Who decides if we go to war?

Saturday Dec 17

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This week in politics, Maeve McGregor reported on why the Defence Department opposes stripping the prime minister’s power to enter armed conflict without parliamentary oversight, Guy Rundle wrote on Labor’s Christmas gift to itself, and Charlie Lewis checked in on all the losers from the 2022 election to see what they’re up to.

Meanwhile, a director of public prosecutions has levelled serious allegations against the federal police over the Bruce Lehrmann case. Lawyer Michael Bradley argued for an inquiry to get to the bottom of what happened.

Also this week, Cam Wilson discussed the online conspiracies familiar to one of the Queensland shooters, and explained why the Twitter Files are Elon Musk’s QAnon. Plus, Alex McKinnon delved into the truth behind NIMBYism in Sydney.

Give a gift you can feel wonderful about. Right now you can give a year of Crikey for 50% off.

Have a great weekend,

Gina Rushton,
News editor

‘We killed them’: Queensland shooters posted video online after attack

CAM WILSON

A now-deleted YouTube account shows footage of the Wieambilla shooters foreshadowing violence against police in the lead-up to the attack.

A screenshot of a YouTube video posted by Wieambilla shooters Stacey and Gareth Train (Image: YouTube/Mrs Yugi Girawil)

Defence says the Parliament should have no say on whether Australia goes to war

MAEVE MCGREGOR

The department believes Australia's national security would be threatened if politicians, not just the prime minister, were given a say.

(Image: AAP)

Labor’s shrewd move on price caps saps all Christmas cheer from the Coalition

GUY RUNDLE

The Albanese government has boxed the LNP in: if it votes no it will be forever aligned with the bad guys who don't care about the public.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch)

Where are they now? Catching up with the MPs who lost their seats in 2022

CHARLIE LEWIS

A combination of independents and Greens turfed out a remarkable number of MPs in 2022. Crikey sees what they've been up to since.

Josh Frydenberg, Tim Wilson and Kristina Keneally (Images: AAP)

The Lehrmann case

AFP accused of 18-month ‘interference’ campaign on Lehrmann’s behalf: read the extraordinary letter

ANTON NILSSON

Crikey has obtained the full letter sent by Canberra's top prosecutor to an Australian Federal Police chief.

(Image: AAP/Private Media)

Has the AFP rotted from within? A judicial inquiry is needed to get to the bottom of the Lehrmann case

MICHAEL BRADLEY

The ACT director of public prosecutions has levelled a number of serious accusations at federal police. An inquiry is desperately needed to find out what really happened.

The Twitter Files are becoming Elon Musk’s QAnon

CAM WILSON

A deep dive into internal documents promised accountability. Instead it's morphed into a conspiracy with the billionaire as the platform's saviour.

Elon Musk (Image: Sipa USA/John Lamparski)

Ukrainian Australians say pro-Russian abuse is on the rise after attack at rally

AMBER SCHULTZ

A representative of the Ukrainian Australian community wants police to better protect it and crack down on right-wing extremism.

The 76-year-old man waits for medical assistance (Image: Supplied)

Katherine Deves, Portishead, and the glorious history of artists telling politicians to sod off

CHARLIE LEWIS

Katherine Deves' run-in with Portishead's Geoff Barrow last week is just the latest incident in a glorious history of political figures being told by their heroes to get lost.

Katherine Deves (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)

Conspiracy talk

Wieambilla shooter posted on online conspiracy forums about police ‘corruption’, gun rights

CAM WILSON

One of the men named as responsible for the Queensland police shooting, Gareth Train, has an extensive history of paranoid posts on Australian conspiracy websites.

(Image: AAP)

Experts renew warnings about threat of conspiracy and sovereign citizen movements after Queensland shooting

CAM WILSON

While little is known about the motives of Gareth and Nathaniel Train, radicalisation and conspiracy experts say their case may be an example of broader, concerning trends.

It took Scott Morrison many hours and a wall of words to blame others for robodebt

ANTON NILSSON

The former PM offered up a number of explanations for why the illegal scheme was allowed to go ahead — none of which were his fault.

Scott Morrison at the robodebt royal commission on Wednesday (Image: Supplied)

‘Asshole’, ‘jackass’, ‘arrogant prick’: a potted history of politicians’ hot mic moments

MAEVE MCGREGOR

It happens to the best — and the worst — of them, from one side of the world to the other: moments of truth.

Peter Dutton and Jacinda Ardern (Images: AAP/Sam Mooy, David Alexander)

Crikey Arsehat of the Year 2022 — the nominees

CHARLIE LEWIS

Who was the best at being the worst in 2022? Vote now in Crikey's prestigious Arsehat of the Year awards.

(Image: Private Media/Zennie)

Crikey Person of the Year 2022 — the nominees

CHARLIE LEWIS

Who do you think should win Crikey's 2022 Person of the Year award? Vote now!

(Image: Private Media/Zennie)

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