Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 31 January.
Top stories
Labor has no intention of changing its policies on negative gearing or dividend imputation, the shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has told Guardian Australia. Facing an intensifying negative campaign from the Morrison government and some parts of the media, Bowen insisted a Shorten Labor government would implement its negative gearing changes in its first term despite a recent cooling in the housing market. “We developed these policies to last for 20 or 30 years. It can’t be changed every year in relation to movements in the market,” he said. In an op-ed, Bowen writes: “Did you know, for example, that the federal government spends $8bn on childcare, but $11.7bn on negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions? ... If we are going to increase our investment in important public services in a fiscally prudent way, we have to recognise that many of the tax concessions that some people have been used to as an entitlement are no longer sustainable and need to be reformed.”
Nearly 20,000 homeless people or people at risk of losing their accommodation were given a demerit point by a private employment services provider in the first three months of the government’s new welfare compliance regime, according to data analysed by Guardian Australia. People issued demerit points often have their payments cut off until they “re-engage” with their provider. Another 94 people with a “homelessness” indicator in their case file were kicked off income support for four weeks due to a “work refusal” or “unemployment failure”. In total, 161 homeless or at-risk welfare recipients were hit with a financial sanction between July and September last year.
Australians living in disadvantaged parts of the country are twice as likely to die from diabetes as those in the wealthiest areas, according to a new research by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which examined how a person’s socioeconomic position impacted their chances of developing or dying from diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Researchers said the findings showed social disadvantage led to higher rates of chronic disease development and a greater likelihood of dying. The most unequal outcome was the death rate for women with diabetes, with women in the most disadvantaged areas 2.39 times more likely to die from it as those in the highest socioeconomic areas. For men, the same ratio was 2.18 times.
World
Internal Zimbabwean police documents obtained by the Guardian suggest the Zimbabwean army has been responsible for murder, rape and armed robbery during the ongoing brutal crackdown. In more than a dozen investigation reports shared by police officials frustrated at the apparent impunity of the military, a series of alleged attacks are described, including two murders and the rape of a 15-year-old girl.
Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May have met to discuss the Brexit crisis for the first time this year, in a summit where the two sides disagreed afterwards about whether the prime minister was willing to soften her opposition to a customs union. Corbyn’s camp said the prime minister had shown a “serious engagement in the detail”, while Downing Street said while May had asked questions, she had not shifted her underlying position.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has accused Donald Trump and a “group of extremists around him” of plotting to topple him in order to seize Venezuela’s oil, and warned he risked transforming the South American country into a new Vietnam. In a Facebook video, Maduro claimed the leaders of the US “empire” were conspiring “to get their hands on our oil – just like they did in Iraq and in Libya”.
Donald Trump has pushed back against America’s top intelligence officials, after they offered international threat assessments to Congress that contrasted sharply with the US president’s own views. Major gaps were evident on North Korea, Iran’s nuclear program, the continuing threat of the Islamic State in Syria and the importance of climate change.
Parts of the United States are bracing for record low temperatures as a blast of Arctic air known as the “polar vortex” grips much of the country. Temperatures could hit -40C in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes – with Chicago colder than Antarctica.
Opinion and analysis
It was hard to open a tab or paper yesterday without seeing the words “Kerri-Anne Kennerley”, “Yumi Stynes” and “Studio 10”. Alex McKinnon unravels how the story unfolded and the sides dug in, looking into the strategies some media outlets employed to make a short segment on a show no one watches the latest battleground for a culture war. “Many of the headlines reporting on the original clip, including the Guardian, have been criticised for framing the issue as Kennerley being called ‘racist’, rather than around the substance of what she said,” writes McKinnon.
Once a year in freezing-cold winter waters, a gathering happens off the coast of South Australia. Hundreds of thousands of giant cuttlefish come to mate, but this natural wonder comes at a great cost. In this episode of Guardian Australia’s new podcast, we learn a lesson on life and death from these amazing cephalopods. Join Benjamin Law and zoologist Chris McCormack for the Look At Me podcast, as they meet the ocean’s greatest camouflage expert.
The latest release of the consumer price index figures show that inflation growth remains lower than what the Reserve Bank generally wants. The next move in interest rates will more likely be a cut than a rise, writes Greg Jericho. “But whether this rate will come sooner or later depends on how much the bank wishes to spur economic activity, and for the past two years it has been content not to do so more than it already is.”
Sport
The first suspected pieces of wreckage from the plane that vanished with footballer Emiliano Sala on board have washed up on the French coast. Two pieces of seat cushion believed to be from the plane that went missing nine days ago were found on the Normandy coast, about 30km from the last known position of the aircraft. The UK aviation investigators have also identified a “priority search area” of about four square nautical miles.
The European (golf) Tour breaks new and controversial ground in the Middle East this week, with Justin Rose among the players being paid up to $1m to compete in the Saudi International. Marina Hyde turns her critical eye to sportswashing and golf’s daring sortie into enemy coffers.
Thinking time: Australia’s TV mum on introversion and freaking out
If you grew up in Australia, chances are Benita Collings – one of the longest-serving hosts in Play School history – was your TV mum. For 30 years she bookended the day, as the show moved from black and white to colour, ditched the rocket clock and stirred controversy by featuring – gasp! – rainbow families. Speaking to Guardian Australia before the tour of a stage show, Senior Moments, the 78-year-old discusses how she’s embraced ageing – and how life as an Australian celebrity didn’t always come so easy.
Media roundup
The Australian splashes with troubles in the Labor party, with Chris Bowen telling self-funded retirees to “vote against us” if they are upset with the party’s proposed $55.7bn franking credit crackdown. A former Scoutmaster and celebrity psychologist has been arrested on historic sex abuse charges, the ABC reports. NSW police allege Bob Montgomery assaulted young male scouts under his care in the 1960s.
Coming up
Ben Cousins, the former West Coast Eagles captain, will face court today on 18 charges including aggravated stalking, breaching violence restraining orders and possessing illegal drugs. He’s currently in jail.
Senior defence operations officials will provide a briefing today on Australia’s Middle East operations.
The town of Geeveston in Tasmania has nearly run out of water as the massive Huon Valley bushfires bear down on the town, the Mercury reports.
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