MHLoppy2

• Cabinet documents from 2003 have been unsealed [by the National Archives of Australia, after the documents' confidentiality period expired].
• The documents reveal some of the high-level discussions of the government, including on the Iraq War.
• Much of the deliberations on the war have been kept secret, despite the then-defence minister supporting their release.

We asked them:

• Do you believe the government you currently serve is doing enough to combat domestic violence? (For government MPs)

• What would you like to see the Albanese government do about this issue? (For opposition MPs)

• What active steps have you taken in your communities to help address women dying at the hands of their partners?

• What kind of cultural change do you think would help make a difference in your communities?

Just 20 out of the 92 MPs responded by the original publication time and only ten had answered the questions asked.

Once followed up, 25 responded and 21 answered questions.

(The article isn't that long, but its content is hard to summarize without significant information loss.)

Temporary migration has jumped sharply over the past year — largely driven by foreign students — leading to a record intake. This was previously described as a post-COVID 19 influx of returning foreign students, but the ABC understands the government believes this is more than a one-off surge.

As part of the new migration strategy — which has already been signed off by cabinet and follows months of consultation with the higher education sector, business groups and other stakeholders — steps will be taken to cut the intake of foreign students entering low-quality courses.

The ABC understands the government will not cap the number of foreign students allowed in but will crack down on low-quality training providers and limit opportunities for student visas to be used as a backdoor for low-skilled workers to stay in Australia.

The new strategy will also involve new efforts to retain the best-performing students in Australia and new pathways to attract more high-skilled permanent migrants.

"People are coming here, enrolling in courses that don't really add substantially to either their skills base or to the national interest here," Mr Albanese said.

Coverage from SBS has a bit more background on the "why" for those interested.

Edit: ABC has some followup coverage of its own, mostly on the "what".

While a new [Senate] inquiry looks set to examine [Coles and Woolworths'] profit margins, New Zealand offers a lesson in just how difficult it is to disrupt a duopoly. [They have] no Aldi or IGA, and the duopoly there has also faced allegations of price gouging.

The New Zealand competition watchdog has already held a market study into why food costs so much in Aotearoa and established a grocery commissioner to help implement its recommendations.

But 18 months down the line, Kiwis are still reporting their grocery bill as a major financial concern — for the first time, some families are struggling with the cost of putting food on the table.

Based on this experience, advocacy group Consumer NZ said an inquiry could be helpful to establish the facts around whether or not supermarket giants were making more than what was fair.

But they warned the process was slow, and ultimately if it did not lead to bold changes, the business of selling food to Australians was likely to continue being a very closed, and expensive, shop.

[Roads] are getting worse because we’re not spending enough to maintain them.

Three-quarters of our roads are managed by local councils.

Every year, those councils spend A$1 billion less on maintenance than is needed to keep those roads in their current condition – let alone improve them.

New Grattan Institute research finds the typical regional area has a funding shortfall of more 40%. In remote areas, it’s more than 75%.

One reason for this underspend is that untied federal government grants to local councils haven’t kept pace with soaring costs.

[...]

Tight budgets make it tempting to delay maintenance.

But delaying will only end up costing more in the long run, leaving taxpayers paying more to fix more badly damaged roads.

• Mike Pezzullo was a central architect and inaugural boss of the Home Affairs Department.
• He has been stood down on full pay pending an inquiry into his conduct.
• Changes to secretary pay and conditions mean Mr Pezzullo might not receive a termination payment.

One of the most powerful figures in the public service has been sacked after leaked conversations revealed the depths of his attempts to influence the government on policy and the shape of government.

Mike Pezzullo, the head of the Home Affairs Department, was considered one of the most influential figures in the machinery of government even before alleged private conversations with a Liberal powerbroker exposed he had seemingly spent years using a political backchannel to influence prime ministers and undermine others.

[...]

The inquiry found Mr Pezzullo had broken the public service code of conduct on at least 14 occasions. The breaches included:

• Using his duty, power, status or authority to seek to gain a benefit or advantage for himself
• Engaged in gossip and disrespectful critique of ministers and public servants
• Failed to maintain confidentiality of sensitive government information
• Failed to act apolitically in his employment
• Failed to disclose a conflict of interest

A multi-layered strategy of vaccines, masks, safe indoor air, testing and treatment will help us navigate this COVID wave.

No one cared who I was until I put on the mask

--person trying to reduce the number of people dying

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8442608

Your small glimpse into what old school YouTube could've been like if FuwaMoco was around at the time.

Afaik this got a shoutout from the doggos at some point but I haven't bothered to track down where.

• A court has ruled a Hungry Jack's burger did not infringe on McDonald's trademark.

• McDonald's argued its rival's product could confuse consumers and eat into its profits.

• A scientist was brought in to weigh the two-patty burgers over the three-year trial.

McDonald's has lost its legal dispute with fast-food rival Hungry Jack's over its Big Mac lookalike burger the "Big Jack".

The American giant had claimed that consumers would confuse the Big Jack with the Big Mac and this would eat into McDonald's profits.

But Justice Stephen Burley ruled against the claim in the Federal Court today.

"Big Jack is not deceptively similar to Big Mac," Justice Burley said.

• [UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories] Francesca Albanese has taken aim at the global response to the Israel-Gaza war.

• She says the death toll and number of injured people will continue to rise.

• Her address follows a speech from the Israeli ambassador to the Press Club last month.

"The international community is almost completely paralysed [and] I am being generous when I say almost," she said.

"The UN [is] experiencing its most epic political and humanitarian failure since its creation.

"Individual member states, especially in the West – and Australia is no exception – are on the margins, muttering inaudible words of condemnation … or staying silent in fear of restraining Israel's self-proclaimed right to self-defence – whatever it means."

She said under international law, Israel had the right to protect itself, but not the right to wage a war.