/qnotables22/ - ===Q Notables 2022===

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16331751 (240856ZMAY22) Notable: Election delays top witness in Ben Roberts-Smith trial - The change of government will delay the evidence of the highest ranking SAS soldier to testify in the defamation trial of Ben Roberts-Smith

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>>122763

>>122465

Election delays top witness in Ben Roberts-Smith trial

The change of government will delay the evidence of the highest ranking SAS soldier to testify in the defamation trial of Ben Roberts-Smith.

Perry Duffin - May 24, 2022

The change of government has thrown a spanner in the works of Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial as the most senior SAS soldier in the case prepares to take the stand.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers claiming they defamed him in articles that alleged he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

The marathon trial was supposed to be in its final week of evidence but Labor’s victory in Canberra has changed that, the Federal Court heard on Tuesday.

Mr Roberts-Smith’s legal team were calling an SAS commander, known as Person 81, to testify about a mission in Afghanistan in 2009.

Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith, during that mission, was involved in two war crime murders.

The Victoria Cross recipient denies every allegation against him.

Some SAS witnesses have placed Person 81, who was then a senior officer in the regiment, in the Taliban compound now at the centre of the case.

Person 81 was expected to be questioned about the raid but top secret ADF documents would need to be released to the legal teams from the Commonwealth government before he took the stand.

The defeat of the Coalition means Labor is yet to appoint a full time Attorney-General to sign off on the release of the documents.

The court, on Tuesday, heard an interim A-G may sign off on the documents but it was not clear if that was going to happen before next week.

It means Person 81 will now not be called until late next week, delaying the end of the gripping case until the start of June.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/election-delays-top-witness-in-ben-robertssmith-trial/news-story/70c5b0389130ee172bd3f9b703e8783e

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16331772 (240904ZMAY22) Notable: PM Anthony Albanese attends first Quad meeting, pledges new government is aligned

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>>122763

PM Anthony Albanese attends first Quad meeting, pledges new government is aligned

ELLEN RANSLEY - MAY 24, 2022

US President Joe Biden has told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese it’s OK if he falls asleep during the Quad meeting, heaping praise on his new fellow world leader amid a whirlwind diplomatic trip.

A little over 24 hours after being sworn in as Australia’s 31st prime minister, Mr Albanese made a public statement ahead of the Quad meeting alongside Mr Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

In his speech, Mr Albanese thanked his fellow leaders for their “sincere congratulations” on his election win and said it was an “honour” for his first act as prime minister to be attending the Quad.

“The new Australian government’s priorities align with the Quad agenda – taking action on climate change and building a stronger and more resilient Indo-Pacific region through better economic security, better cybersecurity, better energy security, and better environmental and health security,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese outlined Australia’s new climate target – to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 – to reach net zero by 2050.

While the Australian government’s climate targets have changed, Mr Albanese stressed they would continue to work closely on countering China’s rise and interference.

“Our co-operation is built on the values that we share – a commitment to representative democracy, the rule of law, and the right to live in peace,” he said.

Mr Biden heaped congratulations and praise on Mr Albanese before making a joke that had the whole room laughing.

“You got sworn in, got on a plane and if you fall asleep while you’re here, it’s OK,” Mr Biden said.

“I don’t know how you’re doing it. It’s really quite extraordinary just getting off the campaign trail as well.

“Congratulations on your election.”

Mr Biden went on to discuss how Russia’s war in Ukraine had triggered a “humanitarian catastrophe” and had spread around the globe.

“Russia’s assault on Ukraine only highlights the importance of those goals, the fundamental principles of international order, territorial integrity and sovereignty, international law, human rights must always be defended, regardless of where they’re violated in the world,” Mr Biden said.

“The Quad has a lot of work ahead of us.”

Mr Albanese is expected to return to Australia on Wednesday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/pm-anthony-albanese-attends-first-quad-meeting-pledges-new-government-is-aligned/news-story/08f74f1bc3cbcbe8a4bd36c903ebe329

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16331797 (240912ZMAY22) Notable: Anthony Albanese signs up to Joe Biden’s US-Asia alliance - The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity - a new US-led Asia-Pacific economic bloc aimed at countering Chinese regional dominance

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>>122763

>>122792

Anthony Albanese signs up to Joe Biden’s US-Asia alliance

BEN PACKHAM and GEOFF CHAMBERS - MAY 24, 2022

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Anthony Albanese will sign ­Australia up to a new US-led Asia-Pacific economic bloc aimed at countering Chinese regional dominance, as he meets Quad allies in Tokyo amid heightened US-China tensions over Taiwan.

Australia will join the US, India, Japan and key regional partners in the 13-member economic alliance, aimed at establishing preferential trading rules outside China’s orbit in the world’s fastest-growing economic region.

Just hours after being sworn in as Prime Minister, Mr Albanese flew to Tokyo to attend Tuesday’s Quad leaders’ summit where he will reassure counterparts that Australia under his leadership will maintain a tough stance on China.

The meeting comes a day after Joe Biden warned Beijing was “flirting with danger” in relation to Taiwan, and made an unambiguous commitment to defend the territory against Chinese invasion.

“That’s the commitment we made,” Mr Biden said. “We agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it … but the idea that (Taiwan) can be taken by force is just not appropriate.”

Before departing for the summit with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Albanese said Australia's relationship with Beijing would remain “a difficult one”, one in which he would “always stand up for our values”.

Mr Albanese said he would use the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting with Mr Biden, Mr Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “send a message to the world” that Australia’s climate change policies had changed.

The Quad meeting is set to be dominated by concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, amid Beijing’s new security agreement with the Solomon Islands and its ongoing threat towards Taiwan.

Mr Albanese, who will have bilateral meetings with each leader, said the Australia-US alliance was “our most important” relationship, and reiterated his commitment to the nation’s regional and multilateral partnerships. In his meeting with Mr Biden, he is expected to reiterate his commitment to the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership, and discuss escalating ­security pressures in the Indo-­Pacific driven by Chinese diplomatic and military assertiveness.

China’s Premier Li Keqiang congratulated Mr Albanese on Monday night, ending an almost three-year long freeze on relations between Australia and China, although there was no direct contact between the two leaders.

Mr Li said the healthy and stable development of China-Australia relations was conducive to peace, stability, development, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region

He singled out the Labor Party for “making the right choice” in 1972 by breaking ties with Taipei to recognise the People’s Republic of China.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16331825 (240919ZMAY22) Notable: British PM floats expanding AUKUS beyond defence in phone call with Albanese

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>>122763

>>>/qresearch/16325955

British PM floats expanding AUKUS beyond defence in phone call with Albanese

Rob Harris and David Crowe - May 23, 2022

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has raised the prospect of expanding the new security alliance between Australia and the United States in a lengthy phone call with newly sworn-in leader Anthony Albanese.

The pair spoke for the first time on Monday while Albanese was flying to Tokyo for a meeting of the Quad dialogue, where he will meet US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Albanese was said to have reiterated Labor’s strong support from the AUKUS pact, which had placed a major strain on diplomatic relations with France last year after Paris accused all three nations of conspiring behind its back to terminate Canberra’s $90 billion deal.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said Johnson told Albanese that he thought the trilateral grouping could go “further together in other domains”, where both countries could “collaborate for the global good”.

The three-way strategic defence alliance is to initially build a class of nuclear-propelled submarines, but also to work together in the Indo-Pacific region, where the rise of China is seen as an increasing threat, and develop wider technologies.

However, diplomatic sources have told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the British government had been wary that an incoming Albanese government might be lukewarm towards the alliance, given its controversy and the previous government’s missteps, and had privately raised the idea of broadening the pact to include other areas such as energy security before the election result.

Johnson was said to have congratulated the new Australian Prime Minister leader “fulsomely” and said he looked forward to strengthening the relationship between the two nations “even further”.

One of the leading advocates for more action on climate change, Johnson had pushed former prime minister Scott Morrison hard before last year’s Glasgow climate summit to adopt a carbon-neutral target by 2050.

While Labor policies are more ambitious than the previous government, many environmentalists argue they do not go far enough. The party has pledged a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050 — in contrast to the Liberals, who had only recently committed to net zero.

However, Albanese has so far refused to ban coal in power stations or to block new mines and courtesy of its parliamentary majority will not be pressured by a large climate-focused crossbench to go any further simply to hold on to power.

Johnson also thanked Australia for its “principled” position and strong support for Ukraine with the pair agreeing that it was important that the war did not embolden other countries to undermine global stability.

He told his counterpart it was an important moment for democracies to stand together and prove their worth, and it was important that coercive autocracies were sent a message of strength and unity.

The readout of the call said Albanese noted that the UK and Australia had a “strong and historic friendship”, stemming from their close Commonwealth ties and the pair agreed that there was more that could be done together across global security, climate change and trade.

The six-week Australian election campaign delayed the implementation of the trade agreement between the nations, struck late that year. The UK is hoping to use the deal as part of its accession to the 11-member trans-Pacific trade bloc.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/british-pm-floats-prospect-of-expanded-aukus-in-phone-call-with-albanese-20220523-p5anvu.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16337709 (250912ZMAY22) Notable: Albanese’s day one: change the climate - Anthony Albanese joins Joe Biden’s climate change crusade and unveils Australia’s new international approach on global carbon emissions at the Quad meeting in Tokyo

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>>122792

Albanese’s day one: change the climate

GEOFF CHAMBERS and WILL GLASGOW - MAY 25, 2022

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Anthony Albanese has joined Joe Biden’s climate change crusade and unveiled Australia’s new international approach on global carbon emissions at a Quad meeting in Tokyo where the US and Japan indirectly warned China they would not allow a Ukraine-like crisis to unfold in the Indo-Pacific.

Amid rising concerns about Chinese threats to Taiwan, South Pacific nations and global supply chains, the Prime Minister was praised by Quad leaders on Tuesday for turning up and committing to the security dialogue 24 hours after being sworn-in.

As promised during the six-week election campaign, Mr Albanese put climate change at the heart of his regional security message to Mr Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Albanese also talked down a congratulatory letter sent to him by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang – the first correspondence from Mr Li or President Xi Jinping to an Australian leader since 2018 – and warned that “China is clearly seeking to exert more influence”.

“Recognising the urgent need to address climate change as emphasised in the latest IPCC -reports,” the statement said, “we will steadfastly implement the Paris Agreement and deliver on the outcomes of COP26.”

The Quad leaders vowed to accelerate efforts to “raise global ambition, including reaching out to key stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific region, and supporting, strengthening, and enhancing climate actions by partners in the region, including through mobilising climate finance, both public and private, and facilitating the research, development, and deployment of innovative technology”.

“We welcome the new Australian government’s commitment to stronger action on climate change, including through passing legislation to achieve net zero by 2050 and lodging a new, ambitious nationally determined contribution,” they said.

Mr Kishida began the meeting by repeating his concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and linking it, indirectly, to fears about Beijing’s threats over Taiwan.

“We should never, ever allow a similar incident to happen in the Indo-Pacific,” Mr Kishida said.

Mr Albanese’s opening statement at the Kantei on Tuesday morning was heavily influenced by climate action and its links with the “security of our region”, as well as Labor’s election commitments to increase foreign aid by almost $1bn and step up Australia’s soft diplomacy efforts.

“My government is committed to working with your countries and we are committed to the Quad,” the Prime Minister said.

“Our co-operation is built on the values that we share. A commitment to representative democracy, the rule of law and the right to live in peace.

“The region is looking to us to work with them and to lead by example. That’s why my government will take ambitious action on climate change and increase our support to partners in the region as they work to address it, including with new finance.

“We will act in recognition that climate change is the main economic and security challenge for the island countries of the Pacific. Under my government, Australia will set a new target to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, putting us on track for net zero by 2050.”

In a bilateral meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Biden following the Quad summit, the pair committed to collaborate in “addressing the existential threat posed by climate change” and invited each other to travel to Canberra and Washington DC. Mr Albanese also revealed his conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who failed to convince Scott Morrison to follow the UK and US on global emissions-reduction targets, was dominated by climate change and the AUKUS security pact.

“The main thing that we discussed was climate change,” Mr Albanese said.

“We had quite a good discussion. It was longer than I thought it would be. The truth is the science of climate change is very clear. And we need a very clear response. He welcomed, very much welcomed, the fact that we will have stronger action on climate change, including with a higher 2030 target.”

(continued)