Australia’s Most Mentioned Issues in the News (February 27 – March 4, 2016)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to this weekly recap of Australia’s news, powered by iSentia
Cardinal George Pell has been criticized after giving evidence at the Royal Commission of child sexual abuse via videolink in Rome, as he denied knowing about abuse perpetrated by priest Gerald Risdale and described it as a “sad story” of “not much interest” to him, agreed to be interviewed exclusively by Andrew Bolt, and saying he has the full backing of the Pope on arrival at the second day of his cross-examination. Abuse survivors rejected a meeting with the Cardinal after he imposed restrictions, including that survivors not speak to media about the gathering. Those restrictions have since been dropped, but after his evidence this week many survivors have still rejected his offer to meet.Former PM Tony Abbott told media the current government should make no changes to negative gearing or superannuation and instead look to expenditure cuts to solve the deficit issue. A spokesperson for PM Malcolm Turnbull said all options on superannuation were still under consideration, and the government has reportedly abandoned plans to pare back negative gearing following research that suggested reform could push households into rental stress. ANZ economist Warren Hogan said the debate on tax reform, particularly towards housing, is negatively affecting consumer confidence, after Australians’ perceptions of our economic outlook fell heavily last week.Australian film Mad Max: Fury Road was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at The Oscars, and won six Academy Awards for its production values; Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. Singer Sam Smith has reportedly quit Twitter after he claimed to be the first openly gay Oscars winner in his acceptance speech, which was incorrect, Leonardo di Caprio won his first Academy Award for his role in The Revenant, and host Chris Rock addressed the #OscarsSoWhite diversity issue head on in his opening monologue. Spotlight, a movie about child abuse in the Catholic church, won Best Picture.The Greens and independent Senator Nick Xenophon have cinched a deal with the government on Senate voting reform that prevents a double dissolution before 1 July. PM Malcolm Turnbull said he still intends to hold a normal half-Senate election between August and October. Labor and crossbenchers opposed the bill, which scraps group voting tickets and makes it impossible for minor parties to get elected through preference deals.NRL Roosters player Mitchell Pearce has been fined $125,000 and banned for eight weeks over the Australia Day video controversy that landed the halfback in strife during the pre-season, the heaviest fine imposed on an Australian rugby league player in history. Pearce has returned from a month spent at a rehabilitation clinic in Thailand.Quote of the week: “You want black nominees every year, you need to just have black categories… there is no real reason for there to be a man and a woman category in acting.” – Chris Rock at the Oscars
