The World Today

A handful of companies in New South Wales are pioneering a new form of recycling. They're transforming used and unwanted corporate workwear into other textiles at an industrial level. The Circular Threads program is a multimillion dollar industrial ecology scheme funded by the New South Wales EPA and it's hoped the program will become an industry in itself. Small businesses, fast food chains, and government-owned entities like Australia Post are already taking part. Their redundant uniforms are being recovered, recycled and remanufactured into construction and building products, like wood panels and carpets.

This week a Melbourne law firm launches an online Robot Lawyer to help unrepresented people in court. The program's creators say it is intended to help the large amount of people who are facing minor criminal charges and can't afford legal aid. The program is for sentencing hearings and provides a template for defendants to present their case. Legal academics praise the technology as a help to those in need but warn that it will not replace the expertise of a human lawyer.

The Federal Government has done a deal with the Senate crossbench in order to get its proposed tax on backpackers through the Upper House. It's lowered the tax it wants to apply to working holiday-makers to 15 per cent, down from the 19 per cent it was vehemently defending last week. The Government is gearing up for more compromises, as it heads into the final week of Parliament for the year.

There's mixed reaction from farmers to the 15 per cent compromise deal on the backpackers tax. Some say it's a good middle ground, while others feel it's still too high, although all farmers agree it's taken the Government far too long to get to this point. Meanwhile, there's concern about the effectiveness of a component of the deal that will allow Australian job seekers to work on farms without losing their welfare.

An environmental ecologist has warned that, rather than helping, politics is getting in the way of solving the Murray Darling basin problems. The conflict over additional environmental flows in the river system has pitted several Federal Senators against each other in recent days. The New South Wales Senator, David Leyonhjelm, is accusing South Australia's Nick Xenophon of being parochial and skewing the agenda for his own purposes.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has been told that the nation's criminal justice system could be exposing abuse survivors to further harm. A public hearing in Sydney is examining the challenges involved in investigating child sex offences.

A scathing report about the state of the Northern Territory's correctional system found there were no rehabilitation programs being run for jailed sex offenders. The report was commissioned by the previous Country Liberals government and a redacted version has been released by the current Labor Government. The report calls for the immediate reinstatement of sex offender treatment programs in Territory prisons.

Queensland's Chief Magistrate has issued a statement saying the court is no place for political commentary after one of his magistrates made supportive comments to protesters. When sentencing women who climbed onto the roof of the Immigration Minister's electorate office, the Magistrate said he'd be proud if one of his 'daughters was caught doing like you did'. The women were issued $100 fines last week. Peter Dutton has described the protesters as idiots, and noted the Magistrate was a Labor appointment.

Former French President Francois Fillon, once dubbed 'Mr Nobody', is the front-runner for the job once more, after winning the Republican party primary. If he wins the Presidency, he has vowed to curb the power of unions, end France's cherished 35-hour week and slash around 500,000 public sector jobs. He has also spoken out against EU sanctions against Russia.

Cubans are observing nine days of official mourning to mark the death of their revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Later this week foreign dignitaries will be part of a memorial service in Havana. But even inside Cuba, many are celebrating Castro's demise.