News update for Fri 20 Sept 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
On the brink -Democracy Sausage Podcast with Mark Kenny
Don Watson joins Democracy Sausage to discuss updates from the US election in this live recording. From debates and assassination attempts to celebrity endorsements, a lot can happen in a short amount of time in politics. What explains the performance-like aspects of this US election campaign? How can Americans come together to mend divisions? And what is the likely outcome of the presidential race? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, author and speechwriter Don Watson joins Professor Mark Kenny to talk about the world’s so-called greatest democracy and his new Quarterly Essay, High Noon: Trump, Harris and America on the brink.
Listen to the Democracy Sausage Podcast with Mark Kenny
Michael Pascoe: The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, with Trump ‘stackee’ dissenting - Michael West Media
Could it happen here? The Coalition claims it’s concerned about Labor stacking the proposed new RBA monetary policy board, but Michael Pascoe doesn’t believe them.
The LNP is pretending to be worried about Labor stacking the proposed new RBA board. (Nah, Dutton just wants to force Labor to deal with the Greens so he can say, “Look! Labor does deals with the Greens!”)
Having watched the LNP establish itself as a jobs-for-the-boys-and-girls stacker on an industrial scale at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and elsewhere, it is frankly hilarious to see Angus Taylor try to keep a straight face when suggesting Labor would be as bad as his own party.
Read more from Michael Pascoe for Michael West Media
Also read >
Does the Reserve Bank need to change? - Pearls and Irritations
What would a second Trump presidency mean for the global economy? - Pearls and Irritations
Unemployment of 4.2% is a sign of RBA success, but it might not last. Here’s why - The Conversation
Peter Hannam: Coalition’s nuclear power plan will add $665 to average power bill a year, report warns - The Guardian
The Coalition’s plan for seven nuclear power plants would lift power bills for average households by $665 a year based on estimated costs of six overseas nuclear projects, according to an Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report.
The Ieefa findings built on the CSIRO’s GenCost studies that have shown nuclear energy to be the most expensive form of new power generation. It assessed recent construction costs at plants in the US, UK, Finland and France, and two proposed plants – one in the Czech Republic and an abandoned small modular reactor in the US.
Read more from Peter Hannam for The Guardian
Also read >
Affordable nuclear? Dutton’s plan would add nearly $1,000 a year to the power bill of a family of four - Renew Economy
Peter Dutton is about to talk nuclear at CEDA. Will he be fact checked by Chris Uhlmann? - Renew Economy
Santos and the mythical gas shortage. What’s the scam? - Michael West Media
Coalition’s nuclear plan will lead to ‘massive’ electricity shortages and risk blackouts, new analysis warns - The Guardian
UN Palestine vote: Australia shows it lacks a backbone - Pearls and Irritations
Why is it that successive Australian Governments cannot bring themselves to call out Israel for what it is? A state that constantly ignores international law, most recently in the current Gaza conflict where there can be no doubt that war crimes have been, and are being committed against the Palestinian population. What Israel is perpetrating against the Palestinians is genocide on any definition.
Yet when it came to voting yesterday on a UN Resolution advanced by Palestine to give effect to the International Court of Justice decision of 19 July, Australia abstained from voting for it, along with the UK, Canada and Germany. But our neighbour New Zealand voted for it, as did Ireland, Japan and France.
It is worth noting what this Resolution calls for. In essence it demands Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. The timeframe is no later than 12 months.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Also read > Was Australia’s refusal to vote on the Israel-Gaza UN resolution justified? - Michael Bradley for Crikey (paywall)
The sanitisation of war and the human cost of the Land Forces expo - New Politics
The recent Land Forces exposition held in Melbourne is yet another troubling mix of commerce, militarisation, and violence, and its existence provokes deep ethical questions that should concern many Australians. As an international military conference, the expo is not only a display of technological innovation but a marketplace where global arms manufacturers peddle tools of destruction to government representatives who, in turn, defend the rights of these manufacturers to display their killing field machines. It’s an event that offers no public transparency, operating in a sphere of selective admission – not open to the general public – where those with power, broker deals in the shadow of secrecy.
Margaret Simons: Musk’s mirror - Inside Story
What might we have chosen to do with social media if we’d been blessed with foresight at the time of its invention? Its disruptive effects are comparable with those of the printing press, which created the concept of “the public,” a large body of people who don’t know each other but share common interests. Social media has given any member of that public who has an internet connection the ability to publish to the world.
If we could wind back the clock we would almost certainly use regulations to try to strike a balance between free speech and toxic speech, assuming we could agree on which was which.
Read more from Margaret Simons for Inside Story
Today’s cartoon by David Pope for The Canberra Times
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
As the Quad meets again, is it all optics and no substance? - The Conversation
This weekend, the four leaders of the Quad will once again convene, this time in US President Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. The summit will double as a send-off for two of the leaders – it will be one of Kishida Fumio’s last acts as Japan’s prime minister, while Biden will end his term four months after the gathering.
The Quad is an ambitious undertaking. As the four explained in the lengthy first leaders’ communique, it exists to promote “the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond”.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions: Do not ban social media for kids - Pearls and Irritations
Social media platforms allow users to interact with others, have conversations, share information and create web content. There are many forms, including games, blogs, wikis, social networking sites, photo-sharing sites, instant messaging, video-sharing sites, podcasts, widgets, virtual worlds, and more. So, with the government considering a ban on social media for children where do we start this impossible task?
Banning social media for children under 14/16 is not only doomed to failure, it will likely exacerbate the problem it is intended to solve. It will cause friction and conflict at home, undermine progressive educational development in and out of the classroom, set children back in a fast-changing world where technology will be the basis for solving problems and working in any role in the future. And, importantly, it will do nothing to solve the crisis in mental health.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Dutton's narrow path - Capital Brief
Peter Dutton has always thought he could defy history and win the next election. In recent weeks, some of his colleagues have begun to believe him.
There is a growing belief among those close to Opposition leader Peter Dutton that they have a chance of winning the next election. Liberal sources insist that Dutton has always believed they can win, and he is enjoying the fact that some people now believe him.
Previously, the consensus was that Dutton didn’t actually have a strategy to win in one term. The plan was to win back a few seats from Labor, push it into minority government, and create enough chaos over three years to set up a win in 2028 — just like Tony Abbott’s approach from 2010 to 2013.
Read more in Capital Brief (paywall)
Cheryl Kernot and Noely Neate join SpinProof
This week Denise spoke with SpinProof regulars - Cheryl and Noely - about all things #auspol. They spoke about the performance of the major parties focusing on Labor’s timidity on a range of issues from the NACC to whistleblowers to AUKUS to this week’s UN vote on Israel/Palestine. Noely gave us a run down on the upcoming QLD State election where she expects a change of Government despite a strong performance by current Premier Stephen Miles. They also speak about the surreal show of US politics. Yet another worthwhile #auspol catch up.
Listen to the SpinProof podcast replay
Sussan Ley faces new independent challenger Michelle Milthorpe in Farrer - The New Daily
Yet another long-time MP will face a fierce independent challenge at the next federal election, with the seat of deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley the latest to come under pressure.
Ley, who has held the western NSW seat for more than two decades, will have to defend Farrer from independent Michelle Milthorpe who has been endorsed by the Voices of Farrer movement.
Also read > Rex Patrick and Jacqui Lambie tell us their plan in one short car ride - Crikey (paywall)
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Quick Links…
The west worries about Russia and China – but the real threat to global security is climate breakdown - The Guardian
TRANSITZONE USA ELECTION UPDATE 8 : CATS, DOGS AND GEESE - #transitzone Podcast with Peter Clarke and Margot Kingston
Malcolm’s home cover is up 47% despite rarely lodging a claim. Are Australia’s insurers out of control? - The Guardian
The AUKUS project is being submerged in twaddle - Pearls and Irritations
Did Labor just come good on its promise to protect women at work? - Crikey (paywall)
Labor and the Greens hit an impasse on housing – The Guardian’s Full Story podcast
Hey kids, can’t afford a home? That’s okay, Labor’s got some sick memes for you instead - Crikey (paywall)
Scrotum lookalike wants the world to burn - Rational Fear Podcast Podcast
ABS warned Albanese government that excluding LGBTQ+ questions risked the success of census - Josh Butler for The Guardian
Australia's population reaches new milestone - Abul Rizvi for ABC listen
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
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You’re up to date for Friday the 20th of September. 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