Your noon Briefing: NZ ‘could close back door to Australia’

Welcome to your noon digest of what’s been making news and what to watch for.

Hello readers. Here is your noon roundup of today’s top stories and a long read for lunchtime.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - AUGUST 25: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during The Rugby Championship game between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australia Wallabies at Eden Park on August 25, 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Stay where you are, says NZ

New Zealand says it could stop refugees travelling to Australia if that was the issue preventing Canberra from agreeing to resettle 150 from Nauru.

“New Zealand, unlike any other country in the world, has the ability for people to go there and then to come to Australia and receive a visa on arrival.”

Peter Dutton

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SUNRISE host Samantha Armytage has confessed to smoking pot and stealing during a lie detector segment, which aired this morning.Newsreader Natalie Barr, Armytage and David “Kochie” Koch all sat down in an exposing test where each were asked about cheating, drugs and theft.

Sunrise ‘provoked contempt’

The Seven Network’s Sunrise program provoked “serious contempt on the basis of race” in a major breach of broadcasting codes during a segment about adoption of indigenous children.

The panel discussion, which featured Prue MacSween calling for the another Stolen Generation to help indigenous children, breached the code because it “contained strong negative generalisations about indigenous people as a group”, broadcasting regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority found today.

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Stephen Fry has revealed his battle with prostate cancer

Dangerous minds

The controversial Festival of Dangerous Ideas has promised to take aim at political correctness as it announces this year’s line up which includes Stephen Fry, Germaine Greer and Tim Soutphommasane. This year’s festival will focus on unpacking the themes of a “post-truth world” covering themes of digital disruption, censorship, colonial histories, sexuality, drugs and the rising influence of online communities. The Australian’s Judith Sloan will feature on a panel discussing the pros and cons of inequality.

“In an age of hyper-political correctness and fake news, there’s no better time to reflect on our evolving understandings of truth and trust to encourage audiences to listen to ideas they may not agree with and facilitate engagement in the art of disagreement.”

Danielle Harvey, festival director

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FILE - In this July 26, 2018, file photo, Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington. As President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, his views on affirmative action, along with voting rights and discrimination, are coming under scrutiny by civil rights organizations as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to begin confirmation hearings Tuesday.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The long read: Ideological tipping point

Donald Trump is on the cusp of securing his most lasting legacy as US President, as his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh fronts a confirmation hearing in Washington tonight, writes Cameron Stewart.

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Comment of the day

“From the one paragraph about Australian PMs, it seems all three were true to form. Rudd big noting himself, Gillard sycophantic and Abbott independent and staying true to his own principles.”

Erasmus, in response to ‘Mind-meld aide shines light on Barack Obama’s policy thinking’.