Australia’s Most Mentioned Issues in the News (July 2 – 8, 2016)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to this weekly recap of Australia’s news, powered by iSentia
After eight weeks of polls showing Labor and the Coalition neck-and-neck ahead of the federal election last Saturday, votes are still being counted and a final result is likely to be called this weekend, with a hung Parliament a possibility. According to the AEC’s late Thursday update, the Coalition is leading in 74 seats, still two short of a majority, with minor parties such as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and the Nick Xenophon Team also looking to have won multiple Senate seats. Independent MP Bob Katter has announced his support for the Turnbull government, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten conceded the Coalition may get over the line, but claimed it would be with a “diminished authority, diminished mandate and a very divided political party”. World number one Novak Djokovic exited Wimbledon in the third round after losing to 28th seed Sam Querrey in four sets, and Roger Federer survived four nerve-wracking sets against Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals this week, with Nick Kyrgios criticised by three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe for not understanding what it takes to be a grand slam winner, after repeatedly disagreeing with umpires on court. Kyrgios lost in three sets to Andy Murray on Monday during the fourth round. After voting to leave the EU, Britain is now deciding on a new Prime Minister, with Interior Minister Theresa May emerging as a front-runner among the Conservative Party. The British Pound has slumped to a new 31-year low and pro-EU Scotland is now raising the possibility of independence. Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage resigned as head of the UK Independence Party on Monday, while former London mayor Boris Johnson, another leading Brexit campaigner, pulled out of the Tory leadership race this week. The Reserve Bank left interest rates on hold on Tuesday, at 1.75 per cent, which was widely expected by financial markets, and meanwhile convicted murderer and former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius could be released from prison in South Africa within three years, after being sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He will be eligible for parole after serving three years, despite the state calling for the minimum 15 year sentence. Quote of the week: “Australia is America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback, which is why you go there for throwback people.” – Richard Cohen for Vanity Fair, in this month’s controversial profile on Australian actress Margot Robbie.
