Truth or consequences

DEFAME AND MISFORTUNE

Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyers will try to prove former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann did rape Brittany Higgins as part of the journalist’s defence in the defamation suit brought by him, the SMH ($) reports. Lehrmann has maintained his innocence and the rape charge against him was dropped amid concern for Higgins’ health. Wilkinson filed her defence yesterday — she says Lehrmann was not named in the interview, Guardian Australia reports, and besides, the one-year limitation period for bringing a defamation claim had long passed (Lehrmann says the court should ignore the expired deadline). Interestingly, Wilkinson’s silk, Sue Chrysanthou, and her team will argue the reporting was true — and so the case should get qualified privilege. They’ll also claim Lehrmann “falsely denied having sexual intercourse with Higgins”, the ABC continues, and point out then prime minister Scott Morrison apologised to Higgins for the “terrible things that took place here”.

To another high-profile defamation case, and we’ve been given a rare glimpse of how former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case began. An SAS soldier known as Person 7 was revealed as a key source for journalists at two media organisations — veteran Four Corners reporter Chris Masters and reporters at 60 Minutes. It was 2015, and Masters was writing his book, No Front Line: Australia’s Special Forces at War in Afghanistan. During their off-the-record conversations Person 7 made “many comments”, as the ABC delicately puts it, about Roberts-Smith who he had worked alongside in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith claims allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence published by the SMH, The Age and The Canberra Times were false and defamatory. It comes as a report revealed half of Australian journalists don’t publish things they know are true because of the fear of our crazy-strict defamation laws, The Newcastle Herald ($) reports. The New York Times ($) called Australia the “defamation capital of the world”.

[free_worm]

IT’S ELECTRIFYING!

We’ve got to electrify and de-gas our homes, but it’s going to cost more than $60 billion, according to the peak body for pipeline infrastructure. The Australian Pipelines and Gas Association’s boss Steve Davies told The Australian ($) that independent Senator David Pocock’s calculation that it’d cost $11.3 million for an ACT suburb proves it, considering Australia is home to 5.1 million households. Pocock’s figure came from a model that suggested we give $13,000 to 1000 homes in Canberra so they can electrify everything. Meanwhile Treasurer Jim Chalmers has blocked a Chinese investor from boosting his 10% stake in a rare earth miner called Northern Minerals, the AFR ($) reports. Wu Tao, who heads up Yuxiao Fund, wanted to double that stake to 19.9% but the treasurer said no amid heightened caution about foreign ownership of our critical minerals.

In the NT now and 700 people are being evacuated as the upper Victoria River rises to an expected peak of 17.3 metres, The New Daily reports. The community of Daguragu (550 kilometres south of Darwin) has been isolated by floodwaters for two days, NT police commander Daniel Bacon said. It comes a year on from the devastating Lismore floods, NewsHub reports, and people are still living in tents there. And flooding is affecting our fiscal health too. Yesterday the ABS said the sopping wet La Niña we’ve had is raining down on our economic activity — agriculture gross value decreased by 2.8% in the last few months of 2022, road transport gross value declined 1.1%, food, beverage and tobacco product manufacturing by 0.4%, wholesale trade (like machinery equipment) declined a whopping 6.9%, and coal production declined 1.5%. More extreme weather events — like more powerful La Niñas — is just one of the many consequences of climate change inaction.

SUPERMONEY

Non-compete clauses are stopping Aussie workers from moving into better jobs with more pay and conditions, Competition Minister Andrew Leigh will say today. A non-compete clause basically stops other businesses from poaching staff from their rivals, as the SMH ($) explains and Leigh will have watchdog ACCC look at whether they are effectively seeing workers sign away their rights. Real wages have grown just $18 a week in a decade, the MP says. Dismal. But Richard Holden says Australia is hardly the odd one out — “Real wages grew slowly in most advanced economies during the 2010s,” he writes for the AFR ($). He blames it on Moore’s Law rather than an “international neoliberal conspiracy” against workers as others are suggesting.

Meanwhile, the superannuation debate continues to rage after the Albanese government said it would lift the tax rate from 15% to 30% on superannuation earnings for balances over $3 million. It affects just 80,000 accounts, and Guardian Australia explains you’d need to earn $200,000 for your entire working life to even approach a balance that high. That hasn’t stopped the opposition from declaring the government has waged a war on middle Australia. The Coalition reckons half a million public servants could be impacted by the change because the $3 million threshold was not indexed, as The Australian ($) reports. But David Speers at the ABC writes this morning that the “timid” change is an “important turning point for Labor”, saying the government is finally taking a risk to fix our budget.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

It’s February 1916, the last British troops had left Gallipoli, the television was a mere twinkle in John Logie Baird’s (et al) eye, the first blood transfusion had taken place, and a woman named Christabel Mennell sat down to write a letter. She was the daughter of a wealthy local tea merchant named Henry Tuke Mennell, and she was corresponding with Katie Marsh, the wife of a local stamp magnate. “My dear Katie,” the letter begins, I must confess I am feeling “quite ashamed of myself after saying what I did,” and also very “miserable here with a very heavy cold”. But Katie would have stewed to her death about the unknown transgression because the letter was lost by the British postal service and never delivered. Until now. It turned up in the letterbox of a flat in south London last month, more than a century after it was written.

A 27-year-old bloke named Finlay Glen peered at the aged envelope, which was puckering in one corner, and noticed it was dated “6 Feb 16”. Little did he know it was 1916, not 2016 — he tore the envelope open and was astounded to read the contents from a century bygone. It’s a crime to read mail not addressed to you, the prim BBC notes, to which a sheepish Glen says “he can only apologise”. He encouraged the descendants of either Katie or Christabel to get in touch if they’d like the “amazing piece of their family history”. As for Royal Mail, better late than never, I suppose. A spokesperson said it was “uncertain what happened in this instance”. I like to think a lowly paid postal worker noticed it jammed into a crevice somewhere and, instead of just binning it, popped it back into circulation with a smile. It’s magical little moments in life like these that can remind us to feel awe.

Hoping you feel heard today.

SAY WHAT?

Albanese is a nice bloke. That is not the issue. Dutton is a tough cookie. We live in tough times. Give me the tough bloke every day.

Alan Jones

A compelling argument from the former radio broadcaster in Spectator Australia this morning. He asked whether we have a “prime minister of broken promises” who would’ve been “flogged” by Scott Morrison had he gone to the election with this super tax change.

CRIKEY RECAP

Does the RBA actually care about inflation or is it waging class warfare?

Maeve McGregor

Mar 01, 2023

126

“Perplexing because on the central bank’s own analysis, there’s nothing to indicate existing inflationary pressures are being driven solely or even primarily by demand as opposed to supply-side problems, the latter of which are the result of things it can’t plausibly influence, much less control. Perplexing, too, because average real wage growth at the time of the first interest rate rise was, as it is now, utterly non-existent.

“And dangerous, because the RBA’s preoccupation with hitting households over and over with higher interest rates is itself fuelling inflation as corporations exploit its rhetoric to jack up their profits, risking — in the eyes of some leading economists — a recession in the long run.”

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Our justice system ignores the fully conscious behaviours of child sexual predators

Michael Bradley

Mar 01, 2023

22

Here is how Nine News reported the sentencing outcome: ‘Collingwood superfan dodges jail over child sex abuse’. It is a phenomenon so universal that we are conditioned to not notice it: perpetrators — whether alleged or convicted — are routinely elevated by the media to the highest extent of their accomplishments, while their victims are reduced to the lowest.

“What is the relevance of Corfe’s status as a ‘superfan’, or the social utility of including in news reportage of his crime — as Nine did — of a photo of him barracking at a Collingwood game in full club colours? It has none, but it humanises him.”

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ABC staff to strike for 40 minutes next Tuesday, in hope for better pay deal

John Buckley

Mar 01, 2023

6

“On Wednesday, media union members at the ABC voted in support of a 40-minute walkout from 2pm next Tuesday, half an hour before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board is expected to announce whether or not it will raise the official cash rate for the tenth consecutive month, a significant national news event.

“One day earlier, the results of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA)’s protected action ballot, which asked ABC members to vote on nine protected action options, revealed near absolute support for a sweep of options.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

‘A terrible night’: at least 36 dead and 85 injured in fiery Greek train crash (EuroNews)

Exclusive: Tesla readies revamp of Model Y codenamed ‘Juniper’ (Reuters)

[NZ] Parliament occupation: $8.32 million in costs still growing one year on (Stuff)

Who is Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president-elect? (Al Jazeera)

FBI director endorses theory COVID-19 virus may have leaked from Chinese lab (The Guardian)

Modi govt allowed Adani coal deals it knew were ‘inappropriate’ (Al Jazeera)

Greta Thunberg has joined a protest against wind farms. Here’s why. (CNN)

THE COMMENTARIAT

Balance of power in Asia now shifting away from China — Alan Dupont (The Australian) ($): “Driven by Beijing’s aggressive and uncompromising behaviour, Japan is rapidly emerging from its post-war pacifism. The Kishida government’s historic decision to double defence spending by 2027 will give Japan the world’s third largest defence budget after the US and China. But that’s not all. Buying and producing long-range missiles will make China and North Korea think twice about striking Japan. Kishida’s agreement to allow the deployment of a restructured US marine corps force to Japan’s south-western islands equipped with lethal, mobile anti-ship missiles will seriously complicate China’s plans to attack Taiwan.

“Equally game changing is the breakthrough agreement with the Philippines to allow the US access to four additional military facilities. These will be crucial to the defence of Taiwan as well as the Philippines. The agreement will allow the US to pre-position equipment, better supply its forces and threaten China’s navy from the land in the event of conflict. The political and strategic multiplier effect of Biden’s coalition building will be difficult for China to counter. Unlike the centralised hub-and-spokes model of the old US-led Asian alliance system, the evolving latticework of partnerships and coalitions is more flexible, dynamic and fit for the times. The US guides, supports and enables. But partners have much more freedom to choose the scope of their defence and security co-operation with the US as well as with other partners.”

Dutton risks being blamed if the Voice fails or deemed irrelevant if it succeeds — Niki Savva (The SMH) ($): “If Dutton wants to signal that he has heeded the messages, rather than snipe from the sidelines, he should announce sooner rather than later that he wants the referendum to succeed, and that he will vote for the Voice while knowing many of his MPs will vote No. He can then work in good faith with Parliament to refine the question before it goes to a referendum. He can then also pledge that if it succeeds, he will fight tooth and nail to ensure that its infrastructure is designed to best fulfil its mission without going beyond its intended charter.

“Otherwise, if the referendum fails, he will be blamed. If it succeeds, he will be irrelevant. Saying No will win the applause of the Sky After Dark sirens, whose counsel will lead him only to another glorious defeat. And his sorry-I-was-not-sorry declaration of a few weeks ago on the apology to the Stolen Generations will count for nothing. If the Voice fails despite his positive intervention, he would be free to blame the prime minister for any strategic, tactical or rhetorical missteps — and there have been a few — since the debate began with a vengeance last year. Dutton deserves credit for keeping his side united since last May. Unity is important. It is not everything. Leadership matters more, as does courage.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Yuggera and Turrbal Country (also known as Brisbane)

• Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner will speak about the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the Queensland Media Club.

Ngunnawal country (also known as Canberra)

• Minister for Women Katy Gallagher will give the 2023 Susan Ryan Oration at the ANU’s Marie Reay Teaching Centre.

Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)

• Assistant Minister for Treasury Andrew Leigh will speak about how uncompetitive markets can hurt workers, at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.

• Judges Alice Pung, Astrid Edwards, Beejay Silcox, Jeff Sparrow and Alison Whittaker will announce the books longlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize, at the Wheeler Centre.