Barnaby Joyce's citizenship debacle now a diplomatic incident with NZ

Good morning, early birds. The dual citizenship drama continues, and the government has won conditional support for its media reforms. It's the news you need to know, by Emily Watkins and Max Chalmers.

JOYCE’S KIWI DRAMA CONTINUES

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce‘s citizenship fiasco blew out yesterday to a diplomatic stoush with New Zealand. Julie Bishop accused the ALP of colluding with a foreign political party to damage the government, which NZ’s Labour leader Jacinda Arden said was false and “highly regrettable”. Fairfax Media reports Joyce’s dual citizenship, revealed Monday, has pushed the government closer to referring four Labor MPs to the High Court to test the validity of their election. The push would force Justine Keay, Susan Lamb, Tony Zappia, Brendan O’Connor and Maria Vamvakinou to produce proof they comply with section 44 of the constitution. Joyce says he’s now renounced his New Zealand citizenship, and he will provide proof to Parliament. The Courier-Mail has published the documents.

ONE NATION PUTS ABC CONDITIONS ON MEDIA REFORM

The government has won conditional support for its media reform bill from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, hinging on a raft of changes to oversight at the ABC. The Australian Financial Review calls the conditions the “biggest assault on the ABC’s independence in decades”. Under Pauline Hanson‘s requirements, the ABC’s charter would be changed to require it to be “fair” and “balanced” and to focus on regional areas. The public broadcaster would be forced to publish salaries over $200,000, and there would be an inquiry to investigate whether it has breached “competitive neutrality”, The Australian reports. Other conditions on Hanson’s support include a foreign ownership register for media companies, and funding for community radio. In its reforms, the government wants to abolish TV licence fees, and remove the 75% reach rule and the two-out-of-three ownership rule, which the Greens, Nick Xenophon Team and One Nation have opposed. Nick Xenophon told the Fin last night he was still considering the impact of the One Nation deal.

SYDNEY COLLEGE REVIEW TO BE KEPT SECRET

A review into University of Sydney’s residential colleges by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick will not be made public, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. A number of the university’s colleges have been under fire for repeated incidents, including the establishment of a “pro-rape” group on Facebook by St Paul’s students. Each college will receive a report based on the 18-month cultural review, but the University of Sydney will not see individual reports, and will only receive a general report about the themes.

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WHAT’S ON TODAY

Canberra: Chief of Army Angus Campbell will address the National Press Club.

Sydney: Seven West Media financial results announced

Sydney: Fairfax Media financial results announced

Perth: Hearing into the WA Electoral Commissions management and administration of the 2017 WA election

THE COMMENTARIAT

All-or-nothing game only risks relations with New Zealand — Dennis Shanahan (The Australian $): “No matter how difficult some personalities and issues have been in recent years, no minister has called into question the future of Australia’s closest relationship. It was politically inept because it handed the carriage of the issue to the NZ Labour Party and didn’t help Joyce or Turnbull one jot.”

The day New Zealand conspired to overturn Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull — Laura Tingle (Australian Financial Review $): “if the One Nation amendments get up, there will be a star chamber inquiry challenging the rights of the ABC to exist and an obligation on the broadcaster to reveal its employees’ remuneration.”

Malcolm Turnbull should be credited for moving forward on same-sex marriage — George Brandis (The Age): “The Turnbull government is the first Australian government to advance the issue of marriage equality. The Rudd and Gillard governments had six years to progress the issue, and they did precisely nothing. Throughout that time, Penny Wong sat around the Cabinet table as a senior minister and, for most of it, Bill Shorten was also a minister.”

Why I will break the law rather than the seal of confession — Frank Brennan (Sydney Morning Herald): “Some Australians, including some members of the royal commission and their staff, have suspected that the Catholic practice of confession has contributed to abuse and cover up. I don’t think it has, and that’s why I will continue to honour the seal of the confessional.”

TODAY IN TRUMP

After walking back from his vague denouncement of violence on “many sides” at the weekend’s Charlottesville protest, President Donald Trump has turned around again. In a heated press conference today, the president criticised the “alt-left” for being “very, very violent” at the protests. He also defended the people who surrounded counter-protesters on Saturday night — some of whom had chanted the Nazi slogan “blood and soil” on their way to the rally.

“I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups. Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me,” Trump said. “Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch.”

THE WORLD

Islamist group Boko Haram is fighting back in Nigeria after losing large areas of territory to the country’s government. In two attacks bearing the hallmarks of the group’s strategy, suicide bombers killed 27 people, potentially bringing the number of victims since June to 143. Nigeria is battling rival insurgencies, with another Islamist faction boasting ties to Islamic State. — Reuters

The estimated death toll from a massive mudslide in Sierra Leone has been increased to over 400, as rescue efforts are hampered by poor conditions. A national emergency has been declared. — The Guardian

WHAT WE’RE READING

Julian Assange, a man without a country (The New Yorker): “For Assange, there is no real difference between a hack and a leak; in both instances, individuals are taking risks to expose the secrets of institutions. What did it matter how the information came to light? Either way, he would publish it.”

The actual science of James Damore’s Google memo (Wired): “The memo is a species of discourse peculiar to politically polarised times: cherry-picking scientific evidence to support a pre-existing point of view. It’s an exercise not in rational argument but in rhetorical point scoring. And a careful walk through the science proves it.”

Richard Dawkins offers advice for Donald Trump, and other wisdom (Scientific American): “Some people define atheism as a conviction that there are no gods, and agnosticism as allowing for the possibility, however slight. In this sense I am agnostic, as any scientist would be. But only in the same way that I am agnostic about leprechauns and fairies. Other people define agnosticism as the belief that the existence of gods is as probable as their nonexistence. In this sense I am certainly not agnostic.”

Militant Buddhist monks are stoking sectarian tensions in Myanmar (The Economist): “Miss Suu Kyi has little to say about all this. Some argue that speaking out would be counterproductive: as it is, angry monks began protesting earlier this month outside Myanmar’s most famous temple, the Shwedagon, accusing the government of failing to protect Buddhism. But in elections in 2015, her party, the National League for Democracy, did not put forward a single Muslim candidate for parliament.”