News update for Fri 4 April 2025
Your trusted guide to the top independent news and views of the day...
29 days until the May 3 federal election
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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Scroll down for the news and views you need to know today…
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
Michael Pascoe: Tariff war. The world keeps turning despite Trump’s mayhem - Michael West Media
As crazy as Trump’s tariff mania is, the world will keep turning with not as much damage as the headlines have us believe.
Recession in America, global growth reduced by a third, China shrunk, Australia whacked, the earth splitting asunder spewing forth serpents…or maybe not.
Nobody needs further proof that the inmates are running the Washington asylum, a.k.a. the White House, but yes, add to the pile the Trump gang’s view that Europe’s VAT and Australia’s GST are protectionist levies. On the other hand, keeping the VAT/GST in mind helps lower the fever around “Liberation Day” headlines.
Read more from Michael Pascoe for Michael West Media
Also >
Keating says Trump’s tariffs mean death knell for NATO and ANZUS - Pearls and Irritations
The new tariffs hitting Australia, explained - The Daily Aus Podcast
Tariff War: What Is It Good For? - The Money Café Podcast with Alan Kohler
Trump’s trade war will hurt everyone – from Cambodian factories to US online shoppers - The Conversation
Trump’s tariffs are an unprecedented hostility from an ally – but could Albanese shape them in his favour? - The Guardian
With friends like Trump, who needs Aukus? ALP members are demanding an answer - The Guardian
Week One: Tariffs, trade wars, and Trump - Crikey's Electioncast
Have vibes replaced policy in this election? - Full Story Podcast
A week in to the federal election campaign and both parties have provided soundbites, but have been light on promises and policy. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, are hyper focused on cost of living, but when asked about their plans to offer real relief answers have been hard to come by.Bridie Jabour talks with the editor, Lenore Taylor, the head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, and deputy editor Patrick Keneally about holding politicians to account, and if voters deserve more from their leaders
Listen to the Full Story Podcast
Fentanyl penguin has no plan: Is Peter Dutton having a Beazley moment? - John Birmingham for Alien Sideboob
Chinese celebrities ‘voluntarily’ provided character references in 2019 WeChat videos, Liberal candidate says - The Guardian
How might the House of Representatives shape up after the 2025 federal election? - The Conversation
This election, what are Labor and the Coalition offering on the energy transition, climate adaptation and emissions? - The Conversation
Australia’s 2022 federal election was seen as the climate election. But this time round, climate policy has so far taken a back seat as the major parties focus on cost-of-living issues.
Despite this, climate change remains an ever-present threat. Last year was the world’s hottest on record and extreme weather is lashing Queensland. But there are hints of progress. Australia’s emissions have begun to fall and the main power grid is now 40% renewable.
So before Australians head to the polls on May 3, it’s worth closely examining the climate policies of the two major parties.
Also read >
As our planet heats, politicians are leaving climate and health out in the cold – Croakey Health Media
‘It's back to the (fossil fuel) future for Peter Dutton’ - Pearls and Irritations
Coalition leans on absurd gas definition for fossil subsidy bonanza - Renew Economy
What Donald Trump’s dramatic US trade war means for global climate action - The Conversation
Coalition pollster Freshwater Strategy working with 'astroturfing' pro-gas group - ABC News
Emails obtained by ABC Investigations show Freshwater Strategy is trying to gather business-sector support for a group called Australians for Natural Gas.
Freshwater Strategy has also been hired to run internal polling and focus groups for the Coalition during the election campaign.
QUT political communications expert Daniel Angus described the pro-gas group's activities as "textbook astroturfing".
Ross Gittins: Dutton wants to know if you’re better off now. It’s a trick question - Pearls and Irritations
For most people, the simple answer to Peter Dutton’s repeated question — are you better off today than you were three years ago? — is “no, I’m not”.
But if Dutton can convince us this is the key question we need to answer in this election, he’ll have conned us into giving him an easy run into government.
Why? Because it’s the wrong question. It’s the question of a high-pressure salesman. A question that makes the problem seem a lot simpler than it is. A question for people who don’t like using their brains.
And it’s a question that points us away from the right question, which is: which of the two sides seems more likely to advance the nation’s interests in the coming three years?
Read more from Ross Gittins for Pearls and Irritations
The dark depths of Israeli ambitions for Gaza - Antony Lowenstein
Palestinians are deemed expendable with barely any tangible international opposition.
Every day we’re faced with increasingly unhinged information about Israeli massacres in Gaza or legal residents in the US being snatched off the street, police-state style.
But we mustn’t look away.
According to many reliable sources, Israel is looking to establish concentration camps in Gaza:
Read more from Antony Lowenstein
Today’s cartoon by Cathy Wilcox
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
Join the new Boiling Point community - where we’re growing a group of politically informed Australians in the lead up to the 2025 federal election. See details and sign up here.
‘There’s an us v them mentality’: are young Australian men and women drifting apart politically? - The Guardian
Polls tracked by Guardian Australia over the past year show Labor ahead 61.2% to 38.8% on a two-party-preferred basis among 18- to 34-year-olds, and marginally ahead among those aged 35 to 49, but significantly behind among older age groups.
“Younger generations are much further to the left than previous generations were when they were at the same stage of life. That’s the biggest difference we are seeing among young people in Australia,” Cameron says.
“Young women are a bit further left, in comparison to young men.”
Long-term trends show men and women shifting leftwards – though young women are doing so more quickly.
Foreign correspondent to politician: Zoe Daniel - The Women's Agenda Podcast
Independent member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel joins the conversation just as she launches her campaign for the upcoming Federal Election. Daniel was a journalist with the ABC for 30 years, including as a well-known correspondent, before she successfully ran for the seat of Goldstein in 2022, beating incumbent Liberal MP Tim Wilson in the process. In this conversation, we discuss her desire to run for a second term and some of her key priorities going in and how she'd deal with a potential minority government if elected. Also, how on Earth can any leader deal with Trump?
Listen to the Women’s Agenda Podcast
Zoe Daniel could be decider in a potential minority government. Who would she support? - Women’s Agenda
Liberal candidate says women should not serve in ADF combat roles amid range of controversial views - The Guardian
Gender played a significant role in the 2022 election. Will it do the same in 2025? - The Conversation
How do the independent seats lean? - The Tally Room
Influencers! At The Budget - The Shot
Normally the idea of locking a bunch of social media creators in a room without access to the internet would be the media’s wet-dream, yet when it happened recently it was so controversial that it nearly overshadowed the boringness of the 2025 federal budget.
As a Gen Z person, my reaction to hearing that so-called ‘influencers’ were invited to the budget lock-up was ‘yeah that makes sense’ then moving on with my life. Clearly, based on a week-long tantrum by some in the media, not everyone felt that way.
For the amount that I am told that young people are not engaging with politics, it’s strange that many are actively against the idea of engaging with young people.
Read more from John Delminico for The Shot
Tim Dunlop: The fearful symmetry of a failing system - The Future of Everything
Australia’s major political parties are failing to govern in any meaningful sense. In any democratic sense. Their role has become little more than to manage the interests of competing elites, foreign and local. Communities are ignored, party matters take precedence over local issues, and the worst thing that can happen to you electorally is to live in a safe seat because that means you will be marooned. No pork barrelling for you. No community consultation. Just the guarantee that your rusted-on vote will ensure that you will be thrust into the too-easy basket.
Read more from Tim Dunlop for The Future of Everything
Also read > What Would David Bowie Do? Breaking Boundaries to Redefine 2025 & Beyond - Sue Barrett
We didn’t give in to Xi. Why should we be cowed by the American version? - Crikey
China is the source of our prosperity, and our greatest security threat. The US is the source of our security, but now our greatest economic threat. Have we learnt from dealing with China?
For two decades, China has been the key source of Australia’s economic prosperity — and our key national security threat. We’ve spent much of the time since the Howard years trying to navigate that strategic dilemma, but now there’s a second one to deal with: the United States, pivotal to Australia’s national security, has become our greatest economic threat.
Moreover, where the US was a defence guarantor that underwrote continued security for Australia in the face of a growing Chinese threat, China, with its commitment to a global trading system, is now a guarantor of economic stability in the face of the threat of a US transformed into a global bully.
Read more from Bernard Keane for Crikey (paywall)
Malcolm on the money as Trump chaos rules - The Politics
Albanese and Dutton play Trump politics but neither will tackle the US alliance, even as the White House casts allies adrift.
So who’s the winner as the first week of the campaign comes to a close? Anthony Albanese? Peter Dutton? The Politics reckons it’s someone whose name isn’t even on the ballot but who has commandeered the hottest topic: Malcolm Turnbull, the Lord of Point Piper, has put the US alliance front and centre of the agenda.
As we know, there are two Malcolm Turnbulls. One is the former Liberal prime minister hemmed in by the extremists of his own party. The other is the freewheeling, brainy one who barnstorms across the land fearlessly tackling powerful vested interests. Both come with fuck-you money, which helps enormously.
Read more from David Hardaker for The Politics
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Quick Links…
What Sen. Booker’s Speech Teaches Us About Effective Resistance Strategy - Lucid with Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Rethink use of sniffer dogs and strip-searches at music festivals, drug summit urges NSW government - The Guardian
10 rules for dealing with Trump’s demands for capitulation - Robert Reich
Ruby Jones on the government’s plan to demolish public housing - 7am Podcast
Abbie Chatfield cleared of wrongdoing by AEC after interviewing Anthony Albanese on her podcast - The Guardian
US big tech wants to end Australian tech rules. Its local lobbyists are much subtler - Crikey (paywall)
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
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You’re up to date for Friday the 4th of April. See you on Monday!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
Join the new Boiling Point community - where we’re growing a group of politically informed Australians in the lead up to the 2025 federal election. See details and sign up here.
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