshot.net.au/news/general-news/did-the-morrison-government-cover-up-an-alleged-in-house-rape/

    Did the Morrison Government try and cover up the rape of a 24-year-old staffer? Or did key players in Reynolds and Morrison’s offices simply hope like hell the whole thing would go away, offering minimal support to a vulnerable victim while being too quick to move on to the political priority of a looming Federal election, leaving the young staffer with nowhere to turn as she struggled desperately with the after-effects of a life-changing assault?

    In Week 4 of Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial, attention shifted to what Justice Lee referred to as the “obstruction allegation”, namely that the offices of Linda Reynolds and the Prime Minister colluded to cover-up Brittany Higgins’ accusation of rape to avoid one hell of a distraction during a difficult election campaign. From our vantage position now apprised of the egregious behaviour of so many players, including Reynolds’ cameos as coach for the Defence in the criminal trial and co-star of Channel 7’s chequebook apologia, it’s easy to see why Brittany feels betrayed by the party she loved and served, and why she is so sceptical of the shrill assurances that she was offered nothing but support and agency in the days, weeks and years after the alleged rape. But was it tantamount to a cover-up? And was it reasonable for Channel 10 to report it as such?

  27. Yeeeee Haw !!!!! Back inside The Pub again. 6Moved house, Telstra modem was cactus at new place. What a way to spend your first holiday in some time., moving house .Not much fun at all being unexpectedly hurled into Australia’s tightest housing market , WA. It makes for a case of instant insomnia. So I’m knackered mentally as well as physically after 2 1/2 months of getting up close and personal with the housing market here in the Wild Wild West.

    Was looking to rent , ended up buying a little place. Home sweet home for Xmas, so at least it ended well. If any politician can offer REAL action on the housing situation then they have my vote and I do not give a shit which party they are from.

    Also YAAAAY, no more reading Dawn Patrol on my phone. It kept reminding me I really should look into getting glasses 😆

  28. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Ross Gittins tells us why Albanese probably won’t win majority government at the next election. He describes a background where a shortage of rental housing has allowed landlords to make big rent increases. Employers have helped the squeeze by ensuring they raise wages by less than they’ve raised their prices. And Treasurer Jim Chalmers has helped by allowing bracket creep to take a bigger tax bite out of wage increases.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/why-albanese-probably-won-t-win-majority-government-at-the-next-election-20231219-p5escg.html
    Michael Pascoe reckons the RBA has been caught snoozing on stage-three tax cuts and inflation. He writes, “Via various Freedom of Information requests, it looked like the Reserve Bank of Australia has never studied, reported, briefed, spreadsheeted or generally put a thought in writing about the inflationary impact of the looming stage-three tax cuts” and says that “look” is now confirmed.
    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/12/20/pascoe-rba-stage-3-tax-cuts
    Australians’ safety and economic prosperity will be secured by deepening ties with our Asian neighbours, Anthony Albanese said in a major foreign policy speech as his government opted against joining a US-led Middle East mission to defend against shipping attacks. Paul Sakkal reports that, in an address to the Lowy Institute last night, the prime minister said Labor had made Australia relevant in global debates on issues such as climate change and helped bring about improved relations between the world’s two superpowers, the US and China.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/securing-our-home-key-amid-wars-and-rise-of-china-albanese-20231219-p5eshf.html
    The former chief of staff to Liberal senator Linda Reynolds felt that her boss and a second minister were covering for themselves when they urged her to make a police report after Brittany Higgins said she recalled fellow staffer Bruce Lehrmann “on top of me”, the Federal Court was told. Who would have thought?
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/former-chief-of-staff-returns-to-court-in-lehrmann-defamation-case-20231219-p5esdb.html
    Amanda Meade gives us more about yesterday’s court session.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/19/coalition-ministers-covering-themselves-by-ordering-brittany-higgins-alleged-to-be-reported-to-police-court-hears-ntwnfb
    Simon Johanson reports that power giant AGL Energy will construct a large grid-scale battery on the site of the former Liddell coal-fired power station as a slew of other renewable and storage projects gain backing from the NSW government.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/power-giant-agl-to-build-mega-battery-at-former-coal-station-20231219-p5esi9.html
    “The Albanese government is losing its way on principle and high politics. There is no worse mistake for a government than confusion and irresolution on an issue of war policy. Yet this is happening – Labor looks equivocal, electorally intimidated and lacking conviction on the Israel-Hamas war”, pontificates Paul Kelly.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/labors-confusion-over-mideast-war-reveals-its-changed-character/news-story/32c6df30491e44850394e5934b1a8423?amp=
    The Albanese government is under growing pressure to explain why it is not providing more help to the US and its allies as intensifying attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels shut down shipping in the Red Sea. The AFR says the rebel attacks drove a spike in energy prices yesterday and hastened a US-led regional security response, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, to a dangerous escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.
    https://www.afr.com/world/middle-east/freight-oil-climb-as-red-sea-attacks-shut-down-shipping-20231219-p5esg0
    According to Angus Thompson and David Estcourt, lawyers are canvassing challenges to orders keeping extremists behind bars or under close police watch as the release of notorious Muslim cleric Abdul Nacer Benbrika from a Victorian prison yesterday prompted the NSW government to look at its own counter-terror regime.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/lawyers-mull-challenges-to-terror-orders-as-extremist-freed-20231219-p5esjm.html
    Aisha Dow and Benjamin Preiss write that a secret overhaul of the state’s public hospital system is investigating possible forced mergers of local health services and the sharing of surgery waiting lists in what could be a major shake-up of how Victorians access care.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-secret-plan-that-could-transform-victoria-s-hospital-system-20231219-p5esd8.html
    Favouring the wealthy over innate talent in the education system is no way to filter what a country’s human capital might have to offer, writes Adrian Blundell-Bignall who declares that tipping private schools out of boardrooms would be good for a more productive Australia.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/tip-private-schools-out-of-boardrooms-for-a-more-productive-australia-20231212-p5equl
    Cyclone Jasper’s slow-moving progress across the Coral Sea exposed as much as 20% of the Great Barrier Reef to waves high enough to break apart corals, according to modelling from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Graham Readfearn tells us that scientists are also concerned flood waters from ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper that drained out into the reef’s lagoon waters could affect corals and seagrass meadows close to shore.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/20/scientists-brace-for-possibility-of-severe-damage-to-great-barrier-reef-from-ex-cyclone-jasper
    Self-employment has changed in recent years. It’s been both shrinking and becoming more precarious. Proportionately, there are fewer business owners and there’s more gig work, writes David Peetz who says the Closing Loopholes Bill confronts the new realities of self-employment.
    https://johnmenadue.com/closing-loopholes-bill-confronts-the-new-realities-of-self-employment/
    Jenna Price has a hard look at the ABC and the direction it is taking. She makes a lot of sense.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-the-abc-canned-the-drum-and-ita-saved-q-a-20231218-p5esbu.html
    Lakeba Group managed a meteoric 25-fold rise in revenues, then went revenue negative. Michael West reports on the latest hijinks from the kaleidoscopically colourful tech entrepreneur Giuseppe Porcelli.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/giuseppe-porcelli-lakeba-amazing-revenue-ride/
    An expert witness paid handsomely by Donald Trump to testify at his New York civil fraud trial “lost all credibility” by “doggedly” justifying the former US president’s business records, the judge overseeing the case has said in a scathing denial.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-million-dollar-expert-lost-all-credibility-judge-20231219-p5esgq.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Cathy Wilcox

    Mark David

    Simon Letch


    Andrw Dyson

    Fiona Katauskas

    Glen Le Lievre

    Mark Knight

    Spooner at his pathetic best

    From the US
















  29. Bruce Lehrmann defamation case, now about to enter its fifth week before the Federal Court in Sydney.

    An artist’s rendition of the scene back at the lawyers office after this case is finished.

  30. Are they going to replay Brown’s testimony live, I can’t see it on the FC live broadcast. I was under the impression they were going to show it today.

  32. We are going camping over Xmas. I decided I would get a cooked chook for Hunter for Xmas. I will pack up and freeze 6 meals. Hunter is only 3.8 kilos. Son rang to ask why I am doing it. I explained that it won’t take much room in his camping freezer. I did it last year and he didn’t even know. I also informed him my beer will take up much more room, probably equal to 1 and a half beer cans. I think I have confirmed to him that I’m a bit silly.

  38. Just what is needed , some level heads………….. 😦

    Israeli mayor calls for turning Gaza into ‘Auschwitz-like’ museum

    “The whole Gaza Strip needs to be empty. Flattened. Just like in Auschwitz. Let it be a museum for all the world to see what Israel can do……………………….” . Poland’s Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum strongly condemns an Israeli mayor’s call for depopulating the Gaza Strip and turning it into an open-air memorial, prompting the mayor to lash back and accuse Poles of antisemitism

    https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-mayor-calls-for-turning-gaza-into-auschwitz-like-museum-prompting-rebuke/

  39. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Angus Thompson and Paul Sakkal write that Mark Dreyfus has accused the Coalition of undermining public confidence in the Commonwealth’s key law enforcement agency over the release of former terror cell leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika, while raising the possibility of applying to extend Benbrika’s supervision order. Dreyfus has criticised Sussan Ley for accusing Labor of weakness, suggesting she was ignoring the Australian Federal Police and other experts, whose advice he said had informed the government’s application to release Benbrika on an extended supervision order.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dreyfus-accuses-opposition-of-undermining-police-over-benbrika-release-20231220-p5esqz.html
    In this interesting essay, Middle East and security analyst Rodger Shanahan writes that while being seen to be tough on terrorism may play well to a domestic audience, it is essential in an advanced liberal democracy such as Australia not to lose sight of the principles on which we operate as a mature society, and part of that is an acceptance that it is the job of the legal system to determine guilt and to apply the punishment appropriate to the crime committed. He says this applies to terrorism offences as much as it does to normal criminal offences.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-terrorist-threat-possibly-but-benbrika-was-rightly-freed-20231220-p5espw.html
    “Inflation was 2023’s unavoidable topic. Will 2024 bring a change of tack from the RBA?”, wonders Greg Jericho who says that, heading into a year when economic growth is expected to be low, the hope is the Reserve Bank will ease off on raising rates.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2023/dec/20/inflation-was-2023s-unavoidable-topic-will-2024-bring-a-change-of-tack-from-the-rba
    The Albanese Government’s economic management has been very competent, but unfortunately also marked by a lack of ambition in tackling the challenges facing Australia, writes Michael Keating.
    https://johnmenadue.com/the-albanese-governments-economic-management-and-the-cost-of-living-crisis/
    Michael Pascoe writes about the great Australian political leadership cleanout.
    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/12/21/michael-pascoe-australian-political-leadership-cleanout
    Milli Muroi writes that Australia’s banking giants are likely to keep their power to influence prices in the $1.4 trillion market for household deposits despite the competition watchdog’s attempts to call for change, although there will be marginal improvements for consumers, according to some analysts.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/watchdog-findings-fail-to-dent-big-banks-deposit-power-20231219-p5esix.html
    Lisa Visentin says that, if the Voice was a test of our society to shepherd a complex national discussion about a vulnerable group of Australians with sufficient nuance and delicacy, we have surely come up wanting. She points out that next year Labor’s election promise to legislate a new religious discrimination framework will be a test for many people, groups and leaders. She hopes the lessons of the Voice campaign have been learned.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-re-facing-a-debate-as-divisive-as-the-voice-can-we-keep-this-one-civil-20231220-p5espu.html
    Victoria’s goal of 80,000 new homes a year won’t be achieved while the state’s Big Build projects are driving up the cost of materials and workers, industry figures have warned.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/big-build-or-housing-crisis-victoria-has-to-choose-industry-says-20231220-p5est8.html
    Electricity produced by renewables is cheaper than fossil fuels and nuclear power and is expected to remain the lowest cost power source for decades to come, according to findings from the top science agency which challenge the federal opposition’s campaign against the government’s climate policy. Mike Foley tells us that the new findings will be published today in CSIRO’s GenCost report, which includes projections that an electricity grid dominated by 90 per cent renewables would deliver considerably cheaper power to households compared to fossil fuel and nuclear alternatives.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/renewables-cheaper-than-nuclear-coal-now-and-into-the-future-csiro-20231219-p5esga.html
    The good news is electricity prices are falling, decarbonisation is accelerating, and there should be little need for public subsidies for fossil fuel companies, despite their demands. Michael West speaks with energy finance analyst and renewable energy export Tim Buckley.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/electricity-prices-fall-aemo-renewable-energy-transition/
    Kate McClymont reports that an associate of the Alameddine crime family has been charged over last year’s firebombing of the Bondi house of political commentator and YouTube satirist Jordan Shanks, known online as FriendlyJordies. The police have foreshadowed further arrests in coming weeks.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/alameddine-crime-family-associate-charged-over-friendlyjordies-firebombing-20231220-p5esue.html
    Linda Reynolds’ lawyers are set to pursue freezing orders in the defamation suit against her former staffer Brittany Higgins amid reports she and partner David Sharaz have left the country bound for Europe. The former defence minister is demanding Higgins and former press gallery journalist Sharaz fork out damages, as well as aggravated damages, over several social media posts she claims were defamatory of her.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/reynolds-lawyers-ready-freezing-orders-as-higgins-sharaz-move-to-france-20231220-p5estg.html
    Victoria Police statistics have given a rare insight into how often delivery workers are hurt on the job, sparking calls for tougher laws on the gig economy.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/hundreds-of-delivery-riders-injured-as-food-app-boom-creates-deadly-cocktail-20231215-p5erus.html
    Business is pushing back against a Labor-Greens deal for a “right to disconnect” from employers, over concerns it could discourage flexible work arrangements and risk returning staff to the “rigid” workplaces of old. As 37 per cent of Australians enjoy the flexibility of working from home, the Albanese government is teaming up with the Greens and the Senate crossbench to deliver a right for workers to disconnect from their employer’s unreasonable contact outside of work hours.
    https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/business-fights-back-against-right-to-disconnect-from-work-20231220-p5esol
    New data shows an improvement in Australia’s broadband performance while highlighting ongoing challenges for regional customers. Paul Budde reports. The latest update of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report, ‘Measuring Broadband Australia’, delves into the broadband performance of NBN fixed-line connections in both urban and regional Australia, with a focus on the program’s insights gathered in September 2023.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/nbn-analysis-shows-australias-broadband-infrastructure-advancing,18187
    A radio presenter who was axed from ABC Radio on Wednesday afternoon is “considering her legal options” after she was terminated over her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Journalist Antoinette Lattouf was filling in for Mornings host Sarah Macdonald who is on leave but was sacked and told not to return to work today. Has the only acceptable standard now become fawning acceptance of every action taken by the Israeli government?
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/abc-radio-presenter-axed-after-israel-hamas-conflict-posts-20231220-p5esu7.html
    With Victoria’s mental health services failing, it’s time for our politicians to investigate the heart of the problem and urgently improve the system, writes Simon Katterl.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/victorias-mental-health-services-in-dire-need-of-reform,18188
    The competition watchdog has raised concerns about Australia’s two biggest airlines part-owning the company that decides flight slots at Sydney Airport and has told the government this “creates at minimum a perceived conflict of interest”. As the federal government overhauls Australia’s aviation policy, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says the company that chooses which aircraft take off and land at Sydney Airport should be “independent” from incumbent airlines such as Qantas and Virgin Australia.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/accc-warns-sydney-airport-slots-manager-has-conflicts-of-interest-20231220-p5espy
    Anthony Albanese has suggested Australia will send military personnel rather than a warship to assist the United States in protecting shipping routes in the Red Sea, a move the opposition described as weak and inadequate, writes Paul Sakkal.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/press-releases-don-t-shoot-down-drones-coalition-criticises-labor-on-red-sea-response-20231220-p5esrq.html
    After days of conjecture and delay, it seems likely the Albanese government is set to decline a US operational-level request to send a warship to the Red Sea – if it hasn’t already. But the fact is this request should have been knocked back, fast and firm. By not promptly and politely denying the request, Australia missed a golden opportunity to express our sovereign identity and assert our own priority interests, writes Peter Leahy in The Australian.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/why-albanese-is-right-to-be-wary-of-us-warship-request/news-story/ca5142a861aac559bb6ec3b2fde8cbf9?amp=
    Even before the Houthis choked shipping traffic through the Red Sea, shipping costs were rising because of challenges within one of the world’s two key transport choke points. Now the other is threatened. The Panama Canal, which handles about 5 per cent of world trade and is a key piece of infrastructure for trade between North America and Asia, has been hit by the worst drought in nearly three-quarters of a century – and has had to slash both the number and the draughts of vessels moving through its complex series of locks, explains Stephen Bartholomeusz.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/double-trouble-the-global-economy-is-being-choked-20231220-p5esnm.html
    The Colorado supreme court ruling on Tuesday that bars Donald Trump from the state’s presidential ballot has kicked off a firestorm among Republicans and legal scholars, and fury from Trump himself. Though the former president did not address the decision during a rally on Tuesday night in Iowa – where he went on abusive rants against immigration – he posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday. “What a shame for our country!!!” Trump wrote. “A sad day for America!!!” Suck it up, Don baby!
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/20/trump-response-colorado-disqualified-2024-ballot
    Banned in Colorado? Bring it on – in the twisted logic of Donald Trump, disqualification is no bad thing at all, writes Emma Brockes.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/20/banned-colorado-donald-trump-president-courts-voters
    The Colorado ruling disqualifying Donald Trump from the ballot because he incited an insurrection on January 6 sets up another high-stakes, highly controversial political intervention by the US supreme court – a conservative-dominated panel to which Trump appointed three stringent rightwingers, writes Martin Pengelly.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/20/colorado-disqualify-trump-supreme-court-overrule-whats-next
    Eight people linked to a major Sydney crime gang have been charged over a “callous” shooting that changed the lives of three innocent people: one man was killed, another left with life-changing injuries from a bullet in the neck, and a woman with a round in her shoulder. The alleged gunman himself is believed to be overseas – and police are calling on him to return “to face the consequences” of the “heinous” crime committed in July. Without hesitation he, and his eight associates already charged, are nominated for “Arseholes of the Week”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/eight-arrested-over-heinous-shooting-of-innocent-bystanders-in-sydney-street-20231220-p5esql.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Joe Banke

    Andrew Dyson

    John Shakespeare

    Glen Le Lievre

    Cathy Wilcox

    Spooner

    From the US
















  40. to decline a US operational-level request to send a warship to the Red Sea – if it hasn’t already. But the fact is this request should have been knocked back, fast and firm. By not promptly and politely denying the request, Australia missed a golden opportunity to express our sovereign identity and assert our own priority interests, writes Peter Leahy in The Australian..

    OMG ! After seeing such an opinion was in The Australian I had to check to see if it wasn’t April Fools Day. Sheridan and Kelly would be needing smelling salts after reading such blasphemy. The cat must be away as ‘house policy’ in Mordor Media is “All the Way With the USA and Even Further For Israel”

  43. Renewables cheaper than nuclear, coal now and into the future: CSIRO…………………….the new findings will be published today in CSIRO’s GenCost report,

    What a #$%$#@#%!!!!! Goundhog Day report. Nearly 20 years ago, in the days of The Rodent ,the same finding was made by pretty much the same people. I guess it is a nice illustration of the failure of our political class that the message needs repeating . 😦

  45. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Laura Tingle writes that Albanese’s challenge is to reset the national conversation. She says Peter Dutton has clawed his way back into the centre of the political debate with a lethal populism that has drowned out much of what the government may have achieved this year.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/albanese-s-challenge-is-to-reset-the-national-conversation-20231212-p5equv
    The prime minister may have fallen foul of voters, but the government is far from unsalvageable. Meanwhile, the Opposition know more is required to maintain the momentum, writes Phil Coorey who says that after a brutal year, there’s everything to play for.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/after-a-brutal-year-there-s-everything-to-play-for-20231218-p5es4o
    Nick Dyrenfurth writes about the conditions making ‘Prime Minister Peter Dutton’ a real possibility.
    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/12/21/peter-dutton-prime-minister
    Shane Wright tells us that work from the Productivity Commission and economists at the Reserve Bank shows that despite an improvement in productivity in recent months, the nation still faces an uphill battle to improve living standards.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-covid-productivity-bubble-has-burst-20231221-p5et0g.html
    Ross Gittins issues Albo’s report card which says, “Must try harder to secure our future”. Gittins concentrates on climate change action in reaching his assessment.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/albo-s-economic-report-card-must-try-harder-to-secure-our-future-20231221-p5et5w.html
    With the Clean Energy Finance Corporation confirming $1.9 billion in renewable generation, transmission and storage investment over 2022-23 there are positive signals to the market that Australia can grow its economy on the back of renewables. Strong private sector investment has been stimulated by co-investment from federal and state governments. But much more needs to be done, and governments have more work to do to get the settings right, writes Nikki Hurley who explains how our economy can grow on renewables.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8467810/opportunities-for-renewable-energy-transition-in-australia/?cs=14258
    Justice Lee, presiding over Bruce Lehrmann’s high-stakes defamation case has said it appears parts of the evidence of both the former Liberal staffer and his former colleague Brittany Higgins, who has accused him of sexual assault, “simply can’t be accepted”, write Michalea Whitbourn and Harriet Alexander who take us through several of the arguments but by the respondents’ lawyers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/online-views-of-lehrmann-case-peaked-during-higgins-wilkinson-evidence-20231221-p5eswl.html
    More on the trial here from the Guardian.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/21/bruce-lehrmann-defamation-trial-cant-be-any-doubt-that-sex-occurred-on-night-of-alleged-court-told
    With the entire Fourth Estate controlled by so few, Michelle Pini and Dave Donovan examine the media’s role in setting the default position on some of the top stories of 2023.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/murdoch-led-medias-relentless-stranglehold-wont-deter-fearless-truth-tellers–like-ia,18192
    Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has described an apparent failure to follow proper process when appointing ABC managing director David Anderson in 2019 as “unfortunate” in correspondence with the broadcaster’s chair Ita Buttrose earlier this year, reports Calum Jaspan.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/communications-minister-critical-of-abc-board-process-to-appoint-david-anderson-in-2019-20231221-p5esym.html
    Transport Minister Catherine King has savaged Australia’s airlines for their lowest average on-time performance in more than a year and a staggering number of flight cancellations. Amelia Maguire reports that King called out Virgin and Qantas – which cumulatively operate more than 90 per cent of Australia’s domestic flights – for their dismal performance, and singled out Virgin Australia, the worst performer for the month of November.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/transport-minister-savages-airlines-after-worst-performance-in-more-than-a-year-20231221-p5esz2.html
    It’s been more than a year since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, and there are still major delays on domestic services. But that’s not the case in other countries, explains the AFR’s Ayesha de Kretser.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/will-chronic-flight-delays-ever-ease-up-or-is-this-the-new-normal-20231219-p5esdr
    Money from a federal government grant – awarded in the dying days of the Morrison government – was transferred into a mortgage offset account controlled by the brother of the former president of the Queensland Liberal National party, a court has heard. Guardian Australia reported in October that Green Day Energy – a fledgling “green coal” company – had had its bank account frozen and become mired in legal action, 18 months after being awarded a $5.5m commonwealth grant.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/21/ex-lnp-president-oversaw-transfer-of-500000-in-morrison-government-grant-money-to-brothers-offset-account-court-hears
    Richard Marles’s confirmation that Australia will not send a warship to the Red Sea as part of a US-led operation represents woeful military capability and appalling strategic judgement. Marles is emerging as the very worst type of defence minister, full of hollow bluster and grandiloquent claims, but capable of delivering absolutely nothing, complains Greg Sheridan who says, “Australia choses a bludger’s option with US: ‘you provide for our security, we do nothing in return’”.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/australia-choses-bludgers-option-with-us-you-provide-for-our-security-we-do-nothing-in-return/news-story/0508392941fc1d2981943ea56f21c06d?amp=
    In the next federal election, people will not forget the Liberal Party’s disgraceful policy of supporting Israel’s crimes, violation of international laws, and betrayal of Australia’s values and principles to appease Israel and its extremist lobby, especially in the five marginal seats held by the Liberals – Banks (NSW), Sturt (SA), Deakin (VIC), Menzies (VIC) and Moore (WA) – where Australian Muslims and the Arab community hold the balance of votes, writes Ali Kazak in an open letter to Simon Birmingham.
    https://johnmenadue.com/senator-birmingham-you-are-bringing-shame-to-australia-and-the-liberal-party/
    Latika Bourke writes about immigration becoming the top issue in politics throughout Europe and how it is leading to a populist push to the right.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/has-europe-finally-found-a-solution-to-its-migration-crisis-20231221-p5et19.html
    Jack Smith has urged speed for the supreme court to take up the issue of whether Donald Trump is, as the former president claims, immune from criminal prosecution on federal charges over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. Yesterday the US special counsel submitted a new file to the supreme court in Washington DC, reiterating his argument for urgency in their consideration of such a key element of the federal election interference case, in response to Trump’s latest move the day before.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/21/jack-smith-supreme-court-trump-immunity-decision
    Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy, days after being ordered to pay $US148 million in a defamation lawsuit brought by two former election workers in Georgia who said his targeting of them led to death threats that made them fear for their lives. The former New York City mayor listed nearly $US153 million ($225 million) in existing or potential debts. Those included close to a million dollars in tax liabilities, money he owes his lawyers and many millions of dollars in potential legal judgements in lawsuits against him. He estimated his assets to be between $US1 million and $US10 million. The high price of being an idiot in thrall of an even more dangerous one.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/rudy-giuliani-files-for-bankruptcy-days-with-225-million-in-debt-20231222-p5et76.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Jim Pavlidis

    Matt Golding

    Cathy Wilcox

    Glen Le Lievre

    Mark Knight

    Leak

    From the US














  46. ….Marles is emerging as the very worst type of defence minister, full of hollow bluster and grandiloquent claims, but capable of delivering absolutely nothing, complains Greg Sheridan

    Ah, the smelling salts have worked, normal transmission has resumed from wee Greg.

  47. Kos Samaras with details on Redbridge’s state level Victorian poll.

    two tweets below worth opening to see the whole thread

  48. This piece from The Shot gives lots to think about.

    https://theshot.net.au/news/general-news/the-era-of-watching-on-in-horror/

    Like most years that comprise the contemporary Watching On In Horror epoch, the realness of reality in 2023 had the potential to break anyone still capable of giving a shit. It was an onslaught of righteous powerlessness in the face of barbarism, and – perhaps even harder to stomach – brutal indifference towards it. The veil of comfortable Western propaganda, the sheet that usually sits so snuggly over our eyes so we can sleep at night, is tattered and torn. When the world is this heavy with sorrow and guilt, the mere act of bearing witness exacts a toll.

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