crikey--2020-06-15--Slavery, massacre and genocide are not part of the national curriculum. Should they be?

When even the prime minister is muddled about Australia 's history of slavery , it 's time to ask if our dark past should be addressed head-on .
Indigenous history is supposed to be incorporated into students ’ high school education , although recent comments by Scott Morrison shows perhaps it ’ s not taught as well as it should be .
Vague learning goals and descriptions in the curriculum have left educators confused and concerned students ’ learning is being whitewashed .
Experts say it ’ s time to get specific in the syllabus and address Australia ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curriculum say ?
Director of undergraduate programs at Monash University ’ s faculty of education Libby Tudball was an expert designer on the national curriculum subject civics and citizenship .
The course was designed in “ close consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders ” , although contentious words like slavery and massacre were left out , the focus instead being on perspectives about national identity .
“ The curriculum can ’ t be that precise , but there are lots of opportunities for kids to learn about it , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply discusses “ unintended and intended ” effects of settlers ’ contact — along with the struggle for rights and freedoms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the ’ 60s — and avoids contentious phrases .
The curriculum is also supposed to encompass the Alice Springs ( Mparntwe ) education declaration — but this too makes vague goals to “ understand , acknowledge and celebrate the diversity and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures ” .
The problem , senior lecturer in Indigenous education at Melbourne University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vague language meant teachers could skim over important aspects of history .
“ The focus is instead placed on the white-washed and acceptable history of nation-building and ways in which Australia has responded to the rights of Indigenous peoples , ” she says .
“ There is very little attention to the actual ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were treated.
” States develop their own curriculums , in line with the national ones .
New South Wales has developed a more specific syllabus and is the only state which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peoples ( although avoids the term slavery ) .
What do the textbooks say ?
Given the curriculum is so vague , textbooks broach history with varying degrees of specificity .
For example , Jacaranda ’ s Year 10 history book , History Alive , specifically mentions massacres , the myth of terra nullius , “ virtual slave labour ” in Queensland , and how history has been distorted to fit a colonialist narrative .
In comparison , sample pages of Macmillan ’ s Year 10 history book , The Modern World and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White Australia policy and Stolen Generations , it defines assimilation as when “ a person gives up their own way of life to live like other people ( for example , giving up Aboriginal ways for European customs ) ” .
It does not mention slavery or massacres .
Pan Macmillan did not respond to Crikey ’ s request for comment by deadline .
What do the teachers say ?
A problem with avoiding atrocities in textbooks and the curriculum is it leaves it up to teachers to tackle hard issues .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear to be tokenistic or to make a mistake , ” Hogarth says .
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers states teachers must promote reconciliation , and encourages them to find Indigenous resources to teach Aboriginal perspectives .
Again , the wording is vague .
Home educator and president of the Home Education Association Karen Chegwidden said without guidance , teaching Australia ’ s dark history correctly was a challenge .
“ It ’ s been a really difficult subject to cover well as a non-Indigenous home educator , ” she says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ resources and accessible , respectful , teaching resources to bring the subject to children at a level they can understand.
” Chegwidden said teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples ’ perspectives had got easier over the years , thanks to children ’ s books like You and Me Murrawee , and resources from Wingaru Education , an Aboriginal-owned and -operated company .
“ The state curriculum and syllabus documents just make a statement and they leave it up to the teacher or the home educator to implement that learning , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broad.
” There were ways to broach Australia ’ s dark past with young children .
“ There is no need to share explicit examples with young children , ” she says .
“ Teachers could teach through various themes such as racism , prejudice , privilege , and empathy.
” If Australia was to reconcile with its dark past , the truth must be told : “ There is a need to include the ‘ few scars ’ , as Morrison has called it on occasion , in the Australian curriculum if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occur .
”

Indigenous history is supposed to be incorporated into students’ high school education, although recent comments by Scott Morrison shows perhaps it’s not taught as well as it should be.
Vague learning goals and descriptions in the curriculum have left educators confused and concerned students’ learning is being whitewashed.
Experts say it’s time to get specific in the syllabus and address Australia’s dark past head-on.


crikey--2020-06-15--Campus chaos: students come to terms with the semester from hell

If universities and government do n't give students a voice on dealing with the pandemic 's impact , not only will their education be compromised but their job prospects will be savagely diminished .
This week marks the beginning of mid-year exams for many university students and they will be met with more anxiety than usual after a semester of unprecedented disruption .
Much has been written about the government ’ s response ( or lack thereof ) to the higher education sector ’ s funding crisis and subsequent job cuts and pay deals .
The hardship faced by its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ academia — especially students whose classroom experience is only as good as the ( usually casual ) tutor teaching them .
But less media attention has been given to students ’ learning experience during the pandemic and the impact it may have on their futures .
With campuses deserted and Zoom lessons often poorly approximating face-to-face tutelage , this may be the worst semester in history to be a tertiary student .
Some unis adapted quickly and equitably to pandemic restrictions , enacting emergency policies such as extensions to census dates and assignments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This required the co-operation of staff , administrators , students and their unions .
However , assessment has become a controversial flashpoint .
Some universities instituted compensatory grading , allowing students to discount this semester ’ s marks from their final scores .
Others are simply using a pass/fail system to adjust for isolation , giving some students unprecedented time to study , while others have been distracted by extra work and caring duties .
But some universities have refused students ’ pleas , proceeding with normal grading systems .
This could slash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lifelong effect on their career and livelihood .
As well , while some unis have made at-home examinations “ open book ” , others have subjected students to controversial online tracking systems that record their movements and give assessors remote access to their personal computers to monitor for cheating .
Students complain this invades their privacy and creates needless anxiety — stare out the window too long and the examiner may think you ’ re staring at your notes .
The most ambitious demand from student activists — that universities refund part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lower quality of education — has gone largely unheeded .
Only a handful are refunding the services and amenities fee , a fee for campus events and facilities that students can no longer use , while others just compensated international students early in semester to keep them enrolled .
Without another — more significant — government rescue package , administrators can hardly be blamed for clinging to their dwindling sources of revenue to stem the carnage .
Beyond the pandemic , the government is gearing up for a focus on “ skills ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls to match graduate attributes to their needs .
The immediate focus will be on reforming the TAFE system and online university short courses .
Providing students with relevant skills for the future economy is worthwhile , especially as students are anxious about their job prospects post-pandemic .
But while TAFE is more explicitly industry-focused , university courses are not meant to be extended job training programs .
A university education is meant to give students a well-rounded appreciation of their field , so they understand its breadth and can engage with it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions and propose ideas , not simply implement the bosses ’ whims with maximal efficiency .
Courses are meant to empower the next generation of knowledge workers , not simply serve up the job-ready human widgets many business leaders desire .
The “ workforce bootcamp ” view is particularly detrimental to arts and humanities departments that are less interested in prioritising narrow conceptions of job readiness over critical inquiries into their fields .
We are already seeing cuts : several social science subjects are set to go at the University of Sydney despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who have patiently sustained the sector throughout the crisis may soon find their academic choices limited and their education compromised .
In an uncertain funding environment , governments and administrators may soon be tempted to adopt a top-down approach to cost cutting that ignores student suggestions about course content , assessment , fees and job pathways .
But this would only exacerbate those issues .
Despite successive efforts by conservative governments to corporatise the sector and gut student unions , universities remain relatively democratic institutions to their profound benefit .
Students and staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boards .
Campus activists can still engage with administrators to promote the fair treatment of students .
As the first institutions that many young people can participate in and influence , student engagement with their universities teaches them valuable life skills beyond the classroom and fosters more open , responsive institutions .
What better way to prepare our young people for the workforce than involving them in corporate decision-making ?

This week marks the beginning of mid-year exams for many university students and they will be met with more anxiety than usual after a semester of unprecedented disruption.
Much has been written about the government’s response (or lack thereof) to the higher education sector’s funding crisis and subsequent job cuts and pay deals. The hardship faced by its workforce has dismayed all who care for academia — especially students whose classroom experience is only as good as the (usually casual) tutor teaching them.
But less media attention has been given to students’ learning experience during the pandemic and the impact it may have on their futures. With campuses deserted and Zoom lessons often poorly approximating face-to-face tutelage, this may be the worst semester in history to be a tertiary
student.


crikey--2020-06-16--How can you make a difference to fight racism?

Racism is n't just an issue in the United States ; it 's a global pandemic .
Here are ways you can make a difference to fight racism .
Are you wondering how you can make a difference to fight racism ?
Racism , xenophobia and intolerance are problems prevalent in all societies , but the small decisions you make on a daily basis can make a difference in the fight against racism .
The actions you take don ’ t always need to cost money either .
• Keep the conversation going on and offline There is an infinite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pledge your support towards anti-racism .
Here are a selection of active petitions that you can sign : • “ I can ’ t breathe ” ; Charges must be laid for the death of David Dungay JNR If you only follow white people , you only follow a white narrative .
If you only engage with white people , it will be very hard for you to hear anything outside of that narrative .
Make your follower list diverse .
Follow people of colour , whether they ’ re influencers or businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of stories each day .
To get started , here are some accounts that are worth following on Instagram : If someone makes an inappropriate comment or joke regarding people of colour , it might feel uncomfortable to confront that person .
You might want to stay quiet and brush it off , but by being passive , you are contributing to white supremacy .
Speak up !
Tell that person the comment or joke they made was uncalled for , and that you will not tolerate them speaking this way .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ I ’ m not racist ” , and block out everything that has been happening .
It ’ s time to be anti-racist and not afraid of being assertive when you need to be .
We ’ ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of anti-racist books you should read , both fictional and non-fictional .
It ’ s also useful to engage with diverse characters on screen , whether it ’ s via a fictional narrative or an in-depth documentary Here are some options on Netflix : • When They See Us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve Loved Before Keep the conversation going on and offline After the black squares , hashtags and widespread outrage , it ’ s important to keep the conversation going , both on and offline .
Channel the motivation you may be feeling right now into the future .
Don ’ t let the current movement be a fleeting trend .
Keep conversations going with your friends , family and colleagues .
There has been a growing trend to support smaller businesses .
Maybe you ’ re going to a small local coffee shop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coffee ; maybe you ’ re buying your gym gear from a company that makes their apparel from recycled materials .
So why not support black-owned businesses as a way of pledging ongoing support , and helping to close the wealth gap between white people and people of colour ?
Forbes has put together tis list of 75 businesses that you may consider supporting .
Here are some Indigenous charities you may consider donating to .
Charities and organisations that support the Black Lives Matters movement in Australia and the United States include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to read

Are you wondering how you can make a difference to fight racism?
Racism, xenophobia and intolerance are problems prevalent in all societies, but the small decisions you make on a daily basis can make a difference in the fight against racism.
The actions you take don’t always need to cost money either.


crikey--2020-06-16--What is Labor’s national executive and how will it investigate branch-stacking?

The powerful body can intervene and take over the affairs of a state branch , and recommend reviews and audits .
The ALP ’ s powerful national executive is expected to meet today or tomorrow to decide on the best way to deal with the Adem Somyurek “ stackathon ” allegations within the Victorian organisation .
The scandal claimed a third scalp on Tuesday when cabinet minister Marlene Kairouz resigned .
Labor ’ s national body has the job of investigating the claims and making sure Somyurek can never rejoin the party .
But who or what is the national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to investigate branch-stacking ?
And more importantly , can we expect it to introduce changes that would stamp out corruption and trigger widespread cultural change ?
The ALP ’ s national executive is its chief administrative body which meets three times a year .
It ’ s made up of several non-voting members — including Labor leader Anthony Albanese , national president Wayne Swan , and national vice-presidents Mark Butler and Mich-Elle Myers — and 20 voting members elected by the national conference .
Its main job is to carry out the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also can intervene in a state branch or section .
In the past when scandals like this have occurred , the executive has ordered an independent review or investigation as part of an “ intervention ” into the branch .
An intervention occurs when the national executive intervenes in the affairs of a state branch .
Under the ALP constitution , this allows the national executive to “ take over and direct ” its conduct .
An intervention into the New South Wales branch occurred last year after revelations at ICAC that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donations from Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo .
The national executive intervened to ask former attorney-general Michael Lavarch to lead a review into the scandal-plagued branch .
The review recommended structural reforms which Albanese ultimately endorsed , including bans on the NSW general secretary from seeking elected office for five years , and setting up an audit and risk committee .
The national executive is likely to call for a similar review into the Victorian branch , with former Victorian premier Steve Bracks and former federal minister Jenny Macklin among those being considered .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the branch , meaning the national executive would conduct any preselection that would have been decided by the state branch or section .
The national executive could also call for an audit of memberships .
It is less clear how an audit would work , given roughly 4000 out of 16,000 of Victoria ’ s members have been stacked by various powerbrokers over several years , according to some estimates .
Conducting an audit is much more politically risky than a review with recommendations , given that cancelling false memberships would destabilise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the branch .

The ALP’s powerful national executive is expected to meet today or tomorrow to decide on the best way to deal with the Adem Somyurek “stackathon” allegations within the Victorian organisation.
The scandal claimed a third scalp on Tuesday when cabinet minister Marlene Kairouz resigned.
Labor’s national body has the job of investigating the claims and making sure Somyurek can never rejoin the party.


crikey--2020-06-16--Australia’s contraction won’t be as bad as feared — but then we’ll return to stagnation

The prime minister says we need economic growth at 3.75 % in coming years .
How will he manage that when the economy has never got above 3 % under the Coalition ?
After an extended period of optimism about an imminent recovery from pandemic lockdown , sharemarkets in the United States and Australia finally succumbed last week to the realisation that any recovery will be slow and grinding .
In the US , community cases of COVID-19 are trending upwards again , especially across southern states , in what could be the beginning of a second wave engendered by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of states .
If that happens while the Chinese regime struggles with a new cluster in Beijing ( guess that victory lap by a maskless Xi Jinping was a tad premature ? )
, the outlook for global growth for the rest of the year is bleak .
Markets in Asia ( including Australia with a 2 % -plus slide ) continued to be sold off on Monday and were heading lower on Wall Street overnight until the US Federal Reserve revealed the details of its corporate bond buying policy , first announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ central bank had been having problems making it work but finally clarified its structure and will start indirectly purchasing corporate bonds , including bonds classified as junk , as long as they were previously investment-grade .
That boosted Wall Street , with many confusing the Fed ’ s announcement for new buying ( don ’ t laugh — it will drag the ASX , and your super investments , up today ) but illustrating how , without the astonishing ( in kind and quantity ) levels of support from the Fed , markets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At least investors here can reflect on how Australia has managed to almost completely shut down infection .
Accordingly there ’ s much talk about the economic impact being significantly less than feared earlier , especially around unemployment , which with the help of JobKeeper might not even reach 9 % .
An unemployment rate peaking around 8 % would be a considerable achievement and a testament to governments ’ handling of the crisis — especially the Morrison government — and the advice they received from their health and economic departments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem will remain , however : what will drive the recovery ?
How will we get unemployment down to 7 % , then 6 % , and then to its pre-COVID-19 level , let alone the Reserve Bank ’ s 2019 fantasy of getting unemployment down low enough to lift interest rates ?
The issue we need to keep coming back to — especially because of the media ’ s reluctance to acknowledge it — is how weak the economy was before the pandemic when it was characterised by low GDP growth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low jobs growth and falling productivity .
Scott Morrison , with a straight face , said yesterday : “ We need to lift our economic growth rate by more than 1 percentage point above trend to beat the expected pre-COVID-19 GDP by 2025.
” Is that now the government ’ s economic target , the benchmark it should be judged by ?
If so , good luck .
That means ~3.75 % a year , every year , for five years beyond this one .
With any luck 2021 will see some quarters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to something like normal .
But what about after that , after we ’ re back at “ normal ” , when the borders are reopened and immigrants , students and visitors begin coming again ?
In calendar 2019 , the economy grew at 2.2 % , despite those magical tax cuts the press gallery thought were going to turbocharge the economy .
It grew at 2.2 % in 2018 as well .
In 2017 , under Malcolm Turnbull , it managed 2.5 % .
In 2016 , 2.7 % ; 2015 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Australia hasn ’ t cracked 3 % growth in a calendar year since Wayne Swan was treasurer in 2011 and we managed 3.4 % , including a negative quarter from Cyclone Yasi .
We know there ’ s a lobby group in business and The Australian Financial Review who think we just need some hardline neoliberalism to pep things up : wage cuts , deregulation , lower company tax .
Except this would simply entrench low growth and low productivity .
Wage stagnation has been the key curb on Australian growth in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spending .
A return to a WorkChoices industrial relations system will have the same negative productivity impact that the Howard-era version did .
The government has had an awful lot to say about the need for economic reform but so far has done little beyond set up some talk shops on industrial relations , an area for which — despite incessant commentary from business and commentators — there ’ s little evidence of major productivity potential .
And it is signalling it is committed to pulling JobKeeper and JobSeeker as quickly as it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of thousands of unemployed people , and thousands of businesses , in deep trouble .
It will still run a stimulatory fiscal policy — large deficits this year , next and , courtesy of much lower company tax revenue , deficits for some years beyond that .
But additional fiscal stimulus — not even stimulus designed to put a rocket under the economy , just enough to keep growth going — seems unlikely .
Eventually investors will work that out .
Australia won ’ t suffer as deep a contraction as feared but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marked this country before the crisis .

After an extended period of optimism about an imminent recovery from pandemic lockdown, sharemarkets in the United States and Australia finally succumbed last week to the realisation that any recovery will be slow and grinding.
In the US, community cases of COVID-19 are trending upwards again, especially across southern states, in what could be the beginning of a second wave engendered by the overly rapid reopening of a number of states. If that happens while the Chinese regime struggles with a new cluster in Beijing (guess that victory lap by a maskless Xi Jinping was a tad premature?), the outlook for global growth for the rest of the year is bleak.
Markets in Asia (including Australia with a 2%-plus slide) continued to be sold off on Monday and were heading lower on Wall Street overnight until the US Federal Reserve revealed the details of its corporate bond buying policy, first announced more than a month ago.


crikey--2020-06-16--Rio Tinto rethink: it’s time for the miner to cut colonial baggage, pay more

Rio Tinto could do worse than relocating its global headquarters to Australia if it wants to repair its rocky image .
As we approach the 10th anniversary of the rolling of Kevin Rudd , it is worth remembering that this was also the moment when Australia rolled over to the big iron ore miners , delivering billions of value to the likes of Gina Rinehart , Twiggy Forrest , Clive Palmer , Rio Tinto and BHP .
Rudd ’ s proposed Resources Super Profits Tax would have profoundly increased Australia ’ s national wealth but the campaign against it run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tony Abbott and the largely foreign-controlled mining industry contributed to Labor ’ s decision to knife the prime minister .
Julia Gillard then negotiated a compromise arrangement with the miners which produced little revenue and then the Abbott government abolished this new mining tax altogether .
Fast forward 10 years and the WA state government is lumbered with a state debt exceeding $ 50 billion , while The AFR ’ s Rich List values Gina Rinehart at $ 21.2 billion and Twiggy Forrest at $ 17.6 billion , all thanks to exploiting WA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s something not quite right about two individuals amassing a $ 39 billion pile exploiting state-owned iron ore assets from a state government which is struggling in a pandemic and left with with $ 50 billion-plus in state debt .
Then you have the two real giants of the iron ore industry , Rio Tinto and BHP , which are both majority foreign-owned .
The Morrison government has recently introduced tough , new foreign-ownership laws in Australia , particularly as they relate to Chinese Communist Party connected companies .
One such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ London-based Rio Tinto .
Chinese state-owned Chinalco is its largest shareholder , with a 14 % stake in Rio Tinto ’ s UK listed shares currently worth around $ 18 billion .
China is clearly cranking up its diplomatic war against Australia with the decision to execute Australian national Karm Gilespie after he disappeared into the Chinese criminal justice system seven years ago following an arrest for drug possession .
While this has nothing to do with Rio Tinto , the issues blur when you also consider the world ’ s rolling Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s outrageous decision to blow up ancient indigenous heritage in the Pilbara to expand its iron ore operations .
The global backlash against Rio over the cave destruction has been substantial , and there ’ s an obvious solution here .
Rio Tinto , a throwback to the British colonial days , should relocate its head office and primary stock exchange listing from London to Australia .
It should also change its name and overhaul its white British establishment board which has jeopardised the company ’ s social licence to operate on country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this with the whole company , or demerge the iron-ore business into a rebranded Perth-based company called Australian Iron Ore Holdings .
This should have a majority of Australian-based directors including the first ever indigenous representative on an ASX200 board .
And while we ’ re at it , Rio Tinto should be paying much larger state royalties on its enormously profitable WA operations , a move which would help rebuild the COVID-ravaged WA state budget .
A royalty increase would also give the Chinese Communist Party a commercial slap for their continuing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spans meat and barley export penalties , a ban on ministerial level communications , warnings to foreign students about racist attacks in Australia , and now the proposed execution of an Australian national .
All this has happened because Australia made the perfectly reasonable suggestion that there should be a thorough , independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic .
The 12 person Rio Tinto board comprises only three Australians — Simon McKeon , Megan Clark and Michael L ’ Estrange — and Australian ownership is barely 20 % .
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one with the Chinese government as its largest shareholder ) making more than $ 20 billion a year in gross profits exploiting its natural resources .
The economics are pretty staggering .
Rio Tinto is forecasting that it will produce up to 334 million tonnes of Pilbara iron ore in 2020 , costing it no more than US $ 15 a tonne to extract and ship .
But with the iron ore price back through US $ 100 a tonne , 2020 is likely to be a record year , exceeding the unprecedented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ore division generated $ 39.5 billion in revenue and an operating profit ( EBITDA ) of $ 23 billion ( see page 13 of the company ’ s 2019 results ) .
No wonder they are keen to blow up heritage caves to keep this earner going .
This whole combination of events and circumstances is surely unsustainable in 2020 .
So , who will be the first Australian politician to call for Rio Tinto to ditch its London headquarters and relocate to either Perth , or its traditional home in Melbourne ?

As we approach the 10th anniversary of the rolling of Kevin Rudd, it is worth remembering that this was also the moment when Australia rolled over to the big iron ore miners, delivering billions of value to the likes of Gina Rinehart, Twiggy Forrest, Clive Palmer, Rio Tinto and BHP.
Rudd’s proposed Resources Super Profits Tax would have profoundly increased Australia’s national wealth but the campaign against it run by New York-based News Corp, UK-born Tony Abbott and the largely foreign-controlled mining industry contributed to Labor’s decision to knife the prime minister.
Julia Gillard then negotiated a compromise arrangement with the miners which produced little revenue and then the Abbott government abolished this new mining tax altogether.


crikey--2020-06-16--Does Australia’s migration system prioritise Australian workers? To find out, we need to look beyond

Does Australia’s migration system prioritise Australian workers? To find out, we need to look beyond temporary skilled visas

Federal Population Minister Alan Tudge says the government has been `` very , very careful '' to prioritise Australians and Australian jobs through the visa system .
But is that really the full story ?
The flood of migrant workers that has helped sustain the long economic boom has all but dried up following the COVID-19-induced closure of Australia ’ s borders .
Migrant numbers are expected to drop by 30 % this financial year , and by 85 % in 2020-21 ( compared with 2018-19 ) .
With the economy officially in reverse and the ranks of the unemployed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who say the migration slump is no bad thing .
In a recent opinion piece , Labor ’ s immigration spokeswoman Kristina Keneally argued that although migration had played a key role in Australia ’ s economic prosperity , in recent years a “ cheap supply ” of foreign workers had been taking jobs from Australians and undercutting wages .
“ Our post-COVID-19 economic recovery must ensure that Australia shifts away from its increasing reliance on a cheap supply of overseas , temporary labour that undercuts wages for Australian workers and takes jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote .
In an ABC RN interview the following day , Federal Population Minister Alan Tudge dismissed Senator Keneally ’ s argument , claiming the government had been “ very , very careful ” to prioritise Australians and Australian jobs through the visa system .
In making his case , Mr Tudge zeroed in a specific type of visa — the Temporary Skill Shortage ( TSS ) visa .
He said Australian workers are being protected by labour market testing rules , which force employers to advertise for local workers first before hiring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ merits or otherwise of the labour market testing system , Tudge ’ s claim needs context .
For a start , there are some significant exemptions from the labour market testing rules .
Labour market testing is not required when it would conflict with Australia ’ s international trade obligations .
That means it does not apply to workers from China , Japan , Mexico , Thailand , Vietnam , Canada , Chile , South Korea , New Zealand or Singapore .
The system has also been criticised as a blunt instrument .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ t contribute much towards ensuring the recruitment of Australians first , but it significantly adds to the red tape burden .
On the other hand , unions say the rules are easily flouted , for example by businesses offering unreasonably poor wages and conditions in local advertising to access cheaper workers through temporary skilled migrants .
But more importantly , the labour market testing rules referred to by Tudge apply only to the TSS visa for temporary skilled migrants .
This visa in turn represents a relatively small and shrinking proportion of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given year that include work rights .
The broader point , not really addressed by Tudge , is that the makeup of Australia ’ s visa system has shifted in recent years , away from permanent skilled and permanent family visas towards other forms of visas that include work rights .
Temporary skilled visas — the visa class highlighted by Tudge — account for a small and shrinking share , equivalent to 2.8 % of the total number of visas with work rights ( that is , excluding from the total tourist and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) in 2018-19 , compared to 4.8 % in 2012-13 .
Permanent skilled visas have also become less important .
In 2018-19 they made up about 3.7 % of the total visas issued with work rights .
That was down from 4.9 % in 2012-13 .
Permanent family visas have also become relatively less important , accounting for 1.6 % of the same total in 2018-19 , compared to 2.1 % in 2012-13 .
On the other hand , the share of student visas has increased significantly , from 9.8 % of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s visa system has become less permanent and less focussed on skilled migration in recent years , it does not automatically follow that migrants have been taking jobs from Australians and undercutting wages .
The evidence here is somewhat mixed .
Australian National University economics professor Robert Breunig , who has modelled the impact of skilled migration on employment and wages , says although migration adds to the labour supply , placing downward pressure on wages , it also tends to add to productivity , which has the opposite effect , lifting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countervailing effects in most cases cancelled each other out .
As useful as this analysis is , it does not entirely address the broader question raised by Senator Keneally : have lower-skilled migrants , perhaps on student or working holiday visas , been taking jobs and undercutting wages .
By its nature , this is a difficult question to answer precisely .
As the Grattan Institute ’ s John Daley put it in a recent paper “ Australia is now running a predominantly low-skill migration system ” .
“ People from this system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workforce , ” Dr Daley wrote .
But assessing the impact of this is tricky .
Many of these low-skilled migrants might be willing to work for less than minimum wages , and some businesses might even be geared towards paying such wages .
But according to Daley , both employers and foreign workers are unlikely to admit to this , making any data “ inherently ropey ” .
Where does all of this leave us ?
The labour market testing regime referred to by Tudge applies to only a small share of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then , workers from many countries are exempt to accommodate free trade agreements .
There are also some big criticisms , both from unions and business groups , who argue ( for different reasons ) that the system is not working as it should .
The bigger question is whether growing numbers of workers on other types of visas with work rights such as student visas could be undercutting Australian jobs .
There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest this could be the case , although it is tricky to answer empirically .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not telling the full story by focussing on labour market testing rules to argue that Australian workers are being prioritised .

The flood of migrant workers that has helped sustain the long economic boom has all but dried up following the COVID-19-induced closure of Australia’s borders.
Migrant numbers are expected to drop by 30% this financial year, and by 85% in 2020-21 (compared with 2018-19).
With the economy officially in reverse and the ranks of the unemployed and underemployed swelling, there are some who say the migration slump is no bad thing.


crikey--2020-06-16--JobEnder: the unemployment scheme that Australia should bet on

The odds are against the parasitic gambling industry being anything other than bigger and stronger and richer after the pandemic .
We need a program that makes sure it wo n't .
The Australian economy is in unprecedented flux , Australian society will never be the same — and yet I turned on the football the other night and what did I see ?
Gambling ads .
The same smiling idiots are back , trying to part me from my money .
What has all this change been for if we can ’ t get rid of the things we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shops , its pubs , many of its beloved cafes .
Holes are left where local businesses stood .
But we continue to endure an industry that is a parasite ?
We have JobKeeper .
JobSeeker .
A JobMaker scheme .
What we need is “ JobEnder ” , a government scheme that wades into our worst industries and says : “ You know what ?
We didn ’ t miss you in lockdown .
Pack up.
” Sports betting is the first industry I ’ d close .
All those expensively shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Cayman Islands ?
Gone .
The sports betting industry was a $ 1 billion industry in 2018-19 but supports few jobs .
There ’ s a handful of people who run the tabulating computers , and a large swathe of young marketing men with artfully parted hair and glowing skin .
Give them all the JobEnder .
They ’ ll be fine .
Sports betting is , at its worst , simply a tax on addiction , a way to shuffle money from financially disadvantaged gamblers to morally disadvantaged owners .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One of the risks for problem gambling is the ability to bet continuously .
It ’ s why pokies are bad but the once-a-year Melbourne Cup sweep isn ’ t .
Online sports betting allows continuous betting .
The apps are always there , day and night , and there ’ s always a contest going on somewhere , some outcome , or in-game activity ( e.g .
“ first goal ” ) to flutter on .
For a problem gambler , a sports betting app is a terrible thing to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not just bad for betters .
It risks corrupting team sports .
Do we want our football codes to go the way of horse racing ?
Do we want these beautiful games to be inseparable from skulduggery and colourful identities ?
Heck no .
JobEnder now !
While we ’ re putting gambling companies to the sword , it ’ s high time to do something about pokies .
Australians put $ 149 billion through them each year , which turns into $ 12 billion in revenue for the companies .
Pokies have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reportedly been a beautiful thing for pokie addicts .
The ABC has a great series on problem gamblers who ’ ve been able to break their addiction during the past few months .
I can have a gentle flutter on the pokies , $ 3 a time , once a year , but I ’ m not the customer the pokies are after .
They make $ 1292 on average per player , and even that average is not representative of the small share of players who lose far more .
I can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poker machine moguls .
Kick them to the kerb .
Pubs and clubs can go back to making money from schnitzels and schooners .
JobEnder is a fantasy , of course , but the idea is important : we control our own destiny .
What this year has taught us is that everything is up for grabs .
Nothing that hitherto seemed permanent is .
Everything is contingent on our desire to keep it going .
We can make change we never dreamed of , transform our country , and emerge from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There are other parts of the Australian economy screaming out for JobEnder .
Brown-coal miners .
Job service providers .
Vocational education scammers .
Patent trolls and tax planners and Instagram influencers .
Let ’ s give them the JobEnder — or something like it — as soon as possible .

The Australian economy is in unprecedented flux, Australian society will never be the same — and yet I turned on the football the other night and what did I see? Gambling ads.
The same smiling idiots are back, trying to part me from my money.
What has all this change been for if we can’t get rid of the things we hate? Australia is losing its high-street shops, its pubs, many of its beloved cafes. Holes are left where local businesses stood. But we continue to endure an industry that is a parasite?


crikey--2020-06-16--In the race for taxpayer cash, EY struggles — despite Pyne

Hiring former defence minister Christopher Pyne does n't seem to have helped big four consulting firm EY lift its game in securing defence contracts .
When it was revealed last June that former defence minister Christopher Pyne had been appointed a “ strategic adviser ” to big four consulting firm Ernst & Young — these days calling itself EY — there was widespread outrage .
Pyne , who ended a long political career at last year ’ s election , was to advise EY on lifting its defence contracts .
“ I am looking forward to providing strategic advice to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its footprint in the defence industry , ” he said at the time .
The former high-profile Liberal moderate was later at pains to assure people , via a glowing Australian profile , that he wasn ’ t actually lobbying anyone on behalf of EY , just giving it advice .
A year on , has Pyne ’ s advice begun delivering for the multinational firm , best known for its massive tax avoidance schemes ?
It seems it has yet to convert Pyne ’ s wise words into improving its defence tender @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contracts on the Austender website — a flawed source of information but at least consistent over time — EY is the also-ran of government contracts among the big four consultancy firms , which are also some of the biggest political donors in Australia .
In 2019 it secured “ only ” $ 86.2 million worth of contracts .
That was down on $ 103 million in 2018 , although 2019 was an election year when the caretaker period and the arrival of new ministers tends to slow the heavy volume of cash flowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 86.2 million compares with $ 205 million for consultancy king KPMG ( also down , from $ 250 million ) , and $ 176 million and $ 160 million respectively for PwC and Deloitte .
And , as Pyne ’ s appointment revealed and Crikey reported at the time , EY is also a distant last when it came to defence contracts .
In 2018 , for example , EY managed about $ 33 million in contracts with defence ( not including the Australians Signals Directorate ) compared with $ 164 million for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Deloitte and PwC .
Pyne ’ s advice seemed to have an immediate impact at EY : having secured only $ 4.3 million in defence contracts in the first six months of 2019 , that lifted to $ 26 million in the second half .
Except that second-half performance was about the same as the second half of 2018 , when it earned $ 27 million in contracts .
Still , EY ’ s performance compared favourably to Deloitte and PwC , which earned contracts worth $ 23 million and $ 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45 million .
But if there was any Pyne magic it vanished in 2020 .
With the end of financial year in sight , EY has managed just $ 1.4 million in contracts from Russell Hill .
Part of that is undoubtedly due to the impact of COVID-19 , which has led to cutbacks , pay reductions and four-day weeks at the big four .
But the impact wasn ’ t consistent .
Next lowest was Deloitte with just over $ 30 million from defence — its best result since 2018 — then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an increase from 2019 — and KPMG with nearly $ 45 million .
That means that after nearly a year benefiting from Pyne ’ s advice , EY has managed only $ 27 million from defence , while Deloitte managed $ 53 million , PwC $ 59 million and KPMG $ 124 million .
Across the public service , according to Austender , so far the big four firms have billed taxpayers about $ 280 million this year — down on $ 347 million in the second half of last year , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of last year .
COVID-19 has had an impact , but this government can always be relied on to keep the cash flowing to its major donors .

When it was revealed last June that former defence minister Christopher Pyne had been appointed a “strategic adviser” to big four consulting firm Ernst & Young — these days calling itself EY — there was widespread outrage.
Pyne, who ended a long political career at last year’s election, was to advise EY on lifting its defence contracts. “I am looking forward to providing strategic advice to EY as the firm looks to expand its footprint in the defence industry,” he said at the time.
The former high-profile Liberal moderate was later at pains to assure people, via a glowing Australian profile, that he wasn’t actually lobbying anyone on behalf of EY, just giving it advice.


crikey--2020-06-17--How ethnic power replaced unions in the Victorian ALP — and what might happen next

If the Adem Somyurek scandal is n't the occasion for a thorough reconstruction of the ALP , the faction-ridden party will come out of it worse than before .
Well , life comes at you pretty fast in the Victorian ALP .
Also , another substance , once it hits the fan .
Last week Adem Somyurek was on track to control a big chunk of the federal Labor Party and most of Victoria .
This week , he ’ s out of the party , and the two lieutenants in his mini-faction — Robin Scott ( MLA for Preston @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kororoit ) — are out of the ministry ( and , I would imagine , under threat as preselections are spilled ) .
Fifty years after the federal party intervened in the Victorian branch to prevent the Socialist Left from opposing state funding for private and church schools , Socialist Left Victorian premier Dan Andrews has invited the federal party in to take over management from the state executive .
The symmetry is near-perfect , because it was the school funding stoush that pretty much brought the modern Labor faction system into being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Left and a Right , with their own caucuses , issues pre-decided before they hit the full party level .
It ’ s because of the most recent fragmenting of this that Adem Somyurek , an outer-suburban , Upper House member with no strong union background , was able to build a faction out of almost nothing .
It ’ s also why he could be so effectively set up and nobbled — his Mods squad had even less of a union/movement base than the mini-factions run by Shorten and Conroy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1990s .
Someone wanted Adem Somyurek decommissioned very , very badly , and whoever did it ( as we noted in Tips and Murmurs yesterday ) had access to surveillance with a clarity good enough to record a Steely Dan album .
Somyurek succeeded first because there was an extreme vacuum on the party ’ s right in Victoria .
It had been unstable since the Shoppies and three other DLP unions had been readmitted to the ALP in 1985 .
The right that had remained inside the party was pragmatic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , anti-communist , pro-US .
It began to amass power as the mainstream right began to fracture , as union membership began to fall , unions ceased to be a focus of working-class life , and that class was itself decomposed by the destruction of Australian manufacturing .
By the ’ 90s , the practice of importing student politicians into official union positions to run factional politics had the effect of creating sub-factions run by David Feeney ( SDA ) , Stephen Conroy ( Transport Workers ) and Bill Shorten ( AWU ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends and influencing people that fellow party members put a fake death notice in the paper for him when he was ousted from the Steve Bracks machine in the 2000s .
That left Shorten and Conroy to create an alliance of their two sub-factions — based around student friendships , traded favours and people knowing where some metaphorical bodies were buried — the Short-Cons ( how these Goodfellas tragics loved that nickname ! )
.
Feeney would return to the Victorian SDA , but the old ideological strand of the faction ( overwhelmingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were nicknamed the “ Taliban ” .
The SDA had become a home for ethnic-community supported candidates , backed by Turks , Lebanese and others — suburban-conservative , but less ideological .
They were excluded from power for that , both ideologically and for sheer clannishness , and Somyurek — initially a staffer in SDA-aligned MP Anthony Byrne ’ s office — was the leader in creating an internal sub-faction known as the Mods ( or Moderates ) .
Quite possibly it would have stayed with the SDA , had it been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but old-school Catholic , anti-Muslim chauvinism pretty much prevented the old guard from seeing this .
Somyurek and the Mods were offered a chance to grow their mum ‘ n ’ dad state faction when the Short-Cons came apart spectacularly , as mutual suspicion between the two groups as to who would double-cross first brought on a double cross and the AWU undermined the Conroy group ( it ’ s too complicated for this article ) .
Conroy got his revenge in magnificent fashion , announcing his retirement from politics while Shorten was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the actual moment Billy Bob was flying over the Canadian tundra , thousands of kilometres from a phone .
The scramble to realign favoured Somyurek and his Mods for one big reason : the relative unity of ethnic groups such as Turkish-Australians , Lebanese-Australians , and now Indian-Australians , and the ability of leaders to “ deliver ” them in taking over branches .
The Turks had already got up John “ Butterdish ” Eren in Lara ( having helped his boss Richard Marles to take Corio from a sitting member in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towards Spring Street , up Mulgrave Freeway like the Seljuks swooping out of central Asia towards Constantinople in the 1200s .
The advantage ?
As unions have withered as genuine workers ’ community organisations , the close communal links of “ ethnic ” groups have remained .
As Somyurek said on “ those ” tapes , “ Anglos don ’ t stick around ” .
Non-Anglos from more traditional cultures will , out of collective being .
Once you stack a branch with Turks or Indians , it stays stacked .
They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Somyurek had caught the rest of the Labor right napping , and they scrambled to react , as the Sultan of Springvale began his head-scything charge across the Melbourne suburbs , taking branch after branch .
But Somyurek had relied on simply taking over the remnants of Conroy ’ s branch operation as its power declined — Somyurek ’ s reentry to state Cabinet was complemented by the rolling of Conroy loyalists Johnny Butterdish and Philip Dalidakis , and Dalidakis is not an easy man to roll .
When the shattered remnants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Somyurek ’ s plan fell to pieces ; hence his bitter barney involving the ( alleged ) traditional “ Dance of the Butterknife ” , with Johnny Eren in the dining room of Victoria ’ s Parliament House .
Somyurek ’ s loss of judgement may date from that point : he realised he would have to perform an old-school stack , with a complex array of small groups , and that would involve what has been caught on camera : paying for the memberships of people who have no interest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 60 Minutes tapes , Somyurek appears to have known that he was being surveilled , but did not suspect he was being filmed and taped in the Treasury Offices , as he ran the operation .
Still , by now , he had created a “ Centre Unity ” alliance with Shorten ’ s AWU , and that had given him the back channel to create a deal with the new CFMMEU-centred Industrial Left , via the connection between Shorten consigliere Sharon McCrohan and Labor insider/CFMMEU desperate housewife Emma Walter .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in too , to a new superfaction , which could challenge the dominance of Kim Carr and the Socialist Left — and then dictate terms to the “ National Left ” headed by Albanese from NSW .
The SDA never joined , the right realised it had created a monster , as Somyurek became megalomaniacal , and the rest will hopefully soon be available as a series of podcasts .
So what now ?
The vacuum in part of the right leaves Shorten and the AWU with a chance to take control , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old NUW + United Voice ) to stake a claim — a right union that acts like a left one ; i.e .
actually represents its members , and has strikes — but it also leaves scope for the Conroy forces to regroup .
Hence , one suspects , the formation of the pro-coal “ Otis ” group , by Conroyette Richard Marles .
It ’ s an MPs policy group at this stage , but Marles and Co really have nothing else : no unions and no branches .
The pro-coal push @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Left ’ s identification with renewables and a green new deal , and offering the faction and the party up to fossil fuels for support .
Cameron Milner , former Victorian colleague of both Shorten and Conroy , has been a coal lobbyist ( for Shenhua ) for a number of years after leaving the ALP ( and returning to run Shorten ’ s 2016 campaign ) .
Somyurek still has sway from outside the party .
To try and counter that , the Victorian rolls will be purged , it will come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will burn through cash , and there will be biffo .
If it isn ’ t the occasion for a thorough reconstruction of the ALP , the party will come out of it worse than before , the long afterlife of once-stable factions continued into a new decade .
Cue the late Warren Zevon MLC ( death is not a disqualifying condition from Victoria ’ s Upper House ) : send lawyers , guns and money , the party ’ s hit the fan .

Well, life comes at you pretty fast in the Victorian ALP. Also, another substance, once it hits the fan.
Last week Adem Somyurek was on track to control a big chunk of the federal Labor Party and most of Victoria. This week, he’s out of the party, and the two lieutenants in his mini-faction — Robin Scott (MLA for Preston) and Marlene Kairouz (MLA for Kororoit) — are out of the ministry (and, I would imagine, under threat as preselections are spilled).
Fifty years after the federal party intervened in the Victorian branch to prevent the Socialist Left from opposing state funding for private and church schools, Socialist Left Victorian premier Dan Andrews has invited the federal party in to take over management from the state executive.


crikey--2020-06-17--Remembering the red shirts scandal — and how nothing much changed because of it

As Victorian Labor gets a federal takeover , we look back at a not-too-distant scandal of similar political dimensions and how , despite plenty of huff and puff , the Andrews government got re-elected and the world moved on .
This isn ’ t the first time Dan Andrews ’ Labor government has been embroiled in a politically-damaging scandal .
Three months before the 2018 election , 17 former campaign operatives were arrested in a series of dawn police raids .
It was the most dramatic point in a scandal that had been simmering for nearly all of Andrews ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shirts scandal ( or “ rorts-for-votes ” according to News Corp ) began with a report in the Herald Sun back in 2015 .
Labor had paid casual electorate officers to don red shirts and campaign for the party in marginal seats during the previous year ’ s state election with money out of the public purse .
Taxpayer-funded electorate officers aren ’ t allowed to campaign .
The beneficiaries of the scheme were paid according to a “ 60:40 split ” between party funds and the taxpayer-funded electorate officer budget , although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do anything other than campaign-related work .
When some of the red shirts questioned the legality of the scheme , their concerns were glossed over .
An initial police investigation cleared Labor of criminal activity .
Labor ’ s hopes the scheme would blow over were dashed when then-Greens leader Greg Barber introduced an upper house motion calling on the state ’ s ombudsman Deborah Glass to investigate .
Andrews fought hard to block the probe , with an unsuccessful legal battle that was finally thwarted by the High Court .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , Glass handed down her report .
It found $ 388,000 worth of taxpayers ’ money had been used in the scheme , and 21 Labor MPs , including several ministers , had breached guidelines .
Labor repaid that money , but the process of investigating the scheme , and the legal battle to stop it still cost well over $ 1 million .
After reviewing the evidence in the ombudsman ’ s report , the police fraud squad began an investigation into the scheme .
The opposition called for MPs named @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aside while the investigation was on foot .
They refused .
In the end , none of it really mattered .
While the Coalition and the Herald Sun thundered , Andrews was re-elected in November with an increased majority .
The police investigation would drag on a little longer , but by early 2019 , all MPs involved in the scheme had been cleared of any criminal activity .
In October , the police closed the investigation , without laying any charges .
Opposition leader Michael O ’ Brien was furious , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Office of Public Prosecutions that led to the investigation being closed .
But everyone else had moved on .
More rottenness would be just around the corner .

This isn’t the first time Dan Andrews’ Labor government has been embroiled in a politically-damaging scandal. Three months before the 2018 election, 17 former campaign operatives were arrested in a series of dawn police raids. It was the most dramatic point in a scandal that had been simmering for nearly all of Andrews’ first term as premier.
The red shirts scandal (or “rorts-for-votes” according to News Corp) began with a report in the Herald Sun back in 2015. Labor had paid casual electorate officers to don red shirts and campaign for the party in marginal seats during the previous year’s state election with money out of the public purse.
Taxpayer-funded electorate officers aren’t allowed to campaign. The beneficiaries of the scheme were paid according to a “60:40 split” between party funds and the taxpayer-funded electorate officer budget, although many suggested they weren’t expected to do anything other than campaign-related work. When some of the red shirts questioned the legality of the scheme, their concerns were glossed over. An initial police investigation cleared Labor of criminal activity.


crikey--2020-06-17--It costs taxpayers millions to fund the factional system. It’s time to cut down on political staffer

It costs taxpayers millions to fund the factional system. It’s time to cut down on political staffers

It 's time to curb political staffers : taxpayers should n't be paying for the footsoldiers of factional warfare to collect money in car parks .
Once again ministerial staffers are front and centre in the biggest political scandal of the day .
Early this year , staff of the former sports minister Bridget McKenzie were shown to have played a key role in the systematic rorting of sports grants , after the Australian National Audit Office used its powers to force them to give evidence .
It reflected the highly problematic nature of a system in which staffers — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accountable like public servants — make decisions and dictate to public servants .
Now ministerial staffers of Victorian Labor ministers are deeply involved in the alleged branch stacking carried out by Adem Somyurek , with an adviser to now ex-minister Marlene Kairouz , Nick McLennan , filmed receiving money from Somyurek in a car park meeting .
There have been claims , including one recorded from Kairouz herself , that other , more senior ministerial staff are engaged in branch stacking .
It ’ s bad enough that Somyurek and Kairouz were preoccupied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal rivals , rather than focusing on their days jobs as state government ministers .
But they are at least accountable to the electorate .
Taxpayer-funded ministerial advisers , paid — usually generously — to advise ministers on portfolio matters , are not accountable .
Ministerial staffers engaged in party political work — that is , work unrelated to their minister ’ s portfolio — is historic and common across politics .
Activities such as branch stacking , or more acceptable forms of factional warfare , are standard for ministerial and shadow ministerial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personal and factional goals of their boss , or in pursuit of their own preselection .
Advising a minister is a long-cherished route to preselection for young politicos on all sides .
Figures like Tony Abbott , Kevin Rudd , Josh Frydenberg , Marise Payne , Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese all worked as senior ministerial advisers before preselection .
Electorate office staff are also frequently employed — often part-time — in intra-party activities as well as assisting MPs and senators and providing electorate services .
But , increasingly , taxpayers pay for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Finance , ministerial , shadow ministerial and electoral staff cost taxpayers around $ 306 million this year , compared to $ 100 million a decade ago .
That covers all employees at the federal level ; a couple of years ago , Adam Creighton and Stephen Murray at The Australian calculated there were over 1600 federal and state ministerial advisers alone ; on those figures , ministerial staffers alone cost the best part of $ 300 million across Australia .
But as Creighton pointed out in an earlier analysis , there was also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff in the later Howard years and Rudd/Gillard years away from portfolio subject matter experts to political staff .
Rudd initially cut back the overall numbers of political staff , but the expansion of advisers resumed again after the global financial crisis .
Politicians argue they need political staffers — people whom they can trust and who have the party ’ s interests at heart , and who are able to bring a political perspective to policy issues in a way that public servants can not and should not .
Ministerial offices also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as the above list indicates .
But at what cost ?
Even accepting the argument that taxpayers should fund staffers to provide advice on securing partisan advantage to their employers , if taxpayers are spending $ 300 million a year funding ministerial staff around the country , what proportion of that is actually funding branch stacking , factional warfare , internal manoeuvrings or self-interested machinations ?
How much are taxpayers , in effect , subsidising the internal games of political parties , with no end related to the public interest ?
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shirts ” scandal demonstrates , there are supposed to be rules around paying staffers — whether electoral or ministerial — to engage in political work .
In practice , for anything other than blatant and egregious violations , ensuring taxpayers only pay for political work linked ( however tenuously ) to the public interest is difficult .
The only way to really curb what amounts to a fraudulent abuse of taxpayer money isn ’ t tighter guidelines for what staffers can and can ’ t do , but large cuts to the numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff have so little to do that they have time to collect cash in car parks and engage in intra-party feuds , we surely don ’ t need anywhere near as many of them .
A 50 % reduction might be a good start — and provide a substantial saving to taxpayers at both state and federal level .
Should taxpayers fund political staffers ?
Let us know your thoughts by writing to [ email protected ] .
Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey ‘ s Your @ @ @

Once again ministerial staffers are front and centre in the biggest political scandal of the day.
Early this year, staff of the former sports minister Bridget McKenzie were shown to have played a key role in the systematic rorting of sports grants, after the Australian National Audit Office used its powers to force them to give evidence.
It reflected the highly problematic nature of a system in which staffers — who are neither elected like politicians nor accountable like public servants — make decisions and dictate to public servants.


crikey--2020-06-17--After travelling the world, COVID-19 is sowing chaos in India

COVID-19 is set to wreak havoc on the economies of India and its neighbours , and it could n't have come at a worse time for Australia .
First Wuhan , then Bergamo , followed by New York and London .
Now India ’ s financial hub of Mumbai has become the latest metropolitan epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Mumbai has become the poster child of the virus ’ toll in India , though many other parts of the country are now feeling its weight .
Indian infections have passed 325,000 , and in the past week cases have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them the two cities are home to nearly 40 million people .
Infection rates are either as bad or worse as they are in neighbouring countries Pakistan , Bangladesh and Nepal .
Together the four nations are home to over 1.7 billion people .
No one knows — or will likely ever know — the true toll , with deaths under-reported in the region by as much as 30 % .
With India ’ s healthcare threadbare to non-existent in large swathes of the impoverished countryside , the spear of COVID-19 is rapidly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progress from China , through Europe and south-east Asia , has been non-linear and somewhat puzzling .
Much remains unknown about the pathogen and why some communities and groups appear to be more vulnerable to infection .
The dense , often unsanitary urban metropolises of Asia are too often deprived of running water , and in some areas social distancing is close to impossible .
Iran , on the edge of Asia proper , was an early , major casualty .
In the original top bracket with Italy and China , Iran is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Middle East and as such it easily outstrips all its neighbours for the heavy presence of Chinese business people and tourists .
COVID-19 hit before the government could institute a lockdown .
Iran is now in the midst of a major second wave .
After Iran , Asia was holding its collective breathe for the seemingly inevitable outbreak , though the impact was initially small in some places and remains so — at least according to official data .
Elsewhere , it behaved unpredictably : Indonesia and the Philippines are the two leading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Asia while densely populated Vietnam has so far escaped all but scot-free .
It should be noted , however , that there there is a huge gulf in COVID-19 testing in south-east Asia compared to the West , Iran , and much of the rest of Asia .
The timing of the Indian pandemic is doubly bad for Australia , coming just as our government , business and media seemed to wake up to what has been increasingly obvious to casual observers : that Australia is dangerously reliant on China for export dollars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summit between Scott Morrison and Indian PM Narendra Modi was designed to talk up the opportunity of India , though it ’ s worth noting that cynics have long used the line that the Indian economy is a promising target for Australia .
As the pair admitted , business is still struggling to make the sorts of inroads that a recent government report thinks are possible .
And that was before COVID-19 killed those unrealistic targets stone dead .
Australia appears to have beaten the odds and all but solved its own COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But when major trading partners like India are in crisis , Australia is dead centre for the knock-on effect .
India still ranks number five in Australia ’ s trading list , but that relationship hinges heavily on fossil fuels and bulk agriculture exports , as well as cheap manufacturing .
Both resources and farm goods only have middling demand elasticity — sales slump as economies go south .
India is also racing up the tourist charts in Australia , doubling numbers to 337,000 visitors in the past three years .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it to number two within a decade , or even to one if the Chinese government can gain traction with its anti-Australia narrative .
Meanwhile , Indian tertiary students — who are the number two cohort after China — have surged in recent years .
Even the luckiest , best-managed countries will not be able to dodge a rolling recession that , like the pandemic , is only just beginning .
For Asia ’ s hundreds of millions of poor that is a generational , human tragedy — for Australia , it makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problematic .
What is happening in India has horror-story potential as train carriages are converted to carry hospital beds .
It ’ s critical for Australia ’ s immediate future , no matter how quickly we can all get back in the pub .

First Wuhan, then Bergamo, followed by New York and London. Now India’s financial hub of Mumbai has become the latest metropolitan epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mumbai has become the poster child of the virus’ toll in India, though many other parts of the country are now feeling its weight. Indian infections have passed 325,000, and in the past week cases have spiked in the capital Delhi. Between them the two cities are home to nearly 40 million people.
Infection rates are either as bad or worse as they are in neighbouring countries Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Together the four nations are home to over 1.7 billion people. No one knows — or will likely ever know — the true toll, with deaths under-reported in the region by as much as 30%.


crikey--2020-06-18--Five anti-racist podcasts you should listen to

Here are the anti-racist podcasts that will help you better understand racism in the United States .
Wondering which anti-racist podcasts you should be listening to ?
We ’ ve got you covered .
Here are a variety of anti-racist podcasts that talk about the past and present of racism : • Getting White People To Talk About Racism Getting White People To Talk About Racism Getting White People To Talk About Racism with David Remnick from The New Yorker discusses the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd , alongside anti-racist trainer Suzanne Plihcik .
Plihcik examines white supremacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is for those who benefit from structural racism to acknowledge its existence .
This podcast is for anyone who wants to better understand the current protests and their impact on , and importance to , racism in the United States as it exists today .
White Homework with Tori Williams Douglass is a podcast for people wanting to learn about racism , the non-revised version of American history , and how to leverage privilege to create a more equitable world for all .
This podcast is for anyone who wants a no-nonsense approach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a language that is easy to understand .
The Justice in America podcast with Josie Duffy Rice and Clint Smith centres around the criminal justice system and reform .
Duffy and Clint interview a broad range of people , including activists , practitioners , experts , journalists and organisers .
This podcast is for anyone who wants to understand how the criminal justice system works , as well as its impact on people , particularly poor people and people of colour .
The Good Ancestor Podcast with Layla F Saad is interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , exploring what it means to be a good ancestor .
Layla F. Saad is an anti-racism educator and the New York Times bestselling author of Me and White Supremacy .
The Good Ancestor Podcast is the anti-racist podcast for you if you are seeking a fresh perspective through the eyes of activists who are making a difference in the fight against racism .
Hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones , 1619 is a New York Times audio series that examines how slavery has transformed America , connecting both the past and present .
1619 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you want to better understand the fundamental history of racism in the United States .
Read : Nine anti-racist books you need to read

Wondering which anti-racist podcasts you should be listening to? We’ve got you covered.
Here are a variety of anti-racist podcasts that talk about the past and present of racism:
Getting White People To Talk About Racism White Homework Justice In America The Good Ancestor Podcast 1619
Getting White People To Talk About Racism
Getting White People To Talk About Racism with David Remnick from The New Yorker discusses the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, alongside anti-racist trainer Suzanne Plihcik. Plihcik examines white supremacy in America, and how hard it is for those who benefit from structural racism to acknowledge its existence. This podcast is for anyone who wants to better understand the current protests and their impact on, and importance to, racism in the United States as it exists today.


crikey--2020-06-18--Political parties — unregulated, unaccountable, out of control

Australia 's political parties receive vast sums of taxpayer funding but face little or no accountability for how they use it .
For bodies that depend heavily on taxpayer funding , political parties are some of the least regulated , least accountable institutions in the country — which is exactly the way they prefer it .
After last year ’ s federal election , federal political parties were paid $ 68.6 million in taxpayer funding , based on their share of votes ( another $ 1 million went to independent candidates who achieved more than 4 % of the primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the $ 300 million that will be spent on staff for politicians in their electorate offices and for ministerial advisers , and $ 220 million spent on the remuneration and administrative expenses of MPs and senators ( there ’ s also around $ 34 million spent a year on services for them ) .
In other jurisdictions , there ’ s other forms of taxpayer support .
In Victoria , for example , beyond the $ 29 million in public funding handed to the political parties after the last election ( that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elections ) there is also administrative expenditure funding worth several million dollars , or policy development funding .
Now , running a democracy isn ’ t cheap , and each of these forms of support can be justified as the costs of having an effective and functional democracy .
But as we described yesterday , a solid portion of this funding is not for democratic activities or policy development or enabling MPs to better serve constituents , but for politicians to engage in intra-party activities on behalf of themselves or factional leaders .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are defrauding the taxpayer by using money intended as a cost of democracy to fund their own internal conflicts .
And note that the majority of this funding is directed at staffing for politicians , not the politicians themselves .
Politicians are directly accountable to the electorate every three years at the federal level and every four years at the state level ; staffers are not accountable to the electorate except indirectly — i.e .
they may lose their jobs if their employer loses her seat or they lose government .
Indeed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staffers .
They can be called before the Australian National Audit Office ( ANAO ) , if it chooses to use its powers of compulsion .
But they are not accountable to parliament in any way , with both sides of politics having acted to ensure that staff can not be required to appear before parliamentary committees .
And government staffers — far more numerous , and with access to far greater resources than those working for oppositions — are also protected by the unwillingness of police forces and prosecutors to embarrass governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For example , the AFP refused to investigate the serious leak of a classified report by someone in Peter Dutton ’ s office or in a senior position in the Home Affairs portfolio , and refused to investigate the peddling of fabricated documents by Angus Taylor ’ s office .
Victorian police refused to charge anyone after investigating the notorious Andrews government “ red shirts ” scandal — as blatant a misuse of taxpayer money as has been seen in that state for years .
And in the unusual case where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the staff of Michaelia Cash leaking what turned out to be an illegal raid on a trade union , the government ’ s hand-picked director of public prosecutions overruled the police and refused to prosecute .
This apparent immunity to accountability even for criminal acts , however , is of a piece with the broader lack of accountability of political parties .
As Crikey has endlessly rehearsed , political parties have only limited donation reporting requirements under federal law , and the requirements that do exist are poorly enforced — politicians and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without consequence .
Overall financial disclosure requirements are significantly less for political parties than for major charities , which are regulated by a bespoke regulator .
Nor are political parties , other than in relation to specific kinds of direct funding , subject to the ANAO .
Political parties have also given themselves exemptions from privacy laws , allowing them to accumulate huge databases of Australian voters ( all controlled by political staffers and party executives ) with no accountability for the use and abuse of that information .
They ’ re exempt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Call Register , and laws dealing with false and misleading advertising they apply to everyone else engaging in advertising .
And under parliamentary rules , politicians are prevented from using fora such as question time to inquire about party administrative and operational matters .
Political parties , and the staff who make up the bulk of the people within them , operate inside a bubble in which taxpayers pay them handsomely but they ’ re not subject to the kind of requirements that other recipients of taxpayer funding are — or even that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprise when staffers behave as though they ’ re beholden to no one but their factional bosses ?
How do we fix political funding ?
Let us know your thoughts by writing to [ email protected ] .
Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey ’ s Your Say section .

For bodies that depend heavily on taxpayer funding, political parties are some of the least regulated, least accountable institutions in the country — which is exactly the way they prefer it.
After last year’s federal election, federal political parties were paid $68.6 million in taxpayer funding, based on their share of votes (another $1 million went to independent candidates who achieved more than 4% of the primary vote).
That’s separate from the $300 million that will be spent on staff for politicians in their electorate offices and for ministerial advisers, and $220 million spent on the remuneration and administrative expenses of MPs and senators (there’s also around $34 million spent a year on services for them).


crikey--2020-06-18--Choosing when to go: what the nation can learn from Victoria’s embrace of voluntary assisted dying

Despite hand-wringing and dire predictions , patients have expressed the immense relief of having the option of voluntary assisted dying , even if they never choose to use it .
She was a gorgeous woman , happily married , bristling with joie-de-vivre .
And dying of a horrible cancer , one that rendered her unable to swallow .
She had no chance of cure , but every chance of choking to death .
She chose voluntary assisted dying ( VAD ) .
When I arrived at the appointed time , she was surrounded by weeping relatives saying their last goodbyes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was just me and her husband , he on one side holding her hand and muttering softly , while I knelt on the other side prepping the gear .
After a final confirmation from her that she wished to proceed , I slipped the needle in and started the injections that would first put her quietly to sleep , then deeply unconscious .
Then death .
This Friday is the first anniversary of VAD becoming possible here in Victoria .
Twelve months in which Victorians with a terminal illness have had the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time on their own choosing , rather than await their diseases ’ inevitable but unpredictable course .
This time last year the best estimates suggested that somewhere between 50 and 150 people might use the legislation in the first year .
Twelve months later , nearly 400 Victorians have registered as eligible .
Even though far fewer have actually used the medications , the numbers have hugely exceeded expectations .
Cancer has been the most common reason , then neurological disorders like motor neurone disease , with some cardiovascular and respiratory diseases .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ strong — the Victorian law is said to be the most restrictive law of any jurisdiction where VAD is allowed .
Sometimes it seems too cautious .
Only Australian citizens , and ordinary residents of Victoria , are eligible .
Seems fair enough , designed to prevent people popping over from Uzbekistan or Queensland just to avail themselves of the law .
But for my first VAD patient ever , these laws proved too strict .
Julian had pancreatic cancer and knew what lay in store for him .
He had no desire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nausea , wasting and debility , and was determined not to die unpleasantly .
He had lived in Melbourne since 1981 , worked here , paid taxes and , now retired , drew an Australian pension .
But he was born overseas , and had never taken out Australian residency , so was deemed ineligible .
He was allowed to vote , but not to die the way he would have chosen .
The law is far from perfect .
Firstly , doctors are not allowed to tell patients of the option of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , articulate English speakers who know that they have to ask , but a significant potential barrier for the more marginalised .
How can my patients give informed consent if I can not tell them about all their legal choices ?
It ’ s like being told that I can tell someone with heart disease about pills , but not about stents or surgery .
Secondly , someone has to provide a written prognosis .
Sounds simple , but many specialists have turned out to be uncomfortable about committing themselves on paper .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know who ’ s got five months to go and who has eight .
But five qualifies and eight doesn ’ t .
Finally , the process is cumbersome and time consuming , often taking three to four weeks to complete .
Several patients that I have been helping have died before the process could be completed .
For some , their deaths were OK , but others died alone or in distress , both of which could have been avoided had they had VAD .
But after 12 months experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requested VAD care , here ’ s the positive side of the experience : • Management of symptoms like pain and nausea has been well provided by palliative care , and these have not been the reasons for seeking VAD .
Overwhelmingly people have asked for the option of VAD to regain some control and choice ; to not have to wait for a possibly unpleasant event to finally kill them ; to not have to suffer the indignities of further losses of bodily function but to go quietly and comfortably at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For many people , just having the option has been an immense relief , even if they never went on to use it .
• There ’ s been no suggestion of coercion at any point — rather the opposite .
Families have been more likely to be reluctant but supportive .
• The consultations as a VAD provider have been surprisingly uplifting .
All the complex stuff about a horrible diagnosis , treatment failure and imminent death has already been done .
By the time they come to someone like me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the practicalities and getting things sorted out .
• The Statewide VAD Navigators have been an invaluable resource for everyone , public and professionals alike .
Their job is to help people find their way through the system and they have done a superb job at holding the hands ( metaphorically and actually ) of patients , relatives and hapless doctors like me .
• The sky hasn ’ t fallen in , nor has my practice been picketed or graffitied ( well , it still gets graffitied , but nothing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city , after all ) .
I still work as a GP and see families , kids and everyone I have always seen .
After all the argument , hand-wringing and dire predictions , grannies are not being bumped off left , right and centre , nursing homes are not being emptied , nor are confused older people being coerced into signing on in droves .
What has happened is that a small number of people have had the huge relief of being provided with an option previously denied them .
An even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used the medication , and the experience has been positive and peaceful .
For everyone else , the vast majority of Victorians , nothing has changed .
So happy birthday , VAD , and as you blow out your candle , can I paraphrase Buzz Lightyear as I wish for you , “ to WA , and beyond ” .

She was a gorgeous woman, happily married, bristling with joie-de-vivre. And dying of a horrible cancer, one that rendered her unable to swallow.
She had no chance of cure, but every chance of choking to death. She chose voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
When I arrived at the appointed time, she was surrounded by weeping relatives saying their last goodbyes, taking their final photos. Then it was just me and her husband, he on one side holding her hand and muttering softly, while I knelt on the other side prepping the gear.


crikey--2020-06-18--Ann Marie Smith’s death triggered a taskforce. Why hasn’t David Harris’?

David Harris died more than a year ago after his NDIS funding was cut off .
Yet the NSW government has yet to launch an inquest into his death .
An urgent state government review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme ( NDIS ) , prompted by the death of South Australian woman Ann Marie Smith , has found huge gaps in the system .
The final report is expected to include details on the death of David Harris , Crikey has been told , who died last year in NSW after being cut off from multiple disability support services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation has been launched into Smith ’ s death , who had cerebral palsy and died this year after allegedly being left in the same chair in her home for a year .
But in Harris ’ home state , an inquest into his death has still not been launched .
Stressed , anxious , and left with little information Harris ’ sister Leanne Longfellow told Crikey that more than a year after his death she still has few answers .
Harris ’ body was so decomposed , a coroner couldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was no food in his fridge .
His support workers had stopped visiting , and his NDIS funding had been cut off .
An internal review by the coroner is scheduled for July 6 , but it is still not known if a decision to launch an inquiry will be made then .
“ I feel like the burden is on me to be the detective , ” Longfellow said .
“ I wish I could just hand it over and know it was being dealt with … I have just been so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it closely and not giving it the attention it needs.
” What did the report say ?
The South Australian government ’ s safeguarding taskforce interim report identified 12 safeguarding gaps and made five recommendations .
Eight gaps related to the federally-run NDIS , while four were state-specific .
Gaps included the need to better identify vulnerable people , ensure they had connections to the community , and have regular health checks .
It also found in-home workers needed supervision and better screening , and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission complaints process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communications for People with Disability Australia El Gibbs told Crikey the findings weren ’ t a surprise .
“ These recommendations echo many other recommendations from many other inquiries , into preventing violence , improving the NDIS and how people with disability access healthcare , ” she said .
Gibbs added NSW was falling behind in disability care .
“ The state government has also moved away from all disability service provision , and independent disability advocacy services are under a cloud with funding only guaranteed to the end of 2020 , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ territory governments have a responsibility to provide services to people with disability , both those who have NDIS plans , and the 90 % who don ’ t. ” The taskforce ’ s final report is due on July 31 .
Details of Harris ’ death is expected to be included in the appendix of the report .
NSW shadow minister for disability and inclusion Penny Sharpe told Crikey gaps identified in the report needed to be addressed .
“ These need to be looked at from a state perspective , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role of the state government [ to address these gaps ] .
No one should be falling through the cracks.
” Both Sharpe and federal shadow minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten called for an inquest into Harris ’ death .
“ South Australia ’ s interim report directly notes there are federal problems which need to be investigated and addressed , ” Shorten told Crikey .
“ These deaths by neglect are a national crisis caused by seven years of neglect of the NDIS and the active removal of $ 4.6b from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NDIS watchdog.
” Disability Discrimination Commissioner Ben Gauntlett told Crikey no one should have to wait for help .
“ We need to have policies that ensure individuals with complex support needs are looked after by creating policies that do not rely upon people requesting help , ” he said .
“ As a society , it is not enough for us to say , ‘ we ’ ll learn from this ’ .
We must do better.
” How do we mend Australia ’ s welfare network ?
Let us know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protected ] .
Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey ’ s Your Say section .

An urgent state government review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), prompted by the death of South Australian woman Ann Marie Smith, has found huge gaps in the system.
The final report is expected to include details on the death of David Harris, Crikey has been told, who died last year in NSW after being cut off from multiple disability support services.
An inquest, taskforce and manslaughter investigation has been launched into Smith’s death, who had cerebral palsy and died this year after allegedly being left in the same chair in her home for a year.


crikey--2020-06-17--Freedom — can we have too much of a good thing?

Why are `` freedom-loving '' conservatives supporting the appalling injustices dealt out by authorities in the US ?
There is a curious paradox in the crisis ignited by the death of George Floyd and it cuts to the heart of how people view freedom .
This killing was an abuse of individual rights , which — as embodiments of the notion of freedom — are dear to conservative hearts .
But when it comes to the individual rights of protesters and black victims of state violence , it depends on which individual .
Freedom is central to our society and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much of a good thing ?
The prominent US moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt offers deep insights into this question in The Righteous Mind , arguing that moral agreements bind societies .
And we belong to moral tribes .
But differences between “ right ” and “ left ” mean people fail to comprehend the other side ’ s values .
This divide underpins the tribal conflict of US and Australian politics .
Freedom is contested across this divide .
Conservatives ensure we don ’ t ignore the centrality of freedom to the good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are more willing to limit it to bolster fairness .
But freedom love can go too far .
Haidt writes : “ The psychology of sacredness helps binds individuals into moral communities.
” Freedom plays this binding role for conservatives .
Within conservative narratives freedom is sacralised , transformed into a totem to worship .
In the law of the jungle , all animals , including humans , are free .
But there is no absolute freedom .
If you are an antelope and you stray too close to a hungry lion , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constraints .
It ’ s a question of balance .
The right argues individuals should determine those constraints upon themselves .
The antelope should not be silly and stray from the herd .
This view buttresses the interests of the rich and powerful who seek a world without constraints on them but are happy to constrain those who might take what is “ theirs ” .
The left argues lions should be constrained .
When taken too far , the result is too much constraint .
Animals ( us ) are imprisoned in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contemporary written laws have supplanted jungle law .
They limit our freedom based on our morals ; agreements about how we live together , helping us co-operate .
They limit the freedom to take selfish action , particularly if it causes harm .
The constraint on freedom during the pandemic is justified by the future benefit .
But the risk of harm to livelihoods is also clear .
Many conservatives , and all freedom worshippers , argue that individuals should be free to do their own risk assessments .
Why do freedom worshippers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights of a black man are so clearly abused by state violence ?
The impulses driving this are not simply resistance to systemic and structural change .
Haidt identifies conservative core values as respect for authority , group loyalty and a sense of purity .
They also value care and fairness , as they define it .
The left favours its versions of fairness , while not respecting authority as deeply .
Conservatives are torn between freedom and authority .
They are conflicted about police abuse of a black man ; their values @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authority , they are reluctant to stand against the police .
They may also see the black man as the problem .
Their sense of purity can promote within them disgust for the other .
So confused conservatives must choose between freedom and authority .
US President Donald Trump could have called for calm , change and fairness but chose to promote the tribal divide .
He emphasised crime and violence , played down injustice , and pushed tribal loyalties .
These law-and-order and respect-for-authority narratives blind conservatives to the injustices — the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and the injustice continues .
Fear and threat drive a lot of human behaviour : deep fears of the non-white other ; fears of loss of white privilege and power in a changing world ; fears about loss of living standards in a globalised economy ; fears over God ’ s authority being insulted by atheist progressives ; fears that the sacred notion of freedom will be constrained by someone other than themselves .
Freedom is not the freedom to violently clear a public square for a presidential photo opportunity .
Freedom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in custody .
Individual rights belong to all , including black men and women — in the US , Australia and elsewhere — living too often under the repressive knee of the state .
Jock Cheetham is a senior lecturer in journalism at Charles Sturt University , Bathurst , whose research has applied moral psychology to religious persecution in Indonesia .

There is a curious paradox in the crisis ignited by the death of George Floyd and it cuts to the heart of how people view freedom.
This killing was an abuse of individual rights, which — as embodiments of the notion of freedom — are dear to conservative hearts. But when it comes to the individual rights of protesters and black victims of state violence, it depends on which individual.
Freedom is central to our society and culture, but can you have too much of a good thing?


crikey--2020-06-19--Top tier Tories: how politics is colouring the Order of Australia honours

The Coalition comes out well and truly on top in this full list of Order of Australia honours given out to politicians over the past few years ...
This is part two of a three part series .
To read part one , go here .
Inq has trawled through the Order of Australia awards made to politicians in the Australia Day and Queen ’ s Birthday honours of 2019 and 2020 .
A total of 62 honours were awarded : 42 to Liberals or Nationals and 20 to the ALP and independents .
This means two-thirds of all gongs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a large difference in the distribution .
In the most prestigious categories , the AC and the AO , Liberals and Nationals were given 14 of 18 awards .
State by state one statistic stands out : all West Australian state awards went to Lib/Nat politicians ( except for one independent ) and none went to WA state Labor figures .
In theory the criteria for an award are : • made a contribution over and above what might be reasonably expected through paid employment , or • made a voluntary contribution to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volunteers .
The results of the top two categories are : AC ( Companion of the Order of Australia ) AO ( Officer of the Order of Australia ) In the Member of the Order of Australia category there were 23 awards .
14 to Liberal/LNP/National politicians , including Charles Kemp , a former director of the Institute of Public Affairs who was a senator from 1990 to 2008 ; former Howard government minister Peter Reith ; and Lawrence Springborg , one-time leader of the Queensland LNP .
Six went to former ALP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meredith Burgmann and former Victorian Legislative Assembly member Kay Setches .
Three independents received awards .
In the Medal Category OAM there were 21 awards : 14 to Libs/Nats and seven to the ALP .
Next : Bettina Arndt AM and the shame file…

This is part two of a three part series. To read part one, go here.
Inq has trawled through the Order of Australia awards made to politicians in the Australia Day and Queen’s Birthday honours of 2019 and 2020.
A total of 62 honours were awarded: 42 to Liberals or Nationals and 20 to the ALP and independents. This means two-thirds of all gongs went to conservative parliamentarians.