The Shot: The Patheticness of Australian News

Kirsdarke Policy Analysis, Political Observation

I intended to write a post like this, but Dave Milner of The Shot has put it in words much better than I could have.

Dutton’s nuclear farts highlight the patheticness of Australian news

Deep within Canberra’s soiled halls, where sellouts, drunks, psychopaths and megalomaniacs roam, strategically weaponised bullshit is conjured up for our consumption. Soundbites, slogans, dog whistles and distractions – “announceables” that fall well short of being actual policies. Or even things that might plausibly happen one day. 

This is what Peter (“He’s not a monster” – his wife) Dutton is good at. And this is one of the many political tactics vast swathes of the mainstream press are utterly incapable of handling in a responsible manner. Instead, they offer him assistance, both unwittingly and deliberately, as he wastes everyone’s time and insults our intelligence. 

Dutton and his team have recently begun a nuke spruik; a push for nuclear power in Australia. And when Dutton sets this sort of agenda, the papers and nightly news uniformly and dutifully follow, down the path of dreaming up a Jettson’s-esque atomic future for a land drowning in sun, wind, and coastline. 

Excellent article in my opinion, and the final paragraphs are particularly poignant in regards to the modern media and human psychology.

483 thoughts on “The Shot: The Patheticness of Australian News”

  1. Private training colleges are being sent federal orders to stop recruiting fake overseas students and cease their exploitation of the visa system, in a new move to tighten the rules and cut the nation’s migration intake

    FMD April Fools Day came around again quickly. The arseholes have been stealing our money by fraud/deception and the government asks if they would be ever so kind as to stop stealing our money some time over the next 6 months , pretty please.

    The people involved must have many friends in high places as this sham has been going on for many years under both parties.

  2. Surprise phone call yesterday from hospital. “We’ve had a cancellation, could you come in tomorrow and get your other eye done.” Gasping with joy, I accepted. Been running around like a blue arsed fly, organising rides, bed, and sorting bins to put out. I am about to depart. Next time I’m here, I will see everyone’s words with both eyes.

    • All the best for the op 2g

      I couldn’t decided which one to post so I’m posting both –

    • Good luck, Gravel! Take fresh fruit in with you, and good listening stuff if you have more than a few days’ bed rest for recovery. With today’s IT gadgets we may even get a post or perhaps a few comments from you ‘on the ground’ as it were, if your good eye is working well? Even with comparatively few experiences in both public and private system hospitals, I have seen that aged care particularly needs scrutiny and enlightened consideration

  8. I’ve been wondering about the notion of a “…cost of living…” crisis.

    I’m on the pension and live the life of a nomad at various caravan parks. So apart from rent I don’t have power, water or rates expenses.

    So in my case I’m referring to mainly groceries and fuel and I find them more expensive.

    But there’s 2 points.

    1. Talking to a mate of mine who went back to NZ to visit family and he said the main topic of conversation apart from the Rugby was “..the cost of living crisis””
    2. I know of a family who rented an air bnb for a week at approx $4000 and who are now planning to go to the US for a month budgeting $45,000. The lady and her husband aren’t on massive wages. But the other day her conversation was all about the , you guessed it, “…cost of living crisis..”

    So on to the politics of it.

    Whilst the govt needs to let the electorate know that it recognizes that many household costs have gone up, does it run the risk of creating an electoral self fulfilling monster when in fact things might not be as bad as some say it is?

    My concern is that all of the positive actions eg prescriptions, cost of child care etc might get swamped .

    I think a really big task to get that balance right

  10. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Albanese’s is an ‘experimental’ government – and it looks like the experiment is failing, opines Shaun Carney. At the end of his article hes says, “It’s likely that minority federal governments will become a regular feature of the Australian political landscape. If so, politicians, interest groups and voters will need to develop the skills, temperament, patience, tolerance, and humility to make that sort of governance work. Unless they do, the nation will be cooked.”

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-s-is-an-experimental-government-and-it-looks-like-the-experiment-is-failing-20240508-p5gitz.html

    The average Australian household will be almost $1900 a year better off once the stage 3 tax cuts start from July 1, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers to argue new cost-of-living measures in next week’s federal budget will help ease inflation. Shane Wright reveals that Chalmers has told the states and territories that the new measures – expected to be an extension of last year’s energy price subsidy and a lift in Commonwealth rent assistance – will have a measurable impact on the official inflation rate.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/households-bank-on-tax-cuts-and-anti-inflation-budget-plans-20240508-p5glk4.html

    Australians are forecast to have more disposable income next year, according to budget predictions, with higher wages, tax cuts and lowering inflation. But those on unemployment payments are unlikely to see any major change to their financial situations, with the government dampening expectations the base jobseeker rate will increase, despite growing pressure from economists, social justice groups and equality advocates.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/budget-sneak-peek-predicts-higher-wages-and-tax-breaks-but-no-increase-for-australians-on-jobseeker

    Those calling for higher interest rates in Australia should be careful of what they wish for, argues Greg Jericho.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/article/2024/may/09/those-calling-for-higher-interest-rates-in-australia-should-be-careful-of-what-they-wish-for

    Michael Pascoe says that the RBA needs more propped-up businesses to fail.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/05/08/michael-pascoe-rba-inflation-employment

    David Crowe and Mike Foley say that the federal government will back the case for new gas fields and import terminals to secure the supplies, setting up a clash with the Greens and environmental groups over the new plan.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-steps-on-the-gas-to-fuel-its-climate-targets-20240508-p5gobt.html

    Alexandra Smith writes that the book ban uncovers some uncomfortable truths for Labor in Sydney’s west.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/book-ban-uncovers-uncomfortable-truths-for-labor-in-sydney-s-west-20240508-p5gp5l.html

    Same-sex families don’t just belong in Newtown: they belong everywhere, exhorts the SMH editorial.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/same-sex-families-don-t-just-belong-in-newtown-they-belong-everywhere-20240508-p5guvz.html

    Hunter Valley bus driver Brett Button was affected by prescription drugs when he was behind the wheel of the vehicle that crashed and tragically killed 10 wedding guests. Documents seen by the SMH reveal Button, who yesterday pleaded guilty to ten counts of dangerous driving, had an addiction to opioids that had alarmed doctors and employers.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/hunter-valley-bus-driver-to-plead-guilty-after-10-killed-in-tragic-crash-20240508-p5gj8x.html

    The line between cybercrime and cyberwarfare blurring, writes Paul Budde who says advanced technology is creating unparalleled danger in warfare, not only in terms of weaponry but the disruption of global systems.

    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/line-between-cybercrime-and-cyberwarfare-blurring,18579

    The Home Affairs Department has failed to effectively regulate migration agents, botching investigations into serious complaints including at least one allegation of sex trafficking. A damning Commonwealth auditor-general report accused the Home Affairs-managed Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority of a host of failures in supervising the migration agents who facilitate the arrival of vulnerable people into the country.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/ineffective-home-affairs-hammered-over-trafficking-investigation-failures-20240508-p5h15a.html

    The government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its deportation bill. Given the findings, it’s easy to see why, says Daniel Ghezelbash in The Conversation.

    https://theconversation.com/the-government-wanted-to-avoid-an-inquiry-into-its-deportation-bill-given-the-findings-its-easy-to-see-why-229384

    A rising tide of Islamism is reshaping our way of life, declares Peta Credlin.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/rising-tide-of-islamism-is-reshaping-our-way-of-life/news-story/94ad28249ac0cc879eaf8349d3ad7171?amp=

    The ABC now faces an awful dilemma. If, as now seems certain, it loses the media bargaining code revenue it has been receiving from Facebook, now Meta, it will have to sack many of the 60 journalists and support staff it has recruited since entering into commercial contracts in 2021, says Quentin Dempster about Meta vs Australia.

    https://johnmenadue.com/meta-versus-australia/

    Anthony Albanese needs to consider progressive moves toward an Australian republic to boost chances of another term in government, writes Dr Klaas Woldring.

    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/political-reconstruction-vital-for-albanese-re-election,18581

    Jessica Yun reports that Nestle, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, Kellanova and other global food makers have pushed back against allegations of price-gouging and, facing the prospect of another Senate inquiry, described supermarkets as the singular gatekeepers of grocery prices. The gloves are off!

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/multinationals-clap-back-blaming-supermarkets-for-rising-prices-20240508-p5glzd.html

    To suggest that the airline’s settlement over the ghost flights matter makes Qantas a trustworthy company is to be wilfully blind to its recent history, writes Joe Aston who says the airline has perfected the art of the non-apology. He concludes his excoriation with, “If Vanessa Hudson changed Qantas’ unbelievably aggressive revenue management practices, I would agree with her pretension to be “restoring confidence in the national carrier”. Until then, it looks to me like just another chapter in Qantas’ storied history of image management.”

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/sorry-not-sorry-qantas-perfects-the-art-of-the-non-apology-20240507-p5fqgb.html

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/sorry-not-sorry-qantas-perfects-the-art-of-the-non-apology-20240507-p5fqgb.html

    The PM’s rinse-and-repeat response to China jet incident will do little to deter its aggression, suggests Mattew Knott.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pm-s-rinse-and-repeat-response-to-china-jet-incident-will-do-little-to-deter-aggression-20240508-p5gjc8.html

    “What are the consequences of being a ‘wifey’ or ‘unrapable’. I hope those girls never find out”, writes Katy Hall after the Yarra Valley Grammar School incident.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-are-the-consequences-of-being-a-wifey-or-unrapable-i-hope-those-girls-never-find-out-20240508-p5giws.html

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-are-the-consequences-of-being-a-wifey-or-unrapable-i-hope-those-girls-never-find-out-20240508-p5giws.html

    The New York Time tells us about Stormy Daniels telling a story of sex with Trump as he listened in disgust.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/stormy-daniels-tells-a-story-of-sex-with-trump-as-he-listens-in-disgust-20240508-p5glyq.html

    Just how low will Republican politicians stoop to be Trump’s running mate, wonders Margaret Sullivan.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/article/2024/may/08/republican-politicians-trump-running-mate

    US officials have signalled to Israel that more arms shipments could be delayed if the Israeli military pushes ahead with an offensive in Rafah, Gaza, in what would mark the start of a major pivot in relations between the two countries. Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, confirmed yesterday that the Biden administration had paused the supply of thousands of large bombs to Israel, in opposition to apparent moves by the Israelis to invade the city.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/08/us-signals-to-israel-more-arms-shipments-could-be-paused-rafah-offensive-gaza

    A Sydney entrepreneur and Instagram influencer who brands herself the “glute master” has been accused of posing as a nurse and injecting unknown substances into the buttocks of patients, prompting a rare public warning from the state’s healthcare watchdog, reports Angus Thompson. The woman, whose photo says a lot, must be close to being “Arsehole of the Week”.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/glute-master-influencer-banned-by-healthcare-watchdog-20240508-p5gfi1.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe

    Andrew Dyson

    Matt Golding

    Cathy Wilcox

    Mark David

    John Shakespeare

    Dionne Gain

    Spooner

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/aa22647bee8394ce425e43d096106bad?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  11. The PM’s rinse-and-repeat response to China jet incident will do little to deter its aggression, suggests Mattew Knott.

    I can just imagine the screams from Knott’s fellow media lizards had a Chinese warship and military aircraft been pottering around as close to Australia as we were to China. So who else were we there with and what were we doing on behalf of our ‘masters’ the US of A ?

    Unfortunately the official bah blah has been a bit vague as to just where the incident happened .The Chinese response mentioned that the incident occurred in the Yellow Sea. Vague but a smaller area than that mentioned in our ‘dispatches’. Check out how far from home our military craft were and how close to China. Chinese aggression ?

  13. rnm1953

    Re the ‘cost of living’ crisis, I see it is a massive blanket term for one of the most basic, but significant individual concerns affecting (I’m guessing) a majority of people, each of whom would have their own definition. Your example of the holidaying people is a case in point. They are able to save for something of value to them. How much or how quickly they can save relies on essential spending for utilities, rent, health care, fuel and food costs etc. If things get really tight they can forego or postpone or review their holiday plans.

    I think the increasing costs of living beyond any contingency allowed for in someone’s budget, whatever their source of income, are likely to cause anxiety because they are largely out of our control. We can reduce, to some extent, the overall spending – lowering usage, fine tuning provision for health care, reviewing fuel and food expenditure. But all of those everyday costs regularly increase, presumably because shareholders expect to see increased dividends through greater profits, achieved largely by what their customers are spending.

    Based on my interpretation of the “cost of living” I don’t know how, or if, it could ever come to be seen as just another manageable factor in our existence as consumers. But I do hope that things improve for all the people who are finding it difficult to manage.

  17. Thanks everyone for your great responses. I woke this morning very disappointed because everything was very blurry, as after the first op, I could see everything clearly. After getting the follow up phone call, it was explained that the cataract was very dense, and sight will be normal, it just takes longer depending on the cataract. if not go in at 8am tomorrow and they will check it out. By lunch time everything was as clear as a bell, so I am thrilled. I can put the kids back in my Will, because it was done in the public hospital and all I had to pay for was the eye drops. I now have the four and a half thousand still in my bank account. I am one very happy little vegemite. p.s. I was put on the public list in January, so it was quicker than it would have been, if there hadn’t been the cancellation.

    On the cost of living. Yep, things are more expensive, it happens all the time. Businesses have used the change of circumstances to gouge everyone. Msm are pumping it very hard, and if you are told for long enough and often enough, you will believe it is worse than it ever was. On the other hand, if the other mob were in charge, all you would hear is the sound of crickets.

    • That’s wonderful to hear. I’m glad that your eye surgery went well.

      And yes, that’s sadly true about the MSM pumping hard about cost of living in order to destroy the Labor government and bring in their goals of a Coalition government in perpetuity, as the title article on this post alludes to.

  18. The Australian Financial Review will no longer have a physical edition in Perth after Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media doubled the cost of printing the newspaper.

    Gosh how sad. I will no longer be able to continue not buying the deadwood AFR. (insert crocodile tears).

  19. Letting it be known that next week I intend to put up an open thread regarding the Federal Budget, since that’s happening on Tuesday.

    Hoping to hear some good news from it, I suppose we’ll see.

    • PBXmas Tragics……………………….The Beer and Ciggies Up edition 🙂

      I’m expecting……………not much change. The tone of The Australian article above is far too relaxed and comfortable . If they thought any real reform was in the air we would see Jimbo’s budget portrayed as Das Kapital and he as Trotsky.

      I hope however I’m bigly wrong and some meaningful reforms come in to play. Something that starts to turns this trend around………………

      Inequality on Steroids as Bottom 90% get just 7% of Economic Growth Since 2009

      https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/inequality-on-steroids-as-bottom-90-get-just-7-of-economic-growth-since-2009/

  20. I’ve come to enjoy Taitset’s videos about railways in Australia. His latest is this, pretty much going over what has changed in Victoria since 1949.

    • Kirsdarke

      On one of the commercial tv stations, most nights they have an English show that is all about the old steam trains. Also on Aussie ones, which aren’t as interesting.

      I will be avoiding all news on msm for the next week, well I have been trying to avoid them since before last Christmas. There won’t be any ‘good’ news about the budget on any msm. I will find out if anything worth knowing by all you good people here.

      Times up to do the last eye drops for the day then I’m off to bed. Hopefully get an early start tomorrow so I don’t have to sit up too late again.

  21. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Shane Wright reckons that if Jim Chalmers gets the budget wrong, interest rate rises may kill his government.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/if-chalmers-gets-the-budget-wrong-interest-rate-rises-may-kill-his-government-20240506-p5fpcg.html

    The Australian thinks Jim Chalmers’ third budget will take Australia down a new economic path from the “orthodoxy” embraced by Labor and Coalition governments since the 1980s, promoting a bigger role for government as Treasury forecasts a looming slowdown in private-­sector investment growth. Acknowledging Labor’s shift away from the small government and less interventionist approach backed by the Hawke and Keating governments, the Treasurer said he would preside over a “new growth model for a new generation of prosperity”.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/era-of-jim-chalmers-in-gospel-of-paul-keating-out-treasurer-heralds-new-economic-orthodoxy-in-budget/news-story/1fb191cd14fa7bb1451cff1770ffd531?amp=

    The federal government is poised to expand rebates and concessions available to jobseekers in next week’s federal budget, which is also expected to increase rent assistance. Karen Middleton reports that Jim Chalmers has confirmed that Tuesday’s budget will not increase the jobseeker payment but suggested it would boost concessions linked to social security payments, among a suite of measures designed to offer cost-of-living relief without pushing up inflation.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/10/jim-chalmers-flags-budget-relief-for-income-support-recipients-after-ruling-out-jobseeker-boost

    Mike Foley writes that a government push for new gas projects will make climate change worse according to teal independents and Greens who will target Labor’s support for the fossil fuel at the next election after doing the same to defeat the former Morrison government. He reports that Grattan Institute energy director Tony Wood said the gas strategy was an opportunity for the government to detail its solutions for “serious challenges” on gas supply, but it had only offered broad principles without specifics. Absolutely!

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-s-gas-boost-opens-new-front-in-crossbench-election-battle-20240509-p5iysn.html

    The bottom line of the “future gas strategy” isn’t what it might mean for the government’s political fortunes, despite what Labor pollsters and political commentators might argue. It’s this, writes Adam Morton – the gas industry, one of Australia’s biggest greenhouse gas polluters, is getting what it wants. What it wants, in simple terms, is government approval to make multibillion-dollar investments in new gas reservoirs that will lead to billions of tonnes of emissions.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/labors-strategy-is-to-reduce-emissions-from-gas-but-not-if-that-means-doing-anything-to-cut-its-use

    Simon Johanson tells us that a major manufacturer has said the high cost of gas in Australia is skewing investment decisions towards other countries, and the Albanese government’s pledge to approve new gas projects and deliver affordable gas to customers won’t fix today’s problems.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/orica-boss-says-gas-pledge-won-t-fix-today-s-soaring-price-problem-20240509-p5ir22.html

    In the meantime, it has come out that Donald Trump dangled a brazen “deal” in front of some of the top US oil bosses last month, proposing that they give him $1bn for his White House re-election campaign and vowing that once back in office he would instantly tear up Joe Biden’s environmental regulations and prevent any new ones, according to a bombshell new report. According to the Washington Post, the former US president made his jaw-dropping pitch, which the paper described as “remarkably blunt and transactional”, at a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago home and club. WTF!

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/09/trump-oil-ceo-donation

    “What’s the economy for? How does it work? What does it do? Who owns it? Who runs it?”, Ross Gittins asks and he sets out to answer the questions.

    https://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/the-economy-s-just-the-means-to-an-end-so-are-we-getting-our-money-s-worth-20240509-p5jcei.html

    According to Angus Thompson, Home Affairs officials only began drafting emergency legislation to monitor criminals released from detention two days after a High Court judgment freed them, even though officials met Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ office several times in the lead-up to the November 8 ruling.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/laws-for-immigration-detainees-only-drafted-after-landmark-high-court-ruling-20240507-p5fpm4.html

    Parents whose children will never attend promised childcare or see promised school upgrades are unlikely to be satisfied by the Victorian treasurer’s postponement of election pledges, writes Annika Smethurst.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/pallas-says-labor-s-promises-have-been-delayed-many-would-say-they-ve-been-broken-20240509-p5isfh.html

    Shane Wright and David Crowe tell us that Jim Chalmers has done a Costello by asking Australians to have more kids.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-let-s-have-more-babies-says-jim-chalmers-20240509-p5jb5y.html

    Troy Bramston revels that Queen Elizabeth II penned a letter of sympathy to Peter Hollingworth after he resigned in disgrace as governor-general over his past handling of child sexual abuse as Anglican archbishop of Brisbane and lashed “activists” and their “horrid media campaigning” against the church. It is one of several extraordinary letters from senior members of the royal family, including then-prince Charles, offering consolation to Dr Hollingworth, who has since been found guilty of ­serious misconduct by the Anglican Church. Cringeworthy stuff!

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/hounded-out-by-activists-queen-elizabeth-iis-backing-for-disgraced-peter-hollingworth/news-story/fbcfee94b809d50b9953e6a15bbc06d6?amp=

    Social media giants will be called before a parliamentary inquiry into the societal damage done by Facebook, TikTok and other platforms as Elon Musk expands his legal challenge against Australia’s online watchdog. And Musk’s company X this week launched a case in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal testing the merits of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s order to remove videos of the April stabbing of a Sydney priest.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/musk-widens-legal-fight-with-australia-as-labor-pushes-social-media-probe-20240509-p5jb54.html

    David Crowe declares, “When uni students endorse terror, it’s time for political intervention”.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/free-speech-or-threat-to-society-uni-tensions-demand-political-intervention-20240509-p5ir0w.html

    Meanwhile, Victoria Police has told universities there is a strong likelihood of violence if they don’t break up pro-Palestine student encampments on their campuses, warning that agitators who are not students are inflaming tensions.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/police-warn-unis-to-break-up-protests-as-staffer-threatens-to-burn-camp-20240508-p5gqiv.html

    Henry Reynolds argues that the West believes antisemitism is a more egregious problem than genocide.

    https://johnmenadue.com/the-west-believe-antisemitism-is-a-more-egregious-problem-than-genocide/

    The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has applied to the federal court to reopen her racial discrimination case against Pauline Hanson, in a bid to air new evidence alleging that the One Nation leader knew Faruqi was a Muslim when she tweeted for her to “piss off back to Pakistan”. Amy Remeikis reports that Faruqi has alleged she had been racially discriminated against and vilified by Hanson under section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act and last week the federal court spent four days hearing evidence from both senators.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/faruqi-v-hanson-greens-senator-seeks-to-reopen-racial-discrimination-case-citing-new-evidence

    Andrew Tate’s extreme views about women are infiltrating Australian schools. We need a zero-tolerance response, urge these contributors to The Conversation.

    https://theconversation.com/andrew-tates-extreme-views-about-women-are-infiltrating-australian-schools-we-need-a-zero-tolerance-response-229603

    The epicentre for boys behaving badly might have been Yarra Valley Grammar this week, but it would be foolhardy not to think the same ratings are delivered at other schools. They are, writes Madonna Kong, and they spike in the last two years of high school ahead of semi-formals and formal celebrations.

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2024/05/10/madonna-king-yarra-valley-grammar

    “Crackdown on money launderers!” they cried. But are laws promised 17 years ago to stop lawyers, accountants and property developers from laundering money any closer. Asks Michael West.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/australia-money-laundering-to-keep-driving-up-real-estate/

    Nearly 50,000 new homes could be constructed by 2029 if the government forgoes two taxes and turbocharges planning approval times, with major housing developments in Sydney’s west considered financially unviable, reports Max Maddison.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/new-taxes-impeding-delivery-of-50-000-new-homes-in-sydney-developers-claim-20240508-p5gvar.html

    The Australian Financial Review will be forced to stop its physical edition in Perth this month after billionaire Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media abruptly doubled the cost of printing the newspaper for distribution in Western Australia. Nine Entertainment has said the decision would end seven decades of the financial journal’s distribution as a printed newspaper in the state. (This will have the effect of increasing the standard cost of Stokes’ own printed product).

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/afr-to-cut-print-in-wa-after-seven-s-abuse-of-power-20240509-p5jb72.html

    The SMH editorial posits that Biden’s curb on bomb delivery could be a catalyst to end the Rafah standoff. It says that while politicians position and negotiate, urgent assistance must be afforded to this shameful scene of ongoing famine and disease.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/biden-s-curb-on-bomb-delivery-could-be-a-catalyst-to-end-rafah-standoff-20240509-p5ir1h.html

    The US decision to pause the delivery of bombs represents a significant turning point in its relationship with Israel. But it may not necessarily be a breaking point, suggests The New York Times’ Peter Baker.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/frustrated-at-being-ignored-biden-chooses-a-dramatic-way-of-making-himself-heard-by-israel-20240509-p5jb64.html

    The oil super majors are eyeing shifting their primary stock exchange listings to New York as a stronger push to reduce fossil fuels in their home markets weighs on their share prices, writes Stephen Bartholomeusz who says it’s not easy being green for UK and European oil giants

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/it-s-not-easy-being-green-for-uk-and-european-oil-giants-20240509-p5ir0x.html

    Stormy Daniels’s testimony paints a dark picture of Trump’s view of sex and power, writes Moira Donegan who opines that Trump’s hush-money trial is, at heart, about the ways powerful men work to prevent women from telling ugly truths.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/09/stormy-daniels-testimony-trump

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    David Pope

    Andrew Dyson

    Matt Golding

    Cathy Wilcox

    John Shakespeare

    Simon Letch

    Fiona Katauskas

    Mark Knight

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/51ca875f2ba82c25da98bad393de3e8d?width=1024#image.jpg

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/2a5186a7f18f64a41d2283badfef2303?width=1024#image.jpg

    Leak

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/7b6c50f1f7f77ba2cbda2a18003e188d?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  23. Sorry about the dual post but I can’t work out how to delete a duplicate without having to refresh and start again.

    Also we have a new kitten in our lives and every time(maybe slightly exagerated) I try to post something he jumps on my keyboard. As I was typing he jumped on my keyboard again and would not let me use the mouse. Help!!!!

    Also my wife is in Hospital having a knee replacement. She will be home today so I should be able to get a break. Here’s hoping.

  26. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    “Chalmers has navigated a steady course. But can he nail a tricky landing?”, wonders Peter Hartcher in an article chock full of metaphors.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/chalmers-has-navigated-a-steady-course-but-can-he-nail-a-tricky-landing-20240510-p5jcjy.html

    Looking ahead to Chalmers’ budget, Paul Bongiorno says, “A reasonable question might be what the Coalition would do differently. What better solutions do they have to offer? Where would their spending cuts apply? Apparently, we can’t expect to hear much to enlighten us when Peter Dutton gives his budget reply on Thursday.”

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2024/05/11/jim-chalmers-prepares-his-budget-pitch

    John Hewson wonders who the budget might leave behind. He is concerned that we are in danger of embedding an underclass across Australian society.

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2024/05/11/who-will-the-budget-leave-behind

    A second man accused of a brutal attack on a Perth grandmother, in a case that sparked a furore over the migration system, was released from federal detention in early 2020 when Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was minister for home affairs. All one can say about this is, “Timely’.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/detainee-released-by-coalition-one-of-trio-accused-of-attack-on-grandmother-20240510-p5jch8.html

    In Melbourne, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles defended the board responsible for deciding if released detainees need ankle bracelets after the community summary revealed that only 76 of the 153 former detainees released after an earlier High Court decision were wearing the monitoring devices and only 68 had curfews.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-wins-high-court-deportation-challenge-20240509-p5jb90.html

    Shane Wright reckons Jim Chalmers has raised the baby debate the country needs.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/chalmers-wakes-the-baby-debate-the-country-needs-20240510-p5jcik.html

    Jack Waterford does not think much of Albanese’s skills of negotiation.

    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8623852/the-great-conundrum-of-the-anthony-albanese-labor-government/?cs=14329

    Jme Caro advances a case that free education is possible.

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2024/05/11/free-education-possible

    Josh Gordon thinks Labor’s economic reckoning might have finally arrived for Victoria.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/seeing-red-has-labor-s-economic-reckoning-finally-arrived-20240510-p5jchj.html

    “Labor says a greener future is on the way. So why is it taking a political gamble on gas?”, asks Karen Middleton.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/11/labor-says-a-greener-future-is-on-the-way-so-why-is-it-taking-a-political-gamble-on-gas

    Matthew Knott reports that Australia has joined 142 other countries in backing Palestinian statehood in a high-profile United Nations vote, breaking with some of its closest security partners and infuriating Israel.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-backs-un-resolution-supporting-palestinian-statehood-20240511-p5jcqt.html

    “Does David Crowe, a journalist at the Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald and the Age want to be regarded as the instigator of violence against students protesting the Gazan genocide?”, asks John Janusz Ebel, the son of a Holocaust survivor.

    https://johnmenadue.com/afr-smh-and-the-age-instigators-of-violence/

    Australians will be promised $12.3 billion in new housing programs in a federal budget pitch to ease fears of chronic shortages that force up rents and prices, with new support for women and children who need shelter after fleeing domestic violence. David Crowe tells us that yesterday Anthony Albanese struck a deal with state and territory leaders to inject more cash into construction, including a five-year agreement on social housing that will repair homes and expand crisis support.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-adds-billions-to-state-deals-on-housing-20240510-p5jcoh.html

    Immigration is a driver of GDP and a solution to Australia’s declining birth rate, but as housing pressures mount, polls showing strong support for reduced intake could force the government into a debate on population growth, suggests Mike Seccombe.

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/economy/2024/05/11/immigration-and-the-housing-crisis

    As Australia struggles with a surge in calls for help to domestic violence services, treatment programs for violent men are also struggling to meet demand, explains Rick Morton.

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/2024/05/11/five-month-delays-counselling-violent-men

    Michael McGowan reports that Felicity Wilson, the Liberal MP for the seat of North Shore, is contemplating breaking with the Coalition to support a bill introduced by Greens MP Jenny Leong requiring landlords to give reasonable grounds before terminating fixed or periodic leases.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/liberal-mp-considers-defying-party-to-support-greens-bill-on-no-grounds-evictions-20240510-p5jciq.html

    According to Karen Barlow, Tuesday’s budget will include a substantial support package for performing arts schools, several of which are on the brink of collapse.

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/economy/2024/05/11/exclusive-budget-promise-1152-million-arts-bailout

    As a review of the Lobbying Code of Conduct draws criticism from transparency advocates, lobbyists are descending on Canberra to take expensive seats at fundraisers around the most important night of the political year, writes Jason Koutsoukis telling us  how lobbyists shape the budget.

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2024/05/11/how-lobbyists-shape-the-budget

    “A religious civil war is raging but only one side understands that it is a battle over theology. At stake is whether the ascendant state morality will drive deeper into the ancient institutions of faith and force believers to submit to its temporal commandments. Nationally, the Australian Law Reform Commission’s final report on religious exemptions from anti-discrimination law is just another sortie in a long campaign over what the state will allow you to believe and how far it is prepared to go to force apostates to heel”, weeps Chris Uhlmann.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/progressive-crusade-to-bend-arc-of-history/news-story/0dbb230e3fa6b1af49fd8a15aa27184b?amp=

    Cumberland City Council’s ban on same-sex parenting books has more to do with fascist ideals than any professed concern for the well-being of children, writes Michelle Pini.

    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/same-sex-parenting-book-ban-today-world-domination-tomorrow,18588

    The Saturday Paper’s editorial really does a job on the councillor, saying, “Christou does not care. He has dull eyes and shiny shoes. He thinks the council is secretly negotiating a treaty with Indigenous people. He hosts events with Malcolm Roberts and Craig Kelly. He is from the garbage-collecting end of government, but he is not so different from right-wing politicians at the state and federal levels. He is an opportunist, borrowing from American politics to fight an enemy that does not exist.”

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/editorial/2024/05/11/future-proof

    Michaela Whitbourn takes us through Justice Michael Lee’s judgment on costs in the Lehrmann case. Another round of castigations was forthcoming.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/judge-rules-on-multimillion-dollar-costs-of-lehrmann-case-20240509-p5jb56.html

    Footage of a Sydney priest being stabbed should never have been removed from social media because it was not overly graphic and did not glorify terrorism, lawyers acting for Elon Musk’s X Corp have argued in court. “Global removal is reasonable when X does it because X wants to do it, but it becomes unreasonable when X is told to do it by the law of Australia,” eSafety’s lawyer, Tim Begbie, KC, said, adding that the social media company’s policies showed it sometimes issued global take-down orders.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stabbing-video-not-offensive-enough-to-be-removed-x-corp-tells-court-20240510-p5jch4.html

    Kerrie O’Brien tells us how US activists are impacting Australian libraries.

    https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/copycat-book-bans-how-us-activists-are-impacting-australian-libraries-20240509-p5jb5c.html

    The number of babies having tongue tie releases in Australia has skyrocketed over the past two decades. But debate continues to rage about whether the surgery improves breastfeeding or inflicts unnecessary pain on babies, writes Henrietta Cook.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-miracle-solution-for-some-barbaric-for-others-the-truth-behind-the-boom-in-cutting-babies-tongues-20240502-p5foac.html

    Australia and India have long enjoyed close ties. But not everything is rosy, says the SMH editorial pointing to the actions of the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that are now putting some of that relationship at risk.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/australia-and-india-have-long-enjoyed-close-ties-but-not-everything-is-rosy-20240510-p5jcne.html

    Joe Biden is desperate for this war to end – but neither Netanyahu nor Hamas is in any hurry, opines Jonathan Freedland.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/10/joe-biden-war-benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-rafah

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    David Pope

    Alan Moir

    Jon Kudelka

    Geoff Pryor

    Andrew Dyson

    Mark David

    Fiona Katauskas

    Leak

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/70c2548db1006ab5ed435c35f2d73762?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  27. “Labor says a greener future is on the way. So why is it taking a political gamble on gas?”, asks Karen Middleton“

    ————————————————————————————–]

    Easy peasy………….$$$$s. It may be a political gamble but it is also a nice little earner. For a start there are some powerful unions whose members do extremely well financially out of the industry. Out here in the wild wild west those unions and the resource companies are normally on a unity ticket when it comes to pushing projects.

    P.S. Re John Hewson’s contribution. It read like the sort of stuff I’d expect (but no longer do) from Labor pollies back in the day. 😦

  32. Australia’s SOP for the amazing scientific discoveries and developments is for it being forced overseas and so lost to Australia, unable to find interest among the ‘business community’ or government. It has been that way for many decades. The bit that I’ve bolded is something I’ve heard so many times and for it all to be frittered away by dumb arse short sight business peasants and pollies. Like when The #%$#@%!!!!! Rodent defunded swaths of CSIRO research. We lost a couple of world leading technologies there, forced overseas. Business in the USA and Japan said ‘than you very much’ for that couple of nice little earners.

    I bloody well hope Albo’s bucket of $ for this is a) Big enough and b) Not too late in the race.

    It was 2009, and a group of scientists had crowded around a tiny monitor in a Sydney physics laboratory. The team, led by electrical engineer Andrea Morello, held their collective breath and peered at a single flat line on the screen. Then, in the blink of an eye, the line changed: it was a series of blips, like a heartbeat. They’d hit paydirt. “When you see that symbol, you’re in the game,” recalls physicist Charles Tahan.

    Welcome to the quantum world, a subatomic realm – yes, smaller than an atom – where the laws of physics are, well, different. The experiment made Morello and his team the first in the world to show that a quantum computer could be made using not diamonds, not the superconductor niobium, but everyday silicon.

     Australia is among the world leaders in a quantum computing gold rush, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying his government is “serious about building a strong quantum ecosystem” and investing nearly a billion dollars.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/chandeliers-qubits-and-schr-dinger-s-cat-inside-the-bizarre-world-of-quantum-computing-20240507-p5fplk.html

  33. This couple timed their wedding well. Pic taken yesterday in the town where I was born. Any Pubsters lucky enough to get a look at the Aurora ?

  34. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Both Albanese and Dutton believe they’re on the right track. But one of them must be wrong, says Sean Kelly who thinks that ahead of budget week, both will be risk averse.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/both-albanese-and-dutton-believe-they-re-on-the-right-track-but-one-of-them-must-be-wrong-20240510-p5jcmp.html

    Inflation is likely to be within the Reserve Bank’s target band of 2 to 3 per cent by the end of the year, the federal budget will reveal tomorrow, and will reduce pressure on official interest rates but also signal an economy struggling to grow fast enough to generate strong jobs growth.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-budget-promises-good-news-on-inflation-and-interest-rates-but-there-s-a-flipside-20240512-p5jcvd.html

    Jim Chalmers could well be setting the government up for a potential political catastrophe ahead of the election if Treasury’s new inflation forecasts are wrong, says Simon Benson.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/jim-chalmers-rolls-the-dice-on-inflation/news-story/e57ffb06ce6518001be96f367c02ff39?amp=

    Shane Wright looks at how well the government has addressed the five major budgetary issues it identified after taking power.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-five-key-pressures-on-the-budget-and-how-they-ve-blown-out-over-time-20240510-p5jcna.html

    Ross Gittins declares that Labor’s persistent refusal to fix the JobSeeker payment is shameful.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/labor-s-persistent-refusal-to-fix-the-jobseeker-payment-is-shameful-20240512-p5jcw8.html

    Universities will be forced to stop a surge in overseas students and help cut annual migration to 260,000 a year under a federal cap that has sparked fears of drastic intervention that hurts the sector. David Crowe writes that the federal plan will require universities and other education providers to slash the growth in overseas student numbers from the 15 per cent increase they recorded last year, under talks aimed at driving that number toward 5 per cent.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/inside-labor-s-drastic-cap-on-overseas-students-and-the-urgent-meeting-it-s-triggered-20240512-p5jcve.html

    The SMH reports that a man released from immigration detention by the former Coalition government has been convicted of carrying an illegal weapon in the wake of being charged with assault in the alleged bashing of Perth grandmother Ninette Simons and says this might take a bit of sting out of the opposition’s attacks on Labor.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/weapons-conviction-piles-pressure-on-dutton-over-released-detainee-20240511-p5jcsn.html

    Discrimination against pregnant workers or those on parental leave is on the rise – complaints about that issue and redundancy have increased by 15 per cent in the past year. Amber Schultz tells us that some employers directly told employees their pregnancy would “bankrupt the business”. Other employers were less explicit, excluding new mothers from meetings and handing their responsibilities to other staff members, making them redundant, then hiring the maternity cover into a permanent role.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/you-ll-bankrupt-the-business-pregnant-workers-made-redundant-20240509-p5jb8o.html

    “Is the Coalition planning to overtake Labor and tax rich inner-city EV drivers?”, asks Paul Karp. He says the commonwealth had state electrical vehicle taxes struck down in court and now reform is stuck in the slow lane.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/13/is-the-coalition-planning-to-overtake-labor-and-tax-rich-inner-city-ev-drivers

    The latest news on emissions is not good. The annual climate update was buried by other news, notably the climate damaging Future Gas Strategy, writes David McEwen who opines that Labor is staring down the barrel of a climate defeat.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/the-other-budget-labor-staring-at-climate-deficit/

    No silver bullet is going to fix our housing woes, but there is now a window of opportunity through which real and significant change can occur, suggests Scott Langford.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/housing-system-is-broke-and-broken-but-government-alone-can-t-solve-this-crisis-20240512-p5jcv9.html

    Ahead of the ALP state conference this weekend, Influential construction unions have joined more than 30 Labor branches in contesting the Allan government’s plans to redevelop Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/building-unions-labor-branches-clash-with-state-on-housing-towers-demolition-20240512-p5jcvj.html

    Labor’s paid placements are a slap in the face, not a saving grace, argues Victoria Devine.

    https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/labor-s-paid-placements-are-a-slap-in-the-face-not-a-saving-grace-20240510-p5jcl8.html

    The SMH editorial commends Chris Minns for committing to an apology to the LGBTQ community.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-commend-minns-for-committing-to-an-apology-to-lgbtq-community-20240512-p5jcxs.html

    Kate McClymont tells us about the dirty stuff behind the arson of Jordan Shanks’ home. It’s not pretty.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-abc-reporter-the-underworld-postman-and-the-sinister-threats-20240512-p5jcxf.html

    Alexandra Smith writes that the NSW Liberals will run female candidates for the first time in the federal seats of Wentworth and North Sydney as the party tries to wrest both back from teal independents and convince voters it has made ground in fixing its so-called women problem.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/liberals-new-game-plan-to-take-on-teals-and-it-involves-women-20240510-p5jcht.html

    The Albanese government has directly, if unintentionally, rewarded Hamas and its long history of anti-Semitic terrorism, complains Greg Sheridan.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/australia-rewards-hamas-for-antisemitic-terror-by-voting-to-admit-palestine-as-a-un-member-state/news-story/39a867451ccc6377a5bae35ad49dc38a?amp=

    Palestinian statehood is the only way forward for peace – and our media don’t help, posits Margaret Reynolds.

    https://johnmenadue.com/palestinian-statehood-is-the-only-way-forward-for-peace/

    At Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial, his lawyers have insisted he had “nothing to do” with any of the felony charges against him. But testimony from prosecution witnesses over the past several weeks has called that argument into question, underscoring that Trump can be obsessive about two all-important aspects of his work: anything having to do with the media, and anything having to do with his money. The 34 documents at the heart of the prosecution’s case relate to both obsessions, explains The New York Times.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-is-a-micromanager-prosecutors-doubt-he-d-let-lawyers-handle-stormy-daniels-20240512-p5jcw6.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    Megan Herbert

    Alan Moir

    Joe Benke

    Jon Kudelka

    Mark David

    Peter Broelman

    Mark Knight

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/fea41c29269cb4f37675f7aad23f2931?width=1024#image.jpg

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/067235b0e26293fd2cb59ab3b474a664?width=1024#image.jpg

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/f0f2d4df68ef6c6f522486fa9fd0df9b?width=1024#image.jpg

    Spooner

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/047a056b346716a9e83e7f9819034b12?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  36. Good to see Robert Gottleibsen, standing up for ‘The Battlers’………………….

    ——————————————————————————

    ‘Woeful’:Fury over super tax changes grows stronger.

    Not happy, Jim! Readers have flooded me with these messages about the short-sighted proposed tax changes to superannuation balances over $3m. This column is devoted to them.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/why-aussies-are-furious-over-tax-on-super-balances-over-3m/news-story/c150adec817543c6d7878a1500b4bb86

    To give an idea of how tough life in retirement is for those with ‘just’ a $3 mill super pot when they retire I ran it through my Superannuation fund’s retirement calculator. With a $3 mill balance if I retired today I could expect to have to make do with $168,000 pa until I was 92.

  38. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Shane Wright reckons Jim Chalmers will forecast a second successive surplus – of $9.3 billion – in Tuesday’s budget, which will promise nationwide cost-of-living relief without fuelling inflation while trying to reshape the economy with its Future Made in Australia industry package.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/9-3-billion-chalmers-lands-the-surplus-double-in-third-budget-20240513-p5jd6e.html

    Shoppers are cutting back their spending at supermarkets, bakeries and butchers to cope with soaring insurance and education costs as household spending continues to slump, and Australia’s biggest bank predicts spending will continue to fall due to persistent cost-of-living pressures. Rachel Clun writes that monthly household spending fell by a significant 1 per cent in April, according to Commonwealth Bank’s households spending insights, and over the past year spending has grown by only 2.6 per cent, down from 3.9 per cent in the year to February.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-really-stark-indicator-people-slashing-food-spending-to-cope-with-rising-costs-20240513-p5jd5r.html

    David Crowe and Daniella White report that university chiefs are being told to channel international students into courses that fill Australian skills shortages, deepening a dispute over federal plans to cap their annual intake.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/cut-reliance-on-chinese-and-indian-students-government-tells-universities-20240513-p5jd1g.html

    The Age says that Victoria’s hospitals have been warned they have to rein in rising cost blowouts and they will not be bailed out if they go over budget, stoking fears of amalgamations and eroded patient care.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/hospitals-put-on-notice-no-bailouts-if-budgets-blow-out-20240513-p5jd40.html

    According to Alan Austin, the latest debt figures prove the stark differences between Australia’s political parties. He measures a decade of reckless Liberal Party debt.

    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/measuring-a-decade-of-reckless-liberal-party-debt,18593

    No more Ashes, no more AFL or NRL Grand Finals, no more Olympics. If you no longer watch TV with an aerial, seeing big sporting events for free may soon be a thing of the past, explains Kim Wingerei.

    https://michaelwest.com.au/goodbye-to-free-sport-on-tv-hello-to-paid-streaming/

    Men accused of serious domestic violence offences will either be denied bail or be forced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet under a major shakeup of the state’s bail laws likely to be introduced into parliament this week. Michael McGowan tells us that today the Minns government will announce a series of sweeping changes designed to make it harder for men accused of serious domestic violence offences to be released back into the community.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minns-to-announce-tough-new-bail-laws-after-molly-ticehurst-death-20240513-p5jd9i.html

    The number of medical graduates wanting to enter general practice has tumbled to its lowest level in more than a decade as doctors question how the federal government will staff dozens of new urgent care clinics, writes Angus Thompson.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/run-off-your-feet-why-medical-students-such-as-jordon-are-turning-away-from-general-practice-20240513-p5jd4u.html

    A more buoyant business and consumer outlook is slowly emerging in South Australia, according to a BankSA survey, with the injection of confidence fuelling a hiring spree in industries including construction, transport and agriculture. BankSA’s quarterly State Monitor, released on Tuesday, shows business confidence has increased to its highest points since October 2022, rising by 4.2 points to 116.8, where 100 is a neutral level.

    https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/banksa-state-monitor-shows-business-confidence-up-to-highest-level-since-october-2022/news-story/463f617d9f3ab509294abb548e04390e

    Andrew Brown reports on the decision of the ACT to launch a probe into the conduct of Walter Sofronoff KC, saying it “may constitute corrupt conduct”.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/corruption-watchdog-investigates-lehrmann-inquiry-head-20240513-p5jdbj.html

    Amelia Maguire writes that counsel assisting the NSW inquiry into The Star said it was clear the casino was not ready to operate independently and it should remain under external management, describing it as being leaderless and depleted.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/leaderless-and-depleted-star-not-ready-for-casino-licence-inquiry-told-20240513-p5jd79.html

    Elizabeth Knight writes that Australia’s eSafety Commissioner’s office and the Albanese government just received a further nasty reality check – that wrangling Elon Musk doesn’t come easy. Commissioner Julie Inman Grant joins a conga line of regulators around the world attempting to lasso social media giants, and in particular Musk’s X.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/picking-fights-with-social-media-giants-seems-to-be-ending-in-tears-20240513-p5jd7z.html

    The editorial in the SMH call for the Cumberland Council to reverse its same-sex library book ban.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/cumberland-council-should-reverse-its-same-sex-library-book-ban-20240513-p5jd2m.html

    Religious schools want to have it both ways. They can’t, declares Crispin Hull in a worthwhile read.

    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8626386/yarra-valley-grammar-incident-and-religious-school-rules/?cs=27845

    Victoria has spent $1.2 billion on providing students with small-group tutoring in schools but is keeping parents in the dark about the program’s effectiveness. Robyn Grace reports that an evaluation of a similar program in NSW found it had “minimal effect” on academic improvement in literacy and numeracy, but the Victorian Department of Education has repeatedly blocked the release of its own review of the Tutor Learning Initiative.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/one-a4-sheet-is-all-that-justifies-a-1-2-billion-school-program-20240510-p5jcng.html

    A “terrible IT problem” is behind empty shelves at some Woolworths stores in Queensland. In scenes reminiscent of the panic buying of the early Covid pandemic, some Woolworths chains have been stripped of fruit and vegetables, reports Mostafa Rachwani.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/13/woolworth-shelves-left-bare-across-parts-of-queensland-after-terrible-it-problem

    Peter Hartcher nicely describes the intractable situation of the Israel/Palestine war. Well worth reading.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/netanyahu-and-hamas-know-this-war-is-unwinnable-so-how-does-it-end-20240513-p5jd2j.html

    As human rights experts warn of an ongoing genocide in Gaza, any opposition to Zionism is being egregiously labelled as extremism, writes Martin Hirst.

    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/amidst-genocide-and-war-anti-zionism-protesters-are-demonised-as-extremists,18594

    Stephen Bartholomeusz explains how the US is tightening the screws on China, citing the near quadrupling of the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/joe-biden-is-about-to-ramp-up-america-s-trade-war-with-china-20240513-p5jd18.html

    “1968 was an inflection point for the US. Is another one coming in 2024?”, wonder these contributors to The Conversation who point to the unresolved social fissures that have existed there of decades.

    https://theconversation.com/1968-was-an-inflection-point-for-the-us-is-another-one-coming-in-2024-229386

    The compelling part of this case is not whether Trump did something wrong with business papers, but how it shows – in a vivid way – that he’s the wrong man for the job, writes Maureen Dowd in a colourful contribution.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/in-the-president-v-the-porn-star-stormy-daniels-is-a-legal-dominatrix-20240513-p5jd8t.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    Cathy Wilcox

    Matt Golding

    Andrew Dyson

    Dionne Gain

    Mark Knight

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/6f918d2e49627ded4b2135245dc26902?width=1024#image.jpg

    Spooner obsesses yet again!

    https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/0d044e26c2f00e06e8c908e91a8cebfb?width=1024#image.jpg

    From the US

  39. David Crowe and Daniella White report that university chiefs are being told to channel international students into courses that fill Australian skills shortages,

    For eleventy years we have been told by both parties their immigration program specifically addresses the ‘skills shortage’. Yet this ‘skills shortage’ never ever ever goes away. It seems both parties have been very happy to continue this expensive failure so I suppose they see it as a ‘feature’ rather than a ‘failure’.

  40. According to Alan Austin, the latest debt figures prove the stark differences between Australia’s political parties. He measures a decade of reckless Liberal Party debt.

    Like sooo much crap in Australia it started with The Rodent. When the Kevin 07 campaign hit town George Megalogenis wrote a long article on just what The Hammock Dweller and The Rodent had done to the economy and the ticking bomb they’d left for Rudd’s crew. Costello and Howard had basically ‘pissed the mining boom up against the wall’, great wads of it to ‘middle class welfare’. They also committed future governments to spending based on the assumption that financial rainbows would continue hitting us in the arse.

    So yep, when it comes to profligate spending the Coalition can rightfully chant “We’re No.1 !! We’re No.1 ! We’re No.1 ! ” .

  42. Just read that David McBride will be jailed .

    I don’t know if he was a whistle blower , naive or whether he was just plain guilty of leaking classified information .

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