News update for Mon 24 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
Barry Jones: What’s at stake this election - The Saturday Paper
Australia’s major problems are unlikely to be addressed in the election campaign. Instead, we will focus on personality and grievance and ignore the colossal policy challenges in front of us.
Australia ranks No. 1 per capita in the world for spending on gambling, our education system is one of the most unequal in the Western world and our federal parliament sits for fewer days than any other democracy. We are more secretive than Britain or the US, our great institutions suffer from a loss of trust and funding, our refugee policies are extremely cruel, our greenhouse gas emissions are rising and we are dishonest about race, class and history.
None of these are shaping up as major issues at the next election. All of them should be.
Read more from Barry Jones for The Saturday Paper (paywall)
Also read >
‘Better than nothing’: clinicians and hospital heads accept lower standards of care outside metro hospitals - The Conversation
Can Dutton regain discipline and confidence? - Back to Back Barries Podcast
‘Literally just child gambling’: what kids say about Roblox, lootboxes and money in online games - The Conversation
Dead salmon, dying skates: How Tasmania was thrown into the election spotlight - Crystal Andrews for Crikey (paywall)
This week’s federal budget will focus on cost-of-living measures – and a more uncertain global economy - The Conversation
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will bring down the federal budget on Tuesday.
It’s likely most of the major spending initiatives have already been announced. An extra A$8.5 billion in spending on Medicare will aim to ensure nine out of ten GP visits will be bulk billed by 2030. Queensland’s Bruce Highway is to be upgraded with the Albanese Government providing $7.2 billion of the $9 billion cost.
In a speech last week, Chalmers promised “meaningful and substantial” cost-of-living relief.
Also >
Finance minister reveals a further $2bn in savings in Tuesday’s federal budget - The Guardian
Australian budget 2025: where does the money come from and where does it go? - The Guardian
Who is to blame for Canberra’s obsession with budget deficits? John Howard - Crikey (paywall)
Where will the budget’s billions be spent? - Crikey (paywall)
The Budget myth: How spin, amnesia and outrage skew the debate - New Politics
What do women want from the federal budget? Here’s what you should know - Women’s Agenda
The Kids are Alright - The Sunday Shot Podcast
Jo and Dave are joined by Konrad from Punter's Politics and Zee Feed's (and Crikey's Readers Editor) Crystal Andrews to discuss the attitudes of young people to the upcoming election and politics (big and small P) in general. Plus interviews with Damon Gameau about the activism of the kids from his new film FUTURE COUNCIL, and climate advocate Anjali Sharma.
Also > The Kids are Alright - Watch a replay of The Sunday Shot’s live streamed panel show
Environment: Building nuclear involves killing more people - Pearls and Irritations
Building nuclear power plants requires keeping air-polluting coal power going for an extra 25 years and killing 3000-10,000 Australians. Which milk alternatives will reduce your environmental footprint? Australia’s Carbon Credit Units trade for less than a tenth of the social cost of carbon. US Environmental Protection Agency abandons the environment.
The Coalition’s nuclear energy plans are widely considered to be an inappropriate response to Australia’s greenhouse gas problem: too expensive, too slow, too risky, too little expertise and not necessary when there are better alternatives. On top of which, the plans require us to keep our coal-fired power stations going for an extra 25 years until the nuclear plants become fully operational.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Also >
Dutton blames renewables for rising power prices, but bills would be much higher without them - Pearls and Irritations
‘Apoplectic’ environment groups halt Coalition attack ads to take aim at Albanese over species’ ‘death warrant’ - The Guardian
Liberal Senator Jane Hume on why she loves nuclear so much - Betoota Talks Podcast
Australia should hitch its solar wagon to the China juggernaut - Renew Economy
Nationals guarantee that Coalition can lower power prices ‘in the short term’ met with scepticism - The Guardian
Julianne Schultz: As trust in the US collapses, leaders in Australia and around the world are frantically recalibrating - The Guardian
Like the child who realises that her parents were joking when they said she was their favourite, people all around the world are coming to the life-changing realisation that their nation’s relationship with the United States was not really “special”.
Not Australia, or Canada, or Britain, or France, or Germany, or Japan or the scores of others that for decades believed that they had a unique, protective and lucrative relationship with the “most powerful country ever in recorded history”.
It has come as a shock everywhere, poll after poll reveals that trust in the US has collapsed and leaders are frantically trying to recalibrate.
Read more from Julianne Schultz for The Guardian
Michael Pascoe: Failing to act. RBA caught in the headlights of uncertainty - Michael West Media
The Reserve Bank continues to ignore market signals and runs the risk of once again leaving the brakes on for too long while being caught in the headlights of uncertainty.
Inflation is printing within the target range, growth, both local and global, is expected to weaken, and the labour market’s perceived “tightness” is clearly not inflationary – yet the Reserve Bank of Australia is frozen, unable to make a decision other than to not make a decision.
We’ve hit a dud patch in monetary policy when the money market reckons there is next to no chance the RBA will trim rates at its meeting next week. If the RBA isn’t considering a further cut, what is it doing?
The answer is: dithering.
Read more from Michael Pascoe for Michael West Media
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.
Should Australia increase its defence spending? We asked 5 experts - The Conversation
Both Labor and the Coalition are considering an increase to defence spending ahead of the federal election.
Defence spending is currently at about 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), or around A$56 billion per year. The Coalition is reportedly eyeing an increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2029.
The Albanese government’s current spending plan is expected to reach 2.33% of GDP by 2034. And in this week’s budget, it is expected to bring forward some of its already announced $50 billion increase in defence spending.
Why do these percentages matter? US President Donald Trump has made it very clear he expects America’s allies to pay more on defence, at least 3% of GDP.
We need more women in politics - Women’s Agenda Podcast
Independent MP Allegra Spender joins the podcast to discuss her approach to politics and why women's representation is so critical. She notes the evidence-based decision-making and collaboration across parties, making the case for a minority government to address long-term issues like climate action and economic reform. Allegra Spenda also discusses the intergenerational wealth gap, particularly affecting young women, reiterating her case for tax reform. And she takes on Peter Dutton's proposed work-from-home restrictions.
Listen to the Women’s Agenda Podcast
Also read > What would a minority government bring to Australia? Independent MP Allegra Spender breaks it down - Women’s Agenda
Amy Remeikis: What Peter Dutton and the Coalition are offering Australian voters is a fiction - The New Daily
It’s headlines without substance, chimeras and half-truths that never stand up to scrutiny, but comprehensively misdirects the media’s gaze.
The nation has been in election mode since the beginning of the year, when Anthony Albanese used his January Press Club address to remind voters of what he had spent the better part of the last three years doing.
Peter Dutton fronted his own quasi-election opening campaign launch in Victoria – the state he hopes will help deliver a Labor defeat – complete with a new slogan “let’s get Australia back on track”.
Read more from Amy Remeikis in The New Daily
Bernard Keane: Angus Taylor’s horrendous performance exposes the rudderless, policy-free Liberals - Crikey
The Coalition is in economic and fiscal disarray. And Peter Dutton’s shadow treasurer is exhibit A.
In a parallel political universe, Angus Taylor would be a key figure in the Australian political landscape. Along with Sussan Ley, he is the most senior Liberal in the country. As shadow treasurer, he would normally be the opposition’s first option if Dutton underperformed. He should be central to economic debate, given Dutton has no economic or fiscal background worth mentioning.
A few weeks out from the election, Taylor should be poised either to become treasurer, or to challenge Dutton for the leadership in the new Parliament if the Coalition fails to dispatch a weak Labor outfit.
Read more from Bernard Keane for Crikey (paywall)
David Hardaker: Gotchas and grumbles: just another ho-hum poll - The Politics
The media moan about what looks like being an uninspiring campaign, but when they constantly go for the cheap and nasty, they force politicians to play it safe.
The editor of The Sydney Morning Herald sent a lovely email a few days ago to let readers know there was an election in the wind and that the SMH team was all systems go for a May poll date. I felt like it completely missed the point.
Bevan Shields laid out the scenarios of a Labor or Coalition win, or a hung parliament. Above all, he lamented that neither side of politics would have solutions for the big questions of economic growth, productivity and declining living standards.
Read more from David Hardaker for The Politics
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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.
Quick Links…
Is The West losing its grip? - An update on the state of the WA media - The Last Place on Earth
Elon Musk’s daughter calls him “a pathetic man-child” - Women’s Agenda
Measles was eliminated from Australia. Experts warn US and Asia outbreaks may bring back this ‘heat-seeking missile’ - The Guardian
Blue Poles and its $1.4m price-tag shocked the nation, but did it change us? - The Conversation
Soundcheck. Are Australian music festivals really on life support? - Michael West Media
A billionaire stole my baby - On being robbed by Mark Zuckerberg - Tim Dunlop for The Future of Everything
Universal early learning and the three-day guarantee - Pearls and Irritations
Housing with Purple Pingers and an election on the horizon - New Politics Podcast
Adelaide Hills water crisis: a local problem is a global wake-up call - The Conversation
The outlook for house insurance is much worse than we’re being told - Pearls and Irritations
No filter: Why pollies are chasing podcasts this election - MediaLand
‘The gangsters have gone f*cking nowhere’: The failed clean up of the CFMEU - 7am Podcast
Measles was eliminated from Australia. Experts warn US and Asia outbreaks may bring back this ‘heat-seeking missile’ - The Guardian
Where are the honest and critical reports? - Pearls and Irritations
Despite some key milestones since 2000, Australia still has a long way to go on gender equality - The Conversation
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 Monday the 24th 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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