Tessera

Uber deserves every fine they get because they refuse to implement a fair system. You can’t leave a 4 star rating without explaining the “complaint”. Then they say 12 “complaints” over 4 years gets you fired? What a joke. Just do it properly. www.smh.com.au/business/com...

Uber blasts laws as it’s forced to reinstate banned driver”

Twelve complaints against the driver alleged spitting, swearing, inappropriate touching and speeding, but the Fair Work Commission found Uber failed to prove the behaviour.

smh.com.au

Looking forward to speaking alongside @chrispicton.bsky.social about a national AI sovereign capability & security agenda at the Fringe of Labor's National Conference in Adelaide on Thursday (2pm).

Great to see fair workplace standards being upheld in the face of AI. You can’t treat people like shit just because you’re using AI to do it www.innovationaus.com/victoria-to-...

innovationaus.com

China closed 30,000 preschools & primary schools last year due to the falling number of kids. Numbers in China are always on another scale, but this must be quite arresting for people who worry about such things. asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/ca...

China shutters 30,000 preschools and primary schools in a single year

Prolonged demographic slump is reshaping the country's vast education system

asia.nikkei.com

Note to Australian journalists: If you're reporting on explosive diarrhea inducing lettuce, please mention whether Australian lettuce is a risk. Reporting on a local issue from the other side of the world and not saying whether it’s an issue here is not inspiring of confidence

Great to join Han Yang for a wide ranging discussion on China, including the SLBM test, green steel, China-Europe relations, China’s capital cost advantage, Australian social cohesion (including migration & housing)… Hopefully people find it interesting m.youtube.com/watch?si=Sxa...

EP 85 DR DOM MEAGHER ON AUS CHN INDUSTRIAL POLICY AND RELATIONS

YouTube video by 涵瞰世界 Devil's Advocate

m.youtube.com

Speaking of AI, China's annual energy consumption hit a new record already this year, driven by massive growth in AI. From Bloomberg: "electricity demand from “internet data services” rose 44.6% in the first five months of the year" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

China Power Load Hits Early Record as Data, EV Demand Rises

China’s nationwide electricity load reached a record high for the first time this year on July 10, hitting 1.518 billion kilowatts, the National Energy Administration said in a statement posted on its...

bloomberg.com

This is one area where we might have to accept an uncomfortable option. Retail staff are subjected to constant abuse & occasional violence - they need ways to stay safe at work. ground.news/article/laun...

Launch of New Facial Recognition in UK Shops Prompts Backlash

Facewatch, a facial recognition system used by over 100 U.K. retailers including Sainsbury's and Spar, reportedly plans to launch a feature this autumn that will alert police within four seconds when ...

ground.news

A generationally important speech for Australia, if it has the impact it deserves podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/b...

Is education policy damaging our democracy?

Podcast Episode · Big Ideas · 13 July · 54min

podcasts.apple.com

So many politicians in interviews discuss their strategy instead of implement it Listening now to shadow energy minister saying their strategy is to offer a positive alternative to the government, but instead of doing it he just talks about doing it It’s so strange

WTF? So the US is straight up into international piracy now? He's even calling it "protection" money. ground.news/article/4765...

Trump says US will reinstate Strait of Hormuz blockade and impose 20% charge on cargo

President Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. is reinstating the naval blockade on Iran and will prevent any ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports. He also claimed the U.S. would be "reimbu...

ground.news

Dominic Meagher @dom-ma.bsky.social · 4w ago

I know how much you love writing… do you use Claude to help write? (Bloomberg) “I do, but I have not gotten to the point where I allow text directly written by Claude.” - Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO

Barnaby Joyce seems to want unelected bureaucrats to manage the budget instead of Parliament. Has he really thought this one through? www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

One Nation’s radical plan to lower inflation

Admitting the party had not yet become credible on economics, Barnaby Joyce said One Nation would review the operations of Australia’s central bank.

smh.com.au

Dominic Meagher @dom-ma.bsky.social · 4w ago

I recently joined Mike Kelly on his podcast, Frontlines & Faultlines to talk about dealing with climate disasters without turning straight to the ADF. We need a civilian National Disaster Reserves, like the army reserves but for natural disasters. : youtu.be/oEfeg04iBng

Disaster Resilience with Dr Dominic Meagher (Part 1) | Ep067 Frontlines & Faultlines

YouTube video by Frontlines & Faultlines

youtu.be

Dominic Meagher@dom-ma.bsky.social · last mo.

Fascinating that Fiji sought out the alliance with Australia, and Australia agreed (rather than the other way around). At least that's according to Fiji's PM during the press conference announcing it. Fiji's first ever defence treaty.

Outrageous from the CCP, testing a nuclear-capable missile in the South Pacific, which is a nuclear weapon-free zone. I’m sure they’ll want Pacific Island countries to accept that this is somehow peaceful and not any kind of threat. I doubt that message will fly www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

‘Destabilising’: Australia blasts China for launching nuclear-capable weapon in Pacific

A Chinese submarine has test-fired a nuclear-capable long-range missile with a dummy warhead in the South Pacific, Chinse media has confirmed.

smh.com.au

The pokies policy adopted at the NSW State Labor Conference yesterday was a major reversal - we were going hard in the wrong direction and now we’re going partially in the right direction. But only partially, and not on sports or online gambling www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

Labor’s streaming carve-out for gambling ads is a step backwards, says chief reform advocate

As one Labor MP said the law should be reviewed, Tim Costello said Labor’s carve-out for streaming ads laws was “the most generous gift to the sports betting companies I have ever seen”.

smh.com.au

Andrew Small@ajwsmall.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Very lucky to meet Andrew this afternoon at the end of our delegation with FES to get a detailed brief on the Council’s recent China discussion. There’s a more happening to protect & reinvigorate Europe’s economy than most reporting suggests

With the European Council set to discuss China tomorrow, I have an @ecfr.eu paper out on how to put Europe’s approach on a new footing, leveraging the European system as a strategic asset: ecfr.eu/publication/...

Have been talking about how European industry is surviving competition from China with Germany’s peak business group & with @merics.bsky.social this morning.

Albo: “These [social media] companies… unaccountable… massive amounts of profit and… extraordinary power. We need to make sure that Australians are in charge of this." Hear hear. Algorithms shouldn’t rip society apart with no recourse. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06...

abc.net.au

With FES on my way to Germany’s foreign office to discuss perspectives on China relations & the NYT is conveniently updating me on Australia’s foreign policy: Albo quoted saying China’s long term goal is hegemony. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/w...

In Uncertain Times, Is the Australian Leader’s Quiet Pragmatism Enough?

nytimes.com

Arrested for “soft resistance” - in this case, planning to sell a book about someone who disagrees with the CCP ground.news/article/hong...

Hong Kong Arrests Two for Allegedly Selling 'Seditious' Material

Hong Kong police have arrested two people on suspicion of selling seditious publications and receiving funds from foreign political organizations. The arrests come under a national security law, just ...

ground.news

Japan once again the country that is trusted by more Australians than any other. The two countries we fought in WW2 are now the countries we trust the most. I guess they weren’t the only ones to change over the last 80 years