Josh Papali’i has retired from State of Origin at 31, following his Canberra Raiders teammate Jack Wighton’s retirement from representative rugby league in June. The Queensland veteran told state coach Billy Slater of his decision ahead of team selection for the first match in Adelaide. Papali’i helped the Maroons to victory 23 times. He said that retiring would broaden the opportunities for the next generation of Queensland players to be given a chance. The news will only strengthen Canberra’s bid to be in the top four this season, with the players prioritising the NRL regular season. Last month, Wighton announced that he would retire from representative rugby league and a four-year deal to join South Sydney next year followed.
US President Joe Biden cancelled his planned visit to Australia for the Quad alliance, which comprises the US, India, Japan and Australia, due to a domestic crisis and ongoing negotiations on the national debt. Biden's decision has been viewed as a snub by some Australians, underlining the fragility of the countries' perceived strong relationship. Some citizens called for an end to the reliance on the US, which is a vital ally. The Quad Alliance was formed to combat China's power and expansion. The US is currently embroiled in intense political negotiations, and Biden felt it necessary to address the issue in-person rather than participating in the meeting via video conference.
The debate around scrapping or amending access to negative gearing tax benefits in Australia has continued as citizens highlight the lever’s potential to deliver fairer access to property ownership and greater equity to buyers. Scrapping the system would enable potential homebuyers to compete with others further up the property ladder, who have more collateral to borrow against. Though some factions of the public argue that scrapping negative gearing is not enough to tackle the housing problem, many believe it places the country on a more equitable footing.
Meanwhile, parents are left with no choice but to send their children to private religious schools because of the decline in the country’s public education system. There is a direct relationship between public school neglect in the past decade by successive Australian ministers and increases in admissions to private schools. Parents are finding it hard to opt for public schools because of the business model for administration and the lack of adequate resources.
The Australian government is pumping AUD50m ($36.8m) into critical minerals refineries, rare earths mining and battery plants to diversify supply chains. The funding will split between seven projects in Western Australia, three in New South Wales and three in Queensland. The projects will receive funding under the critical minerals development program, an initiative focused on the electric vehicle lithium-ion battery sector and supply chain materials for advanced manufacturing in aerospace, medicine, energy and defence, Resources Minister Madeleine King said.
Half Nathan Cleary has become the youngest player in Australian rugby league to notch up 1,300 points in premiership history. Cleary's Penrith Panthers beat Brisbane 15-4 on Thursday night, taking the team to the top of the league. Cleary scored a crucial second-half try taking him to 1,300 points, a record first set by former player Graham Eadie 40 years ago. The Broncos played without captain Adam Reynolds who was injured. South Sydney has the chance to take the lead when they play Parramatta tonight, while Brisbane and Penrith are currently equal on 16.
Politicians in Queensland, Australia, are accused of playing into fears over crime and violence in order to gain political popularity. Analysis of government figures over five years, tackled by Brisbane Times, shows that levels of juvenile crime have remained relatively steady in the state. However, media reports have portrayed an apparent crisis, while Queensland's Palaszczuk government has switched from an evidence-based approach to one based on the “toughest youth justice laws in the nation”.
At least 13 people have died in floods in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, leaving 10,000 people displaced and crops destroyed in the country’s orchard. Rescuers are working to save anyone trapped by floodwater and clear farms submerged in dirty water. Thousands of farms were submerged, along with drowned animals and tens of thousands of hectares of vineyards, fruit trees, vegetables, and grain. With 5,000 farms under several metres of water, the agriculture lobby, Coldiretti, warned flood damage could cost up to €2bn ($2.2bn). Ferrari has pledged €1m. Experts are warning of more disasters as climate change exacerbates drought and storms.
South Sydney legend Greg Inglis has praised Latrell Mitchell for becoming the “voice for those who don’t have a voice” in Indigenous issues, ranking him in the same company as legends David Peachey and Mal Meninga. Around 40,000 fans are expected to attend the Souths’ Indigenous Round clash against Parramatta, where Inglis will be one of the judges for the inaugural Eric Simms Medal, presented to the best player on the ground.
The Yes campaign, which supports the establishment of an Indigenous voice to parliament in Australia, has raised more than AUD10m ($7.7m) and hired a former Liberal Party chief to help manage its 7,000-strong volunteer force. Simon Frost, who previously advised the country’s treasurer, will join Yes23 as chief operations officer. The group will use the funds to increase visibility and develop a decentralised network campaign, with its supporters speaking at hundreds of forums across religious institutions, community halls and sporting clubs.
Cayla George, a professional basketball player, reveals how she and her sister-in-law, Serina George, came to honour the Torres Strait tradition of “island adoption”. Following George's struggles with infertility and IVF treatments, her sister-in-law told her and her husband that she would like to gift them a child, and in this case a baby girl called Pearl. The transplant is the highest form of respect within the Torres Strait culture, and was recently recognised and legislated with the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa Act 2020, which allows island adoption in Queensland.
Australia’s former social justice commissioner and royal commission leader Mick Gooda has been labelled a “bed-wetter” by Noel Pearson, who heads leading Indigenous grouping the Cape York Institute. The comments followed Gooda’s warning that the country’s proposed Indigenous Voice body could be at risk if supporters failed to make concessions. Gooda is involved in the Queensland treaty process and ran the high-profile 2016 royal commission into the Northern Territories youth justice system. His role in shaping the recently published critical Calma-Langton report led to the proposals for the Voice, which is designed to embed the views of Indigenous Australians in national political decision making.
Businesses and unions have opposed the Andrews government’s overhauled WorkSafe compensation scheme which will increase premiums and reduce support for people suffering from stress or burnout. The changes will see businesses pay an average of 1.8 per cent of payroll to fund the scheme. While harassment, bullying and post-traumatic stress disorder will remain on the scheme, ongoing weekly benefits for stressed or burnt out workers will end. They will instead receive 13 weeks of treatment. A new agency called Return to Work Victoria will assist people to find new jobs so as to minimise the risk of them languishing out of work and their mental health state worsening. Victorians will have to pass a test after 130 weeks and every two years thereafter, to check whether they are too impaired to work. The WorkCover premium is 1.23 per cent in Queensland and 1.48 per cent in New South Wales but above 2 per cent in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
The Sydney Morning Herald is offering a 10% discount to subscribers who buy books from Australian online bookstore Booktopia. Books Editor Jane Cadzow has recommended the titles Anam by Andre Dao, Personal Score by Ellen van Neerven, Naked Ambition by Robert Gott, The Wager by David Grann and Knowing What We Know by Simon Winchester. The offer applies when subscribers purchase books using a special link.
Queensland's new housing minister, Meaghan Scanlon, has announced her aims to quickly relieve the accommodation crisis by unlocking more housing supply and rolling out investment quickly. The Pinkenba quarantine centre is one of the alternatives being proposed as a solution, as the state's social housing shortage issues continue to grow.
Zaaki, one of the favourites for the Doomben Cup, will feature on the Doomben Cup card this week, which comes as the Indigenous round is held for rugby league. The issue of Darby McCarthy's heritage, an Aboriginal man and outstanding jockey, was controversially debated during his successful career, with McCarthy choosing to wear the title with pride. Trainer Les Bridge has said that his 2-year-old runner Celestial Legend, which takes on other promising youngsters at Rosehill, is likely to be a better three-year-old over a larger distance than this week's 1200m.
Tomas Rudavskyas, a data scientist, has built a system that aims to predict the future performance of a racehorse by comparing the individual animal’s specific genetics and race history with a database of other horses. Rudavskyas’ Equotion scans and analyses horses that have run in previous races similar to the Zara Tindall-owned To Fly Free, who he believes stands a good chance of winning his maiden at Sandown. In addition to performance data, the Equotion system also processes motion data, assessing the horse’s movement through the race as seen on video footage.
The Hon Michael Barker, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and Federal Court of Australia, has advocated for the passing of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in a guest column for the West Australian. Barker noted that the letter of the Uluru Statement, which calls for A Voice, Treaty, and Truth for Indigenous Australians, echoed the views of George Fletcher Moore, a 19th-century lawyer who unsuccessfully lobbied for greater recognition of native land rights. Describing Moore as a “truth teller” and “voice for the silenced”, Barker stated that he agreed with all three of Uluru’s demands and urged support for the proposal in the forthcoming constitutional referendum.
Barker argued that both the Uluru Statement and Moore’s lobbying for conciliation between Indigenous people and white Australian settlers ran counter to the dominant policy of the Australian government, characterised by a lack of recognition for Indigenous land rights. The High Court of Australia’s ruling in the 1992 Mabo case, which upheld the recognition of native title following the arrival of European settlers, represented a significant landmark in this battle, according to Barker. The Mabo decision cleared the way for the passage of the Native Title Act of 1993, which gave Indigenous people greater rights to their traditional lands.
The proposed constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians would go further, Barker wrote, and would enshrine the right of First Nations people to be heard by government policymakers. Barker concluded by stating that echoing Uluru’s call for a treaty, the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians was a necessary step forward on the path to nationhood and reconciliation with the nation’s past.
Job losses are expected among the 600 employees at the Inland Rail project in Brisbane as the government reduces the workforce following a report revealing errors, delays and cost blowouts. Half of the staff account may be made redundant, according to unnamed sources, with Brisbane expected to bear the brunt of losses as an expected start to construction in Queensland may be years away. Losses may also be seen in Toowoomba, Sydney and other parts of the state. Much of the expected job losses would likely affect the low and mid-level workforce, however, executive roles may also be at risk of redundancy.
Australia's Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has celebrated its first anniversary, with the party in a stronger position than it was when it was elected. However, Albanese is playing "a long game" amid growing opposition from left and right-leaning forces, including climate activists and independent MPs. His administration has so far focused on rebuilding trust in the political process and laying the foundations for future policy changes. The government's immediate challenges include dealing with inflated living costs that are hitting Australian citizens, as well as dealing with cost issues arising from the AUKUS submarine deal. Additionally, dealing with rising inflation and the housing crisis may lead to a shift in sentiment if Labor fails to deliver results, although the party is put off by the Greens in the Senate. Albanese has also promised to work on delivering an Indigenous Voice to parliament in an effort to unite the country but experts warn that failure to achieve the goal could have disastrous consequences for First Nations people.
Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has enjoyed a year in power with relatively few obstacles, guided by his respect for parliamentary norms and procedures, and his willingness to allow talented ministers to take the lead. His success, however, is also largely due to negative partisanship, which has focused voters on their loathing for the opposition rather than any particular affection for Albanese himself. His popularity has been aided by the global mood of seriousness caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has reduced the appetite for leadership struggles and encouraged a focus on good governance. He has also proved successful at dominating the centre ground of Australian politics, while avoiding accusations of wokeness or radicalism. However, polluting decisions on mine approvals and defence alliances with the US and UK have begun to erode his popularity. Despite this, it is believed that his authentic and likeable personality will continue to prevent him from becoming a more polarising figure.
A referendum on the Voice to Parliament, a proposal to give Indigenous Australians a representative body, has sparked debate over how progressive middle Australia is. Despite widespread support for marriage equality and a shift towards labor governments, some are fearful that the referendum could fail to get the required double majority of voters throughout the nation and a majority of states. Private polling on the yes vote has been more favourable than a recent Resolve survey published in The Sydney Morning Herald. However, there are concerns a gap exists between middle Australia's feelings towards minorities and how they view class, and those who are viewed as external. Questions have also been raised about the level of fellow feeling among the wider community for Indigenous Australians. Despite this, three major sports – the National Rugby League, Rugby Australia and the Australian Football League – have shown support for the Yes campaign, along with the sole Liberal government in Tasmania.
