News update for Wed 22 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
Truth rears its ugly head - Inside Story
Requiring political advertising to be truthful — an option discussed or pursued in one way or another for more than a century — has lately been given additional salience by the release of private members’ bills sponsored by several independent federal MPs, including Zali Steggall and Kate Chaney. Last month, special minister of state Don Farrell flagged that the topic was under discussion with opposition, small-party and independent MPs.
We all want political advertising to be truthful. The devil is in the detail
Gina Rinehart portrait saga: largesse comes at a peculiar cost for Australia’s swimmers - The Guardian
To understand why some Olympians would go into bat for the mining magnate on a matter unrelated to the pool, one need only look at the financial hold she has over the sport.
Rinehart has poured somewhere between $40-60m into swimming, considered by some analysts to be the largest individual contribution to an Olympic sport anywhere in the world. In recent years Rinehart has also made substantial contributions to rowing, beach volleyball and artistic (synchronised) swimming.
Read more from Kieran Pender for The Guardian
CSIRO: Renewables and storage still cheapest option, nuclear too slow and costly in Australia – Renew Economy
The CSIRO’s latest findings have been consistent since the first of its now annual GenCost reports was released under the then Coalition government in 2018. In fact the gap between renewables and nuclear has widened, despite the addition of integration and transmission costs to wind and solar, even with up to a 90 per cent renewable share.
Its draft report released late last year re-affirmed that nuclear – the chosen technology of new Coalition leader Peter Dutton and his energy spokesman Ted O’Brien, remained by far the costliest energy choice for Australia.
Also read > CSIRO puts cost of new nuclear plant at $8.6bn as Coalition stalls on policy details - Graham Readfearn for The Guardian
Peter Dutton’s populist migration policy - The Guardian’s Full Story Podcast
In his budget reply last week, Peter Dutton promised to slash permanent migration by 25% – a move he says could ease pressure on the housing market. Chief political correspondent Paul Karp tells Nour Haydar why the opposition leader has zeroed in on the issue and what it could mean in a pre-election year.
Listen to the Guardian’s Full Story Podcast
Are Albanese and Rowland afraid of Murdoch or are they in his pocket? - Pearls and Irritations
Albanese has had forthright advice from Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd that if Murdoch’s News Corp is left to its own devices it will bring his government undone.
Despite advice from many quarters warning him of existential dangers, for reasons best known to himself Albanese has made sure that none of the self-preservation initiatives proposed have made any headway. The only notable activity he is known to have taken was to have met with Lachlan Murdoch and some News Corp executives in August 2022, three months after being elected. Crikey reported that none of the Cabinet attendees at that meeting – Richard Marles, Penny Wong or the PM – were prepared to say what was discussed. Suffice to say, nothing good came out of it for Labor because News Corp muggings of his government have been next-level relentless ever since.
Read more in Pearls and Irritations
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
Caymans Privatisation: Northern Beaches Hospital limps into financial triage - Michael West Media
The Sydney hospital privatised to Cayman Islands financial engineers is in strife, lending heft to calls for the hospital to be put back in public hands.
Selling Australian public hospitals into private hands, especially Cayman Islands’ hands, was never a bright idea. The latest furtive disclosures regarding the privatised Northern Beaches Hospital make that clear.
As does anecdotal evidence from health professionals associated with the hospital.
Read more from Michael West for Michael West Media
‘No one can act with impunity’: ICC arrest warrants in Israel-Hamas war are a major test for international justice - The Conversation
The request by Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders is a significant step in the effort to bring justice to the victims of international crimes in Israel and Palestine.
Read more from Amy Maquire for The Conversation
Also >
Two Weeks Inside Gaza’s Ruined Hospitals - New York Times Video Report
Will the leaders of Israel and Hamas be arrested? - The Daily Aus Podcast
The ICC holds little, if any, power. So what’s the point of its arrest warrants? - Michael Bradley for Crikey (paywall)
Coverage of pro-Palestine university protests reflects Australia’s polarised, skewed media - Ben Eltham for Crikey (paywall)
Michael Pascoe: Renewables construction about to double in another inflationary pressure - The New Daily
The good news is that renewable energy construction, already flying, will have a rocket under it over the next three years, doubling in size and becoming the biggest growth contributor in the Australian construction industry.
The bad news is the same as the good news as the surging demand for renewables skills and materials will be competing with increased resources industry and transport construction.
Read more from Michael Pascoe for The New Daily
‘Makes no sense’: There’d be no 6 News if Albanese’s social media ban for under-16s went ahead - Crikey
What counts as social media? Instagram and TikTok? Obviously. Facebook and Twitter? Definitely. How about YouTube? LinkedIn?
This is what Labor is going to have to figure out if it’s serious about preventing children aged under 16 from having social media accounts, as flagged by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s in comments yesterday.
Banning teenagers from social media will, put simply, fail. It will not stop anyone in the “banned” age bracket from registering for and accessing social media. In fact, I guarantee a ban would only spur on teens trying to access these sites.
Read more from Leo Puglisi for Crikey (paywall)
Also read >
The Panic Over Smartphones Doesn’t Help Teens - It may only make things worse - The Atlantic
Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it - The Conversation
The build up - The Politics
"When you have no solutions, blame immigrants." – Australian proverb. This seems to be Peter Dutton's election strategy based on his budget reply last week. Dutton proposed three key measures to address housing affordability: allowing first home buyers to access $50,000 from their superannuation for a deposit, reducing the permanent migration program to 140,000, and implementing a two-year ban on foreign investors.
Read more from Jack Toohey for The Politics
Also read > Peter Dutton makes Labor’s case. Tax breaks for landlords should be restricted to those who build homes - Peter Martin for The Conversation
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Even a dog wouldn’t drink it: poor water quality a fact of life for some New Englanders - The New England Times
MasterChef’s ‘greener’ gas claims under fire - Mumbrella
Denmark’s childcare system is one of the world’s cheapest, most progressive and accessible. How does it compare to Australia? - Women’s Agenda
Fox ”News” Did you know you’re likely funding the right-wing media machine? - Dan Rather’s Steady substack
Voter views on animal welfare are changing – and taking the live sheep export trade with them - Gabrielle Chan for The Guardian
Justice denied: McBride’s trial exposes deep flaws in whistleblower protection and government accountability - New Politics
Jennifer Robinson on UK courts giving Assange one last appeal - 7am Podcast
Can Iran avoid a political crisis after its president’s death? - The Conversation
Biden is dramatically out of touch with voters on Gaza. He may lose because of it - The Guardian
At last, Australia has fuel efficiency standards - but they’re weaker than they could have been - The Conversation
Popular car uses 31% more fuel than advertised while other makes fare poorly in Australian efficiency test - 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 22nd 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