Netanyahu on the attack over Palestine recognition plans
NETANYAHU CALLS AUSTRALIA ‘SHAMEFUL’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called plans by nations, including Australia, to recognise Palestinian statehood “shameful”.
The likes of France, the UK and Canada have indicated in recent weeks that they plan on formally recognising Palestine.
Australia has not followed those countries, but Albanese government ministers have said publicly that recognition is a matter of time, with the Nine papers reporting last week that a decision could happen before the UN General Assembly next month.
POLITICO reports Netanyahu told a press conference on Sunday: “Today, most of the Jewish public is against the Palestinian state for the simple reason that they know it won’t bring peace, it will bring war.”
The Israeli PM added: “To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole… is disappointing, and I think it’s actually shameful. But it’s not going to take, it’s not going to change our position. We will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes. We won’t do that.”
Netanyahu’s comments come after his announcement last week that Israel planned to take full control of Gaza was met with international condemnation, with the United Nations saying it would have “catastrophic consequences”.
The Nine papers highlight Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a joint statement with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon yesterday that “any attempt by Israel to escalate hostilities, including by taking control of Gaza City, would be wrong, risk violating international law, and exacerbate the human catastrophe already unfolding inside the Gaza Strip.”
In the past few hours, Netanyahu claimed the plan was the “best way” to end the war, the BBC reports.
The British broadcaster says he also claimed in his press conference that Israeli hostages held in Gaza were “the only ones being deliberately starved” and denied Israel was starving Gazans.
The Israeli prime minister claimed the international press had bought into Hamas propaganda, saying photographs of malnourished children in Gaza were “fake”.
The New York Times reports the UN Security Council held a rare weekend meeting yesterday in response to Netanyahu’s plans. The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN James Kariuki declared: “Expanding military operations will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict. This is not a path to resolution; it is a path to more bloodshed.”
The Guardian flags Ramesh Rajasingham, the coordination director of the UN’s humanitarian office OCHA, said the situation in Gaza had developed into full-blown starvation.
“This is no longer a looming hunger crisis — this is starvation, pure and simple,” he said.
The OCHA quoted officials in Gaza as saying 98 children had died from acute malnutrition since the start of the conflict in October 2023, with 37 since July.
The Associated Press reports the United States defended Israel during proceedings at the UN. The newswire writes that America said Israel had the right to decide what’s best for its security and called allegations of genocide in Gaza false.
AP points out the US has the power of veto at the council and can block proposed actions.
SURELY THE RBA WON’T DO IT AGAIN
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meets today with everyone once more predicting the central bank will cut interest rates this week (and we all know how that went last time).
The monetary policy board will announce its decision at 2.30pm AEST tomorrow, with pretty much no-one thinking it will defy expectations like last month and hold rates again. As a reminder, my colleague Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer have had a few things to say since that surprise July 8 decision, such as this piece and this one.
The Australian Financial Review says the RBA is expected to cut the cash rate for the third time this year after a slowdown in inflation, which fell to 2.1% last quarter.
All 40 economists polled by Reuters predicted the central bank would cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.6%. The newswire says the current inflation rate, which is close to the lower band of the RBA’s 2%-3% target range, gives the central bank “what it needs to continue cutting rates after a rare split decision to pause last month that surprised markets”.
The report adds: “The unemployment rate rose to a three-and-a-half-year high of 4.3% in June. Together with slow domestic demand, this suggests a need for less restrictive monetary policy in an economy where household spending accounts for over 50% of growth.”
The AFR says some have predicted the RBA, if it does cut rates this week, will play down the prospect of back-to-back rate reductions because of Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff regime and uncertainty around jobs.
Andrew Ticehurst, a rate strategist at Nomura, declared: “The RBA delivered a significant surprise in holding rates steady in July. However, the benign consumer price index suggests its inflation concerns were overdone, and we are confident it will deliver a cut in what may be a unanimous vote.”
The paper recalls how last month six central bank members voted in favour of keeping rates on hold while three voted against.
A rate cut on Tuesday is a “done deal”, CBA senior economist Belinda Allen has suggested in the Nine papers. “The consumer price index, together with the labour force data, reinforce the economy is performing as expected and the RBA monetary policy board should continue their cautious easing cycle in August,” Allen said.
The papers say Australians’ disposable income has now recovered to where it was before the COVID pandemic, while The Nightly points out the last time the cash rate was at 3.6% was in April 2023, and the AFR claims the S&P/ASX 200 Index is poised for “a muted opening” today as the rate decision looms.
As homeowners and the markets await the RBA’s decision, the government will be keeping a keen eye on the state of things ahead of next week’s much-hyped Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra.
Guardian Australia leads this morning on the fact the government has commissioned Deloitte to help design a universal childcare system. The consulting giant will conduct a two-year study of demand and cost, the site says.
The report declares: “The government could redirect billions in existing spending on the childcare subsidy and introduce a daily flat fee for families. It will spend $10.4 million on the research, with Deloitte required to assess service demands and collect data across the early childhood education system, with a report due before the next federal election.”
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
The Brits aren’t exactly known for their exquisite cuisine, and last week the UK’s Good Food website caused a diplomatic incident when it published its attempt at a recipe for a traditional Roman dish.
The recipe in question called cacio e pepe a dish which could be prepared as “a speedy lunch” with “four simple ingredients — spaghetti, pepper, parmesan and butter”, the BBC reports.
The Fiepet Confesercenti association, representing restaurants in Italy, said it was “astonished” to see the recipe on the food site and added: “There are not four ingredients, but three: pasta, pepper and pecorino.”
The association’s president Claudio Pica said letters had been sent to the owner of the food website, Immediate Media, as well as the UK ambassador Edward Llewellyn.
The British broadcaster quotes Giorgio Eramo, who runs a fresh pasta restaurant near St Peter’s Square, as saying in response to the recipe: “It’s terrible. It’s not cacio e pepe … What Good Food published, with butter and Parmesan, is called ‘pasta Alfredo’. It’s another kind of pasta.”
Good Food has invited Fiepet Confesercenti to “supply us with an authentic Italian version that we would love to upload and credit to them”.
Say What?
I’m not going to lie to you and say I don’t have any ambition to lead. Of course I do, but timing in politics is everything.
Andrew Hastie
The shadow home affairs minister was speaking to Sky News on Sunday as the Coalition continues to be a sea of calm and tranquillity. In a ringing endorsement of his boss, Hastie also said: “Right now, Sussan Ley is our leader, and we’re doing everything we can to build a platform”.
CRIKEY RECAP
Inside the Islamophobia envoy’s private briefings to parliament
At the briefings, Malik made remarks stressing that his remit was focused on Islamophobia and that he wasn’t responsible for “everything coming out of the Gaza conflict”, in addition to not being responsible for “the cost of living” or “the ozone layer”.
A photo of one of Malik’s slides from the briefing, titled “What are Australian Muslims saying?” gave an insight into the nature of the community consultation undertaken by the special envoy. One heading asked what success looked like, with “government accepts recommendations”, “change media landscape” and “cultural shift” the items underneath.
NSW Labor MP says he was ‘gagged’ and faced ‘bullying’ after trying to criticise Minns on Gaza
A NSW Labor MP has complained in state parliament of being “gagged” and facing “bullying behaviour” from his party colleagues after he tried to raise criticisms of Premier Chris Minns’ handling of last weekend’s Sydney Harbour Bridge protest against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Upper house MP Anthony D’Adam said in a speech shortly before parliament finished on Thursday evening that he had tried to voice the critique in a party caucus meeting earlier in the week.
Cut Through: The media needs to be obsessive about power
Cut Through is Crikey’s new weekly podcast bringing you spin-free analysis of Australian news, politics and power. Each week, readers’ editor Crystal Andrews is joined by Crikey journalists to discuss the week’s biggest news story.
In the first episode of Cut Through we’re addressing the biggest criticism of Crikey: that we’re too hard or too soft on Labor… and the Coalition. And the Greens, the independents, One Nation. You get the picture.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Palestinian recognition possible without wiping out Hamas: Burke (AFR)
Police arrest 474 people at protest over Palestine Action ban in London (The Guardian)
Soccer star Mohamed Salah calls out UEFA statement on killing of ‘Palestinian Pelé’ (CNN)
Right-wing group targets ‘weakling’ Liberals, as Hastie pushes Ley to dump net zero (The Sydney Morning Herald) ($)
Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Richard Tognetti slams ANU’s plan to axe School of Music (ABC)
Ukraine’s European allies say peace talks must include Kyiv (BBC)
THE COMMENTARIAT
If Albanese is serious about actions not slogans, there is a way Australia can make a difference for Palestinians — Zoe Daniel (Guardian Australia): Recognition of a state of Palestine must be more than a performative response to domestic political pressure.
It’s long been framed as the reward at the end of a negotiated two-state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians. However, given the absence of a viable Palestinian government and overt resistance from the Israeli government, any such solution has been little more than a default talking point used by Western politicians for some time.
Australia can hit an 85% emissions cut by 2035 — if government and business seize the moment — Anna Malos and Anna Skarbek (The Conversation): While Australia can feasibly go big on emissions reduction, there are barriers to overcome.
A rapid expansion of renewable energy is vital if Australia is to meet its climate goals. This requires support from communities being asked to host renewable energy infrastructure — so-called “social license”.
Governments are seeking to address this. In Victoria and NSW, for instance, explicit programs aim to increase the benefits communities receive from hosting projects. But there’s more work to do.
Green commodities produced in Australia, such as iron and steel, offer huge economic benefits and can help our global trading partners decarbonise. However, global demand for green products must ramp up to make this a reality.
