Author | Lightnews

Jenny Forster @jennyjforster.bsky.social · 7h

Great. A Labor govt (thus no saviour in sight) trapped by fossil fuels on one hand & AI data centres on other. Cry the beloved country.

Reposted by Jenny Forster

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · Sep 20

Good morning!!

Here's my latest for @crikey.com.au -> one of the reasons the CCA weakened its climate target suggestions is the possibility of uncontrolled data centre growth.

I found the lobbyists already working to sell them as 'climate solutions' in Aus ---->>>>>

How data centre lobbying is shaping Canberra's climate policy, right down to our timid emissions target

Hidden in the fine print on the Climate Change Authority's decision to pull back its emissions target? The role of artificial intelligence and data centres.

www.crikey.com.au

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 28d

A Man v The Times

a memoir

Press Gazette @pressgazette.co.uk · 28d

IPSO has backed The Times after a confidential MI5 source complained he had been identified by his employer and dismissed because of its reporting. IPSO said there had not been a failure to protect him www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0160...

01607-25 A man v thetimes.com - IPSO

A man complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that thetimes.com breached Clause 14 (Confidential sources) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in the preparation and publication of the…

www.ipso.co.uk

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 28d

the only clash this guy has seen is in the pattern between his shirts and ties

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 28d

Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals to travel on short notice from around the world to hear him make a short speech on military standards and the “warrior ethos.”

New details emerge on Hegseth’s unusual mass gathering of top brass

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of generals for what is expected to be a short lecture on the “warrior ethos.” But top brass is bracing for possible firings or demotions.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 28d

Hmmmmmmm! www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/educati...

Screenshot of part of the newspaper article in this thread. It reads:

At the end of July, a final response to the clarifications sought by Knight and the other person were being prepared. UTS chief legal counsel Kylie Gould reviewed the statement. So did KPMG. Vice-chancellor Parfitt directed it be sent out by his acting chief of staff, Danielle Woolley, herself a partner at KPMG until she was hired by the university.

“I can confirm that no master spreadsheet of research staff as referred to was produced or delivered in partnership with KPMG,” Woolley wrote, without indicating whether any versions of the spreadsheet existed. “I trust the above clarifies the matter.”

Now it has been produced and confirmed delivered, although the university maintains it was never finished and was not used. By way of explanation, UTS inserted a “context” page just before the sudden appearance of the Excel spreadsheet and emails between McGrath and KPMG.

“As part of this work at that time KPMG began developing a list of D to E researchers but the Deputy Vice Chancellor Research intervened, and upon reviewing and seeking to validate this data with our own research data insights team, the work was discontinued,” the university says in its explanation.

Instead, it says, the university used “aggregate” data from its own internal systems “in order to consider whether any proposed OSI changes would impact on our research activities”.

Coincidentally, UTS says, the resulting insights are the same as if they had relied on the KPMG analysis.

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 28d

Even the external barrister hired to do the internal review of a NSW GIPA (FoI) decision was told it didn't exist. But it did. It had been emailed to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, Prof. Kathryn McGrath, as requested. She said she discussed it with the VC. The VC signed the contract!

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 28d

University of Technology Sydney ordered a spreadsheet from KPMG targeting individual academics by research income, which might contravene the bargaining agreement. They repeatedly denied it even existed for several info requests. But that wasn't true. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/educati...

Exclusive: University sought secret KPMG staff spreadsheet

The University of Technology Sydney denied the existence of a KPMG spreadsheet ranking the research performance of academics, in breach of its EBA, until it was forced to release it.

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au

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Jenny Forster @jennyjforster.bsky.social · 7h

Well deserved Rick. My outrage at Robodebt was only assuaged by your relevant ‘highlight’
posts & comments. Best page turner ever.

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 25d

Re-sharing this just for the pullquote, waking up in Paris early mornings and doing five interviews in a row before coffee leads to even less of a filter than usual

💜 phonakins 🍉 @phonakins.com · 25d

Congrats @squigglyrick.bsky.social!!!!

www.smh.com.au/culture/book...

How robo-debt turned this prize-winning author into a ‘vengeful god’

Rick Morton has won a Prime Minister’s Literary Award for his non-fiction book Mean Streak. He’d trade it all for justice for the victims.

www.smh.com.au

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 25d

the army connections continue

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 23d

add it to the list

El Gibbs @bluntshovels.bsky.social · 23d

NDIS can now deliver debts to disabled people if they get things wrong, even though new permanent rules aren't in place

ndis.gov.au/news/10949-n...

The NDIS supports transition period is ending | NDIS

The 12-month transition period for adjusting to the NDIS support lists ends on 2 October 2025.

ndis.gov.au

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 22d

It's almost uncouth at this point, but the Walkley Book Award longlist has been announced and Mean Streak is on there with seven other incredible titles. Pity the judges whittling that down to a shortlist of three. www.walkleys.com/2025-walkley...

2025 Walkley Book Award longlist finalists announced - The Walkley Foundation

The Walkley Foundation is delighted to announce the finalists for the 69th annual Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

www.walkleys.com

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Jenny Forster @jennyjforster.bsky.social · 7h

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

'We stuffed up the whole world': Why these retirees protest

From a retired anaesthetist to a garden-loving grandmother, these three older Australians have "stepped up" and into the "exhausting and stressful" protest movement.

www.abc.net.au

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 20d

The NDIS algorithm is on the way, and no they don't want you giving them any evidence about your disability. In fact, they are going to make it next to impossible. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/...

Algorithm to be used for NDIS plans

The government is using an ‘instrument’ designed by the University of Melbourne to reassess support payments for disabled people.

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 19d

I am convinced that no one else in the world can sit like a Frenchman. It is a way of being, mastered and deployed with the confidence of a people who have been sitting for thousands of years. I think it might have something to do with all the statues.
rick-morton.ghost.io/a-new-three-...

A New Three Laws of Motion

I night not tell you if I win the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-Fiction, but there will be signs. Ha ha, I'm fully kidding. I did win it. The news was everywhere anyway. I was a push notifi...

rick-morton.ghost.io

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 18d

De Brouwer made the exact same argument two years ago after the Robodebt Royal Commission report was delivered. This is how I treated it in Mean Streak: "Grow up."

Screenshot of the book Mean Streak by Rick Morton. The text reads:

for the past decade and half, when conclusive certificates were
discontinued, is counterproductive to the Parliament’s intent.
‘When it comes to deliberative material, FoI does not ensure
transparency (because advice is not being written) and it
undermines integrity (because advice is not being written).’
So officials don’t put things in writing because they might get
released under Freedom of Information laws, therefore the FoI
laws aren’t working?
Grow up.
De Brouwer is not alone in his views. Former secretaries have
been doing the rounds making exactly these kinds of noises, as if
the outcome of poor professional behaviour is the result of some
law and not … poor professional behaviour.

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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 14d

Federal agents aren’t trying to keep the peace. They want violence to escalate so that Trump can declare martial law.

They shot a reverend in the head with pepper balls while he was praying in front of an ICE facility. If that doesn’t tell you where we are as a country, nothing will.

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 11d

“And while I would love to continue splitting hairs about whether a country starving kids is better or worse if the kids are already sick let’s just table that discussion for when I see you in hell.” 🔥

Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 11d

In which John Oliver methodically unpacks how thin it is to claim you’re all about “the truth” when you’re only running essays don’t get properly fact-checked — and don’t hold up to even basic reporting scrutiny www.youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...

Bari Weiss: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

www.youtube.com

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 5d

My mum and her friend both texted to assure they knew it wasn’t me that robbed the Louvre because I don’t know how to use an angle grinder.

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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 25d

What a ride. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Writing the book on Robodebt drove Rick Morton mad. Now it's won him $80k

Journalist Rick Morton didn't want to write a book about Robodebt. Now that book, Mean Streak, has won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for non-fiction.

www.abc.net.au

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