Peter Dutton

JOBS FOR THE BOYS

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton reportedly lobbied then-Customs chief Roman Quaedvlieg to help get two Queensland cops jobs at the Australian Border Force, during a time in which Dutton was organising the new agency.

In the latest allegation against the besieged MP, a Fairfax investigation has found that one of the officers, Matt Stock, is a close friend of Dutton’s, while the other, John Lewis, is the son of a corrupt former police commissioner and has dynasty links with the Coalition. Quaedvlieg said that ABF records would show he had met with the men after being pressed by Dutton. While the Home Affairs Minister has not denied the intervention, he has labelled suggestions he acted inappropriately “ridiculous”.

In other news, two Tamil girls taken by the ABF from their Biloela house in March are reportedly suffering behavioural issues due to months in immigration detention, while a group of Afghanistan veterans have stepped up campaigns for Dutton to grant Afghan translators humanitarian visas in the wake of the escalating au pair scandals.

QUESTIONS OVER BLAZE

Convicted murderer and former NSW detective-sergeant Roger Rogerson has been questioned in prison by Queensland police over the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing tragedy.

The Daily Telegraph ($) reports that Rogerson, who took part in the police investigation, has maintained there is no “new or secret evidence” in a letter response to the paper dated December 7 last year. While John Andrew Stuart and James Finch were both found guilty of murder for the Fortitude Valley blaze, which killed 15 people, Yvette D’Ath ordered a new inquest in 2017 following years of speculation over co-conspirators.

MELBOURNE GOES GREEN

Google has named Melbourne as one of three global cities set to trial “Environmental Insights Explorer,” a climate change monitoring platform that combines Google Earth with carbon emissions data.

The Age reports that the tool will overlay emission levels from buildings and forms of transport onto Earth images, and is aimed at helping local governments develop climate change mitigation strategies. The platform, borne from Google’s air quality monitoring program “Air View” and solar-savings tool “Project Sunroof”, will be free and available for all Google Environment users as it is rolled out from this week onwards.

[free_worm]

THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

If you had a dog in a car all day in hot conditions, the owners would be charged with animal cruelty, yet it is OK for over a thousand sheep to go into international waters, suffer heat stress, suffer lack of ventilation, suffer lack of water and die in cruel, inhumane conditions. To me that is not acceptable.

Sussan Ley

The Liberal MP, who yesterday cast a deciding vote against debating a ban on live exports, hits out at the trade in sunnier, pre-ministerial May ($).

CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY

Federal Libs’ stupidity could cost NSW and VictoriaBernard Keane

“Holding the NSW state seat of Wagga Wagga in a byelection was always going to be a challenge for Gladys Berejiklian’s Liberal government. Handily for Berejiklian, her federal colleagues decided to help out by knifing a prime minister a couple of weeks out, putting on display the profound dysfunctionality of a party that is less broad church than rolling civil war, one in which fire is still being exchanged weeks after its alleged conclusion.”

A brief history of Serena Williams’ fight against racism and sexismKishor Napier-Raman

“This weekend’s US Open women’s final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will be remembered for everything but the match itself. By now, the chain of events that overshadowed 20-year-old Osaka’s groundbreaking triumph over her former idol are well-known. Portuguese umpire Carlos Ramos gave Williams a code violation for allegedly receiving coaching instructions. When Williams smashed her racquet in frustration, she received a point penalty. The point penalty was followed by a game penalty, after Williams confronted Ramos, and labelled him a ‘thief’.”

The ABC’s ‘what’s wrong with this?’ moment raises bigger questionChristopher Warren

“The ABC hit a wall last week when it tried to glide past criticisms of the Four Corners interview with US ethno-nationalist Steve Bannon, with its traditional nothing to see here, tweeted out as: “What’s wrong with this? NOTHING!”? Instead, the ABC got push back. And we got a debate about the responsibility of media to challenge ethno-nationalism through a journalism that reflects Australia’s diversity. And, in private chats around the country, many journalists came to the conclusion: it reflected poor journalistic judgement.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Australian firefighters shot at while battling US wildfire

AWU membership audit ‘reduces Bill Shorten’s power base’ ($)

Horticulturalist insists honey testing was to protect local industry

Centacare’s HIV refuge Cheltenham Place to shut after funding not renewed in state budget ($)

NT speaker Kezia Purick’s right-hand man Michael Tatham accused of mistreating Afghan war vet and former parliamentary sergeant-at-arms Ben Harris ($)

Ex-Big Un boss Richard Evertz claims $1.33m following collapse

Hobart Lord Mayor Ron Christie cops flack for inviting 7 million Chinese people to Hobart last year ($)

The Nationals threaten to go it alone in NSW Senate race ($)

Banking royal commission: not our intention to sell ‘rubbish products’, life insurance firm claims

Labor backs the NEG as political mess sends power prices up ($)

Serena Williams fined $17,000 for US Open final remarks, but it could prompt tennis to change its ways

THE COMMENTARIAT

The Liberal Party does not have a woman problem — Jenna Price (The Age): “Australian voters have already changed their minds about the importance of gender equality, according to one person who’s followed the beliefs of Australian voters for more than 30 years. Ian McAllister says Australians clearly value equality and have become much more tolerant and small ‘l’ liberal on a whole range of cultural attitudes, including Indigenous people and the environment.”

ScoMo’s success is down to his next move ($) — Caroline Marcus (The Daily Telegraph): “He’s dumped the NEG and the politically unpopular (if economically sensible) plan to lift the pension age to 70. But if he wants to parlay his personal popularity into electoral success, Morrison is going to have to do something much bigger to truly differentiate the Coalition from Labor. Whether that be ditching the Paris agreement or slashing the immigration rate, only a major shift in direction is now going to be enough to change the government’s fortunes.”

At its current rate, Australia is on track for 50% renewable electricity in 2025 — Ken Baldwin, Andrew Blakers and Matthew Stocks (The Conversation): “The Australian renewable energy industry will install more than 10 gigawatts of new solar and wind power during 2018 and 2019. If that rate is maintained, Australia would reach 50% renewables in 2025. The recent demise of the National Energy Guarantee saw the end of the fourth-best option for aligning climate and energy policy, following earlier vetoes by the Coalition party room on carbon pricing, an emissions intensity scheme, and the clean energy target.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

The Latest Headlines

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Melbourne

  • The banking royal commission’s insurance hearing continues with a focus on direct sales of life insurance to consumers. 

  • RMIT researchers will launch their final report into the Alexis Family Violence Response Model, a two-year pilot domestic violence prevention program.

  • A final community forum will be held for Melbourne Airport’s 2018 preliminary draft master plan.

  • Day one of Darebin Council’s two-day Climate Emergency Conference.

  • Representatives of the City of Melbourne will launch the “Green Our City Strategic Action Plan” and celebrate 10 years of Canopy Forum with speakers including Deputy Lord Mayor Aaron Wood and Councilor and Environment Portfolio Chair Cathy Oke.

Canberra

  • Rare Cancers Australia will launch a report card on the major progress made in rare and less common (RLC) cancers in the last 12 months, “Rare Solutions: Progress Update”, following the launch of the report “Rare Solutions: A Time To Act in August 2018”. Speakers at the launch will include Health Minister Greg Hunt, Shadow Health Minister Catherine King, Greens’ leader Senator Richard di Natale, and industry representatives.

  • The National Rural Health Alliance chair Tanya Lehmann will speak at a press conference and then will meet with 30 MPs about issues in health services being delivered to rural and remote communities.

  • Former Greens leader Bob Brown will lead a protest outside the Japanese embassy to oppose its government’s desires to overturn a long-held commercial whaling ban.

  • Author Quentin Beresford will speak at an ANU/Canberra Times in-conversation event with journalist Jack Waterford on Beresford’s new book Adani and the War Over Coal.

  • ANU will host a panel event “Energy Conversations: How renewables & storage will replace the coal clock” as part of an ongoing public events, run by the ANU Energy Change Institute and the Australian Institute of Energy.

Sydney

  • The Rugby League Players Association awards will be held at Darling Island.

  • Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute and former politician Professor Bob Carr will chair a discussion on the latest trends in Chinese tourism to Australia at the University of Technology Sydney.

  • Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Professor Peter Norden will present a public lecture, “What happened to ‘Prison as a last resort’? Time now to consider the path to abolition”.

  • University of London Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology Ian Crawford will present a guest lecture at UNSW’s Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research.

  • Columnist Bernard Salt and Research Director at The Demographics Group Simon Kuestenmacher will speak on “The Changing Tribes of Australia” as part of a breakfast series.

Brisbane

  • Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington will speak at a press conference on Cleveland train line cancellations and delays.

  • The Governor of Queensland Paul de Jersey AC will launch Access Arts’s latest exhibition, Where Nature & Civilisation Meet, set to mark Disability Action Week.

  • Day one of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital’s three-day healthcare symposium.

Perth

  • University of Sydney Professor of Politics John Keane will present “Is democracy dying? Thoughts on the crisis of representative democracy and the importance of hope in dark times” at UWA.

  • Raising the Bar Perth will see 10 expert UWA researchers host free talks across 10 Perth bars.

Hobart

  • Director of University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre Professor James Vickers, W-League player Amy Jackson, AFLW player Nicola Stevens, and dementia advocates will speak at Dementia Australia’s “Small actions Big difference” roadshow for Dementia Awareness Month 2018.

Darwin

  • Health Providers Alliance NT will hold a panel discussion on the effects of and treatments available for acquired brain injuries.

Adelaide

  • The Lady Mayoress of Adelaide Genevieve Theseira-Haese will host “HERSTORY: For love and duty”, a presentation on Adelaide’s Mayoress at the Town Hall.