Your morning Briefing
Welcome to your morning roundup of what’s making news and the must-reads for today.
Hello readers. Here is your two-minute digest of what’s making news today.
Trump ‘may rethink TPP’
US president Donald Trump has made the stunning admission that he would reconsider joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact if the US could secure a ‘substantially better’ deal. It is the first time Mr Trump has opened the door to US involvement in the 11 nation pact, which includes Australia, since he withdrew from it early last year.
“I would do TPP, if we made a much better deal than we had.”
Donald Trump
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Quantum leap
Quantum physics professor Michelle Simmons — a British migrant and champion for women in science — has been named Australian of the Year for her world-leading research in the “space race of the computing era”. Professor Simmons, who works at the University of NSW, was last night announced as the 2018 Australian of the Year for her pioneering research developing the world’s thinnest wire and creating the first transistor made from a single atom. Esteemed human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson QC has been named an Officer of the Order of Australia. Historian Geoffrey Blainey, meantime, warns it would be “unwise and foolish” to abandon January 26 as our national day.
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Electric shock
Electric car drivers pay about $5000 to $10,000 more each year in all-up costs than drivers of equivalent petrol or diesel cars, according to the federal government’s advisory firm on vehicle emissions. The ABMARC cost comparison puts all-up costs for the battery-powered Nissan Leaf at $14,513 a year, compared with $9211 a year for a standard Toyota Corolla. The electric BMW i3S costs $19,220 a year, compared with $12,479 for a BMW 118i with a petrol engine.
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Hard serve
Tennis Australia’s newish chair Jayne Hrdlicka is putting Roger Federer to good use as she looks to ace the sport’s expiring $200 million broadcasting agreement, our Margin Call columnists suggest. Watching on as Hrdlicka’s guest on Wednesday night, as the Swiss Federer masterfully disposed of Czech Tomas Berdych,was none other than Ten’s boss Paul Anderson and his wife Hilary. Are Anderson and his new deep-pocketed overlords at American broadcasting behemoth CBS thinking about poaching the tennis from Kerry Stokes’s Seven West? The ambitious Hrdlicka — who last month left an executive job at Alan Joyce’s Qantas to run dairy group A2 Milk Company only months after taking over as Tennis Australia’s chairman — is certainly doing her bit courtside to nurture the idea. Don’t miss our live Australian Open blog when Roger Federer takes on Korean rising star Hyeon Chung, while Courtney Walsh writes that Marin Cilic will attempt to become just the sixth man since 2005 to become a multiple grand slam winner on Sunday night.
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Kudelka’s view
China’s great wall of silence
China deliberately concealed information about the coronavirus, and now it is fighting an inquiry. So what is Beijing hiding?
Your noon Briefing
Your 2-minute digest of the day’s top stories.