A BRIDGE TOO ANTIFA

After footage went viral of New York police shoving 75-year-old peaceful protester Martin Gugino and then ignoring him as he lay on the ground bleeding from his ear, CNN unpacks how Donald Trump has attempted to chum the water with a fabricated conspiracy theory that Gugino was an “Antifa provocateur”.

As George Floyd’s funeral begins today in Houston, here are a few more updates on why thousands continue to march:

• Bay Area police have fired multiple rounds at an Oakland couple in their car, killing both black man Erik Salgado and his pregnant girlfriend’s unborn baby. BA police also killed San Fransisco man Sean Monterossa, who was kneeling with his hands raised.
• Amidst mass arrests, Phoenix police have turned over at least four wrongfully-arrested immigrants to ICE for deportation.
• Minnesota cops have been filmed slashing the tyres of protesters, news crews and medical workers.
• A man charged with intentionally driving his car into a group of protesters in Richmond, Virginia, has been identified as the head of the state’s Ku Klux Klan.
• Unidentified San Diego law enforcement agents have been filmed arresting a female protester, putting her in an unmarked minivan, and threatening to shoot anyone who follows.

There is, however, another victory of sorts for protesters: IBM has announced plans to get out of the facial recognition business.

NATIONAL CABINET LIKELY TO DELAY ACCELERATED LIFTING OF RESTRICTIONS

Announced with all the emphasis you’d expect from the national broadsheet, The Australian ($) reports that concerns over last week’s Stop Black Deaths in Custody protests will see the national cabinet ditch their idea to bring recovery plans forward by at least a week, “potentially costing the economy more than $1 billion and preventing tens of thousands of people getting back to work”.

Elsewhere, in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt has confirmed that community consultations on the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament will progress this year, even if the pandemic has postponed plans for a referendum — potentially, until after the next election.

PS: While thousands may have turned up in Australia last weekend, a new Essential poll at The Guardian suggests 80% of Australians believe US police forces have institutional racism, but only 30% see the same in Australia. Reminder: more than 400 Indigenous Australians have died in police custody since 1991, and absolutely zero officers have been been convicted.

TURNING THE PAYG

According to the AFR ($), Assistant Treasurer and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar will announce plans to defer $1 billion worth of forecast pay as you go (PAYG) tax receipts from businesses and high-income earners for the 2020-21 financial year on Wednesday “to help them with cash flow during Covid-19”.

WHAT ISN’T BEING REPORTED TODAY? Despite that little drop in the Oz yesterday, the Coalition did not discuss incarceration targets or the Black/Indigenous Lives Matter protests in yesterday’s party room meeting, although Josh Frydenberg did, reportedly, condemn UK protesters for defacing a statue of Winston “I hate Indians” Churchill.

MORE BAD NEWS FOR AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISTS

Just a week after a survey of bushfire-affected residents showed that 60% of them relied on the ABC to stay safe, The Guardian reports that the national broadcaster will have to cut 250 staff across news, entertainment and regional divisions to meet a $41 million annual budget cut.

That shortfall, which comes under a $84 million cut announced in 2018, puts the total funding slashed by the Coalition since taking office in 2014 at $783 million.

Additionally, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that dozens of metro staff at News Corp publications will be cut as part of mass syndication efforts across The Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and, to an apparently lesser degree, The Australian.

STATE VIRUS WATCH: NSW'S SAFETY CHECK FOR BUSINESS

• NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian launched Covid-19 Safety Check “badges” for businesses to display “so customers know they have the tick of approval [and] provide feedback in real-time … to the business and, if necessary, to the regulator for action.”
• After welcoming back around 618,000 students from Years 3 to 10 under the state’s full return to face-to-face teaching, Victoria opened a community consultation survey for principals, teachers, parents and students ahead of a July summit to discuss lessons learned throughout the remote teaching and learning period.
• Queensland has released details on the $802.9 million in loans approved under the Covid-19 Jobs Support Loans scheme, as well as grants approved under the $28 million community-based health fund.
• The Western Australian government launched a campaign with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy to lure Eastern States-based FIFO workers — many of whom have temporarily relocated due to the state’s border quarantine rules — to permanently relocate.
• South Australia announced three new travel apps and a revamped Adelaide Metro website, as part of the state’s public transport road map developed in response to the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee’s Principles for Covid-19 Public Transport Operations.
• Finally, the ACT government has expanded their “Jobs for Canberrans Fund” by $28 million and 100 public service roles.

In a short but positive note to end on, Australia yesterday recorded our first day since the pandemic’s peak with no new recorded cases due to community transmission, with just two overseas arrivals testing positive in NSW.