Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 1 June.
Top stories
A secret list of private companies that have enjoyed a tax reporting exemption since 1995 may finally be torn up. Labor has agreed to support a Greens push to abolish the exemption for 1,498 private companies associated with Australia’s business elite that has allowed them to avoid sharing their financial reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Labor hopes the government will also be open to the idea after Coalition MPs’ contribution to this week’s corporate tax avoidance report.
In 2015 Guardian Australia revealed the names of the companies granted the exemption under the Keating government. They included private companies associated with the Myer family, the Pratt family’s Visy Industries and the media proprietor John B Fairfax. The arrangement was intended to be temporary and subject to a review, but this was cancelled by the Howard government, and the companies have enjoyed the exemption ever since.
The US and its allies are on the brink of a full-scale trade war after European and Canadian leaders reacted swiftly to Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminium imports. The president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, promised immediate retaliation after the US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, said EU companies would face a 25% duty on steel and a 10% duty on aluminium from midnight on Thursday. Global financial markets shuddered after the announcement. Only Australia, Brazil and Argentina are exempt.
Avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet. The research, published in Science, shows that without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland could be reduced by more than 75% – an area equivalent to the US, China, the EU and Australia combined – and still feed the world. Loss of wild areas to agriculture is the leading cause of the mass extinction of wildlife. While meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, they use 83% of farmland and produce 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The ABC has axed another 37 jobs, just days after it was revealed the public broadcaster had shed more than 1,000 since 2014. The new job losses are in the technology division and are on top of the 22 jobs axed from the national newsrooms last month. In answers to questions on notice, the ABC told Senate estimates that a total of 939 employees – 829 full-time-equivalents – had been made redundant in four years.
Almost one in five public school parents have objected to religious views being shared with their children through school chaplains, a review has found. It found that parents had a “lack of knowledge regarding the actual role” of chaplains, with most unsure how they dealt with the most serious issues, including sexuality, alcohol and drug abuse, self-harm and suicide. Secular activists have seized on indications from both supporters and opponents that faith is discussed in schools, despite rules banning proselytising.
Sport
Serena Williams has come from a set down to defeat Australia’s Ashleigh Barty 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the French Open. After her superb comeback, which marked her as a real contender despite coming into the tournament unseeded following her pregnancy, Williams said: “Merci beaucoup. Ooh la la. Je suis très content ... I’m going to be here fighting my heart out. It’s such a great feeling.”
Zinedine Zidane has quit as head coach of Real Madrid in a shock announcement, only five days after winning a third consecutive Champions League. Zidane said the club needed a change and admitted he was not convinced Real would continue winning if he remained in charge.
Thinking time
Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
A day after it was revealed that the Russian reporter Arkady Babchenko faked his own murder, supposedly in a bid to foil an assassination attempt by Russia, many questions remain. Luke Harding and Christopher Miller look at how the fakery was staged (pigs blood and a makeup artist), how the world reacted and where to now for Babchenko and his traumatised family.
Many Australians are deeply uncomfortable with the government’s asylum policy but the options are often framed in binary terms: keep the current cruel system or accept the return of asylum seeker boats and deaths at sea. James Hathaway and Daniel Ghezelbash suggest a workable alternative. “There would be an overriding focus on refugee empowerment. States will be prohibited from detaining refugees beyond the time it takes to carry out preliminary identity, health and security screening. Once those checks are complete, refugees would be given freedom of movement in their host community, as well as full work rights.”
A rare exhibition of JRR Tolkien’s life and art reveals an imaginary realm that continues to inspire new generations. “It is written in my life-blood,” Tolkien said of The Lord of the Rings, “such as that is, thick or thin; and I can no other.” Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford, describes Tolkien as a “genius” with a unique approach to literature. “His imagined world was created through a combination of his deep scholarship, his rich imagination and powerful creative talent, and informed by his own lived experiences.”
What’s he done now?
Donald Trump has given a full pardon to the far-right documentary film-maker Dinesh D’Souza, saying on Twitter D’Souza was “treated very unfairly by our government!”, and says he is also considering pardoning Martha Stewart. Trump said the home cooking and decor expert Stewart “used to be one of my biggest fans”.
Media roundup
The West Australian reports that 14,000 children were suspended in WA schools last year, a new record for the state. On average students were barred from school for 2.2 days, for “unacceptable behaviour” that included physical aggression and verbal abuse. The former PM John Howard has urged the government to mend its frosty relations with China by cultivating better personal relationships through face-to-face meetings between leaders, the Australian reports. “The Chinese saw our relationship as something that deserved regular watering at the highest level,” Howard said. And at the Conversation Michelle Grattan argues that in politics character, temperament and and judgment may be more important than high intelligence, with the downfall of Barnaby Joyce the ultimate case study.
Coming up
The Fair Work Commission sitting in Sydney will rule on the minimum wage case at 11am AEST.
The Socceroos have their last chance to impress coach Bert van Marwijk before he names his final World Cup selection, as they take on the Czech Republic at 9pm AEST. Van Marwijk must cut the 27-man squad to the final 23 by Monday.
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