A sporting chance

MINORITY RETORT

The NSW Coalition minority government is at risk if Premier Dominic Perrottet keeps up his comments about transgender children. Sydney independent MP Alex Greenwich confirmed to the SMH he’d withdraw his support for the state government if Perrottet can’t keep his mouth shut — fellow independent Greg Piper didn’t go that far but did say he was “appalled” by Perrottet’s comments. The premier says “girls should play sport against girls” (perhaps missing the own-goal irony there that trans women are women) and defended his right to an opinion. Greenwich basically told Perrottet to stop punching down — “people don’t want vulnerable kids bullied by political leaders”, he says. And besides, Piper adds, Perrottet’s the premier. He has an obligation to share “considered opinions that do not cause harm to vulnerable communities”.

Some quick asides to this ongoing saga, thanks to a cracking SMH article — sports governing bodies are already allowed to exclude trans athletes on a case-by-case basis if they have unfair strength, size, or speed advantage, trans children have a devastatingly high suicide attempt rate linked to rejection and isolation, and Monash University research shows most women in sport don’t even believe trans women have an unfair advantage. So why are our leaders still talking about this? Don’t expect the saga to pass yet, as The Australian ($) reports — former Girl Guides WA chief executive Karyn Lisignoli and founder of the female-only chat group Giggle Sall Grover are launching a new campaign today called “Respect My Sex If You Want My Vote” — it reckons the rights of transgender women and cisgender women are “clashing”. Activist and author Wendy McCarthy told the paper it was little more than a “misinformation” campaign that seeks to further isolate the already marginalised community.

[free_worm]

A SORRY LOT

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has “deeply apologised” for saying he was “blessed” to have children without disability, Guardian Australia reports, saying he didn’t mean it that way. Autism Awareness Aus tweeted the PM’s “disgraceful” words spoke volumes about how he perceives people with a disability. Disability advocate Carly Findlay explains the remarks indicate disabled people are burdens, “that our parents are unlucky”, while Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott says “feeling sorry for us and our families doesn’t help”, news.com.au reports, “treating us equally” does.

Meanwhile, independent candidate for Kooyong Monique Ryan apologised after a 2017 Facebook post resurfaced that showed a cartoon of Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf, that instead showed a photo of the former US president Donald Trump with a title “Mein Covfefe” — a reference to Trump’s typo. Ryan says she agrees the post could be seen as offensive, The Australian ($) reports, and was “deeply regretful of any hurt” caused. She’s running against incumbent Liberal MP and federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

And Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is supporting a Nationals candidate who said “one way to avoid domestic violence is to marry well” in a now-deleted social media post, ABC reports, with Joyce calling Australia a free country. Kimberly Hone is running in Richmond, in northern NSW — she also told worshippers at a Pentecostal church that her “ultimate goal” in politics was to “bring God’s kingdom to the political arena”, Guardian Australia reports.

SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has COVID-19. In a statement, he said he was “feeling fine” but was grateful that he’d have access to the “world’s best” health system if he needed it, the SMH reports. Scott Morrison wished his opponent well, tweeting “I hope he does not experience any serious symptoms”. Pundits suspected this might happen on the campaign trail and the Albanese camp had a plan in place, sources told the paper — ScoMo contracted the virus earlier this year but Albo hasn’t had it before.

While Albo’s campaign goes virtual, Morrison will travel to Amberley, Queensland, today to pledge a $428 million upgrade of four key Australian Defence Force airbases, The Australian ($) reports. Three of the four bases are in marginal Labor seats Blair, Macquarie, and Gilmore, the paper adds, but I’m sure that’s a simple coincidence… Morrison says having a strong economy means we “can afford” to invest in defence and national security (though not in JobSeeker, which is well below the poverty line, but I digress).

But it seems voters believe Albanese would be better at handling the purse strings — at least according to a poll conducted by The West Australian ($): it shows WA residents consider Albanese a better economic manager — 54% to Morrison’s 46%. The poll also showed that two in five think Morrison forming government again would be the worst possible result (39% voted for a hung Parliament as their nightmare outcome, while 22% voted for a Labor government). The poll spoke to 1241 voters.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

It’s Friday folks! Hopefully it’s been an okay week in your neck of the woods. If you’re struggling a little bit, may I suggest you peruse this useful story from ABC? The broadcaster spoke to nearly 700 people about how they deal with anxiety, and there are some lovely pearls of wisdom and useful tidbits of advice for all of us. For instance, starting the day by making your bed — it’s a quick win in the morning and a lovely way to begin your bedtime later on. Exercise in any form came up again and again — it gives anxiety “a good belting”, one responder said. Watching what you consume was another popular recommendation — like unfollowing or hiding social media accounts that make you feel down, and switching off the news to switch on some music. You can even put app time limits on social media apps you want to use a little less, if that helps.

Sharing your feelings of struggle with your manager can take a load off too, one responder said. It reduced his worries about his performance and made him feel more secure. Another said the healing energy of pets can’t be overstated — if you’re not ready for that commitment, you could always foster a cat or dog temporarily. Many recommended professional help — and with Telehealth’s use becoming widespread during the pandemic, it can be as easy as a few clicks. Many respondents swore by slow breathing exercises — like pretending to blow into a balloon — and some say journaling, even just jotting down notes in their phone’s notes app, helped soothe worries. Or just get out that front door, one wrote: “having my hands in the dirt, planting and propagating, bushwalking … it’s a beautiful distraction”.

Hoping the smiles come easily today, and have a restful long weekend ahead. I’ll be back on Tuesday.

SAY WHAT?

Listen to these human rights abusers try to outdo each other on who can be trusted more to brutalise innocent people and destroy the lives of those who ask for our help. How far our politics has fallen.

Nick McKim

The Greens senator has branded Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese “human rights abusers” in a tweet including a video of the pair clashing over boat turnbacks — yikes. Hyperbole or on the money? You be the judge.

CRIKEY RECAP

Morrison in clean-up mode, while Payne assumes an (even lower) profile

Bernard Keane

Apr 21, 2022

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“Where is Foreign Minister Marise Payne in all this? Certainly not in Honiara making Australia’s case to the Solomons government. Nor, it seems, will she be darkening the door of the National Press Club. Payne has refused to debate her opposite number Penny Wong during the campaign, according to Laura Tingle — a surprise since the bold, eloquent and dominating Payne would surely have bested the reserved and reticent Wong in any one-on-one.

“Also absent from election debates will be Richard Colbeck, walking national disgrace and purported aged care minister, whose hands, steeped in the blood of aged care residents, apparently can’t be prised off the doors of the corporate boxes at Bellerive Oval in order to debate Labor’s Clare O’Neil.”

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The Solomon Islands debacle finally registers with the political class — and chaos sets in

Bernard Keane

Apr 21, 2022

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“As Crikey explained to readers early last week, this is a disaster long in the making. It’s impossible, however, to work out exactly how seriously the government views the agreement. While Washington, aghast at Australia’s failure, was preparing to dispatch top Indo-Pacific diplomat Kurt Campbell to the region, what was the Morrison government doing?

“It first dispatched two intelligence chiefs — the head of ASIS Paul Symon and National Intelligence Director Andrew Shearer — to find out what was going on, a complete humiliation for an organisation that seems perfectly fine at bugging regional states’ cabinet rooms if it helps Woodside, but learns of major strategic setbacks to Australia on social media like the rest of us. Luckily, there is zero accountability for ASIS, which can operate without any scrutiny or examination of any kind, so no one will ever be required to answer for this.”

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Liberal MP calls for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s return to Australia

Kishor Napier-Raman

Apr 21, 2022

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“Following a brief hearing yesterday, the Westminster Magistrates Court made an order approving Assange’s extradition, after his legal team was denied permission to appeal it by the UK Supreme Court last month. If extradited, Assange faces 17 espionage charges and one related to computer misuse. His legal team say he could face up to 175 years in prison.

“Assange’s fate now lies in the hands of British Home Secretary Priti Patel. His legal team’s final remaining avenues are to make submissions to Patel, or appeal to the British High Court. But independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who chairs the Parliamentary Friends of the Bring Julian Assange Home Group, said that while the decision was disappointing, one positive dimension was how the issue had become ‘intensely political’ now that court processes were finished.”

THE COMMENTARIAT

No debate about it, Albo gets his mojo back — Graham Richardson (The Australian) ($): “Albo has come up the hard way. No one opened doors for him; he opened them himself. No one showed him the path to power, although his mentor, Tom Uren, did know his way around Canberra pretty well. The Coalition will be sorely tempted to try to paint Albo as a hardline leftie. Any attempt to do so is doomed to failure. When there was a plebiscite on the party leadership, Albo was facing a huge effort by the Victorian Right to ensure he did not succeed. I can recall him saying to me at the time: ‘Why are they doing this? I haven’t done or said anything remotely left wing in 10 years.’

“Morrison never looked like landing a blow in Wednesday night’s debate because Albo’s experience made him a moving and difficult target. Some of us have cupboards rattling with skeletons. A search of Albo’s cupboard will reveal nothing of that sort. He, like Morrison, is a person of honour. Albo’s loves are obvious. He loves his family, the Labor Party and the South Sydney Rabbitohs, although not necessarily in that order. Souths may pip Labor at the post.”

A decade of Solomons blunders rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping — Kevin Rudd (The AFR): “First, Australia must fully redress the punitive Pacific aid cuts imposed since 2013. Morrison’s current strategy is to deny these cuts even exist. But the numbers don’t lie: US$250 million of cumulative cuts between 2013 and 2020. Morrison even boasted of foreign aid in 2017, ‘we’ve stripped it right back, billions of dollars’. Despite his protestations, Pacific leaders know first-hand he is lying. They feel betrayed. These cuts have massive significance for small island budgets.

“Second, Australia must reassure the South Pacific that we’re in their corner on climate change, which threatens to wipe countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati off the map. So when Morrison lines up with strongman leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, it is noticed. Under our government, Australia advocated for the Pacific in international negotiations — on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States in Copenhagen on the critical question of keeping global temperatures rises within 2 degrees. Australia has since walked away from them, as underscored in successive Pacific Islands Forum communique.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Premiers, mayors, head of CBC all banned from visiting Russia in latest round of sanctions (CBC)

Mariupol steelworks: ‘Block it so a fly can’t pass,’ Putin orders (BBC)

Serbia ‘sliding towards autocracy’ as president secures second term (The Guardian)

Jose Ramos-Horta declares victory in Timor-Leste presidential election (SBS)

S​outh Korea’s Supreme Court ​issues landmark ruling on gay sex (The New York Times)

$50b wiped off Netflix’s value as subscribers quit (BBC)

Why even Portland, famous for being green, can’t quit cars (The New York Times)

Elon Musk says he has commitments for $46.5b in financing for Twitter deal (The Wall Street Journal) ($)

[US] Mortgage rates just hit a 12-year high (CNN)

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)

• Ocean Lovers Festival kicks off at Bondi Beach with art, live music, talks, markets, workshops, yoga, and more.

Yuggera Country (also known as Brisbane)

• Author Toni Jordan will speak about her new novel, Dinner with the Schnabels, at Avid Reader bookshop. You can catch this one online.

Ngunnawal Country (also known as Canberra)

• Independent candidate David Pocock, Labor candidate Maddy Northam, Greens candidate Tjanara Goreng Goreng, and independent candidate Kim Rubenstein will all participate in an election debate at ANU.