THE PICK OF THE MORNING’S STORIES
Indian anger boils over – Melbourne Age
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS
AUSTRALIA
Political life
Kevin Rudd has a ‘nasty’ streak but he is still king – The Sydney Daily Telegraph reports on a Galaxy Research poll showing Labor with a comfortable lead while Kevin Rudd continues to be perceived as the best leader although the poll suggests his recent behaviour may have removed some of the gloss
Poll result clears Kevin Rudd to call snap election – Adelaide Advertiser
Rees’s poll defiance: don’t write me off – Sydney Morning Herald
Economic policy
Rate unlikely to fall as recession becomes official – The Australian
Reserve won’t cut despite shrinkage of GDP – The Australian
On brink of recession, economists say: Pain won’t last long – The Australian
NSW burden drags nation deeper into strife – Sydney Morning Herald
Pay rise delay to save Rees budget – Sydney Morning Herald
Migration
Refugee to PM: Please help us – Melbourne Herald Sun
Australia may take Chinese detainees – a request by the US for Australia to take Chinese Uighurs being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison involves a smaller number of prisoners than in previous requests and is being considered by immigration and security officials, the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, ais reported in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying.
Property market
Strong sales spark hopes for housing rebound – The Australian
Industrial relations
Unions press for demands to be met – The Australian
Sectors queue for award protection – The Australian
Crean risks union ire with free-trade defence – The Australian
Unions launch campaign to slash executives’ salaries – Melbourne Age
A hint of strange things
Union chief attacks ‘tainted’ Brumby Government – Melbourne Age
Aboriginal affairs
Alternative anthem’s creator sings against bitter injustice – Sydney Morning Herald
Opinion
Left, right, now together – Katharine Murphy in the Melbourne Age looks at the modern Labor factionalism system
Seems it’s a recession, technically – says Michelle Grattan in the Melbourne Age
Libs should dust off Ergas’s review – Glenn Milne, The Australian
After the stimulus package, Rudd has no ammo left – writes David Uren in The Australian
Turnbull’s debt bluster is failing to pass muster – concludes Malcolm Farr in the Sydney Daily Telegraph
Rudd fights his way down the boulevard of broken dreams – writes Ross Gittins in the Sydney Morning Herald
Strike one for free trade but showdown looms – Phillip Coorey in the Sydney Morning Herald
ELSEWHERE
Racial hatred
Attacked student sounds Australia warning – The Telegraph, Calcutta reports thatAmitabh Bachchan has decided to turn down an honorary doctorate from a Brisbane university in the wake of attacks on Indian students in Australia, and has asked his fans to tell him if they agreed with his decision. The actor was to receive the honorary doctorate from Queensland University of Technology in July for his contribution to entertainment. A retrospective of his films was also scheduled to be screened in Brisbane on the occasion.
Kill claim in racism storm – Melbourne Herald Sun
US Politics
Ad called for Obama assassination – Sydney Daily Telegraph
Opinion
No privacy and no power – there’s no way I’d be an MP – Minette Marin in the London Sunday Times
BUSINESS
Bond vigilantes set for rebellion against the West’s wasteful ways – London Daily Telegraph
Super funds grab share bargains – The Australian
It’s the equity sale of all time – Adele Ferguson in The Australian
ENVIRONMENT
Leaders called to special climate talks – The Independent on Sunday, London
Weird snake pops up after a century – Northern Territory News
Seeing red over logging in land of rare parrot – Sydney Morning Herald
Turnbull tips carbon trading in January – Melbourne Age
MEDIA
Why are they trying to gag a top British science writer? – When chiropractors drag a top science writer into the libel courts, the country has lost its backbone writes Nick Cohen in the Sunday Observer, London.
Power shifts to papers in web war – The Australian
New current affairs site packs some punch – The Australian
LIFE
Literature
JD Salinger considers legal action to stop The Catcher in the Rye sequel – Agents for Jerome David “JD” Salinger, the famously reclusive and litigious author, are consulting lawyers about the publication in Britain next month of an unauthorised sequel to “The Catcher in the Rye” – London Daily Telegraph
Drugs
Heroin spike in Sydney puts medics on high alert – Sydney Daily Telegraph
Simpsons ‘may prompt’ smoking – Melbourne Age
Swine Flu
Swine flu tally passes 250 – Adelaide Advertiser
Swine flu fears for Sydney child – Sydney Daily Telegraph
Young swine flu victim in Cairns bullied – Brisbane Courier Mail
Alert level to rise – Melbourne Herald Sun
Swine flu strategy shifts into ‘sustain’ phase – Melbourne Age
Education
Our bullying shame – Bullying peaks in primary school, in year 5, but continues well into high school, according to Australia’s largest study of the problem – Melbourne Herald Sun
Transport
Crush and load: life on a peak-hour train – Sydney Morning Herald
Police deputy commissioner Kieran Walshe described Indian students as vulnerable and soft targets that often travelled alone, rather than racial targets.
“They are very quiet-natured, passive sort of people … They tend to travel late at night because of work or study and carry valuable items: i-pods, mobile phones, and lap-top computers … making them vulnerable.”
Does anyone else find the above statement offensive? First, surely we should all be safe to travel late at night with or without valuable items. Second, is it not a form of racism to make generalisations based on race: statements such as Germans don’t have a sense of humour, Indians are passive and peaceful, Australians believe in a fair go (clearly not), Americans are insular, etc etc.
It makes it sound as though it’s their fault. Just as many years ago it was often thought to be the woman’s fault if she were raped.
I’m not surprised the Indian media are taking this to heart.
Imagine if 70 Australians had been attacked in India in the past year. The media here would have frothed a lot sooner than the Indian media has. The true number of attacks is far greater than 70 as many go unreported.
The police have a lot to answer for. Shades of British police in the 60s and 70s- an institutionalised culture of denial. Can Overland see this?
Why only students? There are lots of immigrants in this country from the sub-continent and Sri Lanka, I haven’t heard of them being subject to attack, and certainly not here in the NT. Most are very respected members of the community, such as doctors and other professionals.
Possibly it reflects resentment at their perceived taking of Australian places at universities, but it doesn’t appear rational, there are plenty of other asian students in this country.
There are all sorts of nuts, racists etc in every country unfortunately, including India; we haven’t resorted to burning foreign religious and their families alive. If these racists can’t be educated to be more tolerant, severe punishment for those transgressing is the order of the day, as was the fate of van Dongeren and his crew in WA.
I travel on the sydenham line everyday and am surrounded by people whose backgrounds include I imagine all races and we travel together. Every time the bloke at the age wants to push his barrow I travel home in a more nasty environment. Somebody at the age has blown this up to suit their own purposes. Where did the 70 incidents over the last year part come in? And if so that turns out to be one and a third per week. In the western suburbs they are not the worst odds. For the last few days we have heard of two incidents, a house party crashed violently(not something exclusive to indian students) and the boy in hoppers crossing who was robbed(and the culprits were arrested).
I would say to the students that they had 500 people to a quiet rally and couldn’t stop the moronic element of their group from doing the wrong thing but they want to tar all australians with the actions of a few low lifes. Racist? Moi? What would they like the police to do, lock up all those that the indian students dont like the look of (untouchables anybody?). We have no class system indentured in this country and some of us dont want it.
Judith: This comment is racist if you are looking for racism. It is good advice to anybody travelling on the western suburbs transport at night. Dont show your wealth and keep your head down. Last year another policeman said that the indian students cause themselves trouble by talking in their native tongue. I put it to you that that is as racist and ill educated as can be.
Frank: There are a lot more unreported. Evidence please this isnt 3aw
Stephen: The problem is the student association dont want the problem fixed. Who are they blaming? Do they have solutions or are they simply using the tactics that the vic government crumbled in to a couple of hundred cab drivers against the wishes of other cabbies. They want publicity and nothing more.
So now every time an indian group of people have a ptroblem are they going to shut down the cbd?
The last time the age did this we had the video of the men bashing the man at sunshine station three days later. What will be the results of this beat up?
I know im wrong
Please explain how