Ita Buttrose to step down as ABC chair; Mark Latham quits One Nation; and Lachlan Murdoch pays $1.3m
Ita Buttrose #ItaButtrose
It is another afternoon of big names making news.
Ita Buttrose will not seek a second term as chair of the ABC when her role ends in March next year, Mark Latham quit One Nation to sit as an independent in the New South Wales parliament, and Fox Corporation chief Lachlan Murdoch paid Crikey $1.3m in legal costs over a dropped defamation suit.
Globally, Thursday is set to be a big day: Japan will begin releasing wastewater from a ruined Fukushima nuclear plan, and Donald Trump is expected to surrender to Fulton county authorities.
Top newsFormer US president Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a visit to the Iowa state fair earlier this month. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP
Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities on Thursday | The former US president says he will surrender to Fulton county authorities in Georgia to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss. “Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED,” he wrote on his social media network on Monday night.
Ita Buttrose to step down as ABC chair | Ita Buttrose will not seek a second term as ABC chair when her role expires in March 2024. Her leadership of the public broadcaster has been described as “formidable” by the communications minister, Michelle Rowland.
Mark Latham quits One Nation | The upper house MP has quit One Nation to sit as an independent in the New South Wales parliament, two weeks after the party’s federal leader, Pauline Hanson, intervened to have him axed as the state’s party leader. As Latham announced he was quitting, he accused the party in parliament of financial impropriety.
Brisbane claims Gourmet Traveller’s restaurant of the year for first time since 1997 | Brisbane’s Agnes has been named Australia’s restaurant of the year at Gourmet Traveller’s annual awards. It is only the second Queensland establishment to claim the title in the awards’ 44-year history.
Lachlan Murdoch pays Crikey $1.3m | The Fox Corporation chief executive has paid Crikey $1.3m in legal costs for his failed defamation suit against publisher Private Media. Murdoch paid more than the $1.1m the publisher expected, on the condition that the entire $588,735 from a Crikey fundraising campaign was paid to the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom.
An aerial view shows the storage tanks at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima, Japan. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters
Wastewater from ruined Fukushima nuclear plant to be released | Japan will begin releasing more than 1m tonnes of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Thursday. The plan has received pushback from fishing communities, China and some scientists, because the water contains tritium, a radioactive substance that can’t be removed.
Full StoryBruno Altin’s 120-hectare vineyard outside Griffith in central NSW Photograph: Bruno Altin
Why does Australia have 2.8bn bottles of surplus wine?
When China imposed tariffs on Australian wine, it shut out Australia’s biggest wine market. Two years later and wine consumption has dropped around the world. Add to that an extended La Niña that has led to bumper crops in some regions. What Australia is left with is an extra 2.8bn bottles worth of wine.
Guardian Australia’s rural and regional editor, Gabrielle Chan, speaks to Jane Lee about how the wine glut is affecting winemakers, grape growers and consumers.
Full StoryWhy does Australia have 2.8bn bottles of surplus wine? – Full Story podcast
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen $https://audio.guim.co.uk/2023/08/21-43434-FS_WineGlut_20230821_ds_955.mp3
What they said …The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
“I don’t think that cuts mustard.”
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, on CPAC’s defence of the appearance of a comedian at a conservative political conference who referred to traditional owners as “violent black men”.
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In numbers Photograph: Mike Hohnen/The Guardian
Supermarket operator Coles has recorded a a full-year annual profit of $1.1bn, even as households alter shopping habits because of steep living costs. Coles not only used the pandemic and recent inflationary period to profit from sales but also made more money from each sale.
Before bed readPhoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag. Photograph: AP
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag is considered the epitome of fringe success stories. Her “precision-engineered” delivery in a one-woman stage show made Natasha Tripney gasp and laugh. And when adapted into a television series, it became a global sensation. The rest, Tripney says, is history.
But 10 years on, fringe performers are still struggling to escape Fleabag’s shadow – its success now considered a curse.
Daily word game Photograph: The Guardian
Today’s starter word is: AGIN. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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