POLITICAL THEATRE?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s “refusal” yesterday to rule out the potential for a double dissolution election (in a really clear try to attempt to break the stalemate over his authorities’s housing insurance policies) has unsurprisingly attracted a good quantity of protection in a single day, regardless of nobody considering he’ll truly do it.
The stalemate is over the federal government’s Assist to Purchase and Construct to Hire housing reforms which the Greens have known as for amendments to however Albanese refuses to budge.
The AAP studies this morning that constitutional and electoral specialists consider there is no such thing as a profit in a double dissolution for the federal authorities. Analyst Ben Raue informed the newswire: “I don’t perceive the logic of it, which makes me suppose it’s simply an empty menace. Labor is annoyed as a result of they want to have the ability to govern and the Greens have a unique agenda.” AAP says the one manner a double dissolution would profit the Albanese authorities can be if voters who preferenced the Greens on the final election switched again to Labor, with present polling suggesting the other will occur.
Monash College constitutional legislation Professor Luke Beck agrees with Raue. “The political threat is that (Albanese) finally ends up with a worse crossbench,” Beck informed AAP. “Whether or not he pulls the double dissolution set off will come all the way down to the political calculus. It’s in all probability extra for political theatre than the rest.”
Additionally making headlines is Albanese’s tackle to the Enterprise Council of Australia final night time, which concerned one other dig on the Greens. Guardian Australia studies the prime minister used the chance to accuse the Greens of creating “gesture-based local weather amendments” to Labor’s atmosphere laws. As flagged in yesterday’s Worm, Bran Black, the council’s chief govt, adopted the likes of the Minerals Council in expressing concern over Labor’s office guidelines. The PM sought to acknowledge these whereas additionally criticising the insurance policies of the opposite events. “We now have totally different obligations that demand totally different approaches, so it’s inevitable we may have occasional variations of opinion,” Albanese mentioned, including: “We’ve stood towards some fairly excessive anti-business insurance policies [from the crossbench]… and maybe extra surprisingly, by the opposition”.
In welcome information for the prime minister following his latest pledge to introduce a ban on youngsters utilizing social media, Meta introduced Instagram has carried out “teen accounts” for customers beneath 18 which is able to restrict what they’ll view and who can contact them, the ABC studies.
The brand new accounts had been launched on Tuesday in Australia, the US, the UK and Canada, the BBC says. The broadcaster studies the brand new accounts flip a lot of the privateness settings on by default, together with making all content material unviewable to individuals who don’t observe the person and actively needing approval for all new followers. The Guardian says the accounts will give dad and mom the power to set each day deadlines for utilizing Instagram and block teenagers from utilizing it at sure instances. They may also enable dad and mom to see the content material classes their youngsters are viewing and the accounts they’re exchanging messages with. Underneath 16s may also want parental permission to vary any privateness settings.
The account adjustments apply to all new customers and will likely be rolled out to present accounts over the subsequent few months.
ISRAEL BLAMED FOR EXPLODING PAGERS
In world information, Lebanon’s well being ministry has mentioned at the very least 9 individuals have been killed and 1000’s injured after pagers utilized by the militant group Hezbollah exploded throughout the nation on Tuesday. The ABC quotes the ministry as saying an eight-year-old woman is among the many lifeless, and that 200 individuals are in a critical situation. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the assault.
An official from the Iranian-backed militant group, talking on situation of anonymity, informed Reuters the detonation of the pagers was the “greatest safety breach” the group had been subjected to in almost a 12 months of battle with Israel. Hezbollah has claimed Israel will obtain “its truthful punishment” for the blasts, the newswire mentioned, including the Israeli navy declined to remark when contacted.
Sources informed Reuters in July that Hezbollah fighters had been utilizing pagers to attempt to keep away from Israel monitoring their places. Three safety sources informed Reuters the pagers that detonated on Tuesday had been the most recent mannequin introduced in by Hezbollah in latest months.
Elsewhere, US Vice President Kamala Harris has rung her Republican rival Donald Trump to immediately categorical that “she is grateful he’s secure” after an obvious assassination try on Sunday, The New York Instances studies.
The paper says Trump has been informed by the Secret Service that vital extra safety preparations and planning can be wanted if the 78-year-old wished to proceed taking part in golf safely. Additionally, Lawyer-Normal Merrick Garland has mentioned the Justice Division’s nationwide safety division would play a central function within the investigation, which The New York Instances suggests might imply suspect Ryan Routh going through extra critical costs than the 2 gun-related ones he acquired on Monday.
Additionally in US election information, Harris took half in an interview with the Nationwide Affiliation of Black Journalists on Tuesday wherein she denounced baseless claims and “hateful rhetoric” from Trump and his working mate JD Vance relating to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, The Washington Submit studies. The Republican nominee, in the meantime, is because of maintain a city corridor occasion in Flint, Michigan later in his first marketing campaign occasion for the reason that incident at his golf course on the weekend.
Lastly, one other musical celebrity has publicly backed a candidate. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas posted a video backing Harris and urging individuals to register to vote.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
We’ve waited lengthy sufficient, it’s time to make be aware of probably the most well-known hippo on the planet.
Moo-Deng, the child pygmy hippo, from the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand has grow to be an web celebrity after her keepers began posting clips on TikTok of her doing… properly, all the lovable issues child hippos do.
The Guardian quotes one of many keepers, Atthapon Nundee, as saying he started posting movies of the zoo’s animals on-line throughout the pandemic however none have attracted as a lot consideration as Moo-Deng. The hippo’s title was chosen by a well-liked vote and means “bouncy pork”, the paper provides.
“The second I noticed Moo-Deng born, I set a purpose to make her well-known, however I by no means anticipated it might unfold overseas. I assumed she could possibly be well-known in Thailand however not internationally,” Atthapon mentioned.
The Night Customary studies customer numbers to the zoo have nearly doubled since Moo-Deng grew to become an web sensation. Nonetheless, it has additionally resulted in poor behaviour from among the patrons who’ve been throwing water and shellfish on the animal to wake her up. CCTV has since been put up round her enclosure, with zoo supervisor Narongwit Chodchoi declaring: “It’s not solely merciless but in addition harmful. We should shield these animals and be sure that they’ve a secure and cozy atmosphere.”
In the meantime, Moo-Deng’s recognition has raised questions over her captivity with the Wildlife Associates Basis Thailand questioning the necessity for extra pygmy hippos to be stored in zoo settings, The Guardian provides.
Say What?
Properly, we’ll wait and see.
Anthony Albanese
The prime minister induced a stir on Tuesday when he was requested if a double dissolution was being thought of after negotiations stalled on the federal government’s housing invoice.
CRIKEY RECAP
‘Folks will swim by shit for a greenback’: A listing of AFL stars and journos on the playing payroll
The extent to which playing promoting has infiltrated sport has been well-documented in Crikey’s Punted collection. It’s inescapable.
Each week, Australians are bombarded by way of our televisions with betting ideas from former gamers, whereas golf equipment signal offers with the identical betting companies that rent executives from the AFL.
The AFL’s offers with playing firms are reported (by one of many media figures on this Crikey record, no much less) to be price between $30-$40 million in product charges alone, plus a further $8 million in sponsorship and one other $1-$3 million in signage.
It will subsequently come as no shock that there are a glut of media figures who’re fortunately concerned with betting firms, whether or not it’s offering ideas or producing content material.
Former Check captain slams ‘mainstream media’ for silence over Fox Sports activities cricket chief’s secret account
Former Australian males’s cricket captain Tim Paine has slammed sports activities media for failing to report on the key abusive X account run by Foxtel’s cricket chief, accusing journalists of being too afraid to be important of a high-profile determine from a significant media firm.
A Crikey investigation final month revealed that Fox Sports activities’ normal supervisor of cricket Matt Weiss had spent years working an X (previously Twitter) account that attacked colleagues, rivals, cricketers and political figures. Weiss continues to move up Foxtel’s cricket protection regardless of each the corporate and Cricket Australia being made conscious of this account in 2021.
Weiss has not responded to a number of requests from Crikey for remark.
Why did we name Peter Dutton racist? And does it matter?
In 2021, when Crikey launched a collection on Scott Morrison’s propensity to lie, it attracted big visitors and even consideration from different media — which usually prefers to fake we don’t exist. We’d dared to say one thing that nearly no-one had beforehand identified in regards to the then prime minister. Thereafter, different media started pointing it out as properly. It grew to become a part of his political picture.
Once we known as out Peter Dutton final week as a racist, the response from readers was extra like: “Yeah, we all know.” Clearly, readers had lengthy since made up their minds about Dutton. It’s in all probability truthful to say lots of voters have as properly.
However the level of devoting house to the opposition chief’s angle to race points, and the way it matches inside the broader political historical past of Australia for the reason that White Australia Coverage was dismantled two generations in the past, wasn’t to aim to form his political picture. It was to supply a greater understanding of the person who may but be the subsequent prime minister, and his political character, and to think about the political instruments he’s utilizing in his quest to grow to be prime minister.
The issue with merely dismissing Dutton as racist as a result of, say, he needs to ban Palestinian refugees, or he boycotted the Apology to the Stolen Generations, is that it fails to offer ample weight to the cost of racism. As I famous in a chunk earlier within the week, when costs of racism are in every single place, they lose their worth. When everybody and all the pieces is racist, no-one and nothing is.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Far-right conspiracies abound after second obvious Trump assassination try (The Guardian)
‘I’m a rapist’, admits husband in French mass rape trial (BBC)
Flooding dying toll rises to 21 in Central Europe as extra areas on alert (al-Jazeera)
Sean Combs indicted on costs of intercourse trafficking and racketeering (The New York Instances) ($)
Elon Musk is on monitor to quickly grow to be the world’s first trillionaire (CNN)
Scotland to host Commonwealth Video games in 2026 after Australian funding deal (The Sydney Morning Herald) ($)
THE COMMENTARIAT
A double dissolution might create a Starvation Video games contest — and Albanese is aware of it — Karen Middleton (Guardian Australia): So, there are a couple of causes Albanese is perhaps tempted to a double-dissolution. Malcolm Turnbull did it in 2016 and it didn’t go terribly properly. He ended up with a diminished majority within the Home of Representatives and three fewer seats within the Senate. Then once more, he additionally had a 54-day marketing campaign — a really dangerous thought.
However this present non-threat isn’t actually about whether or not Albanese will do it. It’s in regards to the chance, similar to placing the housing payments to the Parliament with out additional negotiation is about declaring that the Coalition and the Greens are stopping the federal government from governing.
Albanese likely hopes the mixed angst of all this may simply generate extra cooperation within the crimson chamber throughout the corridor.
For younger individuals, the nice Australian dream now means leaving the nation — Alexandra Koster (The Sydney Morning Herald): We’re not flocking abroad for inexperienced smoothies or seaside breaks; we’re searching for drastic options to outlive. A 3rd of younger Australians really feel financially insecure, whereas half of Gen Zs and Millennials dwell paycheck to paycheck, with 65% at present experiencing housing stress and 31% skipping meals to economize. That younger Australians really feel that they’ve to maneuver abroad as a long-term monetary survival resolution within the first place is an indication of simply how dire issues actually are.
The nice Australian dream was once homeownership and having a household. However the brand new dream may merely be with the ability to dwell with no monetary existential disaster at each flip — whether or not that’s getting dental work achieved, working out of meals or having debt collectors in your tail over unpaid payments.
For so long as that’s the fact awaiting us, perhaps it’s time all of us ebook airplane tickets.
