Former Labor leader Paul Keating has emerged to lead the opposition to a key element of the Labor Budget. The architect of compulsory superannuation back in the days of Hawke has joined some key unions and come out against raising the retirement age to 67.
PICK OF THE MORNING’S STORIES
AUSTRALIA
Kevin Rudd starts the day with a prayer – Melbourne Herald Sun
ELSEWHERE
UN condemns North Korea over nuclear test – The Times, London
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS
AUSTRALIA
Budget debate
Don’t wreck super: Keating – Paul Keating and Bill Kelty, joint architects of Australia’s compulsory superannuation system, have strongly warned against any move to raise to 67 the age at which people can take their benefits. – Melbourne Age.
RBA director Warwick McKibbin has stimulus doubts – The Australian
Local government
Rate rises to rescue crippled councils – Sydney Morning Herald
A hint of strange things
RBA offshoot’s $10m for ‘translation service’ – Melbourne Age
Brimbank report claims MP’s staffer – Melbourne Age
Foreign things
Gillard to head mission to Israel – Sydney Morning Herald
Government service
Terminally ill suffer as families caught in red tape – Dying children are spending their final months unable to move or to obtain vital services because government red tape stops them getting equipment as simple as a wheelchair reports the Melbourne Herald Sun
Opinion
US needs to stop digging hole through to China – Peter Hartcher looks at credit worthiness, the US and China. – Sydney Morning Herald
Kim shows up Obama’s soft approach – Greg Sheridan in The Australian
Rudd on the road to ruin – Malcolm Colless in The Australian
Share error exposes Labor’s blind spot – Michael Stutchbury argues that the Rudd Government’s backdown on employee share ownership tax breaks has exposed one of its biggest policy blind spots. That’s the lack of any formal policy, or even rhetorical pretence, for promoting workplace productivity. – The Australian
Heads of state are above the fray – Gerard Henderson reckons political debate will be healthier in Australia when political conservatives and social democrats alike accept that the offices of the governor-general and prime minister are at the core of Australian democracy and deserve respect. Sydney Morning Herald
ELSEWHERE
UN starts crisis talks amid Korea n-test fury – Melbourne Age
BUSINESS
Banks hit as short-sell curb lifted – Melbourne Age
Chinalco weighs up concessions on Rio proposal – Sydney Morning Herald
Obama urged to curb ‘buy American’ measures – Financial Times of London
ENVIRONMENT
Coalition gives ETS ultimatum – Opposition will push the Government to defer its emissions trading legislation until the Copenhagen climate conference has been held. But it will vote the scheme down if a delay is rejected.Melbourne Age
Opposition split over trading-scheme tactics – Sydney Morning Herald
ETS laws face mounting opposition – The Australian
LIFE
Eating Out
Restaurants, cafes beat the downturn – South Australians spent a record $100 million in restaurants and cafes in March as diners defied the economic downturn. Adelaide Advertiser
Swine flu
Hospitals inundated as swine flu panic spreads – Melbourne Age
Cruise flu lockdown for 2000 – Sydney Morning Herald
AFL team on flu-infected plane – Sydney Daily Telegraph
All school children flying from swine-flu countries to be quarantined – Melbourne Herald Sun
Dark deeds
Oxford poetry professor Ruth Padel quits after smear campaign against Derek Walcott – The Times, London
Religion
Kevin Rudd starts the day with a prayer – Rudd has revealed he tries to start every day with a reading from a prayer book. But the PM admitted he does not always remember the Christian missive that life is not “all about me”. “When I manage to remember that principle . . . I’m much the better person for it,” said Mr Rudd, who has been criticised for a tantrum on a VIP plane and is known for fruity language in private. Mr Rudd told the Salvation Army’s War Cry his preferred book of daily devotionals was My Utmost for His Highest, which features a spiritual truth for every day of the year. – Melbourne Herald Sun
Whatever turns him on and doesn’t influence his parliamentary obligations. After George W’s whacky abuse of religion to the detriment of world peace I get nervous when influential people start endorsing life’s props and cures. Rudd’s heartland is where the separation of powers rule remains forever under threat so lets hope his spruiking of daily devotionals is no more than a pointer to the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. By the way – did he donate as the Opposition might say ‘in monetary terms’, or is this his contribution to the fund-raiser? And did it come from his electorate allowance?