Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 19 June.
Top stories
Donald Trump has defended his administration’s controversial practice of separating children from their parents at the US-Mexico border, declaring “the United States will not be a migrant camp”. Nearly 2,000 children and their parents have been separated over the past six weeks, drawing criticism from prominent members of Congress, human rights advocates and religious leaders.
Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, called the practice “contrary to our values in this country” and said it was “traumatising” to the children caught in the centre of an already polarising debate over immigration in Washington. But the president defended the approach. “You look at what’s happening in Europe,” he said, “you look at what’s happening in other places, we can’t allow that to happen to the United States – not on my watch.” Our Q&A has more background on why children are being separated from their parents.
An evangelical group has stepped up demonstrations outside several Brisbane abortion clinics before expected law changes in Queensland. Witnesses confirm there have been heated verbal clashes between members of the group and clinic patients, with Pro Choice Queensland mobilising volunteers to escort women into clinics. Sinead Canning from Pro Choice Queensland described the interactions as “pretty confronting”. “Some people might go into those clinics with ectopic pregnancy or a wanted pregnancy [with complications] … they’re faced with pretty rabid harassment.”
Attacks on Labor’s policy costing have been undermined, with the Parliamentary Budget Office defending the modelling after criticism from Scott Morrison and News Corp papers. Labor was accused of creating a “$10bn blackhole”, with the treasurer claiming the opposition had overestimated the revenue it expected to collect. But the PBO head, Jenny Wilkinson, has denied claims of inaccuracy. “The PBO brings our best professional judgment to the independent policy costing advice we provide,” she said. “We have access to the same data and economic parameters as the Treasury.”
The conservative candidate Iván Duque has been elected as Colombia’s next president in a vote that could have ramifications for the historic peace deal with Farc rebels. The 2016 deal to end a 52-year civil war came with guarantees of softer sentencing for rebel leaders and guaranteed seats in congress, concessions Duque has vowed to revisit. Farc’s initial response has been conciliatory. Its wartime leader, Rodrigo Londoño, responded: “We have lived the quietest elections of the last decades, the peace process bears fruit. It is a moment of greatness and reconciliation.”
A German NGO could hold the key to survival for a critically endangered Australian parrot but the government faces criticism for outsourcing its responsibility. The Coalition helped broker a $200,000 agreement for a Berlin-based agency to protect the western ground parrot but has only committed $80,000 of its own money to protect the rare bird. “Governments are increasingly trying to shift the cost of threatened species conservation on to communities and philanthropic organisations by touting the value of ‘partnerships’,” said Jenny Lau of Birdlife Australia.
Sport
England have stunned their own disbelieving country by winning a World Cup match for the first time since 2010, although it took an injury-time winner from Harry Kane to secure a 2-1 win over Tunisia. Earlier, Belgium threw down a gauntlet to many of the tournament favourites with an emphatic 3-0 win over Panama, while Sweden defeated South Korea 1-0.
Nick Kyrgios says he regards Andy Murray as “one of my better mates on tour” and the Australian says it is good to see the former world No 1 back as the two prepare to meet at Queen’s. “It’s been pretty shitty without him. I’m looking forward to going out there and playing. But to see him healthy is obviously the main thing. He’s awesome for the sport.”
Thinking time
Silent grief and anger washed over the vigil for Eurydice Dixon in Melbourne last night, writes Gay Alcorn. Thousands of people rugged up against the damp and the cold, standing on all sides of a circle of flowers. There was barely a sound – just a rustle of a puffer jacket, a distant car engine, a baby crying. Behind them, the grey Melbourne sky faded to black. They had come for the most personal of reasons, and for the most political. Phoebe Montague placed geraniums she and her young daughter had picked from their garden. Almost every day, she takes her child to play in Princes Park, where Dixon’s body was found. The silent demonstration should be followed by AFL clubs sending a statement about men’s violence, writes Kate O’Halloran.
Underemployment is not far below record highs, so what effect will this have on wages growth? Greg Jericho examines the curious change since 2015 that undermines the narrative of improving wages and low unemployment. “The more people who want to work more hours, the fewer people need to be hired to do new jobs – employers can (should they wish) just give more hours to those already working for them, and they don’t need to increase the hourly wage to entice them to work more hours.”
We all know a “helicopter parent” – but what are the effects of this parenting style on toddlers and children? According to new research, it could mean problems in later life relating to impulse and emotion control, writes Nicola Davis. “Parents who are over-controlling are most often very well-intentioned and are trying to support and be there for their children,” says a research co-author, Dr Nicole Perry. “However, to foster emotional and behavioural skills parents should allow children to experience a range of emotions and give them space to practice and try managing these emotions independently.”
What’s he done now?
Donald Trump has blamed the Democrats for “the world’s worst immigration laws” and claimed “children are being used” by criminals, to justify his policy on parent-child separations. He also claims Germans are “turning against their leadership” owing to liberal migration policies and crime in Germany is “way up” (it isn’t).
Media roundup
The Herald Sun gives due prominence to the vigil in Princes Park for Eurydice Dixon, attended by more than 10,000 people. The Age reports that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is at risk of breaching electoral rules, with a letter to the NSW Electoral Commission revealing doubts over the party’s registration in that state. And the Daily Telegraph highlights the prime minister’s demand for an explanation from Optus about the debacle of its World Cup coverage.
Coming up
The ABC’s managing director, Michelle Guthrie, will give a speech at the Melbourne Press Club today, with supporters and opponents of the public broadcaster keenly awaiting her response to recent attacks and the $84m budget cut.
In Canberra, both major parties will hold caucus meetings, with Labor expected to decide its final stance on the government’s tax proposals.
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