Another Orwellian triumph today for Aussie fascists, via the ABC: The Federal Attorney-General has granted limited protection that could shield ABC and News Corp employees from facing charges over their reporting. Christian Porter has instructed Commonwealth prosecutors not to charge journalists under certain sections of Australia’s complex secrecy laws without his formal approval. Two ABC
Via the NYT comes the things that splatter: President Trump pushed the Australian prime minister during a recent telephone call to help Attorney General William P. Barr gather information for a Justice Department inquiry that Mr. Trump hopes will discredit the Mueller investigation, according to two American officials with knowledge of the call. The White
We begin with The Australian providing a platform to the Chinese diplomatic propaganda machine of ambassador Cheng Jingye who says Australia should remember it depends on China for its economic success: …he said it could take another 30 years before China could be considered developed — a timeline that could deliver the country up to
Great stuff from George Magnus, former UBS chief global economist and China doyen, in a terrific article by Angus Grigg: Magnus, who last year published Red Flags; Why Xi’s China is in Jeopardy, cites demographics, debt levels and the lack of independent institutions as the key points of Beijing’s vulnerability. And he says any faltering
When you gut your industrial base certain things flow in due course. Via the ABC: A push to make Australia a “top 10” weapons exporter appears to be faltering, with analysis suggesting the country has instead become one of the world’s largest arms importers, second only to Saudi Arabia. Figures compiled by the renowned Stockholm
From Labor rising star and shadow Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, at the annual Light on the Hill address: “We need to listen to the message we were sent, and learn from the result. Clearly, we won’t take an identical set of policies to the next election as we took to the last. We need to look
It appears Thunberg-bashing is not hurting the Greens in the latest Newspoll. Primary votes show a ramp as both major parties fall: Two-party preferred is unchanged with Labor within striking distance at 49-51: As the ALP dunderheads push towards the “aspirational centre” of LNP sameness, the Greens and other minor parties may fly.
It’s all the way with the USA, says David Crowe: Morrison believes that Australian interest is in telling China the old way cannot continue. This is a risk. Chinese observers already talk of a “freeze” in relations; now there is the prospect of a further chill. Morrison has logic on his side but will not
There’s nothing in its way now. At the AFR comes Generalissimo Josh Recessionberg: …Treasury estimates that a 10 per cent increase in house prices could result in a corresponding lift to GDP of about half a per cent. With Australia’s annual population growth continuing to be strong at 1.6 per cent and the government’s record
This is one for Betoota: In just five hours, those living in the coastal town of Stockton Beach watched in horror as the heart and soul of their community was washed away. “It’s a crisis, a complete crisis,” Lucas Gresham, a local of five generations, told news.com.au. “We’ve lost our suburb, because that beach is
Via New Daily: China has lashed out at the Australian government after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for the Asian powerhouse to be reclassified as a developed economy. Following Donald Trump’s lead, Mr Morrison used his speech to business leaders in Chicago to urge the East Asian country to admit it was no longer a developing country.
Yesteray Generalissimo ScoMo ordered more mortgages, at the AFR: Scott Morrison says Australia’s banks must not shy away from lending after the Hayne commission as he pushes back against what he calls an “instinctiveness” in society towards responsible lending standards that are too onerous. Speaking to the Australian American Association in New York, the Prime Minister
Via The Guardian: Scott Morrison is increasingly seen as running a “denialist government” that is not serious about finding a global climate solution and uses “greenwash” to meet its emissions commitments, analysts and former diplomats say. Australian observers in New York said Morrison’s failure to attend a UN climate action summit on Monday despite being
They come to visit as guests and spend most of the time pouring scorn upon you. Via Domain: Australia is the pioneer of a global anti-China campaign, a high-level Chinese embassy delegation has claimed, as relations between the two countries fall to among the worst in the developed world. Accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of
Nine years ago I wrote: Australian housing doesn’t have anything to do with economics. It long since ceased being a “market” at all. Rather, it is a political complex – a quango – that represents the single largest page in the socio-economic contract between the government, the Australian financial system and an ageing baby-boomer population.
If only “Labor” put as much effort into governing for the working classes as it did into China groveling. Via the AFR: Australia should embrace closer military co-operation with China, Labor deputy leader and defence spokesman Richard Marles has declared, labelling attempts to define Beijing as an enemy a “profound mistake”. In a significant speech
The Saturday Paper kept Liugate running on the weekend with a fascinating piece starring “Shanghai Sam” Dastayari: Over the past week or so, Sam Dastyari has tried to contact Gladys Liu. The former New South Wales Labor senator feels some sympathy for the beleaguered Victorian Liberal MP, having lost his political career through involvement with
The raw calculus of power was on display for the Australian Prime Minister on the weekend as all of the hopes and dreams of Australia’s China lackeys were mowed down on the White House lawn, via the AFR: Scott Morrison has dug in behind Donald Trump’s push to win significant concessions from China on trade
To finish a pants-shitting week, lets go to the weekend in crisply pressed strides, only with nasty skid marks: China has developed the world’s first portable sonic gun for riot control, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said. The rifle-shaped instrument, which was jointly developed with military and law enforcement, is designed to disperse crowds using
A lot more. Via Domain: Attorney-General Christian Porter says he is prepared to legislate “significant” wage theft penalties – likely to be up to 10 years’ jail – to deter the “unacceptable” practice of persistently underpaying workers, as the government grapples with stagnant wages and a slowing economy. In a wage theft discussion paper to
Liugate day whatever. The questions continue to mount. Today Domain has a good podcast on Gladys Liu, starring Dave Crowe and Chris Uhlmann, which leaks that Ms Liu addressed the Coalition party room on Hong Kong last week, leaving everyone bemused and concerned. At 15.40: What did she say? Why don’t we know? Why is
Liugate rolls on today without the slightest interruption. Indeed, there are signs that it is getting worse. The protection racket around PM Morrison run by The Australian is fraying. First, from Strewth: Another day, another Gladys Liu fundraiser across Strewth’s desk. The latest is “an exclusive cocktail event” presented by the Pinnacle Club (a fundraising
He really has no idea what he is doing. Via The Australian comes Albo kissing Business Council booty: Anthony Albanese will dump Bill Shorten’s anti-business, class warfare rhetoric and launch a charm offensive to win back corporate Australia in a move to reconnect with voters following Labor’s election loss. In a speech to company chief
Via the ABC: Labor is facing accusations it is using “dog whistle” politics in its attack on Liberal backbencher Gladys Liu, who is under sustained pressure amid allegations about her links to China Federal Government Leader in the Senate, Mathias Cormann, told the Parliament Ms Liu had the Coalition’s “full support” to remain as an
Via The Australian comes mafiosi number one, Origin Energy: “The ADGSM or any similar mechanism is an extreme form of intervention that should only be temporary,” Origin said in its submission to the government review. The ADGSM could lead to “an increased likelihood for moral hazard to the extent prospective buyers choose not to enter
Beijing knows an asset when it sees one. From the ultra-nationalist Global Times yesterday: The Bolt Report on Sky News Australia on the night of September 10 was almost like “a bully’s report,” where ultra-conservative anchor Andrew Bolt intimidated and interrogated Gladys Liu, the first Chinese-born female Federal Liberal MP from Chisholm in Victoria, Southeastern
Recall from Reuters yesterday: Australian intelligence determined China was responsible for a cyber-attack on its national parliament and three largest political parties before the general election in May, five people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters… The report, which also included input from the Department of Foreign Affairs, recommended keeping the findings secret
Aussie PM, Shanghai Scott, is on the back foot, at The Guardian: The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has told parliament he misheard a question from a journalist when he denied using the term Shanghai Sam, as Labor continues to attack the government over embattled Chinese-born MP Gladys Liu. In question time on Monday, the Labor leader, Anthony
Dear Mr President, This week the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, will attend a state dinner at the White House. This is terrific honour. But there are several critical issues that you should raise with him. The first is to ask PM Morrison why his government is defending MP Gladys Liu, an ethnic Chinese
Still more fallout from Chinese influence today, this time Labor, at Domain: A NSW Labor MP, who is linked to pro-China community organisations, hired a staffer who completed a propaganda training course in Beijing run by the Chinese Communist Party. Upper house MLC Shaoquett Moselmane, who controversially gave a speech last year proclaiming a “new
