FULL SHOW: Trump vs Harvard, taxing the rich + what reconciliation means
And here in Australia, why are universities cracking down on protests on campus?
Also, the government wants to increase superannuation tax for people with a balance of more than $3 million.
Plus, this year's Reconciliation Week theme is 'Bridging Now to Next'; so how is Australia moving on from the Voice defeat?
Listen now:
01: 07 - Why Trump's going after Harvard
06:54 - Free speech on campus
15:45 - Super tax explained
21:41 - Reconciliation Week
Guests:
Dr Jenny Gordon, economist, Lowy Institute
Dr Jenny Gordon, economist, Lowy Institute Jackson Worthington, reporter, triple j hack
Jackson Worthington, reporter, triple j hack
Bridget Cama, co-chair, Uluru Youth Dialogue
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The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
ASIO chief exposes shocking cost of foreign spying on Australia
Foreign espionage is costing the Australian economy at least $12.5bn a year, with the ASIO boss warning against complacency against the 'real, present and costly danger'. The director-general of security Mike Burgess has for the first time publicly put a dollar figure on what foreign spies are costing Australia and espionage remains one of the country's principal security concerns. 'This is critical because I believe that we need to wake up to the cost of espionage – which is more than just financial,' he said in the annual Hawke Lecture at the University of Adelaide on Thursday night. 'We need to understand espionage is not some quaint, romantic fiction; it's a real, present and costly danger.' ASIO director-general Mike Burgess issued his warning delivering the annual Hawke Lecture at Adelaide University. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman Mr Burgess released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, to try to count the cost of espionage. The report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5bn in the 2023-2024 financial year, an estimate Mr Burgess called 'conservative'. 'This includes the direct costs of known espionage incidents, such as the state-sponsored theft of intellectual property, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding,' he said. 'As just one example, the Institute estimates foreign cyber spies stole nearly $2bn of trade secrets and intellectual property from Australian companies and businesses in 2023-24. 'The report includes a case study where spies hacked into the computer network of a major Australian exporter, making off with commercially sensitive information. 'The theft gave the foreign country a significant advantage in subsequent contract negotiations, costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars.' Mr Burgess said too many were complacent about the cost of espionage and urged 'all parts of our system – public and private, federal, state and local – to recognise the threat'. 'I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage,' he said. 'I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised. 'I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences. 'Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China.' Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, was singled out by ASIO boss Mike Burgess. Picture: NewsWire / POOL / AFP / Mikhail Metzel He again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia and said Russia remained 'a persistent and aggressive espionage threat'. 'Last year, two Russian-born Australian citizens were arrested and charged with an espionage-related offence,' Mr Burgess said. 'Separately, I can confirm in 2022 a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers were removed from this country. 'But Russia is by no means the only country we have to deal with. 'You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets. 'The obvious candidates are very active … but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them a strategic or tactical advantage, including sensitive but unclassified information.' Mr Burgess revealed ASIO had disrupted 24 'major espionage and foreign interference' operations in the past three years alone. 'Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication,' he said. 'ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted – more aggressively – than ever before.' While AUKUS and military technology secrets were targets, Australia's intellectual property and cutting edge research was also in the sights of foreign agents. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said spies were targeting Australia's cutting edge research and technology as well as defence secrets. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman He said an overseas delegation visiting a 'sensitive Australian horticultural facility' snapped branches off a 'rare and valuable variety of fruit tree' in order to steal them. 'Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development,' he said. He said foreign intelligence services are 'proactive, creative and opportunistic' in their targets. 'In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices. 'Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them.'
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
ASX miners slump on Thursday but market's rally extends into July
Weaker than expected earnings from Rio Tinto, troubles travelling to the US and tariffs starting to impact listed businesses, all dragged on the ASX during Thursday's trading. On a mixed day on the market, the benchmark ASX 200 on Thursday fell 13.60 points or 0.16 per cent to close the month of July at 8,742.80. The broader All Ordinaries also slipped down 16.40 points or 0.18 per cent to 8,999.00. Australia's dollar traded 0.26 per cent higher to 64.63 US cents. While the overall market dropped, eight of the 11 sectors traded higher, with gains out of the information technology and consumer discretionary sectors offset by the major miners slumping. The falls followed Rio Tinto announcing its earnings update after trading on Wednesday, informing the market that first half profits came in at their lowest point since 2020, on the back of falling iron ore prices. BHP fell 2.41 per cent to $39.25, Rio Tinto slumped 3.55 per cent to $111.70 and Fortescue slipped 2.31 per cent to $17.77. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said even with Thursday's wobbles, July's reputation of being a good month for Australian investors continued in 2025. 'As it enters the home straight, it is poised for a 2.35 per cent gain for the month and on track for a fourth straight month of gains made more memorable by its 1580 points (22 per cent) rally from its early April 7169.2 low,' he wrote in an investment note. Consumer discretionary shares jumped after 11.30am after a surprising bounce in retail sales. Shares in JB Hi-Fi were up 1.30 per cent to 411.70, Harvey Norman gained 1.05 per cent to $5.80 and Lovisa Holdings jumped 2.15 per cent to $34.14 on the retail figures. According to the ABS retail sales gained 1.2 per cent for the month of June, its biggest lift since the end of the Covid lockdowns. AMP economist My Bui said June's retail strength, which came off the back of end of financial year sales and the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, might not be a sign of a strong economy. 'In addition, the strong June result has benefited from one-off releases and promotions, which is not necessarily a sign of strength,' she said. Overall though, Australia's market was unable to follow a jump on Wall Street, with the S & P 500 futures up more than 1 per cent on the back of major tech companies beating expectations. Microsoft futures are up 8 per cent and Meta surged 11 per cent as the two tech giants smashed quarterly earnings forecasts. In company news, shares in Flight Centre slumped 7.3 per cent to $11.94 after the business missed its guidance. The travel group said a combination of Middle East tensions, additional costs out of Asia and difficult travel conditions in the US added to the unexpected result. Champion Iron slumped 13.12 per cent to $4.17 after brokers downgraded the miner following a weaker-than expected trading update on Wednesday. Luxury retailer Cettire shares plunged 23.5 per cent to $0.26 after the business said it was accessing the impacts of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on the business. Shipments to the United States represent approximately 40 per cent of Cettire's gross revenue. Read related topics: ASXRio Tinto Business Breaking News End-of-financial-year sales and Australians flocking to one electrical item have triggered an unexpected retail boom. Business Breaking News A key Reserve Bank official has hinted at an August rate cut after welcoming new inflation figures showing the lowest rate since 2021.
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
Jewish leaders raise ‘practical' concerns about Palestinian state
Jewish leaders in Australia have raised concerns about the practical implications of Palestinian statehood, as legal experts argue there is 'flexibility' under international law to pave the way to recognition. The nation's leading international law academics have backed the global push to recognise a Palestinian state as being justified under the standards set under the Montevideo Convention, outlining four criteria for statehood. As momentum builds for a two-state solution, 40 members of Britain's House of Lords have warned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that a Palestinian state would not meet the criteria for recognition under the international convention. The letter, sent by British Attorney-General Richard Hermer and some of the UK's most prominent lawyers, argued that recognition would contravene international law because Palestine did not have a functioning single government or diplomatic capacity. The concerns have been echoed by Executive Council of Australian Jewry head of legal Simone Abel, who cautioned of the difficulty of recognising a state with no 'legitimate effective government capable of exercising control that our government can engage in relations with'. 'While recognition of Palestinian statehood may pose a conundrum under international law, the law is ever-evolving,' she said. 'At the heart of what would be a political act are very real practical questions.' Zionist Federation of Australia president and leading lawyer, Jeremy Leibler, also raised concerns about the practical implications of recognition, branding the push as 'completely detached from reality'. 'Now, let's say it does satisfy some of the legal criteria. What are the borders of this state? Who's the government? Is it going to be the Palestinian Authority?,' he said. 'Hamas is still in control of Gaza. It just seems completely detached from reality.' But University of Sydney international law professor Tim Stephens said he disagreed with the argument that a Palestinian state could not be recognised under international law, arguing that the requirements could be applied 'flexibly'. The 1933 Montevideo Convention required that all states have a permanent population, defined territory, functioning government and capacity to enter into diplomatic relations with other countries. 'I would disagree with that assessment from those expressing that view, I think a pretty reasonable case can be made that Palestine does meet the criteria for statehood and has for some time,' he said. 'Whether it's the effective government, borders, capacity to enter into international relations or permanent population, they're the four criteria. 'There's a good argument that all, all four can be met.' University of Sydney chair of international law and UN special rapporteur, Ben Saul, agreed Palestine satisfied some of the formal criteria for statehood, with the requirement for effective government posing a 'challenge'. 'It's a really important point that those criteria of statehood are not, and have never been, rigidly applied under international law,' he said. 'There is flexibility to take into account other considerations, and particularly in cases where people have a right of self-determination … that plays a very important role in how states regard whether an entity could be a state or not.' ANU international law expert Donald Rothwell said he agreed Palestine met the requirements for statehood, remarking that it was not uncommon for new states to have unsettled boundaries and the 'unique circumstances' could be considered. 'A strict view can be taken in terms of the interpretation of those provisions, or some margin of appreciation can be applied as to how those conditions are interpreted,' he said. Economics The Productivity Commission has dismissed calls from major companies and the Business Council of Australia to widen R&D tax incentives. Politics Jim Chalmers is weighing whether to lift the effective tax rate on Australia's 500 biggest companies while cutting it for smaller businesses after the Productivity Commission recommended a new cashflow tax.
