Online Press review 6 June 2014

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FRONT PAGE

 Clive Palmer quits flagship Mineralogy board but the problems won’t go away (AUS) Hedley Thomas Paul Garvey CLIVE Palmer has quietly quit as a director of his flagship company Mineralogy and two other major entities amid a forensic financial investigation by China’s international investment company into where more than $12 million of its funds went in the weeks before the federal election.  Labor’s plain packaging fails as cigarette sales rise (AUS) Christian Kerr LABOR’S nanny state push to kill off the country’s addiction to cigarettes with plain packaging has backfired, with new sales figures showing tobacco consumption growing during the first full year of the new laws.  Backlash over shift on language of Palestinian ‘occupation’ (AUS) Jared Owens has made a historic shift in its policy on Israel’s control over the Palestinian territories, dumping its 47-year-old position that Arab land captured in 1967 is “occupied”.  passes on chance to kill leadership talk (AUS) Sid Maher MALCOLM Turnbull has not ruled out an ambition to lead the again, despite describing his chances of getting ’s job as “somewhere between nil and very negligible’’.  NBN hits roll out targets but fails to connect services (AFR) David Ramli, James Hutchinson About 118,000 homes and businesses that should be connected to the national broadband network can’t use the service because of defective fibre connections.  Attacks on Malcolm Turnbull have been linked to a reshuffle of the Abbott ministry (CAN+SMH) Heath Aston, James Massola The public undermining of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and questions over his loyalty to Tony Abbott have been linked to expectations inside the that the Prime Minister is heading towards a ''mini-reshuffle'' of the ministry.

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

POLITICS  Malcolm in the middle of a political pause (AUS) Phillip Hudson IT was a Pinteresque pause that spoke volumes for everyone who has a theory about the political drama starring Malcolm Turnbull.  Defence chief David Hurley to become NSW governor (AUS) Brendan Nicholson WHEN David Hurley led a force of Australian troops into Somalia in January 1993, the southern town of Baidoa was the heart of the badlands, with a starving population ruled by heavily armed gangs.

Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]  The electorate is in revolt and it’s time Abbott listened (AUS/Opinion) Graham Richardson THREE weeks on from the budget and the polls would suggest that the government has made little or no progress in selling its bill of goods. The anecdotal evidence on the streets backs up what Newspoll is telling us — this government has suffered a dramatic fall from grace and managed to achieve that in record time.  Frustration is no solution (AUS/Opinion) David Crowe THE frustration is palpable when talks about the welfare system. As the man who has to find ways to fund $150 billion a year in pensions and benefits, the Treasurer can’t believe some of the ways the cash is spent.  Coalition inherited this problem: we are going to fix it (AUS/Opinion) OVER recent days, the Prime Minister and Treasurer have been subjected to a torrent of abuse.  Tony Abbott says Malcolm Turnbull, Alan Jones and Andrew Bolt ‘overexcited’ in leadership flap (AFR) Phillip Coorey Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declined to take sides in the fight between his Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and conservative commentators Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones, saying he is friends with all three and that Mr Turnbull must accept that criticism is part of public life.  Malcolm Turnbull in middle of media frenzy (SMH/Analysis) Deborah Snow When he was opposition leader, Malcolm Turnbull advised press gallery hacks never to be ''dull''.

BUDGET 2014  Cracks in the budget start to appear (AFR) Laura Tingle, Fleur Anderson Cracks have emerged in the federal government over the budget with tension between Liberal and National MPs over fuel tax and Malcolm Turnbull a range of budget measures are unpopular.  Why budget reforms are now in intensive care (AFR/Opinion) Laura Tingle Australians will respond to an argument for change and reform but they have two requirements, former prime minister observed this week.

ECONOMY  Fear minimum wage will reduce Australia’s competitiveness (AFR) Luke Malpass Treasurer Joe Hockey has slammed the Fair Work Commission’s decision to lift the minimum wage, saying there is no doubt it will cost jobs.  How our minimum wage punishes those left at the bottom (AFR/Opinion) Mark Wooden On Wednesday, the Fair Work Commission handed down its latest increase in the national minimum wage. It rises from $622.20 a week to $640.90 a week, an increase of 3 per cent. Further, this rate of increase applies to all minimum award wages.

EDUCATION/SCIENCE  Old and new cuts put uni jobs at risk, says University VC Glyn Davis (AUS) Andrew Trounson AUSTRALIA’s top-ranked Melbourne University will shed 540 administrative jobs over the next 18 months, in part because of Labor’s previous funding cuts, and has warned it will lose up to $70 million a year more in cuts, forcing a hike in student fees.  University of Melbourne to slash 540 jobs (AFR) Joanna Mather Australia’s top-ranked university will cut 540 administrative staff and hire hundreds of academics over the next 18 months to prepare for full deregulation of higher education.  Taxpayers shouldn’t fund arts degrees (AFR/Opinion) John Roskam Given the sense of entitlement young people have these days, it’s no surprise they’re outraged by the Abbott government’s higher education reforms. One of the things the Coalition wants to do is to increase the interest rate on the loans the government provides to students to pay for their tuition. Instead of the interest rate being based on inflation as now, it would be set according to the how much it costs the government to lend the students the money. This change would cost a typical university graduate paying off their loan over eight years an extra $3 a week. It’s no wonder so many university graduates have trouble adjusting to the real world. Rather than being grateful that half of their tuition is being paid for by taxpayers, students complain they’re being asked to pay $3 a week more for their degree.

Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]

RESOURCES/ENVIRONMENT  Big iron ore miners still pouring money into expansion (AFR/Feature) Amanda Saunders, Max Mason Iron ore prices might be languishing, but treasurer Joe Hockey can rest assured that there is little chance the aggressive increase in tonnes being shipped by Australia’s big miners is about to slow.

INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS  Nova Peris tackles Tony Abbott over discrimination (AUS) Patricia Karvelas LABOR’S first indigenous federal MP, Nova Peris, has written to Tony Abbott imploring him to dump changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, arguing that they would condemn the referendum to acknowledge indigenous Australians in the constitution to failure.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

FOREIGN POLICY  Ministers move to boost Jakarta ties (AFR) John Kerin, Greg Earl Defence Minister David Johnston and Foreign Minister will travel to Indonesia to capitalise on a thaw in relations between the two countries.  Israel settlements put government and opposition at odds (AFR) Tony Walker Australia’s traditionally bipartisan policy towards Israel risks being fractured by unusually contentious differences between the government and opposition over Israeli settlement-building.  ' East Jerusalem stance labelled 'radically pro-Israel' (SMH) David Wroe The Abbott government has pointedly refused to call East Jerusalem ''occupied'', sparking Palestinian accusations Australia is taking a radical pro-Israel stance.

ABBOTT IN INO  Media misread depth of friendship (AUS) Greg Sheridan THE ease with which Tony Abbott and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seem to have put the Australia-Indonesia relationship back together again is a strong indication that the damage was never as severe as much of the hysterical commentary in Australia had indicated.  Jakarta won't bite on asylum-seeker issue (SMH/Analysis) Michael Bachelard The Indonesian government is playing a dead bat to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's assertion that the people-smuggling issue is all but resolved, indicating President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is serious about mending fences before leaving office.

ABBOTT IN FRA  Abbott among leaders caught up in US-Russia row in France (AFR) Phillip Coorey Prime Minister Tony Abbott has flown into France to join fellow leaders in commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings – and ran straight into the deepening row between the United States and Russia over Ukraine.  Abbott jets into Paris as unease mounts over Obama and Putin (CAN+SMH) Mark Kenny Prime Minister Tony Abbott has arrived in Paris, fresh from a successful rapprochement with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

ECONOMY  Time to get real on trade deals (AUS) IN a hyper-globalised world of instantaneous communication and extraordinary interconnectedness, it is easy to forget that old-fashioned geography still matters when it comes to trade and economic integration.  WA cattle headed for China (AFR) Lisa Murray Four companies from China’s southern island province of Hainan have signed up for trial - shipments of West Australian live cattle in a further sign of the country’s surging demand for high quality beef.

Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected] DEFENCE/SECURITY  Pair ‘had role’ in terror manual (AUS) Paul Maley TWO Australians killed in a US drone strike in Yemen last year may have been involved in the production of Inspire magazine, the notorious online do-it-yourself manual produced by al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula.

RESOURCES/ENVIRONMENT  Beijing-Russia deal bursts Australia’s gas bubble (AUS) Paul Garvey THE next generation of Australian liquefied natural gas projects may have been effectively killed off by the $US75 billion ($80.8bn) gas deal between Russia and China, analysts at Macquarie have warned.

MEDIA  ABC joins crowd in China market (AUS) Scott Murdoch THE ABC’s deal with China’s Shanghai Media Group is one of at least 40 similar partnerships the Chinese media company has with international broadcasters.

FRANCE

 Risk of US fines fuels BNP tensions (AUS) David Gauthier-Villars, David Enrich THE prospect of large penalties for allegedly violating US sanctions has sparked a debate within BNP Paribas’s executive suites over whether top officials, including the French bank’s chairman, Baudouin Prot, should resign, according to sources.  Ramsay Health Care prepares to sign French deal (AFR) Streettalk Ramsay Health Care, the largest private hospital group in Australia, is poised to ink a $1.2 billion deal for a majority stake in its French counterpart, Générale de Santé.  French giant GDF Suez asset sale may fetch over $500m (AFR) Streettalk Heavily indebted French electricity giant GDF Suez is considering selling another stake in its Australian subsidiary in a deal expected to top $500 million.

WORLD

 G7 rejects Putin over Ukraine (AUS) AP WORLD leaders urged Vladimir Putin to stop destabilising Ukraine yesterday or face further sanctions as they met without a Russian president for the first time since the 1990s.  Poroshenko floats amnesty for restive east (AUS) AP PRO-RUSSIAN insurgents have captured three government bases in eastern Ukraine, as the president-elect promised initiatives to help end the mutiny in the country’s industrial heartland.  Putin’s D-Day landing shows memory collides with politics (AFR) James Neuger, Bloomberg D-Day observances have always been part memorial and part politics.  Teacher deportations yet another overreaction by Indonesian authorities (SMH/Comment) Michael Bachelard The deportation of 20 teachers, including two Australians, from the Jakarta International School is the latest measure of the hyper-ventilation induced in Indonesia by a child sexual assault at the school.  Bowe Bergdahl fallout: Obama faces growing storm over returned soldier (SMH+CAN) Nick O’Malley The Taliban’s distribution of a video showing its release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has added fuel to a spreading controversy that has led to the Obama administration drawing fire from friends and foes alike.  Lithuania a step closer to euro zone (AFR) Jack Ewing, James Kanter, NYT The euro zone is closer to adding its 19th member.

Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]  Decision on Google risks stifling European tech start-ups (AFR) James Chessell It takes a lot to feel even a shred of sympathy for Google. Any near-monopoly with a market value of $US380 billion ($410 billion) and an aversion to paying a reasonable amount of tax can look after itself.  Victory in Syrian election is show of Assad’s control (AFR) Anne Barnard, NYT President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Wednesday celebrated his overwhelming victory in a deeply disputed election, asserting his confidence and defiance in the Syrian conflict as supporters savoured his success in thwarting the United States.  China refuses to defend its South China Sea claims to UN court (AFR) Aipeng Soo, Bloomberg China has refused to defend its territorial claims in the South China Sea to a United Nations tribunal because it doesn’t recognise international arbitration of its dispute with the Philippines.  Europe's boat people numbers make ours look minuscule (SMH/Opinion) Richard Ackland It's the summer boat season in Europe. Everyone's out on their boats, including tens of thousands of refugees from Africa making the trip across the Mediterranean. Not all of them make it.  What China loses by forgetting about Tiananmen Square (CAN/Opinion) Ai Weiwei In the past month, in two separate cities, I was involved in events related to the rewriting of the history of Chinese contemporary art.

EDITORIALS

The Australian  Unions are struggling for relevance and supporters HIS name is Dave. Obviously, as a union official and Labor operative, we can’t show you his face. Dave says hi. Dave’s problem is that very few workers are saying hello to him and joining his movement. The latest figures from Bureau of Statistics show that union membership in the private sector has dropped to 12 per cent. In the year to last August, 93,000 members bailed out. Unionisation has become a feature of the public service, where 42 per cent of workers are signed up, and a relic of the past everywhere else.  A blind eye to gruesome pics LIKE most Australians on the cusp of 50, we’d like to see young smokers, in particular, do their health and their wallets a favour and kick the habit. Better still, savvy teenagers would be smart not to take it up. Cigarettes are a $20 a packet ticket to serious illness. And those who puff away their working days off site undermine their careers.  Malcolm’s excellent adventure MALCOLM Turnbull can always be relied upon to talk about himself. With a topic as enticing as this pulsating through politics over the past week, he has not been able to curb his enthusiasm. Television and radio interviewers have been only too happy to indulge the Communications Minister on his favourite subject. What has motivated this media whirlwind? Not selling a difficult budget, of course. That has been left to Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey. Instead, Mr Turnbull has rushed to proclaim that he supports the budget, he is not undermining the Prime Minister, nor is he plotting to regain leadership of the Liberal Party. Instead of hosing down such speculation, he is fanning it.

The Australian Financial Review  A real chance to entrench growth The headline strength in the economy shown by the March quarter national accounts – growth of 1.1 per cent in the quarter and 3.5 per cent over the past year – is much, though not quite all, that Australia’s economic managers could have hoped for.

The Sydney Morning Herald  Look beyond Gallipoli and honour our war dead Seventy years ago on June 6, 1944, the D-Day landings were under way.

Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]

CAPTIONS & CIRCULATION

AUS = The Australian (News Limited); Circulation WK: 126,901, Sat.: 277,386; Digital WK: 31,240, Digital SAT: 31,381. AFR = The Australian Financial Review (Fairfax Media Ltd); Circulation WK: 68,425, Sat.: 69,012. SMH = The Sydney morning Herald (Fairfax Media Ltd); Circulation WK: 161,169, Sat.: 265,457; Digital WK: 56,559, Digital SAT: 56,113. CAN = The Times (Fairfax Media Ltd); Circulation WK: 30,420, Sat.: 49,965, Sun.: 31,308.

Ambassade de France en Australie – Service de Presse et Information Site : http://www.ambafrance-au.org/ Tél. : 61 (02) 6216 0150 Email : [email protected]