GIVING VOICE TO POWER
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus wants Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to “stop talking out of both sides of his mouth” and ‘fess up about his party’s final stance on the Voice to Parliament. Speaking to Nine newspapers, Dreyfus says Dutton providing a shopping list of 15 questions to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn’t exactly scream support. Dreyfus reiterated that the detail about the Voice’s structure would come after a (hopefully successful) referendum, but Dutton wants a draft bill that shows the model now. Writing for the AFR, WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith argues Dutton’s questions are reasonable. Smith points out that referendums have the odds stacked against them — of 44 put before us since 1901, only eight have succeeded, and just one under Labor (on social welfare), so the government needs a good case to take to the public.
But Guardian Australia counters that several of Dutton’s questions have already been answered ad nauseam, like: “Will the Voice be purely advisory? Answer: yes.” It comes as High Court Justice Ian Callinan wrote in The Australian last year that the Voice would result in a sea of constitutional challenges over the next decade, but Dreyfus waved that away, saying even if that was true, it’s not a reason to side with the No campaign. Still, the Greens are yet to announce their stance. Dutton confirmed yesterday that he did support constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, as the SMH reports, pending lots of caveats about details — at odds with the Nationals declaring in November that they were formally against it, as Guardian Australia reported.
FLOODED WITH EMOTION
Heavy rain and flash flooding will peak this morning in north and central Queensland, the ABC reports, with forecasts of up to 400 millimetres on the way. Yesterday the Bureau of Meteorology said the dangerous weather system was still in its “strengthening mode” with peak rainfall to hit today in the central coast (Proserpine and adjacent inland) and elevated areas like the Clark Ranges. Three women were taken to hospital after taking refuge up a tree in Palm Grove yesterday, The Courier-Mail reports, while nine people were rescued via helicopter after being stranded near Emerald. The paper has a long list of road closures.
From floods to heatwaves, and some renters sweat through indoor temperatures of more than 30C for long periods in summer, Guardian Australia reports, caused by roof temperatures that reach as high as 70C. The recommended safe limit is 25C for less than nine hours a day. It’s according to data from Better Renting that tracks temperatures in 75 rentals across the country — the tenant advocacy organisation says it shows the urgent need to regulate insulation in all rental properties. Meanwhile, residents of two Victorian towns near the SA border — namely Kadnook and Powers Creek — have been told it’s too late to leave as two bushfires encroach, The Age reports. VicEmergency told folks in nearly 50 properties “the extreme heat is likely to kill you well before the flames reach you” and to take shelter.
FREE RIDERS
Just 8% of private sector employees are unionised, a record low. The AFR reports 176,000 people left their union in the past six years, as per ABS data, meaning membership dwindled by a fifth to 779,700 in 2022 (from nearly a million members in 2016). In the public sector, it’s a rather different story — about a third of all workers are unionised, and there are more members now (642,000) than six years ago (606,500), though the proportion relative to the growing number of public sector workers has dropped. Victoria Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari reckons the data shows it’s high time to look at the “free rider” problem where non-unionised employees might get a pay rise or better conditions but not pay the union squat. Hilakari likened it to leaving the pub before it’s your turn to get a round of drinks.
In WA now and a record number of cops quit in 2022 — some 465 people, according to the WA Police Force. That’s double the number that quit in 2021, The West ($) reports. Their union said it shows police officers don’t see the difficult job as a job one can sustain, while opposition police spokesman Peter Collier went further, declaring the police force in a state of “crisis”. The McGowan government is running a glossy recruitment drive overseas to get 950 more police officers during this term of government, but the union said it was a bandaid solution that didn’t deal with the cultural and organisational problems.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
An enthusiastic CEO named James Watt cracked his knuckles and typed what would later become the three most expensive tweets of his life. Channelling Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the BrewDog boss declared to the internet that there were no fewer than 50 “solid gold beer cans” hidden in cases of the company’s craft beer waiting to be found. Customers could keep the gold cans if they found them, as the BBC reports, and they’d also receive $26,000 in BrewDog shares. Anyone who did the maths based on gold trading prices in 2020 would’ve quickly realised a single solid gold can would be worth about $635,644 — an extremely lucrative prize (and a sizeable outlay for the craft beer company, considering the total out there). Once the “solid gold beer cans” started surfacing, however, the winners were less than impressed.
The cans were actually made of brass and only plated with gold — which was promptly put before the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority by some 25 grumpy complainants. The regulator sided with them, and a sheepish Watt ended up contacting all 50 winners and offering them the cash equivalent of what the gold-plated can was worth (about $26,300), costing him “well over 2 and a half years’ salary”, as he posted on LinkedIn. At least the CEO ended up with 40 gold-plated beer cans in his possession. “Not quite sure what I should do with them,” he continued. “All ideas welcome!” Pundits suggested using them as Christmas tree baubles, turning them into a chandelier for the office, or even melting all of the cans down to make one, truly solid gold can for another crack at a campaign. His mistake, they said, could be a golden opportunity. Sorry — a gold-plated opportunity.
Wishing you a moment of pause before you make a decision today — it’s great to be back with you in 2023.
SAY WHAT?
I think some of the stuff he does that maybe people see as negative gets thrown in the spotlight a little bit more than others because maybe he’s had a reputation for it. A few things, if other players did it, wouldn’t be as focused on as when Nick does it.
Thanasi Kokkinakis
The fellow tennis pro and friend to Nick Kyrgios says the controversial sports star gets a lot of media attention for bad behaviour, and not all of it is warranted. During a glittering career that has seen him rise the ranks to become Australia’s top-ranked player, Kyrgios has been accused of tanking (losing a match on purpose), verbally abusing people, and unsportsmanlike behaviour by umpires, match referees, and tennis players.
CRIKEY RECAP
Why Pell was never ‘found innocent’ — and why it matters
“Among these was the seeming unfairness visited on Pell by virtue of the allegations being linked to events from a long time ago — and the failure of the prosecution, in the court’s view, to properly adhere to the rule in Browne v Dunn, which requires witnesses to be put on notice and given an opportunity to rebut challenges to evidence before the jury can be invited to reject it.
“Against this thorny backdrop, [Sydney Law School Professor David Hamer] said it’s difficult to gauge the precise bearing or impact of the trial judge’s decision to exclude the tendency evidence on Pell’s acquittal. But, he said, it’s undeniable the absence of the other historic allegations of child sexual abuse against Pell materially weakened the prosecution’s case.”
George Pell, the Blundstone Borgia, was merely ruthless. It was the church that descended into evil
“Politically and organisationally, he has unquestionably strengthened the church, here and globally. He was the numbers man in the election of Pope Benedict, bouncing ’round Rome for weeks stitching factions together, seeing the council as no more than an extension of the NSW right. Thereafter he was given enormous power to try to break the church’s deep state within its tangled and chaotic financial institutions.
“Since Vatican finances had been the cause of possible murder in the 1970s, just preceding the surprise death of John Paul I a month after his election, it was not without risk, and it is not impossible that such a role was not unconnected with the sudden return of child sex abuse allegations from out of the past.”
Liberals fear worse to come as rumours circulate of picture of premier in Nazi costume
“Whispers of a photograph capturing the incident had been circulating for weeks, including on an anonymous gossip Twitter account that posted about rumours of a ‘damaging’ picture as early as January 2 … Senior Liberal sources told Crikey the premier decided to speak about the incident after Transport Minister David Elliott brought it up with him in a recent conversation. Elliott’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
“One Liberal source said that although they didn’t want to downplay the seriousness of what Perrottet had done, they hoped voters would judge the party on its merits when they go to the polls on March 25 rather than ‘having an election over what Dom did at 21’. The source said they hadn’t seen the rumoured picture and acknowledged it could cause even more damage to the party if it did emerge.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
At least 68 killed in Nepal’s worst air crash in three decades (Reuters)
Moscow is allegedly preparing to deport some 100,000 Ukrainians to Russia (EuroNews)
Morocco condemns ‘provocative’ acts at Algeria football cup (Al Jazeera)
Saudi prosecutors seek death penalty for academic over social media use (The Guardian)
Additional documents found at Biden’s Wilmington home, White House says (The New York Times)
Despite easing price pressures, economists in WSJ survey still see recession this year (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
Parisians to vote on banning e-scooters (The Guardian)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Voice our next historic and proud chapter — Linda Burney (The Australian) ($): ” A Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is the best chance we have to create the much-needed structural change that will create a better future — a better future that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians — by making more effective policies in areas like health, education and housing. There is much work that still needs to be done before the referendum, and we are not complacent about the scale of the challenge that lies ahead. We have the right processes in place to ensure we are getting the best possible advice on the way forward …
“The referendum working group has agreed to a set of principles for the voice. They state that the Voice will be a representative body that provides independent advice to Parliament and government. It will be chosen by First Nations people, be gender-balanced and include young people. It will be accountable and transparent. The Voice will not administer funding. It will not deliver programs. It will not have a veto power. Recent calls for a voice to be legislated instead of constitutionally enshrined ignore the wishes of the more than 1200 First Nations leaders who took part in nationwide consultations that led to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. They also ignore the mandate the government has from the Australian people.”
Why we’re daring to try something different on stamp duty — Dominic Perrottet (The SMH): “Today first-home buyers in NSW will be given the choice to eliminate stamp duty on properties up to $1.5 million. First-home buyers will have a choice: they can ditch stamp duty and choose an annual fee instead, saving tens of thousands of dollars in up-front transaction costs, helping them to buy that first home sooner. This is the most significant change to our property tax system since stamp duty was created in 1865. Instead of having to save an extra $42,340 to buy a below-median-priced house in Greystanes, first-home buyers can choose the alternative annual fee of around $1300 a year.
“It will cut an estimated 2.5 years off the time required to save for a deposit. And it means someone who has purchased a $1.25 million property since November 11 2022 could access a refund of more than $50,000 from today. We need to think big, do things differently and deliver new policies to drive NSW forward. I want to create policies for the next generation, not the next election. That’s the approach we are taking with First Home Buyer Choice, offering a stark contrast to the alternative offered by the NSW Labor opposition.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Online
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Writer Helen Garner, journalist Annabel Crabb, actor Virginia Gay, and author Jennifer Down will celebrate Garner’s life and career in this digital stream available on the Wheeler Centre’s website for the next ten days.
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WA business owners can head along to an online workshop about planning, processing, finance, performance and risk, hosted by the Small Business Development Corporation.
