BREAKING: Bird of the Year: The Magpie

The Australian magpie wins over the ibis and the laughing kookaburra in the Guardian Australia/BirdLife Australia poll after weeks of controversy, a powerful owl voting hack and a strong #teambinchicken social media push reports the Guardian.

Australia's greenhouse gas emissions highest on record.

The Guardian reports that Australia’s emissions over the past year were the highest on record, when relatively unreliable emissions from land use are excluded, according to estimates by the carbon consultancy NDEVR Environmental. It is reported that greenhouse gas emissions in Australia continued to rise in recent quarters, with the most recent the second highest for any quarter since 2011, despite electricity emissions being driven down by wind generation. The Guardian reports that the government’s official public release of data on emissions is now six months behind and NDEVR Environmental’s estimations attempt to mirror that methodology. Released in partnership with Guardian Australia they write, the results have proven very accurate when compared with data eventually released by the federal government. The Guardian reports that the ever-increasing emissions are taking Australia further from both its carbon-reduction commitments made in Paris and the much bigger reductions demanded by the science-based targets, recommended by the government’s Climate Change Authority.

Greens single out 13 companies that paid no tax yet donated to major parties.

The Guardian reports that thirteen companies that paid no tax in 2015-16 made $1.7m in political donations to the Liberal and the Labor parties in that year, the Greens have argued. It is reported that on Thursday the Australian tax office released fresh tax data that showed 36% of the 2,043 largest public companies and multinational entities in Australia paid no tax in 2015-16. It is reported by the Guardian that an analysis by the Greens cross-referencing the data with Australian Electoral Commission disclosures of donations in that year found that 13 companies that paid no tax despite total incomes of $33bn also donated $1.7m to the major parties.

The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, commented that: “Our democracy is broken when 13 companies have paid zero dollars in tax but can still find $1.7m to donate to the Labor and Liberal parties.
“This information exposes that simply cracking down on foreign donations will not end the influence of big money over our political system,” he said. “Until we reform our entire donations system, Labor and the Liberals are simply propping this broken system up.”

It is reported by the Guardian that on Tuesday the Turnbull government announced new laws to combat foreign interference, including by banning foreign political donations. It is reported that Constitutional law experts have warned that the ban may be challenged as a possible breach of the implied freedom of political communication in the constitution.

Sam Dastyari 'tried to pressure' Tanya Plibersek not to meet with Chinese activist.

ABC reports that Labor senator Sam Dastyari pressured his own party's foreign affairs spokeswoman not to meet with a Chinese political scientist and activist on a visit she made to Hong Kong in January 2015, according to a report in Fairfax Media.It is reported that Sam Dastyari warned Tanya Plibersek not to meet with activist opposed to Beijing's interference in Hong Kong, Fairfax reports. A Spokesman for Senator Dastyari denies these reports. Reportedly Ms Plibesek's meeting with Professor Joseph Cheng Yu-shek went ahead.

ICAC: Craig Baumann becomes 10th NSW Liberal MP to join crossbench after accusations of taking secret donations.

SMH reports that a sensational corruption inquiry has concluded by claiming a 10th NSW Liberal scalp, with Port Stephens MP Craig Baumann sent to the crossbench amid allegations he took secret developer donations. It is reported that this brings to 12 the number of state and federal Liberal politicians who have resigned or stood aside following corruption inquiries this year. One it is reported, that Senator Arthur Sinodinos, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday that he did not accept "any responsibility" for the NSW Liberal Party accepting donations from prohibited donors during the past state election campaign. It is reported that Operation Spicer, which concluded nine weeks of public hearings on Friday, investigated allegations that the NSW Liberals accepted money from banned sources before the 2011 state election.

Coalition MPs attack AGL decision to shut Liddell coal power station.

The Guardian reports that Coalition MPs have attacked AGL’s decision to go ahead with the planned closure of the Liddell coal power station, arguing the alternative plan reduces base-load dispatchable power. It is reported that the energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, denied it was politically embarrassing and reserved criticism until the Australian Energy Market Operator reported back, but MPs including the chairman of the government’s backbench committee on the environment and energy, the Liberal MP Craig Kelly, wasted no time in attacking the plan.
On Saturday it is reported that AGL confirmed it would close Liddell in 2022 and replace it with a mix of renewable sources, gas power for peak periods and battery storage. The Guardian reports that the decision rules out taking up the Turnbull government’s suggestion to keep the station open for another five years at a total cost of almost $1bn, which Labor’s energy and climate change spokesman, Mark Butler, has labelled a “stunning rejection” of the Coalition’s policy.