News update for Fri 2 Aug 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.
Please share with friends, family, colleagues - as good journalism is always worth supporting.
Scroll down for today’s news and views…
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
See TrueNorth’s Democracy Quiz - scroll down for this week’s question and test your #auspol knowledge.
Powered by Political Gadgets
'I have eyes, but I don't see': The community groups helping refugees settle - 7am Podcast
At Sydney Airport on a muggy night in November 2022, a group of volunteers from Sydney’s northern beaches crowd inside arrivals waiting to greet a family they had never met. Known as the ‘Manlygees’, they’re there to welcome a Kurdish family originally from Syria who had spent the past decade in a refugee camp in Iraq. They’re part of an ambitious pilot program introduced in 2022, called the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot, or CRISP, in which a sponsoring community acts as the safety net for refugees rather than government-funded settlement services. But two years on, the program’s successes are hitting constraints, with experts questioning whether CRISP can become a genuine pathway to settlement, or whether it’s a shortcut to positive government PR.
Listen to more on the 7am Podcast
Rupert Murdoch’s succession plan reveals a lot about his empire – and most of it is not pretty - The Conversation
Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to continue controlling his company from beyond the grave would be better labelled Project Hegemony, than Harmony, because it’s designed to cement one sibling’s dominance over the others and shield the business from possible progressive reform.
But, in attempting to revoke the “irrevocable” family trust that sets out the company’s governance after his death, Murdoch has laid bare his own business. He has exposed what many observers have long suspected about the company, and revealed just how much is now at stake. Most of the revelations are not pretty, but some hint at a very different future for the global media empire.
Antarctic temperatures rise 10C above average in near record heatwave - The Guardian
Ground temperatures across great swathes of the ice sheets of Antarctica have soared an average of 10C above normal over the past month, in what has been described as a near record heatwave.
While temperatures remain below zero on the polar land mass, which is shrouded in darkness at this time of year, the depths of southern hemisphere winter, temperatures have reportedly reached 28C above expectations on some days.
The globe has experienced 12 months of record warmth, with temperatures consistently exceeding the 1.5C rise above preindustrial levels that has been touted as the limit to avoiding the worst of climate breakdown.
Also read >
War in a hot climate: the luxury of AUKUS in a time of global overheating - Pearls and Irritations
Sluggish, slow and anaemic: BloombergNEF’s sad take on Australia’s green energy transition - Renew Economy
'Nothing to eat': War-Torn Sudan faces mass famine as military delays aid - Pearls and Irritations
Both parties in Sudan’s civil war are to blame for a looming mass famine, experts say, and the military’s blocking of U.N. aid at a border crossing with Chad exacerbates the problem.
Sudan’s military is blocking United Nations aid trucks from entering at a key border crossing, causing severe disruptions in aid in a country that experts fear may be on the brink of one of the worst famines the world has seen in decades, The New York Times reported Friday.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Fair Work set to apply for CFMEU administrators as crossbenchers tell federal government to go further - ABC News
The federal government should withhold infrastructure funding until the states demonstrate they are cracking down on building industry criminality, according to a growing group of crossbenchers pushing the government to go further on the CFMEU.
The intervention comes as the Fair Work Commission is expected to apply to the Federal Court for the appointment of independent administration to the embattled union.
The federal government directed the commission to take control of the union in July, following a string of reports linking it to criminal gangs and standover tactics.
Today’s cartoon by Cathy Wilcox for The SMH/Age
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
Queensland police data shows youth crime at near-record lows. So why the ‘tough on crime’ election talk? - The Guardian
New data released by the Queensland Police Service shows youth crime rates in the state have fallen to near-record lows.
With a state election looming and the unofficial campaign in full swing, the Queensland “youth crime crisis” or “epidemic” has become a totemic issue. Labor and the Liberal National party continue to push “tough” and “tougher” plans to address community concern.
The government says police statistics – showing a reduction in youth offences last financial year – are proof that its police-led policies, including high-arrest saturation operations, are working.
Experts, however, warn that crime suppression operations will only ever have a temporary effect and that any reduction in crime is simply “kicking the can down the road” – until after the election.
Who will Kamala Harris choose as her VP? - The Daily Aus Podcast
We are fewer than 100 days out from the U.S. Election and it is nearly time for Kamala Harris to pick her Vice Presidential candidate. What exactly is Harris looking for, and what kind of difference to her campaign is she hoping a vice presidential pick could make? In today's deep dive, we cover off on all the VP hopefuls, why they could be a strategic pick for Harris and what comes next.
Listen to more on The Daily Aus Podcast
Dan Rather: This Guy is Scared - His worst nightmare? Losing to a woman of color.
When I heard that Donald Trump was scheduled to appear at the National Association of Black Journalists conference, I was, frankly, surprised. Strategically I thought that it would not be the best move for the Republican presidential nominee. While he has improved in the polls among Black voters, he is not close to winning that demographic. He would, by all accounts, be walking into a hostile room. I assume his campaign ran a cost-benefit analysis. If they did, their numbers were off.
In what will likely go down as one of Trump’s worst interviews — and that is a low bar — he started out defensively and ended by getting pulled off stage early by his campaign staff. He lied and ranted, incoherently at times, about Kamala Harris and her race.
Read more from Dan Rather for his Steady substack
Inflation exoneration: Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers may be able to claim victory on inflation sooner than expected - Capital Brief
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers appear one step closer to winning the war on inflation and getting their sought after economic soft landing. And it could make all the difference for their federal election prospects.
Because while inflation still remains too far above the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2% to 3% target range, rate cut momentum is back in the air domestically and abroad after this week’s better-than-feared June quarter inflation data.
The Chairman's Lounge view of the airline industry - John Quiggin
Politicians fly a lot, and mostly enjoy it. So do many of the people they interact with on a daily basis: senior public servants, business leaders, lobbyists and so on. That’s a crucial fact in understanding the mess that is the Australian airline industry.
Politicians in Australia routinely fly business class, and enjoy membership of Qantas’ invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge. Air travel is not only an occupational necessity but a relatively pleasant and relaxing part of a generally stressful job.
For most Australians, air travel is an occasional experience. We fly once or twice a year on average. It’s the most affordable and convenient way of covering our long distances, but it’s often stressful and not particularly comfortable. For those outside the “Golden Triangle” (Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane) it can be expensive and the flights we want can be hard to find.
See TrueNorth’s Democracy Quiz - scroll down for this week’s question and test your #auspol knowledge.
Powered by Political Gadgets
This week’s Democracy Quiz question…
Q. The latest Closing the Gap report was released this week, revealing further disturbing news about the wellbeing of Australia’s First Nations people. According to the report produced by the Productivity Commission, how many of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met? ?
1. 9
2. 5
3. 7
Do you have a quiz question? Email us here.
Inspired by a local group of people in Sydney's north who were looking for t-shirts to wear on their regular walks, Democracy Walks champions, supports and actively engages in our democracy.
CLICK here to see Democracy Walks’ t-shirt designs - and BUY!
Quick Links…
Casinos reined in, but will NSW club pokie palaces ride high on their money laundering losses? - Michael West Media
Peta Credlin nominated for Kennedy award despite Uluru statement report failing factcheck - The Guardian
What happened to the British party system? - The Tally Room Podcast
Stigma around same-sex marriage affected Australians’ health. Here’s what happened in your electorate - The Conversation
Alarm bells over Australian universities’ financial dependence on international students - The Guardian
EPISODE 41: Vaccines and transplants with Dr. Priya - TINFOIL TALES PODCAST
Linda Reynolds’ defamation action against Brittany Higgins has gone to trial: how did we get here and what happens next? - The Guardian
Profile: Margaret Throsby In Conversation - The Fourth Estate Podcast
ABC ‘truth bombs’ from Ita Buttrose and Peter van Onselen - Michelle Pini for Independent Australia
After eight years in power, Territory Labor takes a complicated legacy to the 2024 NT election - The ABC
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 2nd of August. 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