BUILDING ONE’S PORTFOLIO
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he doesn’t know if his Lodge sleepover buddy Scott Morrison has ever said “sorry” for secretly swearing himself into the treasury portfolio, the SMH reports. Frydenberg called the move by the then PM an “extreme overreach”, which incidentally comes on the day the independent inquiry will deliver its report into the multiple portfolio scandal. The former treasurer told Niki Savva he had been “loyal to a fault” to Morrison and was repaid with a betrayal of his trust. Plus, there was no reason for Morrison to do so, Frydenberg continues, as news.com.au reports. “The fact he did take it, and it was not made transparent to me and others, was wrong and profoundly disappointing.” Genuine hurt feelings or not wanting to go down with the ship as Frydenberg carves out a post-politics private sector career, as ABC reports? Probably both.
Former High Court justice Virginia Bell will hand the findings of her three-month investigation to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today — it’ll probably include recommending legislative changes to stop this from happening again. “This” being a prime minister secretly appointing themself to health, finance, industry and resources, home affairs and treasury portfolios without telling some ministers (then health minister Greg Hunt knew). Interestingly, however, Morrison declined to be involved in the secret ministries probe, The Australian ($) says. He wasn’t compelled to, but one might think he’d be forthcoming as a former leader. The only involvement he had was through his (taxpayer-funded) lawyers.
MINE OR THEIRS
We have to beat China in the race to be a critical mineral powerhouse, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says, or Beijing will control tech supply chains into the future. China is a lithium global leader now, making three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries (as well as half of the world’s EVs), as The Australian ($) reports. But we are the world’s largest producer of the mineral (with 55% of global supply) and our Greenbushes lithium mine in WA is the world’s largest, the BBC says. Lithium is a crucial component in battery technology, so you can imagine its exponential growth trajectory. Concentration is “especially vulnerable to disruption”, Chalmers carefully stated — for instance, if China invaded Taiwan (BBC has a great explainer about why) and we were roped into the conflict by the US. But is lithium mining really different from any other kind?
The BBC delves into the nuts and bolts of it. You can get lithium two ways: from hard rock like Australia does, or salt-rich groundwater like Chile does. Hard rock mining’s “environmental impact is pretty much the same as any other comparable mining operation”, RMIT University’s Gavin Mudd says. But groundwater lithium isn’t exactly ideal either — extraction requires 1.9 million litres of water to make a tonne of lithium, the broadcaster says. Still, we need lithium to electrify our world and meet our Paris Agreement goals. Interestingly, Guardian Australia reports today that our own domestic goal — 43% reduction in emissions — almost wasn’t so. You may remember NSW Labor rightwinger Joel Fitzgibbon running a loud campaign for Labor to adopt the same 2030 target as the Coalition, as the ABC reports. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had to carefully and quietly swap leftie Mark Butler and more right-leaning Chris Bowen’s portfolios to ensure crucial stakeholders would stay calm, political editor Katharine Murphy says.
WALKING AWAY
Former PM Gough Whitlam was “pissed off that the whole of his government would be judged” over its sensational 1975 sacking by then governor-general John Kerr, according to his son, Tony Whitlam. He told the AFR that his dad always knew it was a “singular constitutional event” — but the dignified Gough never went on about it in conversations. Looking back, Tony says, his staff let him down. They should’ve “war-gamed” what to do in that instance. He says Labor’s thumping loss to the Coalition under Malcolm Fraser was a major blow that hit Gough “very badly”. It’s the 50-year anniversary of the election of the Whitlam government on December 2.
There are dignified, and somewhat less dignified, exits. A 34-year News Corp heavyweight Peter Gleeson has “ended his roles” at The Courier-Mail and Sky News after he appeared to plagiarise several columns. Then ABC (now 9News) reporter Josh Bavas posted his story next to Gleeson’s later-dated column, and whole chunks of it are the same — check it out. Then another Twitter account called “Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission” found some more. In a statement, Gleeson said: “I apologise for breaching News Corp’s code of conduct and instances where I have not met the standards required.” One might think the lesson to not copy someone’s work takes place in primary school, however.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
A Kiwi mum is in the fight of her life with her kid’s school over the right for him to wear his Crocs, the NZ Herald reports. Initially, Leigh Gayford told the paper, she tried to toe the line and bought him a $69 pair of leather sandals as per the summer uniform requirement. But they fell apart. He’s 13 years old, but his shoe size also happens to be 13 — like many teens, he’s “rapidly growing”, Gayford said. So she figured buying him a pair of Crocs was the best option. They’re basically sandals, she reasoned, and fit the uniform parameters — black or brown with a heel strap. Her kid even blacked out the little green crocodile that adorns the faux-pas foam footwear. “Normally kids wouldn’t dream of [doing this],” Gayford added, “because that’s the brand name, but because he was wearing them to school I made him.”
But the school staff were simply not having it. They sent out a testy email to all parents declaring that Crocs were banned. They’re clogs, staff rather controversially claimed, not sandals. “I hadn’t even used the word clog for years until last week,” Gayford said. Principal Karen Gilbert-Smith was like, well, what are we supposed to do? List every type of footwear the kids can’t wear? So Gayford did what any indignant mum is wont to do — she took it to Facebook. Her post, which basically said the school was drunk on power, received more than 100 comments. Still, the principal said, Gayford was the only parent barracking for the comfortable eyesores. “There’s not an epidemic of boys wanting to wear Crocs to school,” Gilbert-Smith scoffed. But it’s about more than the Crocs now, Gayford declared. It’s about unchecked power running rampant, and the fight for a fairer world! It’s about the right to be proud of one’s Crocs! “I just don’t feel like this rule is fit for purpose any more.”
Hoping you take a stand about something today, and have a restful weekend.
SAY WHAT?
[Jordan Peterson] wanted to take the opportunity to speak with political leaders. He has been a controversial figure, I don’t exactly know why. As somebody said to me in the last 24 hours, what Jordan says is pretty much what their grandfather used to tell them sometimes.
Matt Canavan
The self-described “professor against political correctness” (who has also been dubbed a “hero to the incel community”) is known for his strict beef-salt-water diet and arguing against “feminising” men. Former PM Scott Morrison was front row at Peterson’s talk — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was at a prostate cancer awareness event.
CRIKEY RECAP
Friendlyjordies takes YouTube hiatus after home ‘firebombed’
“YouTuber Friendlyjordies will take an indefinite hiatus from posting videos after his home was ‘firebombed’ earlier in the week. The comedian, whose real name is Jordan Shanks-Markovina, said in a video posted Wednesday that he would refrain from publishing more video content ‘for obvious reasons’.
“ ‘I would like to take this opportunity to say that I think that we’ll just tone back the videos for a bit,’ he said. ‘And by tone back I mean, that’s it for a while, for obvious reasons. We’ll get back to it at some point, but for now, Friendlyjordies is on an indefinite hiatus.’ Shanks-Markovina was not home when his home in Sydney’s east was set ablaze early Wednesday morning.”
‘We’re doomed’: Dan Andrews’ Sky News debate triumph disappoints conservatives
“Prominent conservative commentators and activists might have been wishing for a World Wrestling Entertainment-style smackdown of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy during their only face-to-face debate, hosted by Sky News, before polling day.
“However, it was not to be, with Andrews charming 38 of the room’s 100 undecided voters, while Guy snaffled 34, and 28 remained undecided. The 2022 result is closer than that of the 2018 debate, when Andrews got 49 of the undecided voters on side, while Guy had 33, leaving only 18 undecided.”
Elon Musk is treating Twitter like an early-stage start-up — with zero benefits
“Early employees tend to be rewarded for their dedication, lack of sleep and lost years. Equity is often on the table, even if it’s on a vesting schedule to encourage retention. It’s highly unlikely that any of the employees in Musk’s 1.30am weekend photos will reap these kinds of rewards. What they do get are tweets of praise from their new overlord and his fans for their work ethic and commitment to the cause — a platform that has been around for more than 15 years.
“This ignores a couple of things. Firstly, not everyone is in a position to quit if they don’t like their new working conditions. Further to that, many US Twitter employees are at the mercy of ‘at will’ employment. This means they can be let go at any time — admittedly with severance in this case — regardless of how many new changes, expectations and demands are made. Similarly, some employees are on visas meaning that quitting will result in deportation.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Canada unveils new climate adaptation strategy with more than $1-billion commitment (CBC)
Malaysia’s Anwar becomes prime minister, ending decades-long wait (Reuters)
Europe has labelled Russia a state sponsor of terror. What next? (Al Jazeera)
Sarah Palin defeated by Mary Peltola in Alaska comeback bid (BBC)
Brussels recommends billions in EU funds be withheld from Hungary (EuroNews)
Apple iPhone factory in China offers $1400 payments to quell worker unrest (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
More than 20,000 died in western Europe’s summer heatwaves, figures show (The Guardian)
Five-year-old pulled from Indonesian earthquake rubble after days of being trapped (SBS)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Chris Hemsworth’s Alzheimer’s gene doesn’t guarantee he’ll develop dementia. Here’s what we can all do to reduce our risk — John Mamo (The Conversation): “Chris Hemsworth, famous for his role as the god Thor in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, has announced he will be taking a break from acting after being told he has two copies of the APOE4 gene, increasing his risk of Alzheimer’s. Having one copy of the APOE4 gene increases your risk for Alzheimer’s 2-3 times. Two copies increases your risk 10-15 times. But the key here is ‘risk’. Having one or more copies of the gene doesn’t guarantee Chris or anyone else in a similar situation will go on to develop Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.
“Damaged and leaky blood vessels (capillaries) in the brain lead to inflammation, the death of brain cells and cognitive impairment. In fact, in Alzheimer’s, damaged capillaries are the earliest sign of the type of brain damage that causes disease. The protein encoded by the APOE4 gene may be less able to support healthy capillaries in the brain. We suggested APOE4 increases the abundance of specific complexes of lipoproteins and proteins in blood that silently damage brain capillaries, causing them to leak. We also see more brain capillary leakage in mice fed Western-style diets richer in saturated fats.”
As in the ’70s, inflation dragon can only be slayed on the supply side — Jason Falinski and Tim Wilson (The AFR): “The world is now caught in a cycle it will struggle to confront. Australians under the age of 50 have never lived through the required discipline or the trade-offs of reform that hurt today to help tomorrow. Markets are human, and people aren’t good at accepting declining living standards. Avoiding that requires an economy that grows faster than the onset of stagflation through supply side reform. But we seem to have failed to learn the lessons of history. In the 1960s, people came to believe government could solve any problem. Governments were going to end poverty, house the homeless, defeat the Viet Cong and send someone to the moon.
“The Great Society expanded government, but all that happened was retractions in economic opportunity, inflation and shortages that ultimately flowed through to civil unrest. The absurdity was demonstrated when US president Richard Nixon indulged wage price controls after building an entire career on opposing price-controlling communism. It took until the late ’70s for governments to try an alternative after everything else had failed. History favoured the heretics like former president Ronald Reagan, who concluded you can’t out-regulate the problems of regulation, and economist Milton Friedman, who concluded that ‘inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon’.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)
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NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, Transport Minister David Elliott, Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes, Environment Minister James Griffin, and Tourism Minister Ben Franklin are among the speakers at the NSW Leadership Summit for Tourism, Aviation and Transport at PwC.
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Scholar David Reeve will speak about his new biography, To Remain Myself: The History of Onghokham, at Glee Books.
Yuggera Country (also known as Brisbane)
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Authors Mirandi Riwoe and Cass Moriarty as well as performer Pandora Karavan will be at the Summer Reading Guide launch and Christmas party at Avid Reader.
Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)
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Shortlisted authors Kavita Bedford, Anwen Crawford, Eleanor Jackson, Patrick Lenton, Bella Li, SJ Norman, and Poppy Nwosu will speak at the 2022 Small Press Network Book of the Year Award at The Wheeler Centre.
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Australian Institute for Business and Economics at the University of Queensland’s Flavio Menezes will speak about how we can measure the impact of renewables on market prices, in a seminar at Monash University’s Clayton campus.
