☕️ Nationals resign over hate speech laws

If you're reading this from Davos, you must be someone, because it seems like anyone who is someone is at Davos.

In case you missed it, the World Economic Forum – an annual meeting for the most prominent political, business and cultural figures – is being held in Davos, Switzerland, this week. Think U.S. President Donald Trump, Bill Gates and Katy Perry.

So, yeah. If you're in Davos, please send some goss this way.

The quote: “Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage... The middle powers must act together, because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the U.S’ changing relationship with Canada and other countries in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The stat: 325 million. The number of Netflix subscribers globally. In a note to investors this week, the streaming giant said this milestone means it is reaching almost one billion people.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 87% of you are trying to spend less time on social media [2,800 votes].

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The NSW Government has announced it will phase out the remaining elements of the lockout laws, after a review found they were “no longer fit for purpose”.

The laws, introduced in 2014 by the former Coalition Government, were designed to curb alcohol-related violence in Sydney’s CBD and inner-city suburbs.

Arts Minister John Graham said the lockout laws were developed with “good intentions,” but had had a “diabolical impact” on the city’s nightlife.

Following the deaths of two young men in one-punch attacks in Kings Cross, the NSW Government rolled out changes to nightlife and alcohol laws in January 2014.

Venues in Sydney’s CBD and Kings Cross could not admit new patrons after 1:30am, or sell alcohol after 3am.

The changes also restricted NSW bottle shops from sales after 10pm.

The first of the measures were repealed in late 2016, following a review of the laws which found they could be “relaxed” in order to restore the affected areas’ “vibrancy”.

According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, non-domestic assaults fell by 53% in Kings Cross and 4% in the CBD over the first five years the laws were in place.

At the same time, assaults in other popular nightlife precincts increased by 30%.

The latest changes follow a review by Liquor & Gaming NSW, which found “no compelling reason” to retain the regulations.

In response, the Government will allow venues to sell alcohol past 3:30am.

The changes will also scrap mandatory plastic cups, individual drink limits, and the ban on advertising shots during late trading hours.

Venues will no longer be required to have an ‘RSA marshal’ after midnight — security staff who would monitor intoxication and compliance of crowds.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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Parliament passed two bills in a special sitting on Tuesday night, tightening gun ownership rules and increasing penalties for “hate preachers”.

On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the hate speech measures were “not as strong as we originally put forward but no doubt, the strongest... that have ever been in place in Australia”.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the Liberal Party had to “step up to fix” both bills with amendments to “close loopholes”.

Coalition partner The Nationals broke with the Liberals on the hate speech bill, leading to the resignation of all Nationals members from the frontbench. The future of the Coalition remains in doubt.

On 14 December, two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish community event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and injuring many more.

Hundreds had gathered to celebrate the start of the Jewish festival of Chanukah.

The mass shooting was declared a terrorist attack. In the wake of the attack, Albanese vowed to change gun and hate speech laws.

Initially, the Government sought to pass one bill covering both issues: gun reform and hate speech. However, widespread opposition forced it to split the bill into two.

The gun reform bill includes a national buyback scheme, and a new condition requiring firearm licence holders to be Australian citizens.

Under the buyback scheme, owners who surrender their guns will receive compensation, and the Australian Federal Police will oversee the destruction of surrendered weapons.

The Liberals, Nationals, and One Nation voted against this bill in both houses.

Several Senators from these parties suggested the bill would unfairly impact legal gun-owners who own weapons for farming or hunting.

An amended version of the hate speech bill also passed Parliament on Tuesday night.

A person found guilty of committing a hate crime as part of their role as a religious or spiritual leader now faces up to 12 years in prison.

The Home Affairs Minister will have the power to refuse or cancel a visa for a non-citizen who is associated with a terrorist or hate group.

A new national framework will allow the Government to formally list “prohibited hate groups,” similar to how terrorist organisations are listed.

Ley said on Wednesday morning that the Liberals had worked to “narrow the scope of this bill to deal with... antisemitism and tackle radical Islamist extremism”.

The Nationals broke with the Liberals on the hate speech bill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In the lower house, only one Nationals MP (former leader Michael McCormack) voted in favour of the bill, while the rest abstained.

In the upper house, Nationals Senators proposed a series of amendments, such as giving groups seven days to “disavow violence and extremism” before being listed.

After these amendments failed, four Nationals voted against the bill: Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald, and Ross Cadell, all of whom are in the Shadow Cabinet, and backbencher Matt Canavan.

Under their Coalition agreement, Shadow Cabinet members must vote based on the positions they agree to as a party.

Following the vote, McKenzie, McDonald, and Cadell offered their resignations to Ley, which she accepted.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ley said: “Shadow Cabinet solidarity is not optional. It is the foundation of serious opposition and credible government.”

McKenzie, the Nationals’ leader in the Senate, defended her actions, saying she and her colleagues “very clear on the consequences of [their] decision to oppose Labor’s hate speech laws if our amendments were not passed.”

Littleproud said the decision to vote against the bill “does not reflect on [the Nationals’] relationship within the Coalition”.

Late on Wednesday, Littleproud and all the party’s remaining frontbenchers announced they were resigning from their shadow cabinet roles, leaving the future of the Coalition in doubt.

In response, Ley said: “No permanent changes will be made to the shadow ministry at this time, giving the National Party time to reconsider these offers of resignation.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe, Elliot Lawry, and Lucy Tassell.

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The scientists were sent a video from a farmer in southern Austria of a cow named Veronika, who has been picking up fallen branches or rakes to scratch herself for about nine years.

They carried out an experiment with Veronika where they gave her a long-handled scrubbing brush dozens of times in different positions. Each time, Veronika deliberately took the end of the handle into her mouth in order to bend her head sideways and backwards to reach her back with the brush.

The researchers now want to find out which factors promote such behaviour, adding that they believe all cows could develop such skills if they were allowed to interact and play with objects as young animals.

Reporting via AAP.

If you were confused by photos of French President Emmanuel Macron sporting blue reflective aviator sunglasses at the World Economic Forum, you’re not alone.

The Top Gun-style shades weren’t a questionable fashion choice or a power move. They were there to hide a swollen, red eye.

Speaking at a military event in France last week, Macron explained the glasses were covering up the “unsightly appearance” of his eye as he recovers from what he described as a “completely harmless” eye infection.

Reporting by Achol Arok.