Issue 35 – 11 March – 17 March 2021

March 18, 2021March 26, 2021 editor

Forcing jobseekers to move is not just bad policy – it does nothing to address the economy’s real problems
Greg Jericho | The Guardian
Speaking at the AFR Business Summit in Sydney, Scott Morrison said: “Every day we hear the stories of employers, especially in regional areas, unable to fill positions. It’s got way past anecdotal.” It is just anecdotal, of course.

If you can’t shoot, sue: Porter and Morrison respond to March for Justice
Louise O’Shea | Red Flag
More than 100,000 mostly women marched for justice, equality and respect on 15 March; what we got from Morrison was the political equivalent of Eddie McGuire’s “proud day for the Collingwood football club” press conference.

Porter can resist the ABC, but he can’t survive his friends at News Corp
Guy Rundle | Crikey
The total resistance to an inquiry into the allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter is of course being driven by internal Liberal Party politicking. My God, there must be some act three of Downfall going on there.

Why do only women seem to take the fall in Australia when scandal breaks?
Van Badham | The Guardian
Former CEO of Australia Post Christine Holgate was removed from an organisation with a heavily Liberal party-dominated board after the prime minister personally drove an investigation into her conduct. An independent report that Morrison received before Christmas last year was “kept secret because not only did it completely exonerate Christine Holgate but showed that the remarks of the prime minister to the parliament were simply wrong.”

JobSeeker Hypocrisy: ‘rule of law’ for Porter but not for those below poverty line
Emma Dawson | Michael West Media
Eight people are competing for every available job yet the Morrison Government continues to blame people themselves for being unemployed, putting the Coalition in breach of a key international treaty for as long as it refuses to raise JobSeeker to the poverty line.

The conspiracy to protect Christian Porter
Louise O’Shea | Red Flag
For its part, Labor is letting the government off the hook, presumably because it got the obvious message from Porter’s press conference that, if he goes down, Labor figures won’t be far behind. The ruling class is closing ranks.

Gender equality is a choice – one the Morrison government doesn’t seem to be willing to make
Richard Denniss | The Guardian
While men’s violence against women is driving this latest round of protests, men’s refusal to fix Australia’s employment, retirement and care systems is a key reason why so many women are unable to leave the men who cause them so much harm.

NFTs fuel the rise of a new asset class
Guy Rundle | Crikey
NFTs are being presented as a way of paying creators. In reality they’ll just carve out a new asset class.

Ending over mending: planned obsolescence is killing the planet
Jeff Sparrow | The Guardian
The latest iteration of Apple’s flagship product can’t be repaired – or, at least, not without using the company’s expensive proprietary service. That’s not uncommon. Some manufacturers now build with special screws or glue parts together, specifically to prevent home maintenance. Others simply don’t provide the basic components that would give their products a longer life.

Neglect of aged care more proof of Morrison’s blokey blind spot
Ross Gittins | Nine Newspapers
When you think about it, aged care is the ultimate women’s issue. Of those receiving aged care, women outnumber men two to one. Who does most of the worrying about how mum or dad are being treated – and probably most of the visiting? More likely to be daughters than sons.

Rapists or not, the Liberals are bad people
James Plested | Red Flag
Research has shown that the richer you are, the more selfish and lacking in empathy you’re likely to be. A 2015 study by psychologists at Arizona University found, for instance, that while the rich were more likely than the poor to self-report that they were empathetic people, MRI scans taken while they were looking at pictures of suffering showed that “people who are higher in socioeconomic status have diminished neural responses to others’ pain”.

We’re not home and hosed on the recovery, despite what Morrison says
Ross Gittins | Nine Newspapers
I fear we may be changing places with the United States. I fear the economy’s rapid rebound may have misled Scott Morrison into believing we’re home and hosed. I fear the Smaller Government mentality may trip us up again.

Feminism needs to oppose neoliberal economics to move forward
Eva Cox | Pearls and Irritations

India: Women reject state surveillance
Kavita Krishnan | Green Left

NSW Estimates hears 100% of heritage destruction permits approved last year
Rachael Knowles | National Indigenous Times

Third Indigenous death in custody in one week
Rachael Knowles | National Indigenous Times

Cormann’s OECD campaign was a climate fakery trial run for Glasgow COP
Ketan Joshi | Renew Economy

Reality check: Our global carbon budget is zero
Peter Boyle | Green Left

Lifters, Leaners and Vaccination: The ‘Free Riders’ of Herd Immunity
Christopher Day, Kathleen Day | Arena Online

SafeWork NSW directors put politics before workers’ safety, warn inspectors
Sam Parkes | Green Left

Why aren’t work health and safety laws used to confront Parliament’s ‘sexual abuse with impunity’ culture?
Max Costello | Pearls and Irritations

Australia’s biggest coal state could reach 100 pct renewables by 2030, Reputex says
Giles Parkinson | Renew Economy

Calls for state accountability after three more Black deaths in custody
Pip Hinman | Green Left

South American Indigenous groups sue French supermarket chain
Darby Ingram | National Indigenous Times