Political advisers — just like footballers really

With all the tut-tutting by politicians that goes on when a footballer having a big night out gets into a bit of trouble, there was little option but for the Federal Liberals to move quickly to get rid of one of their own this week. An adviser to Liberal Sophie Mirabella, the Opposition’s spokeswoman on women’s issues, the Melbourne Age reports, has been forced to resign amid allegations of groping and lewd behaviour at a black tie charity function in Canberra.

The footballers, meanwhile, are seeking understanding with today’s Sydney Morning Herald featuring frustrated NRL stars speaking out about what they perceive as unfair stereotyping of them in the wake of recent off-field scandals. A footballer’s life: confusion, temptation and guilt by association the paper headlines it as players say they are confused by the expectations of fans. The poor little fellows think  they have few rights and that there is no one standing up for them, with many clubs instructing their charges not to make any public comment in the belief that they can ride out the storm.

THE PICK OF THE MORNING’S STORIES

Turnbull baulks at early poll – Melbourne Age

Kevin Rudd’s in a spin over car deal – Sydney Daily Telegraph

POLITICS AND ECONOMICS

Australia

Unemployment

Jobless surge cuts swathe in well-heeled suburbs – Melbourne Age reports unemployment among men in normally prosperous inner Melbourne suburbs is approaching double digits after the loss of thousands of professional positions in the finance sector

Elections

Turnbull baulks at early poll – Malcolm Turnbull has given his strongest indication yet that the Coalition could eventually pass the emissions trading scheme to avoid Kevin Rudd calling an early election over it – Melbourne Age

Ten Victorian State Labor MPs fighting for survival in ALP shakeup – Melbourne Herald Sun

Political life

Adviser to Libs female MP sacked after charity ball – Melbourne Age

Party is over for MP’s staffer – Sydney Morning Herald

Coalition aims to spark women’s policy input – Melbourne Age

SA Opposition Leader Hamilton-Smith declares he will not go down without fight – Adelaide Advertiser

Turnbull plays it cool over byelection in Costello’s seat – Sydney Morning Herald

MP pans Rudd’s faction fiction – fun and games in the Victorian ALP right – Melbourne Age

Madden’s ambitions ‘irrelevant’ – Premier John Brumby has been forced to hose down leadership speculation sparked by the move of his Planning Minister, Justin Madden, to the lower house – Melbourne Age

Economic theory

Chinese give PM Kevin Rudd lesson on neoliberalism – The Australian

Industrial relations

Victorian Paramedics to start industrial action – Melbourne Age

Taxation

Tax break beefs up sport star coffers – he High Court ruled they could claim management fees as tax deductions – Melbourne Age

Give states ‘tax’ muscle – Melbourne Age

Take axe to super tax breaks, Government urged – Melbourne Age

Racial relations

New laws may counter racist attacks – Melbourne Herald Sun

Education

Rigid rules rile schools as Education Revolution complaints roll in – The Australian

Plans axed as pledged funds fall short – The Australian

NSW Ban lifted on school league tables – Sydney Morning Herald

Budgets

No-show Nathan Rees in Budget reply snub – Sydney Daily Telegraph

A hint of strange things

PM Rudd accused of missleading Parliament – Adelaide Advertiser

Kevin Rudd’s in a spin over car deal – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is facing serious allegations that he misled Parliament after lobbying for a car dealer and friend to secure a taxpayer-funded financial lifeline – Sydney Daily Telegraph

Heat on Kevin Rudd over help for car dealer mate – Brisbane Courier Mail

Kevin Rudd facing allegations of misleading Parliament – Melbourne Herald Sun

No peace as embattled Labor power broker Suleyman loses JP status – Melbourne Age

Opinion

The hunter becomes the hunted – Kevin Rudd’s links to OZ Car scheme in Senate hearing – Steve Lewis in the Brisbane Courier Mail

Turnbull must take this chance to stamp his authority as leader – Michelle Grattan in the Melbourne Age

A target so small, voters may ignore it – Andrew Clenell in the Sydney Morning Herald delivers a harsh assessment of NSW Liberal Leader Barry O’Farrell .

Reserve comes to defence of big bad banks – Elizabeth Knight in the Sydney Morning Herald

NSW sabotages itself – writes Michael Costa in The Australian of this week’s state budget

Belles of the ball can’t find nice things to say about each other – Annabel Crabb goes to a ball and finds that, on a funny night, neither the PM nor the Opposition Leader could say anything pleasant about each other – even in jest – Sydney Morning Herald

Elsewhere

Iran

Students slaughtered in tehran university attack – John Lyons, The Australian

Iran elections: Supreme leader to speak out as silent, angry protests continue – The Guardian, UK

Silent Rafsanjani bides time as fury builds – Financial Times of London

Political life

Campaigners cry foul as MPs’ expenses are published – but heavily redacted – London Times

BUSINESS

Big banks profit as business pays price – Sydney Morning Herald

Banks grow fat on small employers – The Australian

Santos joins BG Group in front row – Santos has signed the nation’s first binding coal-seam gas export deal – The Australian

MEDIA

Copyright

Fourth Miles Franklin win for Tim Winton – who aunched a passionate defence of Australian writers and literary culture against the Productivity Commission – Melbourne Age

ENVIRONMENT

Malcolm Turnbull puts heat on business: don’t ‘snuggle up’ to Labor – The Australian

Labor knew about toxic water threat – to Sydney water supply – Sydney Morning Herald

Gloom and doom for solar firms – A household solar panels credits program will be delayed for at least two months after the Opposition voted to refer the Government’s renewable energy target legislation to a Senate committee – Melbourne Age

Fears of lost jobs as carbon plan blocked – Sydney Morning Herald

Climate delay to cost jobs – The Australian

Wong’s silent treatment – Bob Carter, David Evans, Stewart Franks and Bill Kininmonth consider papers presented to a Washington Conference attended by Family First Senator Sterve Fielding – The Australian

LIFE

Footballers

A footballer’s life: confusion, temptation and guilt by association – Sydney Morning Herald

Aged care

Future of aged-care centres in doubt – after two debt-plagued companies that operate 10 homes went into voluntary administration – Melbourne Age

Child care

Senate rules far from child’s play – Greens have called for an overhaul of rules forbidding children in Federal Parliament after the Senate president ordered that a senator’s infant daughter be removed from the chamber yesterday – Melbourne Age

Senator’s toddler forced to leave House – Adelaide Advertiser

Tears as senator’s daughter expelled from chamber – Sydney Morning Herald

Art

Made in Indonesia, sold as Aboriginal – Sydney Morning Herald

Law and order

Wife-killer appeal – American wife-killer Gabe Watson is looking at a significantly longer Australian jail term after Queensland Attorney-General Cameron Dick announced in Parliament yesterday the State would appeal his 11-month sentence – Townsville Bulletin

Tougher laws to deter reckless cycling – Melbourne Age

Moran killing followed ‘dispute’ – Melbourne Age

Change to court rules risks flood of litigation – The Australian

E-conveyancing plan thrown a $2m lifeline – The Australian

Driving

Rally driving revs the economy – The NSW Government announced this month that legislation was being prepared to approve the Repco Rally Australia on September 3-6 in northern NSW – Sydney Daily Telegraph

Homeless

Homeless living at Redcliffe showgrounds given eviction notice – Brisbane Courier Mail

Home birth

Plan would ban midwives from home birth help – Melbourne Herald Sun

Sex and the sexes

Last dance ditched by Terrace after girls complain – Brisbane Courier Mail