News update for Wed 25 Sept 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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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: At 2.7%, Australian inflation is back within the RBA zone. Here’s why that matters - The Conversation
Tanya Plibersek approves three coalmine expansions in move criticised as ‘the opposite of climate action’ - The Guardian
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, approved three coalmine expansions on Tuesday in a step described by conservationists as reckless and “the opposite of climate action”.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said the three projects, all in New South Wales, would generate more than 1.3bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in their lifetime.
Read more from Graham Readfearn for The Guardian
Also >
Is the environment still top priority for the Albanese government? - The Guardian’s Full Story Podcast
Labor’s hat-trick: three coal mine approvals in one day - Michael West
Evolving the party system - Democracy Sausage Podcast with Mark Kenny
Justin Ryan and James Robertson join Democracy Sausage to discuss the rise of the independent, the pressure on the two-party system and how to get the best out of democracy. Is the declining support for a two-party system a good thing? Can Liberal and Labor adapt to this new environment? And how can we make sure that our community’s best and brightest end up in parliament?
Listen to the Democracy Sausage Podcast
Robodebt "conflicts" extend beyond Brereton – NACC hides the documents - The Klaxon
The conflicts of interest at the top of the National Anti-Corruption Commission over the Robodebt referrals extend beyond its boss Paul Brereton.
The NACC has confirmed it has a series of documents regarding senior officials with conflicts, in addition to Commissioner Brereton, but it is refusing to release them.
One of the documents reveals information about an “association” between senior NACC staff and one of the Robodebt Six. However, the release of such information would “cause distress to the persons concerned”, the NACC said.
Also read > Robodebt victims seek further compensation due to ‘damning new evidence’ - The Guardian
David Hardaker: The sinking feeling of AUKUS three years on - The Politics
Alexander Downer, who is affectionately remembered in some quarters for being photographed wearing fishnet stockings and high heels, emerged this week with the message that those like former PM Paul Keating and former Hawke government minister, Gareth Evans, who opposed AUKUS were the Chamberlains of our time, seeking to appease an expansionist and belligerent China.
Downer’s intervention came with the warning that disaster awaited those who ignored the lessons of history.
Oh boy. The front of it all.
Read more from David Hardaker for The Politics
Also read > Defending nation’s sovereignty is not the act of an ‘appeaser’ - Gareth Evans for Pearls and Irritations
Lucy Hamilton: Australian politicians are playing NatCon politics - Pearls and Irritations
Peter Dutton’s campaign to make Palestinian refugees into figures of fear mirrors the provocations to the recent UK Islamophobic riots. These were inspired by politicians such as Nigel Farage as much as by far-right influencers. Both examples are connected to Donald Trump’s debate amplification of the far-right American lie that Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of people in Springfield, Ohio.
Read more from Lucy Hamilton for Pearls and Irritations
Today’s cartoon by Glen Le Lievre
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here
Peter Martin: No RBA rate cut yet, but Governor Bullock is about to find the pressure overwhelming - The Conversation
Who’d want to be Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock? On Tuesday she had to do the almost impossible: defend a decision not to cut interest rates at a time when they were being cut in just about every other major industrial nation.
Read more from Peter Martin for The Conversation
Also read > The deeply political policy of Reserve Bank independence - Tim Dunlop for The Future of Everything
Will Banning Donations Fix Democracy or RIG the Game? We Interrogate A State Premier! - Punters Politics Podcast
In this episode, we grill South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas on his controversial plan to ban all political donations in the state. We dig deep to find out if this bold move will truly clean up the dirty money in politics or if it's just a sneaky scheme to entrench the power of major parties like his own.
Listen to the Punters Politics Podcast
Ross Gittins: What the big parties aren’t telling you about their housing ‘fixes’ - The SMH/Age
We all want the housing crisis to be solved, but as a society, we’ve painted ourselves into a corner. The truth is, there are no easy solutions.
Read more from Ross Gittins for The SMH/Age
Also read > Labor refuses to rule out negative gearing changes as Treasury reportedly studies housing tax - Josh Butler for The Guardian
Michael Bradley: Woolies, Coles price gouging is morally indistinguishable from theft. It will happen again - Crikey
Like all the best frauds, it is stunning in its simplicity. This example from the ACCC tells the story: the shelf price of a family pack of Oreo cookies at Woolies was $3.50 for two years, from January 1, 2021 to November 27, 2022. Then the price skyrocketed to $5.00.
Twenty-two days later, the Oreos price fell to $4.50. Woolies promoted it as a “Prices Dropped” special, showing the “was” price as $5.00.
Read more from Michael Bradley for Crikey (paywall)
Nick Evershed: There are way more smoke and vape shops than there used to be. Has the government crackdown had any effect? - The Guardian
If you live in a major city in Australia, you have probably noticed there are a lot more tobacconists around than there used to be. Every week it seems like a new shop has popped up, sometimes in an unlikely spot.
Yet the smoking rate has been in constant decline, now sitting at 8.3%.
So what’s going on: are there actually more smoke shops? How many? Is this due to the skyrocketing rates of vaping? And how has the government’s crackdown on vape imports affected things, if at all?
Read more from Nick Evershed for The Guardian
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‘Muzzling’ advocates: the Albanese government’s reliance on NDAs - 7am Podcast
Dutton’s nuclear plan would mean propping up coal for at least 12 more years – and we don’t know what it would cost - The Conversation
Peter Dutton has failed to address the extremely high cost of nuclear – but it can only increase power bills - The Guardian
CPRS: The historic acronym that opened a roomful of sliding doors - Bernard Keane for Crikey (paywall)
Will the QUAD go the same way as SEATO – another lame duck? - John Menadue for Pearls and Irritations
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 25th of September. See you tomorrow!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - and through 6 News here