Crikey Worm: Victoria passes Australia's first treaty bill

Good morning, early birds. Victoria has become the first state or territory to pass a treaty bill. Plus, the Socceroos' World Cup hopes are still alive. It's the news you need to know, with Chris Woods.

TALKING TREATY

Victoria has become the first Australian state or territory to pass a treaty bill, with last night’s historic passage of the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Bill 2018 paving the way for agreements between Indigenous people and the government.

The Australian ($) reports that the legislation — the consequences of years of consultations with over 7500 Indigenous Victorians — allows for a representative body to be elected by mid-2019 in order to help design the treaty negotiation framework. The Greens supported the legislation, although unsuccessfully pushed for greater recognition of individual clans. The state Coalition rejected the bill and instead argued that a treaty should be created on a federal level.

REFUGEE GRANTED AUSTRALIAN ABORTION

A pregnant Somali victim of female genital mutilation has won a legal bid against being shipped to Asia for an abortion, and will instead come to Australia for the operation after five years spent detained on Nauru.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that National Justice Project lawyers fought attempts by the Australian government to have the unnamed 30-year-old refugee sent to Taiwan, which, according to a Federal Court judge, lacks suitable medical facilities for the complex procedure. The news follows reports of more than 2000 Australian doctors calling on Home Affairs to bring a dying Nauru detainee to Australia for palliative care, and news that a Tamil family subject to dawn raids in Biloela, Queensland, have lost their appeal to stay in the country.

GOOOOOOOAAAALLLL!

Australia has technically kept its hopes of World Cup glory alive, after a penalty earned the Socceroos a draw against Denmark.

Mile Jedinak converted a penalty, with thanks to the always-controversial video assistant referee, and brought the score to 1-1 after Denmark’s Christian Eriksen scored the opening goal. Thankfully, with France beating Peru this morning, Australia can still advance to the next round. It just depends on France beating Denmark, and Australia winning their match against Peru next week.

[free_worm]

THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

I did wait for a string of frontbench confessions to follow. There is the lamentable Minister for Health, a Bruce Banner-like character, talking about his most recent transformation into the Swearing Incredible Hulk. I wanted to hear the Minister for Communication just finally admit that he wants his own show on the ABC. I thought perhaps the Minister for Home Affairs would declare his undiminished affection for >The Guardian… But unfortunately none of that happened: it was a short outbreak of Liberal truth-telling.

Bill Shorten

In his searing response to the government passing $144 billion worth of tax cuts, the Leader of the Opposition drills into Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s “confession” to being a snob and creates some surprisingly fun versions of the crossbench doing the same.

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

Telstra revamp suggests NBN rollout failure is even worse than we thoughtBernard Keane

“Telstra’s major strategy update has revealed that the telco believes delays around the rollout of NBN’s hybrid fibre co-axial (HFC) network are set to last longer than expected and its fibre rollout may also be delayed.”

Shadows of family separation policy haunt NZ boy stuck alone in detentionRebekah Holt

“This week we have all been appalled by the footage of immigrant children forcibly separated from their parents by US government agencies. Throughout this same time I have been talking to a New Zealand teenager who has been taken without warning to Melbourne’s Immigration detention facility, nine hours drive from his nearest family members.”

Philip Lowe admits wage stagnation ‘structural’, linked to industrial relationsGlenn Dyer and Bernard Keane

“Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has for the first time explicitly linked industrial relations to wage stagnation, as he hardened the central bank’s public view that low inflation would be the norm over the medium term.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Report into toxic chemicals finds PFAS worse than thought

WA Minister Dave Kelly accused of ‘feigning headbutt’ at Mia Davies in Parliament

Lauren Moss to lose Environment portfolio in NT Cabinet reshuffle; first-termer Selena Uibo an ace in Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s new deck ($)

Report finds spike in family violence rate in NSW during State of Origin

New liquor laws make it easier to open pubs in Port Adelaide, mayors want small-bar laws expanded as well ($)

Homeless face exit from tent city as Showgrounds shuts down in preparation for the show ($)

MP Andrew Laming labelled ‘electoral liability’ by branch members ($)

Liverpool’s $740m health precinct will rival the greatest in the world

Police officer guilty of assault, perverting the course of justice

Pauline Hanson now says she may back Coalition’s business tax cuts

Ron Medich jailed for the term of his natural life

Koko, the gorilla who knew sign language and made friends with cats, dies at 46

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Canberra

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing into the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as part of its review of the performance of Australia’s corporate, market and financial system regulator.
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell will help launch the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s latest campaign, to focus on improving Work, Health and Safety in the Small Business sector.

Sydney

NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford will release a report on fraud control in local councils.
The House Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy will hold a public hearing for the inquiry into the management and use of Commonwealth environmental water.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres will speak at the NSW and Sydney Business Chamber’s post-budget breakfast.
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, and NSW Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers will deliver an announcement on aerial firefighting.

Melbourne

Health Minister Greg Hunt and a number of experts will speak at a summit to keep Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula Green Wedge free from development and urbanisation.
A 34-year-old man of no fixed address will face court charged with 130 offences, including theft of motor vehicle and obtaining property by deception.
Lookout South Western Victoria Region will present “Past Legacy Present Tense”, to feature speaker Dr Judy Atkinson, Mark Rose, Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner Justin Mohamed, Richard Franklin, Kinja, and guest performer Archie Roach.

Adelaide

The “InnerOrigin” Jamboree conference will showcasing health, wellness and natural products.
The SA Office for Women & Flinders University Gender Consortium will present “Preventing and Responding to Gender Based Violence”, a symposium for service providers, policymakers, businesses, researchers, students and interested individuals.
The Annual Diamonds Camera Big Lens Day Photographic Expo will feature a day of workshops, exhibitions and trade shows.

Brisbane

Federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten will hold a media event in the seat of Longman, just north of Brisbane.
LNP Deputy Leader and Shadow Treasurer Tim Mander and Buderim MP Brent Mickelberg will speak at a media conference about infrastructure spending on the Sunshine Coast.
The State Library of Queensland will host the “ANZAC 100 Indigenous soldiers forum”.

Perth

Pauline Hanson will hold a media conference inside Perth Airport with Darling Range byelection candidate, Rod Caddies, Senator Peter Georgiou and WA One Nation leader and upper house MP Colin Tincknell.
Official Opening of the St. Emilie’s Convent in Kalamunda, which has been renovated to provide a safe, affordable and supported residential accommodation option for young mothers in need.
The Foundation for the WA Museum & Artefact Circle will hold their premier fundraising event, Antarctica: Night at the Museum.

Darwin

Final performance for the Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Aboriginal youth outreach program Rekindling.
Ramada Suites Zen Quarter will hold “Canapes & Constellations – Rooftop Planet Gazing in Darwin”.

Bendigo, Victoria

Bendigo MP Maree Edwards will announce the successful recipients of the government’s statewide Aboriginal Water Grants program.

Manjimup, Western Australia

Opening day for “Truffle Kerfuffle”, a weekend-long celebration of the truffle season held in the Southern Forests region of WA, the heart of Australian truffle country.

Hobart

Dark Mofo nude solstice swim at the crack of dawn this morning.

Australia

Last day for unregistered voters in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania to enrol for the upcoming federal byelections.

THE COMMENTARIAT

Analysis: Chief Minister Michael Gunner must take on NT child protection ministry when he reshuffles his Cabinet ($) — Hayley Sorensen (NT News): “When calls were made in May for the sacking of Territory Families Minister Dale Wakefield, Chief Minister Michael Gunner resisted. His resistance was amid the accidental public release of a 102-page report detailing a decade and a half of departmental failure which led to the rape of a baby girl in Tennant Creek. The responsibility, Mr Gunner said, sat with him.”

The Optus World Cup debacle is not just a technical problem — Waleed Aly (The Sydney Morning Herald): “It is surely significant that the starting point of Optus’ disastrous broadcasting of the World Cup is that it underestimated the demand it would face. Think about that. This is the very same outfit that holds the rights to the English Premier League. This is not an Australian free-to-air network with a chronic cultural blind spot that covers the Australian popularity of the world game. This is a multinational telco that believes in the sport enough to know it will gift them subscribers from its opponents, and damage Foxtel in the process.”