Your noon Briefing: Albanese joins Labor’s new tack on turn-backs

Your noon 2-minute digest of the day’s top stories and must-reads.

Hello readers. Albo confirms he now supports boat turn-backs, and a long read on Google and Facebook’s algorithm and blues.

Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Anthony Albanese during a division suspend standing orders in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, December 4, 2018. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

New tack on turn-backs

Opposition infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese has confirmed he now supports boat turn-backs and says there will not be a vote on the issue at Labor’s national conference. Mr Albanese led opposition to boat turnbacks at Labor’s previous conference in 2015, but he told The Australian in Sydney today that he supports policies “of deterrence of actions of people smugglers.”

“Stopping people getting on boats has been successful ... I don’t support any changes to those policies that have been successful.”

Anthony Albanese

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A man walks past a Huawei store in Beijing on December 10, 2018. - China on December 10 protested Canada's "inhumane" treatment of an executive of telecom giant Huawei who is being held on a US extradition bid, following reports she was not getting sufficient medical care. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)

‘Buy Huawei’

Chinese businesses are offering subsidies for Huawei products, some even banning Apple devices, amid US-China tensions exacerbated by the arrest of a Huawei executive in Canada at Washington’s request.

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Manly NRL player Dylan Walker is seen entering Manly Local Court, Sydney, Tuesday, December 11, 2018. Walker is due to front court after he allegedly assaulted a woman on Sydney's northern beaches. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

‘Retraction statement’

Rugby league star Dylan Walker will plead not guilty to charges of domestic violence against his fiancee after a planned “retraction statement” is issued to police. The Manly Sea Eagles star sat next to 24-year-old fiancée and mother of their son, Alexandra Ivkovic in Manly Local Court on Tuesday morning, where a case of domestic violence and an apprehended violence order was adjourned until December 18.

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ACCC Chair Rod Sims speaks to™ the media following the release of the preliminary report of the Digital Platforms Inquiry into Google, Facebook and Australian media in Sydney, Monday December 10, 2018 (AAP Image/Peter Rae) NO ARCHIVING

The long read: Algorithm and blues

Facebook and Google’s stunningly successful run of unfettered ­access to our data seems to be coming to an end. David Swan and Supratim Adhikari investigate.