Crikey Insider

A mammoth week in federal politics deserves a big Crikey. Sounds like a beer ad, doesn’t it? Anyway, here it is.

Today’s edition includes Bernard Keane’s take on the government’s (mis)handling of the week, Guy Rundle on the Facebook pull-out (plus related articles by Amber Schultz, Chris Warren, Tony Jaques, and Keane) and Leslie Cannold’s excellent Both Sides Now. David Hardaker answers one of the week’s most intriguing questions: just who is Jenny Morrison? Kishor Napier-Raman reports on the end of the Family Court, and Glenn Dyer and Keane on whether Australia is a good place to invest in.

And then there is Clown of the Week with Charlie Lewis, and TV ratings with Dyer. There is one antidote to Facebook killing news — support independent news media like, well, us.

Australia is today a slightly emptier place. No one really knows how Facebook’s decision to pull news off its platform will play out, but in the latest edition of Crikey we look at the move from multiple angles, with reporting and analysis by Bernard Keane, Kishor Napier-Raman and Christopher Warren. We’d be very curious on your thoughts too. Send us an email (since you won’t be able to leave a comment on Facebook).

A big breaking news story is no reason to shift focus away from a major scandal — namely, the alleged rape of a political staffer. Amber Schultz examines the record of Defence Minister Linda Reynolds on sexual assault allegations in the military, Keane looks at the ongoing failure of political leadership, and our legal correspondent Michael Bradley explains what a responsible employer should have done.

All that plus Guy Rundle on the collapse of the United States (both figuratively and literally), Georgia Wilkins on the bonuses handed out to NBN executives (a damn sight more than just a few Cartier watches), Charlie Lewis with Tips and Murmurs and Glenn Dyer with last night’s TV ratings.

Today’s Crikey is dominated by the allegation of rape now swirling around Parliament House and the federal ministry. Bernard Keane looks at Scott Morrison’s leadership and Janine Perrett at Defence Minister Linda Reynold’s political future. Kishor Napier-Raman captures the events in a timeline and Amber Schultz asks whether a backbench Liberal is the right pick to effectively investigate her own colleagues. Charlie Lewis’s Tips and Murmurs adds insights to the debate, and, on a broader note, Madonna King considers Australia’s political accountability — or lack thereof.

In other issues, Guy Rundle takes a broad sweep at the pandemic and related matters, and we get an insider’s view of the Howard Springs quarantine facility from Calum Jaspan. Napier-Raman runs the slide rule over trans-Tasman relations, both Nicholas Gruen and Keir Semmens consider Donald Trump’s legacy, and Glenn Dyer considers the ratings.

In today’s Crikey, Bernard Keane and Amber Schultz examine the alleged rape of a political staffer in Parliament House, while Michael Bradley asks a pertinent question: why does the prime minister need his wife to tell him to act on sexual assault?

Elsewhere, Stephen Mayne suggests Seven West Media needs to give back millions in JobKeeper money, Kishor Napier-Raman reports on a win for the Biloela refugee family, Adam Schwab weighs in on Victoria’s contact tracing system, Charlie Lewis asks why Leigh Sales gets certain people so wound up, and Georgia Wilkins looks at Helen Coonan’s prospects at Crown.

All that plus Janine Perrett on recent gaffes in London, Tokyo and Washington, Keane on how the industrial relations debate is framed in the media, the second part of David Hardaker’s investigation into the politicisation of the AAT, and Glenn Dyer with the latest TV ratings.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” seems to be the Liberal Party’s new motto, with yet another revelation of stacking in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Not that we should be surprised, writes Bernard Keane — voters stopped caring about political integrity some time ago.

Speaking of getting away with everything, today’s Crikey takes a look at Donald Trump’s uncanny ability to wiggle his way out of lawsuits, and explores Gladys Berejiklian’s backflip on her anti-fun legislation.

The media is also big on today’s agenda with Jeff Jarvis laying into The Guardian for siding with Rupert Murdoch, Glenn Dyer reporting on Seven West Media’s new partnership with Google, and our own editor-in-chief Peter Fray explaining why Crikey has put pen to paper on a deal with the big tech company as well.

All that plus last night’s TV ratings, the latest on the pandemic, and a belated Valentine’s Day edition of Tips and Murmurs featuring some very unusual love declarations.

This week gave us that rarest thing in Australian public life: accountability, or at least something like it.

After scathing reports into their respective organisations, Eddie McGuire resigned from the Collingwood presidency, as did a rash of directors from James Packer’s Crown. Today, Janine Perrett looks at Crown’s legacy on Sydney’s skyline, while Clown of the Week looks at why it took so long for McGuire to stand down.

Elsewhere we take in some of the ongoing themes of Australian life — Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer continue their exploration of inequality, Jason Murphy decodes the gap between the unemployed and job seekers, Guy Rundle takes on the civil war once again breaking out within the left, Margot Saville investigates a culture war brewing at a Melbourne bookstore, and Georgia Wilkins takes a surprising look at yet another interest group trying to make its presence felt.

All that plus a new Both Sides Now, TV ratings, a glance at Trump’s rogues’ gallery of legal representation, Leslie Cannold’s latest Both Sides Now, and Kishor Napier-Raman’s continued look at psychedelics and mental health.

As is so often the case in politics, things are not what they seem this week.

Despite predictable outrage from business groups, what will determine the cut-through of Labor’s new industrial relations policy won’t be what it costs, but how fair it is. Bernard Keane looks at how little the debate about working conditions has evolved in the last decade or more. Similarly, the media bargaining code has very little to do with quality journalism and, as Chris Warren illustrates, everything to do with money. In this context, is credit due to the National Party, which these days barely even pretends to represent the national interest? Leading Crikey today, Guy Rundle looks at the “shonky, negligent shambles” it has become.

Elsewhere Georgia Wilkins takes a closer look at Mathias Cormann’s replacement in the Senate, Amber Schultz gets into the long-term effects of COVID-19, Kishor Napier-Raman looks at the dire results of Sydney’s lockout laws, and Keane and Glenn Dyer continue their series on inequality. We also check in on Donald Trump’s farcical second impeachment trial with Keir Semmens, and Tom Red has some suggestions for alternative artists for Tony Abbott’s official portrait.

All that plus Dyer on what Nick Kyrgios’ dramatic win last night did for ratings, and a Tips and Murmurs delving into a history of logos and tantrums.

Today’s Crikey looks at how the Crown Casino affair happened and what comes next, featuring coverage by Bernard Keane, Stephen Mayne and Michael Bradley. In keeping with a long tradition, Kishor Napier-Raman documents the end of Eddie McGuire (and our part in it), and in the first part of a new series Keane and Glenn Dyer examine rising inequality in Australia.

On the COVID front, Amber Schultz reports on the debate on who should administer the vaccine, Crikey reporters ask fellow journalists from around the world for their experiences of the pandemic — a theme taken up in a column by Chris Warren — and Jason Murphy charts how spending patterns have changed in the COVID age. Plus Dyer wades in on the ratings and Charlie Lewis has a terrific Tips and Murmurs.

Today Crikey features Christian Porter being bucketed, ScoMo’s contribution to the death of satire, John Barilaro’s love of pork and James Packer’s day of reckoning.

Madonna King and Guy Rundle respectively look at the societal costs of COVID, Charlie Lewis delivers a sparkling Tips and Murmurs, Kishor Napier-Raman reports on magic mushrooms, and Amber Schultz looks at the perils of the gig economy. For good measure, Bernard Keane analyses imaginary climate policies, and Glenn Dyer has the TV ratings.

Today’s Crikey features everything from Eric Abetz, climate change and war crime probes to bushfire rorts (sorry, investments, says John Barilaro), Kevin Rudd, more climate change and even Nicole Kidman. Could you ask for anything more?

Of course you can. That’s why you’ll also get last night’s TV ratings, a sparkling Tips and Murmurs, Adam Schwab on the pandemic, your views on rogue Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly and a ripper Chris Warren column on how the government is screwing sports fans.