SCOTT FREE?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison reportedly knew Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves was “transphobic” when she was hand-picked for the electorate, according to an anonymous senior Liberal source that spoke to the SMH, that is. Deves has compared trans issues to the Stolen Generations and Nazisim, and speculated actor Elliot Page was “paid” to transition. Among the new revelations are claims from Deves that male sex offenders could transition to sexually assault women, Crikey continues. Deves has deleted her social media but you can see her archived posts here. She told party members she’s “not going anywhere” at the weekend and indeed Morrison is continuing to support her for Warringah.
Speaking of toxic emissions, Morrison will pledge $250 million to create 5000 new mining jobs in Western Australia, The West ($) reports this morning. It would fund four new hydrogen hubs and more critical mineral jobs — Morrison will say it’ll make us a global producer of “clean hydrogen” by 2030. But is hydrogen clean? It depends. Green hydrogen is made using renewable energy, while blue hydrogen is made using coal or gas, The Conversation reports. Most hydrogen produced today is blue, The New York Times adds. The problem is, the Morrison government last year called blue hydrogen “clean” — even though it emits loads of greenhouse gases. Morrison will also promise “no mining tax”, “no carbon tax”, and “no adverse changes to fuel tax credit arrangements” while claiming Australia needs to back its strengths “from iron ore and gold to gas and coal”, WA Today continues.
POLLS POSITION
Labor will promise an overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), saying “fringe-dwelling unregistered cowboys” are “ripping people off”, the SMH reports. Labor disability spokesperson Bill Shorten says the voice of those with a disability will be front and centre of what would resemble a Productivity Commission review. More than half a million Australians access the NDIS, but Shorten will say they’ve either had their funding cut or are living in fear of a cut.
It comes as both major parties have promised almost $400 million in the first week of the “hustings”, AFR reports. Since the election was called, the Morrison government had made $110 million in promises, while Labor has made $130 million in promises. But approvals for both major parties are declining — this morning’s Newspoll in The Australian ($) shows Labor’s support is down one point to 36% and the Coalition is down one point to 35%. Indeed Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is at his lowest approval rating since he became Labor leader, the Oz ($) adds.
IN OUR DEFENCE
A vessel Scott Morrison promised would be built in Australia has instead been purchased second-hand from the Canary Islands, the ABC reports. In 2018 Morrison announced we would build the “large-hulled” naval vessel here to help our Pacific neighbours deal with natural disasters — but in October the government revealed the plan changed, and we’d shop for one overseas instead. We bought the US$67 million (A$90 million) ship in February, and the industry is furious: the Australian Industry and Defence Network boss called it “incredibly disappointing” that local suppliers missed out.
Speaking of defence, this morning former soldier Ben Roberts–Smith will call an ex-SAS member alleged to have committed a war crime as his first reply witness in his high profile defamation trial, Guardian Australia reports. Known as Person Five, it was alleged he ordered another soldier to execute an elderly Afghan man to “blood the rookie” (a witness explained the phrase as getting a “kill under his name”. It comes after the Nine newspapers closed their case last week, with Roberts-Smith — who denies any wrongdoing — expected to call about 15 of his witnesses over the next month.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Kiama boy Harry Ledger spent two long years using his spare time doing menial odd jobs for cash. It was crap work but a glittering prize promising all the freedom, adventure, and independence a 17-year-old dreams of kept him going: a second-hand Nissan sedan. Finally, four months ago, the joyful day came when Ledger got his own car keys. But when Ledger travelled to Lismore with his family to help in the aftermath of the floods, the teen was gutted by the widespread devastation.
He heard the story of Dylan Simpson, who lost his home and car in the floods. Simpson had been sleeping on couches and cycling to work, trying to keep his head up. Ledger’s mind was suddenly made up. The family organised to meet with Simpson under the guise of delivering him some supplies. Once all together, Ledger handed Simpson the keys to his Nissan, telling him it was now his. Simpson burst into tears and clutched his face, overcome with gratitude. The gracious Year 12 student says he doesn’t have a single regret: “It seems like it’s the least you can do”, Ledger says.
Hoping you see the good in the world this morning, folks.
SAY WHAT?
That continues to be combined with the other payments that we have that people get access to, whether that be in income support through the JobSeeker, which, as you know, we increased from 40 bucks a week to 46 bucks a week since the last election…
Scott Morrison
The slip of the tongue might be more forgivable if Morrison hadn’t mocked Labor Leader Anthony Albanese for his own cash rate and interest rate gaffes last week. The JobSeeker rate is $46 a day — a figure recipients, many of whom struggle to live on the payment, are not likely to forget.
CRIKEY RECAP
Liberal candidate Katherine Deves said trans women were doing ‘womanface’, claimed gender identity is a ‘gift to sex offenders’
“However, her history of transphobic comments goes much further than that. Deves has a pattern of accusing trans people of transitioning for nefarious reasons beyond their gender identity — frequently accusing them of using it to sexually assault women.
“In October last year in response to a UK incident when a trans woman was accused of sexually assaulting another woman in a hospital, Deves accused the NHS of facilitating sexual assault by treating a trans woman as a woman … Deves also made comments to publication Epoch Times in December last year that male rapists would transition to ‘erase the sins of the past’ and to attack women.”
Labor’s off to a bad start: no vision, no narrative, no goals, no values
“The six-week campaign was always intended to help Scott Morrison grind down Anthony Albanese’s lead, but Labor might be hoping that instead it gives it the space to reset an already stumbling campaign and get Albanese fired up and on-point. The looming Easter break [helped] with that.
“Regardless of ‘gotcha’ questions, campaign gaffes and biased journalists, the Labor campaign’s primary problems so far are more fundamental. There is simply no coherent story around what it is offering, nothing that links its broader goals with its agenda for the next three years and longer — and its plans to implement that agenda. As one Labor figure said, we’re seeing jigsaw pieces without the puzzle.”
‘Definition of a woman?’ Wait till Alex Antic hears about South Australia
“South Australian boy culture warrior Alex Antic (pronounced Antish, apparently, an anti-vaccine mandate type, presumably in the classic Balkans paranoid manner) did what attention-seeking senators always do in Senate estimates: used as a prop a public servant who can’t hit back.
“Antic asked federal health department head Brendan Murphy ‘what the definition of a woman is’. Murphy replied he would have to take that question on notice. With that in the bag, Antic could live up to his name, and stalk off, bundling his things up, telling Murphy that now he had heard everything. US senator Lindsay Graham did in the same in confirmation hearings for the now new Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Alex, can’t you even devise your own stunts?”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
US, South Korea urge North to return to talks after missile tests (Al Jazeera)
Dozens arrested at Sweden riots sparked by planned Quran burnings (BBC)
China’s economic trends hint at cost of zero COVID Strategy (The New York Times)
Macron lead over Le Pen stabilises as election scrutiny intensifies (The Guardian)
Rivian CEO warns of looming electric-vehicle battery shortage (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
Russia airs video of captured ‘Britons’ asking for prisoner swap (Al Jazeera)
Alex Jones’s Infowars files for bankruptcy (The New York Times)
Coachella is back. But have festivals escaped the problematic legacy of ‘boho chic’? (CNN)
THE COMMENTARIAT
A generation of children increasingly think gambling is inextricably linked with the AFL — Tim Costello (Guardian Australia): “Gambling sponsorship and advertising in family friendly television viewing hours is the exception, and is now everywhere. We have surrendered to a dangerous and addictive adult product that has legitimised itself by seizing the commanding sporting heights. This has changed their perception of sport and introduced the language of betting odds into many sporting conversations our children have. Every AFL Club app that kids have on their phones has the odds come up first when you just want to check the teams or starting time for the game. This particular scourge is because the AFL handed the keys to its digital data empire to the highest gambling bidder.
“The federal government is certainly not blameless, as Australians continuously win the world record for per capita gambling losses, which will hit $25b this year alone. The prime minister and his minister for communications, Paul Fletcher, refuse to heed our call to ban sports betting sponsorship and advertisements. Spain and Italy has recently banned gambling sponsorship of all sporting teams, particularly soccer. But in Canberra they are timid regulators, having banned in-play betting but little else. Instead, family viewing shows from MasterChef to The Block and even the 6pm news are plastered with betting advertisements.”
The truth about how much politicians can ‘manage’ the economy — Jessica Irvine (The Age): ” So, on a day-to-day and even year-to-year horizon, it’s not immediately clear that your decision at the ballot box will make much difference to how our economy is ‘managed’. That’s not to say, however, that politicians can’t make decisions which affect economy. Over the longer term, they certainly do. Politicians might not directly create jobs, set prices or entirely control the budget bottom line, but they do play an important role in tinkering with the incentives individuals face as they navigate their daily lives.
“The shape and size of our tax system, for example, heavily influences the decisions individuals make about whether and how much to work. So, too, does the level of subsidy applied to childcare — particularly for women. Public spending on education and skills also help influence the rate of “human capital accumulation” in the economy, which in turn heavily influences how productive we are as a nation. Tax exemptions on differing forms of investment, such as investment properties, superannuation and direct share ownership, influence how much and where we invest our money.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Online
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ABC Election Analyst Antony Green is speaking at the event “Australian Business Economists Briefing: Federal Election 2022 with Antony Green”, where he will discuss boundary changes, electoral reform, and senate quotas.
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Guardian Australia’s Katharine Murphy and Essential Media’s Pete Lewis will unpack the fortnight’s political news in a webinar for The Australia Institute.
Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)
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Indigenous comedians and storytellers Steph Tisdell, Karla Hart, and Maureen French will share stories, opportunities and challenges in the world of comedy, held at The Wheeler Centre.
Ngunnawal Country (also known as Canberra)
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Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and Labor agriculture spokeswoman Julie Collins will speak in the 2022 Agriculture Debate at the National Press Club.
Yuggera Country (also known as Brisbane)
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Authors Cass Moriarty and Lauren Chater will discuss the latter’s novel, The Winter Dress, at Avid Reader bookshop. You can also catch this one online.
