The Little Bear That Could.

Puff, The Magic Dragon Uncategorized

A feel good story. Please forgive me for posting something a little lighter to start the year.

We had a Te gerfield Terrier pup born, an only child, a boy. He was born with a back foot missing, in late November, 2023.

His Mum is Lily, my son’s beautiful female dog.

(She is being desexed. No more sneaking out the back to meet up with my handsome dog. Long story.) Lily stayed at my home to ‘Lie In’ as it used to be called, for her first and only pregnancy.

I agonised over the life the pup would have and if I should take him to the vet for the trip to Rainbow Bridge (Euthanasia). The ethics of it all, and my compassion put my mind in a turmoil. After all, was I going to do that for just one foot, a disability he could cope with, as I believed?

Plus, Lily would have no babies to nurse.

So after talking to a friend who said that there has to be someone in Australia who would want him, I took the chance on that.

He grew strong, round and fat. I named him Teddy Bear.

He starting crawling, walking, climbing, and was the cutest baby Tenterfield Terrier puppy you could ever find.

I had put the word out, and a friend of a contact came back with a family. But at six weeks old, they decided they were not able to take him.

However, unknown to me, another family had heard of him and were eagerly waiting in line to take him.

This was family was looking for a pup for their children. I love Bear and wanted the best placement for him, where he could get more attention than we could give him. His missing foot was no barrier to them, and we talked about prosthetics and therapies.

My son had fashioned a small piece of silicone taped to the end of his leg to wear for a time during the day, a bush mechanic fix. It helped him, but it also was to get Bear used to having something on his leg. He got around well without it though, on the indoor floors. Later, he would need to protect the leg end when outside, of course.

Bear slotted right into the family. He is dearly loved and loves them back. He sleeps in the youngest’s bed. He is the apple of everyone’s eye. Bear has already had car rides and visits. I told the parents that Bear will definitely have a positive effect on their young children. I predict they will good attitudes to Disability in their lives.

He lives in a lovely place on an acreage, for a transport business family, less than 40 kms from me. Hence, truck rides for Bear!

The vet clinic they chose has a speciality in therapy and a special room just for that. He is now wearing a dog boot on his foot, cost $13. Later when older, he will get a 3D printed prosthetic foot.

It is a happy start to 2024, and a wonderful outcome for Bear. I hope everyone has a happy start to the New Year.

I am sending a big Thank You to Kirsdarke for his posts in 2023 and we hope to read from him in 2024.

(Yes I am registered as a dog breeder, and follow all ethical and care guidelines, beyond those required, with just one or two litters per year, of a specific breed line.)

716 thoughts on “The Little Bear That Could.”

  2. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Dutton’s nuclear spin is an alibi, not a policy, declares Sean Kelly.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-s-nuclear-spin-is-an-alibi-not-a-policy-20240317-p5fd0l.html

    “Outrage is a key performance indicator for Peter Dutton, the ‘bad cop’ of politics. But what does he value?”, wonders Judith Brett.

    https://theconversation.com/outrage-is-a-key-performance-indicator-for-peter-dutton-the-bad-cop-of-politics-but-what-does-he-value-220327

    Lech Blaine outlines his Quarterly Essay, “Bad cop. Peter Dutton’s strongman politics”.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2024/03/18/peter-dutton-bad-cop-liberal-politics

    Just in case we needed a reminder, Queensland voters are a fickle bunch. They swing like few others. And thus was the case on Saturday as voters confirmed the entrenched view within Labor that Steven Miles is in deep trouble come the October 26 election. As for federal Labor, which holds just five of the 30 seats in Queensland and sorely needs to lift its stocks there to ward off being reduced to minority government, the brand remains poor, writes Phil Coorey.

    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-is-in-deep-trouble-in-queensland-20240317-p5fd13

    The path to re-election for Queensland Labor looks like a narrowing goat track after its ‘Super Saturday’ losses, says Ben Smee.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/17/the-path-to-re-election-for-queensland-labor-looks-like-a-narrowing-goat-track-after-its-super-saturday-losses

    Strong population growth will probably prevent Australia from falling into a recession this year, with analysts tipping the economy will rebound after June as tax cuts and lower interest rates start to give households respite from cost-of-living pressures. Shane Wright says that before the Reserve Bank’s two-day interest rate meeting, economists said the official cash rate was expected to be held at 4.35 per cent given the bank’s ongoing concerns about inflation pressures.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/the-nation-is-tipped-to-avoid-a-recession-but-policymakers-are-walking-a-fine-line-20240315-p5fcs9.html

    David Crowe tells us that the government intends to mount a fresh defence in the High Court against asylum seekers who refuse to co-operate with Australian authorities. He says the argument is central to a High Court hearing next month on whether an Iranian asylum seeker known as ASF17, who is refusing to co-operate because he fears being harmed in Iran if he is returned, should be released from detention in accordance with last year’s ruling.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-plans-new-defence-in-court-clash-over-immigration-detainees-20240317-p5fd1u.html

    “Last week we got a reminder that, among its many functions, the federal budget is the repository of all the successful rent-seeking by the nation’s many business and other special interest groups. Unfortunately, it added to the evidence that the Albanese government knows what it should do to manage the economy better, but lacks the courage to do more than a little”, says Ross Gittins in a worthwhile contribution.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/work-on-this-year-s-budget-has-started-welcome-to-rent-seekers-central-20240317-p5fd07.html

    If we really want affordable housing, a big part of the answer can be found in the thin air above our railway lines, argues architect Philip Vivian. He says that the concept of over-rail infrastructure housing releases urban land supply over infrastructure in a build-to-rent ownership model; with an overarching criterion of public benefit. Two tiers of government – state and local – would collaborate on delivering much-needed affordable housing on this public land, delivering immediate relief for the housing crisis and long-term public benefits.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/build-homes-over-rail-lines-starting-with-newtown-and-burwood-20240315-p5fcq0.html

    The Victorian government is considering development applications for more than 30,000 homes, and could potentially approve the projects within four months as part of its pledge to fast-track developments in return for affordable housing. But Kieran Rooney tells us that an independent analysis of another state housing initiative – the Future Homes program, which provides off-the-shelf building designs – estimates that the cookie-cutter homes scheme could only be applied to 3250 individual lots across the state, and another 68,000 if lots were consolidated.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/developers-have-30-000-new-homes-in-queue-for-state-s-green-light-20240307-p5faoc.html

    Stamp duty is holding us back from moving homes – Nick Garvin has worked out how much.

    https://theconversation.com/stamp-duty-is-holding-us-back-from-moving-homes-weve-worked-out-how-much-225773

    “Peter Dutton wanted a plebiscite on marriage equality. Why not hold another on his nuclear fantasy?”, cheekily asks Paul Karp.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2024/mar/18/peter-dutton-nuclear-energy-ban-removal-support

    The competition watchdog has asked major media groups to rate their dealings with Meta and reveal how much money they make from Facebook and Instagram, as it prepares to decide whether the tech giant should be forced to the negotiating table. Sam Buckingham-Jones reports that in confidential documents sent to news outlets late on Friday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission demanded extensive details about how media outlets make money, how important social media is, and what would happen if Meta blocked all news. One publisher said a news ban would cut its revenue by 25 per cent.

    https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/the-accc-is-asking-news-outlets-if-they-can-live-without-facebook-20240313-p5fc2y

    The brutal reality is that Australia’s media is broken and policy tinkering will not help, declares Julianne Schultz.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/17/the-brutal-reality-is-that-australias-media-is-broken-and-policy-tinkering-will-not-help

    Alan Kohler argues that TikTok should be banned in Australia, not just sold. He goes into considerable detail to make his point.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2024/03/18/kohler-tiktok-ban-australia

    Faith-based schools have urged Labor to safeguard the right to hire teachers who share their spiritual beliefs ahead of a report this week that will recommend the removal of key protections from the Sex Discrimination Act, reigniting a fraught national debate over religious freedoms, writes Joe Kelly.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/religious-schools-raise-alarm-on-hiring-rules/news-story/586dbbb77330d52bc3b97c5673621a69?amp=

    The dumping of a female Liberal heavyweight from South Australia’s top Senate spot has reignited claims the party has a problem with women. The opposition’s shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, was relegated to second place on the party’s South Australian Senate ticket on Saturday after failing to stave off a factional battle with conservative senator Alex Antic. Yet another religious nutter to the fore!

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/18/anne-rustons-dumping-from-sas-top-senate-spot-reignites-debate-about-liberal-partys-women-problem

    Victims of crime feel “silenced and sidelined” from the moment they speak to police through to when the courts finalise their case, with a landmark Victorian inquiry calling for sexual assault survivors in particular to have legal representation. A systemic inquiry into victims’ participation in the justice system by Victoria’s Victims of Crime Commissioner identified a gap between the entitlements of victims “on paper” and their actual experiences.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/18/victoria-victims-of-crime-legal-representation-sexual-assault-survivors

    Alan Jones has broken his silence after being accused of multiple accounts of indecent assault, saying he will take an extended break from hosting his right wing online show to get better from “urgent health issues”.

    https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/alan-jones-breaks-his-silence-on-absence-says-he-is-gravely-ill-20240317-p5fd33

    Workers still haven’t fully returned to the Melbourne CBD – but the city doesn’t need them, say Najma Sambul and Melissa Cunningham.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/workers-still-haven-t-fully-returned-to-the-cbd-but-the-city-doesn-t-need-them-20240305-p5fa48.html

    The red wine glut is expected to plague Australian vineyards for at least the next two years, even if punishing tariffs on wine exports to China are removed, predicts Rabobank, a Dutch bank specialising in lending to the agricultural sector.

    https://www.afr.com/companies/agriculture/wine-glut-expected-to-plague-growers-for-at-least-next-two-years-20240314-p5fcd7

    The crisis engulfing private school Cranbrook is set to escalate as the outgoing headmaster, Nicholas Sampson, threatens legal action against the governing council, writes Lucy Carroll. Sampson resigned just over a week ago from his more than $1 million-a-year post at the school amid claims he failed to disclose serious past conduct matters about a serving Cranbrook teacher.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cranbrook-crisis-escalates-as-headmaster-threatens-legal-action-20240317-p5fd10.html

    Peter Dutton’s proposal for Australia to adopt nuclear power is a dumb idea, but it’s good politics. Anthony Albanese’s AUKUS hand-cuffs neutralise his response. As Parliament gears up for another sitting week Rex Patrick reports on a nasty political wedge.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/duttons-aukus-albanese-wedge/

    The general theme of delusion and the particular theme of ‘dead in the water’ as they apply to the entire AUKUS arrangements are provocations worthy of taking further, opines Michael McKinley.

    https://johnmenadue.com/dead-in-the-water-the-aukus-ssn-delusion/

    According to Amelia Maguire, a Boeing aircraft delivery blowout is the latest setback for Virgin, which has been grappling with poor on-time performance and above-average flight cancellation rates.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/boeing-crisis-delivers-another-blow-to-virgin-20240314-p5fcjd.html

    Britain doesn’t need ‘reform’. It just needs to rejoin the EU, suggests William Keegan.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/17/britain-doesnt-need-reform-it-just-needs-to-rejoin-the-eu

    Donald Trump said this weekend if he does not win November’s presidential election it will mean the likely end of American democracy. One should not wish ill on anybody, but . . .

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-predicts-the-end-of-us-democracy-if-he-loses-2024-election-20240317-p5fd0s.html

    Detention camps, mass deportations, capital punishment for drug smugglers, tariffs on imported goods, a purge of the justice department and potential withdrawal from Nato – the Trump policy agenda is radical by any standard including his own, pushing the boundaries set during his first presidential run eight years ago, writes David Smith.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/17/critics-warn-radical-second-trump-term

    Writing about Biden’s problems with Netanyahu, these Middle East experts say, “That Israel should be rejecting the outstretched hand of peace, and the victory of reason over chaos, is a strategic and moral failing of the highest order – perhaps the worst thing Netanyahu has done in his 35 years in politics, which is a high bar indeed.”

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/the-problem-is-netanyahu-why-biden-is-accused-of-trying-to-tear-down-the-israeli-prime-minister-20240317-p5fd0m.html

    Friend and foe alike are realising one thing about the US, writes Mark Kenny in this evaluation of the Gaza conflict.

    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8557563/the-uss-reluctance-to-reel-in-israel-diminishes-its-power/?cs=14329

    Cartoon Corner

    Alan Moir

    David Rowe

    Jim Pavlidis

    Peter Broelman

    Megan Herbert

    Matt Davidson

    Glen Le Lievre

    Mark Knight

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/abdcb2077b036e8c7976c0585f6ae43b?width=1024#image.jpg

    Leak

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/9747e3d83d777c15d61a192ca989fae5?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  3. Curiosity got me. The article BK post from Sean Kelly. One comment I just love from MOF. “Solar Power is Nuclear energy…….at a safe distance.”

  7. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Within 24 hours of rolling his senior South Australian colleague, Anne Ruston, for the top spot on the state Senate ticket, conservative firebrand Alex Antic was on the attack, doing what he does best: generating headlines and provoking offence, writes James Massola. It seems there are some unhappy campers in the party over this.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-fury-at-the-antics-of-alex-the-anti-woke-senator-20240318-p5fd8g.html

    Australians would pay the highest carbon price in the world if the opposition’s plan to transform our energy system around nuclear is adopted, posit Steven Hamilton and Luke Heeney. They say, “A strange dynamic has developed where smart people think it’s the smart-person position to be pro-nuclear. But these people are confused. Rather, it is the smart-person position to be open to nuclear for Australia—but then to conclude it makes absolutely no sense in practice.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nuclear-is-ok-if-it-makes-economic-sense-but-mr-dutton-in-australia-it-doesn-t-20240317-p5fd1s.html

    David Tyler begins this long contribution with, “It’s incredible. Such is our love-in with Peter “Junkyard” Dutton, our former Border Overlord, who used to play the bad cop dispensing rough justice–doing whatever it took to keep us safe-that today, he’s being cheered by most of the press gallery for reckless endangerment in his punt on nuclear energy.”

    https://theaimn.com/duttons-nuclear-dream-is-a-dead-cat-on-the-table-to-distract-us-from-his-dunkley-debacle/

    Australians frozen out of the housing market cannot expect that government is going to do anything that effectively closes the gap between current house prices and what most of the unhoused could afford as a deposit. Modern politicians of all stripes are all agreed that their political survival depends on doing the maximum to sustain the prices that houses are currently commanding, opines Jack Waterford who is concerned that our tax system is making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

    https://johnmenadue.com/how-our-tax-system-is-making-the-rich-richer-and-the-poor-poorer/

    Australian authorities are holding at least 127 asylum seekers in detention despite being unable to return them to their home countries as the government prepares for a High Court hearing on whether it must release people it cannot deport. David Crowe tells us that the detainees from Iran, Iraq and Sudan are at the heart of a new test for the government in its attempts to defend the detention regime after months of political pressure over the release of convicted criminals last year.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-unwanted-high-court-to-determine-the-fate-of-another-127-in-limbo-20240318-p5fdah.html

    Josh Gordon and Clay Lucas say that Victoria is the fines capital and is expected to rake in almost $1 billion this financial year.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-is-the-fines-capital-expected-to-rake-in-almost-1b-this-financial-year-20240317-p5fcz6.html

    Looking at the report from Australia’s e-Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, Peter Hartcher opines that the world’s biggest tech firms are enabling the most nauseating crimes imaginable.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/the-world-s-biggest-tech-firms-are-enabling-the-most-nauseating-crimes-imaginable-20240318-p5fd5r.html

    According to Paul Sakkal, TikTok is the only social media giant not signed up to a global anti-extremism pact, Australia’s top internet regulator says, as MPs call out the Chinese-owned company for the proliferation of graphic content stemming from the Hamas-Israel war on its platform.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/tiktok-lags-on-extremism-as-mps-call-out-graphic-content-on-platform-20240318-p5fd91.html

    There have been plenty of hypocritical statements by foreign ministry spokesmen over the years. Russia’s protestations that it wants peace in Ukraine ring hollow, and Iran’s claims that it has nothing to do with unrest in the Middle East don’t sound convincing. And yet, even by the low standards of the genre, China’s official mouthpiece hit a fresh low last week with its complaints that the forced sale of the social media app TikTok violated free and fair competition between open markets. From the country that has banned Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube and many others, the hypocrisy was stunning, says Matthew Lynn.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-is-finally-reaping-what-it-sowed-20240318-p5fd3u.html

    America is dumbing itself down and banning TikTok won’t halt the slide, writes Jerry Grey who says the US has created the conditions for the decline of its own society.

    https://johnmenadue.com/america-is-dumbing-itself-down-banning-tiktok-wont-halt-the-slide/

    Joseph Stiglitz tells us how Joe Biden has just dealt a big defeat to big tech. He says the US president’s new executive order is an important step towards protecting sensitive personal data.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/18/joe-biden-has-just-dealt-a-big-defeat-to-big-tech

    Mega donations of more than $1.5m would be banned under a crossbench plan to get big money out of politics. Lower house independents, including Kate Chaney, Zali Steggall, the Greens, David Pocock, Lidia Thorpe and the Jacqui Lambie Network, will present a united front by introducing the fair and transparent elections bill in both houses of Parliament. Paul Karp reports that the bill contains a suite of reforms including truth-in-political advertising, a ban on donations from socially harmful industries including fossil fuels and tightening the definition of gifts to capture major party fundraisers, including dinners and business forums.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/18/independents-move-to-ban-mega-donations-in-far-reaching-political-transparency-overhaul

    Michael McGowan and Alexandra Smith report that the state’s shadow attorney-general and a leading opponent of the Minns government’s housing reforms who accused a senior female NSW public servant of using inside information to bolster the value of her home has refused to back down, despite the woman being cleared by the ICAC.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/senior-nsw-planning-official-cleared-of-wrongdoing-by-icac-20240318-p5fdc7.html

    The Greens are using farmers as allies of convenience to pursue their left-wing populist campaign against the supposed price and profit gouging of Coles and Woolworths, declares the AFR’s editorial which describes the Greens’ farming ‘crisis point’ as rubbish.

    https://www.afr.com/companies/agriculture/greens-farming-crisis-point-is-rubbish-20240318-p5fd55

    The long overdue introduction of Fuel Efficiency Standards in Australia is meeting with the usual resistance from the fossil fuel lobby and car enthusiasts. The Melbourne Grand Prix is an annual reminder of their deceit, writes Sarah Russell.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/melbourne-grand-prix-fuel-efficiency-fake-news/

    Children who commit offences bear responsibility for their actions. But what’s being proposed in NSW will make things worse, not better, argues barrister Ruth Higgins,

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/locking-up-children-is-not-the-answer-premier-minns-20240318-p5fda8.html

    John Pesutto’s prospects as Victorian opposition leader are hanging by a thread after an anti–transgender rights activist declared she would follow Moira Deeming in filing defamation proceedings against him. British activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull on Monday said she had instructed her lawyers to file defamation proceedings against Mr Pesutto, while Angie Jones, who helped her organise a rally in Melbourne last year that was gate crashed by neo-Nazis, is expected to do the same.

    https://www.afr.com/politics/pesutto-s-leadership-in-crisis-amid-new-defamation-proceedings-20240318-p5fdav

    “Who will look after us in our final years?”, asks Stephen Duckett who says a pay rise alone won’t solve the aged-care workforce shortages.

    https://theconversation.com/who-will-look-after-us-in-our-final-years-a-pay-rise-alone-wont-solve-aged-care-workforce-shortages-225898

    News Corp’s attempts to claim victimhood over the Moomba Parade’s cancellation mirrors the exact viewpoints it so often seeks to chastise as “soft”, write Victoria Fielding who says the Murdoch media has outdone itself trying to squeeze cancelled events during extreme hot weather into its favourite weaponised victimhood frame. It would be funny if it weren’t so serious.

    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/murdoch-media-weaponises-victimhood–except-when-convenient,18432

    The NSW government is threatening to end the big group getaway by capping the number of guests who can stay in short-term rental accommodation, such as an Airbnb, at any one time. Michael Koziol reports that a discussion paper produced by the Planning Department identifies “limits on the number of guests that can use a short-term rental property” among several options for regulatory measures that could encourage owners to return their properties to the long-term rental market.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/crackdown-threatened-on-number-of-guests-at-holiday-rentals-20240318-p5fd8i.html

    The supply of new homes will crash to the lowest level in over a decade by 2026, worsening housing and rental affordability, and leaving the federal government far short of its goal to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029, says the AFR.

    https://www.afr.com/property/residential/new-housing-supply-to-hit-decade-low-20240318-p5fd6t

    The Minns government’s signature policy to rewrite planning rules to ease the housing supply and affordability crisis overlooks a change that church and religious groups say could deliver 20,000 new homes in prime locations across Sydney. The peak body representing churches, mosques, synagogue and other faith-based groups in the state says they have nearly 2500 parcels of land that could be redeveloped into residential accommodation that would help the government meet its ambitious new housing targets, reports Samantha Hutchinson.

    https://www.afr.com/politics/the-zoning-tweak-that-could-deliver-20-000-new-homes-in-sydney-20240315-p5fcq7

    These academics from the Victoria University have modelled four of state and federal government’s biggest housing programs. They reckon they have found a mix that would work well.

    https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-way-to-ease-rents-and-improve-housing-affordability-we-modelled-4-of-the-governments-biggest-programs-225446

    A Federal Court judge has savaged the Transport Workers Union for “wasting the court’s time” and letting down ground handlers whose jobs were illegally outsourced by Qantas for attempting to lodge a separate compensation claim against the airline, writes Amelia Maguire. Hearings to establish compensation for the 1700 workers who were sacked in 2020 started on Monday, with Federal Court Justice Michael Lee charged with determining the different levels of compensation by hearing three test cases from separate worker cohorts. The hearings follow a failed mediation process between Qantas and the union.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/union-savaged-at-qantas-illegal-outsourcing-compensation-case-20240318-p5fda7.html

    One of Australia’s most high-profile technology start-ups has escalated its battle with health regulators and lobby groups, with Eucalyptus chief executive Tim Doyle accusing the Medical Board of Australia and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners of “technophobia” and “bad-faith attacks” on its business model. David Swan tells us that Eucalyptus has grown from a small start-up into Australia’s largest online weight-loss business, offering customers the highly popular – and controversial – weight-loss drug Ozempic via telehealth consultations on a smartphone app.

    https://www.smh.com.au/technology/australia-s-largest-online-weight-loss-business-at-loggerheads-with-regulators-20240314-p5fcfz.html

    A premature cut to government funding 20 years ago could end up costing Australia $38 billion, with experts warning a national fire ant outbreak would slug the economy more than the combined earnings of the Tasmanian and Northern Territory economies. The Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis at University of Melbourne told a Senate inquiry that fresh modelling shows that if the fire ant population spread across the country, it would cost nearly $38 billion over three decades – the equivalent of 2.8 per cent of GDP, reports Mike Foley.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-missed-chance-to-eradicate-fire-ants-could-cost-australia-38-billion-20240318-p5fd7a.html

    Britain is becoming a toxic chemical dumping ground – yet another benefit of Brexit, complains George Monbiot.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/18/britain-toxic-chemical-dump-brexit-europe

    Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a bond to cover a $US454 million judgment in a New York civil fraud case has been rejected by 30 insurance companies, his lawyers said, inching him closer to the possibility of having his properties seized.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/asset-seizures-loom-after-trump-fails-to-secure-bond-for-us454-million-judgment-20240319-p5fdf2.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Alan Moir

    David Rowe

    Andrew Dyson

    John Shakespeare

    Matt Golding

    Mark David

    Cathy Wilcox

    Mark Knight

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/263bdd393f7e328deb235e32b2f33ab1?width=1024#image.jpg

    Leak

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/b8ab1a83fcccbcef0cdb9c9e91bd143e?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  8. Ah, those flying gold bricks we’ve signed up for. The US of A’s GAO put out a report re why so may of them are not ready to fly. This picture covers the main points. Take note that the US looks to have sfa control over maintenance etc . Imagine how much less we’ll have. It looks it will be case of if we want them to fly then we’ll have to pay whatever price the manufacturer wants. Not that those companies would engage in such extortion and gouging 😆 😦

  11. In the next week or so I intend to make a blog post, where the theme is “Mainstream Television is now dead to its original purpose. But there are also enough alternatives available for you to cultivate your own intake of media, and often for free.”

  12. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Crispin Hull thinks the authors of the CSIRO report on the costs of electricity in Australia, GenCost, should sue Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for defamation. In his decades of journalism, he says he has constantly railed against the defamation law as a damnable impediment to free speech; to the exposure of political malfeasance; and to democratic principle itself because without a well-informed electorate there can be no democracy. Hull says, “Dutton is spouting a demonstrable falsehood that the CSIRO report had not taken into account the full costs of rewiring the grid for renewables. A year 12 student could have seen that that is not the case. So, his opinion is based on a falsehood and so should not be protected free speech. He should retract it and apologise, or the authors of the report should sue him.”

    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8559016/crispin-hull-peter-duttons-made-up-facts-about-csiro-report-are-defamatory/?cs=14329

    “Forget nuclear: would Peter Dutton oppose a plan to cut bills and address the climate crisis?”, asks Adam Morton.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/19/australia-nuclear-power-ban-lift-solar-energy-renewables

    David Crowe tells us that Anthony Albanese has sparked a political firestorm over gay rights, gender and religious freedom by vowing to shelve changes to discrimination law unless he gains Coalition support for new rules for thousands of schools and other faith-based institutions. The sudden move marks a retreat on Labor’s election pledge to update the law to protect the right of religious schools to practise their faith while also shielding teachers and students from discrimination on the basis of their sexuality.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-to-put-religious-discrimination-reform-on-hold-without-coalition-support-20240319-p5fdmj.html

    Michelle Grattan says that the future of Anthony Albanese’s religious discrimination legislation is in Peter Dutton’s hands.

    https://theconversation.com/future-of-anthony-albaneses-religious-discrimination-legislation-is-in-peter-duttons-hands-226119

    Having repaired the damage done by the Coalition to the Australian economy, the Labor Party’s chances of re-election are looking promising, writes Stephen Koukoulas.

    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/tide-has-turned-economic-management-an-election-winner-for-labor,18433

    Teal independent MPs elected on a platform of transparency are seeking to preserve the influence of their wealthy financial donors, according to senior minister Don Farrell, as the debate over money in politics becomes incendiary. Paul Sakkal reports that Anthony Albanese and Farrell turned their sights on a group of crossbenchers who on Tuesday revealed their own proposed bill that would cap political donations at $1.5 million per person but not set limits on election spending.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/banning-big-money-just-not-theirs-teal-mps-accused-of-seeking-to-protect-wealthy-donors-20240319-p5fdnn.html

    Rachel Clun and Lillie Muroi say that interest rates could fall as soon as August after the Reserve Bank dropped its explicit warning that more rate rises might be needed to curb inflation while saying it was not blind to the financial pressures on many Australians.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/reserve-bank-holds-interest-rates-steady-20240319-p5fdgl.html

    Shane Wright tells us about the RBA’s six little words that give hope to Australia’s mortgage holders.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/six-little-words-that-give-hope-to-australia-s-mortgage-holders-20240319-p5fdgm.html

    Karen Maley opines that Michele Bullock is right to move cautiously on interest rate cuts.

    https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/michele-bullock-is-right-to-move-cautiously-on-interest-rate-cuts-20240319-p5fdm7

    Same old same old from the Reserve Bank – a captive of the expectations it creates, locked in the narrow vision of its brutally blunt and inefficient interest rate cudgel, lacking the confidence required to admit a mistake. So, says Michale Pascoe, by leaving its cash rate steady again on Tuesday, the RBA is continuing to tighten the monetary policy screws as the November hike works its way through the system.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/03/20/michael-pascoe-rba-blundering-on

    Paul Bongiorno writes that both Labor and the Liberals are swallowing hard to stop mollycoddling Baby Boomers.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/03/19/paul-bongiorno-boomers-aged-care

    More than 170 people in immigration detention could be released if the government loses the next high court challenge on the legality of the program, according to a leaked internal estimate. Paul Karp reveals that the affected cohort who refuse to cooperate with deportation is larger than earlier estimates produced by media outlets and that the government has identified more than 40 people who are yet to lodge claims for protection visas who could be freed by the decision.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/australia-asf17-immigration-detainees-high-court-challenge-more-than-170-could-be-freed

    The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) this week published full year data on onshore asylum seekers in 2022-23 compared to 2022-21. The data highlights a post-pandemic high of 18,738 asylum applications in 2022-23 compared to 10,564 in 2021-22. That is still well below the record set under Peter Dutton of almost 28,000 asylum applications in, explains Abul Rizvi.

    https://johnmenadue.com/in-2022-23-onshore-asylum-seekers-were-30-less-than-under-peter-dutton/

    Authorities are set to issue a fresh warning of gas shortages on Australia’s east coast, with a supply squeeze set to hit southern states by 2026 during peak winter demand. The Australian Energy Market Operator is set to issue the alert shortly in its annual gas outlook which lays out a long-term forecast for the nation’s supplies. Sources told The Australian that gas supply in southern Australia continued to fall faster than projected demand, sparking fears of a looming gap in winter when households and big manufacturers rely most heavily on the fossil fuel.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/australian-energy-market-operator-to-issue-an-alert-for-gas-shortfall/news-story/68dbede5aec0ad1a46ffaf8edf7e1697?amp=

    Annika Smethurst and Kieran Rooney report that more than half of Victoria’s health services are running low on cash, prompting fears of lay-offs within the sector unless there is a major funding injection from the state government.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/leaked-data-reveals-victorian-hospitals-strapped-for-cash-20240319-p5fdmd.html

    While many people maintain positive emotional wellbeing as they age, around half of older Australians living in residential aged care have significant levels of depression. Symptoms such as low mood, lack of interest or pleasure in life and difficulty sleeping are common. Rates of depression in aged care appear to be increasing, and without adequate treatment, symptoms can be enduring and significantly impair older adults’ quality of life, explain professors Tanya Davidson and Sunil Bhar.

    https://theconversation.com/half-of-australians-in-aged-care-have-depression-psychological-therapy-could-help-223544

    NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb desperately needed a reset after a series of unforced errors that have plagued her leadership. Instead, she has found herself engulfed in yet another crisis, writes Alexandra Smith who says her unforced errors have put the Minns government into damage control.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/top-cop-s-unforced-errors-put-minns-government-into-damage-control-20240319-p5fdng.html

    UN staff working with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been subjected to a systematic campaign of obstruction and harassment by the Israeli military and authorities since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza five months ago, according to internal UN documents obtained by the Guardian. The documents record hundreds of incidents ranging from the alleged blindfolding and beating of UN staff at checkpoints to the use of UN facilities by Israeli troops as firing positions during raids on refugee camps in which Palestinians were killed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/19/un-staff-in-west-bank-accuse-israeli-authorities-of-campaign-of-harassment

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    Matt Golding

    Cathy Wilcox

    Fiona Katauskas

    Peter Broelman

    Alan Moir

    John Shakespeare

    Glen Le Lievre

    Is there no end to Spooner’s obsession?

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/69b92c3720089af14d5f23d17aa3cf40?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  14. Looking at the US Senate elections as a whole, things seem to be holding up well for the Democrats overall. The states they hold where the incumbent might be on shaky ground are polling well, Jon Tester in Montana, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Jacky Rosen in Nevada, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin and Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania.

    The only concerning states are Arizona and Michigan, where the incumbent Democrats are retiring. The primaries for those states will be held on 6 August. Most likely candidates for Arizona will be Ruben Gallego (D) and Kari Lake (R), and the ones for Michigan are most likely Elissa Slotkin (D) and Mike Rogers (R).

    West Virginia unfortunately seems to be a total writeoff with Joe Manchin (D) retiring. His most likely replacement will be West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R), with most polling aggregates declaring it’ll be a solid flip to the Republicans.

    So if the Democrats hold their losses to just West Virginia and retain the Presidency, then the Senate will be back to 50-50 for 2025-27 at least, with their Vice President holding the casting vote.

    There’s not much chance they’ll flip Republican seats, since doing so will have to go after states like Texas and Florida, but if they can do that, it’ll be something of a miracle.

  17. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    “To paraphrase the brilliant Oscar Wilde, there is only one thing in the world worse than to be insulted by Donald Trump. And that is to not be insulted by Donald Trump”, writes Peter Hartcher after Kevin Rudd found himself in the news.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-one-thing-in-the-world-worse-than-being-insulted-by-donald-trump-20240320-p5fe1u.html

    Trump has lit the fuse, but Rudd has been a ticking time bomb all along, says Matthew Knott.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/trump-has-lit-the-fuse-but-rudd-has-been-a-ticking-time-bomb-all-along-20240320-p5fdst.html

    The SMH editorial says Donald Trump’s petty insults to the Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, is a diplomatic incident threatening to escalate into a problem for Canberra.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/trump-clearly-does-not-believe-rudd-is-there-to-help-20240320-p5fdtj.html

    Phil Coorey reckons the indiscreet Rudd has only himself to blame for Trump’s outburst.

    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/indiscreet-rudd-only-has-himself-to-blame-for-trump-outburst-20240320-p5fds1

    Penny Wong has shown admirable backbone in refusing to be cowed during the visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister, says Greg Sheridan who describes Wong’s performance as the strongest we’ve seen from any minister in the Albanese government for a long time.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/penny-wong-shows-admiral-backbone-in-refusing-to-be-cowed/news-story/78c2b09194e02234121beb5e4072bb27?amp=

    The federal government is bracing for more questions over its control of the nation’s population growth with new figures expected to show another 150,000 migrants entering the country, putting at risk budget forecasts for total migration numbers. Shane Wright says that as Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil signalled the government would start issuing warning notices to high-risk education providers that have become “visa factories”, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today is expected to show an increase in total net migration in the three months to the end of September.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/migrant-numbers-growing-as-government-s-student-crackdown-begins-20240320-p5fe0s.html

    Alan Kohler declares that the Coalition’s devotion to Abbottism is disastrous.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2024/03/21/alan-kohler-coalition-abbottism

    The Australian’s Rosie Lewis writes that, ahead of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report into religious exemptions for educational institutions being tabled today, which will help guide the government, the Prime Minister declared “it is now time to determine whether we’ll progress forward or not”.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/parliament-may-never-see-anthony-albaneses-religious-discrimination-reforms-if-labor-cant-achieve-bipartisan-support/news-story/386348ecc2c9718e96f210b60726e873?amp=

    Gas users are in danger of winter shortfalls in Victoria and NSW sooner than originally feared, posing a challenge for governments to shore up supplies of the fossil fuel while also delivering on pledges to reduce harmful emissions.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/winter-gas-threat-grows-in-victoria-nsw-as-offshore-fields-dry-up-20240320-p5fdvb.html

    According to John Kehoe and Michael Read, Angus Taylor has vowed to sink the Albanese government’s overhaul of the Reserve Bank unless it promises to appoint all existing RBA board members to the new interest rate setting board and protect its “independence” from Labor.

    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/rba-interest-rate-board-revamp-at-risk-20240320-p5fdyc

    The Sahm rule lets us get in front of recessions – so alerts should be flashing in the Treasury and RBA, explains Greg Jericho who opines that now is not the time to do anything more to slow the economy – it’s in danger of stalling.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2024/mar/21/australia-unemployment-rate-february-release-rba-gdp

    Affordable housing is now beyond reach in all Australia’s eastern capitals, according to new analysis released by the Greens, with the average annual salary needed to buy a home without financial stress $164,400. There are just two capitals – greater Perth and Darwin – where the cost of a unit would not put the average earner under housing stress, according to the Parliamentary Library’s analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and CoreLogic.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/affordable-housing-beyond-reach-in-all-australias-eastern-capitals-data-shows

    The Reserve Bank held rates yesterday, offering some respite for mortgage holders. However, relief is nowhere in sight for the 30% of us who rent, especially in the cities, writes Harry Chemay.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/australia-rental-market-hunger-games/

    Big tobacco companies have launched a “tsunami” of pro-vaping campaigns ahead of a push to ban them, an anti-smoking lobby says. Health Minister Mark Butler will introduce laws to parliament today, which will stop the importation, manufacture, supply, and commercial possession of disposable single use and non-therapeutic vapes.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/health/2024/03/21/vaping-campaigns

    As former chairman of CSIRO, the Commonwealth Bank and Telstra, the corporate blood doesn’t come any bluer than that which flows through the veins of Catherine Livingstone. So her pronouncement-opinion that board directors should be tagged with a used-by date will ruffle the feathers of the corporate establishment. Elizabeth Knight agrees with Livingstone’s assessment, saying that the era of board entitlement must end.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/this-corporate-queen-is-right-the-era-of-board-entitlement-must-end-20240320-p5fdvy.html

    Hot cross buns, chips and breakfast cereals are being downsized even as supermarkets retain or lift prices for the shrunken products, new research shows. The practice, known as “shrinkflation”, reduces costs for producers but leaves consumers paying more for less during a cost-of-living crisis. Research from consumer advocacy group Choice has called out Woolworths and Coles for reducing the size of some home-brand cereal packs from 560g to 495g but keeping the price at $4.50.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/20/shrinkflation-hot-cross-buns-chips-and-cereals-among-products-being-downsized-for-the-same-price-choice-report-finds

    Michaela Whitbourn tells us that the judge presiding over former federal Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s multimillion-dollar defamation case against Network Ten and high-profile presenter Lisa Wilkinson will deliver his decision on April 4, in a case that attracted an unprecedented audience online.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/quasi-criminal-trial-in-a-defamation-case-lehrmann-judgment-day-set-20240318-p5fdch.html

    A wave of business failures in construction, hospitality and retail has pushed up the number of monthly insolvencies to the highest in almost a decade, as rising borrowing costs, weaker consumer spending and a more aggressive Tax Office take their toll. The AFR reports that some 967 companies entered administration in February, up 40 per cent on the same month last year, according to new preliminary figures from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/corporate-insolvencies-spike-to-a-decade-high-20240320-p5fdy6

    A man who faces the death penalty in Lebanon over terrorism accusations is preparing to launch a bid for freedom from immigration detention as his lawyers argue that anyone owed protection should not be held indefinitely without hope of deportation. The man, given the pseudonym JPPS, was convicted and sentenced to death in his absence over accusations he was involved in a terror group. He is part of a wider group of people in immigration detention that lawyers say should be released into the Australian community as they cannot be deported. No winners in this debate!

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-detention-if-owed-protection-new-front-in-high-court-fight-20240320-p5fdw1.html

    The government is fighting a new High Court case on immigration detainees. Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey tells us what it about and what is at stake. She believes the Commonwealth has strong arguments on its side, but as always it is a matter for the High Court ultimately to decide.

    https://theconversation.com/the-government-is-fighting-a-new-high-court-case-on-immigration-detainees-whats-it-about-and-whats-at-stake-226120

    Liberal senator Dave Sharma has warned of lasting damage to Australian society from a rise in threats to Jewish Australians, declaring that everyone will lose if nothing is done to stop mob attacks on a minority. David Crowe writes that Sharma described the attacks as “incredibly dangerous” because of the threat to the nation’s social fabric and the risk that other minorities could one day suffer the same intimidation and vilification.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/mob-rule-senator-warns-attacks-on-minorities-are-shredding-social-fabric-20240320-p5fe08.html

    Facebook’s decision to deprecate news will have financial impacts on Australia’s biggest media companies, writes Binoy Kampmark.

    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/matters-of-revenue-meta-abandons-australias-media-stable,18438

    “Australia will never elect a Donald Trump – and it’s due to one national trait”, argues comedian and writer, Simon Taylor.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-will-never-elect-a-donald-trump-and-it-s-due-to-one-national-trait-20240318-p5fdbo.html

    Federal Member for Bass Bridget Archer and ACT Senator David Pocock have been announced as winners of the McKinnon Prize, Australia’s independent, non-partisan award for outstanding political leadership.

    https://theaimn.com/archer-pocock-win-mckinnon-prize-for-outstanding-political-leadership/

    Two veteran police officers have been accused of hitting, punching and calling teenage boys “spastic idiots” and “dumb little c—s” during an arrest beside a NSW country highway, then hiding the body-worn camera footage to avoid it being used as evidence. But the men have pleaded not guilty and deny the allegations, saying any force they used was necessary, and misplacement of body camera footage was accidental, reports Jordan Baker.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/police-bashed-children-hid-body-camera-footage-court-told-20240320-p5fdtz.html

    Nine of the US Federal Reserve’s 19 policymakers see three quarter-point rate cuts this year, and nine see two or less, bolstering markets’ hopes for a pivot.

    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/fed-policymakers-stick-to-three-rate-cut-view-in-2024-barely-20240321-p5fe2u

    Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump, said in a recent interview that if he were in charge of Israeli policy, he would push Gaza civilians into Egypt or Israel’s Negev desert—a proposal that critics denounced as ethnic cleansing, writes Jake Johnson.

    https://johnmenadue.com/trump-son-in-law-jared-kushner-calls-for-ethnic-cleansing-of-gaza-to-finish-the-job/

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Andrew Dyson

    David Rowe

    Alan Moir

    Matt Golding

    Dionne Gain

    John Shakespeare

    Cathy Wilcox

    Mark Knight

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/79ba42b963b3ff3e9be258ee264bccd8?width=1024#image.jpg

    Spooner

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/7fabfe8382cb3e3b6e2f272c49b48214?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  18. Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump, said in a recent interview that if he were in charge of Israeli policy, he would push Gaza civilians into Egypt or Israel’s Negev desert—a proposal that critics denounced as ethnic cleansing, writes Jake Johnson.

    They are only pissed off with him because the said the quiet bit out loud 😦

  24. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Religious schools should lose their unfettered right to dismiss teachers and expel students over questions of sexuality or gender identity, the nation’s law reform commission has found, in an explosive report that calls for action to safeguard human rights. David Crowe and Natassia Chrysanthos say that these conclusions pile pressure on the federal government to scrap a controversial exemption for religious schools in discrimination law. Religion is poison n’est-ce pas.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/fury-as-albanese-told-to-scrap-religious-schools-rule-20240321-p5fe4l.html

    Providing some context to the above, Natassia Chrysanthos tells us the story of Steph Lentz who worked happily as an English teacher at Sydney’s Covenant Christian School for more than three years. But when she told the school she was a lesbian, Lentz was fired. It was all perfectly legal, under a special exemption that exists for religious schools.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/teacher-steph-lentz-was-fired-for-her-sexuality-will-those-laws-finally-change-20240320-p5fdtp.html

    David Crowe provides us with a very good explanation of how we got where we are with the religious freedom acts. He says that Albanese has manages to get Dutton into a tirade, the sheer ferocity of which confirmed the wisdom of waiting for bipartisan support before throwing the country into a debilitating and divisive argument.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-albanese-refuses-to-take-this-leap-of-faith-without-dutton-20240320-p5fdyp.html

    Alan Finkel explains why there is no nuclear option for Australia to reach net zero. He declares that any call to go directly from coal to nuclear is effectively a call to delay decarbonisation of our electricity system by 20 years.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/22/heres-why-there-is-no-nuclear-option-for-australia-to-reach-net-zero

    Angus Thompson reports that the Australian Federal Police has referred the leak of sensitive legal material that surfaced in a television interview with former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to determine whether its own officers were involved.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/afp-referred-lehrmann-interview-leak-to-corruption-watchdog-20240319-p5fdn3.html

    “Big tobacco is back, aided and abetted by the Nationals. We can’t let them win on vapes”, writes Monique Ryan in this op-ed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/21/big-tobacco-is-back-aided-and-abetted-by-the-nationals-we-cant-let-them-win-on-vapes

    The government is celebrating robust jobs figures and a fall in unemployment. But Labor and the Reserve Bank will be quietly worried that this is only going to delay any cut in interest rates this year, warns Jennifer Hewett.

    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/why-good-news-for-jobs-is-bad-news-for-rates-20240321-p5fe7a

    Alex Antic’s ascendancy is more than just a headache that the Liberal Party doesn’t want or need. While his rolling of Anne Ruston, the Liberal Party’s most senior woman, for the No.1 spot on the South Australian Senate ticket hasn’t relieved the perception of the party’s ‘women problem’, it is also an example of the “takeover of the Liberal Party by Christian right forces”. Writes Parker McKenzie.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2024/03/21/antic-liberal-party-headache

    A senator leading investigations into PwC’s tax leaks scandal has accused the consulting giant’s global chairman, Bob Moritz, of trying to minimise the involvement of international partners after he rejected a formal request for the internal legal report on the matter. The AFR reports that Mr Moritz wrote to the Senate committee into consulting, informing it that he was respectfully declining its request to provide the report, on the grounds it was legally privileged and confidential to PwC International.

    https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/pwc-global-boss-rejects-senate-request-for-tax-leak-report-20240321-p5fe82

    Drug users can’t shirk responsibility. If a social media influencer posts pics of themself using cocaine, they are participating in a supply chain dripping in blood, writes NSW Crime Commissioner, Michael Barnes. He outlines the pervasive influence the drug trade has upon our society. An excellent contribution!

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/when-cocaine-is-washing-up-on-your-beaches-supply-isn-t-the-only-problem-20240222-p5f6zs.html

    “Australian PMs did OK under Trump Mark 1. Could Albanese manage Trump Mark 2?”, wonders Michelle Grattan.

    https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-australian-pms-did-ok-under-trump-mark-1-could-albanese-manage-trump-mark-2-226316

    Before any of the six government-sponsored inquiries into supermarkets have been finished, and with some barely started, analysts have begun to assess the profit damage likely to be sustained by the two majors Woolworths and Coles, writes Elizabeth Knight. She says the sharemarket has already made its decision that neither of the two retail giants can escape unscathed and have marked down the shares of the key target, Woolworths, by 15 per cent since the federal government began its guerilla war in December.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/supermarket-inquiries-send-woolworths-coles-into-damage-control-20240321-p5fe8i.html

    A loophole in Australia’s freedom of information laws allowing governments to block the release of documents after a minister has moved on has now been closed after a “truly transformative” federal court ruling. The former South Australian senator, Rex Patrick, has been fighting to appeal a decision that denied him access to advice held by the former attorney general, Christian Porter, on the administration of sports grants in 2020. Nice work, Rex!

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/21/australia-foi-laws-loophole-documents-deny-access

    Does a change to a new Minister kill an ongoing FOI to the old Minister? Can a replaced Minister’s dirt be swept under the carpet? The Information Commissioner and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said ‘yes’. Rex Patrick said no, and today the Federal Court said ‘no’ too.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/rex-patrick-wins-court-battle-over-foi-secrecy/

    Less than 5 per cent of homes built in Australia are prefabricated. The federal government wants that to change, reports Rachel Clun. In today’s building ministers’ meeting, state and federal ministers will direct the Australian Building Codes Board to start working on streamlining regulations to encourage a boom in pre-fab housing. It all makes sense.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-off-the-shelf-solution-to-the-housing-crisis-needs-to-rip-off-red-tape-20240321-p5fe3w.html

    The state government has left the door open to a major housing affordability overhaul that would give home buyers the option of paying an ongoing land tax to avoid the upfront pain inflicted by stamp duty. In his strongest comments yet on the need for tax reforms to tackle housing affordability, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas conceded yesterday that stamp duty was distorting the state economy and acting as a barrier for first home buyers.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-open-to-stamp-duty-overhaul-to-ease-burden-on-first-homebuyers-20240321-p5fe8x.html

    Liberal Party press releases and its website are showing up on the Google News tab as a source of information alongside queries about prominent current affairs searches, calling into question the technology giant’s verification of news material, according to one of Australia’s senior-most media and data experts.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/liberal-party-press-releases-make-a-splash-on-google-news-20240321-p5fe4w.html

    The climate change and energy minister should be cut some slack, writes Phil Coorey who says Bowen is in the minority attempting hard and unpopular reform, such as the new clean fuel policy.

    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/cleaner-cars-a-politically-charged-driving-test-for-chris-bowen-20240321-p5fe42

    The relationship between the offices of Police Minister Yasmin Catley and Police Commissioner Karen Webb has collapsed over the controversial appointment of a veteran news figure as the force’s most senior media adviser, leading to a police staffer being kept away from parliament this week.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minister-police-at-loggerheads-over-new-media-chief-20240320-p5fdu6.html

    The rate of youth crime in Victoria reached its highest level in a decade last year, prompting new warnings from police about the number of children committing violent offences as the government prepares to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Lachlan Abbott writes that these youngsters are seeking notoriety through social media posts.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/youth-crime-emerging-at-levels-not-seen-in-decades-20240315-p5fcsz.html

    Taxpayers will give the UK government almost $5 billion to subsidise an expansion of British production lines for Australia’s first nuclear-powered submarines, as well as a downpayment on design work. And Andrew Tillett reports that British defence giant BAE Systems – the same company overseeing the troubled future frigates program – has been appointed as the local builder for the joint AUKUS-class submarine that will be operated by the Australian and British navies.

    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australia-to-spend-5b-on-uk-subs-in-aukus-pact-20240321-p5fe4m

    Adelaide shipbuilder ASC will be the joint constructor and sole maintainer of the nation’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet, as part of a move hailed as “yet another massive day” for the state by Premier Peter Malinauskas. ASC and Osborne Naval Shipyard neighbour BAE Systems Australia will be named on Friday as the joint builders of Australia’s AUKUS submarines. ASC, the builder and maintainer of the nation’s six Collins class submarines, also will handed the lucrative sustainment program for nuclear-powered submarines, starting with Virginia class boats to be obtained from the United States and followed by an Adelaide-built fleet.

    https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/premier-peter-malinauskas-hails-aukus-nuclearpowered-submarine-builder/news-story/d29f6135b337404ffa8b6232f15024e8

    Gerry Harvey has been gifted yet another megaphone, though not quite as large as the furniture, white goods and electrical retail behemoth Harvey Norman, which he chairs. Michelle Pini says that, frequently called upon by our Fourth Estate to share his “insights” into business, poor people and how we should all be living our lives, Harvey has, on this occasion, broadcast his opinion on one of his company’s biggest rivals, online marketplace Temu.

    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/why-harvey-norman-should-just-go,18441

    Yesterday the US government filed a sprawling antitrust case against Apple, alleging that the tech giant has illegally prevented competition by restricting access to its software and hardware. The case is a direct challenge to the company’s core products and practices, including its iMessage service and how devices such as the iPhone and Apple Watch connect with one another. Bring it on!

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/21/us-antitrust-lawsuit-apple

    Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates to 50% yesterday, citing a deteriorating inflation outlook and pledging to tighten further if it looks like inflation is significantly and persistently worsening. The hawkish move came 10 days before local elections and was seen by analysts as a signal that the central bank was independent from any political constraints and determined to tackle price rises.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/turkish-central-bank-stuns-market-by-hiking-interest-rates-to-50

    The accusations against the United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees in Gaza are murky, but the consequences have been painfully clear, writes Waleed Aly.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/the-cold-calculation-behind-our-aid-cuts-to-gaza-20240321-p5fe59.html

    Bloomberg’s Timothy L O’Brien explains why Trump’s money problems make him so dangerous. He says the going is likely to get rough for Trump as his many issues play out, and he’s likely to become more financially desperate with each passing day. That’s going to make him easy prey for interested lenders — and an easy mark for overseas interests eager to influence US policy.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/why-trump-s-money-problems-make-him-a-threat-20240319-p5fdg9.html

    Meanwhile, Trump’s election campaign is calling for donations from 1 million of his backers, warning he could lose his New York properties, after the former US president failed to secure a bond to cover a $US454 million ($686 million) judgment in a civil fraud case.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-campaign-fights-for-one-million-donations-after-bond-flop-20240321-p5fe8k.html

    After much fanfare, the US House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is all but winding down, lacking hard evidence of wrongdoing and political appetite from within the Republican ranks to go forward with an actual impeachment. What a pathetic effort!

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/biden-impeachment-probe-crashing-as-republicans-lack-support-20240321-p5fe5k.html

    “Arsehole of the Week” nomination goes to this jeweller who is in court, alleged to have faked a robbery of his own store to generate a fallacious $2.8m insurance claim. And the missing jewellery s still missing.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/inside-the-alleged-3-million-fake-robbery-of-high-end-sydney-jewellery-store-20240320-p5fe01.html

    Cartoon Corner

    Matt Golding

    Glen Le Lievre

    Alan Moir

    David Rowe

    Simon Letch

    Cathy Wilcox

    Jim Pavlidis

    John Shakespeare

    Fiona Katauskas

    Leak

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/9c2fc810ee8aa897aa052e61a122f88f?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  25. Less than 5 per cent of homes built in Australia are prefabricated. The federal government wants that to change, reports Rachel Clun

    How nice to see they are into recycling. This is about the third time I’ve heard this suggestion during a housing market ‘crisis’. Will it actually be tried this time or is it just just the usual ‘we’re taking action’ image making ? Previously SFA happened, perhaps there is are very good practical reasons why only 5% are prefabricated ?

    Then there is of course the flavour of the month solution, high(er) density housing. Prefab 8 storey apartment blocks ? Don’t think so . But the biscuit was taken by the exemplar they chose to illustrate prefab homes. FMD.

    • I’m eager to see what happens when his US$450 million is due on Tuesday. Probably more court nonsense, but if that does actually turn out to be a solid deadline and assets do actually start getting seized, that could hurt Trump quite a lot, and I hope that happens.

  32. If we do not see to the quality of our education systems, especially public schools, we will end up as dumbed down as USA-ians.

    Those Australians smart enough should have no barriers to an university education, and trades skills, with TAFE courses for anyone who has the ability to do it.

    We need respected, highly trained, well paid teachers and lecturers, classroom support staff and anti-bullying etc programs.

    For those who don’t want or can’t access tertiary education, on the job skills can be supplemented with training.

    We must add in mental Health supports as well.

    We can pay for it if we properly tax the ultra wealthy and big business.

    Our greatest resource is our people, not the stuff we dig out of the ground.

    That is my belief and always has been.

  33. A big week in Parliament with some really important figures coming through late in the week showing unemployment down to 3.7 per cent. It means that since we came to office 790,000 jobs have been created. 

    Unemployment is down, inflation is down, wages are moving and Australians will get to keep more of what they earn with our tax cuts.

    In case you’ve missed it – there’s also a 5&5 Live Podcast these days. My guest this week is the Labor MP, Sam Rae, you can listen and subscribe here.

    Here’s the 5&5.

    1. Welcoming Jodie Belyea

    On Monday we welcomed a new member to the House of Representatives, with Jodie Belyea sworn in as the Labor MP for the seat of Dunkley. It was a by-election nobody wanted following the death of Peta Murphy but as the PM said: “Peta Murphy did some fantastic things as the member for Dunkley, including recruiting Jodie to the Labor Party. I know I speak for everyone in this chamber when I say it is hard to imagine a greater compliment than being selected by Peta Murphy to serve the community that she loved so deeply.”

    2. Expanding Paid Parental leave

    A big win for families this week with our expansion of Paid Parental Leave passing the Parliament. Paid Parental Leave is a proud legacy of the Gillard Government. This change – which expands the scheme to six months – strengthens that. As Amanda Rishworth told the House:

    “From day one, this government has been working hard to improve paid parental leave for working families … This week we took another significant step forward. With the successful passage of our legislation in the parliament, we are delivering the largest expansion of paid parental leave since Labor established this back in 2011.”

    3. Katy Gallagher’s Senate smash hit

    It’s not too often the Senate gets a mention in this email – but this from Katy Gallagher was great. Over the weekend the South Australian Liberals sorted out their Senate ticket for the next election. Frontbencher Anne Ruston was knocked off the top of the ticket by the extremely conservative (male) backbencher Alex Antic. On Monday Katy answered a question from Jess Walsh about the importance of having women in politics.

    “I’m very proud, along with all my colleagues here and in the other place, to be a member of the first federal government that has a majority of members who are women. That of course hasn’t happened by accident, and we know that there are still some political parties that struggle with the role they want women to play in their political party.”

    4. Andrew Leigh’s boot-worthy comment

    It’s rare I’d nominate a Labor MP getting booted from the chamber under 94a in the best things that happened this week. But the reason Andrew Leigh was booted on Tuesday (and the way he dealt with it) was worth a mention. This might be the first time since Federation that someone has interjected with the word “divest”.

    5. Aged care worker, Kylie

    In Parliament I love it when you hear people tell stories of people they’ve met and how it fits in with policy changes. On Thursday Anika Wells did that – giving the example of Kylie, an aged care worker she’d met, and what our changes had meant for her.

    “I recently met with aged-care workers and they told me about their colleague named Kylie. Kylie is a single mum, living, working and raising her family in Penrith, in the member for Lindsay’s electorate. Before the 15 per cent increase in the award wage minimum, Kylie was trying to get approved for a mortgage, in order to buy a house for her and her kids. But the banks wouldn’t lend to her, because, despite doing this incredibly valuable work, she wasn’t paid enough. But under the Albanese Labor government that changed, and, after the pay increase on 1 July last year, Kylie has now been approved for a mortgage and been able to buy an apartment for the very first time. How amazing is that!”

    1. Saying goodbye to Linda White and Jack Fitzgibbon

    On Monday the Parliament said goodbye and thank you to our friend and colleague Linda White who passed away recently. Linda had only been in the Senate for a short time – but her time there built on a career spent fighting for Australian workers. Linda leaves an extraordinary legacy. The PM described her as possibly the most senior new backbencher to have ever existed. On Thursday there were also condolences for Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon – the son of former Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon – who died in a parachuting accident. The PM, Opposition Leader, Deputy PM and Shadow Defence Minister all spoke – reflecting the grief you could feel in the chamber.  

    2. Dutton’s nuclear mess

    On Tuesday the PM highlighted the absolute mess that Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy policy is in.

    “The Leader of the Opposition’s media team were around the gallery yesterday saying they were going to make a decision last night and were going to announce their nuclear policy. Today he went to the party room and said, ‘Well, there were a few details that were outstanding—just four: safety, disposal, cost and location.’ So apart from safety, apart from the disposal, apart from the cost, and apart from where they’re going to go, it’s all sorted out for those opposite: ‘Good news, team, good news.’ Other than that, everything is ready to go, ready to rip. You just need to buy the land, pour the slab, build the walls and put the roof on, then we have a new house. Unbelievable! In fact, nuclear power is a lot like the Liberal Party: no help to anyone today, completely wrong for Australia’s future, and notorious for waste that takes forever to clean up.”

    3. They moved that the member no longer be heard…again

    In Government the Liberals and Nationals spent a decade shutting down debate in Parliament and stacking the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with their mates. Now, even in Opposition they’re addicted to shutting down debate … about the AAT. Both Michael McCormack and James Stevens moved that members be no longer heard when Labor MPs were talking about our Bill to establish a new Administrative Review Tribunal. I’ve had it moved against me more times than anybody since Federation, but now Peter Khalil and Matt Thistlewaite have entered the race.

    4. We’re not mad, just disappointed

    Joe Hockey. Arthur Sinodinos. George Brandis. Alexander Downer. All former Liberal MPs who went on to serve as ambassadors – with support from us. On Wednesday the Opposition used Question Time to criticise Kevin Rudd’s role as Ambassador to the United States. The PM summed it up at the end of Question Time on Wednesday: “One of the things that I have never seen happen before in 28 years in this chamber is an attempt to politicise Australia’s representative overseas in an important nation such as that. I’ve never seen it before.”

    5. The scared, weird little guys

    A great Gen X reference from Catherine King in Question Time on Wednesday – referring to the Opposition as the “scared, weird little guys of Australian politics”. Less comedy, more calamity from Peter Dutton than the Scared Weird Little Guys.

    Parliament is back next week for the last sitting before the Budget.

    ’til then,

    Tony

    PS When I got back to my office and said “How funny was the reference to the Scared Weird Little Guys?” about half the staff looked back blankly and I realised there was a generational issue. So if you haven’t heard of them – check them out.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1N7TwuT5ediMtImbhQ0IdA

  35. I posted the 5&5 but it seems to have gone to the sin bin, can one of you marvelous mods please check?

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