News update for Thur 20 June 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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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
Adam Morton: Does the Coalition’s case for nuclear power stack up? We factcheck seven key claims - The Guardian
Cheaper electricity, less emissions and ready by 2035 are some of the Coalition’s core promises on nuclear energy, but are they backed by evidence?
The Coalition has made a range of claims about what nuclear energy could do for Australia, and why it is better than building solar and wind.
What is the reality? We factcheck the key claims.
Read more from Adam Morton for The Guardian
Karen Middleton: Climate needs come a distant second to politics in Dutton’s nuclear plans - The Guardian
A few things about the policy have, however, become clearer.
It is designed primarily for political purposes, not to address climate change. The number of ifs cast serious doubt over whether it can actually be delivered.
But just announcing it has the effect of undermining certainty and disrupting investment in cheaper renewables. And some in the clean energy sector are wondering if that is actually the point.
Read more from Karen Middleton for The Guardian
Tim Buckley: Nuclear plan is fiscal irresponsibility on an epic scale and rank political opportunism - Renew Economy
While the Coalition has failed to release any detail or costings, today we have confirmation that if it gets into office, Australians will be paying a mult-billion dollar “nukebuilder” tax for generations to come for a national build out of government-owned nuclear reactors across seven locations, including on the sites of former coal-fired power stations.
It beggars belief that opposition leader Peter Dutton proposes nationalising a nuclear public debt bomb and detonating it at the heart of energy policy in this country.
Read more from Tim Buckley in Renew Economy
Dutton’s nuclear dream takes a canny lesson from Lisa Simpson - The New Daily
The genesis of Australia’s current nuclear debate is an attempt to build electoral and political power, not an attempt to generate more electricity.
In a nation that hasn’t had a serious nuclear discussion for decades, the Coalition’s declaration that it will build seven nuclear reactors if it wins government brings with it a polarising contest.
It may just explode, given people know very little about what is involved, and are primed for big ideas on energy and cost of living in what has been a pretty unambitious national policy environment.
Nick Feik: Journalists who fail to interrogate Dutton’s nuclear dream should resign - Crikey
There is no credible nuclear plan, and journalists reporting the announcement seriously are misleading the public.
If a journalist’s basic job is to report the news and assess the veracity of facts and claims, then the journalists reporting Peter Dutton’s nuclear dream as if it’s a real policy should reconsider their professional calling. They’re not fit to cover the local flower show, let alone federal politics.
Read more from Nick Fein for Crikey (paywall)
Also read >
Coalition talks ‘hope’ while outlining plan for building seven nuclear reactors - Angela Priestley for Women’s Agenda
‘No credible reason’ to expect cheaper power bills under Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plan, experts say - Adam Morton for The Guardian
Peter Dutton’s nuclear gamble - The Guardian’s Full Story Podcast with Adam Morton and Paul Karp
Analysis Peter Dutton is a true believer in nuclear as the answer to Australia's energy problems. But he'll need to convince the voting public - Annabel Crabb for The ABC
Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan is an economic disaster that would leave Australians paying more for electricity - The Guardian
How Dutton’s HALEU nuclear power could lead to nuclear weapons - Pearls and Irritations
Nuclear thuggery: Coalition will not take no for an answer from local communities or site owners - Renew Economy
There’s a yawning Coalition credibility gap on the cost of renewables and nuclear - Graham Readfearn for The Guardian
Man Who Was Paralysed With Fear Over Lack Of Details About Indigenous Voice Provides A One-Page Media Release For His Half A Trillion Dollar Nuclear Plan - Betoota Advocate
America’s war with itself - Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny
Journalist and correspondent Nick Bryant joins Mark Kenny to discuss division in the United States of America.
What was it like to be in Washington DC after the 6 January insurrection? How did we misinterpret Trump’s narrative? And what are the roots of the conspiracies, division and polarisation that we see in the United States today? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Nick Bryant joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss our misunderstanding of America’s democracy and how it’s resulted in figures like Donald Trump.
Listen to Mark Kenny speak with Nick Bryant for Democracy Sausage
Geoffrey Watson: A supine integrity agency is worse than useless; it is dangerous - Pearls and Irritations
We would all agree that there is little purpose to be served by an integrity agency which is neither effective nor efficient. It would be a waste of money.
But, in my view, it is worse, much worse, than that: an inactive integrity agency sits as another level of protection for public sector misconduct. Allegations of impropriety are easily batted away, politicians asserting – ‘well, the corruption watchdog didn’t say anything was wrong’. This is not fantasy: this is often heard in those parts of Australia where there are weak agencies.
In short, a supine integrity agency is worse than useless; it is dangerous.
Read more from Geoffrey Watson for Pearls and Irritations
Rachel Withers: Hard Solo and human rights: Why Kylea Tink won’t go quietly - Crikey
Tink says she is “gutted” at Friday’s announcement, adding that her community is experiencing a “sense of grief” at being split in thirds. The former charity CEO was the first of 2022’s teal crop to announce a run, arguably inspiring some of the others. If she does not end up finding another seat, she’ll be first to go.
Tink hasn’t been shy about speaking out this term (she made headlines last year when she called out Parliament’s aggressive tone) but now, with not much to lose, she plans to be even more outspoken in the months ahead.
Read more from Rachel Withers for Crikey (paywall)
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
Peter Greste on the latest blow against whistleblowers - 7am Podcast
There’s been another strike against whistleblowing.
Richard Boyle was a tax office employee when he raised concerns internally about a scheme to garnish overdue taxes directly from people’s bank accounts. When that didn’t work, he told journalists.
A court in Adelaide yesterday upheld a ruling that he’s not a whistleblower – which means he now has no defence for leaking that confidential information.
Listen to Peter Greste for the 7am Podcast
Australian media stretches the truth on pro-Palestine movement - Independent Australia
Perhaps if the journalists involved in this investigation were to have asked pro-Palestinian activists in Australia – say, in Sydney’s student activist scene – about the degree of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s involvement, viewers might have been afforded a sense of perspective. But no activists are interviewed, of course.
But the coverage undertakes what strikes me as a self-evident dot-joining exercise, typical of the modern creep of counter-terrorist legislation.
Read more from Tom Tanuki for Independent Australia
Far-right extremism is rising and coming from varied communities, inquiry hears - SBS
A parliamentary inquiry is examining the threat posed by far-right extremist groups in Australia.
Toxic masculinity breeding right-wing group membership, growing antisemitism and the lack of a transparent and unbiased hate crime database are among the issues the inquiry is investigating.
Christopher Warren: Old and new media are teaching us to hate our politicians. Does that matter? - Crikey
In our relentless news and politics cycle, Australia’s media and political elite are grappling with a big question: why are our leaders, and the traditional parties they lead, so unpopular? What the pollsters call “net satisfaction” languishes in the negative for both major party leaders. The combined vote of the main parties in the last election fell below 70% for the first time.
It’s a global trend.
Read more from Christopher Warren for Crikey (paywall)
Greg Jericho: Households are hurting. Savings are weak. The future’s uncertain. Is a rate cut near? - The Guardian
The Reserve Bank’s decision to keep rates steady reinforced that the economy at this moment remains one with both good and bad signs, and the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, is refreshingly upfront about the difficulties.
Unsurprisingly, the RBA’s call to keep rates unchanged was met by some in the media and conservative commentariat as a failure to be tough.
Read more from Greg Jericho for The Guardian
Crystal Andrews: Who can you trust? - The Politics
As we head into an election year, the public’s distrust of the media will be easily exploited by those who will benefit from chaos and confusion. Flooding the zone with shit, as Steve Bannon called it. The nuclear power discourse is an early indicator of just how inane and unproductive media coverage during the 2025 federal election is going to be.
How can the industry rebuild trust?
For a start, instead of criticising audiences for getting news from sources like influencers, celebrities and everyday people, mainstream publishers need to consider whether their journalism is all that different.
Read more from Crystal Andrews for The Politics
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Quick Links…
ABC chair Kim Williams calls for public broadcaster to be ‘national campfire’ and to understand its audiences better - The Conversation
Labor under pressure from within to act on gambling reform as one-year anniversary of landmark report nears - The Guardian
Talking Sh!t with Michael West Media - Talking Sh!t by Toilet Paper Australia
‘You cannot do mass surveillance privately, full stop’: Signal boss hits out at government encryption-busting moves - Josh Taylor for The Guardian
Tony Blair sold the UK on a vision for the future. Can Keir Starmer do the same to return Labour to power? - The Conversation
Why Israel's PM could soon be ousted - The Daily Aus Podcast
John Menadue: Private hospitals seeking more government subsidies - Pearls and Irritations
I’m a CFA volunteer – and as firefighters we have to put community safety above politics - The Guardian
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 Thursday the 20th of June. See you tomorrow!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here