Australia’s Most Mentioned Issues in the News (July 30 – August 5, 2016)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to this weekly recap of Australia’s news, powered by iSentia
The Olympics opening ceremony might be this Saturday morning, but the Games have already started, with Canada defeating the Australian Matildas 2-0 in their first match and claiming three tournament points. A fire in the athletes’ village last weekend forced an evacuation, during which the Australian team’s property was reportedly stolen, and Australian team captain and champion cyclist Anna Meares is the official flag bearer in Rio. On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank cut its cash rate target to a new low of 1.5 per cent, in a reported effort to increase inflation, and JP Morgan economist Sally Auld expecting further cuts in 2017. The major banks have passed on around half of the rate cut to borrowers, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison calling for the full rate cut to be passed onto customers, or for chief executives of commercial banks to explain “why they have not done so”. Former Supreme Court judge Brian Martin resigned days after being appointed to the Royal Commission into NT’s juvenile detention system, following perceived conflicts of interest with Martin’s professional history. Former Queensland Supreme Court judge Margaret White and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda have been named as replacement co-commissioners. New South Wales’ Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Coombs has voiced concern about a “range of risks” involved with storing Australians’ names and addresses in a government database for four years after next week’s Census, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ announced the change last December. More than two thirds of Australian households are expected to answer the compulsory survey online, saving reportedly $100 million in production costs, and religious affiliation is the only non-compulsory question. Reportedly, Cabinet voted 11-12 against former PM Kevin Rudd’s bid to compete to be the next United Nations’ secretary-general, including the votes of PM Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce, with the PM describing Rudd as unsuitable for the role. Rudd has leaked three letters he sent to Turnbull, claiming the Liberal leader supported his bid. Quote of the week: “I'm going to blame the photographers for what happened last night… I ended up putting the flag in Princess Anne's face. I didn't know what to do to be honest" – Tennis champ Andy Murray after a pre-Olympics event this week
