Australian Politics 10 February 2021

Yesterday afternoon saw a flurry of news conferences which ended Eddie McGuire's role as President of the Collingwood football club, a damning report into the proposed Sydney Crown Casino at Barangaro and more hotel quarantine COVID cases in Melbourne.

Carlton Football Club President Resigns

Opinion is divided this morning as to whether McGuire was 'past his used-by date' or whether he was a victim of cancel culture based on a report that found systemic racism existed at the club. The challenge, of course, with systemic racism claims is that generally it is almost impossible to verify the claim and even more difficult to understand what any actual issues are, how to resolve them, and whether any individual is actually responsible. If you belive the BLM advocates every single organisation in Australia is systemically racist.

To Include or Not To Include, Agriculture is the Question

Meanwhile, debate rages within the LNP concerning net zero targets (#ClimateChange) and whether the targets should include agriculture and #PhotoOpAlbo continues his tour of Queensland in what one can only assume is the beginning of his election campaign.

Police Pursuit Leaves Women Severely Injured - Officer Charged

In a tragic story, Senior Constable Harry Thomas Little is on trial for dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm after hitting another car during a police pursuit where the Senior Constable claims that he thought the lights and siren were on, but they allegedly were not.[news.com.au]  The case is currently before the court, however, it raises the issue of what is the appropriate consequence for police who break the law. Given that their function requires that they do acts that would be in breach of the law for anyone else, should they be hit with the full force of the law if by some technicality they are found not to have operated within the restrictions on their function? There needs to be careful consideration of how police who break the law are managed, if we want to be able to continue to attract the right type of people to the police force. The other issue which arises is that of police pursuits. Why would a police pursuit be initiated for a person who was driving whilst using a mobile phone? Police pursuits are inherently dangerous and should only be used where the safety of the public demands such a dangerous response.

Climate Change Corporate Activism

ANZ has banned loans to coal companies. National Australia Bank is going to step in to protect the New Castle facility.

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