Your noon Briefing

Welcome to your noon roundup of what’s making news and how the day has played out so far.

Hello readers. Here is your noon digest of what’s making news today plus a long read for lunchtime.

PM Malcolm Turnbull at the 2018 Australia Day citizenship ceremony in Canberra. Picture Kym smith

PM on TPP

Malcolm Turnbull says he doesn’t expect the United States to return to the trans-Pacific partnership “any time soon” but it would great if they did, following the stunning declaration from Donald Trump this morning that he would reconsider joining the TPP if the US could secure a “substantially better” deal. The Prime Minister said he had discussed trade with President Trump “pretty much every time we’ve met”. Sarah Hanson-Young in Davos, meantime, says trade deals are “bad for Australian jobs”, despite a record 400,000 jobs created last year

“But I don’t expect the United States to join the TPP any time soon. We’re certainly not counting on it. It would be great if they did. It is a real engine for jobs, for investment. There are thousands of jobs that will be created by the TPP.”

Malcolm Turnbull

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Van gogh's painting and the Trumps. Picture: Supplied.

Toilet humour

When Donald and Melania Trump asked the Guggenheim Museum if they could borrow a van Gogh for their private living quarters, they had every expectation their request would be accommodated. After all, it is common for presidents to borrow major works of art to decorate the Oval Office or their private rooms at the White House. But the Guggenheim turned them down. Van Gogh’s Landscape with Snow wasn’t available, curator Nancy Spector informed the Trumps. Instead, she offered them something entirely different ... a second hand toilet. A toilet made of 18kt gold, but a toilet nonetheless, and one that has been used by over 100,000 members of the public.

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Geoffrey Robertson, Walter Mikac and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley.

Nation’s honours

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove has called for greater diversity in the Australia Day honours list, as 895 Australians were recognised for their efforts in science, sport, the arts and the community. Of those being honoured on Australia Day, 67 per cent are men and 33 per cent women. “These are our nation’s honours, reserved for those who are often unsung, quietly working away to uplift our nation,” Sir Peter said in his Australia Day message. Read the profiles of all the honours recipients here.

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Lord Mendelsohn and his wife Cathy. Picture: Twitter.

#MeToo news

UK peer Lord Mendelsohn has been sacked from Labour’s front bench after attending the infamous Presidents Club “groping” dinner. And an ex-personal assistant to Harvey Weinstein has filed a a lawsuit alleging she had to organise his sex encounters, including providing erectile dysfunction drugs.

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Illustration: Eric Lobbecke

The long read: Wedded to a future

In the conclusion to their groundbreaking First Fleet: A Graphic Journal, Trent Dalton and Eric Lobbecke tell the story of Arthur Phillip’s brilliantly simple idea for turning the colony from a prison to a community. Explore the full series here.

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Comment of the day

‘Resist subsidising these vehicles at all costs. Let the market decide.”

Jason S, in response to ‘High charge shock to ground electric cars’. Read our weekly round-up of the best of the Readers’ Comments here.