Morning Mail: Senate censures Brandis over Triggs, Iraq forces move on Isis, Netanyahu in Washington

Guardian Australia's Morning Mail Tuesday 3 March 2015 g
Australian news and politics
Tony Abbott has expressed “an abundance of confidence” in George Brandis after the Senate censured him – and also accused of being unfit to hold the office of attorney general – over his treatment of Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs. Almost a year after the Abbott government’s first budget was brought down, savings worth almost $19bn over the next four years – and $112bn over the next 10 years – have been announced but not yet legislated, a Coalition backbencher has revealed. Schools deemed at risk of racist incidents or lone-wolf terrorism attacks will be given an extra $18m to boost security, in what the justice minister Michael Keenan says is a “confidence-building measure”. Australia is in the midst of an “unprecedented level of industrial action” within the public service, says trade union, as workers refuse to accept government pay offers that trade away working conditions for a pay rise of 1% or less. The government faces more chaos in the Senate afterthe Palmer United Party announced it would abstain from voting on the Coalition’s bills “until government chaos ended”.
Around the world
Iraq’s armed forces, backed by Shia militia, have begun a fresh campaign to wrest control and “liberate” Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, and other Isis strongholds north of Baghdad. An undaunted Binyamin Netanyahu has defended his decision to defy the White House and accept an invitation from Republican leader John Boehner to address Congress on Tuesday on the risks of a nuclear deal with Iran: “Today, we are no longer silent; today, we have a voice. Tomorrow, as prime minister of the one and only Jewish state, I plan to use that voice,” The Guardian view on Netanyahu in Washington: Israel’s PM is snubbing the White House in the search for election votes back home. It's a big gamble. Hundreds of parents in north-west Pakistan have been arrested and jailed on charges of endangering public security after refusing to give their children polio vaccinations. Bangladeshi authorities have arrested a radical Islamist four days after secular American blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death at a crowded book fair in Dhaka.
More from around the web
Among the most read on the Guardian this morning:The Queen shows her age as portrait is updated on coins The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Today show host Lisa Wilkinson has said she's appalled that purple ribbons tied to the gates of Knox Grammar School, to show solidarity with sexual abuse victims, have been removed.The Australian reports that support for the NT government has crashed, with the Country Liberal Party team and its unpopular leader facing electoral wipeout, according to an ­independent poll.
One last thing
When a supermarket in Paris applied to convert part of its cellar for extra storage space they expected to find a few bodies, built as it is on the site of a medieval hospital. What they didn't expect to find was more than 200 bodies in a series of mass graves. Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I've missed, let me know on Twitter @earleyedition.