Australia’s Most Mentioned Issues in the News (March 12 – 18, 2016)
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Senators debated late into Thursday over changes to the way Upper House representatives are elected, with the federal government and the Greens expected to support the measures. Thursday was scheduled to be the last sitting day for Parliament before a seven week break, but procedural quirks, including stalling by independent senators by introducing unrelated bills for debate, extended its hours. The legislation threatens to prevent micro-parties from winning Senate seats.The Twenty20 World Cup started last week, with Australia’s first game against New Zealand this evening, following New Zealand’s thrashing of the hosts India by 47 runs on Tuesday. The West Indies also had a key win over England this week following Chris Gayle’s 47-ball ton, with India set to play Pakistan over the weekend, a must win game against their fiercest rivals.Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has warned of riots if he is denied the party’s nomination if he fails to win a majority of delegates, even though he is almost certain to have more than the other candidates. Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders has fallen behind Hillary Clinton by more than 300 delegates, although most pundits say he will stay in the race to continue to push Clinton further left on a range of issues. Analysts from Sydney University, the Lowy Institute and the Australian National University warned a Trump presidency would be a “disaster” for Australian-US relations, specifically the ANZUS security alliance, while both leading candidates have spoken out strongly against free trade.Modelling undertaken by accounting firm PwC says a stand-alone plebiscite on same-sex marriage could cost the Australian economy more than half a billion dollars, including $280 million of lost productivity, on top of the cost of running a nationwide campaign. The firm’s Chief Executive Luke Sayers said the real cost was three times what has been quoted by the Federal Government. The Australian Christian Lobby described the figures as lacking objective credibility, and Liberal Senator Eric Abetz described the report as skewed.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Tuesday in Canberra, a further closening of ties following Bishop’s trip to Iran last year, the pair reportedly discussing an agreement to repatriate failed asylum seekers. Refugee advocates estimate 8,000 Iranians living in Australia could be affected by any deal reached. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek called for very strong assurances that people are going to be safe on return, given their “poor human rights record”.Quote of the week: “I didn’t really learn too much in rehab because you’re always sedated… you’ve got a lot of time to think [in the jungle]”. – Former AFL player Brendan Fevola after winning I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
