Ructions at Buckingham Palace fuel republican movements, Australia’s vaccine timeline is disputed, and Congress has passed a record emergency package. Those are the lead stories, this Thursday 11 March.
The Australian Medical Association has contradicted the federal government’s claims that its Covid-19 vaccination targets are “on track”, suggesting that the “very ambitious” goal of having all Australians vaccinated by October should be revised until the end of the year. Only 106,000 of the 1.4m doses of vaccine set aside for phase 1A have been administered since 21 February, with Labor suggesting double that number would need to be administered, daily, to reach the stated target. AMA president, Omar Khorshid, confirmed that a shortage of vaccine was the major factor for rollout delays, and while Australia would be in “less of a hurry” than nations like the US or UK, a slower vaccination timeline would see Australia’s international borders remaining closed for longer. Meanwhile, vaccine supply remains a hot topic in Europe, with the EU and UK embroiled in a war of words after 9m doses left the continent bound for the breakaway member despite regional shortfalls.
The US House of Representatives has passed one of the largest emergency rescue packages in history, with Democrats “110% confident” Joe Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus and stimulus package has the numbers to go through. On Saturday, the Senate overcame united Republican opposition, approving the bill 50-49. The package includes direct payments of $1,400 to citizens, as well as boosted support for vaccine distribution and testing centres, aid to local and state governments, and healthcare assistance for low-income Americans. Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi has hailed the package as “transformative”, with 70% of Americans reportedly supporting it.
The Australian Republican Movement is looking to capitalise upon ructions surrounding Buckingham Palace in recent weeks, promising to release its preferred model for a potential Australian republic during the second half of 2021. Its national director, Sandy Biar, says the group has been trying to galvanise bipartisan support from inside parliament, as well as “getting out in the community to understand public opinion” over the past year. A slender majority of Australians (51%) support the Queen as Australia’s head of state, but the ARM would hope to call a referendum within a year of the Queen’s eventually abdication. The current row over alleged racism within the royal family is being followed closely around the Commonwealth, with Barbados signalling its intent to become a republic before the end of the year.
Australia
Facebook could be poised to shut down Australians’ access to news articles once again, with leading media players saying the tech giant is either freezing them out or refusing to budge in negotiations, despite the deal struck with the Australian government.
Top disability advocates fear government policy will “fundamentally alter” the landmark NDIS scheme, with a coalition of 20 groups saying cost-cutting measures and a push to bring in “independent assessments” would fail to consider “individual need and circumstance”.
Labor has called on the government to “justify the cost” of events commemorating the airforce’s centenary, after contracts for “events management” or “equipment hire” have run to over $400,000.
The world
The assumptions underpinning a new US-built $100bn nuclear missile are outdated and flawed, a major new report has suggested. The ground-based strategic deterrent missile is being built by Northrop Grumman following an uncontested award of $13.3bn during the Trump administration, but could yet be reviewed by president Biden.
Russia appears to have accidentally shut down the Kremlin’s own website, during an attempt to censure Twitter for failing to remove pro-Navalny content it had requested be banned.
Libya has endorsed a new unified government for the first time in a decade, despite allegations of corruption surrounding the process. The north-African nation has been riven with divisions since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
China built more wind power turbines in 2020 than the entire world did in 2019, an energy report has found, after 100GW worth of windfarms – a rise of 60% on the year before – were brought online.
Recommended reads
It was a re-brand hurried through in irregular fashion, but the change from “World Music” to “Global Music” hasn’t made the category for music originating outside the US any less homogenised – in fact the 2021 nominations are even less diverse than ever, Grammy winning producer Ian Brennan argues. “In the world music category’s 38-year history, nearly two-thirds of the nominations have come from just six countries … we see the same artists nominated over and over again in a category that can feel closed off to everyone else.”
It’s an argument that might play well on talkback radio, but Scott Morrison’s suggestion that job seekers be forced to take jobs in rural areas isn’t one that sits comfortably with the data, Greg Jericho explains. “The reality is most rural areas have lower employment opportunities than the cities.” And furthermore, given the current rules surrounding job seekers: “Moving to a place with lower employment opportunity can result in a suspension of payments.”
Mixed messages in early courtship can be an emotional rollercoaster, but advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith has a simple rule to cut through the confusion: when someone tells you what they want, believe them. “If someone wants you, they should say so. Create an emotional economy around yourself where people don’t get what they want, except by being brave enough to say so.”
For comedian Alistair Baldwin all comedy can be broken down into two categories: Sensible Venn diagrams and Absurd lists. We say – why choose. On this week’s 10 funniest things on the internet there’s so much more than just Rami Malek mysteriously rattling off his list of things he’s “a fan of”.
Listen
School rape culture. It started as a social media poll, then a petition, now it’s a movement advocating for better consent education in Australian schools. Former student Chanel Contos is the special guest on this episode of Full Story, as she talks with Laura Murphy-Oates and Lucy Clark about the need to tackle rape culture among young men.
Sport
When does a boy become a man? It’s a question for the ages, but a pertinent dilemma for the NRL as it deliberates whether 17-year-old teen “prodigy” Joseph Suaalii should be allowed to make his first-grade debut this weekend. Emma Kemp has the story.
The Brumbies have been Australia’s Super Rugby pedigree side in four of the last five seasons, but they’ll face a stern litmus test this weekend against a rising Queensland Reds side. Bret Harris previews a tantalising tussle.
Media roundup
800,000 Australian travelers will be able to snap up half-priced flights to regional centres between April and July, reports the Sydney Morning Herald, as the federal government looks to bolster a flagging tourism sector. Daniel Andrews appears set to avoid back surgery, according to the ABC, with doctors updating on the Victorian premier’s condition after his nasty fall on slippery steps. And, WA Liberal MPs have openly condemned their party leader Zak Kirkup ahead of the state election, the West Australian writes, attacking his attempts to “chase Green votes” with “dud” clean energy policies.
Coming up
The findings of the inquest into the death of Indigenous man Nathan Reynolds after an asthma attack inside a Sydney jail will be handed down.
The 2021 NRL season kicks off when the Melbourne Storm meet South Sydney in tonight’s opening match. Follow every minute with our liveblog from 8.05pm (AEDT).
And if you’ve read this far …
It’s not a name you instantly associate with Zen philosophy. But for one shrewd Chinese entrepreneur, statues of Donald Trump adopting a demure Buddhist pose are selling like hotcakes. Suggesting that the Donald might have a little more time for reflection and meditation post office, the statue comes in 1.6m or 4.6m forms, with one buyer suggesting it will help him humbly remember not to be “too Trump”.
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