News update for Wed 29 Jan 2025

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

Jan 29, 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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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:

Lower inflation in the December quarter boosts chances of an interest rate cut - The Conversation
No more excuses: the time has come for the RBA to cut interest rates - Greg Jericho for The Guardian

Dr Victoria Fielding: Media coverage of Dutton’s nuclear 'plan': Scrutiny, stenography or propaganda - Independent Australia

Unsurprisingly, the conservative media has failed to scrutinise Peter Dutton's nuclear plan, once again displaying bias towards the Coalition.

WHEN OPPOSITION LEADER Peter Dutton snuck his dodgy nuclear energy “plan” out just before Christmas, it was an important moment for Australian news media to demonstrate the quality of journalism they produce: scrutiny, stenography or propaganda.

It was also their opportunity to be honest with the public about why Dutton is backing nuclear power, an opportunity they unsurprisingly did not take.

Also read > For lazy Australian media companies, why is the answer always more concentration? - Crikey (paywall)

Australians who get most of their news from commercial media more likely to believe in climate conspiracy, study finds - The Guardian

Those who believe global heating is a conspiracy get most of their information about news and current events from commercial and social media, according to a study by researchers at Monash University.

The study, led by Prof Mark Andrejevic and Assoc Prof Zala Volcic, found that those who relied on social media as the main source of news scored lower on a measure of “civic values” than people who relied on newspapers and non-commercial media.

Civic values were defined as an individual’s belief in democratic institutions and practices, as well as their openness to considering perspectives that challenged their own.

Shrinking leaders and nations - Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

Cultural studies professor Graeme Turner joins Mark and Marija to compare election campaign expectations, media concerns, and ask whether Donald Trump’s return could affect Australian democracy. Can we expect Peter Dutton to adopt a Trump-style for the upcoming election?

Could such a campaign ever gain traction in Australia? And if it did, would the government hold it off? Or have portfolio governance changes and an incremental approach to progress left Labor with no defining re-election narrative? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss the federal election.

Listen to the Democracy Sausage Podcast

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The death of Julie-Ann Finney's son prompted her advocacy for veteran support - Women’s Agenda

“I say ‘don’t enlist until it’s fixed’ to make people who enlist in the Australian Defence Force aware of the issues I’ve experienced first-hand.

For decades, veterans and their families have suffered due to inadequate mental health support, outdated policies, and leadership that resists change.

Politicians, often lacking expertise, rely on the failed advice of institutional leaders who have long opposed inquiries like the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission (DVSRC). The DVSRC’s recommendations must be implemented with integrity to address the unrelenting pressures of PTSD, moral injury, and mental health struggles faced by those who serve.

Until lived experience and subject matter experts are prioritised on committees and forums, the cycle of neglect, silencing, and harm will continue, perpetuating outdated ideas that fail to protect those who have sacrificed so much.”

DeepSeek shatters beliefs about the cost of AI, leaving US tech giants reeling - The Conversation

Almost A$1 trillion (US$600 billion) was wiped off the value of artificial intelligence microchip maker Nvidia overnight on Monday, when a little-known Chinese start up, DeepSeek, threatened to upend the US tech market.

While Nvidia suffered the biggest one-day loss in sharemarket history, other tech giants – Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, who are investing heavily in competing AI tools including ChatGPT and Gemini – were also hit.

What is Dan Tehan and the Coalition offering on asylum seeker policy? - Pearls and Irritations

As the overall number of asylum seekers in Australia continues to rise and is now over 120,000, Shadow Immigration Spokesperson Dan Tehan regularly criticises the Labor Government for not doing enough to get control of asylum seeker numbers. But with a Federal Election just months away, we do not know what either the Coalition or Labor will do to get on top of the issue.

Knowing Peter Dutton’s abysmal record on immigration integrity, including allowing the biggest labour trafficking scam in Australia’s history, Tehan has to tread carefully.

Also read > Dutton has the worldview of a Queensland cop, someone once wrote. We should take that seriously - Crikey (paywall)

Dutton wants to slash thousands of government jobs in an Elon Musk-style crusade. But what’s actually on the chopping block? - The Guardian

Thousands of newly created jobs in national security, Aukus, government services and veterans affairs could be at risk from Peter Dutton’s new Elon Musk-style crusade for “government efficiency” and reducing the public service, the Labor government claims.

Dutton and senior members of his shadow cabinet have called for many or all of the new public servants employed under the Labor government since 2022 to be sacked, claiming the 36,000 new positions are not needed and would be removed under a Coalition government, with its proposed minister for government efficiency.

Flooding the zone - Follow The Money Podcast

President Donald Trump has been issuing Executive Orders and dominating the media cycle, trying to radically reshape America and the world in the process.

On this special crossover episode of After America and Follow the Money, Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss the role of Elon Musk, Trump’s pause on all US foreign aid, his ability to ‘flood the zone’, and how this all affects Australia.

Listen to The Follow The Money Podcast

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Gas prices up, Woodside profits up, customers down - Michael West Media

Gas consumers in Western Australian have long enjoyed lower prices than the Eastern states, but those days are done as Woodside doubles its WA gas price.

According to the Woodside’s website, “Woodside has been supplying reliable, competitively priced domestic gas to Western Australia since 1984 and will continue to do so”.

Well, after digging through Woodside’s financial reports over the past ten years, it seems that “competitively priced” means price rises so steep that much of WA’s heavy industry may be uncompetitive if it continues.

Grace Tame: Why is my t-shirt more offensive to our prime minister than a 50-year assault on democracy? - Crikey

The boy who lived in public housing comes to die on a corporately owned hill.

According to Anthony Albanese, decrying the Murdoch empire is more disrespectful than destabilising democracies, destroying the planet, disinforming the public and dodging millions of dollars in taxes for decades.

No matter their stripes, one thing almost all politicians seem to have in common is a selective memory — that and their inevitable capitulation to the bloated billionaires who own the majority of our land, its natural resources and our elected officials.

Also read >

Tame Grace? Good luck with that. I delight in her brave belligerence - Jane Caro for The SMH/Age (paywall)
Offended by Grace Tame’s t-shirt? You need a reality check - Tarla Lambert for Women’s Agenda

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 join the democracy walkers today!

See a list of the 31 community independents - who have (so far) announced their candidacy in the upcoming federal election. Subscribe, volunteer, donate to support their campaigns.