Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 18 June.
Top stories
South Korea and the US are expected to announce the suspension of large-scale military drills next week, with the provision that they will restart if North Korea fails to keep its promise to denuclearise, a South Korean news agency reported on Sunday. Citing an unnamed government source, the Yonhap agency said the suspension was likely to affect only major joint exercises, not more routine military training.
It clarifies some of the uncertainty that arose when Donald Trump surprised officials in Seoul and Washington last week during his summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, by pledging to end “war games”. About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea, with about 17,500 US and more than 50,000 South Korean troops engaging in joint exercises last year.
The government’s income tax bill faces increased opposition as parliament returns today, with the Senate independent Tim Storer calling for it to be split. The South Australian has made a last ditch plea to the Greens, Labor and his wavering crossbench colleagues to give low-paid workers some hip-pocket relief while blocking expensive tax cuts for high flyers. Storer says it is “unfair” to delay tax relief for low-income earners “at a time when wages are stagnating and they struggle to pay their bills for essentials”. But he also urged Labor not to give in and pass the entire package: “It would be rash and irresponsible to commit future parliaments to the massive spending.”
The Coalition trails Labor for a 34th consecutive Newspoll, with the ALP ahead 52% to 48% on a two-party basis. Malcolm Turnbull remains the preferred prime minister with satisfaction in his performance reaching 40% for the first time, while Shorten’s rating has dropped slightly. One Nation’s primary vote has fallen from 8% to 6% after the public spat between Pauline Hanson and Brian Burston, who has now left the party.
Afghanistan’s first taste of peace in 17 years is expected to end after the Taliban refused to extend a three-day ceasefire during which civilians, militants and soldiers hugged and danced together over the festival of Eid. “I and thousands of Afghan Taliban definitely want the ceasefire extended,” a Taliban fighter, Muhammadullah, 22, told the Guardian. “I went to the city and the mosques were full of people, I did not notice anything against the Islamic rules. After the sweet three days of peace, going back to bloodshed looks strange. How can you even compare peace with war?”
Gerald Murnane, the literary recluse who tends bar at a golf course in country Victoria, has made the shortlist for this year’s Miles Franklin award. The 79-year-old, who has previously been discussed as a potential Nobel laureate, has received his first nomination in a 44-year career, for his book Border Districts. He joins two former winners, Michelle de Kretser and Kim Scott, on this year’s shortlist for the $60,000 prize. The winner will be announced on 26 August.
Sport
Mexico have shocked world football by beating defending champions Germany 1-0 in the opening Group F game at the World Cup, thanks to Hirving Lozano’s 35th-minute goal. Brazil were another fancied team to start slowly, held to a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, while Serbia beat Costa Rica 1-0.
In our regular Monday columns, Bret Harris discusses what went wrong with Australia’s kicking game after the Wallabies’ 26-21 loss to Ireland in the second Test on Saturday; Craig Little asks what’s amiss with Adelaide and Carlton as several AFL sides endure slumbering mid-seasons; and Matt Cleary casts a close eye over Kalyn Ponga as a possible Queensland State of Origin Game II saviour.
Thinking time
When the Northern Territory government announced a moratorium on fracking in 2016, it was a victory for those fighting the expansion of the unconventional gas industry. That elation was replaced with shock and disappointment in April, when the chief minister, Michael Gunner, said the practice could resume after a 15-month scientific inquiry. Our environmental series, Our wide brown land, now turns to the heated issue of fracking, as Lisa Cox reports on the state of the nation’s gasfields, while Nick Evershed looks at the numbers behind the exponential rise in the development of coal seam gas.
It’s a war that’s claimed tens of thousands of lives but, after a major Saudi- and Emirati-led assault, the west can no longer deny complicity in the war in Yemen, writes a Guardian editorial. “They are conducting this war with British-, American- and French-made arms. They are conducting it with western military training and advice. So it goes on, the suffering mounting, further unsettling this unstable region and breeding cynicism and rage towards the west and its talk of human rights and international law. If the complicity ever looked deniable, events of recent days have laid it bare.”
In an era of Facebook feeds and “fake news”, what affection remains for traditional media organisations? Well, the game is not up, writes Paul Chadwick. “Traditional news organisations aren’t perfect, but they are not fake. Nor are they as readily manipulated as we know social media can be. Professional journalism’s longstanding skills of access to sources, verification, presentation and dependable distribution remain an essential element of what nourishes democratic societies.”
Media roundup
A Sunshine Coast family has been devastated by the death of a six-year-old girl, accidentally killed at a shopping centre in Nambour, the Courier-Mail reports. The NSW government has set aside $285m in tomorrow’s state budget to fund free apprenticeships, the Daily Telegraph writes. “As of 1 July anyone who signs up for an apprenticeship in NSW will not pay a single cent,” said the deputy premier, John Barilaro. And Fairfax papers report that more than 90 sites across Australia are being investigated for elevated chemical levels that could pose serious health hazards, including cancer.
Coming up
Today marks the start of the last sitting fortnight of federal parliament before the long winter break, with the government’s tax plans the main focus of attention.
The inquest into the deaths of four people on the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in October 2016 will start today. The first part of the hearings is expected to run for the next two weeks.
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