Bill Shorten

PM ALBO?

The latest Newspoll has the Labor Party jumping back to a 52-48 two-party preferred lead over the Coalition, while Opposition leader Bill Shorten continues to slide in the vote for preferred prime minister.

The Australian’s ($) exclusive poll has found that despite the ALP bouncing back to a four-point lead, Shorten trails Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull 30-47 for PPM, a significant margin considering the two came within two percentage points late last year. The poll also found that Anthony Albanese has emerged as a preferred Labor leader ($), most voters support company tax cuts, and that One Nation continues to trade a couple of primary votes with the Coalition.

In other federal news, Liberal MP Craig Kelly has threatened to quit the Coalition if he loses an upcoming preselection battle ($), Bill Shorten shut down a debate on immigration policy at the Victorian Labor state conference, and Barnaby Joyce has lodged an Australian Press Council complaint against the Daily Telegraph ($), over alleged privacy concerns, around the same time as news broke of his $150,000 interview for Seven’s Sunday Night.

MIGRANT WORKER EXPLOITATION

A Tasmanian hotel operator has been fined for exploiting, underpaying and racially discriminating against two temporary Malaysian workers of Chinese descent, in a landmark outcome for the Fair Work Ombudsman’s first racial discrimination litigation. 

According to the ABC, the ombudsman has proved that former owner of the Scamander Beach Resort Hotel Chang Yen Chang treated a married couple on temporary visas, Kien Hoong Loh and Kah Yoon Low, differently to Australian staff by underpaying them more than $28,000 and forcing them to work excessive hours.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said that the case, which resulted in a fine of $211,104 for Chang, highlighted the, “uncomfortable truth that racial discrimination is a driver behind some of the exploitation of migrant workers in this country”.

A CHALLENGE FOR KYRGIOS

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the French Open before the Grand Slam’s opening events, citing a persistent elbow injury and concerns over playing five sets on clay.

The Australian ($) reports that Kyrgios, who announced his decision via Twitter, was set to play against fellow Australian Bernard Tomic and will now be replaced with a “lucky loser”. In another early loss for Australia, Ajla Tomljanovic’s lost 7-5 6-3 to Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina overnight.

[free_worm]

THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

Jacqui Lambie. We worked so well on worthy legislation. Wish you were back. Tonight’s TV was cringeworthy. Vomitville. You’re so much better than that.

Derryn Hinch

The Human Headline is not exactly a fan of former senator Jacqui Lambie’s televised search for love ($).

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

Poll Bludger: explaining the AEC’s byelection decision that has Labor furiousWilliam Bowe

“Electoral administration in Australia is usually spared the partisan rancour that blights its every aspect in the United States, but Labor was happy to make an exception yesterday after being presented with a nine-week campaign for the ‘Super Saturday’ byelections in Braddon, Longman, Perth, Fremantle and Mayo.”

Media roundtable: should the head of the ABC be a journalist?Emily Watkins

“Since the ABC’s managing director Michelle Guthrie stepped into the most-scrutinised media job in the country, her lack of a news background has often been raised in commentary. While the ABC was bumbling around sorting out the Emma Alberici mess it created, Fairfax’s Tony Wright argued that the broadcaster needed a separate editor-in-chief, given that Guthrie was ‘out of her depth … (and) is not a journalist’.”

Could Hastie be brought before a US court for his Chau Chak Wing comment?Greg Barns

“The decision on Tuesday by Liberal MP Andrew Hastie to name Australian citizen and businessman Chau Chak Wing as an unindicted co-conspirator in a US court prosecution, was in defiance of US Department of Justice guidelines and showed a contemptuous disregard for Chau’s rights. Don’t be surprised if you hear that Hastie is requested to give evidence before a US court and asked to explain his actions.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Online threats made to southeast Queensland schools ($)

Western Australian man shot dead by police after stun gun ‘proved ineffective’

Tasmanian teenager Alex Peroni crowned the new king of Monaco ($)

Reef charity’s fundraising record casts doubt on $444 million grant

Takata airbag recall continues, with ACCC adding another million cars to the list

NBN boss warns plan for top speed on fixed wireless has been ‘killed’

Labor’s urgent legal change bid to keep serial child predator Colin Humphrys in jail

Industry super funds fight ‘guerrilla campaign’ to keep fees on ‘ghost’ accounts ($)

Rudd faces courtroom clash against Tanner ($)

Israeli army kills three Gaza militants after foiling border bombing

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Sydney

  • Deep-sea explorer and Academy-Award winning film-maker James Cameron will give media a sneak peek at a new exhibition, Challenging the Deep, at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

  • Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Premier Gladys Berejiklian will co-host a one-day Aerotropolis Investor Forum, kickstarting investment in the purpose-built Aerotropolis surrounding the new Western Sydney Airport.

  • Former NSW premier Mike Baird is scheduled to give evidence at an upper house committee inquiry into museums and galleries, after announcing plans in 2015 to move the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo to Parramatta. 

  • Ticket launch event for the Invictus Games Sydney 2018, featuring games ambassador Ian Thorpe and athletes. From October 20-27, 500 wounded soldiers from 18 nations will participate in the games.

Melbourne

  • Banking royal commission hearing will hear from a financial ombudsman about a Suncorp case; former Bankwest customers, to give evidence to banking royal commission about their treatment after CBA bought Bankwest a decade ago; and CBA executives.

  • The official opening of Dulux’s new $165 million factory, by DuluxGroup Chairman Peter Kirby and Victorian Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll.

  • Day one of the Communities in Control conference, a two-day event aimed at fighting inequality.

  • Melbourne Rebels player Matt Philip will speak to media ahead of a game against the Blues in Auckland this Saturday.

Hobart

  • Tasmania police will begin a week-long crackdown on motorcyclist behaviour, after a high proportion of deaths this year (six out of 14 fatal crashes across the state in 2018). 

Fremantle, WA

  • Anthony Albanese will talk infrastructure at a Fremantle doorstep, along with Labor candidate for Freo Josh Wilson.

  • Fashion Council WA will join Perth retailers in the city calling on the City of Perth to reconsider funding cuts, in order to to allow Telstra Perth Fashion Festival’s ‘Fashion Central’ free runway events to go ahead. 

Paris, France

  • Day one of the French Open continues, after beginning overnight for Australia.

THE COMMENTARIAT

The ramifications of these hearings have never been greater — Jessica Irvine (The Sydney Morning Herald): “It’s hard to think of a more hotly contested battleground in Australia’s public policy landscape than the debate over the appropriate level of our minimum wage. In one corner of the ring, unions push for a ‘living wage’ to ensure a decent standard of living for the nation’s poorest workers. In the opposite corner, employer groups push back against wage rises that would unduly curb profitability and hurt their ability to employ more workers.”

Summit on, then off, now on again? The seemingly endless game-playing of US-North Korea relations ($) — Genevieve Hohnen (The Conversation): “Ten days ago, the international community was facing an existential crisis: US President Donald Trump may be a credible nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Korean Peninsula. Trump’s unconventional tactics appeared to have led to a legitimate thawing of relations with the reclusive and dogmatic Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The planned summit on June 12 in Singapore was considered a potential path to ending the long-running Korean conflict, which time and again has threatened to make nuclear war a reality.”

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