“Shorten confirmed a Labor government would not end offshore detention of asylum seekers and refugees and would consider shifting the Manus Island centre if Papua New Guinea wanted it moved. This is the first time he has suggested he might contemplate moving the detention centre elsewhere.”
In a one-on-one interview ahead of next week's election, Bill Shorten has proposed he would, if necessary, set up a new regional processing facility in Papua New Guinea.
News
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Are the Nationals still the party of the bush?
“ ‘There is a long-term problem for the Nationals,’ says ABC’s electoral analyst, Antony Green, ‘which is that those seats are no longer rural … They are like outer-suburban seats. The social milieu, the political history of those electorates is being wiped out by the arrival of people who have no long-term connection with the party.’ ”
With the election poised to be a referendum on climate policy, the junior Coalition partner finds itself out of touch with voters, even in its traditional strongholds.
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Election cash splash coming from government grants
The funding for many promises in this election campaign appears to be coming out of government grants with vague criteria.
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Mortgage brokers oppose changes to trail commissions
“Peter White, managing director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia, said there was no doubt the royal commission was highly influenced by CBA. ‘I think CBA has deliberately pushed forward commentary that they would like to see play out … It has not given the full picture.’ ”
The mortgage broking industry is questioning a key recommendation of the Hayne royal commission, saying it was based on incomplete evidence submitted by Commonwealth Bank.
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As Israel Folau awaits sanction from Rugby Australia over his social media posts, arguments over religious freedoms, hate speech and employers’ rights rage on the sidelines.
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Journalist Maria Ressa and the Philippine election
Rappler co-founder Maria Ressa discusses the political situation in the Philippines ahead of the country’s May 13 midterm elections, the first test of Rodrigo Duterte’s continuing hold on popularity.
Opinion
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Danielle Wood
Major parties diverge on economy
“In any other election, Australia’s headline economic figures would have the incumbent popping champagne corks. Twenty-eight years of uninterrupted economic growth, unemployment at 5 per cent, record-low interest rates and a budget in balance are close enough to a beautiful set of numbers. But the disconnect between the economic data and people’s sense of economic wellbeing has rarely been larger. And this economic ennui is proving fertile ground for both parties to push very different visions for the Australian economy and what the government’s role in it should be.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Murdoch papers give Shorten his moment
“Labor has been the frontrunner in the published opinion polls for the past three years. This week was no different, with the tightening since the election was called reaching a plateau. But Bill Shorten has supplied a powerful campaign moment in an otherwise lacklustre affair. He spoke emotionally about his mother Ann’s life and its key motivating force for him. It was in response to an attack on him, and her career, in several Murdoch papers. And it is a development that has rebounded badly on his opponents.”
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The history of citizens egging their politicians is long and distinguished. When Billy Hughes was egged at Warwick, Queensland, in 1917 he ordered the local copper to arrest the offender, Patrick Brosnan. Senior Sergeant Kenny refused, saying that the PM had no jurisdiction over him – hence we got the Commonwealth Police, which morphed into the Australian Federal Police.
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Read
folktale has it
new arrivals,
they’ll throw any queen
or kingdom
into spin
angered uninvited guests
will conjure curses
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In rebuking The Daily Telegraph’s editorial about his mother, Ann, Bill Shorten conjured a rare moment in Australian politics. He said: “My mum would want me to say to older women in Australia that just because you’ve got grey hair, just because you didn’t go to a special private school, just because you don’t go to the right clubs, just because you’re not part of some backslapping boys’ club doesn’t mean you should give up.” It is not rare, of course, for male politicians to relate the discriminations faced by women to their own families, to flatten to the personal: I wouldn’t want this to happen to my daughter/my wife/my mother. The test for Shorten, if elected, is how broadly his empathy can be cast.
Culture
Herbie Hancock’s chord of appeal
At the age of 79, Herbie Hancock has had a long and fruitful career, but the legendary jazz pianist remains forward-thinking. “There’s so much division happening globally and I actually believe that this is one of the final stages we need to solve, and fix, and learn from in order to be able to tackle climate change. That’s either going to do us in or we’re going to fix it.”
At the Art Gallery of New South Wales, The Essential Duchamp casts the work of the iconoclastic artist Marcel Duchamp in a contemporary light.
Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride
On Vampire Weekend’s ambitious new album, which contrasts the band’s most upbeat music with some of its darkest lyrics, the New York three-piece has staked its claim to longevity.
Director and writer Jocelyn Moorhouse
“Pictures can communicate very strongly and it’s a wonderful way to reach non-verbal people or people whose verbal abilities are very impaired. It’s ironic that this is my strength (and [husband] P. J. [Hogan]’s) – our kids actually depend on that imagery because they like to look at calendars and have picture schedules to tell them what’s going to happen. I think that’s how they share memories with us.”
Life
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Studying language, history and culture in Toledo, Spain
As a descendant of Sephardic Jews forced to leave Spain during the 15th-century Inquisition, the author visits Toledo seeking citizenship, only to discover ties to the ancient city can sometimes be set in stone.
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Australian cycling team’s world stage
How Mitchelton-Scott, Australia’s only World Tour cycling team, is scaling the heights of road racing.
Books
Puzzles
1. Easter Island is a special territory of which country?
2. Cuisenaire rods are used as an aid to learning what?
3. What is the name of the official report of the proceedings in both houses of the Australian parliament?
4. Which Spanish artist, born on May 11, 1904, was influential for his explorations of subconscious imagery?
5. Which F1 driver of the 1960s and ’70s and three-time World Drivers’ Champion was nicknamed the Flying Scot?
6. Pan troglodytes is the scientific name for which animal?
7. Which Australian comedian has a new series on Netflix titled Lunatics?
8. What is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet?
9. The medication acetylsalicylic acid is more commonly known by what name?
10. In which city was composer Ludwig van Beethoven born? (Bonus point for naming the city in which he died.)
Quotes
ZENITH
“Small men with small ideas.”
The shadow foreign minister shares her opinion of Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Scott Morrison and Michael McCormack at the Labor launch. To be fair, Joyce is about 6'1" with his tallest Akubra on.
HEALTH
“If you want me to remove the weeds from my garden, one option is to use a nuclear weapon. Yeah it would remove the weeds from the garden, but it would have a lot of consequences.”
The United Australia Party candidate explains why his party is “undecided” on whether vaccines are effective. In doing so, he highlighted something else more dangerous than vaccines – politicians attempting to use analogies.
STRATEGY
“Politics isn’t about tactics; politics is about what you believe.”
The prime minister denies speculation about the passing of the franking credits overhaul during this week’s leaders’ debate. Poll numbers suggest his best tactic at this stage is believing a deus ex machina is imminent.
MEDIA
“He neglected to mention that Mrs Shorten, who sent him to Melbourne’s elite Xavier College, graduated with a law degree from Monash University.”
The Daily Telegraph’s state political editor launches a roundly criticised barb at Bill Shorten’s mother, Ann. Australia’s political media descending into “your mama” jokes feels at once inevitable and apocalyptic.
LOYALTY
“He’s a good man, he’s an incredible person. I love him.”
The actress visits Julian Assange in jail. You would think a former Baywatch star declaring her love for the WikiLeaks founder would be the most bizarre twist in this story, but it probably doesn’t even break into the top 10.
ENVIRONMENT
“They don’t know where Adani is! They don’t! I asked someone the other day and they said, ‘It’s on the Great Barrier Reef.’ Actually, it’s not.”
The senior Labor MP decries left-wing groupthink or, as some might call it, believing the expert consensus of the world’s climate scientists.
