News update for Wed 2 July 2025

Your trusted guide to the top independent news and views of the day...

Jul 02, 2025

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

BREAKING NEWS: Khaled Sabsabi reinstated as Venice Biennale representative after independent review into dumping - The Guardian

PUBLISHER’S DAYS OFF: This Thursday 3/7 and Friday 4/7 TrueNorth is taking some time out. We’ll be back in your inbox at 5pm on Monday 7/7. TrueNorth is a solo run initiative supporting independent news media and commentary.

EXCLUSIVE: UN expert "shocked" at Hannah Thomas's injuries - DeepCut

NSW Premier's office declines to respond after United Nations special rapporteur warns against "draconian laws".

The NSW government's controversial anti-protest laws are coming under international scrutiny following the violent arrest of former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas.

Mary Lawlor, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, has told Deepcut she was "shocked by the reported injuries sustained by a peaceful protester in Sydney last week during the course of her arrest by New South Wales Police".

Also read >

What are police allowed to do at protests and who keeps them in check? - The Conversation
Hannah Thomas’s injury sparks questions over NSW protester rights. What does the law say? - The Guardian

Lattouf speaks out on ABC win, the fight and the fallout - We Used to be Journos Podcast

Antoinette Lattouf sued the ABC and won. In the very first episode of We Used To Be Journos, Antoinette joins Jan Fran to unpack the legal showdown that not only exposed breathtaking incompetence at the broadcaster but also the hidden power and influence of lobby groups. Executives ducked accountability, lawyers flirted with racial erasure, and Lattouf's mental health history was dredged up before the country. And at the centre of it all? A protest at the Opera House that turned a journalist into a lobbyist target before she even stepped into the radio booth. You haven't heard the full story ... until now.

Listen to the We Used to be Journos Podcast

Also read >

From Consternation to Panic - Truth, Lies and Media Podcast
The ABCs of holocaust denial - Dave Milner for The Shot
Lattouf was sacked ‘to appease the pro-Israel lobbyists’. Why are their identities suppressed? - Michael Bradley for Crikey (paywall)
Lattouf took unlawful termination case to court as ‘public has a right to know what is happening’ at ABC - The Guardian

Calls grow for national childcare inquiry after Melbourne worker charged with sexual abuse offences - The Guardian

There are growing calls for a national inquiry into Australia’s childcare sector after a Victorian worker was charged with dozens of child sexual abuse offences.

Victoria police on Tuesday announced Point Cook resident Joshua Brown, 26, had been charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims aged between five months and two years.

More than 1,200 children will now be tested for infectious diseases after the charges were made public.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission turns 2 - has it restored integrity to federal government? - The Conversation

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) opened its doors two years ago this week amid much fanfare and high expectations.

Since then the body has attracted considerable criticism, overshadowing a solid, if slow, start to a whole new anti-corruption system across federal government.

Established with strong powers after a history of much weaker proposals, what has it achieved in its first two years?

AUSTRALIA OBSTRUCTED PROBE INTO DEADLY 'RAINBOW WARRIOR' BOMBING - Declassified Australia

The French government terror bombing of Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, 40 years ago in Auckland harbour backfired on the French disastrously. It added to mounting Pacific and global pressure to force France 11 years later to abandon nuclear testing on its Pacific island colonies.

Australia’s obstruction of the New Zealand police investigation of the French secret agents who conducted the terror bombing still rankles, 40 years on.

David Robie, the only journalist on board the ship in the weeks leading up to the bombing, looks back on the event and on the legacy of this sordid act of state terrorism in a New Zealand port.

Twelve days in Gaza: what happened while the world looked away? - The Guardian

In the weeks leading up to Israel’s war with Iran, which it launched on 13 June, there had been little let-up in its offensive in Gaza. A tenuous ceasefire had broken down in March, and a wave of airstrikes followed, as well as an 11-week blockade on all aid. Though some humanitarian assistance was allowed in from late May, military action intensified at the same time.

Growing numbers of desperate Palestinians were being killed as they sought scarce food either from looted aid convoys or from distribution hubs set up by the new, secretive Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group backed by Israel and the US as an alternative to the existing, much more comprehensive UN-led system. Rolling IDF “evacuation orders” covered much of the territory.

Part 1: The road to Yoorrook - 7am Podcast

For generations, First Nations people have called for a truth telling process so their stories can be heard. In Victoria, for the first time in Australia’s history, that has finally happened. For the past four years, the Yoorrook Justice Commission has been gathering the testimony of thousands of Victorians to put on record the truth about the state’s history. The culmination of that work has now been handed to the Victorian government. Today, we hear the story of the Yoorrook Justice Commission – and find out how knowing the truth about Australia’s history sets us up for a better future.

Listen to the 7am Podcast

Part 2: The truth has been told - 7am Podcast

Also > Australian-first truth-telling inquiry rewrites Victorian history, calls for redress and transfer of power - The ABC

How spending more on defence harms the nation - Pearls and Irritations

Anthony Albanese is taking a battering from ill-informed commentators for thinking Australia can be defended by spending a little over 2% of GDP on its military forces.

The previous Labor Government sometimes spent less and defended the country well. But Albanese may surrender and spend more.

The cry is that Albanese must suck up to Trump by spending over 3.5% of GDP to ensure US defends Australia. The US will certainly sell Australia highly expensive weaponry. But it has never shown any interest in being Australia’s protector, not even in World War II.

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After ‘running out of people to offend’, the Liberal Party wants to win over multi-cultural Australia - Crikey

The Liberal Party, having been gutted at the federal election, is looking to rebuild — starting with multiculturalism. It has a long way to go.

Having had a few weeks to absorb the shock and lick their wounds, the Liberal Party finally seems ready to shift from offensive to charm offensive.

The clearest evidence of this shift was an interview Queensland LNP Senator and shadow minister Paul Scarr did this week with Guardian Australia. While offering no explanation for why multicultural communities deserted the Coalition, Scarr did offer some theories. He blamed his colleagues for their “loose”, “harsh” or “clumsy” language, which in turn provided fodder for their opponents to “weaponise public statements to tarnish their image”.

Some of his colleagues have been more blunt.

Also >

Does the Liberal party need to change its values to survive? - Full Story Podcast
Liberal figures push for expiry dates on gender quotas in bid to win party support - The Guardian

Snowy 2.0. Will the Auditor-General get snowed again? - Michael West Media

Nothing to see here, found the last Auditor-General’s report on Snowy Hydro 2 – before costs tripled. As the full price veers towards $25B, the Auditor-General is firing up again.

The Auditor-General recently commenced a follow-up audit on the ‘Delivery of Snowy 2.0’, the government’s hapless pumped hydro-electric storage project.

Let’s hope the Auditor-General and the support team from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) aren’t snowed a second time.