News update for Fri 19 July 2024
Your trusted guide to the top independent news and views of the day...
Welcome to your TrueNorth news update where every weekday afternoon we share curated articles from Australia’s independent news media sector.
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TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
BREAKING NEWS: Australia news live: media companies, banks and supermarkets hit by global outage linked to Windows PCs - The Guardian
AUKUS submarine deal will damage Australia’s interests - Pearls and Irritations
Andrew Fowler, an award-winning investigative journalist and former reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corp, has just published a new book titled Nuked: The Submarine Fiasco that Sank Australia’s Sovereignty. Based on discussions with a range of global sources, this book “pieces together the plot to sink the French and switch to a nuclear-powered US submarine”, adding that this “botched operation compromised Australia’s ability to defend itself”.
Fowler argues the AUKUS fiasco will, in particular, haunt the current Australian Labor Party (ALP) government for years to come, and he is surely right about this. The ALP displayed unalloyed folly in 2021, when it made zero effort to contain its reckless impulse to endorse Morrison’s first AUKUS announcement, lest the ALP be seen to be soft on defence.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Elbit: how Australia helped finance the IDF killing of Zomi Frankcom and the slaughter in Gaza - Michael West Media
The weapons company whose drones killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza has been washing taxpayers’ money into Israel with cheap loans and large dividend payments, on top of its related party payments for weapons contractors.
Australia is effectively financing the genocide of Palestinians and the slaughter of foreign aid workers with public money.
MWM has analysed the past four years of financial statements for Elbit Systems of Australia Pty Ltd. This company is directly owned by Elbit Systems Ltd in Israel; it is the country’s largest weapons maker. Its drones were deployed in the precision missile strikes on the World Kitchen Central aid convoy in Gaza, which killed seven aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
Read more in Michael West Media
Also read > Israeli lawmakers vote against Palestinian statehood - Pearls and Irritations
History’s burdens: Labor’s foundational support for Israel still colours its attitude towards Palestinian statehood - Inside Story
Labor’s complex relationship with Palestine — its in-principle support for a Palestinian state versus its ties to an Israel of the party’s imagination that no longer exists — has been decades in the making.
History hangs heavy on Labor’s relationship with Israel. Its foundational support for Israel; its traditional ties to Israel’s labour movement; its alignment with Israel’s social democratic values; its connections to a Jewish establishment — none of these is reflected in the sort of country Israel has become.
Don't Shoot The Messenger: Has The Attempt On Trump's Life Handed Him The Election? - Fourth Estate Podcast
We're still months away from the US election, and already the 2024 presidential race is proving even more tumultuous than previous years, with a gunman opening fire on the former President, Donald Trump at a political rally. Now many are wondering whether the attempt on Trump's life may have sealed the fate of the election? Host, Tina Quinn is joined by Walkley award-winning journalist, Hamish Macdonald and US political commentator, Kim Hoggard to discuss.
Listen to The Fourth Estate Podcast
Trump calls for unity then returns to familiar attacks in lengthy speech - The Guardian
Donald Trump recounted the attempt on his life in dramatic detail as he formally accepted the Republican nomination for president on Thursday evening in Milwaukee in a speech that began with a call for unity and then turned into meandering attacks on his political rivals.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said to an electrified crowd at the Fiserv Forum. Speaking in a subdued, quiet tone, Trump called his survival a “providential moment” and said: “I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.”
Also >
How Donald Trump Turned Christian Nationalists Into an Electoral Army - Inside the Hive by Vanity Fair
What would Trump 2.0 mean for the global economy? - Greg Jericho’s Dollars & Sense Podcast
Why you've been hearing about Project 2025 - The Daily Aus Podcast
How Ronald Reagan started the ruination of the USA - Pearls and Irritations
Trumpmania - Capital Brief
Yes, we are a more equal society than most, but not quite as mobile as the Productivity Commission suggests. Here’s why - The Conversation
If you listened to the Productivity Commission, you would think Australia was a pretty equal place in terms of income and wealth, and particularly good in terms of equality of opportunity.
Its major investigation released last week, entitled Fairly Equal?, found Australia’s income mobility is second only to Switzerland’s.
It’s a high-quality piece of work, created by linking personal income tax, social security and census records and also linking records across generations. This allows the commission to examine how children fare compared to their parents.
Today’s cartoon by Glen Le Lievre
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
Who knew the CFMEU's dirty secrets? - 7am Podcast
This week, allegations of corruption, criminal infiltration, standover tactics and other nefarious activities within the ranks of the CFMEU have been all over the media. The reports have shocked, but not surprised, many in the community. Stories of underworld figures trading their leather for high viz, motorcycle helmets for hardhats – all in order, it is alleged, to get a slice of taxpayer-funded projects. Now there are questions over who knew what, when, and what it means for some of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects.
Domestic violence perpetrators could be tracked by specialised agency, Australian crime institute says - The Guardian
Domestic violence perpetrators should be treated like “fixated persons”, similar to violent extremists and stalkers targeting politicians, according to an expert government body tasked with seeking a solution to the intimate partner homicide crisis.
The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has delivered a report to the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, suggesting a trial of a Domestic Violence Threat Assessment Centre, which could gather intelligence, monitor individuals and intervene against those at high risk of carrying out a homicide.
Read more from Josh Butler for The Guardian
Renewable hydrogen: Superpower, or green mask for fossil super villains? - Renew Economy
My children are aged three and four. They love anything with super powers – Spiderman, vampires, Paw Patrol, everything.
As a parent, I’m always careful to remind them that super powers are fun for pretending, but they are not real.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to teach this to kids when federal government ministers say things like “green hydrogen is at the heart of our vision for Australia as a…renewable energy superpower.”
Nauru detainee speaks out as new boat arrivals near 100 - The ABC
The number of refugees being held on Nauru has increased sixfold in six months, raising questions about the future of the detention centre that was empty at one stage last year.
Despite the facility being vacant in June 2023, advocates say there are now 96 people being held on the Pacific island, up from 15 in February.
The detention centre is holding dozens of people who have made it to Australia's coastline by boat, something Opposition Leader Peter Dutton blames on "weak" messaging and a drop in air and sea patrols.
Also >
Nauru detainees soar six-fold - The ABC
The health crisis in offshore detention - The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Ashley Youth Detention Centre detainee urges premier to act amid claims of no support and lockdowns like at a 'dogs' home' - The ABC
A detainee at Tasmania's only youth detention centre wrote to the premier last year, claiming the young inmates feel like "dogs at the dogs' home" and are not being given a chance to turn their lives around.
The letter, which was included in the Custodial Inspector's 2023 report into the physical and mental wellbeing of detainees at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, was sent to Premier Jeremy Rockliff in June last year.
Also read > The Rotten Core - Nick Feik for The Monthly
While men’s trust in government is on the rise, women are becoming more sceptical of our leaders and institutions - Women’s Agenda
Women are placing less trust in the federal government than men in Australia, new international research has revealed.
A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has laid bare a growing “gender trust gap” in Australia: while men are trusting more than they did previously, women’s trust in the government is on the decline.
The OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions collects data from the 30 member countries, and survey respondents are asked how much they trust in the government based on how it manages emergencies, the climate crisis, new technologies and more.
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Unthinking privatisation leaves much mess to be cleaned up - Ross Gittins for The SMH/Age
Nine CEO urges staff to ‘get into the Olympic spirit’ – but doesn’t mention he will keep the flame burning in Paris - Amanda Meade for The Guardian
Newsroom edition: has life for Australians become harder, or does it just feel that way? - The Guardian’s Full Story Podcast
Tenacious D comedy-rocker makes gag — prepare the gallows! - Independent Australia
Harnessing the beautiful diversity of Western Sydney: A short tale of a Citizens' Assembly - Tim Dunlop for The Future of Everything
Is Labour's King's Speech bold enough? - The Rest Is Politics Podcast
Australia’s $50,000 arts degree is here – putting university fees on par with the UK and US - The Guardian
Two Sydney teal seats 'smashed together' if Albanese calls an early election - Capital Brief
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
Share your views on Australia’s media landscape through TrueNorth’s short survey
You’re up to date for Friday the 19th of July. See you on Monday!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here