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All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Margot Robie (AKA 'Barbie') Does 'Monopoly'

At the annual trade fair, CinemaCon, in Las Vegas this week, it was announced Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment has joined forces with Hasbro Entertainment, a division of the American toy and multimedia company, to produce what the Lionsgate Studio is spruiking as “Their next blockbuster” - "The Monopoly Movie" !

The biggest question on everyone’s lips now is who Oscar-nominated Australian superstar Margot Robbie will play in her production company’s next big live-action film 'Monopoly' following the record breaking success of "Barbie" ?

Will her brilliantly nuanced co-star Ryan Gosling return with his unique Kenergy?

Who would she play?

She could reimagine 'Milburn Pennybags', more commonly known as ‘Rich Uncle’ Pennybags – Mr Monopoly – the internationally recognised mascot of the game, who's normally a chubby, old moustached dude, who wears a morning suit with a bowtie and top hat.

Yes, I could see Margot playing 'Pennybags' as a Marlene Dietrich type character (Below).

Maybe Margot could play his fictitious wife, Madge?

Or would she go back in time to 1905 and cast herself as Lizzie Magie, who created the original Monopoly board game then known as The Landlord’s Game

While Barbie scooped the awards pool in all but the Oscars in March, it was the highest-grossing Hollywood movie last year, raking in more than US$1.46 billion at the box office & it's still earning !

“We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has,” says Robbie, whom friends refer to, coincidentally, as “Go”.

“Why can’t [the next one] be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play?” she told Variety in a recent cover story.

Why not indeed!

Trump poses unique challenges for jury in his hush-money trial:

Trump Vs Stormy Danials 'Hush-Money' Case : Beginning Monday, Trump will again sit before a jury in New York, this time with even higher stakes.

The jury of 12, along with six alternates, will be chosen from hundreds of New Yorkers after an exhaustive jury selection process that could stretch beyond the first week of the trial.

Choosing a jury will be no easy task when the defendant is a former president who has been at the center of the US political world for nearly 10 years now and a figure in the New York tabloids going back decades.

“The problem for both Donald Trump’s attorneys and the prosecution’s attorneys is they’ve got to figure out how to pick a jury for the case who are neutral — and good luck,” said Steve Tuholski, a partner at Delphi Litigation Strategies who works on witness training and jury selection.

“I can’t imagine there are many people, especially in New York, that haven’t made up their mind one way or the other about whether he’s a snake or the Messiah. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.”

The hush-money case is the first of four criminal trials Trump will potentially face — and potentially the only one before the 2024 election, even as Trump has campaigned in part on fusing his legal peril with his bid for the White House.

The presumptive Republican 2024 nominee will have plenty of incentive to make an impression on both the jury deciding his guilt or innocence and the broader public, whose opinion of the first criminal trial of a former president in US history could be a determining factor in whether Trump is reelected in November.

US-Japan strategy flags ADF Patriot gains

The Australian - Page 1 & 2 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Ben Packham - Portmac.News Summary

President Joe Biden has announced a trilateral air defence network involving the US, Japan and Australia, following a summit meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The new strategy will give Australia access to US and Japanese knowledge and hardware for the Australian Defence Force's proposed air and missile defence system, which is in the early stages of development with Lockheed Martin.

Professor Peter Dean, who was co-lead of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, says the new strategy puts Australia on track to acquire Patriot aerial interceptor missiles.

Wong's Palestine call was weeks in the making

The Australian Financial Review - Page 9 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Andrew Tillett - Portmac.News Summary

Foreign Minister Penny Wong received a lot of flak on Tuesday when she indicated in a speech that Australia might consider recognising Palestinian statehood, with Opposition Leader Dutton labelling the speech the most "Reckless act" by an Australian foreign minister in his 22 years of parliament.

However, it has been revealed that Wong spoke with a number of her international counterparts before making her comment, including UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and the foreign ministers of Malaysia, Egypt and Indonesia.

With Dutton stepping up his attack on Wong's speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was "Nothing new about my government supporting a two-state solution".

Dutton billed taxpayers $6,000 for staff to travel with him to Gina Rinehart party

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Josh Butler - Portmac.News Summary

Data from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority shows that taxpayers were billed $5,931.36 for staffers to accompany Opposition leader Peter Dutton when he attended the birthday party of billionaire Gina Rinehart in late February.

This comprised two flights from Melbourne to Perth and one return flight to Melbourne.

A spokesperson says Dutton travelled to Perth with one staffer and a security detail, adding that this is within the rules for federal MPs.

Dutton attracted criticism at the time for attending the lavish party on the eve of the Dunkley by-election in Melbourne, which the Liberals lost & Labor candidate Jodie Belyea won with 53% of the two-party preferred vote.

Bridget Archer leads criticism after Dutton compares pro-Palestine protest to Port Arthur massacre

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Sarah Basford Canales, Luca Ittimani - Portmac.News Summary

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is under growing scrutiny over a recent speech in which he raised concern about the growing incidence of anti-Semitism in Australia.

Liberal backbencher Bridget Archer has questioned the appropriateness of Dutton's comment in which he said that pro-Palestine protests at the Sydney Opera House on 9 October were "Akin to a Port Arthur moment in terms of their social significance".

Archer says this comment was "incredibly disrespectful" to the victims and survivors of the Port Arthur massacre, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Dutton "Went too far".

Dutton says he was referring to former prime minister John Howard's strength as a leader; the Port Arthur massacre resulting in stricter gun laws in Australia.

Marles prepares to visit Ukraine as Labor MPs call for embassy reopening

Brisbane Times - Page Online : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Matthew Knott - Portmac.News Summary

Defence Minister Richard Marles is preparing to visit Ukraine, amid concern from the Ukrainian government and local advocates that Australia's support for the war-torn nation has diminished.

If his visit goes ahead, Marles, who is also deputy prime minister, will be the first government minister to visit Ukraine since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese went to Kyiv in July 2022 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

His proposed visit comes at a time when Labor MPs are calling for the Australian embassy in Kyiv to be re-opened; it has been closed since it was evacuated ahead of Russia's invasion in late February 2022.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang tipped to visit Canberra in June

The Australian Financial Review - Page 11 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Michael Smith, Andrew Tillett - Portmac.News Summary

The office of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declined to comment on reports that Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Australia in June.

He would be the most senior Chinese leader to visit Australia since his predecessor Li Keqiang in 2017.

Warwick Smith from the Business Council of Australia says a June trip would be logical, as it would coincide with the Australia China Business Dialogue in Sydney.

The Chinese media reports also suggested that the ban on Australian lobster exports will be lifted during the visit. China recently scrapped its punitive tariff on Australian wine.

Don't make stuff Australia has no edge in, says MCA

The Australian Financial Review - Page 5 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Jacob Greber - Portmac.News Summary

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says it is vital that the federal government's push for more domestic manufacturing does not lead to the creation of industries that require ongoing subsidies.

He said the last thing Australia needs is another car industry.

Constable says businesses don't need governments with their "Hands on the steering wheel" trying to steer them down a certain path, and that they should instead concentrating on supporting and investing "Where it makes sense", along with a focus on boosting research and development.

Tritium a 'lost opportunity' for local manufacturing: PM

The Australian Financial Review - Page 5 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Tess Bennett - Portmac.News Summary

Tritium had previously been hailed by politicians as a local manufacturing success story, but the company closed its Brisbane factory prior to Christmas and moved its manufacturing operations to the US after state and federal governments rejected its call for more funds.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the decision by Tritium, which makes fast chargers for electric vehicles, was a commercial one, and was in part made as a result of the company wanting to take advantage of the incentives provided by the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act.

Albanese described the decision as an "example of a lost opportunity" while promoting the federal government's new Future Made in Australia Act as something that will encourage more local manufacturing.

'Disengaged' taxpayers face $500m hit in ATO debt hunt

The Australian Financial Review - Page 7 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Tom McIlroy - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian Taxation Office labels taxpayers with tax debts of over $100,000 that are more than 90 days overdue as "Disengaged", with such taxpayers owing the ATO around $15 billion.

Changes to the general interest charge and shortfall interest charge rates on tax debts that are due to come into effect as of July 2025 will see those 'disengaged' taxpayers facing an additional $500 million in 'Pain', with Susan Franks from Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand suggesting the change will result in many small businesses contacting their accountant for cash-flow advice and business turnaround ideas.

'Seize the moment', Assange family tells PM

The Australian Financial Review - Page 8 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Andrew Tillett - Portmac.News Summary

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed indications that US espionage charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could be dropped.

President Joe Biden say he is considering a request from Australia to drop the charges, and Albanese says these comments are "encouraging".

He adds that Assange has already paid a significant price and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration. The family of Assange has urged the federal government to keep lobbying the Biden administration to drop the charges and its push to extradite him to the US Assange has now spent five years in Britain's Belmarsh prison.

He had previously lived in the Ecuador embassy in London for seven years after requesting political asylum.

Average construction wage to top $200k

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - Portmac.News Summary

The Queensland Civil Contractors Association and the CFMEU are at odds over the Queensland government's Best Practice Industry Conditions for transport.

The latest BPAC will see the average construction worker on civil rail, road or water projects get their minimum pay increased to at least $200,000 a year.

Queensland Civil Contractors Association CEO Damian Long says the BPIC policy will result in a rise in costs and reduce the number of projects delivered in the state as its rates will indirectly flow on to other projects.

However, CFMEU Queensland secretary Michael Ravbar says that claims by employer groups that BPIC pushes up construction costs are made "without a shred of evidence".

Australia's major supermarkets accused of purchasing properties to 'Turf out' independent stores

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Jonathan Barrett - Portmac.News Summary

The Senate inquiry into supermarket prices has been told that grocery giants Coles and Woolworths engage in land-banking to prevent smaller rivals from opening a store near their supermarkets.

Grant Ramage, the CEO of Metcash's food division, said the duopoly is also prepared to pay inflated prices to buy out rivals in order to stifle competition, while they have been known to buy retail properties that are tenanted by independent supermarkets and subsequently not renew their lease.

Aldi Australia's CEO Anna McGrath has told the inquiry that rival supermarket chains often reduce their prices when the Germany-based company opens a new store near their existing outlets.

Category killer': Amazon targets Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi with huge upgrade

The New Daily - Page Online : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Matthew Elmas - Portmac.News Summary

E-commerce retailer Amazon has announced it will spend $490 million on building two warehouses in Western Sydney to boost its product range and speed up its delivery for customers.

Amazon is seen as targeting Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi with its new warehouses, while Queensland University of Technology professor Gary Mortimer says Amazon seems well on track to becoming one of Australia's largest retailers.

The two new warehouses will occupy an area around 4.5 times the size of the Sydney Opera House, while a fulfilment centre that Amazon announced in 2023 for Craigieburn in Melbourne's north will be the size of 11 MCGs.

Aussie Broadband wins the 'Best of the Best' Award for Customer Satisfaction

Market Research Update - Page Online : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Roy Morgan - Portmac.News Summary

Telecommunications group Aussie Broadband has won the Roy Morgan 'Best of the Best' Customer Satisfaction Award for the first time, just ahead of car manufacturer Skoda, liquor store chain Dan Murphy's and supermarket chain ALDI.

The 'Best of the Best' award goes to the company that achieved the highest customer satisfaction of all 38 winners in the Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2023.

Aussie Broadband enjoyed a stellar year, winning not only the Mobile Phone Service Provider of the year award for the first time but also the Internet Service Provider of the Year award for a third time.

Aussie Broadband had customer satisfaction of an exceptional 97.5% in 2023 to beat Car Manufacturer of the Year Skoda by the barest of margins.

ASX follows Wall Street lower

The Australian - Page 23 : 12 April 2024 - Original article by Jack Quail - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.5% to close at 7,813.6 points.

A negative lead from Wall Street weighed on local investors, amid concerns that a higher-than-expected inflation reading in the US may affect the timing of interest rate cuts in both countries.

The Commonwealth Bank was down 1.2% at $116.81 and Mirvac finished 2.6% lower at $2.25.

However, Vulcan Energy rose 24.1% to $3.55 and Woodside Energy added 2.1% to end the session at $30.59.