TWO’S COMPANY
Former prime minister Scott Morrison secretly swearing himself into the home affairs portfolio could void the visa cancellation of a former employee of the US embassy in Afghanistan. He’s known as CEU22, Guardian Australia reports, and he brought the Federal Court case to challenge his visa cancellation by the other home affairs minister at the time, Karen Andrews. If CEU22’s case is successful, imagine the precedent it could set — not just for all visa cancellations by Home Affairs during that part of the Morrison reign, but even the decisions made by ministers heading up Health, Finance, Treasury, and Industry, Science, Energy and Resources during that time. So is it a good case? Maybe. CEU22 says it’s “implied” in the constitution that “the office of minister of the Crown … should be occupied by only one incumbent at any point in time” so — basically — Andrews was booted by Morrison’s self-appointment.
Speaking of ScoMo, a Morrison government fund to slash traffic congestion gave 83% of its projects — some $2.7 billion worth — to Liberal seats, The Age ($) reports. Oink oink. Only a quarter of the dosh went to Labor-held seats in four years, the Infrastructure Department admitted. Labor MP Julian Hill said it was a “giant, stupendous, humongous, massive, colossal, vast, immense, mammoth, gigantic slush fund” on the taxpayer dime. To the robodebt royal commission, and former Coalition government services minister Stuart Robert has recounted a brave story about him learning robodebt could be illegal whereupon he leapt from his chair, marched valiantly down the hallowed halls of Parliament, burst into then PM Morrison’s office and declared his besieged conscience simply could not take it any more! That’s according to Robert, as The New Daily reports, who cast himself as the dismal scheme’s proud slayer yesterday. It’s somewhat at odds with the testimony of two of Canberra’s top public servants who both said Roberts didn’t seem fazed by warnings of robodebt’s illegality.
DEFENCE AND NO TACT
UK Tory MP Simon Fell says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s claim that the UK can’t build us nuclear-powered submarines is baloney, the ABC reports. Fell is the member for Barrow and Furness, where the shipyards that build British navy subs are located. He told ABC’s 7.30 he “simply doesn’t accept that” the UK doesn’t have the capacity, but then rather confusingly added “we can build that capacity” and that the UK’s subs program had a bunch already on the production line, which kind of validates the opposition leader’s point, no? It comes after Dutton said the US Virginia-class submarines are our best bet, Sky News reported, adding that when he was defence minister he was told that Barrow and Furness is landlocked and wasn’t up to it. But the UK prime minister’s office was definitely miffed, in a stiff-upper-lip sort of way. “There is more work to do and more to say on the AUKUS program that I’m not going to pre-empt,” a spokesperson said overnight, as UK Defence Journal reported. Two’s company, three’s a crowd, I guess.
In other defence news, Australian drones made of cardboard and rubber bands are helping Ukrainian soldiers fight the Russian invasion, The Australian ($) reports. At least 100 of the flat-packed drones are going to Ukraine every month, made by Melbourne company Sypaq. The cardboard is thick, waxy stuff and secured by heavy-duty rubber bands. Inside is a “military grade” guidance system. They cost somewhere between $1000 and $5000 each, the Oz says, a rather vague estimation. Meanwhile the ADF Space Command boss says we need to boost “soft-kill” capabilities in the skies, the ABC reports. Cath Roberts says satellites in the sky have doubled to 8000 in the past year, and we need to work out a way to deter attacks on our satellites and take out enemy ones without debris raining down.
FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE MPS
Queensland’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles caught a flight between two Melbourne airports that would’ve been a one-hour drive, The Courier-Mail reports. He was invited on to the new A320neo by Jetstar’s parent company Qantas, along with some other pollies, and snapped a selfie with federal Labor MP Julian Hill on the tarmac. It might’ve been fun but it’s kind of bad optics, considering planes emit about 100 times more CO2 each hour than a shared bus or train ride. Dirty aviation emissions are seeing a growing number of travellers quit flying, as The New York Times ($) reports. Not to mention some bad press for high-flyers such as billionaire Bill Gates, who travelled to Oz last month in a $70 million Gulfstream private jet that burns about 1700 litres of fuel an hour, The Daily Mail reports, to (correctly) tell us we have a “huge role to play” in combating climate change.
It comes as the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility is launching a campaign taking aim at fossil fuel titan Woodside, saying the company’s investment in the Trion greenfield oil development in the Gulf of Mexico will not only increase carbon emissions but will also fall short of the company’s target financial returns, The Australian ($) says. Woodside reckons it will create a 15% return threshold, but analysis from the group said it would come in at 13.3%, not to mention help cook the planet with an extra 9.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
On any normal day, Kiwi brewers Larry Culleton and Scott Taylor are sworn enemies, spending their days working on a singular goal: outsell each other, and their competitors, by creating, refining and marketing the perfect beer to Auckland and beyond. But after cyclone Gabrielle tore through New Zealand’s North Island — a once-in-a-century event — it wasn’t a normal day. A despondent Culleton walked the halls of his Hawke’s Bay Brewing Co lost for words about what to do. The storm had cost some 120,000 litres of beer, and it would take as long as three months before there’d be one more. Some rivals would’ve been clicking their heels in glee. “It’s extremely competitive to get a tap in Auckland,” Culleton said. “We’re fighting each other for 30% of the market.” But Taylor, who runs nearby Deep Creek Brewing, just wasn’t that guy.
So Taylor offered Culleton a “gentleman’s agreement”. “I said: ‘We have a fresh batch of lager. How’s about I match your pricing and I fill your taps for you until you’re back on your feet?’” as Taylor tells it. It would mean anyone seeking a pint of Hawke’s Bay Brewery beer would be told the story and offered a pint of Deep Creek instead, rather than risking the pubs just binning the Hawke’s tap altogether. Taylor added that Culleton, who had no power yet, could invoice his customers through their system too, if he wanted. Culleton was floored. “People don’t do that kind of stuff in this industry,” he told Stuff. “They could have stepped back and watched us fall away … They are really, really good people.” Taylor was like, he was doing it tough, and it’s so hard to get taps in this cut-throat industry. It was the “right thing to do”.
Hoping you spot an opportunity for a good deed today, and have a restful weekend.
If you’re feeling chatty, feel free to drop me a line — tell me what you like or loathe about your Worm, or anything. eelsworthy@crikey.com.au.
SAY WHAT?
Bluesfest cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition, and we apologise to those artists, sponsors and any others we involved in this matter through our mistaken belief that forgiveness and redemption are the rock on which our society is built.
Peter Noble
Real “mum made me apologise” energy in the statement from the Bluesfest founder and director, who confirmed the Sydney band were off the line-up. Two guests had dropped out in boycott, after Sticky Fingers’ lead Dylan Frost was accused of multiple alleged verbal and physical altercations, including by Indigenous musician Thelma Plum.
CRIKEY RECAP
If you agree with Scott Adams, you’re a racist too
“The trope of anti-white racism is not new, of course, and is seeing one of its frequent re-emergences at the moment in the lower depths of the Voice debate where one can find Andrew Bolt rolling out his tired “It’s racist, I tells ya!” whine at any suggestion that the “first” in First Nations should ever be afforded a meaning.
“Reverse racism, as it’s often also called, is not a thing that exists outside the brains of actual racists. Everyone has racist moments, to greater or lesser degrees, but the essential element of truly toxic racism — assumed racial or ethnic superiority — only lives in those who punch down. Sure, some Black people hate white people, like plenty of Ukrainians are presently hating Russians, and it’s not hard to see why …”
My rare disease makes everyone an armchair expert — even doctors
“Having a rare disorder like hypopara has resulted in a lifetime of monitoring — as with most conditions — and also curious reactions from medical types, as well as people who enjoy imparting tips on healthy diets. Hypopara is rare, and few medical practitioners see people like me during their careers. A general practitioner once told me that a GP in a clinic would be lucky to see one in their entire career.
“Relieving GPs were stunned they had this medical collector’s item before them when, as a younger person, I would front up to get assessed for a seasonal cold or virus or something ‘normal’ people get. They would end up performing the basic tests they were taught in university when they touched on the issue in their early training. A drop in calcium levels also caused some other things to happen. I lost my voice for no easily explained reason during my secondary college years.”
Ex-NSW Liberal councillor is CEO of property developer raided in fraud investigation
“Ashlyn, 27, is a lawyer and an alternative director of Toplace. NSW Police confirmed to Crikey she was arrested and charged with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and publishing false or misleading material to obtain an advantage. Her father has not been charged. Police confirmed it is an ongoing investigation.
“Egan is a former member of the state executive of the NSW Liberal Party, a former councillor on the Blue Mountains City Council, and a former member of the executive of the NSW Local Government Association. He is aligned with the right-wing faction of the party. There is no evidence or suggestion that he received any money from Toplace before his employment with them.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
US regulators rejected Elon Musk’s bid to test brain chips in humans, citing safety risks (Reuters)
Macron says era of French interference in Africa is ‘over’ (Al Jazeera)
Premature births fell during some COVID lockdowns, study finds (The New York Times)
Pence declines to support Trump if he’s 2024 nominee: ‘I’m confident we’ll have better choices’ (The Guardian)
Californians snowed in by winter storm surge (BBC)
Blinken met with Russian foreign minister for first time since Ukraine war began (CNN)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Small problem: why heightism is a growing issue for workers — Simon Taylor (The Age) ($): “While we’re addressing the gender pay gap, let’s not neglect the lesser-recognised income inequality: the height pay gap. If you’ve never come across this before, that’s because it’s easy to overlook short things. Studies have long shown that short people earn less per year per centimetre. One 2020 study in the scientific journal PLOS (Public Library of Science) based on data from 3500 mainland China adults found that every extra centimetre of height correlated with a 1.3% increase in a person’s annual income.
“In Imperial terms, this means that a person who is five feet six inches tall and earns $50,000 a year would earn an extra $2000 for each extra inch taller they were. Someone six feet tall would earn well over $300,000 more in a 30-year career. Over a quarter of a million dollars! That’s enough to take out a mortgage on a cavoodle. Researchers are unsure as to how exactly height is a factor when it comes to income, given that Grant Denyer has done so well for himself. Perhaps he’s able to offset the disparity with spectacular teeth.”
Trimming the tail of the superannuation tax tiger is no easy task — Michelle Grattan (The Conversation): “If you were being really cynical, you might say the government should have hacked into those stage three tax cuts while leaving super alone. That would have received much the same political angst, but saved a heap more revenue. If we shed the cloak of cynicism, where has this week’s ‘tweak’ of one of the superannuation tax breaks left policy and politics? As a policy change, the government’s decision is well-based but has been poorly executed. It is fair — people with very large balances certainly don’t need the level of taxpayer generosity they receive. It is also a (very modest) move to address the budget challenge.
“But the haste in announcing it — the government had little choice because the debate was becoming a firestorm — meant details are still being worked out, for example for people in defined benefit schemes. So the government hasn’t been able to say how those politicians, including the prime minister, who are entitled to very large amounts (under now-scrapped arrangements) would be affected. Nor is there official modelling on how many people in future years will be drawn into the higher super tax rate, given the $3 million threshold is not indexed.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Online
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Outgoing Australian ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos will be in conversation via webinar at The Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)
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Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres, Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren, and Deloitte’s Helen Hamilton–James will discuss western Sydney’s importance for the state at an event held by CEDA at Deloitte Parramatta.
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Author Ashley Kalagian Blunt will chat about her book Dark Mode, at Better Read Than Dead bookshop.
