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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
A Listener Production. Hi, Natasha Belling with you and welcome to the afternoon edition of The Briefing. Coming up in our deep dive, the FIFA World Cup kicks off in just a few days' time, but the tournament has already been rocked by a number of controversies. Today, the US, which is a host nation, denied a top-ref entry into the country, citing vetting concerns.
And there's also an interesting bromance between Donald Trump and and the controversial FIFA president where politics and sport collide. We'll unpack all you need to know in just a moment. But first, let's check the afternoon headlines this Tuesday, the 9th of June. Angus Taylor is not ruling out a preference deal with One Nation, saying the coalition will work with others to boot Labor.
Here is the opposition leader.
Chapter 2: What controversies are surrounding the upcoming FIFA World Cup?
We'll work with others to get rid of this rotten Labor government. So obviously these are decisions that will ultimately be made by party organisations over time, but we will work with others to get rid of this rotten Labor government.
It comes after the latest news poll showed One Nation is now the most popular political party on primary votes in the country, beating Labor. A US federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's 100,000 US dollar fee on new H-1B high-skilled visas.
The Trump administration announced the high fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking US jobs, even though the H-1B visas are designed for highly skilled jobs that are often difficult to find Americans to fill. The US District Court judge sided with 20 states who said President Trump's policy hindered their ability to hire much-needed teachers and doctors.
Meantime, the US president has been booed by fans inside Madison Square Garden as the president was attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The boos were heard as he was shown on the big screens during the national anthem.
CHEERING
Back home now and Anglicare is pushing for an urgent job seeker boost, saying some of our most vulnerable are being forced to skip meals and basic health care because of soaring costs. Anglicare's new index says some households are hundreds of dollars short every week.
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Chapter 3: Why was a top referee denied entry to the US for the World Cup?
Casey Chambers from Anglicare telling Channel 7 the government needs to overhaul current job seeker payments.
One of the things that we often don't realise is that while we're all talking about cost of living and inflation, it's not a cost that's borne equally. And those families that are already on very low incomes, they are really bearing the brunt of this.
And a new survey has found a growing number of Australians are wasting hundreds of dollars a year on unused subscriptions and memberships. The Compare the Market survey found unused gym memberships were top of the list, costing some members more than $90 every month. Disney+, Amazon Prime and Spotify were also in the top five unused subscriptions.
Now it's time to get into our deep dive on the major scandals rocking this year's FIFA World Cup. Joining us is Professor of Cultural Research at the Institute of Culture and Study at Western Sydney University, David Rowe. David, thanks so much for joining us. Who would have ever thought there could be politics involved in sport?
Oh, yes. I mean, a sociologist of sport like myself, totally shocked. I thought it was all about the sport. Sport's its own little world that isn't part of the rest of the world. Not. I mean, I've argued my entire academic career that this idea that sport and politics, they don't mix, they should never mix, I think is absolute nonsense.
You don't have that amount of money, that amount of power, that amount of politics involved. of a geopolitical military kind and so on, without there being a close relationship between politics and sport.
You wrote a great piece in The Conversation talking about the upcoming FIFA World Cup. We know there are literally hundreds of millions of fans right around the world. Now, it's being hosted partially in the US. Tell us about this new development today. We understand that a Somali football ref just days out from the World Cup set to start has now been denied entry to the US.
The US authorities have said, quote, he was determined to be inadmissible because of vetting concerns.
I mean, it's extraordinary. He was the Confederation of African Football. He was their referee of the year. And I mean, this is before even we kick off, this is already a big story because the concern has been that in Trump's America, which has banned fans or severely regulated fans from many countries, including four teams who are actually playing in the tournament itself.
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Chapter 4: What is the significance of Trump's blocked H-1B visa fee?
like the International Olympic Committee, the IOC. Obviously, Trump is the president of the United States. And they have formed this unholy alliance, I would say. Infantino, you might recall, famously dreamt up a FIFA Peace Prize and gave it to Donald Trump last December as some kind of compensation for not winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Interesting prize. And also there's been a lot of criticism recently, David, about the fact that so many of these tickets have become so incredibly expensive to the World Cup that they're unaffordable for so many passionate fans. And I was reading an article recently that FIFA's set to make $13 billion in profit over the next four years.
Yeah, this is the big cash cow for FIFA. It makes a lot of money, but something new is happening here, which is for the first time, FIFA has set up its own resale of ticket venue, facility. And that means that, let's say, you buy a World Cup ticket for $1,000. You take it to the FIFA resale site. You sell it to me for $2,000. FIFA takes 15% off you as the seller and 15% of me as the buyer.
Explain that again.
So it's a resale site for the ticket, okay? So you've bought the ticket for, say, $1,000 legitimately. You then put it on the site. You say, I want to sell this for $2,000. I say, I'll buy it from you because I really want to go to the World Cup. And then FIFA clips the ticket for you, takes 15% of your selling price, and me, 15% off my buying price. And it goes to FIFA. 30%.
So you could say $3 in every 10 in the resale site goes to FIFA.
And in regards to the tickets becoming so uber expensive, we know this is a game so many people love, but is it becoming unaffordable? And where do FIFA's profits go? $13 billion over four years is pretty good.
It's hugely... It's hugely unfair, and fans around the world are complaining. This will be the most expensive World Cup ever. This is the second one that's been held in the United States. 1994 was the last time. That was only the United States then. What FIFA says, and I'm sure you'll be amused by this, that they're a non-profit organization.
And everything that they earn, all their profit goes back into the members. They have the best part of 200 member nations, and they have six confederations, and the money goes to them. So here in Australia, for example, we would get maybe a slice of that, even if Australia wasn't paying.
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Chapter 5: How are rising costs affecting Australians' access to basic needs?
We will certainly watch with great interest. David, thanks so much for joining us.
Great pleasure. Thank you.
That was Professor David Rowe. And that's it for this episode of the Afternoon Edition of The Briefing. We'll be back in your feed tomorrow morning with the landmark court win by a Melbourne hospital over the teenager who refused life-saving cancer treatment. We'd love you to subscribe or follow us on Instagram at The Briefing Podcast. I'm Natasha Belling. Thanks for your company.