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ABC cuts
The ABC is to cut 400 jobs, slash its radio budget and sell off property, after the Coalition’s decision to cut $254m from the public broadcaster’s budget.
The news division alone will lose 100 jobs, radio news bulletin times will almost all be halved, and state-based editions of 7.30 will be axed, and there are fears for women’s sports as the broadcaster cuts football and basketball coverage.
Greens senator Scott Ludlam has called the cuts a “disastrous decision”, whileAdam Bandt has said Tony Abbott should have honoured the promises he made before last year’s election that there would be no cuts.
Van Badham writes that if Abbott had been honest about his true agenda, he would have been unelectable.
Australian news and politics
• Clive Palmer has played down the impact of Jacqui Lambie leaving the Palmer United Party, saying she was “overwhelmed by power”.
• It is unlikely that the newborn baby left in a Sydney storm drain could have survived without fluid or nutrition for five days without someone caring for him, according to one of the UK’s leading paediatricians.
• Scientists and researchers will bear the brunt of CSIRO funding cuts, the staff association says, contrary to management assertions that the cuts would fall primarily on support staff.
Around the world
• The deadline for Iran and world powers to strike a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program has been pushed back, avoiding a collapse but also raising the risk of cataclysmic failure as the those opposed to an agreement are given more time to intervene.
• New analysis of US drone strikes shows that they kill many more people than they are supposed to target – attempts to kill 41 men have resulted in the deaths of 1,147 people.
• A grand jury in Ferguson has reached a decision on whether police officer Darren Wilson should be indicted for shooting Michael Brown; an announcement is expected later today.
• Iggy Azalea has won favourite rap/hip-hop album and best rap artist at the AMAs, beating Eminem and Drake to take the double.
More from around the web
• Among the most read on the Guardian this morning: First Dog on the Moon on the ABC cuts.
• Gold Coast police have shot dead a second man in as many days days in Queensland, the ABC reports.
• Pie Face has gone into administration, the SMH reports.
• Queensland’s disaster funding from the federal government could be cut by a third, Brisbane Times reports.
• Victoria faces a $1.1bn compensation bill if Labor wins and cancels the East West Line contract, the Herald Sun reports.
• Freya Newman, the whistleblower who revealed the existence of Frances Abbott’s scholarship, is to be sentenced in Sydney today, New Matilda reports.
One last thing
Tamara Green on Bill Cosby: “He was like a spider, sitting there waiting”.
Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I’ve missed, let me know in the comments here or on Twitter @newsmary.
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