‘SEX, DRUGS AND INVOICES’
A former Seven producer tasked with “babysitting” Bruce Lehrmann whereas the community courted him for an interview final 12 months has informed a defamation trial he watched the ex-Liberal staffer order cocaine and google intercourse staff at a ritzy Sydney restaurant that have been later invoiced to Seven. Ex-Highlight producer Taylor Auerbach’s Federal Courtroom testimony is all around the newspapers right this moment. “Seven billed for ‘bender’,” reads The Sydney Morning Herald entrance web page, “Googling prostitutes, cocaine after dinner: tawdry proof of Bruce’s TV ‘babysitter’,” says The Australian. Even Seven-owned The West Australian selected the story for a front-page splash: below the headline “Lehrmann trial circus”, the paper described Auerbach’s testimony as a story of “intercourse, medicine and invoices”.
The court docket livestream was watched by 1000’s yesterday, however for many who weren’t following alongside the print protection of the testimony is value a learn. The SMH’s Harriet Alexander, for instance, has an evaluation of the proceedings that features the next paragraphs, describing a social media video of Auerbach breaking golf golf equipment that belonged to a former Seven colleague and good friend: “Taylor watches with a raised eyebrow as his alter ego whacks the golf equipment on the wall and bends them over his knee till they snap. Considered one of them won’t break, and his maniacal smile turns into a grimace. Justice Michael Lee chuckles. ‘The shorter the iron, the harder it’s,’ he says with the authority of 1 who has snapped a number of golf equipment in his time.” Community Ten, which is being sued by Lehrmann for defamation, hopes Auerbach’s proof will undermine Lehrmann’s credibility. Lehrmann maintains his innocence in a high-profile rape case that was aborted in 2022 on account of juror misconduct.
CHARITY CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE
The charity that employed slain Australian support employee Zomi Frankcom has known as for Australia to affix in demanding an “impartial, third-party” inquiry into the Israeli airstrikes that killed her and 6 of her colleagues in Gaza on Monday. World Central Kitchen (WCK) additionally requested Canada, Poland, the US and the UK to affix within the demand. The opposite support staff who have been killed have been residents of these international locations.
“This was a navy assault that concerned a number of strikes and focused three WCK autos,” the charity stated in a press release, in keeping with The Guardian. “All three autos have been carrying civilians; they have been marked as WCK autos; and their actions have been in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who have been conscious of their itinerary, route and humanitarian mission … An impartial investigation is the one option to decide the reality of what occurred, guarantee transparency and accountability for these accountable, and forestall future assaults on humanitarian support staff.”
In the meantime, the UK newspaper Day by day Telegraph stories Israel might pay compensation to the victims’ households. Britons John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby have been among the many support staff killed.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Shanglish is like every other bustling Western Sydney restaurant, with busy waiters doling out beneficiant serves of aromatic lemon garlic hen and tangy baba ghanouj to a whole lot of grateful clients. However they’re doing it at no cost. Neighborhood Care Kitchen has repurposed the restaurant for the month of Ramadan to make sure households who’ve fled war-torn Gaza can eat. A person named Alaa informed Guardian Australia his household are right here on customer visas, which don’t permit any entry to welfare. “Into this void have stepped group organisations,” reporter Mostafa Rachwani writes merely. It’s costing round $5,000 a day to feed about 45 households every evening, however one of many volunteers stated the gratitude is even bigger. Some households say it’s the one good factor occurring to them proper now.
Rachwani additionally spoke to Sunday Kitchen’s Karima Hazim, who’s heading up a volunteer crew baking packing containers of ma’moul — a butter-filled big day biscuit — with all the proceeds going to new arrivals. She thought they’d be making 20, perhaps 30 packing containers, however she obtained 100 orders on the primary evening alone. Some clients don’t even know what ma’moul is, she informed the paper, however they’re “grieving” for Gaza — some decide up the packing containers with tears of their eyes. Hazim says the fundraising dosh goes straight into the palms of fearful and sometimes traumatised Palestinians to purchase what they should survive in Australia: lease, garments, necessities. It’s been over six months because the battle within the enclave stepped up, she stated. “We needed to do one thing”.
SAY WHAT?
Why don’t we put a number of names up, let the Australian individuals nominate who they need as governor-general. Let it go on the poll paper on the time of election. Don’t have a separate poll for it, and let the Australian individuals select who they wish to see because the governor-general.
Pauline Hanson
The One Nation chief, a “staunch monarchist”, appears to have inadvertently steered Australia change into a republic.
CRIKEY RECAP
Why is Australia giving $900 million to the corporate that helped homicide Zomi Frankcom?
“The Defence Division has stonewalled Crikey’s efforts to uncover what evaluation it undertook of Elbit Programs’ human rights file or of the actions of a significant defence contractor in our ally Japan. It has didn’t even acknowledge Crikey’s repeated questions on Elbit Programs.
“The division’s media crew is infamous for its refusal to interact with something aside from requests for propaganda from the reporters — in 2020, the auditor-general launched a extremely essential evaluation of the efficiency of the realm. In a single day, the workplace of Defence Minister Richard Marles equally refused to reply to our questions on whether or not Elbit Programs’ function within the homicide of Frankcom …”
We are able to’t permit police to dictate when protest is appropriate
“A police group liaison officer has informed me that it’s ‘normal process’ these days to have particular operations police at protests. Quite than making protests safer, all this appears to perform is elevated police violence and aggression.
“At protests, when they don’t seem to be enacting violence on protesters, police primarily simply stand round guarding property, equivalent to the steps of Victoria’s Parliament Home, to verify grassroots sorts don’t climb too excessive. I’m sure I’m not the one one who feels much less protected when the officers are round, significantly as an Indigenous lady.”
‘Queen of woke’: Commentariat loses the plot over our new G-G
“We should confess we share a way of unhappiness on the change of Australia’s governor-general. Primarily as a result of it means the tip of the period of Linda Hurley, spouse of the departing G-G.
“Along with her fondness for beginning the day with a spherical of hula hooping and bible research, and her now well-documented tendency to launch into accapella, self-penned songs at seemingly each public occasion she attends, she was the closest factor Australian politics needed to a personality from an early Belle and Sebastian track rendered into flesh, and he or she can be missed.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Biden tells Israel’s Netanyahu future US assist for conflict relies on new steps to guard civilians (Related Press)
Netflix’s movie concerning the notorious BBC Prince Andrew interview misses the purpose (BBC)
At the very least 9 useless, a whole lot injured in Taiwan earthquake (Al Jazeera)
Choose rejects Trump’s bid to get Georgia election subversion case dismissed on free speech grounds (CNN)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Why four-year phrases received’t repair our febrile political tradition — James Philips (The Australian): “We frequently change our prime minister with out a common election. So why would a change from three- to four-yearly federal elections scale back short-termism in political decision-making? The actual drivers of short-termism are our unattainable expectations of presidency and the destructive orientation of our clickbait-driven political tradition.
“Partway via a three-year parliamentary time period, every of Julia Gillard (2010), Kevin Rudd (2013), Malcolm Turnbull (2015) and Scott Morrison (2018) grew to become prime minister after a choice by their very own occasion or coalition. Rudd in 2007, Tony Abbott in 2013 and Anthony Albanese in 2022 all received the prime ministership by going to an election as their occasion’s chief in opposition. That’s 4 prime ministers by coup and three by common election.
“It’s tough to be assured that longer federal parliamentary phrases would materially prolong the lifetime of Australian federal governments. It’s even more durable to be assured they might make members of a authorities much less poll-driven. There are extra profound causes of political short-termism.”
I’ve a full head of hair, however I’m jealous of bald guys — Perry Duffin (SMH, $): “I envy the bald, not only for their aerodynamics, however as a result of their days on the barbers are mercifully over. I’m not too good for the barber, however for a 12 months I’ve evaded them, rising my hair and questioning: why do some issues worsen the ‘higher’ they change into?
“In 2022, blogger Cory Doctorow coined the proper phrase, enshittification, for the declining high quality of on-line platforms as they change into cruel in enterprise. For instance, Fb is now not a option to join with precise pals; it’s a approach for Want and Temu to promote you the best plastic gadgetry fashionable slavery can produce. What I’m seeing on the barber is the same but distinct course of by which a service turns into extra upscale, cleaner, expert {and professional} — although much less pleasant.”
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Eora Nation Nation (also referred to as Sydney)
