UNDERPERFORMANCE
University funding increases will be tied to performance under a new scheme to be introduced by the government, Nine papers report.
The government plans to lift a two-year freeze on support for undergraduate places, with funding to be allocated according to four performance measures: graduate employment outcomes, student success, student experience and enrolment of Indigenous, disadvantaged and rural students. Higher education expert Andrew Norton was against the move, warning the development panel that “performance funding is unlikely to be helpful in improving student and university performance”.
FRESH THREATS
China has issued warnings to Hong Kong, the US and Australia as protests and the trade war escalate.
Chinese officials used a press conference to warn Hong Kong protesters that punishment is coming, the ABC reports, telling them not to mistake Beijing’s “restraint” for weakness.
China has also warned Australia against hosting US missiles, The New Daily reports, threatening unspecified “countermeasures” if the US goes ahead with plans to deploy missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese foreign ministry’s director of arms control Fu Cong called on countries not to allow a US missile deployment on their territory, singling out Australia, Japan and South Korea.
NO MORE LEAKS
Australia’s director-general of national intelligence Nick Warner has warned parliament’s intelligence and security committee that foreign intelligence agencies may lose trust in Australia if leaks continue. Warner told the committee, which is examining protections for journalists and whistleblowers following the AFP’s media raids, that we risk being cut out if intelligence-sharing partners are concerned about the security of their information.
The Department of Home Affairs is urging the committee to tread carefully, as executives from the ABC, Nine and News Corp demand a special warrant regime be established for investigations into classified leaks.
[free_worm]
THEY REALLY SAID THAT?
[Labor] failed to understand the middle-class economy that Bob Hawke and I created for Australia.
Paul Keating
The former prime minister weighs in on his party’s election loss on 7.30, saying its policies were too focused on the bottom end of the workforce.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
China circles PNG amid debt blowout ($)
Essential poll: Vast majority want Google and Facebook held accountable for fake news
‘Alcohol industry fingerprints all over’ Australia’s plan to tackle overdrinking
Witness K to plead guilty in Timor-Leste spying case but lawyer to fight charges
Costello warns retirees as trade war hits ASX ($)
Global markets face ‘most dangerous financial moment’ since 2009
Trump increasingly relies on himself, not his aides, in trade war with China
Top cop warned Gobbo would be murdered ($)
‘Absurd’: NSW government ignored report on looming legal aid crisis
Toni Morrison, ‘Beloved’ author and Nobel laureate, has died
Banks in fresh push to block inheritance greed
Business cautiously welcomes government plan to shore up gas supplies
CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY
Australia is caught in the blast zone of rampant nationalism
“Trump is merely the exploiter of a deeper problem of the raging tribalism that has emerged over the last three years and which threatens to dominate western politics for years — perhaps decades — to come. That tribalism, while fanned and enabled by unregulated social media platforms, was created by the reaction against neoliberalism and its obsession with open borders, basing individual worth purely on economic value, handing power to corporations and removing any role for government in the economy, except where it might serve the interests of corporations.”
Scott Morrison, it’s time to declare a climate emergency
“This is why I’m calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to immediately declare a climate emergency. I’m calling on you, Scott, to represent all Australians — including those who are too young to vote and those not yet born. I’m calling on you to act on the will of the majority of Australians. I’m calling on you to make a concrete commitment, a willingness to stand together and fight to prevent the largest threat of our times.”
How my article about men and Me Too quickly spiralled into a book
“As instructed by my wise-beyond-years daughter, I’m listening to this collective rage and sadness, and I’m wondering how on earth we got to this place… or have we always been here? Why it is that so many men inflict this hurt on others and themselves? What causes the threads of empathy to break, if the empathy was ever there in the first place? And what part might I play in all this? Because, surely, it’s not enough to say, as so many men are quick to do, that they share nothing in common with abusive men, that they would never hurt or harass a woman. What is it that we’ve all absorbed through our conditioning, and how do our behaviour patterns reinforce the worst views of women?”
THE COMMENTARIAT
It’s not new, it’s hardly a start ($) – Dick Smith (The Australian): “It doesn’t matter where you live across the country, I would reckon that finding a safe place to live is very difficult on Newstart as it is. An Anglicare report this year found there were only two properties in the entire country affordable for someone on Newstart. This is why we have people sleeping on the streets and begging for a couple of dollars to feed themselves. It’s not what this country is about and the government knows what it should do to fix it. Raising Newstart by $75 a week would cost $3 billion a year — that’s less than a third of the cost of the government’s tax cuts for high-income earners. In fact, wealthy people like me could easily pay additional tax to cover the $3bn required.”
Make Sydney night-life great again ($) – Justin Hemmes (The Daily Telegraph): “Our city of Sydney has matured. As a large hospitality owner, operator and employer in the CBD, we have seen first-hand over the past five years that mindless anti-social behaviour has been dealt with swiftly by police and punishments handed out to the offending individuals. It is going to be a mammoth job to properly reinvigorate Sydney’s night time economy and we recommend that the government appoint a Night Time Mayor. This is a common role in cities around the world. The Night Time Mayor’s role would be to shape government policy and planning to create a vibrant night time economy while maintaining safety. Importantly, this role would include acting as a conduit between the regulatory bodies and night life businesses.”
Fear and panic trump fundamentals with markets in free fall – Elizabeth Knight (The Age/Sydney Morning Herald): “”It is also fair to say that until this week the share market had been looking a little toppy. It had tested 12 year highs on back of stretched valuations and in Australia, at least, the 2019 profit season was not shaping up well – with little earnings growth outside the mining sector. But as any student of the history of markets will attest, psychology usually trumps financial fundamentals when it comes to stockmarkets. CFOs are less likely to be rocked by the daily equity market movements. But their mood is very sensitive to the forces that are moving the market.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Sydney
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will attend a signing ceremony for an enhanced partnership plan between NATO and Australia, ending the day with an event at the Lowy Institute.
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Google Australia Managing Director Melanie Silva will announce the $1 million Google AI Impact Challenge winner alongside federal technology minister Karen Andrews.
Melbourne
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The Regional Australia Institute will release a new national report, “Regional Population Growth – Are We Ready?”, looking at alternatives to alleviate Australia’s megacity future.
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About 200 aspiring models will attend the BELLA Unsigned Model Search for a chance to be part of a Melbourne Fashion Week popup runway.
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Michael Logan and Steven McGibbony from the Bureau of Meteorology will join Alistair Drayton from the SES to discuss upcoming rough and cold weather for Victoria.
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The CFMEU will launch a West Gate Tunnel Project waste campaign, after obtaining documents showing that soil being dug up to build the tunnel is infested with deadly contaminants.
Brisbane
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Aged care royal commission will hold a hearing on regulation, with evidence about residents’ challenges in making complaints.
Darwin
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SBS will host “Meet the Broadcaster Darwin”, allowing locals to hear about its diverse 2019-2020 offerings and take part in a Q&A.
Adelaide
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Award-winning author Dominic Smith will give a talk at Burnside Library introducing his new novel The Electric Hotel.
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