GREEN V BLUE AND RED
Labor loves to greenlight new coal and gas projects as much as the Liberals did, Greens Leader Adam Bandt will say today in an extraordinary broadside against the Albanese government that threatens to destroy the government’s key climate policy. Speaking to the Smart Energy Council today, as Guardian Australia reports, Bandt will say: “Every single new gas project championed by Scott Morrison is now backed by Anthony Albanese,” adding that the government was putting out a fire “while pouring more petrol on it”. How? Well, we have this safeguard mechanism that allows new coal and gas projects to buy carbon credits to bring down their net emissions. Put simply, it’s like saying you can throw your rubbish on the footpath if you donate a dollar to Greenpeace. Bandt says it’s “greenwashing of the highest order” and he’s not the first to say it — last year, one of the UN’s top climate scientists, Bill Hare, said we were at risk of “state-sponsored greenwashing” via the offset loophole too.
If you’re thinking “who cares about those goddamn tree-loving hippies?”, think again. The Greens hold 12 seats in the Senate, as the SMH reports, and must be won over for any legislation to pass — including Labor’s much-anticipated safeguard mechanism updates (it’s a Coalition-era policy). The proposed legislation says Australia’s big polluters must cut emissions by nearly 5% a year but adds that businesses can buy an infinite number of carbon credits to get themselves across the line. It’s something Solutions for Climate Australia’s Barry Traill rather eloquently says is a loophole large enough to drive a coal truck through. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s people told the paper that it’s still good policy that will slash 205 million tonnes of emissions as we sail towards net zero — the equivalent of two-thirds of our car emissions during the same period.
HOT AND BOTHERED
An extremely radioactive capsule smaller than a 10-cent piece but emitting the equivalent of 10 X-rays an hour is missing on a road in WA. Rio Tinto says it’s launching an investigation into how the 8mm-by-6mm Caesium 137 fell out of a truck after it left the Pilbara for Perth on January 10. The capsule could cause skin burns if touched, The New Daily reports, and prolonged exposure to it could even cause cancer. And yet the public was told about it only on Friday, as WA Today continues, something chief health officer Andrew Robertson defended by saying they wanted to check the mine and depot first. Rio Tinto boss Simon Trott says he’s taking the incident “very seriously” and teams are combing the roads, though the capsule may have already lodged itself into a car tyre. The truck driver was a third-party contractor, The West ($) says, and Radiation Services WA is baffled about how it could’ve happened.
Speaking of dangerous and toxic releases, a website has apologised for a line of Valentine’s Day gifts that include an illustration of Adolf Hitler biting a rose with the phrase “be mein” below it, which, reader, is an insane sentence to write. The Spicy Baboon website owner Scott Mackenroth apologised for the product line, the SMH reports, saying it was “meant to be a joke” and “we obviously have a different sense of humour to some”, which is equally as mind-bending. Mackenroth, which the paper for some reason mentions is a “far distant relative” of the former Queensland deputy premier, has removed the products from the site. Meanwhile, those infuriated by a very different kind of artwork have been put in their place as artist Jackson Pollock’s controversial Blue Poles was valued at $500 million, the SMH reports. Then PM Gough Whitlam purchased it for what was considered an extraordinary amount of $1.3 million in 1973, becoming perhaps the most scoffed-at acquisition in Australian history. Like nearly everything Whitlam did, as the BBC delved into, it turned out to be a pretty good decision.
THE DJOKER IS WILD
Serbian tennis pro Novak Djokovic is the best male player in the world again after winning his 10th Australian Open last night opposite valiant Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. It makes Djokovic the second man in history to win 10 or more singles majors at any grand slam, Guardian Australia says, after Rafael Nadal’s 14 French Open titles. Cripes. It comes after a crazy week (year?) for the Djokovic clan — his father, Srdjan, was out of sight last night after he was photographed with pro-Putin demonstrators last week, and Djokovic described himself as “extra nervous” after the whole no-vaccine deportation saga last year (a reticence that has obstructed him in several international competitions since).
Last night’s result means Djokovic is once again ranked No. 1 — he lost the crown to Daniil Medvedev in June last year, as CBS reports. But Tsitsipas, 24, put up a good fight, Guardian Australia continues. “He kept hold of his serve and remained ahead throughout,” rattling Djokovic, 35, who “sealed victory with one final vicious forehand, then he pointed at his head and a heart”. The crowd went wild. Djokovic said it was one of the hardest tournaments of his life and one of the biggest victories too, as the SMH reports. And that’s no small statement considering he has won 47 of his past 50 matches since the Rome Masters, the paper adds. But the match had a black blot on it after an onlooker noticed what appeared to be a Chetnik flag in the crowd — “Chetniks were paramilitary ultranationalists who committed war crimes during World War II and are still widely considered a far-right group,” news.com.au explains.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Associated Press (AP) has apologised after it said it was offensive to say “the French”, The Guardian reports. AP is the biggest news agency in the US, and its stylebook is revered in journalism — it’s the go-to place for practically any question one may have about how to refer to something. But when AP released some guidance on its Twitter last week, everyone cracked up. AP recommended we avoid using “the” phrases such as “the disabled, the poor” — OK, sure, I get that — but it also added “and the French”. Wait, what? The tweet recommended we instead say “people with mental illnesses” or “people with incomes below the poverty line”, but that doesn’t really apply to the Franco example, non? Not missing a beat, the French embassy in the US responded it would be changing its name to “Embassy of Frenchness” in the US. “I guess this is us now…” the tongue-in-cheek tweet said.
The Washington Post’s Megan McArdle stayed on theme, tweeting seriously that: “The people experiencing journalism at the AP have their work cut out for them.” So what was AP thinking by including the European nation in that example? Trying to recover from the widespread internet laughter, AP deleted the tweet, apologised for offending anybody (how ironic), and explained all it had meant to say was that “the” terms can sound a little “dehumanising” as if people are “a monolith rather than diverse individuals”. Writer Sarah Haider solemnly concurred that there truly was “nothing as dehumanising as being considered one of the French”, continuing: “Rather, such individuals should be thought of as ‘suffering from Frenchness’ and deserve our compassion and prayers.”
Hoping the smiles come easily on this lovely Monday morning.
SAY WHAT?
Remote working brings potential risks and consequences. It could see many jobs moving offshore if this becomes entrenched as a viable way of doing business. Strong leadership is essential. The case for returning to the CBD needs to be made, urgently and enthusiastically.
Paul Nicolaou
Sydneysiders, get your butts back to the office, the executive director of Business Sydney says, for the good of your city. Nicolaou argues we should not be tempted by being “constantly distracted by the pandemic” and added that if going to work is good enough for essential workers like police, doctors and firefighters, it’s good enough for the rest of the workers.
CRIKEY RECAP
Melbourne Uni’s new anti-Semitism guidelines are an attack on free thought
“Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel? Well, that would be a perfectly rational course of action by Zionist Jews (and Zionist gentiles for that matter). Mossad has used allies like Australia and New Zealand by forging our passports and using them for its assassination squads, thus endangering innocent Australians. Zionist Australian politicians have defended that. Is scrutinising such strategic choices now anti-Semitism?
“Number five is a doozy. This is where the IHRA sounds like George Costanza’s father (played by the great Jerry Stiller) in Seinfeld: ‘Why is it always me! What did I do now? I am not the master of my own house…’ Criticism of Israel from within Australia, a country whose progressives have been shellacking it as nothing other than a colonialist genocidal enterprise for a good decade now, hardly seems like holding it to an unfair standard. Maybe 20 years ago. Now it’s the Zionists who seem very much engaged in special pleading.”
Passion, parents and pay cheques: inside the life of child actors
“The long hours kitted out in costumes or sitting around on-set may be arduous, but they can come with handsome pay cheques. Eight-year-old Hal is fresh to the industry and already has a long-term savings plan for his earnings: ‘I get paid $275. I’m going to take the money, put it in my bank account, and put it towards my wildlife park, which will be 9000 hectares. Australia Zoo is a quarter of a quarter of how big my zoo will be.’
“He scored a job as a voice-over artist for an ABC Kids program and is under no illusion that he’ll have to put in the hours to make ends meet: ‘I will need at least $1000, so I’m just going to have to keep working.’ The ABC’s payroll set-up certainly works in Hal’s favour, with long-term contributions in the form of a nominated super fund part and parcel to the onboarding process.”
The ‘Greta Thunberg of sport’ has refused to compete in Australia. Here’s why
“FitzGerald said she comes from a family of greenies who support her decision and who live in a passive house — a home with a lower ecological footprint — on a small property where they grow fruit and vegetables. It’s not the first time the athletics world has been in an uproar over FitzGerald’s stance. After placing fourth in the European Cross Country Championships, beating older competitors by a wide margin, she hit the headlines for her unusual mode of travel.
“It emerged the road and rail trip from her home near Exeter in Devon to Turin in Italy took more than 20 hours, including a coach to Lille and a train trip from Paris to Italy. She and her family rode fold-up bikes in between. ‘Aviation is the most energy-intensive activity we can do and explodes a person’s carbon footprint,’ FitzGerald said. ‘I don’t want that on my conscience.’ “
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Memphis disbands police unit after fatal beating as protesters take to streets (Reuters)
Andrej Babiš defeated: is this the end of Czech populism? (EuroNews)
Nadhim Zahawi sacked as Tory party chair over tax affairs (The Guardian)
New US childhood obesity guidelines criticised by families (BBC)
King Charles to open Buckingham Palace to the public (NZ Herald)
Prince Andrew photo no fake, says photographer who sourced it in 2011 (The Age)
Israel to revoke rights of ‘terrorist families’ and allow more guns after shooting (SBS)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Jim Chalmers joins the global backlash against free markets — Karen Maley (AFR): “Australian corporates might be tempted to dismiss Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ latest manifesto as a rite of passage for a Labor politician, a pro forma attack on neoliberalism akin to that penned by then prime minister Kevin Rudd back in 2009. But to do so would be a mistake. Because Chalmers’ attack on free market ideology — outlined in a 6000-word essay “Capitalism after the Crises”, which is due to be published by The Monthly on Monday — is part of a global backlash against the economic paradigm that has enjoyed unparalleled dominance over the past three decades.
“Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, there’s been a near-universal consensus that free market capitalism and globalisation constitute the two pillars of economic success. As part of this economic ethos, companies from advanced economies moved a large part of their production offshore to take advantage of low-cost labour — the ‘comparative advantage’ of lesser- developed countries. This practice meant that consumers in advanced economies benefited from low prices for manufactured goods, but offshoring of manufacturing jobs hollowed out the industrial base of many developed countries, eventually leading to simmering social disruption and rising political populism.”
‘Fickle’ sentiment not sufficient to alter constitution for voice — Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Nyunggai Warren Mundine and Gary Johns (The Australian) ($): “The Voice proposal smacks of the paternalism of an earlier time, without proof that it will help those in need. It is an insult to the fact that Aborigines are capable of being heard in the public arena. Aboriginal leaders are never out of the media. What started with a trickle of Aboriginal voices, the election in 1971 of Neville Bonner from Queensland to the Senate on behalf of the Liberal Party, is now an avalanche with 11 members of the commonwealth Parliament of Aboriginal heritage. Each of these members has a voice backed by voters in the proper democratic process. Any mechanism, other than the normal parliamentary processes available to all citizens, undermines Parliament and the voters’ right to choose their representatives …
“Referendums rarely succeed, and for good reason. The last successful referendum in Australia was in 1977, to ensure that Senate and House of Representatives elections were held at the same time; rules for Senate casual vacancies; to allow electors in the territories to vote in referendums, and to set a retirement age for Federal Court judges. All housekeeping. The Voice proposal is not housekeeping; it seeks to upend the Parliament, by adding a group with a constitutionally embedded second voice. Just as independent senators can hold out the prospect of their vote to a desperate government, so too will the Voice hold up legislation in return for favours. Independent senators can be removed by voters, and often are. The Voice could not be removed. Imagine a future Labor-Greens opposition wishing to block Coalition legislation.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)
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British writer Daniel Hannan and ABC Radio National’s Tom Switzer will discuss the problems of the Tory government and the Labour opposition, Brexit and national security in Britain, in a seminar held at the Centre for Independent Studies.
Ngunnawal Country (also known as Canberra)
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Leiden University’s Rogier Creemers will discuss how the Chinese party-state uses digital technology to achieve its development goals, in a seminar held at the Australian National University.
