TURNBULL’S VISIBLE HAND
Malcolm Turnbull has seemingly cut short a plan by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to save far-right backbencher Craig Kelly from a preselection wipeout.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that calls from Turnbull to senior Liberals, relayed by the former prime minister at length on Twitter last night, have seemingly killed off momentum to cancel preselections across NSW with state emergency powers. Further, The Australian ($) reports that Turnbull told NSW minister Matt Kean that, should Kelly make good on his (retracted) threat to move to the crossbench, it would “force Morrison to an early election and that will save the Berejiklian government”.
The move follows a call from Senator Jim Molan for a similar intervention from Morrison, and, according to Fairfax, was capped off last night with an expletive-laden rant from Kelly at Liberal mayor Carmelo Pesce.
TRUMP, XI PLAY NICE
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have reached a 90-day truce on new economic tariffs, following a two-and-a-half hour meeting at the end of the G20 leaders’ summit that saw Trump holdout on nearly every issue including climate change.
The ABC reports that the US will not implement tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods on January 1, in exchange for China purchasing what White House press secretary Sarah Sanders calls a “not yet agreed upon, but very substantial, amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the United States”. For his part, our current Prime Minister spent most of the weekend having to inform world leaders who he is.
REFUGEE DETAINED IN THAILAND
A refugee football player who lives in Australia was arrested in Bangkok airport over the weekend and now faces refoulement to Bahrain.
The Guardian reports that Hakeem Al-Araibi, who was granted asylum in Australia in 2014 after being arrested, tortured and sentenced to 10 years jail for vandalism and family politics in Bahrain, was picked up by an Interpol notice issued at Bahrain’s request. However, The Australian ($) reports that Thai officials have not yet received an extradition letter from Bahrain, and, noting there is no formal extradition treaty, will return Al-Araibi to Australia if they have not received anything official by tomorrow.
[free_worm]
THEY REALLY SAID THAT?
CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY
Can progressives actually defeat the Morrison government shitshow?
“Something is on the turn. Slowly, and with increasing clarity, the Australian political and electoral map is being redrawn. Since the July byelections in Longman, Mayo and the rest of the ‘Citizenship Five’ Super Saturday slate, not a single thing has gone right for Australia’s powerfully entrenched hard-right.”
Justin Milne and Michelle Guthrie continue public spat before Senate committee
“One of them is telling the truth and one of them is telling porkies. The ongoing public spat between former ABC chair Justin Milne and former managing director Michelle Guthrie is continuing before an already testy Senate committee today, with both parties digging their heels in.”
Scott Morrison is up against a long tradition of teen protest
“This week, thousands of high school students walked out of class in frustration at government inaction on climate change. The protests, which are part of a broader global movement of student-led action, have brought students across the country out in force to demand politicians take their future seriously.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
PM’s ploy: Shorten soft on terrorism ($)
Amnesty calls grow amid rampant use of black market farm labour
‘Premier falls for myth of fracking’: protesters unite across WA
‘This is barbarity’: stars to wear blue ribbons at Aacta event to support asylum seekers
Dutton court bid could hit other MPs: PM ($)
Portrait of a planet on the verge of climate catastrophe
‘My own son cannot get a job now’: Sydney’s Sudanese hit by Melbourne ‘ripple effect’
Victoria now relying on SA for power as wind production rises and coal plants close ($)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be indicted on bribery charges, police say
THE COMMENTARIAT
‘Dangerous precedent’: Energy industry takes a swing at Morrison’s big stick ($) — Matthew Stevens (Australian Financial Review): “That a powerful cohort of Australian business lobbies has called on the federal government to abandon its sinister quest to secure divestment powers that target the electricity industry stands another critical pre-election tipping point for the Morrison government.”
Medical evacuations are essential to maintain basic human decency — Catherine Stubberfield (The Sydney Morning Herald): “Some lessons are learned too late. For refugee Hamid Khazaei, who died of sepsis contracted on Manus Island, belated reforms can no longer help. Reflecting on his death, the Queensland State Coroner earlier this year could not have been clearer in his findings. That bureaucrats and politicians should never be allowed to override a clinical decision made by a medical doctor.”
So dinner went well – that doesn’t mean it’s back to business as usual ($) — Peter Jennings (The Australian): “But the halt of tariff increases depends on further talks and will surely require real progress to reduce China’s massive trade imbalance with the US, halt forced technology transfers and end Beijing’s cyber-enabled theft of US intellectual property. These are much harder tests to satisfy.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Canberra
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Dr Kerryn Phelps will introduce the “Urgent Medical Treatment Bill”, a private members’ bill to evacuate remaining children and families detained on Nauru and anyone else detained offshore who is psychologically or physically ill.
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Prime Minister of Tuvalu Enele Sosene Sopoaga will speak at ANU on the impacts of climate change on Tuvalu and the implications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5° C.
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Médecins Sans Frontières will release the first independent medical data demonstrating the extreme mental health suffering on Nauru.
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ABC election analyst Antony Green will deliver a keynote address at ANU’s Elections Matter Symposium.
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An open letter calling for the end of offshore detention signed by Sam Neill, Asher Keddie, Jackie Weaver and more then 1000 Australian arts professionals will be delivered to Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten.
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ACT Chief Digital Officer Bettina Konti will deliver the fourth Chief Minister’s Governance Lecture, “Data and governance: Opportunity and trust”, at an event hosted by Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
Sydney
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The Mental Health Coordinating Council will launch a major report on mental health priorities for NSW.
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Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell, Olympian Cate Campbell and Dawn Fraser will announce Australia Swims, a 10-day celebration of swimming in January.
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The Australian screen industry AACTA awards will hold an industry celebration.
Melbourne
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Former Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle will lodge a legal application to try to stop a report into sexual harassment allegations being released.
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Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner Jill Gallagher will help launch the Indigenous Settler Relations Collaboration at the University of Melbourne.
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2018 Stella Prize winner Alexis Wright will deliver the 2018 Stephen Murray Smith Memorial Lecture, “Censorship and telling the untold stories”, at the State Library.
Hobart
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University of Tasmania’s Dean of Law Tim McCormack will launch Tasmania’s Human Rights Week 2018 and deliver the inaugural “State of the State” address, to be followed by the announcement of the Tasmanian Human Rights Award Winners.
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Economist Saul Eslake will present the Tasmania Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s “Tasmania Report”.
Brisbane
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Day one of Brisbane’s two-day YOW! Developer Conference.
Adelaide
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Economic commentator Michael Pascoe will deliver a keynote speech at the inaugural “Your Super Life” expo.
Australia
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Protesters will rally outside the electoral offices of several MPs and outside federal parliament in support of Kerryn Phelps’ evacuation bill.
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A number of events will be held to mark the International Day of the People with Disability, including the Disability Sport and Recreation Festival in Melbourne.
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The RBA will issue a rates decision.
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