Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 30 May.
Top stories
Facial-matching technology proposed by the government is racist and would have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of assembly without further safeguards, the Human Rights Law Centre has said. The centre warned the bill was “manifestly and dangerously insufficient”, and the system was “high risk” because the bill failed to adequately identify or regulate the uses of the technology.
In a parliamentary committee submission, it said both false positive and false negative results for facial recognition “are likely to arise disproportionately in relation to people who belong to ethnic minorities in Australia” and cited studies that found facial recognition had “a bias towards the dominant ethnic group in the area in which it is developed”. The Law Council of Australia has also warned that facial recognition could lead to a full “social credit” system of government surveillance, and called for safeguards to prevent “illegitimate and disproportionate uses” of the technology.
The emissions reduction target in the Turnbull government’s national energy guarantee is too low to encourage the development of renewable energy projects on a scale sufficient to drive down power prices as ageing coal plants retire, according to the Clean Energy Council. A new report from the council finds 2017 was a standout year for Australia’s renewable energy industry, with the largest domestic rollout of rooftop solar in history, and 16 large-scale renewable energy projects completed during the year, adding 700MW of new generation to the mix. But the CEC’s chief executive, Kane Thornton, says there is still no long-term climate policy in place and the emissions cut planned under the national energy guarantee “is unlikely to encourage the new renewable energy to continue to drive down power prices as our old coal power plants continue to close”.
Roseanne Barr has seen her revived sitcom axed after online outrage over a racist and Islamophobic tweet that attacked former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. Barr falsely alleged that Jarrett has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and compared her to an ape. One of Donald Trump’s most high-profile supporters, Barr apologised for the post shortly afterwards, deleted the tweet and announced she’d be quitting Twitter. The ABC Entertainment president, Channing Dungey, said: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”
The critically endangered hawksbill turtle has been tracked migrating across the Coral Sea marine park – which the government has recently rezoned to allow commercial fishing in large areas previously designated “no take”. The environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has said the changes offer “significant improvement” for the turtles but conservationists are concerned. Researcher Christine Hof said: “Looking to get hawksbill turtles off the critically endangered list, we need to protect them at their nesting grounds, their feeding grounds and along their migratory routes.”
Mamoudou Gassama, the 22-year-old Malian hailed as a hero in France for saving a child hanging from a balcony, has joined the French fire brigade. After Gassama’s immigration papers were fast-tracked, he visited a fire station to sign up for a 10-month internship. Gassama left Mali as a teenager and travelled via Libya – where he was arrested and beaten – and by a perilous boat journey to the Italian coast. He spent four years in Italy before arriving in France in September to join his brother and had been sleeping on the floor of a residence for migrants with six others, unable to legally work. Migrant charities have accused the French government of exploiting Gassama’s heroic act for PR purposes.
Sport
Former world No 1 Serena Williams has had a triumphant return to the French Open, beating Czech Kristyna Pliskova 7-6, 6-4 in the first round. Williams will play Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in the next round. Sam Stosur and Daria Gavrilova also went through but in the men’s Alex De Minaur, John Millman and James Duckworth all lost.
Statistics play a crucial role in documenting and analysing sport. With the Socceroos heading to Russia for the World Cup, Jonathan Howcroft profiles Andrew Howe, the man who has literally written the encyclopedia of Socceroos data. The near 400-page tome is the most authoritative account to date of all the 592 players to represent Australia’s men’s team. It is an impressive and important document.
Thinking time
Historian and author Antony Beevor groaned at Valkyrie and despaired at Saving Private Ryan. Taking aim at the war films that make him furious, he also reveals his own favourite, the 1965 French film The 317th Platoon. “For a long time now, my wife has refused to watch a war movie with me. This is because I cannot stop grinding my teeth with annoyance at major historical mistakes, or harrumphing over errors of period detail ... I despair at the way American and British movie-makers feel they have every right to play fast and loose with the facts, yet have the arrogance to imply that their version is as good as the truth.”
One of the first things millennial tech entrepreneur Jordan Duffy learned when he started working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service was that medical staff were often too busy caring for patients to worry about paperwork. The organisation, which turns 90 this year, contacted Duffy last year to talk about augmented reality eyewear. Seven months later, Duffy helped launch a system that has revolutionised the RFDS, by allowing doctors to access patient files and record medical data digitally, even when working in far-flung locations with no phone signal.
Soon after the school shooting in Texas last week, the rumours began to emerge that it was all down to the shooter taking Ritalin, writes epidemiologist Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz. “To clarify, I should tell you that there is absolutely no connection between mass shootings and mental health medications,” he says. “There does not appear to be any increase in aggression from ADHD meds – indeed, the opposite appears to be true: when kids with ADHD start on their meds, they become less aggressive … This is one on a long list of things that have been found to not be related to mental health.”
What’s he done now?
Nearly two years after Donald Trump was voted president of the United States, he’s still not done declaring victory. “The Fake Mainstream Media has, from the time I announced I was running for President, run the most highly sophisticated & dishonest Disinformation Campaign in the history of politics. No matter how well WE do, they find fault. But the forgotten men & women WON, I’m President!” Trump tweeted.
Media roundup
The Age has an exclusive read on the interrogation of Malcolm Turnbull’s hand-picked China adviser Chongyi Feng, who was detained and questioned for a day by Chinese authorities on a 2017 trip about his Australian contacts and links to Chinese liberal intellectuals.
The Hobart Mercury splashes with a full-page picture of Sir David Attenborough, who has described Tasmania as like nowhere else on Earth in his new documentary, David Attenborough’s Tasmania. “Tasmania is full of surprises: Australia, yes – but with a twist,” said the nature presenter of the Island state.
Police unions across the country say their officers are at “breaking point” but, with the crime rate significantly down across the board, how many more police officers does Australia need? The ABC investigates.
Coming up
A private funeral will be held for the family of seven killed in a murder-suicide shooting in Margaret river.
The House of Representatives will sit and Senate estimates hearings continue. The revenue group of Treasury is due to answer questions about the Turnbull government’s income tax cut package. The Clean Energy Council will release a new report about the state of Australia’s renewables industry ahead of a parliamentary reception for MPs. The banking royal commission will continue hearings in Melbourne, with the Commonwealth Bank back in the hot seat.
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