LIKE A G7
Prime minister Scott Morrison has landed in France for the G7 summit, which Australia was invited to as an observer, with a new initiative to fight online extremism and plans to hold a short “pull-aside” meeting with Donald Trump.
Morrison will today announce a global code under which social media platforms will be asked to report on their attempts to intercept or take down extremist content, Nine papers report. It’s unclear if the US is on board, with French media reporting on Saturday that Trump has opposed social networks signing on. One of Trump’s aides has slammed the summit agenda, which focuses on democracy, gender equality, education and the environment, calling it “niche”, the ABC reports.
French president Emmanuel Macron is hoping to convince G7 leaders to halt the trade war, and Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has surprised the US by accepting France’s invitation to act as an observer ($).
HERE WE GO AGAIN
George Pell is planning to appeal his conviction in the High Court, with his legal team advising that the dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeal provides reasonable grounds to take the case higher, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald report.
Sources tell the papers that Pell, who has 21 days from Wednesday’s verdict to lodge an application, is determined to pursue his last avenue of appeal. It is expected to be centred on a broad provision which allows the court to intervene in any case “in the interests of the administration of justice”. Meanwhile, Labor’s Kristina Keneally has slammed Melbourne archbishop Peter Comensoli for continuing to insist Pell is innocent, calling it “distressing for so many reasons”.
THAT SHOULD FIX IT
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg plans to launch a productivity push, suggesting to corporate Australia that prioritising short-term shareholder returns above long-term investments is hurting national productivity rates. Frydenberg will today use a speech to the Business Council of Australia to challenge boards to rein in share buybacks and dividends, urging them to invest more in new technologies ($) rather than returning excess cash to shareholders, The Australian reports. It is hoped that the plan will kickstart flagging productivity and boost wages by $3000 a year.
RBA governor Philip Lowe, meanwhile, has spoken at a retreat for central bankers in Wyoming, warning that there is limited capacity to protect the global economy from “a period of major political shocks”, as political turbulence prompts economic jitters.
[free_worm]
THEY REALLY SAID THAT?
Trump’s big chopper ruined my lawn.
Queen Elizabeth II, allegedly
The queen reportedly complained to Scott Morrison that the US president had damaged her gardens when he insisted on flying into Buckingham Palace by helicopter — a story the prime minister’s office has since denied.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Foreign spying reaches ‘unprecedented scale’ in Australia
ALP dramas continue as union members refuse to stand for Albanese
‘It won’t die’: Police draw guns on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters
Self-harmed Nauru detainee flown to Queensland
Boris Johnson threatens to withhold $55 billion from no-deal Brexit
Tensions flare as revamped White Night draws to a close
Indigenous Australians more likely to be jailed than African Americans
$80,000 pay rises in plan to tackle ‘low status’ of teaching in Australia
Church backs climate strike for its 10,000 students
Juvenile Justice bosses ‘approved unlawful isolation’, lawsuit claims
Water fight: minister attacks river scientists
NSW MPs ‘completely lost’ on potential foreign influence
Trump hints at tariff cooling-off ($)
Super giant to impose 100pc carbon reduction targets ($)
CFMEU threatens Setka with Federal Court action ($)
Massive pumice ‘raft’ spotted in the Pacific could help replenish Great Barrier Reef
CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY
Tim Fischer, maverick and curate’s egg, stared down extremists
“Fischer also understood something that today’s generation of Liberals and Nationals have forgotten: that One Nation not merely can, but must, be fought. With Fischer labelling Pauline Hanson’s vilification of Chinese-Australians divisive and wrong and attacking her economic lunacy, and Queensland senator Ron Boswell assiduously exposing One Nation’s links to the far-right fringe groups, the Nationals held the electoral line against the first outbreak of Hansonite racism in the 1998 election. Fischer, unlike his successors, never forgot the lesson. Earlier this year, he called for One Nation to be placed last by the Nationals after revelations it had treacherously sought funding from extremist US groups to undermine the Howard-Fischer gun laws. Instead, Nationals in the LNP preferenced One Nation, helping deliver Hanson her best electoral result ever.”
The Pell culture war rolls on…
“But the mix of judicial endorsement and sheer power-political “we got a win” has utterly swapped the polarities: the right is using the language of institutional critique — courts are influenced by ideology, expressive of wider power relations etc — while the progressives are identifying a lower court verdict and a two-to-one appeal as an expression of the judicial system’s truth-defining powers. If the High Court takes an appeal from Pell, then a final upholding will confirm this crossover absolutely, while a quashing of the conviction will drive everyone nuts.”
‘We have wasted too much time doing heavy lifting for white Australia’: Stan Grant
“Goodes regularly had prejudice, racism and venom spat at him during his last years as a footballer. But, as extraordinary as the experience was, it wasn’t unique. Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri man, says the situation is all too familiar. ‘I think the reality is in Australia, if you’re an Aboriginal person and you’re seen as being successful then somehow you need to soften the blow,’ he says. ‘You have to hold your tongue. You have to be grateful for your success, and Adam decided that he was going to stand up and speak about these things… he touched that sore point in Australia. Our history is our sore point.’”
THE COMMENTARIAT
Dipping our toe into the Gulf is fraught with risk – Tony Walker (The Age/Sydney Morning Herald): “The point is that the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf is one of the world’s most treacherous waterways. It is certainly the most commercially sensitive since a third of the world’s seaborne tradeable oil transits each day. Accidents can happen. This is far from a risk-free exercise. Canberra may be making a limited commitment at this stage but what if there is an incident leading to an escalation and Australia finds itself embroiled in a wider conflict? Would Morrison resist pressures from Washington for reinforcements? I don’t think so, especially if an Australian naval vessel was damaged or sunk.”
The US needs allies like Australia in this uncertain world ($) – Christopher Pyne (The Adelaide Advertiser): “Australia should be there. We are the United States’ best ally. We share each other’s values. We have been in every major military action in which it was in Australia’s national interests to be engaged with the US since 1917. It is in our national interests to protect international shipping and freedom of navigation. Critically, the United States needs allies in this uncertain world that step up when they need to and take part in operations. Any country can say they support the international rules based order and rely on the US for their protection. The better ally is the one that does more than talk – when requested, they act. That’s Australia.”
The Coalition’s border cruelty has been exposed – and Jacqui Lambie will decide if it returns – Katharine Murphy (The Guardian): “You might need a minute or two to process these insights, not because they are particularly complex, but because we don’t always take the time to analyse what’s happening. We don’t reflect on the fact our government, and governments before the current one, use (and have used) cruelty deliberately, institutionally, as a matter of policy, to assert our sovereignty, and dissuade asylum seekers from coming to Australia by boat. We don’t tend to think about this for two reasons. The first is it all happens out of our sight. The second is a self-protective mechanism: if we remember that institutional cruelty is deployed on our behalf, it triggers moral discomfort.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Melbourne
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The inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day in police custody will begin, with her family to host a vigil and smoking ceremony with the community beforehand.
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James Baillieu, cousin to former premier Ted Baillieu, will appear in court, charged with using a black texta to graffiti a signboard in an ongoing fight with stockbroking firm Baillieu Limited.
Sydney
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Energy Minister Angus Taylor will launch the Business Energy Advice Program to help eligible small businesses to spend less on energy.
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Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Minister for the Arts Don Harwin will join Sydney Fringe Festival CEO Kerri Glasscock to announce funding for Fringe HQ, a pilot project featuring four low-cost performance spaces across three levels in Kings Cross.
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An upper house inquiry into the operation and management of the Northern Beaches Hospital will begin.
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ICAC will hold a public inquiry as part of an investigation it is conducting into allegations concerning political donations, the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), members of Chinese Friends of Labor and others.
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A funeral will be held for for Sydney CBD stabbing victim Michaela Dunn.
Brisbane
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A trial will begin for Logan councillor Stacey McIntosh, accused of siphoning more than $180,000 from an engineering company into her own bank accounts.
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Former prime minister Kevin Rudd will give a speech entitled “Alternative Visions for Australia’s Future” at UQ.
Gold Coast
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Dreamworld in partnership with Save the Bilby Fund will announce the progress of the Greater Bilby National Recovery Plan.
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Minister for Police and Corrective Services Mark Ryan along with Commissioner of Police Katarina Carroll will officially open the Youth, Technology and Virtual Communities Conference, with delegates from 17 countries across the world.
Perth
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Suspended lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi will appear before the inquiry into the City of Perth.
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A state funeral will be held for Graham “Polly” Farmer, the first indigenous coach in VFL/AFL history.
Jakarta, Indonesia
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Anthony Albanese will make his first overseas visit since becoming federal opposition leader.
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