The week began with Bill Shorten returning from holidays with a more populist and protectionist focus for the year ahead. He spoke about Australian jobs and the likelihood of the USA not ratifying the TPP under Trump. Shorten believes that without the USA, the TPP will fail and therefore it is dead. Shorten has also made clear that Labor will not say ahead of time how they will vote on the TPP when it comes to parliament.
The ABC revealed this week that a Yahoo hack that took place three years ago resulted in several sales of private information to crime syndicates and foreign intelligence. These may have involved the private information and email accounts of several diplomats, government officials and Members of Parliament or the Senate – including Christian Porter, Chris Bowen and Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.
Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration has been criticised for the contracts made with companies when setting up detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island in 2012. According to the audit, they made vague contracts and staff approved the spending of millions of dollars – some of whom were not authorised to do so. The department also did not keep their asset register up to date, meaning that several assets burned down in a riot were not covered by their insurance, costing the taxpayer.
Malcolm Turnbull has reshuffled his cabinet after the Sussan Ley drama, with Greg Hunt the new Minister for Health and Sport, Arthur Sinodinos is now Industry Minister, Ken Wyatt has now been promoted from an Assistant Minister to a fully fledged Minister – becoming Minister for Ageing and Indigenous Health, while rising young conservative Michael Sukkar has become Assistant Minister to the Treasurer. This is the fourth reshuffle in 16 months.
Malcolm Turnbull’s week has been a bit on the sombre side, with him in Sydney’s West to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Granville train accident, before heading to Melbourne to lay flowers in Bourke Street after the tragedy there. He’s also had to respond to the shock resignation of NSW Premier Mike Baird – who is ideologically similar – and prepare for his likely successor, Gladys Berejiklian.
Also this week, it has been announced that the three-year long search for the missing MH370 plane has been ended, having finished searching in the area in the Indian Ocean. It is still unclear how the plane went down, and it may remain a mystery for years to come – although the Australian, Chinese and Malaysian searchers hope that in the future more information will come to light and they will be able to search again.
Finally this week, the Centrelink debt collection saga continues; Australia Day plans are underway; Australian police commissioners will apologise to victims of child sexual abuse for not believing them when they reported it – although it will not take place until the Royal Commission report is released; Australia is behind the rest of the world in keeping university courses relevant to the modern labor market requirements; and protests took place in Australia and around the world after Trump’s inauguration to show solidarity with minorities in America who have uncertainty ahead for the next few years.
Tweet of the Week
Things I’ve Been Looking at Online
Stan Grant on taking until 2017 for an Indigenous minister to be appointed – ABC Online
Kara L 