Was the grammatically confusing tweet from condiment giant Heinz that finally puts to bed the longstanding debate over the correct place to store your tomato sauce. No matter what side you line up on, you’ve got to admit they’re a trustworthy sauce…
Berejiklian’s ‘close personal relationship’ with no benefits
THE SQUIZ NSW’s corruption watchdog has found former Premier Gladys Berejiklian engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” while a senior figure in the state government – but it has stopped short of recommending she face criminal charges. The main findings against Berejiklian released yesterday go back to when she was Treasurer between 2016-18. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) says because she was in a secret relationship with Liberal MP Daryl Maguire at the time, she breached the public’s trust when she pushed for projects worth $15 million in Maguire’s Wagga electorate covering without disclosing their personal connection. And it found she failed to report her suspicions that Maguire may have been engaged in corrupt activities – an obligation of all state members of parliament.
WHAT ELSE HAS ICAC HAD TO SAY? Almost 2 years after launching its investigation into the then-premier that prompted her resignation from politics, ICAC released some of the evidence it gathered to demonstrate the seriousness of the pair’s relationship. That includes a tapped phone conversation where Maguire told her “I am the boss, even when you’re the Premier” – Berejiklian’s response was “yes, I know”. The former state leader has consistently downplayed the depth of her Maguire situationship – but ICAC also published a message where she refers to him as her “family”. The watchdog also released its take on Maguire’s conduct yesterday, recommending criminal charges over his alleged dodgy wheeling and dealing.
CRIKEY… Yep, but Berejiklian says her legal team is looking at the findings. “At all times I have worked my hardest in the public interest. Nothing in this report demonstrates otherwise,” she said. Her former cabinet colleague Matt Kean was a bit more plain-spoken, accusing ICAC of taking 2 years “to tell us that Gladys Berejiklian has not broken the law.” And that’s the rub for many of her supporters – that her conduct has been called corrupt, but there is no recommendation of charges. Not others, including former NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy, say her case is “a clear-cut case of a conflict of interest”. It’s also worth noting NSW’s newish Premier Chris Minns is not gunning for his one-time political opponent – he’s noted the report took a long time to complete and praised Berejiklian for her leadership during COVID. And her current employer Optus is standing by her, saying it has “no further comment to make”.
It was billed as the defamation trial of the century, and it looks like it will also be costly for Australia’s most decorated war veteran. Ben Roberts-Smith launched his case against the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times for defaming him back in 2018, and early this month, the Federal Court found the publisher had proven he had unlawfully killed prisoners and bullied another soldier. The trial cost around $25 million – and the Victoria Cross winner has accepted he should pay costs from when the court case started in 2020. But here’s the tricky bit… Roberts-Smith was bankrolled by his former employer, Seven Network owner Kerry Stokes – and Stokes and Seven are fighting any attempts to get them to pay up. The war veteran has until mid-July to decide if he will appeal the whole thing…
Debris from the destroyed Titan submersible and “presumed human remains” have been brought ashore in Newfoundland, Canada, after being recovered from the sea floor, the US Coast Guard said yesterday. The 5 people on board were killed when the sub imploded on a voyage to the Titanic a couple of weeks ago. The Horizon Arctic ship used a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to search the seafloor and located the debris about 3,810m underwater and 488m away from the infamous shipwreck. Images of the recovered debris show pieces of the sub, including the hull, porthole and landing frame. Those will now be analysed by US investigators, which is hoped will give some key insights into what happened to the Titan and possible electronic data. And US medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of the remains, officials said.
White House reporters were left pretty puzzled when President Joe Biden turned up for a media event yesterday with what can only be described as some strange indents on his face. It turns out he’s dealing with sleep apnea and uses a CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure, thanks for asking…) to help him get better quality Zs. Those pesky face masks can leave deep lines, and we feel for him, given our record of epic goggle marks/helmet head… The fact Biden hadn’t disclosed he was using this machine has put even more focus on his health and age ahead of his bid for re-election next year with his ask for voters to keep him in the White House until he’s 86yo.
The biggest cycling event of the year – the Tour de France – kicks off tomorrow night, but things are starting on a gloomy note… It’s less than a fortnight after 26yo Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder died after crashing into a ravine during the Tour de Suisse, which has led to calls for more safety precautions in the high-speed sport. Several notable figures want to see safety netting on mountain descents – others want speed limits on the descents, though some say that would rob the sport of a key skill. As for the actual event, Perthites Jai Hindley and Ben O’Connor are the 2 Aussie to look out for in the peloton. Last year, Hindley became the first Aussie to win the Giro d’Italia, and this is his debut Tour de France. And O’Connor is fresh from making the top 5 in the Criterium du Dauphine. You can find all the details here.
Take a deep breath, Swifties… Today is the last chance for fans to snag a ticket to Taylor Swift’s first Aussie tour in 5 years. Wednesday’s presale set a new national record after 4 million users logged on to the Tiketek website to battle it out for tickets to the 5 (now 7) shows in Sydney and Melbourne. The extra shows announced yesterday mean that fans are in a slightly better position to claim a spot – just… Still, many are grumbling about Tiketek’s allocation system, which the company says isn’t actually a queue. In fact, it has been described as more of a crowded bar situation, aka it’s not 100% orderly… And if you’re one of the unfortunate souls logging in just before 10am Sydney time or 2pm in Melbourne, here are some tips for success. Are you …ready for it?
We don’t know if this is real or AI manipulated, but this little clip spoke to us this week.
Something to watch this weekend? We devoured season 2 of Abbott Elementary in less time than we care to admit to (oh ok, we watched 22 eps in 5 days…). There’s a reason why the first season won heaps of awards, and the latest instalment is equally delightful. It’s on Disney+
Cold weekend lunches = chicken soup. This recipe we’ve made a couple of times – one of those times, we shredded a BBQ chicken from the supermarket and used stock from a carton. And it was delish.
Birthdays for former Wiggle Murray Cook (1960), Mike Tyson (1966) and Michael Phelps (1985)
Anniversary of: • the world’s first emergency telephone number (999) being introduced in London (1937) • the first appearance of Superman in DC Comics’ Action Comics Series issue #1 (1938) • Donald Trump becoming the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea (2019) • the Hong Kong national security law coming into effect (2020)