An assassination attempt here only a matter of time

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Jul-24

The failed attempt to assassinate Donald Trump has heightened concerns about the safety of Australian politicians. Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews notes that she had raised such concerns in July 2022 in response to the assassination of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe, and she believes that an attempt to kill an Australian politician is inevitable. The former Coalition cabinet minister adds that the current level of security protection for federal MPs is merely "adequate". Former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo notes that the last major review of protective security arrangements for the nation’s parliamentarians was undertaken in 1979, in the wake of the Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing.

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Distrust in corporate Australia soars after huge profits and successive scandals but who’s responsible?

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Jul-24

A special Roy Morgan End of Financial Year webinar with Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, and Nine Network Finance Editor Chris Kohler, explored views of corporate Australia including the rising level of distrust across the economy. Distrust of any organisation or sector has increased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic; when there was more trust than distrust. Now 66% of Australians distrust any organisation or sector compared to 41% that trust – a net result of -25% points, down from -17% points a year ago – a decline of 8% points. A quarter of respondents (26%) mentioned greed and companies too motivated by profit or commercial interests as a reason for their distrust compared to 9% who said this when the pandemic began – up 17% points. In comparison fewer than 1% of respondents mentioned they trust organisations because they are not motivated by profit – a net rating of -25% points. When asked directly, 54% of Australians say they distrust corporate Australia more than they used to, compared to only 10% who trust corporate Australia more than they used to. Over a third of Australians (36%) say there has been no change in the trustworthiness of corporate Australia.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Bulletproof Donald breaking convention

Original article by Cameron Stewart, Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Jul-24

Former president Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome when he arrived at the Republican National Convention, with delegates chanting "fight, fight, fight" as he appeared with a bandage on his wounded ear. Meanwhile, Trump’s surprise choice of Senator JD Vance as his running mate continues to attract scrutiny, given his youth and inexperience. Democrats have claimed that Vance is an extremist on issues such as abortion, health and foreign policy. President Joe Biden has described Vance as a "clone of Trump" on certain issues, and says Trump will "surround himself with people who agree completely with him". Vance himself has previously been a vocal critic of Trump, but he is now a strong supporter of the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement.

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REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Health department records show some pathology companies rorted Medicare during COVID pandemic, expert says

Original article by Alison Branley
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 16-Jul-24

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws have revealed that some pathology companies rorted Medicare during the pandemic, with one doctor claiming 21,000 tests in a single day. The documents also reveal cases where pathology companies were operating state-government funded pop-up and drive-through testing clinics, but billing Medicare; the federal government was already half-funding the state centres under a national partnership agreement. Health economist Professor Stephen Duckett says the documents show there was "systematic rorting on a very large scale", which reflects very badly on the pathology sector.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA

Climate plans of Australian companies would be exempt from private litigation for three years under proposal

Original article by Adam Morton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Jul-24

Legislation currently before the Senate aims to expand the amount of information that companies provide about the risk the climate crisis poses to their business and what they intend to do about it. The legislation provides a grace period of three years in terms of certain statements by companies, directors and auditors being subject to legal challenge, unless the company is being accused of criminal behaviour or is the target of action by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Although the legislation has been praised for targeting corporate climate responsibility, concerns have been expressed that the exemption will allow polluting companies to avoid public scrutiny for longer

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Born-again Trump: Miracle Donald pivots to political peacemaker

Original article by Cameron Stewart, Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Jul-24

Former US president Donald Trump says God prevented him from being assassinated in Pennsylvania, adding that the doctor who treated his wounded ear in hospital described his survival as a ‘miracle’. Trump will address the Republican Party’s national convention in Milwaukee this week, where he will be formally nominated as its presidential candidate. Trump says it will be a "whole different speech now", and rather than largely targeting the policies of President Joe Biden, it will aim to bring the nation together; Trump adds that he has been given the chance to unite America. Biden has in turn used a presidential address from the Oval Office to call for the nation to "stand together", contending that there is no place for violence of any kind in America.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Albanese poised to move against CFMEU

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Jul-24

The federal government will consider a range of options to address the CFMEU. Cabinet minister Bill Shorten has indicated that these include deregistering the CFMEU or appointing external administrators to the militant union. Shorten had previously appointed administrators to ‘clean out’ the Health Services Union during his tenure as industrial relations minister in the Gillard government. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says "all options are on the table" regarding the CFMEU; he contends that the recent resignation of Victorian state secretary John Setka should be just the beginning of the cleaning up process.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Secret Service faces review as top sniper claims this guy had help

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 16-Jul-24

US President Joe Biden has ordered an independent review of the Secret Service in the wake of the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday. The investigation will focus on how Thomas Matthew Crook was able to get close enough to shoot at Trump with an assault-style rifle, with one of Crook’s shots appearing to hit Trump on the ear. Meanwhile, Canadian Special Operations sniper Dallas Alexander, whose team holds the world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill, contends that Crook could not have been able to get in a position to shoot at Trump in broad daylight from a rooftop just a couple of hundred metres away without getting help from "somewhere within an agency organisation or government".

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UNITED STATES. SECRET SERVICE

Roy Morgan Poll: Federal Election is ‘too close to call’: L-NP 50.5% cf. ALP 49.5%

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-24

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be a hung parliament and ‘too close to call’ with the Coalition on 50.5% cf. ALP 49.5% on a two-party preferred basis. The ALP or Coalition would require the support of minor parties and independents to form a minority government, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Primary support for the Coalition dropped 2% to 37.5% this week while the ALP increased 2.5% to 31%. Support for the Greens was down 1% to 12.5%. Support for One Nation was unchanged at 5%, support for Other Parties was up 0.5% to 5% and support for Independents was unchanged at 9%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Age-old hatred threat to nation, warns new envoy

Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-24

The federal government has appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s first special envoy to combat anti-Semitism. Segal is a business leader, lawyer and philanthropist, and a former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. She says anti-Semitism is a threat to Australian society as a whole, rather than just the Jewish community. Segal will represent Australia at the upcoming World Jewish Congress in Argentina. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out holding a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses. He has also criticised the Greens’ deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi for failing to call for Hamas to be ‘dismantled’ in a recent interview.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS