News update for Thur 30 May 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
‘Sticky’ inflation is not falling – but it’s not rising, either. Why should that mean another RBA rate hike? - The Guardian
The latest inflation figures released on Wednesday showed that inflation is “sticky” and is no longer falling at the pace it was earlier this year. But while there will be those arguing this means we need higher interest rates, the latest retail spending figures – also released this week – show that’s the last thing the economy needs.
There is often a curious bit of fudging around how inflation gets talked about. We sometimes hear the RBA and others worry about “accelerating” inflation, that is, when the growth of prices (inflation) is itself speeding up.
Read more from Greg Jericho for The Guardian
Can these candidates convince women to vote Liberal again? - 7am Podcast
Nine years ago, the Liberal Party said it was aiming for gender parity by 2025. Since then, the number of Liberal women in parliaments across the country has actually fallen. And it’s costing the party seats in the federal parliament, with professional women abandoning the party in droves – often in favour of the teal independents. Now, with another election approaching, the Liberals have a fresh batch of candidates. Some of them look and speak like teals, but will it be enough to win back sceptical voters?
Also read > Forget the Frontbench: A new column interrogating the players shaking up Australian politics - Rachel Withers for Crikey
Sleight of hand: Australia’s Net Zero target is being lost in accounting tricks, offsets and more gas - The Conversation
In announcing Australia’s support for fossil gas all the way to 2050 and beyond, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed his government’s commitment to net zero even further out of reach.
When we published our analysis in December on Climate Action Tracker, a global assessment of government climate action, we warned Australia was unlikely to achieve its net zero target, and rated its efforts as “poor.”
That’s because Australia’s long-term emissions reduction plan – released under the Morrison Coalition government and not yet revised by the Albanese Labor government – resorts to unrealistic technological fixes and emissions offsets.
Also read > The climate needs you to start engaging again - Missing Perspectives
Privacy: hackers and spammers put your data at risk. What to do? - Michael West Media
Data misuse is an epidemic in Australia. Hackers steal data, and spammers spam, and so do legitimate companies that should know better but don’t care because it’s cheaper not to.
Recently, it was revealed that MediSecure — the online prescription eScript service — was hacked, and some 600,000 Australians who have used eScript at some stage now have their most private details for sale on the dark web.
The solution is simple, says Andy Schmulow.
Read more in Michael West Media
Snowy 2.0’s updated business case is flawed, again - Renew Economy
Last week an updated Business Case for Snowy 2.0 was released. Like every aspect of this hapless, over-hyped project it is late, inadequate, and unrealistically optimistic.
For some inexplicable reason the public release of the Business Case has been delayed nine months after it was adopted for the project ‘reset’ last August, following a “comprehensive and robust review”.
However, it hasn’t been worth the wait as the document is little more than a rehash of the August 2023 Media Release with a few photos and diagrams.
Today’s cartoon by First Dog on the Moon for The Guardian
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
What does AI mean for Australian democracy? And what can we do about it? - The Conversation
Last week, the head of Australia’s election regulator warned the organisation “does not possess the legislative tools or internal technical capability to deter, detect or adequately deal with false AI-generated content concerning the election process”.
This remark, made to a senate committee on adopting artificial intelligence (AI), is not an isolated comment. The relationship between AI and democracy is the topic of many, increasingly urgent conversations taking place around the world.
Migration has been blamed for the housing crisis, but it’s not that simple - The Guardian
The government and the opposition have both promised cuts to migration in response, at least partially, to Australia’s housing crisis. But how much does immigration actually contribute to the cost of housing and rent?
While Labor has pledged to cap the number of students studying in Australia, the Coalition has flagged a 25% cut to permanent migration and a plan to restrict purchases by foreign buyers.
Let’s dig into the numbers.
Read more from Nick Evershed for The Guardian
Also read > Shadow Home Affairs Minister misleads public on Labor's deportation record - Dr Abul Rizvi for Independent Australia
The International Criminal Court's action against Israeli politicians and the leaders of Hamas is a significant moment - The Future of Everything
There are many pressing problems we will need to face collectively in coming decades, and if democratic leaders fail to secure a consensus on the most basic of matters, they are unworthy of the power vested in them by their constituents. The answer is not authoritarianism, but a revival of democratic and accountable forms of government that find common cause around human rights and international legal standards. Australia’s response to international legal mechanisms in the context of Gaza is a test of this, to which voters should pay heed.
Read more from Lizzie O’Shea for The Future of Everything
Also read >
Hundreds of Australian public servants call on government to ‘cease all military exports to Israel’ - The Guardian
As Israel pushes into Rafah, it exposes an uncomfortable truth: no court alone can protect civilians in war - The Conversation
Did police ignore the warnings about the Perth shooter?
The Daily Aus Podcast
The country has been rocked by another story of men’s violence against women after a Perth man killed a mother and daughter on Friday. It’s believed the man, a licensed gun owner, was looking for his ex-partner at the time of the incident. In the wake of the incident, the shooter’s daughter has issued a public statement about what she says is a failure by WA Police to adequately address safety concerns she and her mother had about her father. She claims she “raised the alarm” about her father three times, and was ignored by police. In today’s podcast, we’ll discuss what we know about the incident, the investigation now being launched by WA Police and how the WA government has responded
Listen to The Daily Aus Podcast
Also read > We can’t arrest our way out of domestic violence. What does accountability actually mean? - Women’s Agenda
The Laura Tingle fallout shows how the ABC kowtows to News Corp - Crikey
It’s been a big week at News Corp’s outrage factory, with one of Australia’s significant cultural thought leaders having been called to order for colouring outside the lines of what the US company decrees as the acceptable limits on the hot issues of race, migration and refugees.
To the surprise of no-one, ABC management stumbled, then fell to the occasion.
Read more from Christopher Warren for Crikey
Also read >
Why ABC chiefs should back Laura Tingle for calling out racism - Giridharan Sivaraman (Australia’s race discrimination commissioner) for SMH/Age (paywall)
Has Gaza Changed Our Trust In Media? - The Antoinettes Podcast (Antoinette LaTouff)
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Quick Links…
Kara Swisher: How big tech squashed the media - Media Confidential Podcast
Inside Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Growing Alliance - The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Why a ‘good job’ doesn’t guarantee a home any more - The Guardian’s Full Story Podcast
‘Incredibly opaque and insular’: Victoria’s parole system in the spotlight - Denham Sadler for The Justice Project
The state and democracy - Democracy Sausage Podcast with Mark Kenny
Superannuation, Housing Crisis, and the Kohler Curve Reset - The Money Café Podcast with Alan Kohler and Stephen Mayne
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 30th of May. See you tomorrow!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here