When union boss Paddy Crumlin appeared at an international labour conference last month, he entered smiling to the strains of the 1997 hit Tubthumping : “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never going to keep me down.” Crumlin, who led the merger of the Maritime Union he leads with the scandal-plagued CFMEU in 2018, had reason to grin. Wayne Swan, Paddy Crumlin, Nicola Roxon and Julia Angrisano are among the many superannuation fund directors with labour connections. Credit: Monique Westerman In 2021, the Maritime Super fund that Crumlin chaired had performed so poorly that it handed over investment decisions to another fund, Hostplus, and formally merged with it two years later. But this week Crumlin was back as a super fund director. The CFMEU had picked him as a director of Cbus, the building industry superannuation fund. The CFMEU’s Crumlin pick is just one of a thicket of ties between the unions, Labor and industry superannuation funds that have come to be among the largest and most powerful players in the Australian economy. These funds, which count about 11 million members, are run to profit their members while retail super funds are typically operated by for-profit businesses such as fund managers or banks. And, under the industry model in which unions and employer groups nominate roughly equal numbers of directors to funds, ties between the sector and the labour movement are backed in. But as the $3.9 trillion sector’s coffers have swelled, with big industry funds such as AustralianSuper ($341 billion under management), Cbus ($94 billion) and CareSuper ($53 billion) counting memberships up to 3.4 million people, the level of oversight that model delivers has come under greater scrutiny. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched Federal Court proceedings last week against Cbus after it failed to identify and prevent delays in processing death and disability insurance claims that affected 10,000 members, dating back to August 2022 – a failure that Cbus has conceded cost its members about $20 million. CFMEU manufacturing division boss Michael O’Connor is facing separate allegations he misused his position at a small fund, First Super, to bankroll the salary of a union delegate with fund money while his organisation was experiencing financial difficulties. And AustralianSuper, the industry’s largest, could be fined $27 million over its failure to consolidate more than 90,000 members’ accounts, costing them almost $70 million, in another case brought by the corporate regulator. While the funds are variously declining to comment, blaming external contractors, or apologising and saying they have already addressed the issues, superannuation critics smell blood. Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, the opposition assistant spokesman for home ownership, says the sector’s board model, in which union and industry representatives oversee funds rather than typical corporate directors, is no longer fit for purpose. “There is an unmanageable conflict of interest between the interests of unions and workers,” Bragg says. “And there is the cavalcade of Labor politicians, how do they get these positions?” Cbus, for example, is chaired by former Labor treasurer and current party president Wayne Swan. Don Russell, a former senior adviser to Labor prime minister Paul Keating, chairs AustralianSuper. HESTA, an $88 billion fund for the health and community sector, is chaired by Nicola Roxon, a Rudd-Gillard era minister. Bragg says the sector has created a perception that it operates in line with modern governance standards. “It has taken the CFMEU issue to expose that,” he says. Bragg is referring to the litany of allegations of underworld infiltration and corruption revealed in this masthead’s Building Bad series that led the federal government to appoint a barrister to take over the CFMEU. That barrister, Mark Irving, KC, said in August he wanted a “clean sweep” of serving CFMEU representatives from the Cbus board but reappointed one who resigned, Jason O’Mara, alongside Crumlin and a union lawyer, Lucy Weber. There are no allegations against any of those individuals. Super Consumers Australia chief executive Xavier O’Halloran, whose group represents people with superannuation accounts, says the “partisan debate” over Cbus should not be the main focus. “The skills and competence of these boards are really important, and that should be the primary focus,” O’Halloran says. “What we have seen in the UK, the regulator has a role in determining a fit and proper person, to determine who should be on the board. “That’s not something the regulator [APRA] here does. They [unions and industry groups] make their own picks, and we think that could be improved, that there should be greater rigour.” But while O’Halloran would like to see improvements to board regulation, and perhaps the introduction of more independent directors, he also confirms the industry superannuation sector is largely beating its retail competitors. And there is evidence they are delivering on the goals Paul Keating had in mind when he set up the superannuation system: ensuring comfortable retirements and reducing the burden, over time, of the aged pension on federal government coffers. The federal 2023 Intergenerational Report shows government spending on Aged and Service pensions will fall from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2 per cent by 2063, because of superannuation, even as the population ages. Misha Schubert, chief executive of the lobby group for industry super funds, argues their performance shows the board model is working. “The shared governance model of this type of fund – whether they arose from an industry, company or the public sector – was created with a clear and single purpose,” she wrote earlier this year. “To serve the fund members whose retirement savings they safeguard and grow. “They do so by deeply understanding their members and the workplaces in which their members work – they know exactly whose money it is they are stewarding.” The law governing superannuation funds, Schubert notes, requires directors to comply with high standards of performance and act in members’ best interests. Alongside the labour representatives, big superannuation boards are balanced with employer heavyweights. Cbus’ board employer directors, for example, are all nominated by Master Builders Australia and include that organisation’s chief executive, Denita Wawn. It’s a similar story with AustralianSuper, whose employer directors include AiG chief executive (and former Liberal staffer) Innes Willox, as well as a number of other directors aligned with the employer group that originally represented manufacturing firms. A Cbus spokesman said in a statement that having equal employer and employee representation on its board had ensured its success for 40 years, and it was pleased to welcome the three new directors. “After applying a comprehensive ‘fit and proper persons test’ the Cbus board confirmed the appointment of the three directors who share a determination to generate the strongest, sustainable financial returns for members and deliver the best possible service,” the spokesman said. Loading The fund previously apologised to its members over the claim delays, said it was implementing a compensation process and co-operated with ASIC. Swan, the Cbus chairman, told the Today show last week that many of the criticisms of the fund were “completely inaccurate” and blamed a contracted service provider for the insurance delays but apologised to affected members’ families. “I can assure you, from the minute I became aware of this as chair of the board, I worked with the board to resolve it as quickly as possible,” he said. AustralianSuper has apologised for the multiple accounts issue. “We found this mistake, we reported it, we apologised to impacted members, we paid them back, and we’ve improved our processes to prevent it happening again,” a spokesman said. Michael O’Connor, the CFMEU manufacturing division boss, has voluntarily stood aside while the court case over the alleged misuse of his position is under way and had not responded to comment requests. Unlike some of the union heavyweights, many of the Labor figures on superannuation boards have external pedigree. Russell, of AustralianSuper, for example, is a former ambassador to the United States who has worked at global finance firms including BNY Mellon Asset Management and Sanford C. Bernstein. Hostplus chair Roxon is also an independent director at the property company Dexus. And increasingly, the funds also have independent directors with financial or governance expertise. The 2.4 million-member Australian Retirement Trust, for example, has on its board former top regulator Helen Rowell, and Martin Parkinson, who headed the public service under conservative governments. But that has not satisfied the sector’s critics. Bragg, the Liberal senator, is expected to haul Cbus chairman Swan before the Senate’s economics committee for questions next week. Given the pair’s background, it is unlikely to be a genteel affair. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Superannuation Cbus Super wars Andrew Bragg ALP Insight More... James Massola is national affairs editor. He has previously been Sunday political correspondent and South-East Asia correspondent. Connect via Twitter , Facebook or email . Most Viewed in Politics LoadingBruce Cassidy became the eighth active coach in the NHL to hit the 400-win mark on Thursday when his Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights held on for a 3-2 victory at Ottawa on Thursday. But the Ottawa native had little time to celebrate. The Golden Knights jumped on a train for Montreal shortly after the contest and will continue a season-long five-game road trip against the resurgent Canadiens on Saturday night. "It feels great," Cassidy said of hitting the 400-win milestone. "You never know where your numbers are going to end up but I'm going to tell you that in this business I'm just worried about No. 401 right now." The win over the Senators was the second game of a back-to-back that began with the team's first shutout loss since early January, 3-0, at Toronto on Wednesday. It was just the fourth road victory in 10 games (4-4-2) for Vegas, which improved 6-0-1 all-time at the Canadian Tire Centre. Ilya Samsonov made 38 saves, including 16 in the final period when the Senators outshot the Golden Knights, 18-5, and Pavel Dorofeyev scored his team-leading 10th goal midway through the third period for what proved to be the game-winner as Vegas snapped a two-game losing streak. "We managed to get it to the finish line," Cassidy said. "That's a good win for the team even though it got a little hectic there but you've got to find ways to win. There are no easy wins in this league, so good on the guys." Now the Golden Knights play a Montreal team that has won two straight and three of its last four games and is coming off an impressive 3-0 blanking of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. Sam Montembeault made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season, Jake Evans had a goal and an assist and Brendan Gallagher and Kaiden Guhle also scored to lead the Canadiens. "I'm just really proud of the way we played tonight," Montembeault said after posting his third career shutout. "The last few games we took a really good step in the right direction defensively and now we've just got to be more consistent with it." Montembeault is 3-1-0 with a 0.93 goals-against average and .966 save percentage and a shutout in his last four games. Montreal outscored Columbus and Edmonton, 8-1, in the two wins but still has allowed an Atlantic Division-high 71 goals this season and is minus-17 in goal differential. "The win was great," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "Obviously the result. But to me it's how we won that galvanized the group. ... To me, it's how we did it, not so much the result. I feel, right now, we're in a good place to reinforce the stuff that's working." It will be the third game in four nights for the Golden Knights while Montreal is enjoying a rare four-day break. Montreal held team practices on three of those days. "We should come out with some good energy (Saturday)," St. Louis said. "I think our start is (going to be) very, very important." This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

Former executive with Montreal company convicted of defrauding the Philippines

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. severely lags behind China in shipbuilding capacity, lawmakers and experts have warned, as the Biden administration tries to build up the country's ability to develop and produce weapons and other defense supplies to fend off war. Speaking at a congressional hearing Thursday, Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said the country lacks the capacity to “deter and win a fight” with China and called for action. “Bold policy changes and significant resources are now needed to restore deterrence and prevent a fight” with China, Moolenaar said. China’s navy is already the world’s largest, and its shipbuilding capacity, estimated to be 230 times larger, dwarfs that of the U.S . Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, told Fox News last week that “for every one oceangoing vessel that we can produce, China can produce 359 in one single year." The U.S. government has come to see China as its “pacing challenge," and officials have warned that Beijing is pursuing the largest peacetime military buildup in history, raising concerns about how the U.S. would respond and ensure victory in case of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific, where tensions are high in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea . Krishnamoorthi on Thursday warned that a weak military industrial base could invite aggression and argued that strengthening it is necessary to avoid war with China. “History tells us we need a healthy defense industrial base now to deter aggression and make sure the world’s dictators think again before dragging the U.S. and the world into yet another disastrous conflict,” Krishnamoorthi said. National security adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “generational project” to fix the problem after the American shipbuilding industry had its “bottom fell out” in the early 1980s. “Part of it is we don't have the backbone of a healthy commercial shipbuilding base to rest our naval shipbuilding on top of,” Sullivan said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington. “And that's part of the fragility of what we're contending with and why this is going to be such a generational project to fix.” READ: The challenge in shipbuilding has been “especially immense,” stemming from the hollowing-out of the U.S. manufacturing base where its workforce shrank and suppliers left, Sullivan said. And it is part of the broader problem of a weakened U.S. military industrial base, as manifested in the weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sullivan said, when Kyiv in eight weeks “burned through a year's worth of U.S. 155-millimeter artillery production." “Decades of underinvestments and consolidation had seriously eroded our defense industrial base, and there was no way around it,” Sullivan said. The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, warned last month that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East were eating away at critical U.S. weapons stockpiles and could hamper the military’s ability to respond to China should a conflict arise. He said providing or selling billions of dollars worth of air defenses to both Ukraine and Israel were hampering U.S. ability to respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific. “It’s now eating into stocks, and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” he told an audience at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Nov . 19. Several researchers at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said China’s rapid military buildup could allow the country to prevail over the U.S., especially in case of a prolonged conflict. “China’s massive shipbuilding industry would provide a strategic advantage in a war that stretches beyond a few weeks, allowing it to repair damaged vessels or construct replacements much faster than the United States,” the researchers wrote in June. On Thursday, the congressional panel heard suggestions from experts who said it would take time to rebuild the defense industrial base, but for quicker fixes, the U.S. could innovate to make low-cost and autonomous systems and tap resources of its allies. “We need to look at co-production of whether it's munitions in Australia or shipbuilding in Korea,” said William Greenwalt, a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute. “We need to get numbers as fast as we can," he said. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Dejan Kulusevski cannot wait for the opportunity to play against Manchester City again after Tottenham ran riot at the Etihad Stadium. The Sweden midfielder hailed Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of the champions as the best game of his career. The 24-year-old delivered an outstanding performance as Spurs shattered the champions’ 52-game unbeaten home run, helping start the rout with a superb cross for James Maddison’s opening goal. Kulusevski said: “I believed (we would win) this because in the past years, we’ve come here and played really well. “So this is the game I look forward to most in the year and, once again, it happened – glory to God. “I’d say it’s the best result ever in my career. It’s a big night for the whole club, for the coach, for the players. “Because City have a lot of the ball sometimes, we can rest when we defend. There’s also so much space up there, we play one against one and then it’s always dangerous because we have a lot of quality. “It’s always great to play great teams because they always want to play football. When you play lower teams, sometimes it’s not. There’s not much football played because they are a lot of fouls, a lot of injuries and it’s slow going.” Maddison stole the show with two goals in quick succession in the first half while Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson later got on the scoresheet. Kulu-chef-ski cooked 👨‍🍳 📊 @KumhoTyreUK pic.twitter.com/CsrTh5oUgn — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 24, 2024 Yet Kulusevski’s performance was also eye-catching and the player himself believes there is plenty more to come from him. Asked if his form made him feel “unstoppable”, Kulusevski said: “I feel like that. I feel very good and I’m trying to keep this way. I’m very happy, I’m trying to improve. “I started the season good but there is over half of the season left and I hope I can do much better. “I think I have something that no other player has. With my engine, with my heart – I don’t get tired – I feel like I can do a lot still in my career.” Spurs have won more matches against Pep Guardiola's Man City than any other side 👀 pic.twitter.com/BHLZqde9sP — Premier League (@premierleague) November 23, 2024 Tottenham’s scintillating performance marked a spectacular return to form after their dismal loss to Ipswich in their previous Premier League outing. Kulusevski said: “We have to be much more consistent. It’s not a turning point. We just have to be better in other games. “This game suited us perfectly but we have a lot of improvement to make in the other games.”

Jack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot covering trending human interest/social media stories and the reactions real people have to them. He always seeks to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events, and facts pertinent to these stories to create your not-so-average viral post.Verrica Reports Inducement Grant Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

The jury in Michael Madigan’s corruption trial has heard many nicknames given to the powerful Democratic House Speaker, from the obvious, like “MJM” or “Mr. Speaker,” to the more esoteric such as “Himself” and “our Friend.” But on Monday they heard a new one: “Sphinx.” That was the moniker applied to Madigan by some members of JB Pritzker’s team after Pritzker’s election in 2018, according to U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, who was a top Pritzker aide before her election to Congress in 2022. The nickname, a reference to the mythical figure of Egyptian pharaohs typically used to convey strength and ferocity, was used in an email shown during Budzinski’s testimony referencing a job recommendation from Madigan for Pritzker’s new administration. “Attached is the most recent Sphinx list of recommendations ahead of your meeting today,” read the Dec. 4, 2018, email, which was sent from Budzinski to Pritzker and his soon-to-be chief of staff, Anne Caprara. “We have noted these in our process and they are coming thru our portal.” It’s not the first time Madigan was ever referred to as Sphinx in political circles. In fact, some of the speaker’s own friends and colleagues sometimes called him “the Sphinx from Pulaski Road,” a nod to his 13th Ward headquarters at 65th and Pulaski. But Budzinski’s testimony was the first the jury had heard of it. And while she confirmed that “Sphinx” was a reference to Madigan, she couldn’t explain why. On cross examination, Madigan’s attorney Lari Dierks asked if the “Sphinx” nickname was part of the “myth” of Madigan in Springfield. “I can’t really speak to that. It wasn’t my nickname,” Budzinski testified. The image of Madigan, a famously Irish Southwest Sider, as a monumental desert colossus with the head of a human, body of a lion, and wings of an eagle brought some levity to an otherwise quick, cut-and-dried day of testimony in Madigan’s trial, which is now in its 10th week. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey recessed the trial for the day after only an hour so that the parties could attend services for longtime 7th Circuit Judge Joel Flaum, who passed away last week at age 88. Testimony resumes Tuesday morning. Prosecutors have said they could rest their case in chief later this week. Madigan, 82, of Chicago, who served for decades as speaker of the Illinois House and the head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering charges alleging he ran his state and political operations like a criminal enterprise. He is charged alongside his longtime confidant Michael McClain, 77, a former ComEd contract lobbyist from downstate Quincy. Both men have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Budzinski, a Springfield Democrat elected to the U.S. House last year, was senior adviser to Pritzker in his 2018 campaign to unseat Gov. Bruce Rauner and later was a key aide in Pritzker’s new administration. When she took the stand Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu asked her, “When you’re not testifying in federal court, can you tell the jury what’s your day job?” “I’m a United States representative,” she said. “I represent the 13th District of Illinois in Congress.” After Pritzker was elected in 2018, Budzinski became the executive director of the transition committee, helping to “select, interview and hire a number of individuals into state government and for boards and commissions.” Pritzker had the final say on any hires, Budzinski said. The transition team set up a government portal where any applicants had to sign up, Budzinski said. Other candidates came through LinkedIn and other social media. They also took recommendations from elected officials and others in government. Budzinski said she was aware Madigan had been “a legislative leader for a very long time,” and that they gave “serious consideration” to any job recommendation that came from him. But she said recommendations from any of four legislative leaders were in no way a slam dunk. “We had a lot of due diligence,” Budzinski said. “We really took it very serious to vet every single candidate that was recommended.” Jurors were shown one email from Budzinski to other Pritzker transition staff saying they had a resume from a guy from New York seeking a position with the Illinois Department of Transportation that “should have MJM on it.” “We need to call him at least and perhaps maybe consider him for number two spot,” Budzinski wrote. According to the indictment, one of Madigan’s recommendations was then-Ald. Daniel Solis, who was working undercover for federal investigators and asked Madigan to help him get a state board position in Pritzker’s administration as part of an FBI rise. Jurors have previously watched undercover video in which Solis asked Madigan for help getting on a state board that paid at least $100,000, including either the Labor Relations Board or the Illinois Commerce Commission.Prosecutors have also presented evidence that Madigan sent Solis information about state boards and commissions in response.The indictment against Madigan alleges he sat down with Pritzker in December 2018 and mentioned Solis as a candidate for a board seat. But Budzinski was not asked specifically about Solis in her testimony, which lasted only about 30 minutes. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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Paige Spiranac is constantly dealing with haters and trolls on social media. While the former professional golfer, who played collegiately at the University of Arizona and San Diego State, has millions of fans across social media. She gets a lot of praise for her content, though sometimes, fans take issue with her outfits on the course. Spiranac is constantly turning heads with her revealing outfits on the golf course. Instagram. Spiranac is tired of the criticism, though. She believes all women should be able to express themselves sexually, if they want to. "I dislike how women pick and choose when it’s okay to support other women for embracing their sexuality depending on if it appears to be for the female or male gaze. Women should be able to embrace their sexuality if that’s what makes them feel empowered. One shouldn’t be called a genius while the other is called an attention whore for doing the same exact thing," she said on social media. Paige/X Spiranac can wear whatever she wants on the course, but at the end of the day, when you're promoting yourself on social media, you're going to have to deal with some hating comments from time to time. It's unfortunate, but there's no escaping it.

NoneIn a significant stride for European aerospace, Arianespace launched the Vega-C rocket from French Guiana, rebounding after a previous launch failure. This mission marked the return to space for the Italian-built launcher, which carried the Sentinel-1C satellite into orbit. The successful launch signifies a critical step for Europe in re-establishing its space access, particularly after geopolitical tensions severed reliance on Russian Soyuz rockets. This move is set against a backdrop of rising competition from SpaceX, and the launch of the Ariane 6 heavy launcher is eagerly awaited. The Vega-C will enhance Europe's radar observation capabilities, vital for Earth's environmental monitoring. As the European Space Agency sets its sights on greater autonomy, Wednesday's launch marks a pivotal moment in the broader aerospace strategy. (With inputs from agencies.)HIV: there’s hope for a cure - where we stand now

Dwarfed by China in Shipbuilding, US Looks to Build Its Defense Base to Fend off WarThe search and rescue organization for Metro Vancouver's North Shore mountains is warning people to do their research after international visitors became stranded in two separate incidents while relying on hiking apps to plan their routes. North Shore Rescue was called in on Nov. 28 to rescue a man from Norway who the organization said "seriously underestimated the difficulty" of a route marked in an online hiking app. Rescuers were back on a nearby mountain three nights later for a "virtually identical" operation, the group said in a social media post. Allan McMordie with North Shore Rescue managed the Sunday night rescue of a man at Goat Ridge, a backcountry area behind Grouse Mountain. He said the man from France told rescuers he had not been expecting snow, despite two of the local ski hills opening with fresh powder last month. "All you had to do was look at the top of the mountains from Vancouver and know there's snow up there," he said in an interview. "To be in running shoes and not even expecting any snow was pretty naive." The man had set out on a marked route, then decided to make his way through very rough, steep terrain to a separate trail at significantly higher elevation. "This is rugged backcountry," McMordie said. "It's almost impassable." McMordie could not confirm which apps the hikers in both recent rescues were using, but said a lack of any marked route or trail reports is a good indication to stop and turn around, and in any case, trip planning should involve multiple sources of information. If the man from France had done any research, McMordie said he would have discovered the backcountry area where he was rescued is closed for the winter. In both recent cases, he said there were signs at each trailhead with maps showing trails and topography, along with reminders about key steps in trip planning, he said. Both men were lucky to have been able to make 911 calls, McMordie added, as service is patchy in the area and their phone batteries had nearly run out. Above all, he said hikers should tell someone else where they're going and when they expect to return, so that person can alert local authorities if necessary. "Absolutely nobody knew where this person was and what he was doing that day," McMordie said of the man from France. "If he had not been able to get that (911) call out, he would still be there." North Shore Rescue said the course taken by the man from Norway was "barely a trail" in the summer and "nothing whatsoever" in the winter, making for "full mountaineering conditions" at this time of year. He called for help after hiking for eight hours that left him "tired, soaked (and) hypothermic" as the sun was setting," it said. It's doubtful the man would have survived the night in the Mount Seymour backcountry if he hadn't been able to make the call, the rescue group added. The man had been staying in a short-term accommodation and had taken an Uber to the trailhead. Only his girlfriend in Norway knew where he was, and he was not wearing or carrying adequate gear for the conditions, McMordie said. Vancouver-based Stephen Hui, the author of several B.C. hiking guidebooks, said the rough, mountainous terrain steps away from urban Metro Vancouver and the extent of the snowpack in winter is a surprise for many visiting hikers. Hui said online apps can be helpful and often provide commentary about trail conditions from other hikers, but it's crucial to look at additional sources of information, including complete maps and provincial and national park websites. He said local authorities and outdoor groups have some responsibility for people heading into the backcountry, and there is room for more signage and education. Ultimately, though, he said people must be responsible for themselves. "We can't handhold everybody," he said. "There's always going to be dangers in hiking." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.One of the interesting facts about Scott Morrison’s period as prime minister is that he managed to squander public approval twice. The second came via a long, protracted slide through most of the pandemic. But in fact his popularity had sunk as low – and much, much faster, at least in Newspoll – just a few months after his 2019 election victory. The main event involved was that summer’s bushfires. His trip to Hawaii is the symbol of that failure, but the actual problems were long and drawn-out. There was the slowness to act and the failure to meet with emergency leaders, the mangled handshakes, “I don’t hold a hose” and the sidestepping of the climate debate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are neck and neck in opinion polls. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The political ramifications of a natural disaster are the least important thing about it. I recount this because it’s always worth keeping in mind, in politics, how quickly things can change. Also: how dominant a crisis can be. Morrison’s disastrous summer, in fact, was only really rescued by the advent of another crisis – the early part of the pandemic, when his numbers soared – before that crisis, too, destroyed him. Recent weeks have seen at least two significant shifts, with another at least possible. For a long time, it seemed as though the Albanese government would get a rate cut – even two – before the election. As I wrote a few weeks back, this had the potential to act as tangible affirmation of its economic strategy , the other elements of which – wage growth, job creation – had been lining up nicely. Last week, Westpac joined NAB in predicting the next rate cut would come on May 20 – three days after the last possible date for the election. The government now has to hope voters’ moods improve without that rate cut. It’s possible. Essential poll last week found a small fall in people who say they’re struggling. There was a small but notable shift in one of the more interesting indicators: whether people believe the country is on the right track. It’s too early to spot a trend, and more people disagree than agree – but the “right direction” figure was (just) the highest it’s been since May 2023 . Illustration by Joe Benke Credit: The second change is the victory of Donald Trump. There are signs – like his retreat from the nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney-general – that Trump’s term may be as bizarre as his first. One veteran observer suggested to me some time ago that a Trump victory may play into Albanese’s slow-and-steady approach: that in an era of messiness, boredom becomes appealing. At present, though, the opposite is the case. Last week, a Freshwater Strategy poll in the Australian Financial Review found 36 per cent of voters believed Albanese was best placed to deal with Trump – against 47 per cent who favoured Dutton. Finally, we should all hope this is a quiet season for natural disasters. Recent weeks have reminded us, this can’t be taken for granted. There have been bushfires in Queensland, the ABC reporting that amid the smoke last month Mount Isa was briefly “the most polluted city in the world”. There were evacuations in response to fires in Victoria (arson seems to have played a role in several of these). How bushfires might affect the political situation would depend, to a great extent, on the prime minister’s response. This close to a poll, major conclusions drawn would be about him personally. How Albanese handled the question of climate change would be significant. (That same Essential poll found only half of voters believe hotter summers are the result of climate change.) But what would also move into the spotlight would be the continuing climate change splits within the opposition. Here we come to another recent shift, one that is sharpening the political contest. At the beginning of this term, it seemed Peter Dutton wanted to oppose most things: he had not yet learnt the fine art of picking his battles. In recent months, he has avoided fights on some key issues: aged care, disabilities and social media. Even his apparently “bold” foray on nuclear energy, as I’ve argued before , is best understood in this context: wanting to avoid a battle, either within his party or with Labor, over whether climate change action is necessary. Yet Dutton has picked a very specific fight: he will oppose Labor’s bill to bring down international student numbers – even though he has long suggested that’s his aim too. As journalist Bernard Keane observed , this is a mirror of Donald Trump’s successful move to block an immigration bill to keep the problem alive. This is of a piece with Dutton’s earlier decisions to make Labor’s life difficult on immigration detention bills. Dutton has learnt to use the parliament to narrow the political contest to his preferred issues, with immigration top of the list. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what happens when Labor finally announces its universal childcare policy. Labor is hoping for significant political credit. But what if Dutton simply says he agrees? Meanwhile, there are some fights the nation should be having but isn’t. Bill Shorten, farewelling parliament last week, pointed out “our system still taxes property preferentially and lightly – and income heavily”. Anthony Whealy, chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, pointed out that the government and opposition seem to have reached an agreement, funnily enough, on donations changes that don’t do enough about money in politics while also giving the major parties advantages over independents. As Albanese told Sky News, “we’ve already chosen our slogan as you know, ‘building Australia’s future’.” Dutton seems to have chosen his issues, too. Given how much has changed in the past few weeks, and how much might still change in the months before polling day, both men would be wise to keep their options open. Sean Kelly is author of The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison , a regular columnist and a former adviser to Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.Amber Group's Subsidiary Amber DWM Holding Limited and Nasdaq-Listed iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited Enter into a Definitive Merger Agreement

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