LAST WEEK THIS MORNING
Dutton wants to pause visas for Palestinian Immigrants
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has come under fire after his call to reject all visa applications made by Palesitians fleeing gaza.
Duttons baselessly claims that Palestinian refugees pose a potential national security threat and is unsatisfied with the security checks currently in place.
His controversial suggestion incited a fiery response from Independent MP Zali Steggall who labelled Dutton racist and divisive.
“I am offended by the rhetoric of the leader of the opposition … and the continued attempt to divide Australian society on these lines and issues,” Steggall said.
“We are better than this ... You are doing everything you can to separate and divide our communities.”
The ASIO and Labor government have pointed out that the former Coalition government
Successfully used the same process of background checking that is used now.
Of the over 7000 visa applications made by Palestinians, 2922 have been accepted, with no evidence of these immigrants threatening national security.
Dutton claimed the Labour Government had committed “an egregious breach of what is in our country’s best interests” for having accepted migrants from a war zone.
“Imagine if the Howard government or the Morrison government had suggested we would bring people who are sympathisers to Saddam Hussein or to al-Qaeda or to ISIL, or to ISIS?” Dutton said.
Albanese reiterated his confidence in Australian security agencies which he claims Dutton is simply undermining.
“The claim that Victorians were scared to go out due to African gang violence, and the incorrect blaming of the death of a teenager on such gangs in a bid to score a point,” Albanese said.
Muslin and Palestinian advocacy groups have denounced Duttons suggestions, also accusing the opposition leader of using them as a “cannon fodder” to secure more votes in the upcoming election.
People who have recently arrived in Australia after fleeing Gaza have defended themselves, saying they have no affiliations with Hamas and are simply trying to rebuild after losing everything.
Imane Khelif lodges cyber bullying lawsuit against JK Rowling and Elon Musk
After being subject to misogyny, racism and sexism online, Imane Khelif has filed a lawsuit in France naming JK Rowling and Elon Musk.
The aggravated cyber harassment complaint was filed by Khelif’s attorney, Nabil Boudi, with the Paris prosecutor’s office on August 10.
Boudi said the complaint “ensures that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people.”
Khelif was inundated with abuse, primary one X, with comments from high profile figures including JK Rowling and Elon Musk.
Rowling posted a picture of Kehlies fight against the Italian who she beat in mere seconds with the caption: “The smirk of a male who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”
Musk also shared his US swimmer Riley Graines’ post “men don’t belong in womens’ sports”, saying: “absolutely.”
Khelif was backed by the International Olympic Committee against Russian boxing chief, Uman Kremlev, who alleged that Khelief had XY chromosomes without any proof.
Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association with which the IOC has cut ties because of its connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as involvement in corruption and inadequate financial transparency.
Khelief was born female and has always identified as such.
After her gold-earning-victory against China’s Yang Liu, Khelif said: “I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I have lived as a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that.”
Pedro Diaz, Khelif’s coach, said the bullying endured by Khelif had been incredibly impactful to her and everyone around her.
“The first time she fought in the Olympics, there was this crazy storm outside of the ring - I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life.,” Diaz said.
Student debt wiped
Changes to student debt are a step closer to implementation.
The long-anticipated bill was introduced on Thursday to parliament but has been scheduled to report back on 30 September.
This means that the legislation will return to parliament in October at the earliest. It must pass both houses to take effect.
If the bill passes, it is expected to wipe over $3 billion in student debt and may save the average graduate with a HELP debt $1,200 a year.
Education Minister Jason Clare commented on the legislation’s goals in parliament last Thursday.
“[The changes] will provide significant relief for people with a student debt while continuing to protect the integrity and value of the student loan system, which have massively expanded tertiary access for more Australians,” he said.
The legislation proposes changing the indexation of HELP debts so that the main indicator used in the calculation is the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index, whichever is lower.
These indexes measure the rate of inflation and rising wages respectively.
Debt relief would come in the form of a credit that would automatically reduce the amount owed on an active HELP debt.
For graduates who have fully paid their HELP debt, the credit would be applied to government or Australian Taxation Office debts. Individuals without a tax debt will receive a refund.
These changes have come after the Department of Education’s Australian Universities Accord report published in February. The report contained 47 recommendations to improve Australian tertiary education.
Recommendations included that student debt not outpace wage growth.
Liberal party misses deadline to register NSW local government candidates
The NSW Liberal branch has missed the deadline to register candidates for the upcoming council elections.
The blunder left 140 candidates unable to run in the local elections on 14 September.
According to ABC News, no candidates were nominated for various Local Government Areas (LGAs) including Camden, Shoalhaven, Lane Cove, Northern Beaches, Blue Mountains among others.
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman stated that it was not his job to carry out “basic administrative tasks”.
“The state director will have to explain what happened,” he said, pinning the blame on Liberal Party state director Richard Shields who apologised, but resisted calls for his resignation.
Shields claimed that he had been focussing on the federal elections, and that state Liberal Party president Don Harwin had volunteered to run the local government elections.
Shields was sacked by the Liberal Party’s state executive on Thursday.
“Our party administration has let the candidates, the party members and the general public down. This is a debacle, there’s no other way to describe it,” Speakman said.
Harwin had requested the extension on Friday, after the Wednesday deadline was not met. He demanded a response by 4pm Saturday.
Acting commissioner of the electoral commission Matthew Phillips refused the Party’s last minute request for a one-week extension.
Phillips rejected a subsequent extension request on Sunday, stating that he did not consider it a “realistic possibility” that the Liberal Party could have been unaware of the deadline for nominations.
The Party issued a statement threatening legal action:
“Should the NSW electoral commission fail to act, the Liberal party of Australia NSW Division will be left with no other option but to pursue legal avenues to compel it to extend the nomination deadline.”
University of Queensland professor Graeme Orr told The Age that the probability of a successful challenge would be “very poorly”.
“Once you create an exception for one you, end up creating an exception for all. They’re probably so embarrassed they are going to try anything.” Orr said.
To make matters worse for the Liberal Party, they also risk facing a potential class action lawsuit from disgruntled, would-be candidates.
Aside from those affected, almost 300 further Liberal nominees were registered on time.
Seaweed-eating cows
Cattle at Kerwee Feedlot, west of Brisbane, are being fed…seaweed.
Okay, not just seaweed. The cows are currently consuming a ‘normal’ mix of wheat, barley, in addition to a supplement created from the red seaweed, Asparagopsis.
So why are people feeding cows seaweed?
Well, the cattle are taking part in a commercial trial that aims to reduce the methane output of cows.
While bovine burping hardly seems like an area for concern, the problem is larger than you would expect.
A whopping 5.5 to 5.7 percent of all human-created global heating is caused by the methane released by livestock; a serious issue for Australia’s substantial livestock sector.
Over a 200 day period, the supplement was given in the form of infused canola oil. A study of the results involving 160 cattle was published in the Journal of Translational Animal Science.
According to The Guardian, the study found that emissions reduced by more than half on average.
Furthermore, the cattle feeding on seaweed gained 20kg, and the quality of their meat remained unaffected.
One limitation of the study was that it concerned feedlot cattle, which make up less than 1 percent of the livestock industry’s methane output.
Most Australian cattle graze in paddocks, where administering daily supplements is a struggle.
Aside from seaweed, other methods could also be implemented to reduce emissions. This includes putting additives in the drinking water and selective breeding.
Some scientists argue that the easiest way to reduce emissions is to ultimately reduce meat consumption (a daunting albeit necessary sacrifice).
References
- Sekulich, H. (15 August, 2024). The Government is introducing a bill to change HECS debts today. The Daily Aus. https://thedailyaus.com.au/stories/hecs-debt-indexation-laws-have-been-introduced-to-parliament-after-months/
- Gregorio, N. (16 August, 2024). Fresh move in $3bn HECS debt plan: What we know about refunds and credits. SBS News. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/fresh-move-in-3bn-hecs-debt-plan-what-we-know-about-refunds-and-credits/j2tzt2abz
- Koziol, M. (17 August, 2024). Electoral Commission refuses Liberal request for extension to nominate candidates. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/liberals-set-to-challenge-electoral-commission-over-missed-nomination-deadline-20240817-p5k35r.html
- Kozaki, D,. Tregenza, H, & Kennedy, J. (14 August, 2024). NSW Liberal Party apologises after failing to enter candidates in council elections. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-14/nsw-liberal-party-apologises-after-failure-to-enter-candidates-/104225058
- McLeon, C. (18 August, 2024). NSW Liberals accuse electoral commission of breaking rules after council nomination debacle. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/18/nsw-liberals-accuse-electoral-commission-of-breaking-rules-after-council-nomination-debacle
- Brown, A. (18 August, 2024). Feeding seaweed supplement to cattle halved methane emissions in Australian feedlot, study finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/18/feeding-seaweed-supplement-to-cattle-halved-methane-emissions-in-australian-feedlot-study-finds