| Good morning, early birds. Congress will push forward with impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump following a vote in the US House of Representatives, and the AFP pledges fewer raids and more transparency. It’s the news you need to know, with Rachel Withers. | | | | | | | IMPEACHMENT FORMALISED The US House of Representatives has voted to formalise impeachment procedures against President Donald Trump, setting out rules for the process. It’s only the third time in modern history the House has voted on an impeachment inquiry into a sitting president. The impeachment resolution passed 232-196, despite every House Republican opposing the measure, clearing the way for public hearings. The president and his allies have previously used the lack of a full House vote as an excuse to be uncooperative with the investigation, saying the current inquiry is unconstitutional. The vote signals that Democrats now have enough confidence in the severity of Trump’s crimes, removing almost any doubt that they will bring a full-fledged impeachment case, The New York Times reports. | FEWER RAIDS, MORE TRANSPARENCY New AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw has pledged a new era of transparency, making public-interest information more accessible by removing layers of bureaucracy, Nine reports. Kershaw, who took over from Andrew Colvin last month, says he is currently restructuring the AFP and plans to set a higher threshold for future raids, with a greater onus on agencies to assess the likelihood of conviction before referring alleged crimes to the AFP. Meanwhile, two suspected whistleblowers have been raided by Victoria Police in an investigation into leaks regarding travel company Helloworld’s free flights scandal. | WHO BOYCOTTS THE BOYCOTTS? Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he and Attorney-General Christian Porter are looking into mechanisms to outlaw “indulgent and selfish” boycotts, the ABC reports. In a lunchtime speech to the Queensland Resources Council today, Morrison will argue that groups who campaign against businesses that work with industries such as coal are hurting the Australian economy, saying the Coalition is looking at ways to prevent boycotts from spreading to other sectors. He will also argue the right to protest “does not mean there is an unlimited licence to disrupts people’s lives”, in an apparent reference to Extinction Rebellion’s recent protests. | THEY REALLY SAID THAT? | “ | Ah, no. I don’t like tongue, so I think ostrich anus would be the last thing. — Christopher Pyne |
The former MP has no plans to appear on I’m A Celebrity! Get Me Out Of Here, despite a recent offer. | READ ALL ABOUT IT | CRIKEY QUICKIE: THE BEST OF YESTERDAY | | | | “Tim Stewart has denied that he uses his access to Scott Morrison to influence the prime minister on policy. In early October, speaking as Burn Notice, he told The Guardian, ‘I have never spoken to Scott about anything of a political nature. I’m not an adviser. The idea of me talking to him about this … it’s just not true.’ Yet that is the opposite of what he has told at least one close confidante. In the past few weeks a former fellow traveller, Eliahi Priest, has published his text exchanges with Stewart, conducted through encrypted messaging app Signal. Priest points to more than 50 mentions of ‘Scott’ in text exchanges with Stewart. He has signed a statutory declaration which claims Stewart told him he had passed on ‘several’ letters to Morrison via Stewart’s wife. Stewart is on the record telling Priest of a ‘massive connection with Scott tonight’. ‘We are moving fast,’ he texted. ‘Scott is awakening.’” |
| | | | “The argument of complexity is particularly risible from larger companies like Woolworths, Bunnings, Wesfarmers, Qantas and Super Retail Group, or chains like Michael Hill, which use complex supply chains, successfully navigate the tax laws to minimise their tax liabilities, or have systems to comply with stringent safety codes and labelling requirements (often operating across different countries). In these markets, complexity in regulation is not a problem, but a barrier to entry protecting these incumbents from new entrants. That they can effectively navigate and even exploit complexity in other areas but fail to do so when it comes to paying their staff doesn’t show employers struggling with an onerous industrial relations system. It shows where the priorities of those businesses really lie.” |
| | | | “This week, the final straw for Deadspin’s long-suffering employees came when editorial director Paul Maidment (another of Spanfeller’s old comrades) sent around a memo on Monday telling staff to ‘stick to sports’. Overnight, reporters have been quitting en masse, announcing their resignations on Twitter. Despite the site’s initial sports focus, Deadspin had increasingly branched out into reporting on politics and pop culture, and Maidment’s edict was anathema to staff who prided themselves on doing things differently from traditional sports media. Moreover, solely sticking to sports might prove fraught in a country where the president picks fights with footballers, and where the NBA is embroiled in the China-Hong Kong stand-off.” |
| | | | | | | THE COMMENTARIAT This is our best chance to deliver the promise of an Indigenous Voice – Andrew Bragg(The Age/Sydney Morning Herald): “A former chief justice of Australia, Murray Gleeson, has said of this proposal: “What is proposed is a voice to Parliament, not a voice in Parliament … It has the merit that it is substantive, and not merely ornamental.” This really is a good and fair idea. I am on the record as stating this mechanism would ideally have constitutional backing. But if it did not, it would still be a very substantial reform which would improve Indigenous lives. I know there are mixed views within the community and the Parliament on the form this body should take. Our co-design process should mould the various views into cogent options for reform.” Mental health is everyone’s care ($) – Julia Gillard (The Australian): “We need to be ready and willing to listen to the commission’s recommendations and not squander this opportunity to advocate on behalf of all Australians — those who are well and want to stay that way; those who are starting to struggle; those whose psychological distress is affecting their everyday lives; those who have attempted to take their own lives and need support to return to hope and go on living; those who support and care for them, who love them. This government — led by a prime minister who has declared mental health reform and suicide prevention as priorities — has the appetite for change. As does the opposition. It is time for all those who are willing to show leadership across government, the mental health sector, schools and workplaces and at an individual level to come together and seize this chance.” Museums should become known as sites of cultural revival, not scientific racism – Mariko Smith (The Guardian): “We hear comments like ‘I haven’t met an Aboriginal person’. Well, you probably have, if you look beyond the archetypes and stereotypes. Take me, for example. I have an Aboriginal father, descended from strong Aboriginal men and women of the Yuin Nation, south coast New South Wales. My grandfather was an Aboriginal digger in world war one. At the time, his siblings were not allowed to attend the local school because they were Aboriginal. His mother (my great-grandmother) went to the authorities and successfully argued she didn’t think her son should fight for a country that wouldn’t educate her children in public schools. This is my ultimate #BlackfullaFamilyMatters story.” | | Know an early bird who doesn’t get the worm?
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| | | HOLD THE FRONT PAGE | WHAT’S ON TODAY Canberra A public hearing will be held on the impact of changes to service delivery models on the administration and running of government programs. Perth WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt will give his take on the WA economy at a CEDA breakfast. Collie, West Australia The Select Committee into Jobs for the Future in Regional Areas will hold a public hearing. Sydney The winners of the Australian Geographic Society Awards, Australia’s longest running awards for adventure and conservation, will be announced. Nine columnist and commentator Peter Fitzsimons will deliver the annual Andrew Olle media lecture, hosted by the ABC. Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Sydney and Western Sydney, Dr Michael Spence and Professor Barney Glover, will speak on the Greater Parramatta scorecard and recommendations alongside Minister for Jobs and Investment Stuart Ayres. The Urban Taskforce will host the “Cities Shaped by Transport” conference, focussing on the way that transport-led developments are shaping major cities around the world. Melbourne Crown staff will walk off the job tonight amid a push for better pay and job security. Austrade CEO Stephanie Fahey will speak on how Australia can accelerate trade and economic growth within the global community. Protest organisers will hold a press conference regarding the people who experienced police violence at this week’s anti-coal protests. Minister for Education Dan Tehan will officially open the ARC Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture. A giant mural, made using satellite technology and 700 litres of paint, will be unveiled on a disused Melbourne waterfront. Cygnet, Tasmania Crime writer Tara Moss will speak at launch of Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival. Alice Springs The Senate Community Affairs References Committee will hold a public hearing on the adequacy of Newstart and alternative mechanisms to determine the level of income support payments. Thailand Prime Minister Scott Morrison will attend the East Asia Summit. |
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