Albanese pitches himself as democracy's defender before Trump meeting
Trust in democracy can be restored by proving government services work, Anthony Albanese will say in his first major speech since his May re-election, drawing an implicit contrast with US President Donald Trump ahead of the pair's expected first meeting later this month.
The prime minister will argue delivering urgent necessities for Australians will restore faith in government, in a clear sign the re-elected Labor government is taking a cautious approach despite its thumping election win.
In his speech, the prime minister is expected to warn that Australia faces an uncertain world where some people believe the 'corrosive proposition that politics and government and democratic institutions, including a free media, are incapable of meeting the demands of this moment'.
'Some simply dismiss such sentiment. Others cynically seek to harvest it. Our responsibility is to disprove it,' Albanese will tell the National Press Club on Tuesday, according to an excerpt of his speech.
'To recognise that some of this frustration is drawn from people's real experience with government – be it failures of service delivery, or falling through the cracks of a particular system,' he will say.
Without naming Trump's extensive cuts to the US government, Albanese will offer a prescription to restore faith in government through competence and programs that benefit everyone, rather than offering hard trade-offs for reform.
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'To counter this [lack of faith in government], we have to offer the practical and positive alternative,' Albanese will say. 'To prove that a good, focused, reforming Labor government can make a real difference to people's lives.'
The speech excerpts suggest a careful second-term agenda squarely focused on rebuilding trust in Labor, coming just days before the prime minister departs for the United States and then on to Canada for a meeting of the G7 major economies.
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- Sky News AU
Labor ‘out of control' by sanctioning Israeli ministers
Sky News host Andrew Bolt discusses the Albanese Labor government sanctioning two Israeli ministers. 'The hypocritical Albanese government really does hate Israel, doesn't it? It is acting like Greta Thunberg and has now hit two Israeli ministers with sanctions,' Mr Bolt said. 'But I want to know why, why this is in Australia's interest to act like useful idiots of radical Islam.'
The Advertiser
31 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Home solar battery contracts ripped up as promised government rebate ditched
Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program. Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program. Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program. Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program.
The Advertiser
31 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Tassie stadium plan is a lot of bread for a circus
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Imagine you open your letter box and there are four bills inside, one for each member of your family, including the two kids who are still at school. You open them and the amount each of you owe is $1247. That's roughly what each and every Tasmanian will be up for if the lower estimate of the cost of the contentious Macquarie Point stadium - $945 million - is accurate. This takes into account the federal pledge of $240 million, announced during a disastrous visit to the site by Anthony Albanese in April 2023, which saw him beating a hasty retreat as a crowd of hecklers descended on the event demanding that money be spent on desperately needed housing. The bill for Tasmanians will be even more if the higher estimate of $1.1 billion proves correct. Of course, there'll be no bill in the mail. The cost will be borne by what's not spent in other areas like health, education, infrastructure and affordable housing and the estimated $1.86 billion in debt racked up over a decade. It's a lot of bread for a circus. The state's ballooning debt was the trigger for the Labor opposition's successful no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff which has put government on hold while the governor works out whether to grant the request for an early election or ask the parliament to seek an alternative leader. The no-confidence motion and its disruption to government risks the state missing the deadlines laid down in the licensing agreement with the AFL. Yet the Labor leader insists he will continue to support the stadium should he find himself at the helm. That's despite the stadium diktat imposed by the AFL being deeply unpopular across Tasmania, not least because no similar demands were made of other recent regional additions to the league. An assessment by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission was damning. The roofed 23,000-seat structure, it said, was "disproportionate to Hobart's small scale and would be contrary to Hobart's visual values". An artist's impression of what it would look from the eastern shore of the Derwent is like a still from sci-fi movie, an alien mothership squatting under the snowy flanks of kunanyi, dwarfing the heritage buildings around it. No wonder Hobart hates the idea. What's irksome from my non-sporting mainland perspective is the power wielded by the AFL. To set such onerous conditions on a state that wants to field its own team in the national comp is bad enough. To have the federal government pitch in with a promise of millions is even worse. This is when the AFL is flush with cash from a $4.5 billion TV licensing deal with the Seven Network and Foxtel. To use the vernacular of the querulous Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, if they want a stadium with a roof, they can bloody well pay for it. HAVE YOUR SAY: Has Big Sport become too powerful in Australia? Should mainland taxpayers help pay for the Tasmanian stadium? Do both major parties in Tasmania look foolish for backing the stadium despite the opposition to it? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The ABC has announced the end of the political panel program Q+A after 18 years on air. - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed as "predictable" criticism of Australia's move to join four other countries in hitting two right-wing Israeli ministers with sanctions over West Bank settlements, as the opposition demands a briefing on the decision. - The number of industrial disputes has fallen to a two-year low, new figures reveal, despite major work outages affecting public transport commuters. THEY SAID IT: "The state government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it's not going to play the game." - Senator Jacqui Lambie YOU SAID IT: The shooting of an Aussie reporter with a rubber bullet during the Los Angeles unrest reinforces the feeling the US is becoming an unsafe banana republic. "How long, I wonder, before we see a travel warning issued for the US?" asks Liz. "Calling it 'law and order' while pardoning actual insurrectionists is like burning down a fire station and calling it urban renewal," writes Mike. "The republic doesn't just smell like banana - it's practically slipping on the peel in front of the whole world." "I am a resident of Minnesota, a democratic state in the USA, and am appalled at the whole Trump situation over here, but especially when the Australian reporter was purposely shot with the rubber bullet," writes Carolyn. "I encourage people to stay away from my country for the foreseeable future which makes me sad because I have had wonderful visits from friends from your beautiful country." Allan, who lived in Los Angeles for six years in the 1980s, writes: "We've visited the USA numerous times since, but never again. Our initial concerns as we've grown older were with their health system, where serious illness could literally cost millions. Now the political situation is what worries us. I wouldn't rule out something akin to civil war the way things are escalating. But no, I don't think Albanese should raise the Tomasi shooting with Trump personally, it would achieve nothing and detract from other more important discussions." "Civil war was averted when Trump won the election," writes Arthur. "It now looks as though it was only a temporary reprieve." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Imagine you open your letter box and there are four bills inside, one for each member of your family, including the two kids who are still at school. You open them and the amount each of you owe is $1247. That's roughly what each and every Tasmanian will be up for if the lower estimate of the cost of the contentious Macquarie Point stadium - $945 million - is accurate. This takes into account the federal pledge of $240 million, announced during a disastrous visit to the site by Anthony Albanese in April 2023, which saw him beating a hasty retreat as a crowd of hecklers descended on the event demanding that money be spent on desperately needed housing. The bill for Tasmanians will be even more if the higher estimate of $1.1 billion proves correct. Of course, there'll be no bill in the mail. The cost will be borne by what's not spent in other areas like health, education, infrastructure and affordable housing and the estimated $1.86 billion in debt racked up over a decade. It's a lot of bread for a circus. The state's ballooning debt was the trigger for the Labor opposition's successful no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff which has put government on hold while the governor works out whether to grant the request for an early election or ask the parliament to seek an alternative leader. The no-confidence motion and its disruption to government risks the state missing the deadlines laid down in the licensing agreement with the AFL. Yet the Labor leader insists he will continue to support the stadium should he find himself at the helm. That's despite the stadium diktat imposed by the AFL being deeply unpopular across Tasmania, not least because no similar demands were made of other recent regional additions to the league. An assessment by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission was damning. The roofed 23,000-seat structure, it said, was "disproportionate to Hobart's small scale and would be contrary to Hobart's visual values". An artist's impression of what it would look from the eastern shore of the Derwent is like a still from sci-fi movie, an alien mothership squatting under the snowy flanks of kunanyi, dwarfing the heritage buildings around it. No wonder Hobart hates the idea. What's irksome from my non-sporting mainland perspective is the power wielded by the AFL. To set such onerous conditions on a state that wants to field its own team in the national comp is bad enough. To have the federal government pitch in with a promise of millions is even worse. This is when the AFL is flush with cash from a $4.5 billion TV licensing deal with the Seven Network and Foxtel. To use the vernacular of the querulous Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, if they want a stadium with a roof, they can bloody well pay for it. HAVE YOUR SAY: Has Big Sport become too powerful in Australia? Should mainland taxpayers help pay for the Tasmanian stadium? Do both major parties in Tasmania look foolish for backing the stadium despite the opposition to it? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The ABC has announced the end of the political panel program Q+A after 18 years on air. - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed as "predictable" criticism of Australia's move to join four other countries in hitting two right-wing Israeli ministers with sanctions over West Bank settlements, as the opposition demands a briefing on the decision. - The number of industrial disputes has fallen to a two-year low, new figures reveal, despite major work outages affecting public transport commuters. THEY SAID IT: "The state government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it's not going to play the game." - Senator Jacqui Lambie YOU SAID IT: The shooting of an Aussie reporter with a rubber bullet during the Los Angeles unrest reinforces the feeling the US is becoming an unsafe banana republic. "How long, I wonder, before we see a travel warning issued for the US?" asks Liz. "Calling it 'law and order' while pardoning actual insurrectionists is like burning down a fire station and calling it urban renewal," writes Mike. "The republic doesn't just smell like banana - it's practically slipping on the peel in front of the whole world." "I am a resident of Minnesota, a democratic state in the USA, and am appalled at the whole Trump situation over here, but especially when the Australian reporter was purposely shot with the rubber bullet," writes Carolyn. "I encourage people to stay away from my country for the foreseeable future which makes me sad because I have had wonderful visits from friends from your beautiful country." Allan, who lived in Los Angeles for six years in the 1980s, writes: "We've visited the USA numerous times since, but never again. Our initial concerns as we've grown older were with their health system, where serious illness could literally cost millions. Now the political situation is what worries us. I wouldn't rule out something akin to civil war the way things are escalating. But no, I don't think Albanese should raise the Tomasi shooting with Trump personally, it would achieve nothing and detract from other more important discussions." "Civil war was averted when Trump won the election," writes Arthur. "It now looks as though it was only a temporary reprieve." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Imagine you open your letter box and there are four bills inside, one for each member of your family, including the two kids who are still at school. You open them and the amount each of you owe is $1247. That's roughly what each and every Tasmanian will be up for if the lower estimate of the cost of the contentious Macquarie Point stadium - $945 million - is accurate. This takes into account the federal pledge of $240 million, announced during a disastrous visit to the site by Anthony Albanese in April 2023, which saw him beating a hasty retreat as a crowd of hecklers descended on the event demanding that money be spent on desperately needed housing. The bill for Tasmanians will be even more if the higher estimate of $1.1 billion proves correct. Of course, there'll be no bill in the mail. The cost will be borne by what's not spent in other areas like health, education, infrastructure and affordable housing and the estimated $1.86 billion in debt racked up over a decade. It's a lot of bread for a circus. The state's ballooning debt was the trigger for the Labor opposition's successful no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff which has put government on hold while the governor works out whether to grant the request for an early election or ask the parliament to seek an alternative leader. The no-confidence motion and its disruption to government risks the state missing the deadlines laid down in the licensing agreement with the AFL. Yet the Labor leader insists he will continue to support the stadium should he find himself at the helm. That's despite the stadium diktat imposed by the AFL being deeply unpopular across Tasmania, not least because no similar demands were made of other recent regional additions to the league. An assessment by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission was damning. The roofed 23,000-seat structure, it said, was "disproportionate to Hobart's small scale and would be contrary to Hobart's visual values". An artist's impression of what it would look from the eastern shore of the Derwent is like a still from sci-fi movie, an alien mothership squatting under the snowy flanks of kunanyi, dwarfing the heritage buildings around it. No wonder Hobart hates the idea. What's irksome from my non-sporting mainland perspective is the power wielded by the AFL. To set such onerous conditions on a state that wants to field its own team in the national comp is bad enough. To have the federal government pitch in with a promise of millions is even worse. This is when the AFL is flush with cash from a $4.5 billion TV licensing deal with the Seven Network and Foxtel. To use the vernacular of the querulous Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, if they want a stadium with a roof, they can bloody well pay for it. HAVE YOUR SAY: Has Big Sport become too powerful in Australia? Should mainland taxpayers help pay for the Tasmanian stadium? Do both major parties in Tasmania look foolish for backing the stadium despite the opposition to it? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The ABC has announced the end of the political panel program Q+A after 18 years on air. - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed as "predictable" criticism of Australia's move to join four other countries in hitting two right-wing Israeli ministers with sanctions over West Bank settlements, as the opposition demands a briefing on the decision. - The number of industrial disputes has fallen to a two-year low, new figures reveal, despite major work outages affecting public transport commuters. THEY SAID IT: "The state government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it's not going to play the game." - Senator Jacqui Lambie YOU SAID IT: The shooting of an Aussie reporter with a rubber bullet during the Los Angeles unrest reinforces the feeling the US is becoming an unsafe banana republic. "How long, I wonder, before we see a travel warning issued for the US?" asks Liz. "Calling it 'law and order' while pardoning actual insurrectionists is like burning down a fire station and calling it urban renewal," writes Mike. "The republic doesn't just smell like banana - it's practically slipping on the peel in front of the whole world." "I am a resident of Minnesota, a democratic state in the USA, and am appalled at the whole Trump situation over here, but especially when the Australian reporter was purposely shot with the rubber bullet," writes Carolyn. "I encourage people to stay away from my country for the foreseeable future which makes me sad because I have had wonderful visits from friends from your beautiful country." Allan, who lived in Los Angeles for six years in the 1980s, writes: "We've visited the USA numerous times since, but never again. Our initial concerns as we've grown older were with their health system, where serious illness could literally cost millions. Now the political situation is what worries us. I wouldn't rule out something akin to civil war the way things are escalating. But no, I don't think Albanese should raise the Tomasi shooting with Trump personally, it would achieve nothing and detract from other more important discussions." "Civil war was averted when Trump won the election," writes Arthur. "It now looks as though it was only a temporary reprieve." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Imagine you open your letter box and there are four bills inside, one for each member of your family, including the two kids who are still at school. You open them and the amount each of you owe is $1247. That's roughly what each and every Tasmanian will be up for if the lower estimate of the cost of the contentious Macquarie Point stadium - $945 million - is accurate. This takes into account the federal pledge of $240 million, announced during a disastrous visit to the site by Anthony Albanese in April 2023, which saw him beating a hasty retreat as a crowd of hecklers descended on the event demanding that money be spent on desperately needed housing. The bill for Tasmanians will be even more if the higher estimate of $1.1 billion proves correct. Of course, there'll be no bill in the mail. The cost will be borne by what's not spent in other areas like health, education, infrastructure and affordable housing and the estimated $1.86 billion in debt racked up over a decade. It's a lot of bread for a circus. The state's ballooning debt was the trigger for the Labor opposition's successful no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff which has put government on hold while the governor works out whether to grant the request for an early election or ask the parliament to seek an alternative leader. The no-confidence motion and its disruption to government risks the state missing the deadlines laid down in the licensing agreement with the AFL. Yet the Labor leader insists he will continue to support the stadium should he find himself at the helm. That's despite the stadium diktat imposed by the AFL being deeply unpopular across Tasmania, not least because no similar demands were made of other recent regional additions to the league. An assessment by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission was damning. The roofed 23,000-seat structure, it said, was "disproportionate to Hobart's small scale and would be contrary to Hobart's visual values". An artist's impression of what it would look from the eastern shore of the Derwent is like a still from sci-fi movie, an alien mothership squatting under the snowy flanks of kunanyi, dwarfing the heritage buildings around it. No wonder Hobart hates the idea. What's irksome from my non-sporting mainland perspective is the power wielded by the AFL. To set such onerous conditions on a state that wants to field its own team in the national comp is bad enough. To have the federal government pitch in with a promise of millions is even worse. This is when the AFL is flush with cash from a $4.5 billion TV licensing deal with the Seven Network and Foxtel. To use the vernacular of the querulous Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, if they want a stadium with a roof, they can bloody well pay for it. HAVE YOUR SAY: Has Big Sport become too powerful in Australia? Should mainland taxpayers help pay for the Tasmanian stadium? Do both major parties in Tasmania look foolish for backing the stadium despite the opposition to it? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The ABC has announced the end of the political panel program Q+A after 18 years on air. - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed as "predictable" criticism of Australia's move to join four other countries in hitting two right-wing Israeli ministers with sanctions over West Bank settlements, as the opposition demands a briefing on the decision. - The number of industrial disputes has fallen to a two-year low, new figures reveal, despite major work outages affecting public transport commuters. THEY SAID IT: "The state government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it's not going to play the game." - Senator Jacqui Lambie YOU SAID IT: The shooting of an Aussie reporter with a rubber bullet during the Los Angeles unrest reinforces the feeling the US is becoming an unsafe banana republic. "How long, I wonder, before we see a travel warning issued for the US?" asks Liz. "Calling it 'law and order' while pardoning actual insurrectionists is like burning down a fire station and calling it urban renewal," writes Mike. "The republic doesn't just smell like banana - it's practically slipping on the peel in front of the whole world." "I am a resident of Minnesota, a democratic state in the USA, and am appalled at the whole Trump situation over here, but especially when the Australian reporter was purposely shot with the rubber bullet," writes Carolyn. "I encourage people to stay away from my country for the foreseeable future which makes me sad because I have had wonderful visits from friends from your beautiful country." Allan, who lived in Los Angeles for six years in the 1980s, writes: "We've visited the USA numerous times since, but never again. Our initial concerns as we've grown older were with their health system, where serious illness could literally cost millions. Now the political situation is what worries us. I wouldn't rule out something akin to civil war the way things are escalating. But no, I don't think Albanese should raise the Tomasi shooting with Trump personally, it would achieve nothing and detract from other more important discussions." "Civil war was averted when Trump won the election," writes Arthur. "It now looks as though it was only a temporary reprieve."
