Good morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 11 February.
Top stories
A Liberal National party donor received a $5.5m jobs and investment grant despite potentially being ineligible because it is a registered training organisation. In April 2018 Nolan Meats was approved to receive the grant under the $200m regional jobs and investment package’s business stream, despite being listed as a registered training organisation, a disqualification under the program guidelines. According to a scathing auditor general report, released in November, the program received 12 applications that were ineligible for funding, including one that was successful.
A day ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders remain on a collision course. The two candidates represent disparate wings of the Democratic party and are increasingly contesting frontrunner status in the contest for the nomination to face Donald Trump in November’s presidential election. On Sunday, a Boston Globe/WBZ/Suffolk University poll found Sanders leading in New Hampshire with 26% support, followed by Buttigieg with 19% and the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar in third with 13%. It was the latest in a string of surveys showing Sanders or Buttigieg leading the rest of the field. Bright spots have meanwhile been few and far between for Joe Biden of late. After the catastrophic performance in Iowa, where he finished a distant fourth, Biden is polling fifth in New Hampshire, too, unthinkable for someone who spent most of 2019 in the lead.
Former resources minister Matt Canavan delayed releasing documents about his interactions with coal lobbyists until he resigned his post, rendering a freedom of information request void. In November, the Australian Conservation Foundation sought access to all records of Canavan’s interactions with New Hope Coal and its lobbyists in the weeks leading up to the announcement of a crackdown on the use of secondary boycotts by environmental activists. The minister identified six relevant documents but asked for more time to consult third parties. Last week, following Canavan’s resignation as minister, ACF campaigner Christian Slattery was told the request was now void because Canavan no longer held the office and the documents had not been kept by his successor.
Australia
Drones are being used to save koalas injured in the bushfires. Victorian forest and wildlife officers, with the help of the Australian defence force, are using drone and infrared technology in a search and rescue operation for koalas affected by recent bushfires in Victoria.
Heavy rain in parts of regional NSW may have relieved immediate water security issues in as many as 20 towns, said the state’s public servant charged with keeping the taps running in drought-hit regions.
Scott Morrison remains in the political doldrums, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The Prime minister’s approval sits on 39%, and more than half the sample, 52%, disapprove of his performance.
Celebrity chef George Calombaris has put much of his restaurant empire into voluntary administration. About 400 employees are set to lose their jobs. The only part of the business excluded from the appointment is a chain of four Yo-Chi outlets.
The world
Sinn Féin has declared victory in Ireland’s general election and called for talks with other main parties to form a coalition government. Its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, urged Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to start negotiations with the republican party as the scale of its breakthrough confirmed a realignment of Irish politics.
Another 66 passengers onboard a luxury cruise liner quarantined in Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the number of infected people on the ship to 136. China’s president, Xi Jinping, has made his first public appearance in weeks, as some people began to return to work following the extended lunar new year holiday.
The Trump administration has submitted its 2021 budget proposal to Congress, a $4.8tn plan which has no chance of passing into law.
Massive swarms of locusts sweeping across much of east Africa have reached Uganda and Tanzania, the United Nations has said, threatening millions more people with hunger in an already fragile region.
The US military is preparing to report a more than 50% jump in the number of cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month.
Girls are beginning puberty almost a year earlier than women 40 years ago, according to research.
Recommended reads
Hadley Freeman’s night at the Oscars was tacky and endearing. “There must be a word – maybe in German, or possibly in Korean – for that piquant feeling of being at one of the most exclusive events in the world, surrounded by people who have only ever turned left on a plane, but are now cheering on a movie about the corrosive effects of class barriers. Don’t get me wrong: it was genuinely delightful to be there on Sunday night, watching Parasite bulldoze its way through the awards. And goodness, how the audience was on Parasite’s side, with the cheers becoming so much more pronounced for it than any of its other fellow nominees that it felt almost awkward by the end.”
It’s time for government spending, writes Greg Jericho, with household wallets closed tight even before the hit from bushfires and the coronavirus. “People will likely remain hesitant about what the future holds. With the Reserve Bank continuing to predict that wages growth will remain low and that the economy is currently having a bit of a stumble, unless the government sees fit to come to the rescue and determine a strong boost in spending is required to get some life into the economy, that hesitancy is likely to continue for another year.”
Listen
On Today in Focus: does the British Labour party have room for Blairism and Corbynism? Peter Mandelson and Steve Howell represent the two opposite poles of the Labour party: one was a key architect of Blairism, the other of Corbynism. But they started out as inseparable friends at the same school in north London. Now their focus is on what comes next for the party. Plus: Matthew Taylor on the growing prevalence of climate anxiety.
Cook
A simple batter can be tweaked for savoury or sweet applications, used pan-fried, deep fried or baked, writes Jackie Middleton. “I like recipes that are predictable, solid and dependable, and this basic savoury batter is all three. I use the batter, spiced slightly, for these pan-fried sweetcorn and zucchini fritters. I’ve also deep-fried this mixture and baked it in little muffin moulds to create canapés too.”
Sport
South African teams are eclipsing Australia’s Super Rugby efforts, writes Bret Harris. Form so far this season indicates a competitive Springboks team could be assembled by just selecting players from domestic franchises.
A former NFL player has won the Oscar for best animated short film eight years after predicting he would one day be nominated. Matthew A Cherry wrote and directed Hair Love and won the award along with producer Karen Rupert Toliver.
Media roundup
The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age lead with the budget surplus, using the words “wipeout” and “up in smoke” respectively, to describe its fate. The Australian reports that a second person “has been isolated in quarantine on Christmas Island pending the result of a coronavirus test.” The Australian Financial Review takes a look at some of the Australian companies impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Coming up
The high court will decide on whether the Australian government can deport two Aboriginal “aliens” Daniel Love and Brendan Thoms.
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