Good morning, early birds. Malcolm Turnbull gets a win (sorta) on the Liddell power plant, and keep an eye on the letterbox for your same-sex marriage postal survey
DO WE?
Forms for the same-sex marriage postal survey will begin arriving in households today. The papers will pose the question, “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” with a box for Yes and a box for No. They will arrive in a reply-paid envelope.
A new Fairfax/Ipsos poll today finds that 70% of people who say they are “certain” to vote intend to vote yes. The research found that young people were only slightly less likely than older voters to participate in the survey, contradicting warnings from the marriage equality campaign about the risk of youth-voter apathy.
The government, meanwhile, has confirmed it will not outline the religious protections to be included in the final same-sex marriage bill until the postal survey is finalised, angering Cory Bernardi.
While The Australian is ensuring every marriage equality opponent and his dog is given the chance to explain how the postal survey is personally victimising them, a small piece in today’s paper notes that the National Mental Health Commission has raised the alarm about the debate increasing discrimination against LGBTIQ people. Who would have thought.
LIDDELL VICTORIES
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has extracted a promise from AGL boss Andy Vesey over the future of the Liddell coal-fired power station. After their public stoush, the pair met yesterday and Vesey agreed to come back in 90 days with a plan for its future.
It was a “win for Malcolm Turnbull”, according to Fairfax‘s James Massola, though it’s not clear just how much the PM has gained at this point. Vesey will look into the prospect of keeping the plant open or selling it, but he’ll also look into options for delivering power from the site via renewable energy … which was AGL’s plan to start with.
“Given AGL indicated to the minister that their preference is for additional new supply and that the company is getting out of coal, we are expecting to see a plan in 90 days for more renewables and storage,” commented Greens MP Adam Bandt.
GOING IT A LOAN
Australians are running into trouble as they try to get a foot in the housing market. New research from the Reserve Bank has found 30% of people who need help from their parents to fund a home deposit end up in financial stress, notably higher than the percentage of those who pay it independently.
The news comes on the back of a UBS survey that found an increasing number of Australians are making factually misleading statements when taking out a loan, compounding the risk of any housing downturn.
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Everywhere: The ABS will begin sending 600,000 of the first same sex-marriage survey forms to houses around the county. All houses should have their forms delivered by September 25.
Canberra: The Coalition has a joint party sitting and Labor will caucus.
Brisbane: Calum Thwaites and Jackson Powell, the former students involved in a controversial 18c case at QUT, take the Information Commissioner to court to reveal further details of their case.
Melbourne: AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman will speak at an AEMC public forum.
Sydney: WIN Corporation and 21st Century Fox challenge CBS’ takeover of Network Ten in the Supreme Court.
Sydney: The former UN climate chief who oversaw the Paris agreement, Christiana Figueres, speaks at the Sydney Town Hall.
Sydney: ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft to speak and face questions at a Reuters event.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Australian Catholic University ‘games system’ on research
‘Systemic fix’ needed for NSW water management, damning report finds
Scandalous Lionel Murphy mysteries set to be laid bare
THE COMMENTARIAT
If it’s ‘No’ then Turnbull breaks nation’s heart — Troy Bramston (The Australian $): “If a majority No vote is returned — that cannot be ruled out — Turnbull will bear the blame for it.”
Reporting on racism as a light-skinned Koori — Laura Murphy Oates (Guardian Australia): “While talking to non-Indigenous locals about tensions in Kalgoorlie, I was told, more than once, that an “Indigenous minority” was taking over … not just the town of Kalgoorlie, but Australia. I was told that the government caters to “the interests of 3%” of the population, over “the other 97%”.”
CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY
Secret documents reveal the No campaign’s strategy to manipulate you — Charlie Lewis: “Under “general conversation”, volunteers are encouraged to use the full acronym LBGQTI — our spy told us that the Coalition believes the full acronym “scares” people. The talking points set out rebuttals to common Yes campaign arguments. If they say “all love is love”, doorknockers are to say “not all love is marriage”. And if the punter says it’s about equality, the response is supposed to be the not at all baseless and/or insane assertion that “we have equality between the sexes, this will include 260 new genders” (sadly the genders remain unspecified).”
Turnbull plays favourites as pre-Keating economics become ‘cool’ again — Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer: “In the new era of government interventionism that we’re all now signed up for, it pays to remember that it’s not just governments intervening, but politicians. And politicians rarely do anything without some political calculation involved.”
Tips and rumours: Gone in a New York minute: “A Crikey tipster tells us that her US women’s site Spring.St has sacked all its staff and let its office lease (in Spring Street, Soho) expire, but the search for an investor is still on. An email sent to contact@spring.st bounced back saying the account had been disabled, not to mention the website’s homepage hasn’t been updated since late July.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
Love to see Cory angry – his sullen look just doesn’t do enough to reflect his troubled soul.
On the Survey to households – does my wife who is a permanent resident get a vote? What about my six year old daughter? They were all part of the last ABS ‘survey’. Still don’t get why the AEC weren’t involved with the Electoral Roll Role.