Desperation as Palu waits for tsunami aid

DESPERATION IN PALU

The death toll following Indonesia’s weekend earthquake and tsunami has risen past 1200 people, as the government calls for emergency funds and survivors in Palu are forced into looting.

The ABC reports that the Indonesian government has allocated 560 billion rupiah ($37.58 million) for disaster recovery, however aid workers are struggling to get through road and airport damage and are waiting on large machinery for rubble. Confusion has also emerged over the coordination of “looting” responses, with police giving residents permission to take essentials but 45 arrests also being reported for people targeting ATMs, warehouses and supermarkets.

Australia has now pledged $695,000 in support through the Red Cross, while Indonesia will also reportedly accept aid from China, South Korea, the US, and, following a $1 million pledge yesterday, Google.

CERVICAL CANCER DECLINE

Research from the Cancer Council NSW has found that cervical cancer could officially be considered a rare disease in Australia within the next two years and, in another world first, rendered so uncommon by 2028 that it would no longer be considered a public health problem.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that, while global deaths from cervical cancer still exceed 310,000 a year, the disease is becoming increasingly uncommon in Australia thanks to the introduction of the national human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program in 2007, as well as key changes to the country’s pap smear program in 1991.

CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD

Former ABC chairman Justin Milne reportedly wanted to hire local star Kylie Minogue to sing about the corporation for an ad campaign but was knocked back by senior management over her $750,000 performance fee.

In the latest wild revelation over the ABC board fiasco, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that former managing director Michelle Guthrie “hit the roof” over Milne’s marketing proposal. Milne has since denied knowing about Minogue’s price tag, thinking up the idea, or pushing it on management, but admitted that, “an emotional campaign with Kylie singing a song… I thought that could be cool”.

The news follows opposition leader Bill Shorten‘s announcement that a future Labor government would follow recommendations from an independent selection panel in appointing ABC board members and, over an alleged failure to do the same, call for Communications Minister Mitch Fifield to step down.

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THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

He attacks Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott as ghosts, yet if you needed to know what Malcolm Turnbull truly believes in, what he would die in a ditch over, you would need a microscope to help you find it.

Paul Keating

The ex-PM war of words expands, and gets extremely pointed. 

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

Is The Australian gearing up for a Holy War on Kirstin Ferguson?Emily Watkins

“The Australian has, predictably, been comprehensive in its coverage of turmoil at the ABC over the past week… Among the coverage, there are rumblings of another of the national broadsheet’s infamous Holy Wars — the vicious and personal campaigns it runs against individuals it sees as its enemies. The target this time is the acting chair Kirstin Ferguson.”

Australians set to become guinea pigs for worldwide war on privacyBernard Keane

“A bill to implement the Coalition’s attacks on encryption was introduced into parliament during its last sitting week, after a risible 10-day ‘consideration’ of thousands of submissions the government invited on its proposals, which revolve around forcing tech companies to help install malware on devices or find other ways of “cooperating” with security agencies. The bill has gone to Parliament’s intelligence and security committee for review.”

I spent a week living by Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for LifeHelen Razer

“For one week, I decided to shun any complicated view of society. There would be no such thing as society and no greater authority for this than the best-selling book 12 Rules for Life: an Antidote to Chaos. Jordan Peterson’s crude Utopian ethics did not remind me of “the best teacher [I] ever had”, but did make me long all Tuesday afternoon for death.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Cyber bullying needs to be on school curriculum, says eSafety Commissioner

Key union declares ‘loss of faith’ in NSW Labor leader Luke Foley ($)

Tasmanian Aboriginal group calls for west coast land handback

Labor MPs to mobilise on concentration of power with Home Affairs minister

Couples to be tested for 500 genes linked to childhood disorders before conception

Queensland’s first medicinal cannabis clinic opens in Brisbane ($)

Origin says solar cheaper than coal, moving on from base-load

Matthew Guy to reveal $19b plan for 200kmh regional Victoria super trains ($)

Chinese CCTV journalist’s outburst in the UK could be a sign of things to come

Nobel Prize in physics awarded to three researchers for two advances in lasers

China warned after US warship is challenged ($)

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

THE COMMENTARIAT

Where there are smoke and mirrors in aged care, there’s a fire ($) — Rick Morton (The Australian): “After some reflection on the politics of ignoring aged care for so long, the Coalition has opted for deflection instead, deploying a smoke-and-mirrors approach to convince voters it’s really changed.”

NT defamation case in Supreme Court — Nat Cromb (IndigenousX): “We have always had to fight for our right to assert our personhood and the fight continues with Alice Springs Newspaper The Centralian Advocate – NT News currently the subject of defamation litigation following the publishing of an Indigenous child’s photograph above the headline ‘Youth Crisis: town split over kids.’”

Labor seeks more victims’ stories to capitalise on the banking royal commission ($) — Jennifer Hewett (Australian Financial Review): “But Labor’s latest decision to hold its own hearings around regional Australia for ‘bank victims’ as part of the opposition’s protest about the commission not being extended is certainly not going to produce better policy. Even its success as a political tactic is also dubious for Labor because it looks far too much like the stunt it is.”

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Melbourne

• Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will meet with state and territory counterparts to discuss GST and other issues.

• Day one of the two-day All-Energy Australia Expo 2018, to include keynotes from Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton, Victorian and Tasmanian Environment Ministers Lily D’Ambrosio and Guy Barnett, Greens MP Adam Bandt, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Pat Conroy. 

• Aluminium giant Alcoa will blow up their disused power plant on Victoria’s surf coast either this afternoon or tomorrow morning, depending on weather.

• Jaymes Todd, the man charged with murdering and raping 22-year-old Eurydice Dixon, will appear again in court.

Perth

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison will speak at a 500 Club breakfast event.

• Day one of the two-day Precious Metals Investment Symposium 2018.

Canberra

• Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant will present “Australia’s approach to keeping its citizens safer online – the risks, challenges & opportunities” at the National Press Club.

• A summary is expected over the next two days in the David Eastman murder trial.

• The Australian War Memorial will launch The Western Front Diaries of Charles Bean a publication detailing the first-hand accounts of Australia’s official First World War correspondent.

• A 2018 Lived Experience Showcase discussion on mental health services will hear from Deputy NSW Mental Health Commissioner Fay Jackson, retired Brumby and Wallaby Ben Alexander, ACT Minister for Mental Health Shane Rattenbury and more.

Sydney

• A NSW parliamentary inquiry will examine the CBD Light Rail project.

• Commentator Mark Latham’s new book Take Back Australia will be launched by commentator Alan Jones.

• Roanna Gonsalves, Paula Abood and Maryam Azam will speak in conversation with historian and ABC journalist Kate Evans for UNSWriting event “Rewriting the nation: minority women authors make history”.

Townsville and Palm Island, Queensland

• The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples will hold hearings in both Townsville and Palm Island.

Adelaide

• Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer will launch the next phase of the federal government’s “Stop it at the Start” advertising campaign at the COAG National Summit on Reducing Violence Against Women and Their Children.

• SA Health Minister Stephen Wade and Greens MLC Tammy Franks will speak at a Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Week event.

• The Migration Museum will host “Captured Lives: Loveday During the Second World War”, an event with local academics, politicians and historians exploring the experiences of people detained in Loveday internment camp during the WWII.

• Author Emma McEwin will launch her book The Many Lives of Douglas Mawson, a look at her great-grandfather’s life as a geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic.

Brisbane

• Queensland’s first medical marijuana clinic will open in Belmont.

• Kurdish-Iranian journalist and Manus Island detainee Behrouz Boochani will remotely speak on his new book No Friend But the Mountains at The Old Museum.

Alice Springs

• Opening day of the two-day National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association’s Professional Development Symposium 2018.

Shepparton, Victoria

• Nationals MP Tim McCurdy will appear in court for a committal on real estate fraud allegations.

Darwin

• Descendants of a group of historic Indigenous footballers will speak on the documentary Buffalo Legends, shown as part of the the Northern Territory Library’s Curator’s Cut film series.

Hobart

• Climate change writer and 2007 Australian of the Year Tim Flannery will speak on his new book Europe: A Natural History in conversation with Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Michael Stoddart at Fullers Bookshop.

Papua New Guinea

• 368 Manus Island detainees and people seeking asylum will present a petition to Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court asking that it deliver on a March agreement to allow the group to seek travel documents, leave PNG and begin assessments of damages.