Coalition ‘abuse’ ABC board nominations system: former panel member

ABC BOARD “CHARADE”

A former member of the independent nominations panel for the ABC and SBS boards has slammed the Coalition for “abusing” the system, stacking the boards with unqualified members, and repeatedly ignoring panel advice.

In interviews with both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian ($), former deputy Liberal leader and communications minister Neil Brown QC argues that the nomination has become a “charade” under the Coalition and, during his time on the advisory panel before leaving last year, he found that federal ­Communications Minister Mitch Fifield ignored and misled board suggestions including over SBS chairman Bulent Hass Della. “What the minister did was take the one who was our last ranked, and said that we recommended him,” Brown told The Australian. “That is in my view quite misleading.”

HOMEWARD BOUND

Opposition leader Bill Shorten will reportedly go to the election with a commitment to keep the Department of Home Affairs intact, following calls from the party’s left and key unions to dismantle the super-agency.

The Australian ($) reports that, while no policy has been taken to Labor’s frontbench, Shorten has privately canvassed the plan to shore up national security credentials. The policy would see immigration, ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and other smaller agencies remain under the department’s administration. The news comes as both Australian opposition parties and foreign tech giants scrutinise the government’s new spyware bill.

NOBEL INNOVATIONS

The 2018 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to American James Allison and Japan’s Tasuku Honjo for research into manipulating the immune system to better fight against cancer. The Age reports that multiple breakthroughs from Allison and Honjo in the 1990s have quickly led to vast improvements in treating cancers, such as melanoma and lung cancer.

Science and peace prizes will be handed out later in the year, while the literature prize was deferred for 2018 after news of a sexual misconduct scandal that yesterday saw author Jean-Claude Arnault found guilty of rape and sentenced to two years in jail.

[free_worm]

THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

Dear Malcolm. A quick reality check on “miserable ghosts”: 1st, having told the world you’ve left politics behind, you seem to be in the media every day talking about it. 2nd, in case you didn’t notice, I left parliament for NYC 5 years ago. Why not come over for a cuppa?

Kevin Rudd

An ex-PM war of words escalates with a tweet and photograph of Rudd laughing, pointing at Malcolm Turnbull.

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

Royal commission adds Howard, Costello to the banking hall of shameBernard Keane

“While the banks, financial services companies, financial planners and ASIC come out badly from the financial services royal commission’s interim report, there are others who fare poorly as well, but who have received little or no attention. Nonetheless, they are every bit as responsible for the way the Australian financial services industry has worked. They’re not mentioned by name in the report, but they are John Howard, Peter Costello and the federal Treasury.”

ABC fracas leaves Fifield’s board in chargeChristopher Warren

“With last week’s spectacular departure of Justin Milne and Michelle Guthrie, the previously unknown ABC board is now the all-but exclusive creation of one man — the Institute of Public Affairs-aligned Senator Mitch Fifield. The entire board has turned over since he became minister in 2015, giving his appointees the numbers on the board until after the 2022 federal election.”

Pauline Hanson book succumbs to its own depthless loathingCharlie Lewis

“You don’t even need to read the full title. You need only glance at the cover to glean Kerry-Anne Walsh’sidea of Pauline Hanson. She hovers at the base of the book cover, like a malign cloud approaching from the horizon. Her face is desaturated and the contrast is turned way up, rendering her skin more chilly and porcelain than normal and her hair crimson and copper like drying blood.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Indonesia tsunami: mass burial begins as death toll nears the thousand

‘Put it into law’: states seek GST guarantee from Scott Morrison

Queensland government’s top bureaucrats earn more than the Premier — but most are men

ASIC poised to drop hammer on AMP ($)

South Australia’s Tesla battery on track to make back a third of cost in a year

Labor to force companies to reveal CEO to employee pay ratio

Vietnamese asylum seeker pleads to stay in Australia with baby daughter

Tasmania to introduce laws to break the seal of the confessional ($)

FBI interviews Kavanaugh accuser as battle rages over scope of investigation

Fledgling bilateral forum aims to supercharge US business ties ($)

US, Canada and Mexico just reached a sweeping new NAFTA deal. Here’s what’s in it.

THE COMMENTARIAT

Why the media needs to be more responsible for how it links Islam and Islamist terrorism — Audrey Courty and Halim Rane (The Conversation): “The media are playing an essential role in informing us about Islam and influencing how we respond. But, perhaps due to a limited understanding of Islam or a fear of antagonising Muslims, a fundamental point has largely been absent from reporting: the threat of terrorism does not stem from Islam. Rather, it stems from Islamism, a political ideology.”

Shorten cannot afford to compound the damage — Simon Benson (The Australian): “Labor will rarely, if ever, win an argument on national security. The best it can hope for is to neutralise the issue or mitigate the damage inflicted from the disastrous border protection policies of the past. Bill Shorten knew this from the outset. And under his leadership, he has given the Coalition little justifiable cause to doubt his national security credentials. He has ultimately supported every piece of national security legislation the government has proposed.”

Five myths about capitalism — Steven Pearlstein (The Sydney Morning Herald/Washington Post): “Thirty years ago, in the face of a serious economic challenge from Japan and Europe, the United States embraced a form of free-market capitalism that was less regulated, less equal, and more prone to booms and busts. Bolstering that embrace was a set of useful myths about motivation, fairness and economic growth that helped restore American competitiveness.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Adelaide

• Day one of a two-day COAG national summit for federal, state and territory ministers discussing the final part of the federal government’s National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

• Nurses will meet to consider industrial action over the high demand on emergency departments from overcrowding in Adelaide’s public hospitals.

• The Grattan Institute will host a panel discussion on “South Australia’s power system: are we ready for summer?”, with Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Audrey Zibelman, resources industry executive Steve Masters, Grattan energy program director Tony Wood, and moderator and Deputy Editor of ABC News South Australia Nick Harmsen.

Sydney

• The RBA board will meet and make an interest rate decision.

• The Football Federation of Australia will hold an extraordinary general meeting to discuss governance.

• Journalist Leigh Sales will discuss her new book Any Ordinary Day in conversation with journalist Annabel Crabb at Gleebooks.

• Psychiatrist and entrepreneur Kamran Ahmed will present “Music on my Mind” for The Studio’s speaker series.

Thursday Island, Queensland

• The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples will hold a hearing.

Canberra

• Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Frances Adamson will present “Shaping Australia’s role in Indo-Pacific security in the next decade” for ANU’s Women in International Security: Theory and Practice series.

• The ANU International Law Society and the ANU International Relations Society will co-host a panel discussion on the recent activation of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.

Melbourne

• Labor MP and Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh will present “Why unions are vital to advance Australia fair” at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.

• The Royal Children’s Hospital will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Australia’s first successful paediatric heart transplant, first performed on October 5, 1988 and with 175 operations since.

• Journalist Greg Sheridan will discuss his new book God Is Good for You in conversation with anthropologist Sally Warhaft at the Wheeler Centre.

• Australia’s education innovation festival EC18 will be held in Federation Square and will feature, along with other panelists, maths teacher and Australian Local Hero of the Year Eddie Woo.

Brisbane

• The tall ship STS Young Endeavour, crewed by youth from across Australia and supporting youth with special needs, will arrive in Brisbane.

• Comedian and War on Waste host Craig Reucassel will present a keynote speech for the University of Queensland’s Energy Initiative.

Darwin

• Journalist Lisa Wilkinson present a keynote October Business Month speech and speak in conversation with NT caterer and entrepreneur Karen Sheldon.

Hobart

• Author and founder of the Australia Institute Clive Hamilton will present “China’s Growing Influence in Tasmania: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” at the University of Tasmania.

• Protestors will conduct a “Collective City Walk” calling for a pay rise for Tasmanians.

Perth

• Emeritus Professor of Psychology at University of Auckland Michael Corballis will present a UWA public lecture on “Where did language come from?”.

• Innovation Bay will host a panel discussion on capital myths across WA’s startup ecosystem.

Australia

• Protests will be held at all major airports over pay and conditions as part of a global day of action by airport workers.