News update for Mon 17 March 2025
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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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 - and through 6 News here
Honest Government Ad | Minority Government - The Juice Media
The Australien Government and the Opposition have made an ad about minority governments, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative.
Watch The Juice Media’s latest Honest Government Ad
Also read >
Australia’s next government may well be in minority. Here’s how that can be a good outcome for the country - The Conversation
Independent visions of Australia – The Echo
Trump and the teals have a lot in common - Sean Kelly for The SMH/Age (paywall)
Friends with benefits: Gina Rinehart and Peter Dutton’s ideological love-in - The Guardian
Since Dutton became opposition leader, the billionaire mining magnate has cultivated their bond. We look back at their increasingly close relationship.
During the 47th Australian parliament political donations flowed from Hancock Prospecting to the Coalition in unprecedented amounts.
The latest disclosures from the Australian Electoral Commission showed that the company donated $500,000 to the Coalition in the 2023-24 financial year, triple the amount donated the previous year, and more than the previous eight years in political donations from the company combined.
Read more from Sarah Martin in The Guardian
Also >
Gina: the billionaire who wants to make Australia great - Full Story Podcast
Dutton says Coalition could strike a tariff deal with Trump but won't say what else it might do if elected - Laura Tingle for The ABC
Despite recent increases, JobSeeker still leaves people below the poverty line. Here’s why that affects us all - Pearls and Irritations
Over the past two years, there has been some progress in improving the JobSeeker payment. But payment levels remain below the poverty line.
That’s according to Australia’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee’s 2025 report, released a fortnight ahead of the federal budget on 25 March. This committee advises the federal government on ways to enhance economic inclusion and reduce disadvantage.
The committee is chaired by former Labor minister Jenny Macklin. It comprises experts in social security and economics, as well as leaders from the community sector, advocacy organisations, unions, business, and philanthropy. I am one of its members.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Also read > Peter is barely scraping by on jobseeker. Experts think this is going to be an election issue - The Guardian
Australia has promised to end domestic violence within a generation. But are our strategies working? - The Conversation
At last year’s conference marking the 50th anniversary of Elsie, Australia’s first feminist refuge, numerous speakers reflected on the ultimate aim of the feminist refuge movement, back in the 1970s: that in the near future, domestic violence would no longer exist and their services would no longer be needed.
Half a century later, we’re in the middle of an ongoing “national crisis” – and our federal government has committed itself to ending family and domestic violence “in one generation”.
Also read > NDAs have become 'corporate confetti' to keep women silent - Women’s Agenda
Manufacturing fear: Fake terror as a political weapon - New Politics
We are fast approaching a time when discussing the actions of Israel – or even just thinking about them – might be enough to land journalists in jail.
There was a new development during the week in the widely-reported terrorist caravan plot and threat from January – it didn’t actually exist. The fabricated nature of this alleged attack – a caravan was found on the outskirts of Sydney supposedly filled with live explosives to be used against synagogues – was clear to those who were willing to scrutinise this incident and ask the right questions. Yet, raising these doubts at the time was met with accusations of antisemitism, which provided a convenient deflection from the larger question: who orchestrated fabrication, and why?
Today’s cartoon by Matt Golding
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian 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.
The politician leading an Australia MAGA movement - The Daily Aus Podcast
Mining billionaire Clive Palmer recently announced he’s launching a new Donald Trump-inspired political party. Palmer says his ‘Trumpet of Patriots’ party will seek to “make Australia great again”. It comes after Palmer lost a High Court bid to re-register his United Australia Party ahead of the next election. Today, we’ll unpack Clive Palmer’s presence in the Australian political landscape, from what happened to United Australia, to the policy proposal of his new party, the role of minor parties in Federal Parliament and political advertising.
Listen to The Daily Aus Podcast
Also >
Part 1: Inside Elon Musk's takeover of the US government - 7am Podcast
Part 2: What happens to America if DOGE succeeds - 7am Podcast
Five Coalition senators billed taxpayers $10k to attend conservative conference CPAC - The Guardian
Gregory Andrews Five Reasons To Stop Supporting US Companies - Lyrebird Dreaming
We Are Living Through Moral Collapse. How Democrats Can Strike Back - Ruth Ben Ghiat
The Democrats are failing miserably - Crikey (paywall)
Abbott’s legacy, Trump’s playbook: Is the LNP planning science suppression 2.0? - Renew Economy
Political campaigns against scientific and intellectual communities have been repeated throughout history, often with dire long-term consequences.
From Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China to recent policy choices in democratic nations like Australia and the United States, a common pattern emerges: science is undermined by ideology or short-sighted economic motives, with devastating effects on technological progress and economic competitiveness.
Australia witnessed a different kind of attack on science – one driven by fiscal policy under Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government. In 2014, the Abbott administration sharply slashed funding for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s premier national research agency, along with cuts to other scientific programs.
Also read >
Trump's America is abandoning climate action and the fight just got harder - Alan Kohler for ABC News
Do offshore wind farms kill whales? The facts, fiction and unknowns of marine renewable energy - ABC News
Private jets for ‘present Dads’, climate burdens for women. The climate movement’s double standard - Angela Priestley for Women’s Agenda
It's time the Australian War Memorial was removed from the influence of international arms companies - Pearls and Irritations
Last week the ABC Four Corners program “Sacrifice“ highlighted the harsh reality that we have lost control of the Australian War Memorial, which is dedicated to remembering the many thousands of Australian lives impacted by war. This investigation exposed the way in which unscrupulous political decision-making has led to a major redevelopment that risks turning this unique national institution into a “Disneyland of war”.
Half a billion dollars was channeled to this expansion by former prime minister Scott Morrison responding to the salesmanship of former defence minister and director of the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
The relentless media campaign behind Victoria’s ‘knee-jerk’ bail crackdown - Crikey
An intense spate of alarmist headlines preceded the Victorian government announcing what some experts call ‘knee-jerk’ bail reforms.
The News Corp-owned Herald Sun ran 21 stories and launched a petition pushing for reforms in the week before Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan unveiled the “toughest bail laws in Australia”.
These changes include a requirement to consider community safety above all other factors, the removal of remand as a last resort for children, a new “extremely hard to pass” bail test for serious offences and a second-strike rule for offenders.
Read more from Denham Sadler for Crikey (paywall)
Which John Howard? - Inside Story
Peter Dutton says he regards John Howard as more of a role model than Donald Trump.
That’s a relief. Hang on, though, which John Howard is he talking about? When it comes to race and immigration, it’s a fair bet it’s not the earlier, long-forgotten, version — the one who worried about how combustible issues like race and immigration could be.
Peter Dutton should take the time to read his predecessor’s least-remembered thoughts about immigration policy.
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 join the democracy walkers today!
See a list of the 35 community independents - who have (so far) announced their candidacy in the upcoming federal election. Subscribe, volunteer, donate to support their campaigns.
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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Climate activists to plead not guilty en masse under NSW’s controversial anti-protest laws - The Guardian
Sydney swelters through hottest March night on record in 149 years - ABC News
Road hogs: what is Australia’s love of big cars costing us all? - The Guardian
The Australian: tool of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship? - Pearls and Irritations
BETOOTA TALKS: Max Chandler-Mather MP - Betoota Talks Podcast
The Chill Factor - The Sunday Shot Podcast
The end of coal and the fake nuclear energy 'red herring' - The New Daily
Coalition Targets Govt-Funded Grant For Drag Shows As 'Wasteful’ Ahead Of Election - Star Observer
Australia’s Trump cards - Rex Patrick for Michael West Media
How low financial literacy is exposing migrant youths in Australia to scams and risky spending - SBS News
Victorian Government slammed over bail laws that will cause great harm – Croakey Health Media
‘Shitshow’: The WA election was a privatised debacle - The Last Place on Earth
Questions remain on disability despite shadow minister’s appearance on Q+A - Women’s Agenda
Is our broken defence force fit for purpose in the age of Trump? - Bernard Keane for Crikey (paywall)
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 Monday the 17th of March. See you tomorrow!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian 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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