Month: August 2022

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Sports

AFL Round Table Round 21

AFL Round Table Round 21

Aug 1, 2022

  • ESPN staff

Our AFL experts tackle some of the burning questions ahead of Round 21, including if Carlton loss to Adelaide will cost them a finals spot, the Round 21 game with the biggest stakes and what we really think about Collingwood.

Has Carlton blown their chance at September action?

Rohan Connolly: I suspect they might have. Have just done a ladder predictor, and I have the Blues missing out by a game to the Bulldogs, with Richmond in seventh spot. Brisbane (away), Melbourne and Collingwood is a bloody tough assignment. It’s a pity, really, because their emergence has been exciting, and they’ve done it against a continual backdrop of injury. But the bottom line is they’ve been too erratic over the second half of this season, 4-5 since being 8-2 after 10 rounds. And the loss to St Kilda when the Saints were in ordinary shape and last Saturday night’s disaster are probably the nails in the coffin.

Jake Michaels: Yes, the loss to the Crows was disappointing and inexcusable for a side which has been spoken about all year as a flag chance, but Michael Voss’ side still controls its destiny and remains a hot favorite to play in September. The Blues really only need to win one of their remaining three games, and while they are all tough, I can’t seem to them ending the season on a four-game losing streak. They make it in but I’m starting to reconsider just how much damage they can do…

Matt Walsh: Which Carlton will we see the rest of the year? Is it the one which went 8-2 and looked irresistible at times? Or the one which gives up games to St Kilda and Adelaide without showing so much as a whimper? That will determine where they finish on the ladder. They’re currently a game and a half inside the eight with somewhat healthy percentage; if they can snag a win over one of Brisbane (at the Gabba), or Melbourne and Collingwood (at the MCG) after that, they should make it, but lose all three and it’s a wasted season and, frankly, a failure on Michael Voss.

Jarryd Barca: They haven’t blown their chance completely, but they stumbled at a critical hurdle in that loss to Adelaide which only makes their path to September a little rockier. Their best is as good as — if not better than — anyone in the competition which is why I’ve been bullish about them all season, but the difference between their best and worst still seems too stark. Let’s not overreact here, though, they might not always reach the true heights of their ceiling, but I fully expect them to bounce back hard in the next three weeks as good teams do and at least snag one win – which should be enough.

Which game this week will have the biggest impact on finals?

RC: Wow, it’s a great round and there’s perhaps four games you could realistically argue are the most important in this sense. But I’m probably inclined to go with Geelong vs. St Kilda because it could affect both the battle for top and the battle for eighth, Melbourne in a position to re-take top spot if it wins by enough and the Cats stumble, and the Saints out of the eight if they lose and either Richmond or the Western Bulldogs win by any amount. That’s a wide range of ramifications.

JM: I’m looking at Friday night’s tasty clash between the Demons and Magpies. Melbourne’s looking more like the Melbourne we’ve become accustomed to but a top four berth is still far from secure, especially with games to come against the Magpies, Blues and Lions. If Collingwood gets up here and beats the Dees for the second time in 2022, they not only put a firm grasp on their own top four hopes but send significant concerns through the Demons camp. Can’t wait for it.

MW: The Western Bulldogs-Fremantle clash suddenly has my interest after Freo’s capitulation on Friday night against Melbourne. The Dockers are outside the top four now, and while they’re still a chance to climb back up to secure the double chance, equally, the Dogs will be rare to take down a contender to keep their slim, but not outrageous finals hopes alive . After the Dockers, the Bulldogs face GWS and Hawthorn, and with Carlton missing, there’s a real chance that a win this week could help to throw up some crazy first-week finals.

JB: Brisbane hosting Carlton at the Gabba with both teams coming off different kinds of brutal losses is as mouth-watering as it gets, with the Lions still fighting for a top four berth which we know is critical for interstate teams, and the Blues eager not to let their grip on the top eight loosen any more than it is. In terms of impacting finals, the top four isn’t out of the question for Michael Voss if his side can pull of an unlikely upset, and we can preempt the pressure that will ensue wth defeat, while facing Brisbane up north in an elimination final is a scary proposition for whoever may still scrape into the lower echelons of the eight.

What’s your strongest opinion about Collingwood right now?

RC: That they have had a sensational season whatever happens from here, with huge improvement considering they finished 17th in 2021. And I don’t buy the “lucky” argument or the inevitably of them being “found out” when it matters. Yes, you need an element of fortune to win close games, but nine wins from 10 games decided by 11 points or less is too big a sample to be purely lucky. Indeed, I think the fact last year they played in six games decided by 12 points or less and lost five is a good tangible indicator of their improvement.

JM: The Magpies are nowhere near as good as their record suggests. I’ll admit I was wildly wrong about the Pies at the start of the season (predicting them to finish bottom four) but are they a top four side? not chance. Percentage is a great indicator of how a side is traveling and there are currently EIGHT sides who have a better percentage than the Pies. Enough said.

MW: I’ve been saying for weeks to look at the percentage – it’s the best guide for where a team is ‘really at’. They’ve ground out some hard-fought wins, and have at times been fortunate (there’s nothing wrong with saying that!) but they’re not a power club that I can see winning at the end, let alone convincingly. Much like Sydney last year, I can see them finishing with a ‘home’ final in the first week but losing to a more experienced side. Plenty to look forward to, though.

JB: That while they’ve greatly exceeded expectations this season, we probably should have seen a rise coming after last year’s abysmal efforts, given the experience they still have. It’s easy to overreact in this game and that’s what most of us did, but actually having a good on-field year amongst the wild off-field distractions — a trade period ‘fire sale’, the fallout from the ‘Do Better’ report , Eddie McGuire stepping down and the ongoing board speculation and eventual upheaval, the removal of head coach Nathan Buckley mid-year and a range of injuries to key players which stipulated the blooding and exposure of the list’s youth — is virtually unimaginable. A far cry from this season’s fortunes, the Pies also lost five matches last season by under two goals (two by one point), so were more competitive than their 17th-placed finished suggested. Nah, they’re probably not a 14-5 team, but they were never going to be that bad.

Which bottom six side are you most optimistic about in 2023?

RC: Hawthorn. I was more bullish than most about the Hawks even before this season, and while a 7-12 record is hardly anything to write home about, I think they haven’t been far off the mark at all, seven of their losses by 27 points or less. I’m pretty upbeat about their young guys, too. It’s a pretty big group, and the likes of Newcombe, Jiath, Lewis, Koschitzke, Ward, Maginness are coming along quickly. I sense Sam Mitchell as coach is building a pretty solid brand of game, too, which will keep improving.

JM: Call me crazy but I’m still bullish on the Bombers. I picked them to make finals this year and am as surprised as anyone by their nosedive. With the likes of Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, Dylan Shiel, Andy McGrath and Jye Caldwell, there’s a nice group of youthful midfielders. Players like Peter Wright, Sam Draper, Nic Martin and Mason Redman have had breakout years and should only improve, while the defense has the personnel to be far better than they have been this season. With an easier fixture (which they will get) I’m tipping them to bounce back next season.

MW: Hawthorn is not yet a year into its planned reset with Sam Mitchell at the helm, and, for the most part, they’ve exceeded my expectations. They’ve already matched their 2021 win tally of seven, and we’ve seen a different take from Mitchell and at the selection table. Strides have been taken by Mitch Lewis and Jai Newcombe. We’ve seen Changkuoth Jiath become an assured rebounder. Will Day is stringing together games, Josh Ward has impressed… there’s a heap to like about this list. If they can attract a big name in the next season or two, they could be playing finals sooner rather than later.

JB: I agree with Jake on this one, although I didn’t have them making it this season, I fully expect the Bombers to bounce back and play finals footy in 2023. Their defense is sound with Jordan Ridley, Jayden Laverde, Jake Kelly and Redman holding the fort while developing tall Zach Reid is waiting in the wings, they have a diverse midfield group with a range of strengths that can cause serious damage, and key forwards Peter Wright and the ever-improving Harrison Jones can form one of the most formidable forward 50 partnerships in the league. The puzzle pieces are there at The Hangar.

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Categories
Australia

K’gari to become ‘the next Uluru’

K'gari to become 'the next Uluru'

It’s hoped K’gari will follow the lead of Uluru and only be known by its traditional name, as the Queensland government flags an official name change.

The proposal will take a step forward this week as two months of public consultation begin, Resources Minister Scott Stewart said on Wednesday.

He hopes the process will lead to the Butchulla name of K’gari entering the common vernacular in the same way Uluru has retaken its proper place.

“No one calls it Ayers Rock any more, they call it Uluru, and it’s about respecting our First Nations people, and about respecting the connection they have with this land,” Mr Stewart said.

“(For) 60,000 years they’ve been calling it K’gari, I think it’s about time we started to do exactly the same.”

While the World Heritage Area became K’gari last year, the official place name for the world’s largest sand island had yet to change.

The reinstatement of K’gari as the island’s name has been a long time coming, chair of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation Aunty Gayle Minniecon said.

“It means so much to the Butchulla people,” she said.

“For us it’s about respect for our people. It’s important for us to let our ancestors know that our culture is still strong and we continue to care for our country.”

The consultation follows the island’s world heritage area being renamed K’gari last year, Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said

“K’gari means paradise in the Butchulla language and as a popular destination for its natural beauty, is a much more fitting name for such an iconic place,” Ms Scanlon said.

“The name Fraser Island is culturally inappropriate – it is a tribute to Eliza Fraser, a woman whose narrative directly led to the massacre and dispossession of the Butchulla people.”

K’gari was originally known by Europeans as Great Sandy Island before it was changed to Fraser Island after Scotswoman Eliza Fraser was shipwrecked there in 1836.

While the World Heritage Area became K’gari last year, the official place name for the world’s largest sand island had yet to change.

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US

Sandy Hook family attorney exposes Alex Jones’ dishonesty during brutal cross-examination

Sandy Hook family attorney exposes Alex Jones' dishonesty during brutal cross-examination

The jury hearing the case will determine how much Jones will have to pay the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who won a default judgment against him earlier this year. An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis has asked the jury to award $150 million in damages.

Jones, who was the sole witness for the defense during the trial, did not fare well Wednesday as he was cross-examined by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Mark Bankston.

In a remarkable moment, Bankston disclosed to Jones and the court that he had recently acquired evidence proving Jones had lied when he claimed during the discovery process that he had never texted about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.

Bankston said that Jones’ attorney had, in an apparent mishap, sent him two years of cell phone records that included every text message Jones had sent.

The cell phone records, Bankston said, showed that Jones had in fact texted about the Sandy Hook shooting.

“That is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t have text messages about Sandy Hook,” Bankston said.

Bankston showed Jones a text message exchange he had about Sandy Hook. But Jones testified that he had “never seen these text messages.”

When reminded Jones had testified under oath that he had searched his phone during the discovery phase of the trial and could not locate messages about Sandy Hook, Jones insisted he “did not lie.”

In another moment, Jones was asked whether he had connected Maya Guerra Gamble, the judge overseeing the trial, to pedophilia and human trafficking.

When Jones denied having done so, Bankston played video for the court of an Infowars video which did just that.

In the video, Jones attacked Gamble’s prior work for Child Protective Services by claiming the agency had been “exposed” for “working for pedophiles.”

Gamble, whose office did not respond to an earlier request for comment about the fact Infowars has been attacking her in such terms, laughed when she saw a screengrab from the video in court on Wednesday.

“The person on the left of this image is our judge, correct?” Bankston asked Jones.

Jones replied that it was.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said Tuesday that they intend to ask for sanctions against Jones for being dishonest on the stand. And Gamble on Tuesday had also admonished Jones for having violated his oath of him to tell the truth twice.

Alex Jones' company files for bankruptcy amid Texas trial to award damages to Sandy Hook families

“You are already under oath to tell the truth,” Gamble said Tuesday. “You’ve already violated that oath twice today, in just those two examples. It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify. Yet here I am again.”

“This is not your show,” Gamble added to him Wednesday.

After Jones finished testifying Wednesday, the defense rested its case and closing arguments got underway.

The jury could potentially decide how much it will award in damages to the Sandy Hook parents as early as this week.

The current trial is the first of three that will determine how much Jones will have to pay multiple Sandy Hook families who sued him and won default judgments.

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Categories
Sports

Australia lose 3×3 basketball gold medal to England after Myles Hesson shot

Australia lose 3x3 basketball gold medal to England after Myles Hesson shot

That pushed Australia to 10 team fouls and under 3 x 3 rules any infringement from then on meant England went to the free throw line for two shots and possession.

England ramped up their physical approach, with Orlan “OJ” Jackman particularly dubious in defense but somehow allowed to get away with it.

The sides traded baskets with England hitting the lead when Jayden Henry-McCalla nailed a two point shot, only for Johnson to score one point with seconds remaining.

The match went into overtime in which the first team to score two points won.

“I don’t think it’s the ref’s fault,” Australia’s Jesse Wagstaff, who plays for the Perth Wildcats, said. “That’s 3 x 3 basketball, it’s pretty physical and both teams are pretty physical. That’s just how it goes.”

Despite the loss, the match was another reminder of why this shortened format of the game has become so popular since making its debut in Tokyo last year.

Australia, though, face an uphill battle to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Lachlin Dalton and Jake Kavanagh celebrate after defeating Canada in the men's wheelchair 3x3 basketball final.

Lachlin Dalton and Jake Kavanagh celebrate after defeating Canada in the men’s wheelchair 3×3 basketball final.Credit:Getty

ranking points [are how we qualify] but unfortunately it’s tough for us,” Hire said. “Most of our guys are playing professional – when you’re playing in that, the pro circuit, they don’t have time to travel around the world. We don’t get paid to play 3 x 3, we don’t get per diems like the Boomers, you’re doing it for the love of the game and your country. Realistically it will be tough for us. We have to go through World Cup qualifications. It will be tough, but we know Aussies like to battle. We’ll put ourselves in a position to pull through.

Earlier, the men’s wheelchair team got the party started for Australia, beating Canada 11-9.

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The match went right down to the final second with Canada’s Colin Higgins’ two-point attempt from outside the perimeter lipping out.

“Never in doubt,” insisted Australia’s Lachlin Dalton, who scored one of five from the arc, earning him the nickname of “Kingslayer” from the in-court commentator.

The tables were turned, however, in the women’s wheelchair fixture with Canada trouncing Australia 14-5.

Get all the latest news from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games here. We’ll be live blogging the action from 4pm-10am daily.

Categories
Australia

RBA interest rate hikes set to continue; Stuart Ayres resigns from John Barilaro inquiry; Monkeypox vaccines available soon; Paul Keating lashes Greens’ Adam Bandt; Voice to Parliament details to be revealed

RBA interest rate hikes set to continue; Stuart Ayres resigns from John Barilaro inquiry; Monkeypox vaccines available soon; Paul Keating lashes Greens' Adam Bandt; Voice to Parliament details to be revealed

Defense Minister Richard Marles says Australia is not going to challenge the status-quo of the “One China” policy in relation to Taiwan and has refused to weigh into Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the disputed territory.

Speaking on Radio National earlier, Marles said Australia is taking the risk of escalation in the region “very seriously” as a result of China’s live military exercises taking place around Taiwan.

Defense Minister Richard Marles.

Defense Minister Richard Marles.Credit:James Brickwood

“We’re monitoring events very closely,” the defense minister said.

“Our position, which we’ve said repeatedly over the last few days – but over a long period of time now – is that we want to see is that there’ll be no alteration to the status quo, which exists on either side of the Taiwan Strait.

“And, in that sense, the One China policy – ​​which has been, you know, the bipartisan position of governments of both persuasions in Australia since the 1970s – remains the case.”

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Australia’s One China policy means it does not acknowledge Taiwan as a separate country.

Asked whether Pelosi’s recent diplomatic visit represented a break from that stance, Marles replied that he wasn’t going to comment on the visit as it was a matter between the US and Taiwan.

“We are not about to tell people that they can or can’t go to Taiwan, that’s that’s not our position. And there are many people from the Australian government who are in the Australian parliament who have gone to Taiwan. And, obviously, we have a strong engagement with the people of Taiwan, and that will continue.”

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US

‘We could feel it’: Kansans celebrate upset abortion rights victory | Kansas

YoIn a conference room at the Sheraton in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, people screamed, whooped, cheered and cried as a vote to protect abortion rights in Kansas’s state constitution came down late on Tuesday night.

And it wasn’t just Democrats.

James Quigley, 72, a retired doctor and a Republican from Johnson county, sat on his own drinking a glass of white wine after hearing the news. “Abortion is a much more nuanced issue than anti-choice individuals would have you think,” he told the Guardian. “It is deeply personal, sometimes tragic, but also sometimes a liberating decision – and we should trust women, their physicians, and their God on that,” he said.

“We could feel it – we’ve been feeling it for weeks,” said Marcia Corbett, 71, a swing voter and local business owner, before the vote came in.

The result had been eagerly awaited, as Kansas was the first state in the country to put abortion rights on the ballot since Roe v Wade, which federally guaranteed them, was overturned by the supreme court. It came after weeks of uncertainty, in a race in which misinformation bounded and tactics got ugly.

Kansas: celebrations after voters uphold right to abortion – video

The victory – and its sheer scale in a usually reliably Republican and socially conservative state like Kansas – has sent shockwaves through the United States and provided a shot in the arm for efforts to protect abortion rights under siege across America.

In Kansas, that fight had gotten dirty. On Tuesday, a former Republican congressman was linked to messages targeting voters with an anonymous, misleading text encouraging people to vote yes to protect abortion – when in fact a yes vote would have overturned a constitutional right to abortion. Vandals also spray-painted the walls of a Catholic church weeks earlier, with the phrase, “My body, my choice.”

Nor had victory seemed certain on the day of the vote.

On Tuesday, as voting began, the mood seemed amicable in Douglas county on a hot, sticky day, where temperatures consistently threatened to hit the hundreds. Polling booths in Lawrence and Eudora saw a steady drip of voters, even in the middle of the day, with dozens of voters lining up to vote at any given time. Many were unaffiliated, but turned up just to vote in the referendum.

At the Eudora community center in Douglas county, Patrick Perry, 43, a mechanic and registered Republican, said he was voting no. A veteran who had fought in Iraq, he said he was voting due to his own “personal circumstances” – his wife needed an abortion in a medical emergency during their marriage, in a pregnancy that would have otherwise taken her life. But he didn’t expect Kansas to side with him. “We’re a Republican state,” he said. “And we don’t generally vote that way.”

But on a night of huge turnout, Kansas voted to protect abortion in the state’s constitution, with the no vote securing a whopping 59% to 41% of the anti-abortion movement.

At the beginning of the night, the mood had been cautiously hopeful at the Kansas for Constitutional Freedom event in Overland Park, with the no vote ahead from the start. “We’re in the lead, and it’s not better than yes!” a young girl said to her mother de ella, from next-door Missouri. The two had been canvassing together for weeks.

The Democratic congresswoman Sharice Davids stood up to speak early in the night, telling the audience of about 100 people: “The [supreme court] decision definitely felt like a gut punch to a lot of people in our community … But we stood up and got to work.”

Following speeches, all eyes in the room were on a television projection blaring MSNBC’s election statistics guru Steve Kornacki, whose voice was barely audible over the sounds of people chattering, drinking and bursting into cheers whenever a county’s no vote was called.

“Imagine how good we are going to feel when we beat the anti-abortion movement and the Republicans, who lied at every turn,” state congresswoman Stephanie Clayton said.

“I feel really good right now,” said Leslie Butsch, who had tears in her eyes by 8.30pm. She was watching as the vote in Johnson county first showed signs of leaning heavily towards no, after weeks of spending her evenings knocking on doors there. An hour later, when the result came through, she was one of the few people without a celebratory drink in her hand – she’d just spent all her cash from her tipping the bar staff in a flurry of happiness.

“I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. Today we learned that organizers are more powerful than ever. We did the impossible,” she said.

Voters mark their ballots during the primary election and abortion referendum at a Wyandotte county polling station in Kansas City, Kansas.
Voters mark their ballots during the primary election and abortion referendum at a Wyandotte county polling station in Kansas City, Kansas. Photograph: Eric Cox/Reuters

State Senator Dinah Sykes burst into tears when the vote was called, covering her mouth and showing friends goosebumps on her arms. “It’s just amazing. It’s breathtaking that women’s voices were heard and [that] we care about women’s health,” she said.

She knew that the vote would be close in a state that gave Trump a 15 percentage point lead over Biden in the 2020 election. “But we were close in a lot of rural areas and that really made the difference – I’m just so grateful,” she said.

Ashley All, the spokesperson for KCF, said the success of their campaign was testament to non-partisanship – and other states should take heed. “It will be interesting for other states to watch this, and see this is not a partisan issue,” she said.

Joe Biden made a statement on the result late on Tuesday. “Voters in Kansas turned out in record numbers to reject extreme efforts to amend the state constitution to take away a woman’s right to choose and open the door for a statewide ban,” the president said.

“This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions.”

Meanwhile, the defeated anti-abortion group Kansans for Life sent out an email to supporters following the vote, sharing their dismay. For a movement that has been on the rise in America – since before Roe was overturned, and after – it was clear they had suffered a powerful blow.

“The mainstream media propelled the left’s false narrative, contributing to the confusion that misled Kansans about the amendment,” he said, and vowed to fight on. “Our movement and campaign have proven our resolve and commitment. We will not abandon women and babies.”

Categories
Sports

Charismatic win as adopted Aussie claims historic weightlifting medal

Charismatic win as adopted Aussie claims historic weightlifting medal

Charisma Amoe-Tarrant, Australia’s strongest woman, says her super-heavyweight weightlifting medal can be celebrated by both her country of choice and of her birth, Nauru, after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games.

The Tokyo Olympian, who won silver for the small Pacific Island nation at the Gold Coast four years ago, finished third in a dramatic session at Birmingham’s NEC, behind England’s flag-bearer Emily Campbell, who hoisted a Games record 286kg to win.

Charisma Amoe Tarrant performs a clean and jerk during the women's 87+kg final on day six of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games

Charisma Amoe Tarrant performs a clean and jerk during the women’s 87+kg final on day six of the Birmingham Commonwealth GamesCredit:Getty Images

An emotional Amoe-Tarrant looked skyward after the lift that catapulted her from the also-rans and onto the podium, signaling towards the heavens in memory of her late mother, whose death when she was 12 prompted her family’s relocation to Australia, and a close uncle who recently died.

“I couldn’t help looking up to both up there. All the lifts were for them,” she said afterwards.

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Amoe-Tarrant, 25, began weightlifting at the age of 11, under the tutelage of her uncle, who was a coach at a weightlifting gym. She was a field athlete, training in shot put and discus before her uncle de ella asked her to train in the weightlifting gym, where she fell in love with the sport.

She spent her early childhood in Nauru, where her mum struggled with kidney problems. Without a transplant, her mother de ella died in 2009, and Amoe-Tarrant’s grandparents, Rick and Thelma, promised to bring the family to Australia. She became a citizen in 2016.

“At the end of the day, I’m Australian and I’m also Nauran, so I’m representing both countries. I’m proud to be Australian and I’m also proud to be Nauran – and no one can take that away from me.

The154kg powerhouse produced a magnificent performance in the over-87kg category despite admitting to having felt “a lot of pressure” following recent knee and elbow injuries that were still troubling her.

Categories
Australia

Tasmania’s State of the Environment report is overdue and last seen 13 years ago. So where is it?

Kelp forest in Tasmania with fish and diver

When the national State of the Environment report was released a fortnight ago – an important report that told “a story of crisis and decline”, according to federal minister Tanya Plibersek – it had been delayed for around six months.

Specifically for Tasmania, the report highlighted the pressures of climate change, including abrupt changes in ecological systems, affecting things like giant kelp forests, agriculture and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and also touched on the impact of humans on the endangered Tasmanian devil. .

But its delayed release after it was handed to the Morrison government in December last year is nothing on the Tasmanian State of the Environment report, which was last seen 13 years ago — missing its last two reports, in 2014 and 2019.

That is despite legislation (the State Policies and Projects Act 1993) stating the Tasmanian Planning Commission must produce a report every five years.

The Act says the report should cover the condition of the environment, trends and changes in the environment, the achievement of resource management objectives, and recommendations for future environmental management.

The Planning Minister should then present it to parliament within a speedy 15 days.

So where is it?

We’ve done a deep dive to try to answer that question.

The most recent report was in 2009, which said the Tasmanian Planning Commission’s top priority over the next five years was to “improve the standard of land use planning and to ensure that Tasmania’s sustainable development objectives are furthered as far as possible”.

“This SOE Report is a first step to facilitate that change without losing our baseline environmental performance data and reporting framework,” it said.

“This will be achieved through a number of mechanisms including performing its statutory roles and functions effectively and efficiently in accordance with section 29 of the State Policies and Projects Act 1993 and the Tasmanian Planning Commission Act 1997.”

So, basically: future reports were considered important. However, since then, there has been radio silence.

Tarkine forest, Tasmania, November 2018.
Tasmania’s environment is world-renowned.(ABC News: Peta Carlyon)

RTI documents reveal ‘no material progress has been made’

The Australia Institute Tasmania has been on the case, submitting a Right to Information (RTI) request.

Institute director Eloise Carr said the RTI documents showed a “complete disregard for the law by the Tasmanian Planning Commission and a lack of oversight by the government”.

“They reveal that no material progress has been made towards the preparation of a State of the Environment report and that the Planning Commission as statutory authority appears to have made a decision not to comply with the law, which requires it to produce these reports every five years,” she said.

“The Minister for Planning, who is responsible for receiving the State of the Environment Reports, has not intervened. The Department of Justice, which has responsibility for administering the Tasmanian Planning Commission has not intervened.

“The Environment Minister appears to have been absolved from his responsibilities to the environment.”

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Categories
US

Peter Navarro: Former Trump adviser sued for emails from his private account

Peter Navarro: Former Trump adviser sued for emails from his private account

According to the lawsuit, the National Archives learned of Navarro’s private account from the House committee investigating the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which obtained messages from the previously unknown email address.

Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt for defying January 6 committee subpoena

Between 200 and 250 of the emails on Navarro’s private account should have been given to the National Archives, prosecutors say.

Navarro, however, did not copy these messages to his official government email account, according to prosecutors, and when the archivist attempted to contact Navarro in order to secure these records, Navarro did not respond.

The lawsuit is a bold and unusual enforcement move by the Justice Department’s Federal Programs Branch — which pursues civil, not criminal, matters — to strike at allegedly sloppy federal records maintenance during the Trump administration.

Public records advocates have long taken issue with lost, never-created or deleted records, but the Justice Department has rarely sued former administration officials over the Presidential Records Act.

“Mr. Navarro has refused to return any Presidential records that he retained absent a grant of immunity for the act of returning such documents,” the lawsuit says, adding that Navarro “is wrongfully retaining Presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration.”

Former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro rejects plea deal in contempt of Congress case

The lawsuit says that Justice Department officials attempted to negotiate with Navarro and his legal team to obtain a copy of the emails, but Navarro refused unless he was given “a grant of immunity” in exchange. It is not clear what Navarro wanted immunity from.

The former trade adviser is facing separate contempt of Congress charges after failing to comply with a subpoena by the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021. In July, Navarro rejected a plea offer, claiming that former President Donald Trump told him he was covered by executive privilege.

Navarro’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Categories
Sports

Emily Campbell sets weightlifting record in Commonwealth Games win | Commonwealth Games 2022

Over the past few years of Emily Campbell’s life, as it has transformed beyond recognition, she has spent her time methodically expanding her list of triumphs. She is already the only British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal, snatching an unforgettable silver in Tokyo last year.

Campbell is a world championships bronze medalist and two-time European champion. As the Commonwealth Games began, she entered Alexander Stadium as England’s flag bearer, a face of the Games.

And now she is one of her champions. In a show of spectacular dominance, she became the Commonwealth Games gold medalist for the first time in the women’s 87+kg division. Campbell produced a faultless performance under immense pressure, moving through her six lifts with skill and power, producing personal bests across the board.

“Some would say it was a perfect Games,” she said. “To walk out the crowd in the opening ceremony was immense for a start. To lead out the home nation in a home Games is a very, very special privilege. The reason why we come here was to perform on the stage. To get that perfect performance on the stage? Yeah, you could call that a perfect Games.”

As Campbell strode into the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham with her arms outstretched, her hair braided in red and white buns, the tightly packed crowd roared her name. Her biggest competition was the defending champion Feagaiga Stowers, who at 17 years old in 2018 had outperformed Campbell to win gold for Samoa in the previous Games on the Gold Coast of Australia.

After the rest of the field competed for the minor positions in the snatch competition, the duel began. Campbell tore off her headphones, which had been blaring out bashment and soca, then she walked into the arena for her opening snatch lift. After initially electing her de ella first lift de ella as 115kg, she increased her opening weight to 117kg. She was ready.

Emily Campbell in the women's 87+kg weightlifting final
Emily Campbell in the women’s 87+kg weightlifting final Photograph: Andrew Cornaga/EPA

She lifted her first attempt cleanly, which Stowers swiftly matched. At 121kg, Campbell punctuated her successful attempt by sticking her tongue out to the crowd with the weight above her head. Stowers, however, initially faltered at 121kg before lifting it in her final attempt. Campbell marched on, shattering her personal best of her with a lift of 124kg, pumping both of her fists and yelling.

They returned later for the clean and jerk, with Stowers first laboring through a difficult opening lift of 147kg and then failing both of her subsequent attempts at 154kg. While Stowers struggled, Campbell soared. She cleared 152kg with ease, which was enough for her victory after Stowers’s failed lifts.

But she kept on going. She easily completed 157kg. Then she signaled for 162kg, one kilo above her silver‑medal lift in Tokyo, her personal best of her. She began her routine: after pressing down her palms to calm herself and rolling her shoulders backwards, she gripped the bar, drove her legs and extended her arms, driving home a personal best for an overall Commonwealth Games record of 286kg.

Over these past few years, as her success has endured, life has changed immensely for Campbell. She had famously arrived at the Olympics still splitting her time between weightlifting and self-funding her career as a receptionist. Now she is a full-time athlete with lottery funding, finally able to devote everything to her craft de ella. The gains are plain to see and they have enabled her to envision even loftier successes.

“It means that I can move closer to the gym now, I’ve got a real plan in place, a real team around me now,” she said. “Pushing forward towards Paris because we’ve got eyes on another medal in Paris. We want to do everything we can to make sure we’re there in the best shape possible. It’s not gonna be an easy ride.”

Before the competition, Precious McKenzie, the legendary former weightlifter, was ushered on to the stage where he was greeted by the audience. Campbell said he had also visited her before the competition, giving her some clear words of advice. “His words from him to me before I came out today: ‘Everyone’s expecting to win. You go out and win.’” And she did.