YI, OURSELVES AND US
Kevin Rudd will be our ambassador to the US next year even if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election, the Albanese government says. It follows Trump calling Rudd “a little bit nasty” and warning he could be removed from his post, in retaliation to Rudd describing Trump as “the most destructive president in history”, “nuts”, a “traitor to the West” and being guilty of “rancid treachery”. The AFR says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the captain’s pick as doing “an excellent job” while Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Rudd would work closely with whoever is elected in the US. The Australian ($) adds that “several senior Republicans” immediately called to tell Rudd not to take Trump’s words literally. The paper doesn’t name them but does note Rudd has a good relationship with Republican Senator and “Trump whisperer” Lindsey Graham, and met with Republican Senator and former Florida governor Rick Scott last month.
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi said Australia-China relations “should not be affected or disrupted by any third party”, The Australian ($) reports, an apparent reference to the US. About 80% of our trade surplus came from China, Wang added, saying the world “should not be dominated by one or two countries”. (Meanwhile, there is a Tibetan and Uyghur protest outside the Chinese embassy, the ABC adds). It came as Wong commended the lifted bans on wine, lobster and beef but spoke to Wang about nickel — the paper notes Chinese-owned mines in Indonesia “flooded” the nickel market, plunging prices. Wong will meet former-UK-PM-now-Foreign-Secretary David Cameron while Defence Minister Richard Marles will host his counterpart Grant Shapps today, The Canberra Times reports, to talk AUKUS. They’ll all get together in Adelaide tomorrow to see the Osborne shipyard — we can expect an announcement.
WARRING WORDS
Some 75 unionised ABC journalists voted that chief content officer (CCO) Chris Oliver-Taylor should stand down over his alleged part in removing broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf from the airwaves following complaints over her Israel-Palestine views. Guardian Australia reports documents in her Fair Work case showed Oliver-Taylor asked radio execs to look into whether Lattouf had breached editorial standards and asked why she’d been selected as a stand-in host for the week in question. (Revisit this excellent Nine newspapers explainer to get the play-by-play). Yesterday’s motion accused Oliver-Taylor and executives of having “damaged the public’s trust in our capacity to report without fear or favour” but managing director David Anderson told the paper he had “continued confidence” in the CCO, calling him “widely respected” in the media industry.
It comes as an Israeli briefing to the Australian Foreign Affairs Department last Thursday claimed the number of UNRWA employees who took part in the October 7 massacre had grown from 12 to 15, The Australian ($) reports, and further claimed the organisation is “beyond repair” and “must be stopped”. One day later, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced that our $6 million funding to UNRWA would resume — the paper notes children in Gaza are starving to death — though we’ve built guard rails into the money, including “guarantees of staff neutrality and confidence in supply chains”. There has been no evidence from Israel to back its claims about staff, the EU’s humanitarian chief said last week as Reuters reports. Meanwhile, the Oz ($) says activist Elsa Tuet–Rosenberg, who allegedly shared doxxed details of Jewish creatives from a WhatsApp group, owns a company that is working with the Australian Human Rights Commission on anti-racism resources.
FEELING GASSY
We could run out of gas on chilly days as early as next winter, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has warned again. The SMH reports ExxonMobil and Woodside Energy are preparing to shutter one of three key plants that process gas from the Bass Strait, the 50-year-old Gippsland Basin, which has provided two-thirds of the southern states’ gas appetite. We’ll see shortfalls in Victoria, NSW, SA, and Tasmania by 2026, the regulator predicted, a year earlier than what it predicted in 2023. But Guardian Australia notes our gas phase-out could slow that considerably (in Victoria you can’t connect gas in new homes from 2024). Energy Minister Chris Bowen basically said don’t worry, the gas security mechanism tweaks and a code of conduct for producers will shore up supply.
Interestingly, the paper notes we export the equivalent of 70% of the east coast’s gas consumption and The Australian ($) adds we are the world’s largest producer of gas. But Santos boss Kevin Gallagher said we can’t just prioritise ourselves because Russia and the Middle East would step in. He’s also in the news for telling the CERAWeek conference that “natural gas is the greatest decarbonisation tool we have”, saying we have a couple hundred years’ worth of gas in the ground. Don’t make me tap the sign again. Meanwhile, Arafura Rare Earths has admitted it started a project in the NT to export critical minerals to Hyundai, Kia and Siemens before it got approval from the government, WA Today reports. The miner, which counts Gina Rinehart’s company as a key investor, got approval under our Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act but didn’t get the green light it needed from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. This happened days before the government announced it would invest $840 million in Arafura, as Crikey reported.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
British bus driver Mark Garland arrived at Heathrow with a bag packed full of tropical-weather-appropriate attire and more than one tube of sunscreen for his noggin. You alright, checking in, he told the agent cheerfully, who tapped their screen a couple of times before surveying him dubiously through the plexiglass. Sir, they began slowly, you’ve already checked in with us today. Some 40 supremely confusing minutes later, the exasperated staff member escorted Garland to the boarding gate personally. Finally, someone twigged — there was another Mark Garland on the flight, and this was just a wee case of mistaken identity. They paged the other one to be sure.
Everyone stood mystified as a man who looked exactly like Garland approached the desk. Erm, the man started, Mark Garland here. Both had bald heads and shared several facial features — indeed they might have been composite twins if not for an age difference (four years) and a few inches in height. I was shocked by how strange it was, the younger Garland told the South West News Service as the NY Post reports, while the older Garland agreed it was an absolutely “crazy” coincidence. Shortly after, still chortling, one of the Mark Garlands was settling into his seat on the plane. Suddenly, the other Mark Garland is standing in the aisle, looking from his ticket to the seat number next to Garland. You’re not going to believe this… he began. The pair said they chatted for the entire 11.5-hour flight.
Hoping a coincidence catches you by surprise today.
SAY WHAT?
I don’t know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty. I hear he’s not the brightest bulb. But I don’t know much about him.
Donald Trump
The Republican presidential nominee was bringing big Mariah Carey “I don’t know her” energy when he responded to Australian ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd’s criticism that he was “the most destructive president in history”.
CRIKEY RECAP
“Crikey asked Victoria Police whether any charges had been laid concerning the leaked WhatsApp group. After two days, Victoria Police replied simply: ‘The investigation remains ongoing’. When pressed, a spokesperson for Victoria Police told Crikey: ‘If the investigation’s ongoing, there hasn’t been any charges laid’.
“The pro-Palestine activists responsible for publishing the information of the WhatsApp group members made a statement on social media on February 11, saying that the decision provided ‘critical insight into how Zionists operate in so-called progressive arts, academic and media spaces’.”
“The reality is, as I have previously written, after 10 years of Coalition leadership, women were poorer, less healthy and less safe. Yet the focus has been on getting into seats women who — likely in the grips of ‘benevolent sexism’ — use their positions of power to uphold the male-dominated party line with policies that have resulted in terrible outcomes for women.
“The Liberal Party has insisted optics, not substance, would be enough. Just having more ‘good liberal’ women would be enough. And now the Liberal Party isn’t even on track to get the optics right. Let’s consider the shenanigans of the deputy leader of the Liberal Party, Sussan Ley …”
“While Anthony Albanese’s government attempts to quietly usher in legislation that would enable major oil and gas companies to sidestep environmental protections, his centre-right counterpart on the other side of the Tasman is incisively taking a different route to effectively land at the same destination.
“Christopher Luxon, who is the former chief executive of Air New Zealand, was recently elected on a typically centre-right platform of economic growth, tax cuts, business development, infrastructure investment and fiscal responsibility via drastic slashes to government spending.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong resigns amid anticorruption campaign (Al Jazeera)
Delhi world’s ‘most polluted’ capital: report (BBC)
Biden administration announces rules aimed at expanding electric vehicles (The New York Times)
Swedish pharmacy bans sale of anti-ageing skincare to children (The Guardian)
Leo Varadkar: Irish Prime Minister unexpectedly quits (Reuters)
‘Free world will not let Ukraine fail,’ says US defence chief (euronews)
Israel has killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza. It took five months. (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
THE COMMENTARIAT
The ABC’s Four Corners is spreading Russian propaganda — Jon Richardson (The SMH): “The film gave next to no sense of the real impact of the war on Russian soldiers. Their army and associated forces have seen perhaps 120,000 killed and 200,000 injured. Recent territorial gains lives have been won at the expense of sacrificing lives in human wave ‘meat grinder’ tactics. And the program completely ignored the impact of the war on Ukraine. It gave no account of the toll in human suffering and on the economy, of which I recently took stock.
“Upwards of 100,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed. Economic damage estimated at $750 billion. Two million houses or apartments, several thousand schools, hospitals and health care facilities, and 8,400 kilometres of roadway damaged or destroyed. Nearly 10 million refugees and internally displaced people. Enormous environmental devastation, including to 30% of national parks and protected areas. Thirty percent of the country mined. Perhaps 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers now amputees.”
How the Windsor women became human shields — Jennifer Weiner (The New York Times): “The rule is never complain, never explain, and — if it gets to be too much — never get help. Diana, suffering from bulimia, said that the family dismissed her as ‘unstable’. Meghan has said she wanted to get professional help, but ‘I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution’. Royal women are expected to suck it up and live, with borrowed jewels on their fingers and a target on their backs.
“Maybe there’s a happy ending to this royal mess. Maybe recent events will puncture, once and for all, the myth of Prince Charming and the happily-ever-after he’ll bring. Maybe 10 years from now a generation of teenage girls will not be humming ‘Someday, My Prince Will Come‘ and dreaming of Prince George sweeping them off their feet. Maybe we won’t ask another Diana, Meghan or Catherine to trade her voice and her agency for a nice wardrobe, a televised wedding and a lifetime of ribbon-cutting and silent smiling.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)
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Former Moscow Times journalist Marina Kamenev will talk about her new book, Kin, at Avid Reader bookshop.
Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)
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Author Sandra Goldbloom Zurbo will talk about her new book, My Father’s Shadow, at Glee Books.
