1. Diplomatic spying
Indonesia has recalled its ambassador to Australia amid fury in Jakarta over news that Australia has been spying on Indonesia. Australian spies have reportedly tried to listen to the phone calls of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and senior ministers.
The revelations come amid already heightened diplomatic tensions over asylum seeker issues, putting Jakarta-Canberra ties in an arguably record low in the past several years. For more on this see this post here.
2. Undercover asylum seekers
Two journalists have gone undercover to document the journey from Indonesia to Christmas Island. The New York Times Magazine writer and photographer made the voyage with 57 other people in an open decked 10-metre boat. ‘There was no toilet..The men urinated on the hull, the women in their pants … The bow – reeked dizzyingly of vomit and urine.’ To read more on this extraordinary story click through to this post here- ” Undercover journalists first-hand account of asylum seeker journey.”
3. Concerns over childcare costs
There are concerns that the costs of childcare may rise under a proposal to provide government rebates for families who employ nannies. The Australian Nanny Association is pushing for an extension of the nanny rebate. Childcare Alliance Australia president Gwynn Bridge said applying a rebate to nannies was not the answer to affordable care.
4. On air mammogram
Today Show co-host Lisa Wilkinson and Georgie Gardner have had a mammogram live on air. Lisa had said that she felt like “a fraud” for delaying having her own mammogram. Georgie had never had one before. An American news anchor recently was tested live on TV for breast cancer with a positive diagnosis coming back. ( Read more about that here).
Top Comments
God, can someone PLEASE remove that ex-smoking, now morbidly obese child from whoever is supposedly 'looking after' him?
That would be his mother.
He's not smoking any more, but is now way too fat.
But if he should be taken off his mother because he's fat, shall we do the same for all the Australian kids who are overweight?
The child was morbidly obese when it first came to the attention of the world that he was a two pack a day man, around two or three years ago.
So ! Lemme get this right. Australia has only been spying on Indonesia since the LNP won the election ? Is that your inference ?
Forgive the observation, but I'm quite sure that the Indonesian reformed smoker baby was addicted to food when the story of his smoking addiction broke a few years back.
Yes, the passing of Doris Lessing was Monday's new.
The point is - Tony Abbott needs to sort it out. It's HIS responsibility, blaming previous governments is never the answer because it is a cop out - although I realise that is the only way he has ever dealt with anything.
The real question is - does the man have any diplomacy in him to draw on in times like this, or just the usual non-aplogetic arrogance.
You are right that the spying was done for longer than LNP has been in power but the problem is Abbott's response was rather than saying "we will sort it out" he said "all governments know that every other government gathers information" and "uses all the resources at its disposal, including information".
What should his response be….?? He can't say they'll sort it out and stop, because that won't be happening. All governments do it, including Indonesia. I'm wondering if all this hard line posturing from Indonesia on this front and the asylum boats may be because they have an election coming up next year?
Get real, if it had been a LNP screw up and the ALP was in power, someone like Rudd or Gillard would have cut the previous government off at the knees. He didn't blame the previous government and copped it on the chin.
You're just playing partisan politics to demean the prime minister in a way you would condemn if it had been Gillard in the seat.