Sunday, June 25, 2017

Morning mail: Greens turn fury on Lee Rhiannon

Morning Mail

Morning mail: Greens turn fury on Lee Rhiannon

Monday: Senator's colleagues lodge complaint over her conduct during Gonski negotiations. Plus: campaigners refer mine ad to consumer watchdog

Lee Rhiannon
Lee Rhiannon Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

Eleanor Ainge Roy


Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 26 June.

Top stories

The Greens face dramatic internal turmoil, with the NSW senator Lee Rhiannon at risk of censure or expulsion from the party room after all her federal colleagues lodged a complaint against her over the Gonski 2.0 school funding negotiations. They have accused her of potentially damaging conduct during negotiations with the Coalition, which ultimately bypassed the Greens and got its package through with crossbench support. Party elder Bob Brown has described a formal complaint against Rhiannon, signed by her nine party colleagues, as unprecedented but warranted.

Rhiannon, who has long been at odds with the party's former leader Bob Brown and has faced criticism over the Greens' relatively weak electoral performance in NSW, is up for preselection for her Senate spot in the coming months. The Gonski debacle for the Greens has brought to a head tensions that burst into the open at the end of last year with the formation of the hard left faction Left Renewal in NSW.

Campaigners say a new ad campaign in support of the proposed New Acland mine in Queensland breaches consumer law. Opponents of the $900m Queensland coal project have asked the consumer watchdog to investigate whether the embattled miner and up to 40 other companies broke the law with a "misleading" appeal for public support.

Sixty high-rise blocks in England have been deemed unsafe after fire safety inspections, the UK government has confirmed. After hundreds of tower blocks were investigated in recent weeks, dozens have been found to have the same highly flammable aluminium cladding that contributed to the Grenfell fire, which killed at least 79 people. At the weekend a north London estate with 4,000 residents was evacuated to allow for the immediate removal of the flammable cladding.

Former treasurer Wayne Swan will call for Labor to maximise workers' bargaining power and erode the political clout of the wealthy elite in a speech today. Swan will address the ACTU to outline the "four pillars of Laborism": unemployment of 3% or less, more power to workers in industrial law, taming corporate excess and a more progressive tax system.

A gay pride march in Turkey has been shut down by police. The 40 activists protested in defiance of a ruling by local authorities banning their march in Istanbul, after repeated threats from far-right and conservative groups. Police fired rubber bullets at the crowd and four people were detained. It is the third successive year that the march has been banned, and organisers denounced the move. "We are not scared, we are here, we will not change," the Pride committee said in a statement on Sunday. "You are scared, you will change and you will get used to it."

Sport

The Socceroos have been eliminated from the Confederations Cup after a 1-1 draw with Chile in Moscow. Australia, needing to win by two goals to reach the semi-finals, put in a much-improved performance and went ahead through James Troisi, but an equaliser from Martin Rodriguez put paid to their hopes.

Australia's Daniel Ricciardo has won a dramatic grand prix victory in Baku, after Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton clashed on the track. Vettel was given a 10-second penalty after a collision between the two, leaving Hamilton seething at what he called his rival's "disgraceful" driving.

Thinking time

Gatwick Hotel
'We've all made wrong choices.' Gatwick Hotel residents reflect. Photograph: Sandy Rogulic

Melbourne's Gatwick Hotel, a boarding house, is closing its doors after decades of offering a home to some of Australia's most disadvantaged people. In a picture and audio essay, the residents lament the loss of their home, which has endured sustained criticism from local businesses and politicians. "We've all made wrong choices, we're not robots, we're humans" says Troy, who has called the Gatwick home after struggling to find accommodation since being released from prison.

The UK election suggests that after years of being dismissed as apathetic and disengaged, young voters are rising up to flex their voting rights, and Malcolm Turnbull should be worried, writes Tony Wood.

A split second decision by former British police officer Steve Fulcher led to him catching a serial killer who had evaded police for decades. But his unorthodox method of solving the crime meant some of the evidence he collected was inadmissable, and he eventually lost his job. Would he do it again? Absolutely.

Media roundup

The Australian reports that Tasmanian irrigators are fearful that Malcolm Turnbull's push for massive pumped hydro schemes will cause further crippling rises in energy and water costs. The Daily Telegraph investigates why a man who harassed girls over Facebook was allowed to walk free for four years by police after a series of bungles, and Fairfax reports that a lawyer connected to the alleged tax office fraud has quit the profession.

Coming up

Crown Resorts employees charged with offences related to the promotion of gambling are due to appear in court in Shanghai. Roman Heinze, who was convicted and sentenced to 17 years in jail for brutal attacks on two young backpackers at Salt Creek in South Australia, is seeking leave to appeal against his conviction.

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