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Morning Mail: Sydney siege, Scott Morrison's baby deal, Barry Spurr resigns, I am Waleed Aly









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Man Haron Monis did not hold a NSW gun licence. The government has commissioned a review into the circumstances of Monis’s access to firearms, his release on bail and events leading up to the Sydney hostage crisis. Photograph: Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA/Guim




Dave Earley






@earleyedition





Thursday 18 December 2014 16.09 EST







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Good morning folks, and welcome to the Morning Mail – sign up here to get it straight to your inbox every weekday morning.
Except for the next two weeks! Morning Mail will be on hiatus, so please join us again in the New Year., 
Sydney siege
• The AFP have admitted they were the ones who told Tony Abbott that Man Haron Monis had a gun licence, because they were working off a ‘non-definitive’ database.
• The PM’s office was forced to issue a clarification after Abbott had incorrectly announced to reporters that Monis held a NSW firearms licence.• Attorney general George Brandis wants Asio to tell him why Monis came off a watchlist, but warned against criticism of our intelligence agencies, saying: “I would counsel against loose terms”.• Jason Wilson asks, do the rightwing culture warriors hate the #illridewithyou campaign because they don’t know their own readers?
• And the horrific Taliban school massacre in Pakistan is a stark reminder of the outsized price paid by the Muslim world for the vile actions of Islamic jihadists, writes Ben Doherty.
• See full coverage on our Sydney siege tag page.
Australian news and politics



Baby Ferouz lost a recent federal circuit court bid to remain in Australia. His family will now be among those asylum seekers allowed to have their claims assessed.
Photograph: Photograph: Maurice Blackburn Lawyers/Guim


• As part of a ‘one-off’ deal with Ricky Muir, Scott Morrison says 31 babies born to asylum seekers previously held on Nauru will have their protection claims assessed in Australia, meaning some may be allowed to stay.• A man who was detained without charge during September’s counter-terrorism raids had his house raided by police for a second time yesterday as search warrants were executed across Sydney.• Professor Barry Spurr has resigned from the University of Sydney after the publication of racist and sexist emails, but the national curriculum review is still tainted by its remarkably similarity to his ‘private’ views on racism, writes Chris Graham.• Senator David Leyonhjelm said the Sydney siege shows gun control has turned Australia into a ‘nation of defenceless victims’, but his statements were quickly condemned on both sides of politics, including by former prime minister John Howard, who said “the gun laws that were brought in after Port Arthur massacre made Australia a safer place”.• Eleanor Robertson explains how David Leyonhjelm can support marriage equality on one hand and want us all to be armed on the other – he’s a libertarian, and it’s a world view alien to most Australians.• Community service providers are warning the Abbott government of the bleak Christmas welfare recipients face because providers lack the resources to meet demand, which is rising due to budget cuts 
 Around the world



A picture released by his family shows Peter Kassig in front of a truck somewhere along the Syrian border between late 2012 and autumn 2013.
Photograph: Photograph: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images/Guim


 
US counter-terrorism officials backed a high-stakes negotiation between jihadi clerics and Isis in effort to save the life of American hostage Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig. At least 100 women and children have reportedly been kidnapped and 35 people killed when Boko Haram extremists plundered a remote village in north-east Nigeria .Vladimir Putin has promised that Russia will weather the rouble crisis, adding that he feels no responsibility for the currency’s fall.A passenger on a Chinese airline who opened the emergency exit as the plane was about to take off was just trying to get some fresh air. Airline staff say he didn’t realise the danger.
More from around the web



Elizabeth Quinn Gallagher will join Axani on the trip that begins in New York City on Sunday.
Photograph: Photograph: Uncredited/AP/Guim


• Among the most read on the Guardian this morning: A man offering a free round-the-world air ticket to a woman with the same name as his ex-girlfriend has found his Ms Right. Or more precisely, his Ms Elizabeth Gallagher. Ms Gallagher already has a ‘pretty serious boyfriend’, who, she acknowledges, isn’t thrilled. 
 • The Sydney Morning Herald reports that drone strikes and other “targeted killings” of terrorist can strengthen extremist groups and be counterproductive, according to a secret CIA report published by WikiLeaks.
• Patients will face a $45 gap fee to see a doctor within three years and there is nothing the Senate can do to stop it, news.com.au reports.
• Government regulators have stripped a prominent anti-wind farm lobby of its health promotion charity status, ABC News reports. 
One last thing



Nazeem Hussain is to move to The Project as the new host.
Photograph: Guim


Who can’t tell the difference between Waleed Aly (who’s joining The Project) and Nazeem Hussain? The Age, who aren’t sure what their own columnist looks like. Will the real Waleed Aly please stand up? 
Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I’ve missed, let me know in the comments here or on Twitter @earleyedition.
The Morning Mail will go on hiatus with me for the next two weeks, so we’ll see you again in the New Year. Enjoy your break if you get one! In the meantime, join the comments below. Do you like the Morning Mail, do you get the email as well, and is there anything you’d like to see more of?
Sign up
Get the Morning Mail direct to your inbox first thing every weekday by signing up here.



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