Brexit deal hangs in the balance

DEAL OR NO DEAL (OR NOT)

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has secured a Brexit deal with the EU and is urging parliament to approve it this Saturday, The Guardian reports.

Johnson tweeted that he had secured “a great new deal”, while European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wrote, “Where there is a will, there is a #deal”. However, the crucial Northern Irish Democratic Unionist party has rejected the deal, writing, “we could not support what is being suggested on customs”. Without the DUP, Johnson needs the votes of the European Research Group, expelled Tories and a handful of Labour MPs. Donald Tusk, president of the European council, has refused to rule out an extension if the deal fails, in what The Guardian calls “a blow” to Johnson, who was pitching Saturday’s vote in the Commons as a choice between deal or no deal.

‘PAUSE’ IN SYRIA

The US has this morning announced a ceasefire in north-eastern Syria following talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US Vice President Mike Pence, Nine reports. Pence had traveled to Ankara to “reaffirm” the US’ relationship with Turkey and to push for a ceasefire in an exchange for the lifting of sanctions against Turkish officials. The halt will allow Kurdish fighters enough time to withdraw from Turkey’s planned 30 kilometer “safe zone” on the border.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called the action a “pause in military operations”, refusing to describe it as a ceasefire, while Donald Trump heralded the news as “a great day for civilisation”.

RACEHORSE CRUELTY

A major 7.30 investigation has uncovered shocking treatment of racehorses, with hundreds of retired horses being sent to slaughterhouses in contravention of racing rules.

Disturbing footage obtained by the ABC shows horses being sent to abattoirs in numbers greater than the 1% currently claimed by Racing Australia, along with multiple allegations of animal cruelty, including electric shocks and lashings. Racing Australia has released a statement saying that the “provision of appropriate care and attention of thoroughbred horses is a critical priority”. Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi called the revelations “absolutely devastating”, calling for inquiries in each state into wastage and animal cruelty in horse racing.

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THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

I hate ISIS more than you do.

Donald Trump

The US President tells House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he cares more about defeating terrorism than her in a heated White House meeting.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Turkey’s Erdogan ‘threw Trump’s Syria letter in bin’

Constitutional referendum should be held before election, Ken Wyatt says

Reserve Bank hands government $1.7 billion dividend as new notes hits counterfeiters

Keneally angers Government by breaking agreement on terrorism legislation

Secrecy law a burden: HRC ($)

Security cracks down at airports, post offices amid African swine fever threat

Climate change stand on London train turns nasty as commuters attack protester

‘Deep distress’: Anglican churches reject Sydney archbishop’s stance on same-sex marriage

Kashmir Five killed in region’s deadliest day since losing special status

Australian man shot dead in Texas during home invasion

‘Inexplicable’: Mentally ill asylum seeker sent away from promised treatment on 5,400km Qantas round trip

Stripped bare: Farmers prosecuted for land clearing allege former NSW minister gave them green light

Rightwing terrorism: Labor pushes for greater response to extreme threat

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

George calls on his wedding night to set the record straight(ish)

Kirsten Drysdale

Oct 17, 2019

“Christensen was right about one thing — much of what we were discussing regarding his travel to south-east Asia, and the related inquiries by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), has been rehashed. But that’s because of the unanswered questions and curious details that keep emerging and keep the story alive. Is it a conspiracy? Is he a victim? This is either the most disgraceful, unfair political smear campaign in Australian history, or a bizarre cover-up. Or maybe, it’s something in between. And even after he called me at 8.13pm on his wedding night to answer questions about it, I’m not sure I was any closer to the truth.”

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The 2020 debates are a hot dog eating contest 

Patrick Marlborough

Oct 17, 2019

4

“My love of the American grotesque has brought me back to this country again and again. The American knack for, and dependence on, spectacle has led me to hot dog eating contests, Halloween dog-costume parades, and underground wrestling matches where men smash florescent light tubes on their opponents’ balding skulls. I am drawn to these spectacles because in them you see and feel the quintessence of America and what it is to be American. In the moments where that energy hits you, usually somewhere between the 72nd and 73rd hot dog, you begin to understand things like Hiroshima, the Iraq War, and Donald Trump. You understand the U.S of A.”

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This level of unthinking ignorance on pill-testing is astounding

Michael Bradley

Oct 17, 2019

24

“Ignoring the question of why some drugs are illegal and others not, which is a moral issue dressed up as a public safety one, my interest is in the peculiar policy logic of prohibition. Why do lawmakers mulishly pursue policies that are known, beyond any doubt whatsoever, to be futile? The guide book on prohibition was written by, well, Prohibition. The United States enacted the 18th amendment to its constitution in 1919, making it illegal to produce, transport or sell alcohol throughout the country. Its policy basis was strictly moral: the temperance movement had identified liquor as the root cause of marital and family breakdown and it was widely seen as an evil influence on society.Famously, by the time Prohibition was repealed in 1933, it had not just failed to stop people from desiring a drink (and getting one); it had fuelled the rise of organised crime. Al Capone reputedly turned over $60 million a year in the 1920s from illicit liquor enterprises.”

THE COMMENTARIAT

Labor, the men who run it and their ‘female worker bees’  – Jenna Price (The Age/Sydney Morning Herald): “The women from Emily’s List Australia have never before made public their submissions to the endless reviews of the ALP. That’s changed with this latest review led by Jay Weatherill and Craig Emerson. The women are sick to death of being ignored. The recommendations are excoriating, in the politest possible way. The ALP stereotypes women as worker bees and not strategists, says Tanja Kovac, the national co-convenor of Emily’s List Australia. She says it needs to change if the ALP wants to win government considering women make up more than half of voters. For God’s sake, develop a strategic plan to win government. Increase the numbers of women in campaign decision-making and campaign staffing. Hire women who understand how to implement gender-based campaigns because that’s the key to winning campaigns. And on it goes.”

We’re failing the people NDIS was designed to support ($) – Sam Crosby and Angela Jackson (The Australian): “The NDIS was supposed to help people such as Jordan and Logan live their best lives. Yet the brothers don’t qualify for issues related to their rare disease under the NDIS because their condition has an “underlying medical cause”. Now if you think the presence of an underlying medical cause is a strange reason to invalidate someone from the NDIS, you wouldn’t be alone. The reason for this odd carve-out is, of course, political. At the inception of the NDIS, the then Labor government was worried expanding disability services would give the states an opportunity to shift the cost of health services to the commonwealth. So the new scheme was explicitly designed to cover supports for daily living, but not medical expenses. The problem is that for many participants, particularly those with rare diseases, the line between health and disability ser­vices is blurred to the point of meaninglessness.”

I’m gay, married, and not leaving my church – Joel Hollier (The Guardian): “I had bought into the false narrative of “gay versus God.” It is a narrative of faithful saints buttressing the truth before being socially martyred for refusing to capitulate to culture. It has on its side the weight of history and a simplistic understanding of the Bible, in much the same way that the institution of slavery appealed to the masses for centuries by its simple, “plain” reading of certain texts. However, here stand I. Gay, married to a man, unashamedly Christian, and unapologetically Anglican. Like many Christians around the world, I read widely, thought deeply and came to a different conclusion to this traditional interpretation. Herein lies the rub: we have no intention of leaving, at least not just yet, because these people are our family and, believe it or not, we have grown quite fond of them.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Sydney

• The Older Women’s Network will hold its national conference, with the theme of housing insecurity and homelessness for older women, the fastest growing demographic facing these issues.

• Pipers, drummers, fiddlers, dancers and military personnel from around the globe will take to the field at ANZ Stadium for what the organisers say is the biggest Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo ever staged.

• A state memorial will be held for Jane Hamilton Mathews AO, the first woman appointed to full judicial office in NSW

Ballina, New South Wales

• Portfolio Committee 7 will hold its second hearing for the inquiry into koala populations and habitat in NSW.

Brisbane

• The commercial radio industry’s national radio conference, Radio Alive 2019, will be held at the Royal International Convention Centre

• A court mention will be held in the Department of Environment and Science’s case against Adani, after it allegedly contravened the Environmental Protection Act by providing false or misleading information.

Melbourne

• A final directions hearing will be held ahead of November’s Bourke Street tragedy inquest, confirming legal representation for Victoria Police members and a proposed witness schedule.

• Australia’s largest Harry Potter concept store will open at Myer Melbourne, with a dedicated Harry Potter & The Cursed Child ticket booth and the train trolley entering Platform 9 3⁄4.

Bendigo, Victoria

• Students will celebrate German Day at Bendigo Art Gallery with performances, tours, gallery trails and art activities.

Hobart

• Recipients of the 2020 Tasmania Australian of the Year Awards will be announced in a ceremony at Government House.

Perth

• Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will address the Australian International Education Conference.