BREXIT TO SQUARE ONE

A court has ruled Boris Johnson’s suspension of UK Parliament unlawful, overturning an earlier ruling which found the courts did not have the power to interfere, the ABC reports. The Court of Session found in favour of more than 75 MPs and Lords who had challenged the prorogation, finding that it was “motivated by the improper purpose of stymying parliament” and declaring it “null and of no effect”. The judges, however, failed to issue any kind of injunction. MPs are calling for parliament to be reconvened immediately, while the British government says it will appeal the decision. A full Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday in London.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, has offered Johnson a non-aggression election pact if he commits to a no-deal Brexit and to the Conservatives standing aside in more than 80 seats. Johnson has rejected the alliance, saying “no pact”, The Guardian reports.

THEY WERE WARNED

The Liberal Party received multiple intelligence community warnings about Gladys Lui’s Chinese Communist Party links prior to her preselection.

Senior Liberals, including two state MPs and a former senior staffer, say that an intelligence community member warned the party against preselecting Liu ($) back in 2018, with concerns about her associates flagged as early as 2015. ASIO director-general Duncan Lewis also advised then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull not to attend a 2018 “meet and greet” organised by Liu, based on the guest list which was forwarded to ASIO for vetting.

Liu yesterday admitted she was once an honorary member of a chapter of the Beijing-linked China Overseas Exchange Association, after previously denying any association.

CLIMATE RETREAT

Labor is considering abandoning its 2030 emissions reduction target, amid concerns a 2022 Labor government would not have time to achieve such a reduction ($), The Australian reports.

Members of Anthony Albanese’s team say they are considering scrapping the plan to cut emissions by 45% by 2030, to instead focus on their clearer proposal of net zero pollution by 2050. Opposition assistant climate change spokesman Pat Conroy said the 2050 target was more important than the 2030 target, while some MPs believe it would now be hard to hit the 45% reduction, even if the party was elected at the next election. Conroy said a final decision had not been made, adding that any new target for 2030 would need to be higher than the government’s “26-28% below 2005 levels” plan.

[free_worm]

THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

There are country people doing it tough. You won’t ever stop yelling out … You are a disgrace. You know you are!

Michael McCormack

The deputy prime minister has been accused of an “unhinged attack”, after hurling abuse at Joel Fitzgibbon during question time.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Back to the drawing board: NAPLAN overhaul on the cards in three-state review

Chinese newspaper uses photo of 9/11 attacks to accuse Hong Kong protesters

Trump calls for Fed’s ‘boneheads’ to slash interest rates below zero

Iran holds four arrested Australians ‘hostage’ ($)

‘Kids won’t get food’: NZ warning on drug testing

Independent doctors backed most medevac transfer refusals

Three top John Bolton allies resign from Trump administration

Teenagers charged over Peregian Beach bushfire on Sunshine Coast

Big four banks and AMP face 86 ASIC probes

‘Special treatment’: Plans revealed for further easing of land clearing rules

University election cancelled after uproar over ‘racist’ foreign student ban

Sixty per cent of Bupa aged care homes are failing basic care standards

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

ScoMo is a John Howard tribute act — a bad one

Dennis Atkins

Sep 11, 2019

41

“Throughout his time at the top, Howard never stopped arguing for his agenda, as well as taking the battle up to his opponents. He seldom lost sight of his maxim that reform was achieved by moving when you had the public with you. Morrison by contrast has shown none of this courage or vision. There’s no sign of a substantial set of political and personal values. We know he’s a committed man of faith who loves his family, his adopted home of Cronulla Shire, and being prime minister.”

A prison cell is no place to ‘sober up’

Russell Marks

Sep 11, 2019

5

“It’s been years since I practised law in Victoria, but it’s pleasing to see the state is at long last repealing its draconian public drunkenness offence; an action called for nearly three decades ago by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. But there are other laws still on the books around the country which lead to similar risks. Take, for instance, the ‘protective custody’ provisions in the Northern Territory’s Police Administration Act. This allows police officers to ‘apprehend’ an intoxicated person, without arresting them, and ‘detain’ them in a police cell for their own protection.”

How climate denialists and fence-sitters are dealing with the country being on fire

Charlie Lewis

Sep 11, 2019

9

“Naturally, in the face of the calamity afflicting his beloved home state, former premier Campbell Newman did what any great statesman would do: he went searching through the archives to prove it really wasn’t that big a deal. ‘Very sad to see the destruction of these fires … it isn’t unprecedented though,’ he tweeted, before sharing clippings of a couple of news stories from the early 1950s proving that, yes, fires had happened in Queensland before. No mention of the record drought between January and August, or the apparent burning of subtropical forest surrounding Binna Burra, which, again, usually enjoys fire-resistant conditions (though less so in recent years).”

THE COMMENTARIAT

Your honeymoon is over, PM: it’s time to fill the policy vacuum – John Hewson (The Age/Sydney Morning Herald): “Wedging will get Morrison a standing ovation at a Liberal Party state executive meeting – but it won’t deliver good government. By pursuing these narrow interpretations of values, rather than governing in the broader national interest, Morrison is in danger of painting himself and his government into a very small electoral corner. For what it’s worth, the latest Newspoll is 51/49 in the government’s favour – so little has changed. The biggest danger for Morrison is that he starts to believe his own rhetoric and favourable initial media. I had hoped, perhaps naively, that Morrison would turn his miracle into genuine good government and reform, particularly with productivity, innovation, tax and transfers, climate and energy, and relations with China and our near region. Unfortunately, Morrison is proving to be no better than his predecessors, with little interest in a long-term policy agenda, preferring to run on prejudice and opportunism.”

Lives changed, despite Cashless welfare could transform lives, no thanks to Labor ($) – Simon Beson (The Australian): “Labor’s beef now is with what it claims will be unintended consequences of a national scheme in highly urbanised areas where circum­stances can be a world away from the remote communit­ies where it has been trialled. But Labor may find itself on the wrong side of the political argument. It has landed on a position that puts it at odds with some local communities, several respected indigenous leaders and national polls that show up to 80 per cent of Australians support a cashless welfare card.”

The treasurer claimed the gender pay gap has closed. Job done! Except for the facts – Emma Dawson (The Guardian): “So how could the treasurer get his facts so wrong on such a fundamental issue? Frydenberg clarified his statement the following day, saying that the pay gap is at “a record low”, a claim he has subsequently boasted about on Twitter. Isn’t this, then, cause for celebration? Not really. As one of Australia’s foremost experts on gender and work, Professor Rae Cooper from the University of Sydney noted when the latest statistics were released, the reduction in the pay gap over the last five years has coincided with a period of “chronically depressed male wages”. That is, a large proportion of the decrease in the pay gap can be attributed to falling average full-time incomes for men over the last five years – a result largely due to the collapse of employment in the mining sector, as the end of the boom and a rapid uptake of automation has seen high-paid jobs, disproportionately held by men, disappear.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

The Latest Headlines

WHAT’S ON TODAY

National

  • R U OK? Day will encourage all Australians to “Trust the Signs, Trust their Gut, and Ask, ‘Are you OK?’” to support anyone who might be struggling with life’s ups and downs.

  • Prince Edward will attend events in Sydney, Wollongong, Alice Springs and Darwin to celebrate 60 years of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in Australia.

Sydney

  • Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor, R U OK? ambassadors, and the Sydney community will join together to launch R U OK?  Day.

  • The ICAC inquiry into allegations concerning ALP NSW branch officials and others will continue hearings.

  • The NSW inquest into music festival drug-related deaths will continue, with evidence expected from former AFP boss Mick Palmer.

  • A Vice-Chancellors’ discussion panel will explore the contribution of universities to Australia’s long-run of economic prosperity and the future role of the higher education.

Melbourne

  • The Tax Institute’s National GST Intensive, Australia’s pre-eminent conference for GST practitioners and corporate advisory specialists, will take place.

  • A directions hearing will take place for Pentridge Village v CFMMEU, after the apartment developer said the union unlawfully delayed construction.

  • A world-first registry to tackle sudden cardiac death in Australia will be launched.

  • A group of Victorian state MPs and their kids will gather for a photo shoot, as parliament works to improve parliament as a child-friendly site.

Perth

  • Over 900 palliative care clinicians and policy makers will gather for the inaugural Oceanic Palliative Care Conference, organised by Palliative Care Australia.

Kalgoorlie, West Australia

  • The Lake Perkolilli Red Dust Revival 2019 will take place, recreating outback motor racing from the ’20s and ’30s on Australia’s oldest race track.

Canberra

  • Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama will arrive in Australia for a five day visit ahead of bilateral talks on Monday.