HUNDREDS KILLED IN LEBANON
Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 490 people have been killed following Israeli air strikes on Monday. The Associated Press reports the death toll includes at least 24 children and over 1,200 people had been injured, with the strikes representing the deadliest attack since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the people of Lebanon that his country was not at war with them, but with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and told residents to “get out of harm’s way”, CNN reports. People in southern Lebanon had been receiving phone messages on Monday morning warning them to stay away from “residential buildings that are being used by Hezbollah for hiding weapons”, the BBC said.
Reuters reports after almost a year of war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel is shifting its focus to its northern frontier where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas.
“I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north — that is exactly what we are doing,” Netanyahu said. Reuters also quotes Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as claiming: “On this day we have taken out of order tens of thousands of rockets and precise munition. What Hezbollah has built over a period of 20 years since the second Lebanon War, is in fact being destroyed by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].”
Lebanon’s Public Health Minister Dr Firass Abiad told the BBC tens of thousands of people in the south of the country had been forced to flee their homes.
“The main aim of these attacks was to instigate this exodus of civilians from the target areas,” he said. “It’s clear the Israeli government’s intention is to escalate and provoke. We are in a new stage of war, initially it was targeted attacks but now it’s indiscriminate.” Last week pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah were detonated, killing dozens.
As fears grow over an all-out war, the Pentagon has said it is sending a “small number of additional troops” to the region and US President Joe Biden has told United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that his team was “working to de-escalate” the situation, AP added. CNN said US officials were also concerned over potential comments at this week’s United Nations General Assembly which might increase tensions in the Middle East.
RATE DECISION DUE
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep interest rates where they are later today, with the AAP reporting a “substantial number of experts” have forecast the cash rate will remain at 4.35%.
A poll of 45 economists by Reuters found every single one of them expected the rate to remain unchanged following the end of the RBA’s two-day meeting. Forty of those also said they believed rates would remain unchanged this year. The newswire said ANZ, NAB, and Westpac all believe rates will stay unchanged this year, while Commonwealth Bank expects there to be one rate cut before 2024 ends.
The Australian highlights the release of monthly inflation data tomorrow which is expected to show the headline inflation rate dropping to 2.7% in the 12 months to August, down from 3.5% in July. That would put it within the RBA’s 2%-3% target for the first time in nearly three years, the paper added.
However, Guardian Australia recalls how RBA Governor Michele Bullock has said the central bank’s preferred inflation measure is “the more comprehensive quarterly set of numbers, including the trimmed mean gauge that strips out volatile movers”. Those aren’t due until the end of next month.
With the US Federal Reserve cutting rates by half a percentage point last week, the pressure on the RBA to cut rates will continue. The Australian quotes Barrenjoey chief economist Jo Masters as saying: “It’s getting harder, not easier — you’ve obviously had this cut from the US Fed, and so a lot of comparisons are being made that if everyone else is cutting, why aren’t we? The statement and the press conference afterwards with the governor will continue to sound quite hawkish … they will repeat that if we don’t make further progress on inflation, we will do what’s necessary, and that might require higher rates.”
Talking about the cost of things, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s refusal once again to reveal how much his plans for nuclear energy will cost has generated the expected amount of attention. The AFR says Dutton also conceded on Monday the plan relies on many of the country’s ageing coal-fired power stations running for at least another 12 years. The paper says most experts believe that timeline will not be possible as many of the plants will have been shut down.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
The Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece has provoked significant online reaction after users on X started noticing issues with images he posted about planned new parks, Guardian Australia reports.
At the weekend Reece uploaded four images as part of his pledge to build 28 new parks in the city if he is reelected as mayor. The problem was users then started noticing the images, which appeared to be AI-generated, contained things like floating shoes, people with extra limbs and lifeless distorted bodies, the site said.
Guardian Australia quoted users on X as responding with quips like: “Is this after the nukes hit Melbourne, nature takes it back, and only the mutants survive?” and “Sir, why is there a dead body in your pictures”. The site reached out to architects referenced in a Herald Sun article about the announcement that used the same imagery.
Reece appeared to be seeing the funny side of things, posting on Monday one of the images with additions such as a giant robot and flying car. “I see there’s a bit of commentary about the renders for the 28 new parks I’ll get built if I’m reelected Mayor. You guys should’ve seen the originals!” he said.
Say What?
We’ll have more information about the cost of nuclear … in good time.
Peter Dutton
The Coalition leader said on Monday he still isn’t ready to tell the country how much his plans to build nuclear reactors at seven sites around Australia will cost.
CRIKEY RECAP
The Albanese government passed up an opportunity to object to King Charles III awarding Ben Roberts-Smith a coronation medal despite a civil court having found he was a war criminal, internal documents reveal.
But a prominent historian has argued that rejecting a request from Buckingham Palace to bestow its own honour would be “unthinkable, politically and protocol-wise”, even if it was possible.
In June this year, Roberts-Smith accepted a coronation medal bestowed by King Charles on all living Australian Victoria Cross recipients and attended a function held in Western Australia’s Government House.
The decision was controversial in the wake of a judgment made in defamation proceedings by Justice Anthony Besanko that found, to a civil standard, Roberts-Smith had kicked a prisoner off a cliff, ordered an execution and was implicated in three other prisoners’ executions. Roberts-Smith denies all claims and is in the process of appealing the decision.
“Promise me you’ll take care of my son.”
Those were Amber Nicole Thurman’s last words to her own mother. The 28-year-old woman in Georgia died of sepsis after she waited 20 hours at an Atlanta hospital for medical care, as doctors delayed performing a routine procedure she badly needed following an incomplete medication abortion. A report obtained by ProPublica confirmed the death was preventable.
Anti-choice rhetoric rarely makes space for reality. For medical professionals, the threat of prosecution can quickly eclipse a patient’s need for safe, timely and appropriate treatment. Death was an inevitable outcome of America’s steady repeal of reproductive rights, as was the reduced availability of safe birthing services, sexual health care and miscarriage management, with the majority of obstetrician-gynaecologists reporting that maternal mortality has increased and racial and ethnic inequities have worsened since Roe v Wade was overturned.
Pissweak “exceptions” about protecting the “life of the mother” might be convenient talking points for Republican lawmakers who are denying people healthcare, but they are meaningless in an emergency ward where doctors delay and deny care under the shadow of criminal retribution.
Former senator turned freelance “transparency warrior” Rex Patrick wants to get back into the red chamber again — this time as a member of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). Crikey caught the South Australian on the phone on Friday, and got a bonus chat with Lambie herself.
“I’m driving and I’ve got Jacqui here in the car with me,” Patrick said. “We’re just turning up to where we’re doing a presser. We’re just enjoying the views of the Adelaide parklands.”
Crikey attempted to run both Patrick and Lambie through a series of rapid-fire questions about some of the big issues ahead of the next election. But as usual with politicians and political candidates, giving short answers turned out to be an impossible task, so the replies are edited for brevity.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Trump says he will not run again if he loses election (BBC)
California accuses ExxonMobil of lying about plastics being recyclable (The Washington Post) ($)
England women’s cricket captain apologises for historical blackface photo posted on social media (The Guardian)
Sean Combs’s arrest has the music world asking: Is our #MeToo here? (The New York Times) ($)
Telegram will provide user data to authorities if requested in major policy change (Semafor)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Dutton’s truth-sounding nuclear power arguments are for generating impressions, not information — Karen Middleton (Guardian Australia): It was nothing if not audacious.
In a speech that avoided answering one of the biggest questions hanging over his policy to build nuclear reactors at seven sites around Australia, Peter Dutton posed a very similar one about his opponents and their plans to phase out fossil fuels.
“Who will bear the costs of this transition?” Dutton asked in an address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on Monday, before answering it himself. “Australian households will — in their power bills.”
Dutton’s speech to a lunchtime event titled “A nuclear-powered Australia — could it work?” contained no new information about his nuclear plan and was instead an exercise in relativism via admission. To paraphrase: my energy policy might cost a lot, but theirs will cost more and mine is more reliable.
Deceptive discounts: Supermarkets going ‘Down Down’ for misleading customers — Elizabeth Knight (The Sydney Morning Herald): The implications of this ACCC action for the supermarket giants cannot be overstated, where the government inquiries have so far smacked of politics, the regulator’s action alleging Woolworths and Coles misled shoppers with the imposition of illusionary discounts on some products is based on extensive research and includes specific examples of the alleged breaches.
The purported breach of customer trust, as outlined by the ACCC, adds fresh fuel to the growing public discontent. With the average grocery bill taking chunks out of the household budget, Woolworths and Coles have been regularly assuring their customers they are helping them fight cost of living pressures.
Good luck convincing them of that now.
