What a super idea!

SUPER-CHALMERS-FRAGILE-ANGUS-EXTRA-TAX-BREAK-IS-ATROCIOUS

Sound the Liberals-breaking-ranks klaxon: Liberal MPs Russell Broadbent and Bridget Archer say Treasurer Jim Chalmers is right to call for a rethink of superannuation tax breaks. Opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor has been going on and on about the supposed “broken” election promise, saying “Labor’s coming after Australians’ money because they don’t have enough of their own”, as Sky News reports, the meaning of which isn’t immediately clear, but anyway. Broadbent pointed out that only the richest would notice any changes to the possible top-tier super tax concession, The Age ($) reports, and besides, he added, they’re using super for “wealth creation”, not for its intended purpose of retirement. Archer says we should at least have a conversation about it, Guardian Australia reports, saying reform in the national interest was more important than worrying about “broken” promises.

Here’s an idea, says Industry Super Australia boss Greg Combet, who was a cabinet minister in the Gillard government: we could reinvest the tax concession dosh into the super system to bolster the balances of low-income Aussies. Combet told The Australian ($): we know “women are disadvantaged through their working lives” (taking time out to have babies, the wage gap) leaving them, on average, with less super than men. Reinvesting that tax revenue is one way we could “address inequities like that in the system”. Interestingly, our national super fund is about $3.3 trillion, news.com.au ($) reports, making it one of the largest in the world. About four in five of us have super (78%) and the average balance is about $150,000. But about 11,000 Australians have more than $5 million squirrelled away, and they get tax concessions of about $70,000 a year.

[free_worm]

BLAK TIMES

The NT cops say Zachary Rolfe will face “consequences” for writing a 2500-word open letter about the shooting death of Indigenous teen Kumanjayi Walker before the cop jetted off overseas, the ABC reports. NT police’s barrister said the allegations were “disgraceful and despicable”, potentially perverted the course of justice, and that Rolfe appears to think “he can write or say anything” he wants, The Australian ($) adds. Rolfe accused the NT police and coroner of public vilification during the “biased” ongoing coronial inquest into Walker’s death, as The Australian ($) reports. Rolfe alleged he was “painted as a racist, violent cop” when “a tiny snippet” of his messages were published, to which counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer was like, OK — we tried not to include any other irrelevant and “embarrassing” messages from your phone, but we can put all of them in, if you want. The aggrieved NT Police Force is awaiting a response from Rolfe’s lawyer after he was served a section 79 notice (breach of discipline) over the letter.

To other Indigenous news now and there is a landmark court case playing out that may see the pension age lowered by at least three years for First Nations peoples. It was brought by Wakka Wakka man Uncle Dennis with the backing of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Human Rights Law Centre, Crikey reports. It argues that the lower life expectancy (71.6 years for an Indigenous man, compared with 80.2 years for a non-Indigenous man) should be factored into the pension age (67). But the Commonwealth’s side says it would create an “unworkable uncertainty” where a person’s eligibility would depend on gender and race — a possible precedent for all laws that “confer or restrict rights”, as Guardian Australia reports. It comes as the AFL, NRL, Rugby Australia, Netball Australia, Football Australia, Cricket Australia and Tennis Australia — seven of the most powerful Australian sporting leagues — will together campaign for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the Brisbane Times reports.

WE’RE BEING BUGGED

We’ve got to act on superbugs, the CSIRO warns, ahead of a “looming global health crisis”. Guardian Australia explains superbugs this way: bacteria developing antibiotic resistance, or fungi becoming resistant to antifungal medicines. A post-antibiotic world in 2050 would be apocalyptic, the report warned — declines in lifespan, quality of life, and livestock production, with “meat being rare and risky to eat”. So what do we do? One boffin suggested surface sprays that change colour when they touch dangerous pathogens, and even toothbrushes that provide data on oral health. If we don’t act, the UN has warned drug-resistant microbes could see 10 million deaths a year and cost the world some $149 trillion, news.com.au ($) reports.

And now to our fiscal health — Australia will avoid a recession this year but for many households it will feel like one, according to economists. The SMH reports the Reserve Bank’s aggressive interest rate rises are now our single biggest economic risk — it comes as the economy has expanded another 0.8% in the final quarter of last year, bringing the annual growth to 2.8%. Don’t get used to it — our economy is expected to grow by just 1.5% this year as the cash rate hurtles to the expected peak of 4.25% in September. Yikes.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

No matter how hard he tried, Crikey’s Jack Callil just could not convince his mum that she was talented at painting. Carole Callil took up the hobby in her late 50s, but Jack said an “utterly distinct style” began flowing out of her novice paintbrush and onto the canvas almost immediately. But would she believe him?! So Jack, as a moderately online person is wont to do in 2023, took it to Twitter. He posted four photos of his mum’s recent artistic creations, saying it was his ardent wish that she’d realise that “these are real art”, adding earnestly that: “I just want to share them.” With a dreamy bright palette of colours and a juxtaposition of curved shapes and sharp lines reminiscent of artist Paul Klee, Carole’s art is the sort of dizzyingly pleasurable optical illusion that just draws the eye in.

Immediately, more than a dozen people piped up in the comments asking where they could buy one of Carole’s paintings. As the Twitter post went more and more viral, now clocking more than 280,000 likes and some 18,400 retweets, Jack says his mum was “blown away”. He even set up an Instagram for folks interested in Carole’s prints or originals which, if the interest on the post is anything to go by, could be snapped up fairly fast. It can be hard to believe in ourselves, no matter what our age. But it can get even harder as the years drift by, as if chasing one’s dreams is a reckless abandon reserved for the folly of youth. That’s why we need our own Jacks in our life — to remind us how bright our talent can shine and just how much people want to see it in the world.

Hoping you try something new today.

SAY WHAT?

There are only about 7000 Ukrainians who were able to come here. I’m sure Australia could probably take more … Poland has 1.5 million Ukrainians, Germany almost a million. Britain is hosting over 100,000 Ukrainians.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko

The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia made the comments on Q+A last night. He also said the world’s reaction to Russia’s 2014 Crimea annexation was weak — countries kept trading with Russia and building gas pipelines, which probably emboldened Putin this time around.

CRIKEY RECAP

ScoMo wants you to know he’s definitely, absolutely not in the foetal position

Charlie Lewis

Feb 27, 2023

52

“Whatever the haters say, he’s not the least bit catatonic with grief at all he once had, and what he failed to achieve with it. Any notion that the weight of humiliation might have left him hollow, having fought his way into the highest political office in the country, only to lead a government associated with corruption, scandal and dishonesty and then deliver it to a generational defeat? Baseless.

“It must have been a nostalgic experience for Morrison, to once again have the media meet him so much further than halfway. The piece, by national weekend politics editor James Campbell, is so gentle, so completely indifferent to insight or revelation, as to be almost meaningless.”

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We must ditch gas stoves and electrify our homes now

Benjamin Clark

Feb 27, 2023

26

“[Engineer Saul] Griffith has built an international movement around a simple message: the best way to achieve our climate targets is to replace combustion-powered technologies with electric alternatives. We must simultaneously make our electricity supply clean and abundant, so we can hook all our new stuff up to it. And we’ll save a lot on bills in the process — $500 to $1900 each year, according to the Climate Council.

“Research increasingly backs Griffith’s vision. Professor Andrew Blakers at the Australian National University Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems found Australia can get to 80% emissions reductions by 2035 (much more ambitious than our current target of 43% by 2030) by greening our electricity …”

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Labor’s housing plan is a ‘turning point’ taking us in the wrong direction

Kristin O'Connell

Feb 27, 2023

56

“Some have seen increases of an eyewatering $140 a week — 30% in one hit for tenants surviving on JobSeeker payments. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese trumpets his modest beginnings in public housing, yet as rents soar, he seems uninterested in meaningful action to address the shortfall of 500,000 public homes. That number could blow out to 750,000 in a decade.

“Labor’s claim of 30,000 houses by 2029 is implausible when the details of the scheme are scrutinised — especially when considering it barely covers what we’re set to lose over the next few years as the National Rental Affordability Scheme ends. “

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Nigeria’s Obi wins key Lagos state in presidential election (Al Jazeera)

Israeli settlers rampage after Palestinian gunman kills two (The Guardian)

‘New chapter’: UK PM Sunak strikes Northern Ireland deal with EU (Reuters)

Italy’s left picks ‘anti-Meloni’ politician Elly Schlein to lead the party (EuroNews)

Twitter reportedly lays off 200 more employees (BBC)

‘South Park’ lawsuit: Warner Bros Discovery sues Paramount for $500m (CNN)

James Bond novels to be reissued with racial references removed (The Guardian)

THE COMMENTARIAT

Pride… and protest — Sandy O’Sullivan (IndigenousX): “The first Mardi Gras in Sydney involved the brutalisation of people by the cops. Reports following the events last night suggested that this continues. Each year since Mardi Gras started inviting serving police officers to march in uniform, in spite of the history of brutalisation of our community members, there have been protests. These have included many individuals and organisations, including from Pride in Protest, the group that invited Senator Lidia Thorpe to join its protest in this year’s parade. The social media responses to this action ranged from support for a call to remove uniformed police from marching, to criticisms that the parade is not a protest but a celebration. It included racist, transphobic and homophobic responses.

“Because of course it did. But it also reflected confusion over the role of Mardi Gras and Pride, over the idea that protest and celebration could not exist alongside. If settlers learn nothing from Indigenous people, learn that we know how to protest bad acts while we celebrate our existence. We are still fighting for our human rights on this continent. From equal healthcare, access to legal instruments to live and die in our gender, to addressing ongoing violence from the police and the carceral system, queer people — and in particular Indigenous queer people — have every right to refuse to march alongside the very group that causes them harm.”

Superannuation wars sparked: why we beat the French at retirement — Anthony Keane (The Herald Sun) ($): “Protesters in Paris have been taking to the streets lately to complain about something that would leave many Australians shaking their heads in disbelief. The French are furious that their government plans to lift their retirement pension age — from 62 to 64. Meanwhile, Australia’s pension age will rise to 67 in a few months, giving us one of the oldest retirement ages on the planet alongside Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Israel and Italy. Ageing populations with longer lifespans have put pressure on governments to increase pension ages in the past decade, although there are still more than a dozen nations with official retirement ages of 60 or less, including China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa and Ukraine.

“While the French are passionate about protesting, Aussies appear laid back about retirement — there was barely a rumble when in 2009 Labor unveiled plans to increase our pension age from 65 to 67 by July 2023. One of the key reasons the French are fuming is that very few of them have personal pensions linked to investments — like our superannuation is — and instead they have complex state pension schemes. Australia continually ranks among the world’s 10 best retirement savings systems, and combined we own 23 million super accounts holding $3.3 trillion.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Yuggera and Turrbal Country (also known as Brisbane)

• Former model Sasha Kutabah Sarago will discuss her new book, Gigorou, at Avid Reader bookshop.

Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)

• Poets Panda Wong, Maya Hodge, Sista Zai Zanda, Scott-Patrick Mitchell, Harry Reid, and Peter Boyle, Ellen van Neerven will read the Best of Australian Poems 2022, held by the Wheeler Centre. You can also catch this one online.

Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)

• Scholar-in-residence James Mann and Liberal senator for Victoria James Paterson will speak about China’s authoritarian rule and US relations in an event held by the Centre for Independent Studies.

Ngunnawal Country (also known as Canberra)

• Former president of the Association of Internet Researchers Jennifer Stromer-Galley will discuss Donald Trump’s big lie and how disinformation risks democracy, in an event held by University of Canberra and ANU.