US CEASEFIRE TALKS
Labor frontbencher Anne Aly — a critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza who has said the loss of lives is “absolutely unacceptable” — is joining US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at humanitarian talks in Jordan this week, SBS reports. Meanwhile, Blinken has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem today to try and sell President Joe Biden’s plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, The Guardian reports. Blinken said that “other world leaders will stand behind the comprehensive proposal”, which would seek to prevent more countries from getting involved in the conflict. It comes as the UN Security Council has voted to pass the ceasefire deal — it calls for the release of all remaining hostages in return for Israel accepting steps towards a permanent ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of its forces from Gaza. On Saturday, at least 274 Palestinians were massacred by Israeli forces in a hostage rescue mission, labelled “collateral genocide” by Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, far-right political parties are gathering support throughout Europe, with the ABC reporting many have made “significant gains in the European Parliament elections”. French President Emmanuel Macron has called a snap election following a significant swing towards Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, but France is far from the only country experiencing a conservative surge. Far-right parties in Sweden, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, to name a few, are all growing in popularity. The shift could make it harder for the European Parliament to pass new legislation, SBS has speculated, with more resource sharing and cooperation between nations needed.
CLIMATE ELECTION
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is considering aiming at higher emissions reduction goals after the Climate Change Authority suggested a 2035 target of 65-75%, The Australian reports. The Coalition is reportedly “war-gaming” an early election scenario based on climate change, sending more than 100 policies away for costing. Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of “walking away from climate action” after the opposition leader said there was “no sense in signing up to targets you don’t have any prospect of achieving”. It comes as new research has suggested that uptake in electric vehicles alone won’t be enough to help Australia reach its emissions goals, with more public transport and rail freight needed, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. The government needs to reduce passenger travel by 10% before 2040, as even a 56% uptake in electric vehicles before 2030 will still see us default on our commitment to keep warming below 1.5 degrees.
Meanwhile, known carcinogens have been found in the tap water of 1.8 million Australians, The Age reports. “Tap water across parts of Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Victoria, Queensland and the tourist havens of Rottnest and Norfolk islands” have found high levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), contaminants labelled as cancer-causing by the World Health Organization. PFOA is allowed in Australian tap water at more than 140 times the rate allowed in the US, a “national disgrace” that must be amended immediately, according to toxic chemicals campaigner Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith. This discovery follows a Guardian Australia report from more than two months ago that found that per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — “forever chemicals” linked to cancer — were at dangerously high levels in Australia’s groundwater.
SAY WHAT?
We need every voter. I don’t care about you. I just want your vote. I don’t care.
Donald Trump
The former president said he was “joking”.
CRIKEY RECAP
“The Albanese government is handing more than $900 million to Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, which, among other products used in the mass slaughter of Palestinians by the Israeli Defence Forces, manufactured the drone the IDF used to murder Australian Zomi Frankcom.
Remember Frankcom? Labor hasn’t said a word about her since it promised back in April that there’d be a ‘review’ of the IDF’s murder of her along with her World Central Kitchen colleagues as they delivered aid in Gaza …
Perhaps Albanese and his ministers can check Austender. There — doubtless to their surprise, since it has nothing to do with them — they’ll see that Elbit Systems has received $19.25 million in direct defence contracts since October 7 last year. That’s part of $33.4 million in contracts awarded to the company since Labor came to power.”
The Australian government has repeatedly stated its support for journalists and press freedom with statements such as: ‘Threats to the safety of journalists are an affront to all countries that embrace human rights. Freedom of the press plays an essential role in any vibrant democracy by helping to create a culture of accountability.
Yet Australia continues to fall down the press freedom rankings conducted by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) of 180 countries each year. This year Australia fell to 39 (from 27 the year before), far behind our neighbours in New Zealand (in position 19). Next year RSF will be forced to report that the chair of Nine, which employs one of the largest numbers of journalists in Australia, may not have pushed, but certainly did not bother to stop when a journalist had been bowled over.
And that says everything about what Costello thinks about the importance of those who work for the Fourth Estate.”
“Clearly there are lessons to be learned from the disastrous failure of public administration that was robodebt. The public service commissioner has promised to report on those lessons. The question is, will future public servants bother to learn those lessons?
If there is no public and demonstrable accountability for robodebt maladministration, chances are they won’t. We tell people not to behave badly. That has little effect if in practice the incentives work the other way. If the only consequence for implementing an illegal scheme like robodebt is a slap on the wrist and a warning not to do it again — or a chance to slink quietly off to retirement — the signal sent is that we condone such behaviours.
If that happens, we run a high risk of a different but equally egregious failure of public administration emerging in coming years, harming innocent bystanders, wasting public money and eroding trust in the public service.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
In calling elections in France, Macron makes a huge gamble (The New York Times) ($)
Aircraft carrying Malawi vice-president goes missing (BBC)
Ukraine Recovery Conference head resigns in bitter row with Kyiv (euronews)
British TV’s Dr Michael Mosley likely died of natural causes, police say (Al Jazeera)
Apple WWDC 2024: ChatGPT comes to iPhone; ‘Apple Intelligence’ unveiled (Reuters)
THE COMMENTARIAT
The King’s birthday long weekend signals little to Australia — except that its independence is unfinished business — Julianne Schultz (Guardian Australia): “The days nations choose to celebrate says a lot about their sense of themselves. Americans celebrate independence, Thanksgiving, the end of slavery, the life of a murdered civil rights leader and veterans. New Zealanders note the Waitangi Treaty, Matariki, the Māori new year, and the monarch’s birthday. Canadians have added a Truth and Reconciliation Day to days that commemorate independence, remembrance and the legacy of Queen Victoria. Ireland is replete with days for Gaelic and Catholic saints.
Australia’s public holidays send a uniquely confusing picture of a place apparently set in aspic. A place that isn’t knowledgeable or proud enough of its authentic history to use its public holidays to send a clear message. Every year Australians endure the pain caused by the refusal to resolve the heartache of the misnamed Australia Day and on Anzac Day respectfully mourn the loss of life in overseas wars, while ignoring the Indigenous and other lives lost in wars fought on this soil.”
Peter Costello had to go. And thank goodness he has — The Herald’s View (The SMH): “What was rubbish was Costello’s belief that he could hold on to his job. It was simply untenable for the chair of a media company that employs hundreds of journalists to seemingly shove a reporter to the ground, laugh, walk off and carry on in the boardroom as if nothing happened. He clung on to the top job until Sunday afternoon, when an announcement about his resignation as chair and from the board was made to the Australian Securities Exchange.
Costello will not be mourned by the majority of those who work at Nine. Indeed, the Herald believes his tenure is a case study in why ex-politicians often do not make good company directors. As one example, Costello’s public criticism of Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers sat awkwardly with the need for a chair of a major media organisation to have a constructive relationship with such an important external stakeholder.
Costello was not a particularly strong champion of journalists — so much so that his Sunday afternoon resignation statement concluded with a complaint about them: ‘I will not be doing any interviews or commenting further on any issues this weekend, so no need to maintain vigil outside my home.’”
