Your morning Briefing

Welcome to your morning digest of the top stories of the day.

Hello readers and welcome to your two-minute digest of what’s making news today.

17/05/2018: John Setka, Victorian Union Leader of the CFMEU in Melbourne. Stuart McEvoy for The Australian.

Setka strikes back

Victorian construction union leader John Setka has called on Bill Shorten to make it easier for workers to take strike action and to relax union right-of-entry laws, as the fallout from a botched blackmail case escalates. The union movement sought to ramp up pressure on the Turnbull government over the dropped blackmail charges against Mr Setka and his deputy, Shaun Reardon, while ACTU secretary Sally McManus called for an inquiry into whether federal Coalition politicians played a role in helping bring the “unwarranted and discredited criminal charges” against the union pair.

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ABC reporter Emma Alberici.

Alberici ‘disregarded’ advice

ABC chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici’s bungled company tax story was published after she received a two-hour briefing by Australian Taxation Office Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn, it has been revealed. She was accused in a stinging email from the office of Scott Morrison to ABC news director Gaven Morris of having “disregarded this advice from the leading tax avoidance expert at the ATO, who was also intimately involved in the development of Australia’s tax integrity legislation and frameworks.”

“I understand Mr Hirschhorn sought to educate Ms Alberici on the basics of tax avoidance and company tax obligations after she expressed limited ­understanding.”

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Radio host Alan Jones is seen leaving the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Thursday, May 17, 2018. The Toowoomba-based Wagner family are suing the talkback radio host over comments he made during 32 broadcasts in 2014 and 2015. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING

Alan Jones show

The Alan Jones show started at 10.02am when the man you don’t want to cross on talkback radio strode to the witness box. ­Businessman John Wagner sat in the front row of the public gallery, hanging on every word. Instead of presiding over the court of public opinion on his top-rating breakfast program, Jones was appearing in a court of law, the star turn in a defamation ­action that could rewrite the rec­ord books if the ­77-year-old broadcaster and his employer, Macquarie Media, go down.

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Rod Clement Margin Call Cartoon for 18-05-2018Version: Business Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

Investor turns predator

It’s tough being a minority investor in Healthscope now the Heather Ridout-chaired, Ian Silk-led industry fund behemoth AustralianSuper has gone steady with Ben Gray’s private equity outfit BGH Capital and the investor has turned predator, writes Margin Call.

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Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle arrives to the Australian Olympic Committee Annual General Meeting in Sydney, Saturday, April 28, 2018. (AAP Image/Daniel Munoz) NO ARCHIVING

‘My vision for rugby’

With the code facing criticism, new Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle takes a hard look at what needs to be done.

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Kudelka’s view

Jon Kudelka letters page cartoon for 18-05-2018Version: Letters Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.