/qnotables/ - ===Q Notables===

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16841230 (271208ZJUL22) Notable: ASPI’s ‘no compromise policy’ mirrors evil intentions to disrupt China-Australia ties - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

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>>41545

ASPI’s ‘no compromise policy’ mirrors evil intentions to disrupt China-Australia ties

Global Times - Jul 26, 2022

Justin Bassi, the Executive Director of the Canberra-based think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), claimed Tuesday that the Australian government has gained "the upper hand diplomatically" regarding relations with China. According to him, this can be proven by the fact that China's dialogue with Australia has resumed on an "unconditional" basis, meaning that Australia has "made no compromises in its foreign policy, national security and defense settings."

Bassi is described in the Australian media as a "long-serving Liberal Party adviser." He served as national security adviser to former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and chief of staff to former foreign minister Marise Payne. After Scott Morrison succeeded Turnbull, the Australian government, under the Liberal Party, tilted more and more toward the US, showing increasingly apparent hostility toward China.

It can be said that Bassi's remarks demonstrate the typical attitude of the Australian Liberals toward improving China-Australia ties. After the Labor defeated the Liberal Party in this year's federal election, it seems now Bassi is so eager to speak up for the Liberals to implicitly warn the Labor government not to compromise with China, which would be a sign of weakness and submission to Beijing.

In bilateral relations, it is common for the two countries to negotiate and make concessions to find common ground, as long as the national interests of both sides are not undermined. Beijing has no historical problems or territorial disputes with Canberra. It just hopes the latter will adjust its China policy and stop jeopardizing China's national interests, rather than just repeating and imitating Washington's anti-China words and actions.

The ASPI chief has equated policy adjustment with compromise and then urged Canberra not to pursue this line of action. This is an attempt to set up and knock down a straw man. And it is absolutely unhelpful to the improvement of bilateral relations.

However, Bassi and ASPI may not be willing to see an improvement in bilateral ties, because the recent signs of such a positive development in the relations with China are obviously not in the interests of some anti-China forces in Australia or the US behind them.

ASPI is trying to force Canberra to continue pressuring China and show the anti-China forces at home and Washington that Australia is not "tilting toward China." It insists on creating obstacles to a better relationship with China, raising questions about whether the organization is simply an anti-China megaphone for Washington's strategic interests to produce public opinion ammunition against China.

Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times that Bassi's claims about the resumption of the China-Australia dialogue on an unconditional basis are actually setting limits for a conversation between the two sides. In other words, dialogue should take place only if Canberra can maintain its previous suppression or containment measures against China.

Moreover, the Chinese scholar believes the "upper hand" rhetoric is entirely incorrect. Australia is currently on the verge of a severe economic crisis. The country is facing soaring inflation which could be at a 32-year high. Meanwhile, Canberra has vowed to increase foreign aid to Pacific island countries. Therefore, Australia is in more need of its largest trading partner China to achieve better economic and trade cooperation.

This "upper hand" rhetoric is simply an outright lie, trying to fool the Australian public and the international community. It also aims to instill blind confidence in Canberra that could mislead the Labor government's policy on China relations and allow the bilateral ties to continue to deteriorate. This would work best for the interests of ASPI and Washington.

Bassi was appointed as the Executive Director of ASPI in March by the former defense minister and hard-line China hawk Peter Dutton. He clearly has a motive to keep the relationship between China and Australia tense. Rationalists in Canberra should be wary of anti-China forces that can damage the prospects for bilateral relations.

"We hope the Australian government will treat China and its development more rationally and won't be compelled by anti-China public opinions. We are very much looking forward to the two countries meeting each other halfway or working together to strengthen the future of their bilateral ties," Chen noted.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1271492.shtml

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16841273 (271219ZJUL22) Notable: Defence Australia Tweet: #YourADF with @MrfDarwin are conducting the annual bilateral warfighting Exercise Koolendong to strengthen the Australia-US relationship

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>>41427

Defence Australia Tweet

#YourADF with @MrfDarwin are conducting the annual bilateral warfighting Exercise Koolendong to strengthen the Australia-US relationship, enhance interoperability and demonstrate preparedness to respond to a regional crisis.

@USMC #AlliesAndPartners

https://twitter.com/DefenceAust/status/1552187086647820288

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16841313 (271236ZJUL22) Notable: Atheist Senate president Sue Lines wants Lord’s Prayer ‘gone’ - New Senate president Sue Lines says she would like to see the longstanding tradition of reading the Lord’s Prayer at the start of each sitting day “gone”, as she prepares to put her mark on the chamber by warning senators she’ll be tougher on those who demean their colleagues

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>>41560

Atheist Senate president Sue Lines wants Lord’s Prayer ‘gone’

ROSIE LEWIS and ALICE WORKMAN - JULY 27, 2022

New Senate president Sue Lines says she would like to see the longstanding tradition of reading the Lord’s Prayer at the start of each sitting day “gone”, as she prepares to put her mark on the chamber by warning senators she’ll be tougher on those who demean their colleagues.

Senator Lines, only the second woman elected to the role of president, said as an atheist she did not want to say the prayer, which has been read by the presiding officers in the lower and upper houses at the start of each sitting day since 1901.

“On the one hand we’ve had ­almost every parliamentary leader applaud the diversity of the parliament and so if we are genuine about the diversity of the parliament we cannot continue to say a Christian prayer to open the day,” Senator Lines said.

“Personally, I would like to see the prayers gone. I’m an atheist. I don’t want to say the prayers. If others want to say the prayers they’re open to do that.

“Personally I would like to see them gone but again it’s not something I can ­decree. It’s a view of the Senate.” Senator Lines said the abolition of the Lord’s Prayer was “certainly on the agenda” and would be raised with the Senate procedure committee, which considers any matter relating to procedures referred to it by the chamber or the president.

The Senate agreed on Wednesday that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags would be displayed with the Australian flag in the chamber.

The move infuriated One ­Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who walked out of the Senate, ­ declaring “no I won’t and I never will” while Senator Lines was making an ­acknowledgment of country, which follows the prayer reading.

The three flags are positioned next to each other on the floor of the House of Representatives for the first time, after Anthony Albanese and leader of the house Tony Burke made the change.

Senators and members are not required to be present or participate in the reading of the Lord’s Prayer.

There have been several unsuccessful attempts to change the standing orders to replace the prayers with a personal prayer or reflection, including by former Greens leader Bob Brown in 1997.

The acknowledgment of country was added to the standing orders in 2010.

It is understood the House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick has no desire or plans to change the arrangements for the Lord’s Prayer or acknowledgment of country.

Mr Dick, 50, hails from the Anglican faith and has spoken at the parliamentary prayer breakfast. He is a known supporter of ­religious communities in his Brisbane electorate of Oxley.

Senator Lines said she had a particular interest in implementing the Jenkins review recommendations and making parliament a safer place to work, revealing she had been sexually assaulted when she was five.

While she has witnessed bullying and name-calling in federal parliament – having been called a “squawking seagull” – Senator Lines said she had never seen or experienced sexual harassment or assault in the building.

But she said the chamber was too accepting of bad behaviour and it was up to her and other ­Senate chairs to raise standards.

“The standing orders do say you can’t demean a person and I think in the past we’ve kind of let that go unless it’s been really ­particularly bad. We have to raise the standards as chairs, whether it’s me or the deputy president or the deputy chairs,” Senator Lines said. “We actually do (need to) start to pull people up a little more. That’s one of the areas we’ve ­developed too high a bar for moderating bad behaviour.”

She will push for the chamber’s hours to be brought into line with the house’s after the Jenkins ­review found long and irregular hours of work could exacerbate aggressiveness in the workplace.

Though Senator Lines conceded there would still be occasions when the Senate needed to sit for long periods.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/atheist-senate-president-sue-lines-wants-lords-prayer-gone/news-story/92e2be9d68dfa277b1ad458823727ac7

>Do you see what is happening?

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931166 (291128ZJUL22) Notable: Labor rules out push to end reading of Lord’s Prayer in Senate - Labor’s Senate leadership team says the reading of the Lord’s Prayer at the start of each sitting day should continue, contradicting their colleague and the chamber’s new president, Sue Lines, who declared she’d like it “gone”

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>>41573

Labor rules out push to end reading of Lord’s Prayer in Senate

ROSIE LEWIS - JULY 28, 2022

Labor’s Senate leadership team says the reading of the Lord’s Prayer at the start of each sitting day should continue, contradicting their colleague and the chamber’s new president, Sue Lines, who declared she’d like it “gone”.

Senator Lines sparked an outcry on Thursday after telling The Australian that as an atheist, she did not want to say the prayer, which has been read by presiding officers since 1901.

Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong and deputy Senate leader Don Farrell responded in a joint statement, saying: “Senators Wong and Farrell share the view that the prayer should continue to be read at the commencement of each sitting day.

“Decisions about standing orders are for the Senate as a whole. Any changes should aim to unite senators rather than divide, as was demonstrated yesterday when the Senate agreed unanimously to display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.”

Katy Gallagher, manager of government business in the Senate, said there was a “clear view that the Lord’s Prayer is to stay”.

“I don’t mind the prayer,” Senator Gallagher told The Australian. “I’m not a religious person but it is very much part of the ­Senate tradition.

“My view is how you run the chamber relies on a collegiate ­discussion across the chamber and there’s a clear view that the Lord’s Prayer is to stay.”

While the Coalition also rejected the change, Greens Tasmanian senator Nick McKim said the party was considering whether to try to replace the prayer with a period of reflection or silence.

“The Greens have had a longstanding position that at the start of the parliamentary day, there should be a period of reflection, a period of silence that would allow politicians of any religious persuasion and politicians of no ­religious persuasion whatsoever, an opportunity to reflect on our collective responsibilities to the Australian people. That remains our position,” he said.

“We’ve got it under consideration in terms of any actions we might take – like a motion or a reference to a particular committee.”

Opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham, who like senators Wong, Farrell, Gallagher, Lines and McKim sits on the chamber’s committee that considers procedural matters, said a prayer as old as the parliament that comes from centuries of Westminster tradition should not be stopped.

“It has evolved with the appropriate addition of the acknowledgment of country and now provides for a respectful and reflective start of proceedings,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Even those of us who are not of faith can benefit from the ­period of reflection these commencement traditions allow for and should respect rather than unwind them.”

Despite the standing orders dictating that it is the Senate president who shall read the prayer when they take the chair each day, independent MP Bob Katter suggested the deputy president or another senator could take Senator Lines’ place.

“There is no reason why she can’t stand aside and get someone else to read the prayer out,” he said.

Queensland Liberal senator James McGrath, who also sits on the procedure committee, accused Labor of “poor priorities and pointless virtue signalling”.

“Why do the left always want to trash our traditions?” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/labor-rules-out-push-to-end-reading-of-lords-prayer-in-senate/news-story/5a028a98409cfdd41ac8bd0b153db122

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931180 (291134ZJUL22) Notable: Advocates for Assange gather in Canberra, July 28 2022 - Supporters of Julian Assange will rally outside Parliament House to call on the prime minister to seek the Wikileak founder's release

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>>41409

Advocates for Assange gather in Canberra

Paul Osborne - July 28 2022

Supporters of Julian Assange will rally outside Parliament House to call on the prime minister to seek the Wikileak founder's release.

The 50-year-old Australian journalist has appealed to the High Court in London to block his extradition to the US to face criminal charges.

It's the latest step of a legal battle that has dragged on for more than a decade.

Assange is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts, including a spying charge, relating to WikiLeaks' release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables. US officials claim the leak put lives in danger.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, who approved his extradition, said British courts had concluded his extradition would not be incompatible with his human rights, and that he would be treated appropriately.

Among those listed to speak at the Canberra rally on Thursday are independent MPs Andrew Wilkie and Monique Ryan, Liberal MP Bridget Archer, Greens senator David Shoebridge, filmmaker James Ricketson and Amnesty International's Christian Lambang Fonye.

Mr Wilkie, a former intelligence analyst, said the matter could be resolved quickly at a political level, through a phone call from Anthony Albanese to Joe Biden.

Mr Albanese has said he didn't see the purpose of the "ongoing pursuit" of Assange, but he insists the government will deal with the matter through diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has written to Mr Biden to renew a previous offer of asylum for Assange.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7837410/advocates-for-assange-gather-in-canberra/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931184 (291135ZJUL22) Notable: Doctor’s grim diagnosis for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - The jailed WikiLeaks founder has been given a bleak outlook after undergoing extensive medical examinations inside a UK prison

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>>41409

>>41575

Doctor’s grim diagnosis for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

The jailed WikiLeaks founder has been given a bleak outlook after undergoing extensive medical examinations inside a UK prison.

Courtney Gould - July 28, 2022

Supporters of Julian Assange have dialled up a call for the Prime Minister to intervene in the US extradition of the WikiLeaks founder.

Mr Assange, who is wanted by US authorities over the leak of classified documents, has appealed to the High Court in London to block his extradition.

The 50-year-old has spent more than a decade trying to avoid extradition from the UK.

He could die in jail in the coming months, the Australian Doctors For Assange warned.

“Medical examinations of Julian Assange in Belmarsh prison in the UK have revealed that he is suffering from severe life-threatening cardiovascular and stress-related medical conditions, including having a mini stroke as a result of his imprisonment and psychological torture,” spokesman Dr Robert Marr said.

More than 100 people gathered on the lawns outside Parliament House on Thursday to demand the government act.

Longtime supporter independent MP Andrew Wilkie said Mr Assange was a “hero, not a villain”.

“The US wants to get even and for so long the UK and Australia have been happy to go along for the ride because they’ve put bilateral relationships with Washington ahead of the rights of a decent man,” he told the crowd.

“That is just plain wrong. Please maintain the rage. If we keep the pressure up, I am confident justice will prevail for Julian.”

Independent MP Monique Ryan, Liberal MP Bridget Archer, Greens senators Jordon Steele-John, David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson also addressed the rally.

Last year, Anthony Albanese said he couldn’t see the point of keeping the WikiLeaks founder locked up.

But Mr Albanese has repeatedly refused to comment publicly on Ms Assange’s case since being elected in May.

Instead, he insisted “not all foreign affairs is best done with the loud hailer”.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/doctors-warn-julian-assange-could-die-while-awaiting-extradition/news-story/1d641c6cf2b01aa49af4128f8ee1a6a6

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931188 (291137ZJUL22) Notable: Rainbow light plans for Shrine of Remembrance draw criticism - A planned rainbow illumination of the Shrine, to honour gay and queer military members, has been criticised as “a gay billboard”

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Rainbow light plans for Shrine of Remembrance draw criticism

A planned rainbow illumination of the Shrine, to honour gay and queer military members, has been criticised as “a gay billboard”.

Ed Bourke - July 27, 2022

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A plan to light up the Shrine of Remembrance in rainbow colours for the first time to honour LGBTQI+ servicemen and women has been denounced as divisive and inappropriate.

Rainbow colours will be projected on to the Shrine colonnades at dusk this Sunday following a Last Post service in commemoration of the contribution of gay and queer military members.

The event will mark the opening of the Shrine’s Defending with Pride exhibit, which will run for a year from August 1, charting the history of LGBTQI+ people’s military service.

The rainbow flag was “divisive” and was a misuse of the sacred Shrine building, 3AW host Neil Mitchell said.

“No disrespect to the gay community but the rainbow flag can be divisive,” Mitchell said.

“It’s not the role of the Shrine to be leading that debate, the Shrine should be above politics and political debate.”

Mitchell railed against Sunday’s planned light display, saying the Shrine would be “lit up like a gay billboard”.

Veterans’ advocate and former Hawthorn RSL president Lucas Moon said it was important to recognise the contribution of LGBTQI+ servicepeople but the Shrine was not the appropriate building to be lit up in rainbow colours.

“We saw the Shrine mistreated when we were locked up during Covid – for the first time, we saw it used as a protest site during the anti-lockdown protests,” Mr Moon said.

“It appears now that the Shrine, which stands well above any person or cause, is being used for political purposes.

“I don’t think the veteran community has been consulted at all, let alone the LGBTI parts of the veteran community.”

It was vital to acknowledge the shocking historical mistreatment of gay defence members, but other buildings such as Parliament House were more suitable locations to be illuminated, Mr Moon said.

“I have no doubt in the 70s and 80s there was some horrendous behaviour in Defence towards gay and lesbian members,” he said.

“But it’s 2022 and the LGBTI community in defence … it’s a non-issue.

“People forget the military was the first place to recognise defacto relationships that were same-sex.”

The Shrine was the sole building in Victoria that should not be used for political purposes, Mr Moon said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931205 (291141ZJUL22) Notable: PDF: Watchdog finds Premier ‘immersed’ in ‘red shirts’ - Victoria’s ombudsman has concluded Daniel Andrews was “involved and immersed” in the “red shirts” election campaign, but found no evidence he was aware of the $388,000 rort that funded Labor’s army

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>>41498

Watchdog finds Premier ‘immersed’ in ‘red shirts’

DAMON JOHNSTON and ANGELICA SNOWDEN - JULY 28, 2022

Victoria’s ombudsman has concluded Daniel Andrews was “involved and immersed” in the “red shirts” election campaign, but found no evidence he was aware of the $388,000 rort that funded Labor’s army.

In a new report into the political scandal tabled in parliament on Thursday, the integrity watchdog has again found responsibility for the taxpayer-funded rip-off rests with the premier’s right-hand man during the 2014 election, former Labor treasurer John Lenders.

Ombudsman Deborah Glass states the rort was the “brainchild” of the ALP veteran, who this week quit the premier’s re-election committee amid renewed controversy over “red shirts”.

“The evidence showed that Mr Andrews was involved and immersed in the Red Shirts campaign in 2014, as he necessarily would have been as party leader,” she states in the report.

“However, there was no evidence he was aware of what I described in my (2018) report as the artifice: the manner in which Mr Lenders had proposed field organisers would divide their activities and be paid in a split fashion by both the ALP and Parliament.

“Mr Lenders’ evidence (in the 2018 report) was that it was his brainchild, and that he and his electorate officer propagated and facilitated the scheme to participating MPs.”

In Thursday’s 31-page report, Ms Glass says given the evidence about Mr Lenders, which she says was confirmed by other MPs, she had “no reason” to question Mr Andrews about his knowledge of the scheme or rort.

But today’s report does reveal that in 2017, in the midst of her initial “red shirts” investigation, the ombudsman did seek evidence from the Premier about staffing arrangements within Labor, and he refused to give evidence, claiming her office had no authority over him.

“He (Mr Andrews) declined to give evidence … and referred me to Mr Lenders,” she states. “I had no reason to seek to compel him (Mr Andrews).”

The Ombudsman’s fresh investigation into the “red shirts” was triggered by a referral from the Legislative Council after dumped Labor minister Adem Somyurek claimed in parliament that Mr Andrews, as opposition leader in 2014, was aware of the rort.

In today’s report, Ms Glass reiterates her 2018 findings that the rort was “wrong” but fell short of criminal or corrupt conduct, and described Mr Somyurek’s claims as “unsupported”.

“There is no persuasive evidence the Premier designed, propagated or facilitated the scheme,” she states in her foreword.

“Is there anything else to investigate? The short answer is no.”

Later in the report, Ms Glass concludes “we cannot, or course, rule out that evidence may yet come to light … but given these events took place over eight years ago and the difficulty in proving awareness of the ‘artifice’ surrounding the scheme, I would question the expenditure of public funds in pursuing this issue further.”

Ms Glass was also highly critical of a decision by Victoria Police to conduct dawn raids and arrest 17 of the “red shirts” campaigners, concluding it was a “mistake” that raised public debate when Labor MPs were not also arrested.

“It is not clear why MPs were not treated in the same, allegedly heavy-handed, fashion as their staffers,” she found.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/watchdog-finds-premier-immersed-in-red-shirts/news-story/82ffd454f81d57ee4f968d78827e1c01

https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/our-impact/investigation-reports/investigation-of-a-matter-referred-from-the-legislative-council-on-9-february-2022-part-1/

https://assets.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/assets/Investigation-of-a-matter-referred-from-the-Legislative-Council-on-9-February-2022-%E2%80%93-Part-1.pdf

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931212 (291143ZJUL22) Notable: Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass releases report on Labor Party's 'red shirts rorts', won't refer case to IBAC

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>>41578

Victorian Ombudsman releases report on Labor Party's 'red shirts rorts', won't refer case to IBAC

Bridget Rollason - 28 July 2022

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The Victorian Ombudsman will not refer the Labor Party's so-called "red shirts rorts" to the anti-corruption watchdog or police, after a fresh report into the scandal found no evidence Premier Daniel Andrews facilitated the scheme.

But Deborah Glass has criticised Victoria Police's handling of its 2018 investigation and said it should apologise to the 17 former Labor staff it arrested in dramatic pre-dawn raids.

The Victorian Parliament asked the ombudsman to consider referring the red shirts scandal to IBAC in February, after sacked Minister Adem Somyurek claimed Mr Andrews knew about the scheme in the lead-up to the 2014 election.

"It is time to end this debate," Ms Glass said.

"I cannot, of course, rule out that further evidence may yet come to light, but with the passage of time and difficulty in proof I am not prepared to spend further public resources on these matters."

In 2018, Ms Glass found Labor had misused $388,000 of public money through the red shirts rorts to campaign at the 2014 election. The party repaid the money and police did not lay charges.

Ms Glass said she did not find any significant differences in this investigation compared to the 2018 investigation.

"I concluded very clearly. I said it was wrong, I said it was an artifice, I said 21 members of parliament breached the members guide," Ms Glass told ABC Melbourne radio.

"But I never said it was criminal."

Since that report was released, the ombudsman said the only evidence that indicated Mr Andrews had any involvement in the scheme came from statements made by Mr Somyurek, who claimed Mr Andrews told him it was necessary for an election win.

"While Mr Andrews openly confirms he was aware of the scheme, there is no evidence available to me showing that he had any role in designing, propagating, or facilitating it," Ms Glass said.

Somyurek 'changed version of events'

The report said Mr Somyurek "changed his version of events" between his accounts of the conversation he had with Mr Andrews and he would not hand over emails which he said supported his claims.

Mr Somyurek also refused to provide the evidence he gave publicly to police, when he was contacted by a detective in November 2021, according to the report.

"It would be a breach of the parliamentary privilege of freedom of speech for me to question Mr Somyurek's motives or credibility," Ms Glass said.

However, she confirmed no new evidence had been presented to her and that Mr Somyurek gave conflicting testimony.

"There is no doubt his account changed. He provided several different accounts," she said.

"I refrain from comment and allow the evidence, presented in its entirety, to speak for itself."

The ombudsman found there was no evidence to justify further investigation by Victoria Police, or a referral to IBAC.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931225 (291147ZJUL22) Notable: PDF: Teaching National Shame: History and citizenship in the school curriculum - Joanna Williams, Centre for Independent Studies - July 28, 2022

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School history ‘teaching national shame to our children’

NATASHA BITA - JULY 28, 2022

“National shame’’ is being taught in school history lessons, a new Centre of Independent Studies ­report claims.

British analyst Joanna Williams has charged into Australia’s culture wars, blaming a black-armband view of history for the rise in identity politics among young Australians.

“History classes increasingly focus on past wrongdoings rather than a more positive view of the nation state,” she writes in a report for the CIS.

“Successive generations of children have been socialised into negative feelings towards the ­nation. In response, we can see a rise in iconoclasm in Australia, and across the rest of the Western world, and a worrying trend of privileging the differences of identity groups above the potentially unifying notion of national citizenship.”

Ms Williams, the founder and director of libertarian British think tank Cieo, said national history was often considered a “source of shame’’ in both Britain and Australia.

“In both countries, history classes increasingly focus on past wrongdoings rather than celebrating national successes, and schools promote global citizenship rather than national citizenship,’’ she writes.

Ms Williams argues history should be taught in a chronological and balanced way.

“Ignoring past atrocities leaves young people ignorant and at risk of repeating immoral acts,’’ she writes. “But an increasingly prioritised focus on atrocities above all else robs a national story of its ­capacity to inspire and unite.’’

Ms Williams writes that history teaching in recent decades has placed more emphasis on ­students’ analytical skills than knowledge.

“This is premised on an understanding that the past is ‘messy’ and people need to be ‘trained’ to make sense of it,’’ she writes in the report.

“Some Australian historians are keen to bring emotion into history. This focus on emotional responses empowers potentially activist teachers to promote their own inter­pretations, irrespective of the knowledge content of the ­curriculum.’’

Ms Williams writes that successive generations of chil­dren in Britain and Australia have been taught a history curriculum that “substitutes identity for chronology and elite national shame for balance’’.

“The legacy is cohorts of young adults who have grown alienated from their nation and its democratic process.”

Australia’s revised national curriculum, which will be taught from next year, will teach Indigenous perspectives of a white invasion, alongside concepts of a Christian and Western heritage.

A new “deep time” strand will focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait ­Islander history and the impact of European ­arrival, including the concept of an “invasion’’.

The impact of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – “for example, dispossession, dislocation and the loss of lives through frontier conflict, disease and loss of food sources and medicines” – is included in the new national curriculum.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/school-history-teaching-national-shame-to-our-children/news-story/d1de0b65c28f5c634a40a0e4216258f6

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Teaching National Shame: History and citizenship in the school curriculum

Joanna Williams, Centre for Independent Studies - July 28, 2022

Executive Summary

Identification with a nation-state has the capacity to unite disparate individuals in a shared sense of identity and purpose, with education playing a role in the transmission of this identity through a common curriculum.

In this paper, UK analyst Joanna Williams examines the impact of changing approaches to teaching history and citizenship on the cultivation of national identity in Australia and the UK. She notes that the history curriculum has long provided a specific site for the teaching of a national story, while distinct lessons in citizenship are a more recent development.

In both countries, however, rather than celebrating national successes, history classes increasingly focus on sins of the past, thus teaching national shame. Schools have also promoted the values of global rather than national citizenship, with civics lessons encouraging local political activism as a form of democratic engagement. The legacy is cohorts of young people who have grown alienated from their nation-state and its democratic processes.

The paper concludes by calling for greater balance in the teaching of history, whilst pointing out that the very existence of formal citizenship classes speaks to a lack of confidence and consensus in the values associated with national identity. If a new generation is not to be left alienated from its collective past, the nation-building role that schools once played should be revived.

https://www.cis.org.au/publication/teaching-national-shame/

https://www.cis.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/OP189-Jo-Williams-1.pdf

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931266 (291159ZJUL22) Notable: Monkeypox declared disease of ‘national significance’ in Australia

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Monkeypox declared disease of ‘national significance’ in Australia

Guidelines for who should get immunised have also been updated ahead of newer vaccines being made available in Australia

Paul Karp and Melissa Davey - 28 Jul 2022

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Australia has declared monkeypox a “communicable disease incident of national significance” and has updated guidelines for who should get immunised ahead of newer vaccines being made available.

On Thursday the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, revealed that there have been 44 cases of the disease in Australia, mostly in returned international travellers, people aged 21 to 40 years and men who have sex with men.

Following a declaration by the World Health Organisation earlier in July labelling monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, Australia declared it a communicable disease incident of “national significance”.

The declaration means the response to monkeypox will have national coordination, in order to assist states and territories with outbreaks.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation [Atagi] also updated its clinical guidance on vaccination against monkeypox to include the use of a MVA-BN vaccine named Jynneos to prepare for supplies arriving in Australia.

“Limited supplies of … [MVA-BN Jynneos] have been secured by the commonwealth and some states and territories,” it said. It is unclear if these supplies have arrived in Australia, with demand high globally.

The health minister, Mark Butler, told Guardian Australia earlier this week that the federal government had “been actively pursuing supplies of the third-generation vaccine MVA-BN well before the WHO declaration was made, recognising there is limited supply and significant global demand”.

Health stakeholders believe an announcement of a supply deal for the newer vaccination is imminent.

Monkeypox can also be prevented with a smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, which is registered for use in Australia and contained in the national medical stockpile, but that vaccine uses a weakened live pox virus called vaccinia, making it unsuitable for the immunocompromised. Jynneos has been recommended as the preferred vaccine, saying it can be administered to the immunocompromised, pregnant women, children and those with skin conditions.

Heath Paynter, the deputy chief executive officer of the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations, said the government needs to “implement policies to arrest the virus and to prevent it becom[ing] endemic”.

“Fundamental to this is to obtain a supply of vaccines for gay and bisexual men at risk of monkeypox,” he told Guardian Australia.

“It is our expectation the government will acquire and supply MVA-BN, which is the only vaccine that is safe and effective.”

“It is the only acceptable option,” he said, labelling ACAM2000 “inferior”.

“Australia has a golden opportunity to step in and stop monkeypox in its tracks, but it could quickly evaporate, and once it does – it’s lost, as we’ve seen in Montreal, London, New York and Madrid, cities with hundreds of cases of community transmission.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931272 (291202ZJUL22) Notable: Graphite miner Syrah lands loan with Biden administration - Melbourne-based mining company Syrah Resources has secured a $US102 million ($146 million) loan from the United States government to expand production of graphite, one of the key ingredients needed to make electric car batteries

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Graphite miner Syrah lands loan with Biden administration

Nick Toscano - July 28, 2022

Melbourne-based mining company Syrah Resources has secured a $US102 million ($146 million) loan from the United States government to expand production of graphite, one of the key ingredients needed to make electric car batteries.

As the Biden administration accelerates efforts to grow the US electric vehicle manufacturing industry, the loan from the US Energy Department will be used to enlarge Syrah’s Vidalia plant in Louisiana, which processes graphite mined in Mozambique into battery-ready material.

“Importantly, the loan will allow Syrah to accelerate its growth strategy in its downstream business and support the rapidly growing electric vehicle and battery supply chain in the USA,” Syrah managing director Shaun Verner said.

The US, Australia and other nations are seeking to diversify global supplies of a range of critical minerals needed to make important products including batteries, computers, wind turbines and military weapons, amid deepening concerns about China’s dominance over the key markets.

ASX-listed Syrah has already struck supply agreements with auto giants Ford and Elon Musk’s Tesla, as they race to lock in future supplies of battery ingredients including graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt, which will be needed to build millions of electric vehicles in coming years.

Graphite is used as a component in the negative end of lithium-ion batteries, known as the anode, but almost all of global production is concentrated in China.

As trade frictions fuel concerns in the United States that Beijing could cut off supplies at any time, the US government has been seeking to shore up its own supplies of critical minerals. Earlier this year, the US Department of Defence signed a $US120 million deal with another ASX-listed mining company, Lynas, to build a commercial processing plant in Texas, which would be first plant outside of China capable of separating heavy rare earths.

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the government’s investment in Syrah’s Vidalia expansion project built on President Joe Biden’s ambitions to secure the nations “clean transportation future”.

“Securing critical materials, such as lithium and graphite, is essential to increasing domestic production of batteries to power the growing number of electric vehicles on our roadways,” she said.

Syrah and the Energy Department are aiming for the first advance to be made by the end of the year, in line with the company’s capital spending program for the Vidalia expansion project. Syrah said it would use surplus proceeds from an equity raising earlier this year to fund a feasibility study on the further expansion of the plant’s production capacity.

https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/graphite-miner-syrah-lands-loan-with-biden-administration-20220728-p5b5dw.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931297 (291213ZJUL22) Notable: Di Sanh "Sunny" Duong: Alleged Chinese spy who donated to Liberal politician Alan Tudge faces court, the first person to be charged under the then Turnbull government’s 2018 foreign interference legislation

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>>>/qresearch/16594133 (pb)

Sunny Duong: Alleged Chinese spy who donated to Liberal politician Alan Tudge faces court

An alleged Chinese “spy” has emphatically stated his innocence before a Melbourne court in the first case of its kind.

Hugo Timms - July 28, 2022

An alleged Chinese spy will face criminal proceedings after a Melbourne judge declared there was strong enough evidence to commit the accused to stand trial.

Di Sanh Duong, otherwise known as “Sunny”, is the first person to be charged under the then Turnbull government’s 2018 foreign interference legislation.

Prosecutors allege 67-year-old Duong, who lives in the wealthy Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills, sought to cultivate a relationship with former Coalition Minister Alan Tudge from March to June in 2020 and use that relationship to advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party.

A significant part of the case against Mr Duong concerns a $37,000 donation he made to the Royal Melbourne Hospital on June 2, 2020.

The Australian Federal Police allege the money, which came on behalf of the Oceania Federation of Chinese Organisations, of which Mr Duong was president, was intended to leverage an undeclared political influence.

At the time Mr Tudge was the multicultural affairs minister in the Morrison government.

The AFP also allege that a shipment of masks promised by Mr Duong to aid Australia during the pandemic was also motivated by a desire to gain influence over Mr Tudge.

In the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, Magistrate Susan Wakeling decided there was enough circumstantial evidence to commit the accused to trial and was satisfied that the evidence “taken at its highest” could support a guilty conviction.

But Mr Duong, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge of preparing for a foreign interference attempt, said there was no evidence to link the donation to the Chinese Communist Party or any “covert purpose”.

His defence has argued that the small amount of masks he was able to procure during the pandemic is further evidence that he was not acting on behalf of the CCP.

Mr Duong, a former member of the Liberal Party who ran for the then state seat of Richmond, on Thursday appeared in court where proceedings were conveyed to him through a translator.

His bail was extended but with strict conditions attached, including a prohibition on leaving the country.

Mr Duong has already surrendered his passport, the court was told.

The matter was listed for a directions in the County Court on August 25.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/sunny-duong-alleged-chinese-spy-who-donated-to-liberal-politician-alan-tudge-faces-court/news-story/6c491ad9ad4fb04e914f16026cbdd81a

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931301 (291214ZJUL22) Notable: CSIRO boss advocates science ties to Beijing - CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall says Australia should forge deeper scientific ties with China in a bid to solve global challenges, including climate change and future pandemics

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CSIRO boss advocates science ties to Beijing

JESS MALCOLM - JULY 27, 2022

CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall says Australia should forge deeper scientific ties with China in a bid to solve global challenges, including climate change and future pandemics.

Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Dr Marshall said stronger partnerships should also be formed with the US, given it would be of mutual benefit to both countries.

His comments come despite warnings from strategic experts against scientific collaboration between Australian and Chinese research organisations amid concern for national security risks.

The Australian revealed last year that the CSIRO would terminate an oceans research collaboration with China’s top science institute with close military links, following an ASIO warning that it could help the Chinese navy to hunt down Australian submarines.

The move came just over a fortnight after director-general of security Mike Burgess called on research organisations to reconsider ocean temperature modelling partnerships with foreign scientists, warning they could be used to support submarine operations against Australia.

There is also increasing concern that talent recruitment initiatives including China’s Thou­sand Talents Plan may be helping to facilitate espionage and theft of intellectual property, with the programs allowing scientists to commercialise their work in return for CCP access.

Dr Marshall said science was a “language that transcends those boundaries” and Australia had an enduring relationship with China.

“CSIRO has had a deep relationship with the Chinese Academy of Science for more than five decades,” he said. “Australia was the first Western country to really embrace China in a way.

“On things that are global challenges, like solving a pandemic, solving climate change, you know global issues, absolutely we should work with China and we have done for … more than five decades, and absolutely work with the US.”

Dr Marshall said the CSIRO had recently signed a major partnership with the US amid growing recognition of the benefits of national laboratories. “They started to recognise what we do as really necessary for what they do, so I think that partnership will get deeper with both because they both need us, they both need what we bring to the table.”

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Malcolm Davis said he “fundamentally disagreed” with suggestions of deeper scientific ties with China, saying it could risk national security. “In terms of forming deeper scientific ties, you need to be specific about the kind of ties you are talking about,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/csiro-boss-advocates-science-ties-to-beijing/news-story/47e79f618fe681e6bcc53a95ebf2fad7

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931309 (291216ZJUL22) Notable: US General warns China has developed highly capable ‘world-class’ military - The US’ highest-ranking military officer, General Mark Milley, has described China’s proliferation of military strength as “very, very concerning” to the Pacific as well as globally

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>>41546

US General warns China has developed highly capable ‘world-class’ military

The US’ highest ranking military official says China has developed a “world-class” military with the potential for significant geopolitical action.

Duncan Murray - July 27, 2022

The US’ highest-ranking military officer, General Mark Milley, has described China’s proliferation of military strength as “very, very concerning” to the Pacific as well as globally.

He said China was well on the way to achieving the military capability to invade Taiwan should Beijing choose to.

“It’s clear the Chinese are developing the capabilities in all the domains, in space and cyber and the traditional domains of land, sea and air to conduct a cross channel attack – an invasion if you will – to seize Taiwan if they made the political decision to do it,” he told ABC 730 host Sarah Ferguson on Wednesday.

“Now, having the capability and doing it is two different things. The execution of something like that would be a significant geopolitical decision.”

He added US forces, who were watching the situation closely, saw no signs of an imminent attack.

The General is in Australia for a conference of defence chiefs, during which China’s military expansion was likely to be high on the agenda.

However, he refused to be drawn on whether the US was committed to intervening should an invasion of Taiwan take place.

“We are always prepared for all kinds of different contingencies and I don’t think it would be wise for me to broadcast on media what we prepare for in the future,” he said.

“I would just leave the policy as it is and obviously we take our direction from the Commander-in-Chief and will do as directed.

“I will tell you that we’re quite prepared to deal with any contingencies that occur.”

General Milley said China had shown increasing assertiveness and willingness to engage in military intercepts with other countries’ armed forces.

This includes a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft which had a deliberate and dangerous run in with an Australian surveillance aircraft in May of this year.

“The statistical increase in the numbers of these activities that the Chinese navy and Chinese air force have been doing is significant,” he said.

“It’s American and Australian, also Canadian. And then several other countries in the vicinity of the South China Sea – Philippines, Vietnam for example.”

He said such activities contributed to tension in the region, but were not the sole factor.

General Milley explained China’s unprecedented economic expansion over the past several decades had allowed it to develop a highly advanced military.

“They went from a large infantry dismounted capability 44 years ago to today – they’re developing a blue water navy, they’ve got fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft, they have a very, very sophisticated air defence system, they have a very, very sophisticated anti-access/area denial system with land-based cruise missiles to take out naval vessels. They have developed a strong, very capable space system. They have a very, very capable cyber capability. As well as the ground forces,” he said.

“So yes, the Chinese are developing a world-class military.”

“That is not to say, though, that a war with China is inevitable. I don’t believe in historical determinism and history is not a linear exercise. But it is concerning that a country such as China is developing a level of economic and military power that is really significant not only in the Western Pacific, but globally.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/us-general-warns-china-has-developed-highly-capable-worldclass-military/news-story/010551f1d19f05f55d01f3e37135e397

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931316 (291219ZJUL22) Notable: U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: This evening Ambassador Kennedy laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial to pay her respects to the Australian and United States' service members who have fought and died for freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. Lest we forget

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>>41541

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet

This evening Ambassador Kennedy laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial to pay her respects to the Australian and United States' service members who have fought and died for freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. Lest we forget

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1552211163223846912

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931322 (291222ZJUL22) Notable: U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: “I owe personal gratitude to an (Australian) Coastwatcher & two Solomon Islander scouts who saved my father’s life. These men represent the best of their generation and are an amazing example of the bonds of the #USwithAUS alliance" Ambassador Kennedy said

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>>41541

>>41586

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweets

This week Ambassador Kennedy met with and expressed her thanks to Australian Coastwatchers who helped rescue her father, President John F. Kennedy, and his patrol torpedo boat crew who were stranded in the Pacific during the Second World War.

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1552473952936955904

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“I owe personal gratitude to an (Australian) Coastwatcher & two Solomon Islander scouts who saved my father’s life. These men represent the best of their generation and are an amazing example of the bonds of the #USwithAUS alliance" Ambassador Kennedy said

More: bit. ly/3PHVNPg

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1552473960356655104

https://au.usembassy.gov/ambassador-caroline-kennedys-meeting-with-australian-coastwatchers-at-the-australian-war-memorial/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16931326 (291223ZJUL22) Notable: Ambassador Caroline Kennedy’s Meeting with Australian Coastwatchers at the Australian War Memorial - U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Australia - July 28, 2022

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>>41586

>>41587

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy’s Meeting with Australian Coastwatchers at the Australian War Memorial

U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Australia - July 28, 2022

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Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and General Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with two Australian veteran Coastwatchers and their family members at the Australian War Memorial yesterday. The Ambassador reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-Australia alliance and expressed her gratitude for the service and sacrifice of Australians during World War II, highlighting the Coastwatchers, who played a critical role in rescuing President John F. Kennedy after his patrol torpedo boat was destroyed.

Ambassador Kennedy met Ms. Eve Ash, daughter of Australian World War II veteran Mr. Ronald (Dixie) George Lee, and Mr. Tom Burrowes, son of veteran Mr. James Burrowes OAM, at the Australian War Memorial. Mr. Lee and Mr. Burrowes joined the meeting virtually from the U.S. Consulate General in Melbourne.

In their meeting, Ambassador Kennedy said “It was a great honor to meet two Australian Coastwatchers, who played an essential role in keeping the region secure during World War II. I owe personal gratitude to an Australian Coastwatcher and two Solomon Islander scouts who saved my father’s life. These men represent the best of their generation and are an amazing example of the bonds of the U.S.-Australia alliance.”

“I was deeply honored to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony with Ambassador Kennedy and meet a few Australian Coastwatchers. The U.S-Australia alliance remains just as strong as when we fought side-by-side more than 70 years ago. The World War II generation of Americans and Australians bequeathed us a set of freedoms, and we have an obligation today to uphold their sacrifices,” said General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking military officer in the United States.

“The event was a very special and personal acknowledgement by Ambassador Kennedy and the US government of the role we had as Aussie Coastwatchers eight decades ago. I am proud at 98 to meet Her Excellency and share Coastwatcher stories. The time I spent in the Solomons and other locations as a Coastwatcher is as vivid today as it was then. It has been an honor to participate in this memorial event,” Australian World War II veteran Mr. Ronald (Dixie) George Lee.

“’It was an amazing experience to meet with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and extremely pleasing to speak with her during the commemorative wreath-laying. As a Coastwatcher, I have long been aware of the role played by the Australian and Solomon Islander Coastwatchers Reg Evans, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in rescuing then Lieutenant John F. Kennedy and his crew after their Patrol Torpedo Boat was cut in two by a Japanese destroyer. So I was honored to receive the Ambassador’s kind acknowledgement of our Coastwatching role in the war and recognition of our rescue of the future President,” Australian World War II veteran Mr. James Burrowes OAM.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936324 (300357ZJUL22) Notable: ‘We are seeking a momentous change’: Albanese reveals Voice referendum question - Australians will be asked if they support an alteration to the Constitution to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to parliament

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‘We are seeking a momentous change’: Albanese reveals Voice referendum question

James Massola - July 29, 2022

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Australians will be asked if they support an alteration to the Constitution to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to parliament, in a referendum question proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

In the most significant speech on Indigenous affairs by a prime minister since Kevin Rudd’s 2008 National Apology, Albanese will also suggest the wording that could be added to the Constitution if the referendum were successful.

The prime minister has travelled to the Garma cultural festival in Arnhem Land, which has returned after a two-year hiatus, to call on Australians to unite behind the Labor government’s campaign to recognise First Nation peoples in the constitution.

“I believe there is room in Australian hearts, for the Statement from the Heart,” he will say. “We are seeking a momentous change – but it is also a very simple one.”

Albanese will propose this question be put to all Australians: “Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?”

The speech opens with the Prime Minister paying his respects in the local Yolngu Matha language of the Indigenous Australians of Arnhem Land.

On arriving at the festival on Friday afternoon, Albanese said Australians should recognise “the oldest civilisation on the planet” by recognising it “in our national birth certificate, the Constitution of Australia”.

While the prime minister will make clear that the final form of words is not yet settled, he will propose three sentences to be added to the constitution if the referendum succeeds: one that enshrines the Voice; one that sets out its responsibility to make representations to the parliament and executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and one that empowers the parliament to make laws on how the Voice would be created and how it functions.

He does not specify when the referendum will be held but Labor’s plan is to hold the national vote well before the next election, which is due in 2025.

Albanese also directly addresses critics of the proposed Voice, including new Country Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Liberals Tony Pasin, Claire Chandler and Phillip Thompson, who have warned a Voice could divide Australia and demanded more detail about how it would operate.

In his speech, the Prime Minister criticises “the notion that this is a nice piece of symbolism - but it will have no practical benefit. Or that somehow advocating for a Voice comes at the expense of expanding economic opportunity, or improving community safety, or lifting education standards or helping people get the health care they deserve or find the housing they need”.

“Australia does not have to choose between improving peoples’ lives and amending the constitution. We can do both – and we have to. Because 121 years of Commonwealth governments arrogantly believing they know enough to impose their own solutions on Aboriginal people have brought us to this point. This torment of powerlessness.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936337 (300401ZJUL22) Notable: Calls to review transgender treatment for kids after British Tavistock Clinic is closed - Australian gender clinics are under fresh scrutiny and face calls for an independent review of their prescription of puberty blockers to teenagers

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Calls to review transgender treatment for kids after British Tavistock Clinic is closed

NATASHA ROBINSON - JULY 29, 2022

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Australian gender clinics are under fresh scrutiny and face calls for an independent review of their prescription of puberty blockers to teenagers after a leading British clinic was closed down over safety concerns.

The ordered close of the Tavistock Clinic – the model for treating trans people around the world – on Thursday followed concerns raised by doctors that young ­patients were being referred on to a gender transitioning path too quickly and that there was insufficient evidence as to the long-term cognitive and physical impacts of puberty blockers.

With several major Australian gender clinics based at children’s hospitals having been strongly influenced by the Tavistock Clinic, some doctors say the findings of the British review by Dr Hilary Cass are likely to apply equally in Australia amid a dominance of a “gender affirming” approach to treating gender dysphoria.

Some of the nation’s leading trans clinics, including the centre at the Royal Melbourne’s Children Hospital, defended their methods on Friday and said they followed best Australian practice.

Queensland paediatrician Dylan Wilson said the closing of Tavistock should lead to Australian authorities reconsidering the treatment of children experiencing gender dysphoria.

“The concerns that have been raised with the UK Tavistock Clinic translate directly to the same concerns that can be applied to gender clinics here in Australia,” Dr Wilson said.

“The fact that Dr Cass noted that there is insufficient evidence to recommend puberty blockers but they have been used by gender clinics in Australia is of huge concern.

“They are now only going to be used in the UK as part of research trials with significant ethical oversight which is the same pathway that Sweden has followed, but the gender clinics in Australia continue unabated to prescribe them on a regular basis without any oversight or scrutiny whatsoever.

“The concern is that children are, as the Cass report found, instantly socially and medically ­affirmed without any exploration of any other diagnoses or contributing factors to their gender identity being considered, which means as soon as they are ­affirmed as children that are transgender, they are placed along a pathway which leads them to medical treatment, and medical treatment pathway leads them to lifelong medicalisation.”

The National Association of Practising Psychiatrists – which has adopted a cautious, psychotherapy-first approach to treating gender dysphoria – is also calling for a review of gender clinics in Australia.

“The longer-term studies of what happens to children and ­adolescents when they’re treated with puberty blockers is not known. The evidence base is lacking,” said association president Philip Morris.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936347 (300403ZJUL22) Notable: Australian Federal Police to share coding of AN0M app used in Operation Ironside arrests

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Australian Federal Police to share coding of AN0M app used in Operation Ironside arrests

Claire Campbell - 29 July 2022

Experts for alleged criminals charged in one of Australia's biggest criminal sting operations will be given access to the coding of a messaging app built by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to catch those allegedly involved in organised crime.

The specialists are working for three men charged by police who were working on Operation Ironside.

Those specialists will be given access to the source code for the encrypted messaging platform AN0M but only under "controlled and secure conditions", Justice Sandi McDonald said in the South Australian Supreme Court on Friday.

A year ago — in one of the most-significant policing operations in Australia's history — Operation Ironside saw thousands of police across multiple agencies execute hundreds of search warrants, arrest more than 200 people and seize more than 100 guns, tonnes of drugs and $45 million in cash.

The sting was only possible because the AFP was able to intercept millions of messages through AN0M, an encrypted communication platform that enabled users to send messages, photos, videos and voice clips.

AN0M – which began operating in August 2018 — was a subscription-based service and users could only obtain a handset from a distributor of AN0M devices.

While users could change their name or username on the AN0M platform, they could not change the unique serial number linked to the handset which allowed communication to be traced back to their device.

It was shut down in June 2021.

Questions over AFP's processes

Lawyers for three Adelaide men charged with drug trafficking offences as part of Operation Ironside are seeking to have the communication obtained through the AN0M platform excluded as evidence in the case against them.

As part of that challenge, lawyers issued a subpoena for the source code of the encrypted messaging service from the AFP as well as 50 other categories of documents.

There are similar legal challenges interstate.

However, the AFP asked the Supreme Court of South Australia to set aside the subpoena, claiming there was no legitimate forensic purpose and some of the documents were subject to public interest immunity and legal professional privilege.

Defence counsel told the court that there were legitimate forensic purposes, citing failures by the AFP to obtain warrants under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act and questions around the invalidity of the undercover operation, the reliability of the communication through AN0M and the legality of the conduct of the AFP and FBI.

Judge calls for documents to be shared

Justice McDonald said the prosecution case against one of the alleged drug traffickers — who allegedly had drugs and firearms concealed in specially-built panels and an esky on his ute — relied on messages exchanged through the encrypted communication network, AN0M, and it was "at least arguable" that there was a legitimate forensic purpose for the AFP to hand over some of the documents and materials.

As part of the process, Justice McDonald said, the AFP had made concessions to allow experts engaged by the defendants to inspect the source code for the AN0M handset and the "iBot" collection service "under controlled and secure conditions".

Justice McDonald said the AFP would also comply with subpoenas requiring production of all manuals, user and technical guides on how the AFP used the AN0M platform during Operation Ironside.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-29/police-to-share-coding-of-an0m-app/101281212

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936365 (300408ZJUL22) Notable: Indonesia criticises submarine loophole in nuclear non-proliferation treaty that underpins AUKUS deal

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>>41505

>>41530

Indonesia criticises submarine loophole in nuclear non-proliferation treaty that underpins AUKUS deal

Stephen Dziedzic - 29 July 2022

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Indonesia has issued a forceful warning about the dangers of sharing nuclear propulsion technology ahead of a high-profile United Nations meeting that is expected to scrutinise Australia's plans to develop nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact.

In a submission to next month's UN review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Indonesia's government said it "notes with concern the potential consequences" that transferring nuclear submarine technology could have for the global non-proliferation regime.

The draft working paper does not directly reference Australia, and Indonesian officials have reportedly said that it's not a direct response to the AUKUS pact.

However, Jakarta has repeatedly expressed unease about Australia's nuclear submarines push, and its submission repeats several of the main arguments made by opponents of Australia's nuclear submarine ambitions:

"Indonesia views any cooperation involving the transfer of nuclear materials and technology for military purposes from nuclear-weapon states to any non-nuclear weapon states as increasing the associated risks [of] catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences."

Transferring enriched uranium for nuclear-powered submarines is permitted under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and Australia has repeatedly said it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

However, Indonesia's submission warns that the exclusion of nuclear naval propulsion from the treaty regulations "could be exploited to provide a shield for diversion of that material to [a] nuclear weapons program".

'Close off pathways to proliferation'

Benjamin Zala from the Australian National University said the concerns raised by Indonesia "echo the general uneasiness among non-proliferation advocates about the precedent that the AUKUS submarines project sets".

"More states having access to materials which, in principle, can be used for a weapon is bad news for an already somewhat fragile non-proliferation regime. Material aboard submarines is particularly challenging for the IAEA to keep track of," Dr Zala told the ABC.

Dr Zala said there was no evidence that Indonesia suspected that Australia would actually divert nuclear material from submarines into a weapons program, but that Jakarta seemed concerned AUKUS could set a worrying precedent.

"It's not necessarily an Indonesian concern about Australia, or Australian intentions as such but, instead about the ways that this weakens international efforts to close off pathways to proliferation," he said.

The ABC has tried to reach Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Nine Newspapers have quoted Achsanul Habib — the director for international security and disarmament at Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry — as saying that Indonesia's UN working paper was "in no way intended to respond to AUKUS".

"The Indonesian [working paper] was submitted to fill in the gap in the NPT regulation related to nuclear naval propulsion, which is still lacking in regulations," he was reported to have said.

But Dr Zala said it was obvious that Australia and AUKUS were the main targets of Indonesia's submission.

"There is no doubt that the working paper from the Indonesian delegation is a direct consequence of the AUKUS decision," he said.

"These concerns have been around, in a hypothetical sense, for a long time — Australia used to share them — but Indonesia is raising them now because Australia is planning on being the first state to actually exploit this loophole in the NPT."

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936378 (300410ZJUL22) Notable: AUKUS ‘pivotal’ against China, says Scott Morrison - Scott Morrison says Australia’s AUKUS security pact with the US and Britain and the advancement of the Quad had delivered the most profound shift in the strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific since China started “turning atolls into airports in the South China Sea”

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>>41505

AUKUS ‘pivotal’ against China, says Scott Morrison

SIMON BENSON - JULY 28, 2022

Scott Morrison says Australia’s AUKUS security pact with the US and Britain and the advancement of the Quad had delivered the most profound shift in the strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific since China started “turning atolls into airports in the South China Sea”.

The former prime minister, in a speech to the Global Opinion Leaders Summit in Tokyo on Thursday, said Beijing had spent the past decade trying to reshape the region under the yoke of autocracy, but Australia’s nuclear submarine deal and its lead role in elevating the Quad – the regional partnership between Australia, the US, Japan and India – had been pivotal events that could shift the balance back towards liberal democracies becoming the prevailing force for stability and sovereignty in the region.

The Quad, he said, had the ability to achieve “peace through strength” and become the dominant driving force for not only regional security but ensuring the rules-based order prevailed, while also addressing economic and energy security and problems such as climate change.

AUKUS and the Quad are the two things that have angered Beijing the most, with their potential to undermine the PRC’s longer term strategic ambitions.

Underlying Mr Morrison’s premise is that the West had failed to address China’s advancement; it had been allowed to assert itself in the region amid a vacuum of previous US engagement.

The revival of the Quad and the AUKUS pact had been the fulcrum in the strategic balance that had checked China’s ambitions. And Australia, under his government, had been pivotal to this shift.

In a speech likely to provoke a sharp response from Beijing, Mr Morrison shaped the strategic contest as a broader battle for ­supremacy between the “arc of ­autocracy” – China and Russia – and liberal democracies, saying the region needed to resist the “path of acquiescence in the face of coercion”.

He took aim at Beijing over its of 14 points of grievance issued against Australia at the height of the trade war in 2020, saying no self-respecting nation should ­tolerate such coercive tactics.

Arguing that nations should rightly engage with China but such engagement needed to respect a set of rules-based on respect and sovereignty, he said: “(The Quad) is an initiative, combined with AUKUS, that has had the most profound impact on the strategic balance within the Indo-Pacific since the PRC started turning atolls into airports in the South China Sea.

“Over the last decade, the PRC has increasingly attempted to reshape our region, and the world, in a way more conducive to autocracies than liberal democracies.

“As prime minister, I referred to China, with Russia, as a new arc of autocracy of which the world must be wary. This was recognised by NATO at their recent summit, declaring China a security challenge, calling out their assertive behaviour as presenting ‘ systemic challenges to the rules-based inter­national order and to areas relevant to alliance security.

“We have always recognised the economic achievements of the PRC and indeed played a significant role in (its) economic success, especially through our resources sector.

“However, the tone of PRC engagement during the past five to seven years within our region has changed. Of course nations will wish to engage with the PRC … but it is the nature and terms of this engagement with China that matter. This must mean engagement that respects, reinforces and is bound by our rules-based order, not one that seeks to or allows China to redefine these rules to suit the relativist agenda of autocracies.

“Our region must not embrace the path of acquiescence in the face of coercion. Rather we must practically insist on engagement within the clear and established rules, with accountability and transparency.

“For our rules-based order to prevail in the Indo-Pacific, we must continue to work together to shape our region in a way that supports such an outcome.

“This is where the Quad and Australia’s relationship with Japan and other allies and partners is designed to make a positive contribution.”

Mr Morrison missed parliament this week, having accepted an invitation by Japan to speak at the summit before the parliamentary calendar had been set.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/aukus-pivotal-against-china-says-scott-morrison/news-story/38673570248ad675d4cd89d668f4468a

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936386 (300412ZJUL22) Notable: UK admiral seeks to quell AUKUS concerns - Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has moved to quell concerns about the sharing of nuclear technology with Australia, as Canberra looks to procure a new fleet of submarines fuelled by atomic energy

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>>41505

UK admiral seeks to quell AUKUS concerns

Dominic Giannini - July 29 2022

A British admiral has moved to quell concerns about the sharing of nuclear technology with Australia, as Canberra looks to procure a new fleet of submarines fuelled by atomic energy.

Admiral Tony Radakin said the AUKUS alliance between the US, UK and Australia should be seen as one of "reassurance" in the Indo-Pacific, when asked about concerns over how the procurement fits into the region's non-proliferation obligations.

"It's very, very responsible countries coming together. Three countries that respect the world order, that seek to enhance stability, security and prosperity," the professional head of Britain's armed forces told the ABC.

"We see with AUKUS an additional capability and additional contribution to what we want to achieve in the region.

"This should be one of reassurance - three responsible nations investing together to take the benefit of high-end capabilities to support the shared goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Indonesia this week raised concerns about the exploitation and safety risks of highly enriched uranium for nuclear naval propulsion in a working paper submitted to the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which begins next week.

"The uranium enriched to fuel naval propulsion reactors is above levels used in civilian power reactors, near-weapons-grade levels, and even weapons-grade, which poses a growing risk to achieving the non-proliferation goals of the treaty," the working paper says.

"The use and sharing of nuclear technologies and materials for military purposes could run counter to the spirit and objectives of the treaty, as it could potentially set precedence for other similar arrangements and complicate safeguards mechanisms."

Jakarta added it saw any transfer of nuclear materials and technology to a non-nuclear state for military purposes as "increasing the associated risks and the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences".

The two-page working paper does not make any reference to the AUKUS alliance through which Australia is looking to procure nuclear-powered submarines.

Indonesia's director for international security and disarmament Achsanul Habib also told Nine newspapers the working paper was "in no way intended to respond to AUKUS", but rather to address a lack of regulation in the area.

The paper states: "The issue of the nuclear naval propulsion programme presents a unique case that deserves serious attention".

"Indonesia notes with concern the potential consequences of sharing nuclear-powered submarine capability with the global non-proliferation regime," it says.

Australia will send a delegation, led by Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres, to the review conference to underline its commitment to non-proliferation as part of its acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.

Sixteen Australian government officials will be involved in the conference over four weeks, including the arms control and counter-proliferation ambassador and disarmament ambassador.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7840268/uk-admiral-seeks-to-quell-aukus-concerns/?cs=9676

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936404 (300418ZJUL22) Notable: Exclusive: China-Solomon Islands police training enhances friendship, law-enforcement capacity after Chinatown losses: The joint fight - Shan Jie and Zhao Juecheng - globaltimes.cn

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>>41252 (pb)

>>41408

Exclusive: China-Solomon Islands police training enhances friendship, law-enforcement capacity after Chinatown losses

The joint fight

Shan Jie and Zhao Juecheng - Jul 28, 2022

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A public demonstration performance consisting the feature of Chinese police tactics and techniques was held earlier this month in the Solomon Islands, which showcased the achievements of China-Solomon Islands cooperation on policing and security.

Recently, Police Commissioner Third Class Zhang Guangbao, who is leader of the China Police Liaison Team to the Solomon Islands, shared many details of the training and the hard work that went into the demonstration by Chinese and Solomon Islands' police, during an exclusive interview with the Global Times.

"The police cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is not a threat to regional security and stability, but has effectively promoted these elements," Zhang said, noting that as for some countries "feeling threatened," it is because they "do not want to see China's influence in the South Pacific region."

"I feel safer," the Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said after watching the demonstration, which was also attended by Chinese Ambassador to the Solomon Islands Li Ming.

Now, more than 180 police officers from Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) and the Correctional Service of Solomon Islands (CSSI) have completed their training with the Chinese police. Their capability to maintain social stability, as well as their confidence and morale, has been boosted. Trust and understanding between the two countries have also increased through the process.

Taking on responsibility

"Shocked, sad, and furious." They were the sentiments expressed by Zhang after he and his teammates saw the ruins in Chinatown of Honiara, capital of Solomon Islands.

Chinatown was not only the first stop of the China Police Liaison Team when they arrived in the Solomon Islands on January 26, but also a reason for them to be in the country.

From November 24 to 26, 2021, serious social riots occurred in the Solomon Islands. Chinatown in Honiara was vandalized and looted, and hundreds of overseas Chinese nationals there became homeless. Their assets from decades of hard work instantly went up in smoke.

In total, the riots caused losses worth $150 million and made more than 1,000 people jobless. The post-disaster reconstruction was under great strain, which also caused serious trauma to the economic and social development of Solomon Islands.

The riots were not dealt with effectively, exposing the weaknesses of the police force and a lack of equipment and training in the island nation with a population of around 0.72 million. Under such circumstances and upon request by the Solomon Islands' government, the Chinese government quickly dispatched a liaison team to Honiara to support capacity building within the police force in maintaining social safety and stability.

In December 2021, and January and February 2022, along with COVID-19 prevention supplies, China also sent police equipment and supplies to the Solomon Islands, according to the Chinese Embassy.

The Solomon Islands government's invitation of the Chinese police to the country shows their trust in China. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2019, the islanders have witnessed China's support and assistance to the country, believing that China will sincerely help them, Zhang said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936422 (300422ZJUL22) Notable: Western Australia Police Force: Five Eyes Conference - Western Australia Police Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have co-hosted law enforcement representatives from the “Five Eyes” nations of the United States of America (USA), Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia

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Western Australia Police Force

Five Eyes Conference

July 29, 2022

Western Australia Police Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have co-hosted law enforcement representatives from the “Five Eyes” nations of the United States of America (USA), Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia during a week-long conference to discuss opportunities to focus future policing efforts to target transnational serious organised crime and dismantle transnational trafficking networks.

The conference has been championed by Commissioner Col Blanch and attended by senior representatives from the DEA, National Crime Agency (NCA), law enforcement personnel from Australian State and Federal agencies, and New Zealand Police.

A key theme of the conference has been the hybridisation of law enforcement agencies and specialities which relates to how intelligence services, organised crime detectives and frontline police work together now and will work together in the future.

“Police officers collect huge volumes of information and data in the course of their daily duties and I want to ensure we process all of this information in real-time in order to rapidly target criminals,” Mr Blanch said.

In recent years, WA Police Force has strengthened connections with law enforcement partners across the world, including the DEA, New Zealand Police and the NCA. Officers from WA Police Force have worked closely with agents from both the DEA and NCA on live, international operations and strategies to target transnational crime.

https://www.police.wa.gov.au/About-Us/News/Five-Eyes-Conference

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16936440 (300427ZJUL22) Notable: Warfighting exercise strengthens US partnership - More than 2200 personnel from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and US Armed Forces recently conducted Exercise Koolendong 2022, a combined arms littoral combat scenario across northern Australia

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>>41427

Warfighting exercise strengthens US partnership

Lieutenant Gordon Carr-Gregg - 29 July 2022

More than 2200 personnel from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and US Armed Forces recently conducted Exercise Koolendong 2022, a combined arms littoral combat scenario across northern Australia.

The three-week warfighting exercise, led by the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) and held at Yampi Sound Training Area and RAAF Base Curtin in Western Australia as well as Mount Bundey Training Area in the Northern Territory, simulated a joint response to a regional security crisis.

Australian Army Colonel Marcus Constable, Commander Headquarters Northern Command, said the annual exercise strengthened the Australia-US relationship and advanced and validated interoperability across warfighting functions.

“Koolendong demonstrated that the ADF and MRF-D can deploy combined tactical teams supported by joint capabilities across maritime and littoral environments, enabling force projection operations across significant distances to remote and austere environments,” Colonel Constable said.

“Participating force elements deployed over 1000km by land, sea and air to rehearse and confirm coalition command and control processes, coordination of strategic joint strike assets, logistics support and the sustainment of these deployed forces while training together.

“Our US alliance is the cornerstone of Australian security. Our relationship with the US only grows stronger the more we talk, work and train together.”

For the first time, Exercise Koolendong integrated one of the US Army’s largest watercraft, USAV General Brehon B. Somervell (LSV-3) from the 8th Theatre Sustainment Command, which transported vehicles, equipment and cargo from Darwin across to the Kimberly Coast.

In another first, Exercise Koolendong integrated Australian Army and US Marine Corps joint terminal attack controllers with a bomber task force consisting of US Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth bombers and RAAF F-35A Lightning IIs flying together as part of the Enhanced Air Cooperation United States Force Posture Initiative.

The MRF-D’s commanding officer, Colonel Christopher Steele, said Koolendong was the culminating exercise of the MRF-D rotation this year and demonstrated the potency of the Australian-US alliance.

“In my mind we have to be ready to fight right now with our Australian allies and our joint partners, and Exercise Koolendong provided us the opportunity to practise just that,” Colonel Steele said.

“The Australia-US Alliance has never been more important as we look ahead to our regional strategic challenges.”

The MRF-D is part of the United States Force Posture Initiatives which demonstrates the strength of the Australia-US Alliance and deep engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.

For further imagery go to the Defence image gallery:

https://images.defence.gov.au/assets/S20222379

https://news.defence.gov.au/international/warfighting-exercise-strengthens-us-partnership

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16937440 (301408ZJUL22) Notable: Ben Roberts-Smith’s fate in the hands of one man - Whatever judge Anthony Besanko's final ruling, expected to be handed down in six to 12 months’ time, the case will endure as a legal landmark for decades to come

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>>41476

Ben Roberts-Smith’s fate in the hands of one man

Deborah Snow and Michaela Whitbourn - July 30, 2022

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There were no handshakes or back-slaps as the curtain fell on the epic Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case, at 12.44 pm sharp in Sydney’s Federal Court on Wednesday. The soldier, as he had done for months, sat masked and unreadable in the back row of the courtroom, his parents Len and Sue nearby.

The judge, Anthony Besanko, quietly thanked the legal teams – including lawyers for the Commonwealth, which kept a gimlet eye on proceedings throughout to guard national security secrets – and uttered the words: “I reserve my judgment. Adjourn.”

Then the two opposing sides withdrew to their separate meeting rooms for a last debrief. And it was over.

It seemed an oddly muted end to hearings which have kept the nation transfixed for more than a year, with the airing of alleged war crimes by Roberts-Smith and some of his elite military brethren in Afghanistan, the exposure of his extramarital affair, bitter rivalries inside the Special Air Service and alleged attempts by the Victoria Cross recipient and his inner circle to intimidate witnesses and cover up evidence. Throughout, the former SAS corporal has denied all wrongdoing.

Whatever the judge’s final ruling – expected to be handed down in six to 12 months’ time – the case will endure as a legal landmark for decades to come.

University of Melbourne Law School Associate Professor Jason Bosland, director of its media and communications law research network, describes it as “the most significant defamation case in the history of Australian defamation litigation”.

“If Ben Roberts-Smith wins, then I think the damages payout will [set a new] record. On the other hand, if the media win, it will be very significant in terms of investigative journalism because the media will have succeeded on the truth defence, and historically that has been so difficult [for media outlets] to rely upon,” Bosland says.

He adds, “Of course, if they do succeed on truth, it will operate as a quasi-investigation into war crimes as well, which is also significant in and of itself”.

Few would wish themselves in the shoes of Besanko, who now has to sift through a mountain of evidence, elicited from more than 40 witnesses delivered over 110 days, to decide whether Roberts-Smith will forever be branded a man who murdered Afghan prisoners, bullied former comrades and struck his former lover.

Nine’s newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, have taken the calculated risk of mounting a truth defence. That means their legal team, headed by Nicholas Owens, SC, had to convince the judge that the war crimes and other wrongdoing alleged by star investigative reporters Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters were, on the balance of probabilities, true.

But Roberts-Smith’s legal team, headed by Arthur Moses, SC, and Matthew Richardson, SC, have urged the judge to be rigorous in applying what is known as the Briginshaw standard.

This is an evidentiary principle derived from a 1938 divorce suit, which holds that even in a civil suit like this – with a lower standard of proof than in a criminal case – the court must take particular care in weighing the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence if there are grave consequences for those involved.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16937456 (301414ZJUL22) Notable: Video: Shrine of Remembrance ditches rainbow light plan after receiving threats, abuse - Managers at the Shrine of Remembrance have cancelled plans to illuminate the landmark in rainbow colours after staff received threats and abuse ahead of an exhibition celebrating the service of LGBTQ veterans

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>>41577

Shrine of Remembrance ditches rainbow light plan after receiving threats, abuse

Jackson Graham - July 30, 2022

Managers at the Shrine of Remembrance have cancelled plans to illuminate the landmark in rainbow colours after staff received threats and abuse ahead of an exhibition celebrating the service of LGBTQ veterans.

A statement from the memorial’s administrators on Saturday said the exhibition and a Last Post service, scheduled for Sunday, would go ahead, but rainbow lighting planned for the colonnades in the evening would not.

“Over several days, our staff have received and been subject to abuse, and in some cases, threats,” Shrine of Remembrance chief Dean Lee said.

“We have seen something of what members of the LGBTIQ community experience every day. It is hateful.”

Lee made the decision in the interests of minimising harm after consulting veteran associations, representatives of the LGBTQ veteran community and the state government, among other partners and friends, the statement said.

“As a peaceful place of remembrance, we seek to provide a safe and inclusive place for all,” he said.

The abuse followed a 3AW radio segment on Wednesday during which presenter Neil Mitchell said the rainbow flag “can be divisive” and lighting up the war memorial was a step too far.

Mitchell told The Age on Saturday that it was awful staff had received threats and abuse, but defended his comments. He said he supported the exhibition but personally had taken issue with the rainbow lighting.

“I think the Shrine is sacrosanct and shouldn’t be used in that way, not just for gay and LGBTQI issues but on any issues,” he said.

“It’s one thing to illuminate Town Hall or Flinders Street Station. I think it’s a bigger step to illuminate the Shrine.”

Yvonne Sillett, the co-founder of the Discharged LGBTI Veterans’ Association and who features in a video in the exhibition, said she had been elated the rainbow colours would feature on the memorial and was shattered to learn it would not go ahead.

Sillett told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide in February that military police interrogated her over her sexuality in the army in the 1980s, leading her to experience suicidal thoughts and take an honourable discharge the following year.

Australia banned gay and lesbian people from serving in the armed forces until 1992, and Sillett said lighting up the building was some recognition of the struggle.

“We’ve struggled when we were in, we struggled when we were out. Absolutely treat us all the same, but that didn’t happen to us,” she said.

Sillett said some comments on social media following the radio segment had been hurtful to LGBTQ veterans and serving members.

“These trolls are probably not even going to go to the exhibition, but they need to go … to see what we went through.”

The exhibition, Defending with Pride: Stories of LGBTQ+ Service, marks the first time an Australian war memorial has examined LGBTQ service in a dedicated exhibition. It is the third in a series of exhibits exploring individual identity in times of war.

Lee told 3AW on Wednesday that he questioned whether the pride colours were divisive.

“The ADF has recognised gay, lesbian and bisexual members since 1992, so we are talking 30 years of recognition within the ADF, so I don’t know it is that divisive within the defence community,” Lee said.

“It was considered very carefully … we felt this was an important thing to recognise.”

Lee said he would be surprised if the majority of Victoria was not supportive of the decision to recognise diversity of service.

“The horrors of war and the legacy of service do not discriminate and every member who has served in the ADF needs to be able to be recognised with pride,” he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/shrine-of-remembrance-ditches-rainbow-light-plan-after-receiving-threats-abuse-20220730-p5b5we.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940747 (311002ZJUL22) Notable: UN treaty hitch to AUKUS nuclear submarines project - A group of US experts has warned Joe Biden that providing sub­marines powered by highly enriched uranium to Australia will undermine the UN’s nuclear non-proliferation treaty, setting a “dangerous precedent”

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>>41505

UN treaty hitch to AUKUS nuclear submarines project

BEN PACKHAM - JULY 31, 2022

A group of US experts has warned Joe Biden that providing sub­marines powered by highly enriched uranium to Australia will undermine the UN’s nuclear non-­proliferation treaty, setting a “dangerous precedent”.

The experts wrote to the US President ahead of a non-proliferation conference in New York this week, calling for Australia’s AUKUS submarines to be powered by low-enriched uranium.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend the conference and is expected to lead the defence of the AUKUS submarine plan.

Australia will be represented by Assistant Trade and Manufacturing Minister Tim Ayres.

The four non-proliferation experts – all former US officials – said providing Australia with naval reactors powered by highly enriched uranium “could allow other states to invoke the AUKUS example to justify their own production or acquisition of HEU fuel”.

They said verifying submarine fuel was not diverted to nuclear weapons programs “would be significantly easier” if low-enriched uranium was used.

France and China both use low-enriched fuel in their naval propulsion reactors.

The use of highly enriched uranium is integral to the trilateral AUKUS plan to provide Australia with nuclear submarine technology, as both US and UK naval reactors use the weapons-grade fuel.

The letter’s signatories included Princeton University emeritus professor and former US assistant national security director Frank von Hippel and associate professor Alan Kuperman, the co-ordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas.

Arms Control Association executive director Darryl Kimball and George Moore, the scientist-in-residence at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, also signed the document.

The UN Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference will examine Australia’s nuclear submarine ambitions, amid warnings by China, Indonesia and Mal­aysia that the plan risks encour­aging a regional arms race.

Australia has sought to comply with the treaty with a plan to receive sealed reactors that would not be opened throughout their 30-year life, and would be ­returned to the US or Britain for decommissioning.

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “Australia, and our AUKUS partners, are absolutely committed to carrying out this project in a way that meets the highest possible non-proliferation standards.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/un-treaty-hitch-to-aukus-nuclear-submarines-project/news-story/71049daf39b4be232f0bd369001c7bff

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940754 (311008ZJUL22) Notable: Law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth abruptly severs ties with the Catholic Church after 60 years, but won’t say why - Partner Richard Leder played a key role in developing the legal framework around the compensation scheme known as the Melbourne Response, which was introduced by former archbishop of Melbourne George Pell in 1996

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Law firm dumps Catholic Church after 60 years, but won’t say why

Cameron Houston - July 31, 2022

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For almost 60 years, the Catholic Church delivered millions of dollars in fees to Corrs Chambers Westgarth. The top-tier law firm provided legal advice to embattled archdioceses across Australia as they became engulfed in clerical abuse scandals and accusations of cover-ups.

It was Corrs that helped establish the “Ellis defence” that meant the Catholic Church did not exist as a legal entity because its assets were held inside a trust structure, which insulated it against further claims.

In the civil case against John Ellis, who was sexually abused as a 13-year-old by Father Aidan Duggan, a Corrs solicitor promised in an email to the church’s barristers that they would be “greeted with open arms at the Pearly Gates” for their efforts to thwart future litigants.

But last week, Corrs abruptly severed ties with the church, at a time when the legal industry is jostling to retain younger staff and attract clients expecting greater corporate responsibility.

The firm did not respond to questions from The Age or explain the rationale behind its decision, other than to say it would be “transitioning away from undertaking personal injury work”.

“We will be working with the clients affected by this decision to ensure the orderly transition of such matters to new legal advisers. In particular, the firm is committed to ensuring that we protect the interests of our clients,” a Corrs spokesman said.

A former Corrs employee, who was not authorised to speak publicly, told The Age they thought the decision to end the long association with the church was prompted by the need to protect the firm’s reputation.

“I think many of the partners are increasingly uncomfortable with this kind of work and it’s no longer only about writing fees,” the former Corrs lawyer said.

“The Catholic Church has obviously been hammered by all of these scandals. I’m sure they respect the church’s right to legal representation, but I think they’ve decided to forge a different path. I do think it’s a bit strange that they haven’t articulated the decision.”

It comes amid growing tensions within the legal fraternity about the balance between social responsibility and commercial imperatives.

The decision to cut ties with the church has also raised questions about the future of prominent partner Richard Leder, who served articles at the firm in 1988, and has worked on behalf of the Catholic Church for 30 years.

Leder did not return calls from The Age, but several friends and associates confirmed he was considering his options and had already received interest from other firms.

“He’s incredibly well respected. What people are asking is, ‘If you were to go, and the clients are coming with you, then we’d like to have a chat,’ ” one long-term friend said.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne refused to confirm if it would stay with Leder or seek legal representation elsewhere.

“Richard Leder is still a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and we have great respect for him and his team. We are working through the transition process,” a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said.

“Our utmost goal now is to ensure that this decision, and the transition, has no impact on survivors.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940772 (311023ZJUL22) Notable: ‘Just get me out of here’: Assange dad’s desperate bid to bring his ‘Wizard’ home - Peter FitzSimons - smh.com.au

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>>41409

‘Just get me out of here’: Assange dad’s desperate bid to bring his ‘Wizard’ home

Peter FitzSimons - July 31, 2022

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Julian Assange is the world’s most famous prisoner – now incarcerated in Britain’s Belmarsh Prison – as he fights extradition to the US on charges stemming from his WikiLeaks platform having published hundreds of thousands of secret documents and deeply sensitive emails. I spoke to his father John Shipton, who is leading a campaign to free him.

Fitz: What sort of a kid was Julian growing up?

JS: A smart one. His mother Christine nicknamed him “Wizard”, which became “Wizzy” for short, because he was precocious and clever. I saw very little of him in his early years, but as a young man his mother arranged for him to come and stay with me in my home in Newtown and we reconnected.

Fitz: What sort of a fellow was he then?

JS: Even smarter. He had a really interesting facility of imparting knowledge without you thinking that he knew more than you. He could explain complex things in a simple way, without making you think he was making it simple just for you. It was sort of a gift.

Fitz: You were an anti-war activist. Did he pick up anti-establishment activism from you?

JS: Julian is not anti-establishment. He’s pro-integrity. If the establishment has integrity it strengthens, and Julian’s whole platform of WikiLeaks was all about helping transparency, which helps integrity, which strengthens the establishment.

Fitz: Nevertheless, when he started to make headlines for taking on the establishment, putting sensitive documents on his WikiLeaks platform against the establishment’s will. Did you fear for this man, your son?

JS: Not initially. But after the big dump of stuff provided by the American intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010, I do remember saying to him on the phone, “You may be pushed off a bridge.”

Fitz: What did he say when you said that?

JS: Silence … Shock.

Fitz: And right now, after four years of asylum in London’s Embassy of Ecuador, he’s in Belmarsh Prison fighting extradition to the US on 18 charges, including spying, with a possible sentence of 170 years awaiting him. What are his daily conditions like?

JS. Appalling. He is in a tiny cell, held incommunicado, and doesn’t get to make any decisions about his own life. He gets two visits a week and one 10-minute phone call. We have been into the prison itself for Julian’s marriage to his lawyer, Stella Moris, and the circumstances in which the prisoners are kept is hard to stomach. For god’s sake, he’s in maximum security, and everything that is applied to a terrorist or murderer is applied to Julian Assange, who is a publisher!

Fitz: And how goes the battle to avoid extradition to America?

JS: Julian launched an appeal to the British High Court for a hearing on the original judgment in the Extradition Court. We will know whether that hearing can go ahead within the next six weeks.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940806 (311043ZJUL22) Notable: Manny Waks Facebook Post: The Malka Leifer trial will finally commence on Monday 1 August at the County Court of Victoria in Australia…..We look forward to finally seeing some semblance of justice prevail and stand with the courageous Nicole, Dassi and Elly.

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Australian Jewish principal Malka Leifer's sexual abuse trial to begin

Malka Leifer, former principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls' school in Melbourne, is being charged with 74 counts of sexual abuse of students.

GREER FAY CASHMAN - JULY 30, 2022

After six years of court sessions in Israel and a year and a half in prison in Australia, Malka Leifer, the former school principal who has been charged with 74 counts of sexual abuse of students attending the religious Jewish girls’ school that she headed in Melbourne, is finally going to trial.

Proceedings are scheduled to begin this Monday in the County Court of Victoria.

Dassi Ehrlich, who brought the case to public attention, is one of the students whom Leifer allegedly abused. She will be in court to give evidence, as will her sisters Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer, who have also testified in the past to being abused by Leifer.

An Israeli citizen, Leifer fled back to Israel in 2008 after the allegations became public. Over the years, various Australian officials called for her extradition.

Leifer tried to avoid court hearings in Israel by feigning mental instability, but psychological evaluations indicated otherwise.

Former health minister Yaakov Litzman, a Gur Hassid and head of the Agudat Yisrael faction in the United Torah Judaism alliance, tried to protect her, an act that cost him his political career. After 23 years as a legislator, Litzman resigned from the Knesset this past June as part of a plea bargain in which he admitted to obstruction of justice.

Whistleblowers in Australia's ultra-Orthodox community

Manny Waks, an Israeli Australian who was raised in an ultra-Orthodox family in Melbourne and attended the Chabad Yeshiva, where he was sexually abused in 2011, blew the whistle on both the perpetrators and the people who tried to cover up the crime.

His family, in which he was the eldest of 17 siblings, had been the poster child of the religious community. But after the revelations of sexual abuse, the family was ostracized and subjected to malicious gossip.

Pained, but undeterred, Waks started a global movement aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and empowering those who were abused to speak out against their assailants.

He also gave assistance to the Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which was established in November 2012. Children in Jewish schools were just a tiny part of a pervasive phenomenon that did not differentiate between faiths or ethnic identities,

Waks, who has been extremely supportive of Ehrlich, will be in Melbourne to follow the trial and to report it, mainly on his Facebook account.

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-713365

—

Manny Waks Facebook Post

27 July 2022

Malka Leifer update:

The Malka Leifer trial will finally commence on Monday 1 August at the County Court of Victoria in Australia. I'm pleased to share that I will travel from Israel tomorrow especially for the trial and will report on it regularly to the extent possible, mainly through this Facebook account. I intend to do a live-stream update via Facebook at the conclusion of each open Court session (please note that the court will be closed when the three complainants - Nicole, Dassi & Elly - will provide their evidence).

It seems likely that the pre-trial hearings won't conclude before Monday, so there will probably be a delay until everything is resolved (the Judge needs to resolve some legal arguments that are currently taking place). Once the pre-trial hearings conclude, we expect to go straight into jury selection - there are 100 potential jury members on stand-by for the selection process. Once a jury is selected, we'll go straight into opening statements. Subsequently, the three complainants will testify in a closed court. Once they finish testifying, it'll move back into open court for the testimonies of all the other witnesses. The trial is set for five weeks

We look forward to finally seeing some semblance of justice prevail and stand with the courageous Nicole, Dassi and Elly.

https://www.facebook.com/manny.waks/posts/5405425339500423

https://www.facebook.com/manny.waks

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940832 (311055ZJUL22) Notable: ‘Unprecedented, foolish, dangerous’: Keating attacks Pelosi’s planned trip to Taiwan - Former prime minister Paul Keating has accused US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of inflaming tensions with Beijing and risking a military conflict by planning to visit Taiwan next month

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‘Unprecedented, foolish, dangerous’: Keating attacks Pelosi’s planned trip to Taiwan

Eryk Bagshaw - July 25, 2022

Singapore: Former prime minister Paul Keating has accused US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of inflaming tensions with Beijing and risking a military conflict by planning to visit Taiwan next month.

Pelosi, who sits behind President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in American political seniority, would be the highest-level serving US official to visit Taiwan since the White House established diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1979.

Keating said in a statement on Monday evening that it was hard to imagine “a more reckless and provocative act”.

“Across the political spectrum, no observer of the cross-straits relationship between China and Taiwan doubts that such a visit by the Speaker of the American Congress may degenerate into military hostilities,” he said.

“If the situation is misjudged or mishandled, the outcome for the security, prosperity and order of the region and the world (and above all for Taiwan) would be catastrophic.”

China views neighbouring Taiwan as a province of the mainland even though it has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party. It has vowed to unify the island with China by 2049 and has engaged in a decades-long campaign of hybrid warfare to undermine the country’s defence systems. On Monday, Taiwan ran air raid drills in Taipei to guard against missile strikes - one of hundreds of measures it takes each year to prepare for the threat of invasion from the mainland.

Keating has been critical of US and Australian policy toward Beijing, arguing that Taiwan’s future was a civil matter for China, and it was not “a vital Australian interest”. But that argument has been resisted by the Coalition, Labor and Taipei which have developed stronger unofficial ties in the past decade through trade offices, while officially maintaining Australia’s “one-China policy”.

Due to the sensitivity of travelling to Taiwan - which neither America nor Australia officially recognises diplomatically, no serving president, vice president or prime minister has visited the democratic island of 24 million people.

Biden last week publicly rebuked Pelosi’s plans for the trip. “The military thinks it is not a good idea right now,” he said.

Keating said a visit by Pelosi would be “unprecedented - foolish, dangerous and unnecessary to any cause other than her own”.

“Over decades, countries like the United States and Australia have taken the only realistic option available on cross-strait relations. We encourage both sides to manage the situation in a way that ensures that the outcome for a peaceful resolution is always available,” he said.

“But that requires a contribution from us – calm, clear and sensitive to the messages being sent. A visit by Pelosi would threaten to trash everything that has gone before.”

The Financial Times, which first reported Pelosi’s plans to travel to Taiwan last week, said the Biden administration had been warned privately by Chinese officials about a potential military response to her visit. Pelosi has not publicly confirmed her plans, despite members of Congress being invited to travel with her.

There has been no official comment from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen or Foreign Minister Joseph Wu since the potential visit by Pelosi was first reported, highlighting the sensitivity of the situation.

Wu told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in January that he expected China’s military incursions to become “more intimidating than ever” this year, but that Taiwan was prepared to defend itself.

“If you bow or if you show weakness, the Chinese will come with more pressure until you break,” he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/unprecedented-foolish-dangerous-keating-attacks-pelosi-s-planned-trip-to-taiwan-20220725-p5b4g4.html

—

Bob Carr Tweet

PJK is right. Pelosi visit challenges the cross-Strait status quo that kept the peace. The West “acknowledges” the Chinese claim & does not recognise Taiwan as a country. China commits to reunification by peaceful means only. This is diplomacy. Diplomacy beats missiles every time

https://twitter.com/bobjcarr/status/1551773780426764288

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940847 (311101ZJUL22) Notable: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on July 29, 2022

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>>41604

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on July 29, 2022

Kyodo News: During the call between the two Presidents, the Chinese side made clear its position on the Taiwan question. The two sides also agreed to stay in touch. But if Speaker Pelosi would visit Taiwan, does China believe that the atmosphere to keep the China-US high-level dialogue going will no longer exist?

Zhao Lijian: In their phone conversation yesterday, Chinese and US Presidents had a candid, in-depth communication and exchange on China-US relations and issues of interest. The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the US side our serious concern over Speaker Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan and our firm opposition to the visit. If the US side challenges China’s red line, it will be met with resolute countermeasures. The US must bear all consequences arising thereof. 

China Daily: Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating openly criticized US House Speaker Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan in a recent statement, saying it would be “foolish, dangerous and unnecessary to any cause”. “If the situation is misjudged or mishandled, the outcome for the security, prosperity and order of the region and the world and above all for Taiwan would be catastrophic”, he added. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: About Speaker Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan, people with insight both within and outside the US have spoken out on this. We believe former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s statement is one such example. We hope the US side will see what they see and hear their voice of reason. 

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202207/t20220729_10730589.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16940874 (311115ZJUL22) Notable: US Strategic Command Tweet: #RIMPAC2022 = 26 nations, 38 surface ships, 4 submarines, 9 national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft & more than 25,000 personnel. (1) shared purpose. Ensure the safety of sea lanes & the security of the world's interconnected oceans.

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>>41493

US Strategic Command Tweet

#RIMPAC2022 = 26 nations, 38 surface ships, 4 submarines, 9 national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft & more than 25,000 personnel.

(1) shared purpose.

Ensure the safety of sea lanes & the security of the world's interconnected oceans.

https://twitter.com/US_STRATCOM/status/1553415251990913028

RIMPAC @RimofthePacific

#RIMPAC2022. We are not called the world's largest maritime exercise without reason.

#CapableAdaptivePartners, a symphony of power at sea.

https://twitter.com/RimofthePacific/status/1553235772391686144

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944058 (010943ZAUG22) Notable: James Packer’s $250,000 gift to free Julian Assange - “Of course I support Julian Assange. What has happened to him is outrageous…..A lot of fine people who I am privileged to know are working around the clock for his freedom. I will continue to support him. Whatever it takes.”

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>>41409

James Packer’s $250,000 gift to free Julian Assange

Charlotte Grieve and Kishor Napier-Raman - August 1, 2022

Perhaps James Packer’s been a secret progressive this whole time. CBD can reveal the billionaire has donated $250,000 to the campaign to free Julian Assange from prison and bring him home to Australia.

The whistleblower and WikiLeaks founder has been incarcerated in London’s Belmarsh prison since 2019, while he fights efforts to extradite him to the United States where he faces espionage charges that could see him jailed for 175 years.

“Of course I support Julian Assange. What has happened to him is outrageous,” Packer said. “A lot of fine people who I am privileged to know are working around the clock for his freedom. I will continue to support him. Whatever it takes.”

After his exit from Crown Resorts, Packer is now on a mission to “rehabilitate his reputation” (his words) – which seemingly involves splashing out on causes close to his heart.

In the past, that’s included issues like bringing down the monarchy – he famously gave $250,000 to the Australian Republic Movement in 2016. And now, it seems, freeing Assange, whose lengthy imprisonment has drawn sympathy from all sides of politics, and calls for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene.

A friend of Packer’s who’s seen his generosity in action told CBD the donation was “fantastic”.

“James has had something of a mid-life blossoming in terms of supporting great and progressive causes, and when someone of his heft puts his weight behind it, it makes all the difference to making actual progress.

“Being a billionaire means a lot of people automatically think you have no heart. James has always had one,” the friend said.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/james-packer-s-250-000-gift-to-free-julian-assange-20220731-p5b61p.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944062 (010946ZAUG22) Notable: Malka Leifer's trial date is pushed back - The trial of former Melbourne principal Malka Leifer has been postponed to August 22 - Pre-trial arguments before Judge Gamble continue

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>>41603

Malka Leifer's trial date is pushed back

Tara Cosoleto - August 1, 2022

The trial of former Melbourne principal Malka Leifer has been delayed.

The 55-year-old is accused of sexual offences that allegedly happened while she was the principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to stand trial in the County Court.

The planned five-week trial before Judge Mark Gamble was expected to start on Wednesday but has instead been postponed to August 22.

Pre-trial arguments before Judge Gamble continue.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/malka-leifers-trial-date-is-pushed-back-c-7715241

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944074 (010958ZAUG22) Notable: Video: Independent MP Monique Ryan tells Liberal MPs to ‘put their masks on’ while asking about Covid in parliament

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Monique Ryan tells MPs to ‘put their masks on’ while asking about Covid in parliament

The doctor who booted Josh Frydenberg out of his own electorate has berated MPs on the floor of parliament after being interrupted.

Samantha Maiden - August 1, 2022

The doctor who booted Josh Frydenberg out of his electorate of Kooyong has urged the Liberal MPs to “put your masks on” after being jeered on the floor of parliament.

Independent Dr Monique Ryan rose to her feet to ask her first question during Question Time on Monday – her chosen subject being the impact of Covid – and copped rowdy interjections.

While mask-wearing is recommended it is not mandatory inside parliament, and it is largely non-existent on the opposition benches.

A former paediatric neurologist, Dr Ryan asked the Health Minister Mark Butler about the risk that repeated Covid infections could cause long-term side effects.

“Repeated infections with Covid-19 can be more severe and carry a high risk of persisting symptoms for as long as six months, as well as an increased risk of hospitalisation and death,” she said.

“There is an increasing risk of cumulative neurological and cardiovascular disease from infections from Covid-19.

“Can the minister please explain how he proposes to manage the oncoming national significant burden of disability and chronic illness from repeated infection?”

As she was jeered by some MPs she shot back, “Put your masks on,” pointing at the opposition benches.

In response, the Health Minister said he was pleased that the large number of health professionals in parliament “will add depth to our health policy.

“This pandemic is still ravaging our community,‘’ he said

“In particular, as the member pointed out, people should wear masks when indoors and they are not able to be socially distant.

“Long Covid is not easy to diagnose or treat.

“The truth is, Mr Speaker, we don‘t know the scale of the challenge. A common estimate (is that) about 4 per cent of Covid patients experience long-term symptoms, (which) already runs to hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Australians.

“Support is available through our standard medical system. States are operating long Covid clinics. Their waiting lists are growing. It is increasingly clear to me that we will need to develop a focused response nationally to the phenomenon of long Covid.

“I am keen to continue discussions with the Member for Kooyong and other members of this place on this profound long-term health challenge that is proving to be so debilitating and distressing for so many Australians.”

Dr Ryan later tweeted about her remark to Coalition MPs, saying she didn’t “appreciate being interrupted while speaking on serious risks of repeated Covid infections”.

“I particularly don’t appreciate being interrupted by shouting LNP MPs who refuse to wear masks. We all have a duty to look after each other, here and everywhere. Put your mask on!” she wrote.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/monique-ryan-tells-mps-to-put-their-masks-on-while-asking-about-covid-in-parliament/news-story/eb31b3d1ac8e461d794257e7712dfba4

https://twitter.com/Mon4Kooyong/status/1553978872772714496

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944084 (011008ZAUG22) Notable: Video: Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe labels Queen ‘coloniser’ in parliamentary oath

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Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe labels Queen ‘coloniser’ in parliamentary oath

SARAH ISON - AUGUST 1, 2022

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has branded the Queen as a “coloniser” while reciting the oath of allegiance mandatory for all parliamentarians.

When called to do the oath, Senator Thorpe stood and walked to the front of the chamber with her fist raised, which she kept up while reading the oath.

“I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” she said.

Senator Thorpe was met with yells and outcry from the chamber, and Senate President Sue Lines reminded her she was required to recite the oath “as printed on the card”, which she did on the second reading before signing.

It was not the first time the outspoken senator had labelled the Queen a “coloniser”, having also done so in June.

Senator Thorpe at the time said the “colonisation of this country is coming to an end” and declared her intention as an Indigenous woman to “infiltrate” the senate.

“How many Australians in this country wake up and put their hands on their heart for the colonising Queen?” she questioned.

Fellow Indigenous Senator Jacinta Price in June dismissed Senator Thorpe’s comments as “childish” and “divisive” and said she needed to recognise her privilege.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/greens-senator-lydia-thorpe-labels-queen-coloniser-in-parliamentary-oath/news-story/094132e9e3e7bcfee7b33bdb78489d80

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944097 (011015ZAUG22) Notable: Victorian crossbench MP Fiona Patten launches bid to compel religious hospitals to provide abortions - The Reason Party leader will introduce a bill into state parliament that would remove the right of hospitals that receive any taxpayer funding to refuse to offer reproductive health services and voluntary assisted dying due to "corporate conscientious objection"

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>>41559

Victorian crossbench MP launches bid to compel religious hospitals to provide abortions

abc.net.au - 1 August 2022

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Victorian crossbench MP Fiona Patten is looking to compel taxpayer-funded religious hospitals to provide abortions, contraceptive treatment and end-of-life options.

The Reason Party leader will introduce a bill into state parliament this week that would remove the right of hospitals that receive any taxpayer funding to refuse to offer reproductive health services and voluntary assisted dying due to "corporate conscientious objection".

"I am moving legislation to protect and extend fundamental human rights currently being denied in public hospitals," Ms Patten said.

"The health system is mistreating those who fund it."

Ms Patten said imposed religious faith had no place in the public health system and hospitals that received funding had no right to refuse legally enshrined abortion and contraception, or access to assisted dying for the terminally ill.

Ms Patten singled out Mercy Health as an example of a religious provider that did not offer some services.

"The Mercy Hospital, which is one of the largest obstetric hospitals in Victoria, it is a publicly funded hospital," she said.

"They refuse to provide contraception, they refuse to provide abortions when patients need them and this is just not right."

Private hospitals that did not receive any public funding would not be affected if the bill was adopted, nor would individual practitioners.

Ms Patten said the bill aimed to ensure that abortions remained legal, available and safe in Victoria, and noted the controversial overturning of the Roe v Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court.

"We've all just seen what has happened in America and we need to ensure that women's rights to abortion and to contraception and other reproductive health is enshrined and protected in this state," she said.

"There is no reason to think that there won't be pushes in Australia and in Victoria to change our abortion laws here."

The Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas declined to say whether the state government would support the bill.

"The Victorian government already has the most progressive laws in the nation when it comes to supporting women exercising their reproductive rights," Ms Thomas said.

"As health minister, I will always champion the rights of women to access the sexual and reproductive health services that they need right across our state."

The state opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said she supported women's rights but could not say whether she would support the bill because she had not seen what Ms Patten was proposing.

"I don't trust Ms Patten after the last two-and-a-half years and the deals she's done with the government so I'd like to see the details of the bill," Ms Crozier said.

She was also highly critical of Ms Patten's timing for introducing the bill to parliament.

"Where is her gratitude about those hard-working doctors and nurses and health services that have done so much for so many Victorians over the last two-and-a-half years?"

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944105 (011022ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: Ambassador Kennedy met today with Solomon Islands High Commissioner Robert Sisilo to thank the Solomon Islands government for hosting the U.S. delegation for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The U.S. is committed to our partnership with Solomon Islands.

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>>41541

>>41587

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet

Ambassador Kennedy met today with Solomon Islands High Commissioner Robert Sisilo to thank the Solomon Islands government for hosting the U.S. delegation for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The U.S. is committed to our partnership with Solomon Islands.

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1553986727542652928

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944125 (011039ZAUG22) Notable: Australia urged to intervene as China tries to buy a strategic Solomon Islands port - A Chinese state-owned company is negotiating to buy a deep-water port and World War II airstrip in Solomon Islands, as new documents detail how money from Beijing has helped keep the Pacific nation's controversial leader, Manasseh Sogavare in power

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Australia urged to intervene as China tries to buy a strategic Solomon Islands port

Angus Grigg, Stephanie March and Amy Donaldson - 1 August 2022

1/3

A Chinese state-owned company is negotiating to buy a deep-water port and World War II airstrip in Solomon Islands, as new documents detail how money from Beijing has helped keep the Pacific nation's controversial leader in power.

As a battle for influence plays out in the region, an investigation by Four Corners has found China is aggressively pursuing economic opportunities across the Solomons to boost Beijing's strategic interests.

One asset being targeted by China is a hardwood forestry plantation on the island of Kolombangara, which features a protected harbour, deep-water port and an airstrip.

A delegation from the state-owned China Forestry Group Corporation visited the island in 2019 and, according to those present, showed little interest in the trees. Instead, one member of the group pointedly asked: "How long is the wharf and how deep is the water?"

Since COVID-19 border restrictions lifted last month, talks have resumed.

Silas Tausinga, a Solomon Islands MP whose electorate sits next to Kolombangara, believes China's ambition to house military assets in his country remains strong, despite months of high-level political and media attention.

"Absolutely, Australia should be worried about it," he told Four Corners.

This push is only possible because the Solomons severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing in 2019.

Since then, China has mobilised funds to support the country's combative Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare.

Chinese slush fund

Documents obtained by Four Corners show a Chinese slush fund was activated twice last year and dispersed nearly $3 million directly to members of parliament loyal to the Prime Minister.

One letter signed by Mr Sogavare said the Chinese embassy in Honiara "consented" to provide "additional support" for his government in August last year.

That was in the lead-up to a vote of no confidence, which could have toppled the Prime Minister and undermined Beijing's ambitions in the tiny Pacific nation.

Mr Sogavare described the money as a "stimulus package" to revitalise the economy, although it was only given to MPs loyal to him. Opposition members received nothing.

"This is corruption," said Ruth Liloqula, the head of Transparency International in Solomon Islands.

"China is keeping this government together. We all assume that China is remotely controlling the government and Solomon Islands affairs."

Weeks after riots erupted in the capital, and still fearing for the survival of his government, Mr Sogavare again activated the Chinese slush fund.

The list of MPs paid in that round was almost identical to the one four months earlier, except the name of the one MP who left the government was crossed out.

The only other name crossed out was an MP who had recently died.

Silas Tausinga confirmed that he received the first payment when he was part of the government, but not the second one after crossing the floor to join the opposition.

"I wasn't going to stay for the money," Mr Tausinga said.

All MPs loyal to the Prime Minister received nearly $80,000 each. Ms Liloqula said those MPs have no obligation to show how the money was spent.

Asked if the Chinese money allowed Mr Sogavare to retain his job, Mr Tausinga said: "Well, he's stayed in power, hasn't he?"

The Prime Minister survived the no-confidence motion on December 6.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944162 (011056ZAUG22) Notable: Video: Watch what happened when Four Corners tried filming a Chinese business in Solomon Islands - China’s presence is everywhere in Solomon Islands, but not everyone was happy when Four Corners arrived to film it - abc.net.au

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>>41613

VIDEO: Watch what happened when Four Corners tried filming a Chinese business in Solomon Islands

abc.net.au - 1 August 2022

China’s presence is everywhere in Solomon Islands, but not everyone was happy when Four Corners arrived to film it.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-01/watch-four-corners-film-chinese-business-in-solomon-islands/13998292

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944185 (011105ZAUG22) Notable: AUKUS members sink Chinese complaints over nuclear submarines - Australia, the US and UK have hit back at China’s attacks on the AUKUS pact, saying it will be impossible for Australia to convert uranium fuelling the planned fleet of nuclear-powered submarines into weapons without ruining the boats

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>>41505

AUKUS members sink Chinese complaints over nuclear submarines

Andrew Tillett - Aug 1, 2022

Australia, the US and UK have hit back at China’s attacks on the AUKUS pact, saying it will be impossible for Australia to convert uranium fuelling the planned fleet of nuclear-powered submarines into weapons without ruining the boats.

As a major United Nations conference on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons gets under way in New York, the three AUKUS partners released a working paper reaffirming a commitment not to breach international law through the transfer of radioactive material and to establish a verification process for the atomic watchdog.

“Partners are committed to doing this in a way that meets the highest possible non-proliferation standards including by providing complete, welded power units so that Australia need not conduct uranium enrichment nor fuel fabrication,” the working paper said.

The AUKUS agreement will lead to the US and UK helping Australia acquire as many as eight nuclear-powered submarines but – controversially – proposes to use highly enriched uranium in the boats’ reactors instead of low-enriched uranium.

Using low-enriched uranium, as navies such as France does, would require the reactors to be refuelled after 10 years or so, whereas highly enriched uranium lasts for the anticipated three-decade life of the submarine. The Morrison government dumped its contract with France for diesel-electric submarines because nuclear boats offer greater range and endurance.

Use of highly enriched uranium has sparked concerns among experts and anti-nuclear campaigners that it might breach the nuclear non-proliferation treaty because it is used in atomic warheads, and might set a precedent for rogue regimes such as Iran to acquire weapons-grade material.

AUKUS has also made waves in South-East Asia, with Malaysia and Indonesia both uneasy. While it did not directly reference AUKUS, Jakarta’s submission to the UN conference last week raised concerns over the transfer of nuclear submarine technology and the potential for “catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences”.

Predictably so, the strongest reaction has come from China, which is lobbying against the deal. Despite possessing nuclear submarines of its own and an arsenal of hundreds of nuclear warheads, Beijing argues AUKUS is illegal and “gangs up to create an Anglo-Saxon circle”.

The AUKUS members’ working paper for the UN conference points out Australia will not receive nuclear material “for many years” and the three countries have put in place four guiding elements to ensure compliance.

These include Australia’s commitment not to undertake its own enrichment of uranium, and providing “complete, welded power units” for the reactor.

“These power units are designed so that removal of any nuclear material would be extremely difficult and would render the power unit, and the submarine, inoperable,” the working paper said.

“Further, the nuclear material inside of these reactors would not be in a form that can be directly used in nuclear weapons without further chemical processing, requiring facilities that Australia does not have and will not seek.”

The three AUKUS members also said they wanted to establish with the International Atomic Energy Agency a “suitable verification approach to confirm the non-diversion of nuclear material from Australian nuclear-powered submarines”, underpinned by the IAEA’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.

“Australia, the UK and the US are working closely with the IAEA to ensure that the precedent set by Australia’s acquisition of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines strengthens the global non-proliferation regime and closes the door to any potential misuse of these elements of the NPT framework for the purposes of developing a clandestine nuclear weapons program,” the working paper said.

To further satisfy the IAEA, Australia is offering to implement additional safeguard mechanisms outside the nuclear submarine program “to maintain international confidence that there is no undeclared nuclear material or activity in Australia”.

The release of the paper comes after AUKUS steering groups last week met at the Pentagon to review progress on the nuclear submarine project, and separately agreed to step up “near-term capabilities in hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, as well as cyber”.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/aukus-members-sink-chinese-complaints-over-nuclear-submarines-20220801-p5b66q

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944211 (011114ZAUG22) Notable: PDF: Cooperation under the AUKUS partnership - Working paper submitted by Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America

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>>41505

>>41616

Australian Government Department of Defence

Readout of AUKUS Joint Steering Group Meetings

31 July 2022

Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America recently held meetings of the AUKUS Joint Steering Groups, which were established as part of the governance structure of the AUKUS partnership in September 2021. The delegations discussed the intensive work under way and the progress that has been made since the announcement of AUKUS. Both meetings were held at the Pentagon, with additional sessions at the White House where the delegations met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

The Joint Steering Group for Australia’s Nuclear-Powered Submarine Program met on July 25-28, continuing its progress on defining the optimal pathway to provide Australia with conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines at the earliest possible date while ensuring the highest standards of nuclear stewardship, including the responsible planning, operation, application and management of nuclear material, technology and facilities.

The participants took stock of ongoing progress to deliver on our leaders’ commitment to set the highest possible non-proliferation standards, including through continued close consultation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. They welcomed the publication of the working paper on Cooperation under the AUKUS partnership (PDF) for the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The paper details our proposal to provide complete power units to Australia, Australia’s commitment that it will not conduct enrichment, reprocessing or fuel fabrication in connection with its nuclear-powered submarine program, and our engagement with the IAEA to find a suitable verification approach. They noted the introductory remarks of the IAEA Director General to the June Board of Governors in which he expressed “satisfaction with the engagement and transparency shown by the three countries thus far” and noted that he plans to present a report on AUKUS to the September Board.

The Joint Steering Group for Advanced Capabilities met on July 28-29, reviewing progress across critical defense capabilities. The participants decided to bolster combined military capabilities, including by accelerating near-term capabilities in hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, as well as cyber. They also recommitted to deepening cooperation on information-sharing and other previously agreed working groups. As work progresses on these and other critical defense capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners.

https://news.defence.gov.au/international/readout-aukus-joint-steering-group-meetings

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Cooperation under the AUKUS partnership - Working paper submitted by Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/npt_conf.2020_wp.66_advance.pdf

IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/iaea-director-generals-introductory-statement-to-the-board-of-governors-6-june-2022

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944234 (011122ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Air Force Tweet: .@Whiteman_AFB Airmen are bringing the (B-2) Spirit every day while on a Bomber Task Force deployment at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia. Our Airmen are conducting training & missions alongside Allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. @PACAF

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>>41428

>>41551

U.S. Air Force Tweet

.@Whiteman_AFB Airmen are bringing the (B-2) Spirit every day while on a Bomber Task Force deployment at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia.

Our Airmen are conducting training & missions alongside Allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

@PACAF

https://twitter.com/usairforce/status/1553823581607530499

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944261 (011135ZAUG22) Notable: (Google translation) - The Chinese Embassy in Australia held a reception for the 95th anniversary of the founding of the army, 2022-07-29

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(Google translation)

The Chinese Embassy in Australia held a reception for the 95th anniversary of the founding of the army

2022-07-29

On July 29, the Chinese Embassy in Australia held a reception to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. More than 60 people including Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian, Defense Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Australia Colonel Qiu Xuqiang and some diplomats of the Embassy, representatives of the Australian Ministry of Defense, Federal Police, and military attachés from various countries in Australia attended the event.

In his speech, attaché Qiu Xuqiang reviewed the glorious history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army since its founding 95 years ago, emphasizing that China adheres to the path of peaceful development, pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a safeguard of international order. By. China provides the world with unprecedented opportunities and opens up the prospect of jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Attaché Qiu pointed out that this year coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. The healthy and stable development of China-Australia relations is in the common interests of the two countries and the two peoples, and is also conducive to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Not long ago, the foreign ministers and defense ministers of the two countries held a candid, in-depth and constructive meeting, and China-Australia relations showed a positive momentum. He is willing to work with the Australian counterparts in the spirit of mutual respect to make joint efforts to push forward the relationship between the two militaries on the right track and benefit the two peoples.

During the reception, the photo exhibition "Ten Years of the Chinese Army" was broadcast. The atmosphere was solemn, friendly and warm. The guests spoke highly of the construction achievements of the Chinese military and its contribution to world peace. Australian military officials expressed that they will further deepen their relationship with China in the future. The military's desire for pragmatic exchange and cooperation.

http://au.china-embassy.gov.cn/chn/sghdxwfb/202207/t20220731_10730964.htm