Cheng Lei warns Australians to not be naive if visiting China

TRAVEL GUIDE

“Naive” Australians shouldn’t go to China as a result of it’s not the identical place it was 20 years in the past, Australian journalist Cheng Lei instructed the ABC’s Q+A final night time. Cheng was imprisoned for greater than 1,000 days over breaking a media embargo in China by a couple of minutes — she warned Australians to be cautious of “purporting to be defending … nationwide safety” as a result of it’s such a broad time period. She added, reasonably tongue in cheek one would possibly assume, that these eager to be taught Mandarin might go to Taiwan. To these detained onshore now and immediately the Excessive Courtroom will reveal its causes for overturning 20 years of authorized precedent concerning indefinite detention of stateless non-citizens. The Australian ($) studies 141 have been launched up to now, with monitoring gadgets on 138 of them.

This comes as Information Corp boss Lachlan Murdoch was amongst 600 Australian enterprise, political, sporting and neighborhood leaders who signed a letter condemning discrimination “together with Islamophobia, however deal with anti-Semitism, which has been probably the most pronounced”, the AFR ($) writes (the letter stated a 482% surge however the Government Council of Australian Jewry stated its determine is now at 591%). Different signatories embody Slater & Gordon chairman James MacKenzie, Reserve Financial institution board member Carol Schwartz and AIA Australia boss Peter Yates who stated he skilled discrimination as “a younger Pom after I arrived right here aged seven”. Former premiers Daniel Andrews, Gladys Berejiklian, Anna Bligh and Mark McGowan signed too, the SMH ($) stated.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Bunurong Land Council has gone into administration after allegations of $150,000 value of fraud and corruption, The Age ($) studies. The Indigenous council manages cultural heritage plans from Melton to Mornington Peninsula and into Gippsland, and the collapse means growth initiatives throughout Victoria might face delays of as much as 5 months, the paper says. It comes as practically eight in 10 No voters consider Indigenous peoples ought to have a say in issues that have an effect on them, in contrast with practically 9 in 10 Sure voters. It’s the discovering of an ANU survey that advised it was the mechanism and elements of the mannequin that Australia stated No to, research co-author Nicholas Biddle instructed the ABC. The survey additionally discovered simply two in 10 individuals who hadn’t completed Yr 12 voted Sure, in contrast with six in 10 who had a uni diploma.

To a different survey now and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has a detrimental web approval ranking for the primary time this time period, Guardian Australia studies. some 47% of respondents disapprove and 42% approve, leaving him with -5. We’d like extra cost-of-living reduction, 66% stated — akin to energy worth caps (70%), hire improve limits (62%) and mega earnings taxes (55%). It’s a lot of the identical in The Australian’s ($) protection, the place half of all respondents stated they had been in a worse monetary place than two years in the past. Albanese will meet with caucus immediately — “spooked” Labor MPs need Treasurer Jim Chamers’ 10-point, $23 billion cost-of-living plan to go tougher, the paper writes.

DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann stated to his pals “Let’s get lit” and took cocaine after he discovered Brittany Higgins had accused him of rape. He has at all times denied he raped her and the case was dropped out of concern for Higgins’ well being. The Herald Solar ($) studies he admitted to taking coke whereas on the stand yesterday in his defamation battle with Ten Community and Lisa Wilkinson as a result of he had “spiralled fairly shortly” that night. (This can be a completely different case, one would possibly word, to the 2 rape prices he faces in Queensland.) “I’m sorry, your response to spiralling was to ask to have cocaine delivered to you?” Ten’s silk requested.

There have been a number of different occasions Lehrmann admitted to mendacity, the SMH ($) studies, together with telling his then-boss Linda Reynolds he was visiting his mom (he wasn’t), and that he didn’t know a Information Corp story (that ran earlier than Ten’s The Challenge episode aired) was about him (he instructed a courtroom the alternative earlier this yr). Is that this shaping as much as be a self-own, the likes of which we haven’t seen since possible warfare felony Ben Roberts-Smith’s spectacular failed defamation case? This morning The Australian ($) has a video of Lehrmann holding a drink and singing barely tweaked Conflict lyrics: “I fought the regulation and … Bruce gained.”  I suppose we’ll see, gained’t we?

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

Just a little outdated man shuts a purple entrance door and hobbles down a highway in Eire with a bunch of white gerberas which he lays down rigorously in a cemetery within the subsequent scene. He takes his paddy cap off and pauses, shuddering a little bit with emotion. Then he’s strolling down a reasonably gray and wintry avenue, capturing a hopeful smile at two laughing younger individuals who don’t discover him. Then it cuts to him approaching hopefully a person studying a newspaper, solely to be met with a raised back and front web page as an alternative of an obliging face. The crestfallen outdated man, strolling stick in hand, spots two folks and a small Maltese canine wandering right into a heat and festive pub, so he follows them in and sits alone, sipping on an inky black Guinness.

The canine promptly scrambles up onto his bench for a head scritch, attracting the eye of the girl. There’s no dialogue, however she seems to ask if she and her accomplice can be a part of him, and he acquiesces with a wondrous look on his line-etched face. The three shake arms in an obvious introduction, and the ultimate message is that there aren’t any strangers, solely pals we haven’t met but. It’s only a TikTok video {that a} small pub named Charlie’s filmed — a little bit amateurish in locations, however it’s captured the hearts of the web, with 8.2 million views and counting. One man stated the pub was his native as a teenager, calling the advert stunning. It could possibly be any Irish pub, one other stated, calling them the “coronary heart of the neighborhood” for a lot of Irish cities: “Pop in seize any stool and have a chat & the craic for the following couple of hours. Lengthy might it proceed.” A 3rd agreed: “A wee smile or chat makes a giant distinction.”

Hoping you don’t thoughts a yarn with a stranger immediately.

SAY WHAT?

It’s a strong-held tenet that our journalists’ private agendas don’t affect our reporting on information occasions. This is applicable throughout the board, together with to our protection of the present warfare in Israel and Gaza. Any newsroom employees who signed this newest trade letter will likely be unable to take part in any reporting on manufacturing referring to the warfare.

Tory Maguire

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age government editor has been criticised by employees for “hypocrisy” contemplating she went on a paid week-long journey to Israel (and the West Financial institution) in 2017.

CRIKEY RECAP

9 employees accuse editors of ‘hypocrisy’ for sidelining workers who signed Israel-Palestine letter

“9 papers’ journalists are despairing after The Sydney Morning Herald and Age newsroom leaders banned employees from overlaying the Israel-Palestine battle if they’d signed an open letter criticising Australian media’s protection of the warfare …

“Media, Leisure and Arts Alliance (MEAA) communications director Mark Phillips instructed Crikey that the journalists’ union had written to 9 administration ‘calling on them to chorus from focusing on employees’ and had despatched a message out to employees as nicely.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Deal reached to increase Gaza truce by two days, Qatar and Hamas say (Reuters)

Israel ‘stealing organs’ from our bodies in Gaza, alleges human rights group (euronews)

Repeal and reserve: The 5 issues the [NZ conservative] authorities has promised to do by Christmas (Stuff)

Paris mayor quits X, calling social media web site a ‘gigantic world sewer’ (The Guardian)

COP28: UAE deliberate to make use of local weather talks to make oil offers (BBC)

North Korea strikes heavy weapons to frame with South (The Guardian)

THE COMMENTARIAT

All speak, no motion means AUKUS is headed for the rocks – Greg Sheridan (The Australian) ($): “In actuality pillar two has little prospect of delivering something substantial as a result of we aren’t spending on, or ordering, any new functionality. The thought is it would result in our promoting extra exports into the US market. Nonetheless, to safe this we’re legislating to impose in impact all of the burdensome, labyrinthine restrictions the US imposes on its defence exports on to our personal trade. This will or might not assist us promote stuff to the US however it in all probability makes it tougher for us to do enterprise with Japan, South Korea and Europe. It’s additionally tougher, even harmful, for non-defence corporations to deliver their expertise into the defence house as a result of they all of a sudden have a complete new raft of regulatory necessities they need to meet. And it’s nonetheless under no circumstances clear the US Congress will ever settle for the concept they need to set up jobs in Australia reasonably than jobs in their very own congressional districts to provide primary US defence wants.

“There are different methods the safety tendencies are towards us. There’s no proof that Congress will really determine a while subsequent decade to promote us three Virginia-class nuclear submarines. Equally there’s no proof the Albanese authorities is making critical preparations to realize that. The Individuals virtually actually gained’t promote us a nuclear submarine except we promise we’d commit it to any critical army engagement the Individuals had been concerned in inside our area. Within the occasion of such battle, I feel we must always and would help the Individuals. However we will’t make such a dedication prematurely or we stop to have sovereignty over our personal defence forces. Equally, we will’t make such a dedication in secret as a result of the Individuals promoting us the subs couldn’t use a secret dedication to reassure their very own folks.”

Trump has a grasp plan for destroying the ‘deep state’ — Donald P. Moynihan (The New York Instances) ($): “When he was president, his administration incessantly focused officers for abuse, denial of promotions or investigations for his or her perceived disloyalty. In a second administration, he would merely fireplace them. Trump loyalists reportedly have lists prepared of civil servants who will likely be fired as a result of they weren’t deemed cooperative sufficient throughout his first time period. The third a part of Mr Trump’s authoritarian blueprint is to create a authorized framework that might enable him to make use of authorities assets to guard himself, assault his political enemies and power via his coverage targets with out congressional approval.

“Inside authorities attorneys can block unlawful or unconstitutional actions. Reporters for The New York Instances have uncovered a plan to put Trump loyalists in these key positions. This isn’t about conservatism. Mr Trump grew disillusioned with conservative Federalist Society attorneys, regardless of drawing on them to inventory his judicial nominations. It’s about discovering attorneys keen to create a authorized rationale for his authoritarian impulses. Examples from Mr Trump’s time in workplace embody Mark Paoletta, the previous common counsel of the Workplace of Administration and Price range, who authorised Mr Trump’s unlawful withholding of support to Ukraine. Or Jeffery Clark, who virtually grew to become Mr Trump’s performing attorney-general when his superiors refused to advance Mr Trump’s false claims of election fraud.”

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