News update for Wed 12 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.
Please share with friends, family, colleagues - as good journalism is always worth supporting.
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: ‘Disregard for truth’: inquiry calls for greater scrutiny of private consultants following PwC tax scandal - The Guardian
Peter Martin: The Coalition wants to dump our 2030 emissions target, yet somehow hit 2050’s. Behavioural economics has a name for that - The Conversation
If you are anything like me, the nearer you get to a deadline, the more desperately you want to postpone it, no matter how much harder that makes things down the track.
It’s what the Coalition wants Australia to do about its 2030 emissions reduction target – the one signed into law in 2022 and registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Coalition says it remains “fully committed” to the more challenging target of net zero by 2050, but it wants to postpone some of the work needed to achieve it until later, nearer 2050.
Read more from Peter Martin for The Conversation
Also read >
Australia’s power and gas companies want Coalition to retain Labor’s 2030 climate target - Adam Morton for The Guardian
Dutton takes on Albanese over climate targets - The Daily Aus Podcast
Liberal MP Bridget Archer says abandoning 2030 climate target would be 'regressive' - The ABC
Peter Dutton’s energy policy is a political death wish – and utterly irresponsible in the face of the climate emergency - Ian Lowe for The Guardian
Peter Dutton’s latest salvo on Australia’s emissions suggests our climate wars are far from over - The Conversation
Energy tsars call for “stability in policies” to get on with enormous transition to renewables - Renew Economy
AUSTRALIA PUSHES AHEAD IN THE AI ARMS RACE - Declassified Aus
As Australia resists new laws to restrain AI weapons development, Australian companies are using real wars to test their killing power.
The Australian government continues to insist that no new international law is needed regarding autonomous weapons. Instead, Australia remains committed to “building a shared understanding of how existing IHL [international humanitarian law] applies” to autonomous weapons within the ‘Group of Governmental Expert’ discussions. This is a particular set of diplomatic talks on autonomous weapons within the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) forum which usually addresses conventional weapons.
However, Australia’s approach does not address the unprecedented moral and ethical risks posed by autonomous weapons and the imperative to establish new international law to address them.
Also read > IDF sniper rifle supplier to feature at government-backed arms expo - Bernard Keane for Crikey (paywall)
Disgraced consultancy given deal to run government ‘ethics' training - 7am Podcast
If you were a public service chief picking a firm to run ethics training, would one of the big four consulting firms be your first pick? They have faced intense scrutiny both in the media and in a recent senate inquiry, which will today release its report with recommendations to keep the private consultancy sector in check.
Anthony Klan: Chalmers gives Frydenberg free pass over ASIC report stitch-up - The Klaxon
The Albanese Government is refusing to disclose key findings of a corruption probe into the corporate regulator that were secretly deleted under former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, through a spokesman, has refused to provide the secretly deleted findings of the investigation into improper payments made to former ASIC bosses James Shipton and Daniel Crennan, saying it is “an issue for the previous government”.
The revelations come as Frydenberg again last week made national headlines over speculation he would return to politics, after losing his seat to independent Monique Kooyong at the 2022 election.
Read more from Anthony Klan for The Klaxon
Li Qiang comes to town: what to expect? - Pearls and Irritations
Premier Li Qiang is the second most powerful person in China, after President Xi Jinping. He is expected to visit Australia and New Zealand in the next few days. Meetings in Canberra will present an opportunity for leaders to set the seal of approval on tentative measures already under way for stabilisation of the bilateral relationship, and, hopefully, to find ways of developing that relationship further despite economic and strategic problems for both sides.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
Also read > Australians believe AUKUS will protect them from China. What’s the media’s role? - A new poll reveals half of Australians believe AUKUS will help keep Australia safe from China, with many seeing an imminent conflict possible. The media's fingerprints are everywhere - Crikey (paywall)
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
Michael Pascoe: Why resounding right-wing election wins only tell half the story - The New Daily
The standard headline stories for the Indian and European Parliament elections have been a triumph of democracy against Narendra Modi’s increasing autocracy and the surprise surge of right-wing nationalist parties in Europe.
Those first takes are only half the story. The other half could have serious concerns for Australia – and in the European case, provide comfort for Peter Dutton.
Read more from Michael Pascoe for The New Daily
Gantz’s gamble - Inside Story
Does Benny Gantz have the qualities needed to bring down a prime minister determined to prolong a brutal war?
On the spectrum of Israeli politics stretching back decades, National Unity chair Benny Gantz stands at the centre. Following his resignation from Israel’s war cabinet at the weekend, the question is whether he has the mettle of some of his predecessors on the centre and left of Israeli politics to assert himself politically.
How the redistributions would have looked with 2019’s results - The Tally Room
After the publication of the proposed boundaries for Victoria and Western Australia for the next federal election, I had a number of questions about how the boundaries would have looked on the 2019 votes, particularly in WA.
There was a big change in votes between 2019 and 2022 across Australia, but particularly in WA. There was a general swing to Labor, but this swing was much much bigger in WA, and the Labor vote is not expected to stay at that level.
So for this post I have taken my pre-existing dataset of election results from 2004 to 2022 broken down into small areas, and mapped them on to the 2025 electoral boundaries.
Read more from Ben Raue The Tally Room
Paid to Not Reform: Veterans’ Affairs chucks $73m at PwC to dodge Royal Commission - Michael West Media
The Department of Veterans Affairs paid consultants PwC $73 million to forestall a Royal Commission as part of a billion-dollar program intended to avoid reforming “not fit for purpose” legislation.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) paid disgraced consulting firm PwC (PriceWaterhouse Coopers) $73 million to implement a “veteran centric reform” program aimed at forestalling the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Read more in Michael West Media
Angela Priestley: Make childcare free or around $10 a day for families, three days a week - Women’s Agenda
Every child should be guaranteed at least three days per week of early childhood education for free, or at a low-cost fee of around $10 a day for households with a combined income of $80,000 or more.
That’s according to recommendations outlined by policy think tank the Centre for Policy Development (CDP).
The new report issues a policy roadmap for the Federal Government to establish universal access to quality, inclusive early childhood education and care over the next decade.
Read more from Angela Priestley for Women’s Agenda
Jack Toohey: The mental health crisis behind the death toll - The Politics
In April this year, as the country was starting to witness a sharp rise in the murders of women at the hands of men as compared to previous years, Chief Justice of the Family Court Will Alstergrenis hosted the National Family Violence Symposium in Melbourne.
Family violence, he said, “is not a women's issue. It's an all of society issue. It's a men's issue.”
Well, it’s International Men's Health Week, which presents a timely opportunity to have the very important conversation around the intersection between men’s mental health and men’s violence in Australia.
Read more from Jack Toohey for The Politics
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 BUY!
Quick Links…
How a far-right push in Europe triggered a shock election in France - Full Story
The government is drafting anti-hate speech laws. Here are 4 things they should include - The Conversation
Australia's media industry is no meritocracy. Instead, the shamelessness of mediocre men is rewarded with untold power - Annabel Crabb for The ABC
America’s problem is massive inequality – not ‘woke’ educated elites - Robert Reich for The Guardian
NBN and telcos feeling pressure from new satellite operators - Paul Budde for Independent Australia
Nine chair Catherine West pressured Sydney Morning Herald over column on board - Capital Brief (paywall)
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 Wednesday the 12th 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