WOMAN PROBLEM
Organiser Sarah Williams said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lied when he told the crowd at an anti-domestic violence rally that he was told he couldn’t speak to them, The Australian ($) reports, and called him “a man with power trying to diminish a vulnerable young woman”. In footage from the ABC, the PM says both he and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher were told “it wasn’t possible” for them to speak and that he “respects the organiser’s right to do that” — Williams, the founder of non-profit advocacy group What Were You Wearing, can be seen visibly reacting, then appears to say “that’s a lie”. In a statement, she said the PM’s office “made it clear” to her that he would only be walking in the rally. “For him to not only demand he speak because he was being heckled, but lie, was disgraceful,” she said.
It comes as Albanese declared domestic violence a national crisis, the same day as the alleged murder of 30-year-old Erica Hay would bring the number of women killed by men this year to 27. Albanese will call a national cabinet meeting of state and territory leaders on Wednesday morning to discuss new preventative measures, AFR says. Meanwhile, the SMH’s senior editorial figures have slammed the “pathetic platitudes” of federal ministers, calling them “as predictable as they were pathetic” (editorials are penned by senior figures — in this case, possibly editor Bevan Shields — but don’t have bylines on them). Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was singled out for saying the government had a “range of actions” it wanted to take and hadn’t yet, with the paper calling it an “extraordinary admission” that shows we can’t trust the government’s approach.
TEENS ARRESTED
Four teenagers were arrested in anti-terror raids last week after allegedly listing Jewish people as targets, The Daily Telegraph reports. Police will allege they were planning a terrorist attack after the Wakeley riot that followed the live-streamed stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. The boys, aged 15, 16, 17 and 17, allegedly discussed their plans in a Signal group, an encrypted messaging service. Meanwhile, Emmanuel has given his first mass since the stabbing, the ABC reports, saying the alleged attacker was his “son” and always would be. He also addressed the Australian government and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in defending “free speech”, saying he couldn’t understand why it could be “dangerous”.
It’s not clear whether he’s referring to the stoush between Elon Musk’s X and eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant about the footage of Emmanuel’s own attack circulating on the social media platform, though the broadcaster mentions it in the next line. It comes as the government has asked for your feedback about whether the eSafety commissioner’s online enforcement powers should regulate hate speech, “pile-ons” (cyber-bullying) and deep fakes (incredibly convincing doctored videos), ABC continues. The issue paper also noted that our current fines (up to $782,500 a day if companies ignore take-down orders) pale in comparison to the UK and Ireland, where platforms can be penalised up to 10% of their annual global turnover for non-compliance.
SPEND AND SAVE
We’ve had 950,000 more bulk-billed GP appointments after the Albanese government tripled incentives for doctors in the 2023 budget, Guardian Australia reports. Bulk-billing rates between November and March were up 2.1% to 77.7% across the country, benefitting Tasmania (5% rise to 71.3%) and the NT (4% rise to 75.5%) the most. Meanwhile, shadow Infrastructure spokesperson Bridget McKenzie has criticised the next budget, even though its contents are largely unknown. McKenzie suggested to Sky News Australia that Treasurer Jim Chalmers will focus on the service sector and cut infrastructure spending which would impact productivity and competitiveness, arguing Chalmers needs to stop the “massive growth” in spending. The previous Coalition government bequeathed Labor a bloated $120 billion infrastructure pipeline, or about 800 promised projects, a figure that grew substantially from 150 mostly around the 2016 and 2019 elections.
Opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor agreed with McKenzie, however. He told The Australian ($) bracket creep and commodity windfalls, not structural change, were bolstering surpluses and we need spending restraint in the budget to keep inflation down. It comes as price rises last week made an interest rate cut less likely — though it hasn’t deterred homebuyers at auction, AFR notes. Meanwhile, the workplace watchdog has dropped a third (12 of 41) of construction union law-breaking cases it inherited after the last federal election, the AFR reports. The Albanese government scrapped the industry regulator the Australian Building and Construction Commission, handing the cases to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) instead. The FWO has not filed any new cases against the CFMEU in the 18 months, the paper notes, though it has against construction employers.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
When you were approaching 18 years on this planet, there may have been little more nerve-wracking than being asked to stump up what you knew was a totally fake and fairly unconvincing ID to buy some cheap beer. As you approached 30 or 40, however, there may have been no bigger compliment than to have one’s age double-checked at a bar, particularly with our harsh sun powering fine lines into our faces. However, the presumption of youthfulness can come with complications. Take Patricia — she’s 101 years old, but American Airlines keeps mistaking her for a baby, as BBC reports. That’s because, in what feels eerily reminiscent of the Y2K era, the computing system refuses to believe she could be born in 1922, defaulting to 2022 instead. Oh, you flatterer.
The latest instance was on a flight from Chicago to Michigan, giving airline staff a rather large surprise when the “baby” on their flight strolled up to the desk and offered her passport for check-in. It’s happened once before, Patricia (who didn’t give her last name) told the broadcaster — with the confusion quickly turning to jokes about good eye cream explaining the 100-year age disparity. But it can be a little trying, particularly considering her daughter Kris had to lug the pair’s luggage to the terminal because all of the electric carts were elsewhere. Still, the computer bug is not going to stop Patricia’s wanderlust. She actually travelled solo until she turned 97, when her fading eyesight became a little too much. The centenarian knows she’s acting younger than her age. But she’d probably prefer to be her age on paper.
Hoping you feel young of spirit today.
SAY WHAT?
No, Mr Netanyahu, it is not antisemitic or pro-Hamas to point out that, in a little over six months, your extremist government has killed over 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 78,000, 70% of whom are women and children.
Bernie Sanders
The US senator — who is Jewish — posted a video accusing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu of “insult[ing] the intelligence of the American people” by calling criticism of the military offensive in Gaza antisemitic.
CRIKEY RECAP
“The era of national decommodification has already begun in China. The place is obviously on a post-capitalist path. It, and others, can’t believe what our useful idiot elites gave away by deindustrialisation, uprooting not merely physical plants but the cultural and intellectual ‘plant’ that industry deeply embeds and then in turn develops from.
“The ’80s fan club have no way of understanding this, no desire to. It’s fantastic that the Murdoch right seem determined to enforce an ’80s style ‘economic rationalist’ model on the Coalition so that it must ride out and argue against a policy that is aligned with people’s deeper assumptions about solidarity and loyalty.”
“The changes implemented by former Education minister Dan Tehan in his much-criticised Job Ready Graduates policy are particularly stark. Fees were hiked, especially for courses like arts and communications degrees. Someone studying an arts degree in 2020 was paying a little under $7,000 a year. In 2021 this went up to $14,500; it’s now above $15,000 a year.
“Many students starting university this year will end up with student debts above $50,000 for a plain vanilla bachelor’s degree. Spare a thought for those who flunk out: these fees are still levied, even for students who don’t graduate.”
“Australia does not expect an invitation to Italy’s G7 meeting in June, Crikey can reveal. Anthony Albanese was invited to last year’s G7 summit in Japan, an ‘important opportunity to advance Australia’s interests’, according to the prime minister.
“Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has begun handing out invites to her selected guest nations. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Meloni for his nod on Thursday, and leaders from the North African countries of Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt have reportedly been invited too.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Hundreds of university students arrested in US as Gaza war protests spread (Al Jazeera)
Rwanda flight detentions to begin within weeks, Home Office says (BBC)
CNN Poll: Trump maintains lead over Biden in 2024 matchup as views on their presidencies diverge (CNN)
Mitch McConnell refuses to say whether he supports a US national abortion ban (The Guardian)
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni throws her hat in the ring for EU elections (Euronews)
Elon Musk visits China as Tesla seeks self-driving technology rollout (Reuters)
Even if the fed cuts, the days of ultralow rates are over (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
THE COMMENTARIAT
A royal commission will take too long. Here’s what must be done to keep women safe — Rosalind Dixon (the SMH): “Better, therefore, for NSW to appoint an expert panel to report to the premier and minister for women on how to implement the Victorian royal commission findings — and do better based on current global best practice. The expert panel mechanism was used in the lead-up to the Voice referendum and has been deployed in other policy areas. Indeed, a similar mechanism was used federally to develop the National Plan To Reduce Violence Against Women And Their Children.
“Like a royal commission, an expert panel or council allows for the possibility of multiple viewpoints to be put to the government. This includes differences among experts, as well as those with lived experience of family violence. But it could report much faster and thus deliver the urgent change we need. It is also substantially cheaper. One of the striking things about NSW versus Victoria in this context is an annual funding gap of approximately $200 million. And the price of a royal commission? It is almost certainly larger than that. An expert panel could be asked to examine several things without limiting its terms of reference.”
Baby Reindeer strikes a painful chord for gay and bi men, and I know why: Grooming and rape are common — Jeffrey Ingold (The Guardian): “What makes Baby Reindeer so compelling is the way it shines a light on some of society’s darkest issues without being overly moralising or polemical. I remember talking with the executive producer about my role as a consultant. That when reviewing the scripts, my job wasn’t to help them make the most ‘politically correct’ show (nor did he want that). It was about giving space for complexity, nuance and, ultimately, reality. One uncomfortable reality the show gives us is that Donny only starts to question his sexuality and explore his queerness after Darrien’s assaults.
“Are we supposed to pretend that abuse doesn’t sometimes precede a person coming out and into their queerness? That the widespread misuse of G among gay and bi men isn’t happening right now up and down the country? The reception I’ve seen to Baby Reindeer so far tells me audiences, and especially queer viewers, are crying out for TV that challenges and confronts us. But it’s also up to us to take what we learn from the small screen and start talking about the uncomfortable realities projected back at us.”
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WHAT’S ON TODAY
Yuggera and Turrbal Country (also known as Brisbane)
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Author Kirsty Iltners will talk about her new book, Depth of Field, at Avid Reader bookshop.
