Morning mail: Queensland police’s DV reckoning, early economic recovery, Ramadan TV

Good morning – it’s Monday 3 May, and this is Imogen Dewey with today’s headlines. Just over a week out from the federal budget, Australia’s economy looks “happier” than many expected. Meanwhile, India’s prime minister may be facing fallout from the ongoing coronavirus catastrophe, and amid questions over systemic failings in its domestic violence response, Queensland police are being asked to look inward.




© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Roos Koole/Getty Images

Almost half the women murdered by an intimate partner in Queensland had previously been labelled by police as the perpetrator of domestic violence, research has found. As the Queensland police force again reckon with the brutal consequences of family violence – the deaths of Gold Coast women Doreen Langham and Kelly Wilkinson, who both repeatedly sought help – they have acknowledged and pledged to address systemic failings in their response. But there are already concerns among experts and women’s advocates that police are resisting the need to look too deeply within.

Loading...

Load Error

As India experienced a record number of Covid deaths, prime minister Narendra Modi suffered a rare political defeat in a key state election – another sign of a growing voter backlash over his handling of the disaster. Australia’s foreign affairs minister Marise Payne yesterday defended the Australian government’s decision to ban citizens returning home from India, saying the move was “not in any way” motivated by racism. A Lowy Institute poll out today says just one-third of surveyed Australians believe the Morrison government needs to do more to help citizens stranded overseas (of whom there are about 36,000). But with the budget looming, the poll also finds strong community support for helping Australia’s Pacific neighbours vaccinate their populations against Covid-19. About 60% believed Australia should do the same for south-east Asian countries.




© Photograph: Roos Koole/Getty Images
Gendered and racialised attitudes by Queensland police may inform decision-making, research has found, including treating women who have experienced domestic violence as offenders.

Three new virus cases were recorded in Western Australia on the weekend – one of which was a hotel quarantine security guard, prompting further calls for a home quarantine program. Premier Mark McGowan didn’t force Perth back into lockdown, but said the possibility remained “a prospect”. “I know how much it can impact people’s lives and businesses but if we need to go back into lockdown we will,” he said. “We will see what the contact tracing turns up, and it has been pretty good so far with all of the close contacts testing negative … but there are people out there that we are still tracking down and tracing and testing as we speak.” And there’s reportedly a manhunt underway in Townsville after a crew member of a live exports carrier allegedly absconded on to dry land, breaching quarantine rules.

A closely watched pre-budget report from Deloitte Access Economics reveals more people are in jobs than before the global pandemic, which is helping to drive an improvement in the budget bottom line of almost $100bn over the next four years. More jobs, high iron prices and strong consumer spending are behind the dramatic turnaround, a “red hot recovery” compared with dire forecasts outlined by Treasury late last year – though the report also warns of sluggish wage growth.

Australia




© Provided by The Guardian
The Victorian government’s emissions reduction plan includes $20m to reduce emissions in the agricultural sector, another $15.3m for a carbon farming program, and a $3,000 payment for Victorians who buy zero-emissions vehicles. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The Victorian government yesterday promised to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Long-awaited climate targets that outstrip the Morrison government’s commitments will see Victoria power all government-owned enterprises, including schools and hospitals, with renewables by 2025.

Liberal senator James McGrath has won the coveted top spot on Queensland’s Senate ticket, beating the newly appointed assistant minister Amanda Stoker.

A $1.7bn childcare boost will be included in next week’s budget, with the federal government saying it wants to remove disincentives for women returning to work.

The world




© Provided by The Guardian
A protester faces police in riot gear as they force people off a street in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Community members and advocates in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, say police are escalating peaceful protests over the killing of Andrew Brown Jr, and “trying to antagonise the city”.

Israel observed a day of mourning on Sunday for 45 people crushed to death at a Jewish religious festival, amid questions over accountability for one of the country’s worst civilian disasters.

UK unity faces destabilisation by “flag-waving unionism” from English nationalist politicians, one of the most senior officials to emerge from Northern Ireland’s traditionally Catholic community has warned.

SpaceX has safely returned four astronauts from the International Space Station, making the first US crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.

Recommended reads




© Provided by The Guardian
The idea of ‘clean coal’ first showed up around 20 years ago. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

“Nothing captures prime minister Scott Morrison’s approach to climate change better than his embrace of ‘clean hydrogen’,” writes economist Richard Denniss, “a BS marketing term that delivers nothing but obfuscation and helps no one but the fossil fuel industry. Tellingly, this approach isn’t even new: Morrison has simply dusted off an old polluter playbook and changed a few of the nouns.”

“Post-breakup, I fell into a safety net of friends. Some might call it freeloading.” Natasha Sharma’s experience is one many have shared. And so, perhaps, is her discovery: “Our social structures aren’t just hostile to singles, but to community and social unity … what I learned was that the dilemma of the single life, in which living unpartnered is positioned as – and in reality, often is – a disadvantage, can in fact open a door to a more communal, kinder way of living.”

Fleeing conflict-torn Kenya in 1999, Rosemary Kariuki arrived in Australia alone, friendless and knowing little about the country other than “kangaroos and merino sheep”. This year she won the Australian of the Year Local Hero award and is also now the vivacious subject of a new documentary, Rosemary’s Way, which captures the various initiatives for migrant and refugee women run by or with assistance from Kariuki. From organising an annual African Women’s Dinner Dance to a cultural exchange program between women migrants and rural Australians, Kariuki is a community organiser with a heart – and a laugh – like no other. “Let us all stop living in silos,” she tells Luke Buckmaster. “Let us all get to know our neighbours. Maybe start a conversation, have a street barbecue. And let us dance more!”

Listen

For many Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a month of fasting and prayer, but also prime-time television – with a growing industry across the Middle East releasing hit shows viewed by millions of people. Today on Full Story, Guardian reporter Mostafa Rachwani explores the rise of Ramadan shows and what they mean for diaspora communities.

Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.

Sport




© Provided by The Guardian
Collingwood are a club in free fall after losing to Gold Coast at the MCG on Saturday. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“Collingwood and Port Adelaide might be poles apart on matters of identity, but on the field they have more in common than either would care to admit,” writes Scott Heinrich. “Granted, the view from the penthouse far outstrips that of the outhouse. But the reality is if you’re sitting uncomfortably, then you are sitting uncomfortably.”

Think of an A-League footballer, anyone will do. Now rate them: positively, negatively, or indifferently. Now consider how you rated them; interrogate the shorthand you used to make that leap from name association to emotional response. Everyone will do this differently, writes Jonathan Howcroft. “We all have our own recipes and apply our cognitive biases with varying weightings. Most of the time we do so without realising what we are doing.”

Media roundup

The Morrison government has asked the Defence department to review the 99-year-lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese-owned company, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Also in the Herald, Kerryn Phelps is bowing out of the Sydney mayoral race due to the health of a close family member. The Age has published a call for a review of “age discrimination” in the NDIS that bars those over 65 from applying. According to the Australian, Treasury has “refused to release” documents outlining the cost of various Covid measures and restrictions.

Coming up

It’s World Press Freedom day.

Prime minister Scott Morrison is in Queensland today.

Senate estimates hearings are taking place in the industry and resources department, and health and social services.

Source: Thanks msn.com