Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 8 January. Top stories Labor has seized upon a Treasury document as proof that claims the opposition's negative gearing policies would smash the Australian economy are false. The document states that Labor's negative gearing policies could cut house prices in the short term but, over time, the impact would be "relatively modest". The shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, said the document, which the Australian information commissioner ordered be released, "directly refutes" the Liberals' "overblown attack on Labor's housing affordability policies". Bowen said it was clear the criticisms were "little more than outright lies". The treasurer, Scott Morrison, has previously said Labor's policies would "crash" confidence in the economy, while the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said it amounted to taking a "sledgehammer" to the property market. The Treasury document also confirms distributional modelling of Labor's policies, stating that more than 50% of the benefits of negative gearing go to the top 20% of income earners, while the top 10% of income earners receive nearly 75% of the benefit of the capital gains tax discount. Steve Bannon has withdrawn his allegation that Donald Trump Jr committed treason, and expressed regret over his role in the controversy around an explosive book about the White House. The Guardian revealed last week that Bannon, formerly Trump's chief strategist, said a Trump Tower meeting between Trump Jr and Russians during the 2016 presidential election campaign was "treasonous" and "unpatriotic". Bannon did not apologise for any of his remarks to the author Michael Wolff, which included stringent criticisms of the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump – whom he called "dumb as a brick" – and her husband, Jared Kushner. He called Donald Trump Jr "both a patriot and a good man", saying his criticisms over the Russian meeting were aimed at Paul Manafort, Trump's then campaign chairman. Bannon issued the statement after coming under sharp criticism from Trump and his allies and losing the support of major Republican donors. An explosion outside a Stockholm metro station has killed one person and injured another. The weapon involved is thought to be a hand grenade. A man in his 60s died in hospital from his injuries after, according to witnesses, "he picked up an object off the ground which promptly exploded," Sven-Erik Olsson, a police spokesman, told AFP. The Expressen and Aftonbladet newspapers said the explosion was caused by a hand grenade. "It is too early to say. Technicians are still working on it. Nothing indicates that the [injured] couple were targeted," said Olsson, who added there was nothing at this stage to suggest an act of terrorism. 20 foreign NGOs have been banned from visiting Israel over their support of the pro-Palestinian boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS) movement. British groups War on Want and Palestine Solidarity Campaign are among those whose staff are barred , in a move Israel has been threatening for months. The organisations were singled out by Israel's rightwing strategic affairs and public security minister, Gilad Erdan, for advocating boycotts of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. Erdan said that the groups "operate consistently and continuously" against Israel using a "campaign of incitement and lies". Human rights groups condemned the move as an assault on free speech Indigenous ranger groups have called for expanded support for their programs after polling revealed support from more than 80% of Queenslanders – including from more than 70% of One Nation voters. Galaxy polling found high levels of support across the political spectrum for Indigenous land management with 88% supporting a proposal to create 200 new ranger jobs in Queensland over the next 10 years. About 90% of people supported the statement "people living on the land in the outback have an important role to play in protecting and restoring the natural environment" and a similar proportion agreed that incentives for the work would benefit the state. Federal funding for the rangers ends in June, though the Indigenous affairs minister has said it may be extended for two years. Sport Starting well outside the top 200 a year ago, Ashleigh Barty has shot to No17, and is now Australia's highest-ranked player heading into the Australian Open. At one stage, the Newcombe-medallist needed 21 months out of the game thanks to stress and exhaustion. She will now face her biggest challenge: an expectant home crowd and public spotlight. Six weeks on from Ange Postecoglou's resignation and five months away from the World Cup, the Socceroos still don't have a head coach. Jonathan Howcroft makes the case that Graham Arnold is the standout candidate. "Arnold boasts the highest win percentage of any full-time A-League coach," Howcroft writes. "He's a premiership and championship winner with two clubs in the last seven years … it's hard to imagine how much more he – or any other Australian coach – could be expected to accomplish before being offered the top job." Thinking time |
A group of Arrernte artists' painstaking work – Victoria Amazonica, an eight-metre dome and meeting place – is the first piece visitors encounter at the National Gallery of Victoria's inaugural Triennial. "Standing underneath the finished dome and staring up, the 40 separate panels, embroidered by 13 Yarrenyty Arltere artists in total, depict landscapes and stories specific to the region," writes Guardian Australia culture editor Steph Harmon. "There are waterholes and grasslands, rain and rivers, bush medicine and birds in flight. It's the kind of piece you could stare at for hours without seeing everything." The art and design show opened in December and continues through to April. Writer Joumanah El Matrah unleashes her frustration over Peter Dutton's extraordinary claim that Victorians are scared to go out because of "African gang violence". She accuses the minister of stoking collective pathology around race. "No matter if the acting Victorian chief commissioner of police, Shane Patton, informs us otherwise (that there are no Sudanese gangs as such), or no matter if Victoria's crime and youth rate are declining," El Matrah writes. "Ideology is perhaps also why Dutton chose to portray Victoria as a state of residents too frightened to leave home." Janine Israel feels the serenity that attracted Kylie Minogue while glamping on French Island, which is home to just 116 permanent residents and roughly 20 times as many koalas. Two-thirds of French Island's 170 sq km is national park, and boasts more than 200 species of birds, including white-bellied sea eagles, mutton birds and black swan, as well as the long-nosed potoroo and short-beaked echidna. "Here I am late on a sunny Friday afternoon, just 60km south-east of the city, catching a tiny passenger ferry to an island so remote, so off-grid, so little-known, even the world's biggest pop star could disappear into obscurity here." What's he done now? Donald Trump is not happy. The president tweeted that he not only has to put with "fake news", but now a fake book as well, referring to Michael Wolff's explosive Fire and Fury, which reveals systemic chaos and dysfunction in the White House. "Ronald Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!" he tweeted overnight. Media roundup The Age splashes with an uncomfortable headline as the African youth crime debate rolls on. "Youth gangs to shape election", it declares, revealing that voters in two key outer Melbourne electorates believe crime involving African youths has spiked in the last year, with more than half identifying law and order as their biggest concern. The Australian is full of the "brotherly love" behind yesterday's scorching Ashes batting performance from Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, who joined the Waugh and Chappell brothers as the only Australian siblings to score test centuries in the same innings. The Washington Post has a long read on the difficulties of losing or maintaining a healthy weight when food is not only one your greatest pleasures, but also your work, in this intimate piece from chef Jim Webster. And the Courier Mail reveals a huge spike in local councils issuing parking fines, with Brisbane drivers being issued a ticket every two minutes, and the 18-month crackdown resulting in a 40% increase in parking tickets issues. Coming up Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and other Hollywood actors are expected to usurp the usual Golden Globes glamour and spectacle when they mount a campaign against sexual abuse and harassment at the award ceremony. Several women are expected to wear black gowns in response to scandals involving producer Harvey Weinstein and abuse and harassment from other high-profile figures in the industry. Supporting the Guardian We'd like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you. |
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The Coalition has claimed Labor's policy would take a sledgehammer to the housing market, despite Treasury modelling that found the impact would be modest. Photograph: georgeclerk/Getty Images 
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