MOMENT OF TRUTH: THE STATE OF THINGS

According to NBC, the head of a US Justice Department branch responsible for prosecuting election crimes has resigned just hours after Attorney General William Barr issued a memo authorising federal prosecutors to investigate “specific allegations” of voter fraud, none of which have yet to be even slightly substantiated.

With Donald Trump refusing to concede and Republicans largely toeing his line, the Los Angeles Times (via The Sydney Morning Herald) reports that his decision yesterday to fire defence secretary Mark Esper — and bypass regular Pentagon processes to replace him with director of the national counter-terrorism centre Christopher Miller — has raised concerns the president may be planning military action in his final weeks in office.

Elsewhere, NPR explains that the now Republican-stacked Supreme Court will today hear its third challenge to Obamacare, while CNN reports that Georgia Secretary of State (and Republican) Brad Raffensperger has rebuffed calls from GOP state Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to resign ahead of their crucial January runoff elections.

Loeffler and Perdue had released a joint criticism of the state’s electoral processes but — and you have probably picked up on this by now — did not cite any actual evidence to back up their claims.

BULLYING COMPLAINT AGAINST TUDGE

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, former Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller has lodged a formal complaint against Alan Tudge for allegedly engaging in workplace bullying and intimidation that left her “anxious and afraid” in an inadequate workplace environment.

The news comes after Miller revealed on Monday to have had an affair with the now-acting immigration minister, and after The Guardian reported Scott Morrison announced he will not take action against either Tudge or Christian Porter following Monday’s Four Corners revelations.

Porter has since issued a statement to The West Australian ($) admitting to having failed to be a “good husband” while again denying claims he kissed a Liberal staff member at a Canberra pub.

TURN UP THE HUSIC

Over to Labor, SmartCompany reports that former shadow minister for the digital economy Ed Husic has been named shadow minister for agriculture and resources, 18 months after stepping down to make room for Kristina Keneally on the front bench.

The news comes after Joel Fitzgibbon stepped down in opposition to Labor’s climate policies, a move The Sydney Morning Herald reports has rattled some members of the party’s right faction.

PS: One group that apparently will not miss Fitzgibbon is the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, which put out a statement calling on Labor to reject the “gas-led recovery” in favour of jobs built around climate action and a just transition for workers.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA GOES FOR BROKE

According to InDaily, South Australian Treasurer Rob Lucas has pledged $8.9 billion for two tunnels, almost $90 million for stadium upgrades, a road user charge for electric cars, and a significant increase to the Victims of Crime Levy in his penultimate budget.

Lucas, a fiscal conservative, plans for “significant deficits over the next three years” before projecting a surplus in 2023-24 on the assumption that a population-wide COVID vaccine is readily available by the end of next year.

As The Australian ($) reports, the electric vehicle charge was designed partly in conjunction with other states with the goal of creating a substitute to fuel excise.

PS: In other state news, ABC reports that the Victorian parliament has rejected the Andrews government’s proposed laws to force families of dead sexual assault victims to obtain court orders to share their loved ones’ stories; voluntary assisted dying legislation has passed the Tasmanian Upper House; and the Northern Territory government is set to rush through legislation this week to sideline the independent Liquor Commission — which the government itself established — to fast-track approval for a controversial Dan Murphy’s application.