News update for Wed 1 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 selected 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
BREAKING NEWS: US campus protests: police arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia university – live - The Guardian
Jess Hill on why we need more than ‘awareness’ to end the killing of women - 7am Podcast
Intimate partner deaths increased by almost a third during the last reporting year and early counts by advocacy groups suggest this year is set to be even worse. The spike in killings has led to protests, a national outcry and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declaring that violence against women is a national crisis.
Listen to Jess Hill on the 7am Podcast
Also read >
Australian government pledges almost $1bn to help women leave violent relationships - The Guardian
This is not about squabbling at a rally. This is about women’s bodies piling up - Jenna Price for SMH/Age
Something feels different: Are we finally at a tipping point on men’s violence against women? - Kristine Ziwica for Crikey
Crossbenchers sign open letter to Anthony Albanese for action on gender-based violence - Women’s Agenda
Aboriginal women continue to be subject to horrific violence – we cannot leave them out of the conversation - Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts for The Guardian
Dandy swords, diamond daggers – Governor-General David Hurley’s royal legacy unveiled - Michael West Media
Gold swords and diamond encrusted daggers. New documents reveal the pomp behind outgoing Governor General David Hurley’s charity and royal regatta exploits.
In 2119, a centennial will take place. As part of the ceremony a hand-written note will be taken out from a secret compartment in an engraved silver sword. No doubt the note – penned by Australia’s Governor-General, David Hurley – will be read aloud and historians will shake their heads trying to make sense of it all.
Read more from Jommy Tee for Michael West Media
The fringe groups taking an interest in Queensland’s council elections - The Guardian’s Full Story podcast
My Place emerged from the highly vocal Covid-19 anti-lockdown protests. It’s a network which reportedly has thousands of members and is predominantly active in Facebook community groups. Some of the ideas that these groups believe are that vaccines are deadly, fluoride in water is dangerous and 5G is a threat. Lately My Place has been taking its ideologies offline and into local government, with some groups allegedly playing a role in supporting candidates in Queensland council elections.
Listen to more from Nour Haydor for The Guardian’s Full Story podcast here
Plibersek’s broken promise spurs climate protests - City Hub
Already frustrated by the Albanese government’s failure to stop new fossil fuel projects, climate activists were bitterly disappointed when Plibersek made it clear last week that she had indefinitely delayed reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. She had previously promised to pass new legislation by the end of 2023.
The progressive thinktank The Australia Institute accused Plibersek of leaving an open door for at least 30 new fossil fuel projects to be approved under existing law.
Read more from Wendy Bacon for City Hub
These numbers show just how concentrated Australia’s media market is - Crikey
Australia has one of the world’s most concentrated media markets — with none of the benefits of concentration, as our media companies struggle in the face of the global shift of audiences and advertising revenue to the tech giants.
Read more from Bernard Keane for Crikey
Also read > Australia’s remarkable rise in the global economic rankings downplayed by the media - New Politics
Cartoon by Cathy Wilcox for the SMH/Age
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
Great Barrier Reef’s worst bleaching leaves giant coral graveyard: ‘It looks as if it has been carpet bombed’ - The Guardian
Last month the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority released a report warning that the reef was experiencing “the highest levels of thermal stress on record”. The authority’s chief scientist, Dr Roger Beeden, spoke of extensive and uniform bleaching across the southern reefs, which had dodged the worst of much of the previous four mass bleaching events to blight the Great Barrier Reef since 2016.
Also read >
Wondering what Australia might look like in a hotter world? Take a glimpse into the distant past - The Conversation
Coalition’s O’Brien prompts walkout at solar event after claiming renewables will lead to blackouts - Renew Economy
Leo Puglisi from 6 News joins SpinProof
On this special non-school day SpinProof live podcast, Denise speaks with Leo Puglisi who in 2019 at the age of 11, started 6News. 5 years later at aged 16, Leo has grown 6News into a trusted independent news source. They speak about his journey and forward plans, how he juggles school and his passion for journalism - and his views on the news media landscape. Another worthwhile listen.
Listen to SpinProof with Leo Puglisi here
Australia’s National Defence Strategy: Where ideology trumps strategy - Pearls and Irritations
Australia apparently faces the ‘most complex and challenging strategic environment since the Second World War’. From the perspective of the underpinnings of Australian defence policy for many decades, that is indeed true. For Australia has progressively locked itself into a ‘defence’ strategy that was based on a shaky foundation; namely a foundational assumption of the ongoing global military dominance of the United States.
Read more from Pearls and Irritations
Also read > America bombs while China builds - Pearls and Irritations
Labor’s first extinction - The Monthly
State and federal governments have protected Tasmania’s foreign-owned salmon industry, and the imminent loss of the Maugean skate exposes the price of such state capture
Read more from Richard Flanagan for The Monthly
Also read > Bulldozers in Darwin begin destroying habitat of hundreds of bird species as Lee Point/Binybara construction begins - The Guardian
Michael Pascoe: Our biggest China lie - The New Daily
Three things: China is winning from Gaza; China growing at 5 per cent now is better than China growing at 7 per cent a decade ago; and Australia’s biggest China lie is that we’re spending half a trillion dollars on boats to protect our sea lanes.
Read more from Michael Pascoe for The New Daily here
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Quick Links…
Culture, media and male violence: It starts at the top, with Seven and News Corp - Bernard Keane for Crikey
Biden’s Plea to Save Democracy - Dan Rather for his Steady substack
There’s a Sniper on the Roof of the School Where I Studied Authoritarianism - Sarah Kendzior for her substack
The case for banning billionaires - Inside Story
A bet on rates - The Money Cafe podcast with Alan Kohler and Stephen Mayne
Coalition to campaign on balancing housing construction and migration, says Andrew Bragg - The Guardian
The Bonza fiasco shows action must be taken on Qantas’ market monopoly - Crikey
Liberals’ plan to destroy super will drive up house prices - The New Daily
Queensland Labor’s lurch to the right on youth justice shows a government that’s lost principles and perspective - 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 Wednesday the 1st 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