Crikey Worm: ADF touch base with The Hague

ADF TOUCH BASE WITH THE HAGUE

The Australian Defence Force has officially notified the International Criminal Court in The Hague of its investigation into possible war crimes committed by troops in Afghanistan, in a move military sources say pre-empts any potential international prosecution of Australian troops.

The Australian ($) reports that ADF inspector-general James Gaynor has written to the ICC’s independent prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the inquiry into possible atrocities committed by the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. Under ICC rules, member states are given the first chance to prosecute potential war crimes perpetrated by their own people, and the ICC can only step in if said countries are unable or unwilling to mount a credible prosecution.

CATCH MENSINK IF YOU CAN

Beleaguered businessman and on-again-off-again politician Clive Palmer will be forced to hand over all phone and email records from the past two years that could assist in the hunt for his nephew and former Queensland Nickel director Clive Mensink.

The Courier Mail ($) reports that Mensink’s friends, family and associates have been ordered to provide evidence as part of an investigation into the fugitive, who was the refinery’s sole director when it collapsed in January 2016 and left Australia just months later in June. Mensink, who has been spotted partying in Bulgaria, has since refused to return following Federal Court arrest warrants, but as 7.30 confirmed in late May was still reportedly being paid $4000 per week by Palmer-owned industries.

DOG DAY AFTERNOON

The City of Ballarat has backed down and apologised for attempting to enforce social permits, hours after news broke that an unregistered walking group for adopted greyhounds were warned that they may be in breach of local laws.

In a rare, clear-cut example of media impact, The Courier reports that Ballarat Council posted a retraction and apology via its Facebook page mere hours after the paper’s initial report. Organisers of the Ballarat Adopted Greyhound Walking Group were reportedly contacted by the Council in June about a possible breach of local laws’ potential need for an event permit and liability insurance.

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THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

It was all we could do to watch it without throwing a brick at the TV.

Natalie Joyce

The estranged wife of Barnaby Joyce calls his $150,000 joint interview with Vikki Campion “an absolute disgrace”, in an unpaid chat with Women’s Weekly.

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

Guthrie’s speech proof that the ABC plans to fight backEmily Watkins

“The ABC is finally stepping up its defence, with managing director Michelle Guthrie yesterday giving a speech to the Melbourne Press Club, saying the ABC was not a ‘political punching bag’.”

The last dinosaur roars for vertical integrationBernard Keane

“Every so often you’ll read a story about how Australians are terribly underinsured when it comes to life insurance. Such stories originate, unsurprisingly, with insurance companies. The scare stories don’t work, however, and Australians continue to blithely go about their business, uninterested in the purported dangers of being underinsured. The only reliable means of getting them to fork out for life insurance is to opt them into life policies as part of their superannuation and hope they don’t notice.”

The playmakers behind the Ramsay Centre blunderMichael Sainsbury

“Lost amid all the culture war hubbub about the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation being turned down by the Australian National University was this little gem: Tony Abbott, not so long ago, had been ready to walk away from parliament and dial up his conservative agitation as the chief executive of the now homeless centre.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Average of close to one child a week falling victim to sexual harm in Northern Territory, shocking new figures show ($)

Live blog: New Zealand awaits the arrival of the First Baby

Whyalla saviour Sanjeev Gupta’s bold vision for South Australia’s future ($)

Darwin hospital and surgeon sued for grandmother’s ‘preventable’ death

Dreamworld inquest: Courtney Williams says only ‘catastrophe’ training was how to use fire hose ($)

Darrell Lea store sale, of about $30m, could set new city records

Liberals split on membership of UN Human Rights Council ($)

Pauline Hanson to seal Turnbull’s tax cut win ($)

Filtering out heavy metals years away, despite high uranium detected in water

World Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo goal sees Portugal eliminate Morocco from Russia 2018

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Canberra

• The Winter Solstice Nude Charity Swim will raise funds for the Lifeline charity Love Your Sister. A group of swimmers will drop their towels to swim nude in Lake Burley Griffin at exactly sunrise on the shortest day of the year.

Melbourne

• A Tamil family of asylum seekers who were living in Biloela, Queensland will appear in the Federal Court to find out whether they will be deported to Sri Lanka. 

• Female entrepreneur group The League of Extraordinary Women will host “The Importance Of: Telling Your Brand Story”, set to include three guest speakers from the PR and startup space.

Adelaide

• SA Premier Steven Marshall will hold a media conference to discuss payroll tax cuts.

• The Court of Criminal Appeal will rule in the case of Amir Ruzehaji, who was charged with trafficking and possession offences in an operation that seized $3 million of drugs.

• Day one of the Renal Society of Australasia’s three-day annual conference.

• Business Initiatives will hold a breakfast seminar with special guest and CommSec’s Chief Economist, Craig James.

• University of Adelaide’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences will host a Health Matters discussion, “No Australians dying of bowel cancer”.

Brisbane

• The RACQ will announce this year’s Australia’s Best Cars winners based on value for money, safety, design, function and on road features.

Sydney

• The H2Expo 2018 will hear pitches from the H2 Accelerator program.

• The State Library of New South Wales will hold a discussion on “John Gould: The Bird Man”.

• Deakin University’s Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics will launch “Wayfinder: Supply Chain Careers for Women” at an Australian National Maritime Museum luncheon.

Perth

• The Ministry of Data will hold the launch party of AgHack, an event to solve agricultural problems, presented by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Darwin

• A program launch for the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, set for August 10-12, will include a screening of the uplifting Central Australian doco The Song Keepers.

• Launch of A Smoke Social, a recreation of WWI-era parties staged to farewell enlisting soldiers.

Australia

• Business leaders across Australia will participate in the 2018 Vinnies CEO Sleepout to raise money and awareness for people experiencing homelessness.

• Events will be held across Australia to celebrate International Day of Yoga 2018.

Southern Hemisphere

• Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.

THE COMMENTARIAT

Touted law reform would have stopped me speaking out — Jeff Morris (The Sydney Morning Herald): “Hidden in a broader package of reforms tabled for consideration in NSW Parliament last month was a zinger of a proposal that, if adopted, would represent a serious favour to the big end of town at the expense of the little man – in particular corporate whistleblowers. The NSW government has recommended that all Australian jurisdictions consider whether large corporations should be allowed to sue for defamation, as part of a review of uniform defamation laws.”

America’s anger about Trump’s new border policy should be a wake-up call for Australia — Sam Langford (Junkee): “This is not to say that Australia has not opposed offshore detention — there have always been protests here, some of them massive. The people and organisations who have maintained this rage deserve not to be erased. But if we ever had the kind of widespread public outrage the US is experiencing right now, it’s fair to say it’s faded beyond belief. Lucy Turnbull is not out writing opinion pieces slamming her husband’s terrible border policy every time an asylum seeker dies by suicide in our offshore processing centres, which is a sadly regular occurrence now.”

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