/qnotables23/ - ===Q Notables 2023===

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19936588 (181448ZNOV23) Notable: Doctors step up calls for gender care re-examination - The battle over gender-affirmative medicine in Australia has intensified with a call to arms by two experienced psychiatrists for their fellow doctors to resist the pressure of activism that has triggered the widespread “subordination of clinical governance to social and political goals” in the rush to affirm distressed children’s chosen gender. The psychiatrists used an academic paper in a top psychiatry journal to urge the medical profession to heed the “cautionary tale” posed by the healthcare scandal that unfolded at London’s Tavistock clinic and in British compensation cases they say are directly relevant to Australia. Monash Medical Centre child and adolescent psychiatrist George Halasz and Andrew Amos, an academic psychiatrist who has previously held a training role with Queensland’s health department, went as far as to remind doctors of their obligation to observe the Hippocratic oath in questioning the evidence base of affirmative medicine.

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Doctors step up calls for gender care re-examination

NATASHA ROBINSON - NOVEMBER 18, 2023

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The battle over gender-affirmative medicine in Australia has intensified with a call to arms by two experienced psychiatrists for their fellow doctors to resist the pressure of activism that has triggered the widespread “subordination of clinical governance to social and political goals” in the rush to affirm distressed children’s chosen gender.

The psychiatrists used an academic paper in a top psychiatry journal to urge the medical profession to heed the “cautionary tale” posed by the healthcare scandal that unfolded at London’s Tavistock clinic and in British compensation cases they say are directly relevant to Australia.

Monash Medical Centre child and adolescent psychiatrist George Halasz and Andrew Amos, an academic psychiatrist who has previously held a training role with Queensland’s health department, went as far as to remind doctors of their obligation to observe the Hippocratic oath in questioning the evidence base of affirmative medicine.

In an article in the journal Australasian Psychiatry, They urged doctors to examine the ethics of a model in which powerful hormone drugs are prescribed despite a lack of evidence that the affirmation of a child’s perceived gender identity and subsequent medical transition eases teenagers’ mental distress.

“The natural history of gender dysphoria suggests two critical ethical questions: first, is the ‘transition pathway’ – social, medical or surgical – in the best interest of the child?” the two psychiatrists wrote. “Second, is that pathway consistent with the principle ‘first, do no harm’?”

But even as the explosive article was published, paediatricians and their colleagues at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne – home of the nation’s leading experts in gender-affirmative medicine and the self-appointed setters of quasi-national guidelines adopted by most of the country’s children’s hospitals – quietly published an updated version of their standards of care that endorse a radical expansion of the affirmative model.

The new guidelines endorse the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones by general practitioners, outside a multidisciplinary model led by specialist children’s hospitals – the model explicitly endorsed as of utmost importance by the Cass Review in the UK.

The review by pediatrician Hilary Cass of the Tavistock clinic’s Gender Identity Development Service began in 2022 and triggered the institution’s closure. It confirmed a limited evidence base for gender-affirming care, systemic failures of clinical governance, and unjustifiable risks of harms to children and families, amid re-examination of the affirmative model in academic literature and policy in countries throughout Europe.

Despite this, the new RCH guidelines do not reference the Tavistock fallout at all, or the fact puberty blocker drugs are only able to be prescribed in the context of a clinical trial now in England. Nor do they mention the growing caution that has prompted a rollback of the medical model in countries that had previously adopted it, including Finland, amid the recent scientific discrediting of the Dutch “affirmation model” on which Australia’s approach is still based.

“It is unrealistic that all trans and gender-diverse adolescents in Australia will be able to directly access comprehensive specialist paediatric services, especially with these specialist disciplines co-located within a public health service,” the new guidelines state. “Provision of a multidisciplinary team approach with co-ordination of care from general practitioners, private specialist practitioners and community-based clinicians can be an effective alternative in ensuring best practice and accessibility to medical intervention.”

The RCH was approached for comment and declined.

Clinicians pushing for clinical accountability and transparency said they were stunned that the new guidelines fail to consider any of the newly emerging evidence or systematic reviews post-2020 that have dismantled the credibility of the original Dutch model that underpins gender-affirmative medicine and also cast doubt on the efficacy of the approach, highlighted in Australia this year by research clinicians at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

In interviews with The Weekend Australian expanding upon their academic paper, Professor Halasz and Dr Amos expanded upon their concerns that there were “major risks associated with gender-affirming care”. Yet the new version of Australia’s guidelines “reads as if there is simply no controversy”.

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19940999 (190828ZNOV23) Notable: Tens of thousands call for Gaza ceasefire at Australian rallies, hundreds call for release of hostages

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Tens of thousands call for Gaza ceasefire at Australian rallies, hundreds call for release of hostages

Leanne Wong - 19 November 2023

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Thousands of people are taking to Australian streets for the sixth-straight week of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, while pro-Israeli events are rallying for the release of hostages.

The pro-Palestinian events across the nation began with a demonstration in Melbourne for the sixth Sunday, before similar events in Sydney and Brisbane.

In the week since the last rallies, more than 1,000 people have been recorded as killed in Gaza.

Gaza's health authorities said the death toll from fighting between Israeli forces and its militants had reached 12,300 since the war started on October 7.

About 30,000 people have been wounded according to the latest updates, which are being provided infrequently due to the difficulty of collecting information; intense fighting has prevented bodies from being recovered and shut down most hospitals.

Israel says about 1,200 Israelis were killed in the October 7 attack.

Israeli officials say Hamas militants hold about 240 hostages, seized during the October 7 attack. It has rejected calls for a ceasefire or humanitarian pauses until all hostages were released.

Melbourne rally calls for ceasefire in Gaza

For the sixth consecutive week, tens of thousands of people gathered at the steps of the State Library of Victoria for a pro-Palestinian rally.

The crowd, many draped in the Palestinian flag, carried signs calling for an immediate ceasefire and chanted "free free Palestine" and "shame shame, Labor shame".

John Shipton, the father of Julian Assange, addressed the crowd and expressed support for the Palestinian cause, as well as criticising the US government for its involvement in geopolitical conflicts.

"There's a cloud, thundercloud-thick, above the Middle East, above West Asia, of grief and rage," he said.

Many of the speakers — who included Australian Palestine Advocacy Network's Nasser Mashni and Indigenous activist Robbie Thorpe — aimed their frustrations at the federal government for its support of Israel.

"Albanese, you can't hide, you're supporting genocide," was chanted by the crowd.

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19941028 (190844ZNOV23) Notable: ‘Rage and a hunger for justice’: Assange’s father speaks at pro-Palestine rally - Julian Assange’s father addressed thousands of Palestine supporters as they rallied in Melbourne’s CBD for the sixth weekend in a row to call for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza

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‘Rage and a hunger for justice’: Assange’s father speaks at pro-Palestine rally

Marta Pascual Juanola - November 19, 2023

Julian Assange’s father addressed thousands of Palestine supporters on Sunday as they rallied in Melbourne’s CBD for the sixth weekend in a row to call for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

As with the previous rallies, the protesters, many of whom wore traditional Palestinian scarves and waved the Palestinian flag, gathered outside the State Library of Victoria around noon before marching down Spring Street to Treasury Gardens, near Parliament.

Police estimated about 15,000 people attended the rally.

John Shipton, Assange’s father, addressed the crowd at the State Library, listing the number of civilian deaths in wars around the world over the decades, asking at the end of each figure: “Are you good with that?” “No!” replied the crowds.

He said that since Israel began bombing Gaza last month, rage and a hunger for justice had “swept around the globe and embraced every human being that is sentient enough to have sympathy for another”.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, who also spoke at the event, described Israel’s attack on Gaza as a show of “depravity and inhumanity” and accused the Australian government of being on the wrong side of history.

“Even the prime minister [Anthony Albanese] was forced to admit that he has a track record of standing up for justice for Palestinian people,” she said to a cheering crowd.

“So here’s my message to the prime minister: prime minister, take a trip back into your past and when you come to that junction where you dropped off your guts, pick them up, dust them off, come back here and call for a ceasefire.”

Farrah Salhah, a Palestinian woman from Point Cook who was among those marching on Sunday, said her mother and mother-in-law’s cousins had been killed in Palestine in recent weeks.

“My grandparents were expelled from Palestine during the Nakba and we were never able to go back home,” she said, referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians by Israel in 1948. Nakba means “catastrophe” in Arabic.

“We are trying our best to educate people that this is not a religious conflict, a religious war. It’s between coloniser and indigenous people.”

Free Palestine Melbourne’s Muayad Ali said Australians were galvanised by their disgust at the federal government’s refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“This is the sixth rally we’ve called in as many weeks,” Ali said. “We’ve had people come who have never before been to a rally, and the following week they return with their relatives and friends.”

Israel launched an intense military campaign against Hamas in Gaza seven weeks ago, after the terrorist group stormed the border and attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1200 people.

Nearly 12,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel’s missile strikes. Another 2700 have been reported missing, believed buried under rubble.

Meanwhile, scores of kites flew in Hawthorn East to raise awareness of the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack.

Kites for Freedom organiser Ayal Marek said between 200 and 300 people attended the interfaith event, which featured kite-making, face-painting and several speakers.

Marek said Kites for Freedom has run in Israel for 15 years and encourages locals to fly kites as a message of peace to those over the border in Gaza. It was scheduled to run in southern Israel on the day Hamas attacked the region, killing the festival’s founder and his family.

“We did it today because tomorrow is the international day of the child [World Children’s Day] to mainly focus on the hostages and children among them,” Marek said.

“The day was great. The only person who didn’t do their job was the person in charge of the wind.”

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/rage-and-a-hunger-for-justice-assange-s-father-addresses-pro-palestine-protesters-in-cbd-20231119-p5el1z.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19941040 (190855ZNOV23) Notable: Voice fallout: support for treaty plunges after referendum - Only a third of voters believe the federal government should pursue a treaty-making process with Indigenous Australians or establish a “truth-telling” commission, with support for the remaining ambitions of the Uluru Statement languishing in the aftermath of the Voice referendum. Exclusive findings from the Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, show that support for treaty processes has nosedived following the Voice defeat, plunging from 58 per cent in October to 33 per cent this month.

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>>128523

Voice fallout: support for treaty plunges after referendum

Lisa Visentin - November 19, 2023

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Only a third of voters believe the federal government should pursue a treaty-making process with Indigenous Australians or establish a “truth-telling” commission, with support for the remaining ambitions of the Uluru Statement languishing in the aftermath of the Voice referendum.

Exclusive findings from the Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, show that support for treaty processes has nosedived following the Voice defeat, plunging from 58 per cent in October to 33 per cent this month.

The third pillar of the Uluru Statement – the call for a truth-telling process run by a Makarrata Commission to record the history and treatment of Indigenous Australians since colonisation – is languishing at 35 per cent support, a one per cent increase since the vote that is within the margin of error. Thirty-one per cent are opposed, while 34 per cent of voters are undecided.

Together the three elements – Voice, treaty, truth – comprised the policy direction set out by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, endorsed by 250 Indigenous leaders in 2017, and which Labor committed to implementing in full in the lead-up to the 2022 federal election.

But following the emphatic defeat of the Voice referendum on October 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney have been unwilling to re-commit to treaty and truth. It remains unclear what Labor plans to do with the $5.8 million it allocated in its October 2022 budget to start work on establishing a Makarrata Commission as part of its $27.7 election commitment to fund the body.

In response to questions about its plans for a Makarrata Commission, Burney said the government was “taking the time to pause and to listen to Indigenous communities before we decide on the next steps forward.”

“I have met with my state and territory colleagues and received an update on where each jurisdiction is up to in terms of establishing representative bodies, truth-telling and agreement-making,” Burney said, adding she would have further discussions at the Joint Council on Closing the Gap on Friday.

Resolve director Jim Reed said there were signs the fallout from the referendum had diminished voters’ appetite for reform in Indigenous affairs more broadly, including on symbolic constitutional recognition, which is supported by just 48 per cent of voters, down from 58 per cent last month.

Thirty-four per cent were opposed and 19 per cent were undecided when asked whether they would support or oppose an alteration to the Constitution to include a recognition that Indigenous Australians were the first inhabitants of Australia.

“Support for simple recognition, without a Voice attached to it, has always enjoyed majority support even until the referendum vote. But it’s now collapsed, so in many ways the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater,” Reed said.

“Support for a national treaty is less popular still, with just a third in favour of one. Even truth-telling, a legislated Voice, or government listening to one that is completely independent are minority positions. This has become dangerous political ground because of the strong rejection of the Voice.”

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19941089 (190915ZNOV23) Notable: Minnesota governor ‘surprised’ at Australia’s slow pace on cannabis legalisation - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was not shy with his advice for NSW Premier Chris Minns. “You don’t get elected to get re-elected,” he said, suggesting the path to success for the first-term Minns government was in aggressively pursuing reform.

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Minnesota governor ‘surprised’ at Australia’s slow pace on cannabis legalisation

Michael McGowan - November 18, 2023

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was not shy with his advice for NSW Premier Chris Minns. “You don’t get elected to get re-elected,” he said, suggesting the path to success for the first-term Minns government was in aggressively pursuing reform.

Walz, a Democrat whose term in office has been lauded by the likes of Barack Obama due to an impressive list of progressive reforms passed in a traditionally “purple” state, visited Sydney and Melbourne leading his state’s first-ever trade mission to Australia.

His visit is part of a seeming influx of US state leaders to Australia. Washington’s Jay Inslee was also in Sydney and New Mexico’s Lujan Grisham is soon to follow.

The increased focus on Australia by US states, Walz said, comes amid growing “isolationism” in his country’s federal politics. Governors have recognised the need to fill a void as instability in Congress monopolises domestic attention.

“We’re reaching out to who we think are our natural allies [to show] there’s not a universal sweeping isolationism across the United States,” he said.

To exploit what he believes are natural overlaps between Minnesota and NSW in industries such as agriculture and biomedical research, Walz met the premier to spruik the links.

Walz has presided over a string of progressive legislative achievements since Democrats took control of both houses of the state congress, including the legalisation of cannabis, banning gay conversion therapy, protecting abortion rights and restricting gun access.

“I’ve always said this, you don’t get elected to figure out how to get re-elected, and my belief is one of the things that has happened is that people have been conditioned that bad things happen fast and good things take a long time,” he said.

“But these policies we have pushed are super popular.”

Walz – who made Minnesota the 23rd state to legalise and regulate cannabis while also expunging criminal records of people convicted for possession of marijuana – expressed shock that Australian states had not done the same.

“I was surprised that Australia hasn’t done this and for me, first of all, prohibition doesn’t work,” he said.

In NSW, the government has refused to move on significant cannabis reforms until after it holds a drug summit, likely next year. Despite Minns previously expressing support for a legal and regulated cannabis market, he has refused to move on the issue until then.

Walz cited a regulated market as a means of both helping his state’s economy, and addressing the over-representation of people of colour in the justice system.

“Minnesota has a long history of prohibition with alcohol and other things. It doesn’t work,” he said.

“In the end, the biggest issue is that cannabis arrests or incarcerations were predominantly in our communities of colour. And so one of the premises around cannabis legalisation first and foremost was an expungement of those records.”

On the timing of his visit to Australia – the first official visit by a Minnesota leader – Walz said he and other governors sought to guard against the increasing “isolationism” of the US.

It also comes at a time when some experts in Australia warn the alliance between the countries has become too close, particularly militarily, given the domestic unrest in the US.

An ally of President Joe Biden, Walz was confident Democrats would prevail in the White House in 2024. Australians, he said, “should be concerned” about the implications of a second Donald Trump presidency for the alliance with the US.

“I’m concerned [about] our alliances and I think that is one of the reasons that you’re seeing governors out here,” he said.

After meeting Minns, Walz was struck by the similarity in the challenges their states face, including affordable housing.

For housing, he had a litmus test – whether a public schoolteacher could afford a house. Walz said to Minns, “Say … a teacher wants to buy a $300,000 house? And [he said], ‘Well, they’re not going to buy that here’.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/nsw/minnesota-governor-surprised-at-australia-s-slow-pace-on-cannabis-legalisation-20231116-p5ekf3.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19941169 (190949ZNOV23) Notable: What the Secret Service agent saw - "Secret Service agent Paul Landis was with John F. Kennedy in Dallas when he was assassinated 60 years ago, and is one of the few surviving witnesses. His account up-ends the findings of the official verdict." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

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What the Secret Service agent saw

Secret Service agent Paul Landis was with John F. Kennedy in Dallas when he was assassinated 60 years ago, and is one of the few surviving witnesses. His account up-ends the findings of the official verdict.

TROY BRAMSTON - November 18, 2023

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Special Agent Paul Landis was standing on the rear running board of the Secret Service car behind John F. Kennedy’s limousine as it motored through downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963, when he heard a gunshot from a high-powered rifle and looked over his right shoulder.

Within seconds there was another shot and then another that struck Kennedy in the head. Landis was looking at the president when that fatal shot rang out. He saw the president’s head explode with a pink spray of blood, flesh and brain. He ducked as the follow-up car drove through it.

Landis, 88, recalled the grim scene in Dealey Plaza 60 years ago in an interview with Inquirer this week. Landis, one of the few surviving witnesses to the assassination, has published a book that is both compelling and harrowing, and challenges the findings of the Warren Commission into the murder.

“I knew we were under attack,” Landis says when he heard the first gunshot. “In my mind, I was trying to justify the sound as something else, like a motorcycle backfire or a tyre blowout, even though I knew. My thoughts were: we just had to go, go, go. Got to get out of there fast. But at that point it was too late.”

After the first shot, Special Agent Clint Hill sprinted from the follow-up vehicle, Halfback, to the president’s vehicle, SS-100-X. As he reached for the grab bar, the limousine accelerated and there was another shot. As Hill began to pull himself up, another shot hit the president in the head. Kennedy’s wife Jackie leapt out of her seat with a look of fear, panic and bewilderment in her eyes.

“He pushed her back, covered her and the president’s body,” Landis continues. “But he turned back and looked at the follow-up car, shook his head and made a thumbs down sign. I knew that meant, like anybody being hit like that, there was little chance. I think the president died immediately at that point.”

When I interviewed Hill in April 2013, he confirmed that Jackie had crawled over the car boot to scoop up parts of her husband’s head rather than help Hill on to the vehicle. “There was a look of terror in her eyes,” Hill said. She did not notice him. Hill recalled being covered “blood, parts of his brain and bone” and seeing inside Kennedy’s head and his eyes fixed.

The assassination in broad daylight of a president who was young, charismatic, popular, respected and, for many, inspirational is as shocking now as it was then. That it was also captured on 8mm colour film by Abraham Zapruder, a local clothing manufacturer, only deepens the trauma. Still frames were published in Life magazine but the film was not broadcast until 1975.

Landis recalled the enthusiasm of the crowds who came out to greet the Kennedys on their trip to Texas, a key campaign stop in the lead up to the November 1964 election. They were joined in the front car by Texas governor John Connally and wife Nellie. Vice-president Lyndon Johnson and wife Lady Bird followed in a car behind.

“There were no signs of trouble,” Landis remembers. “The crowds were just like the day before. Everywhere we went, they were cheering, they were hollering, ‘Jackie, Jackie, Jackie’. They wanted to see Jackie, more so than the president. After we left Love Field (airport) and reached downtown Dallas, on Main Street, it was unbelievable.

“They pushed out from the sidewalks, both sides of the streets, cheering, yelling. They were hanging out of windows, standing and sitting on fire escapes. We even had somebody on top of a theatre marquee. The reception was 100 per cent positive. There were no signs of any animosity at all.”

Kennedy had requested Secret Service agents not stand on the back step of the limousine because it would block him from public view. He also made it clear he preferred the bubble top to be off the limousine. Landis confirms the decision to remove the bubble top was made by the Secret Service. It had been raining earlier in the day and the sky was clearing above Dallas.

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19941182 (190955ZNOV23) Notable: Q Post #703 - “Rest in peace Mr. President (JFK), through your wisdom and strength, since your tragic death, Patriots have planned, installed, and by the grace of God, activated, the beam of LIGHT. We will forever remember your sacrifice. May you look down from above and continue to guide us as we ring the bell of FREEDOM and destroy those who wish to sacrifice our children, our way of life, and our world. We, the PEOPLE.” - Prayer said every single day in the OO. JFK - Secret Socities. Where we go one, we go all. Q - https://qanon.pub/#703

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In later years, that horrific scene in Dealey Plaza remained seared into Landis’s memory, as if a videotape was repeating again and again. He tried to forget it. There was no suggestion in the interview, or in the book, that his story lacks credibility.

The Secret Service was eager to get Johnson to Air Force One, sworn in and returned to Washington. The first lady refused to leave the hospital without her husband, who had been pronounced dead. Texas authorities insisted the body remain for an autopsy; this was ignored by the Secret Service. Kennedy’s body was taken by hearse to the waiting plane.

Landis says by the time he climbed aboard and slumped into a seat in the front passenger area, he turned towards the window and broke down completely. He cried. He could not erase that scene from Dealey Plaza from his mind. Back in Washington, he travelled with the first lady and the deceased president to Bethesda Naval Hospital for the autopsy, and then to White House nine hours later.

He continued on the former first lady’s detail for another six months. Unable to shake the nightmares, Landis quit the Secret Service. “Everybody felt responsible, and I think a little guilty, to the public and the country,” he says. “There is no way we could have prevented it, but it still hurt.”

Before joining the first lady’s protective detail, Landis had protected the Kennedy children, Caroline and John Jr, and before that Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grandchildren. His book is filled with charming stories of the Eisenhowers and Kennedys, and their families. The lingering grief was compounded by how much he liked and respected both John and Jackie Kennedy.

“Mrs Kennedy did not sit still,” Landis recalls of the months after the assassination. “She didn’t give us time to sit around and breathe. She travelled; she kept on the move. Clint and I were the only two agents assigned to her. It was a 24/7 job, and we just did it together as best we could. Before the assassination she was kind of carefree. She had a subtle sense of humour, very friendly, easy to talk to, but on a formal basis. What I remember after the assassination is that there were a lot of tears. She was going through the shock and a rough time then too.”

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination, Landis says there are questions that remain unanswered. In recent years, the US National Archives and Records Administration has made public thousands of government documents relating to the assassination, but thousands still remain secret.

“My main hope with the book is they will reopen the investigation into the assassination that will let people know the truth,” he says. “I’d like to see them release the documents that are now under lock and key … I hope what I saw and what I did helps a little bit.

“The rest is up to somebody else to figure out.”

Paul Landis’s The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After 60 Years is published by Chicago Review Press.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/what-the-secret-service-agent-saw-e-when-jkf-was-assassinated/news-story/784679d4c452b6e6da3b948113248381

https://qresear.ch/?q=Troy+Bramston

—

Q Post #703

Feb 10 2018 03:33:29 (EST)

“Rest in peace Mr. President (JFK), through your wisdom and strength, since your tragic death, Patriots have planned, installed, and by the grace of God, activated, the beam of LIGHT. We will forever remember your sacrifice. May you look down from above and continue to guide us as we ring the bell of FREEDOM and destroy those who wish to sacrifice our children, our way of life, and our world. We, the PEOPLE.”

Prayer said every single day in the OO.

JFK - Secret Socities.

Where we go one, we go all.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#703

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19946753 (200930ZNOV23) Notable: Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigns, having presided over two high-profile telco disasters within 13 months

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>>128576

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigns

David Swan - November 20, 2023

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Optus has begun the search for a new chief executive, after embattled CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigned, having presided over two high-profile telco disasters within 13 months.

The former CBA executive led Optus through one of the nation’s worst outages and worst data breaches in recent history, and in the face of mounting pressure stepped down to give the telco a chance at a reset.

“On Friday I had the opportunity to appear before the Senate to expand on the cause of the network outage and how Optus recovered and responded,” she said on Monday morning.

“I was also able to communicate Optus’ commitment to restore trust and continue to serve customers. Having now had time for some personal reflection, I have come to the decision that my resignation is in the best interest of Optus moving forward.

“It’s been an honour and privilege to lead the team at Optus and to serve our customers. I am proud of the team’s many achievements, and grateful for the support of the Optus team, [Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan] Moon, and the Group. I wish everyone and the company every success in the future.”

In a letter to Optus staff obtained by this masthead, Bayer Rosmarin said she had “enormous faith in the Optus family” to restore and build customer trust, after what was one of the nation’s most severe telecommunications outages.

“We have achieved amazing results across a range of key measures, including a notable financial turnaround, an enviable connection with our customers and a world-class internal culture,” she wrote in the internal memo.

“This is a great place to work, and you are an incredible team to work with, and I know, despite the setbacks, our customers can sense that.”

The company’s chief financial officer, Michael Venter, has been appointed interim CEO while the search for a replacement begins. Optus executives Matt Williams and Gladys Berejiklian, the former NSW premier, are shaping as early frontrunners according to industry sources not authorised to speak publicly.

“Optus appointed Kelly at the beginning of the pandemic, and we acknowledge her leadership, commitment and hard work throughout what has been a challenging period and thank her for her dedication and service to Optus,” Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said.

“Kelly has always led with integrity and had all stakeholders’ best interests at heart. We understand her decision and wish her the very best in her future endeavours.

“We recognise the need for Optus to regain customer trust and confidence as the team works through the impact and consequences of the recent outage and continues to improve. Optus’ priority is about setting on a path of renewal for the benefit of the community and customers.”

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19946776 (200953ZNOV23) Notable: Thalidomide survivors to receive national apology for pharmaceutical 'disaster' - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited thalidomide survivors and their families to Canberra on November 29 to say sorry. The national apology will be followed by a dedication ceremony that will unveil a monument at Kings Park in Canberra to recognise thalidomide survivors and their families

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Thalidomide survivors to receive national apology for pharmaceutical 'disaster'

Crispian Yeomans - 18 Oct 2023

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Thalidomide survivor Trish Jackson has for decades been calling for a national apology — and now she is about to receive one.

Ms Jackson has learnt since birth to do everything, from peeling potatoes to painting portraits, with her feet.

Her body was irreparably damaged by thalidomide, a drug behind a global pharmaceutical disaster.

The words that Ms Jackson has been longing to hear are due to arrive next month.

"I don't know how I feel really," she says.

"We fought for this for so long."

Birth defects

Billed a "wonder drug", thalidomide was sold to pregnant women to treat morning sickness in the late 1950s and early 60s.

The drug was found to cause birth defects as late as 1961 – but the federal government failed to recall thalidomide-containing medicines from pharmacies even after the side effects became known.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited thalidomide survivors and their families to Canberra on November 29 to say sorry.

The national apology will be followed by a dedication ceremony that will unveil a monument at Kings Park in Canberra to recognise thalidomide survivors and their families.

It may not seem like much, but Ms Jackson hopes it will mark the beginning of a "national remembering" of a drug that damaged her body — and the bodies of more than 10,000 children worldwide.

Drug that 'keeps on giving'

Thalidomide caused severe harm to Ms Jackson while in utero, as well as tremendous pain throughout her life.

But despite her pain, Ms Jackson has thrived.

She finished school, worked in administration, health and even in a pharmacy, ran a household, and raised a "beautiful" daughter alongside her husband, Trevor.

She can peel potatoes with her feet, cook a roast, and is an artist who uses acrylics and watercolours to paint the beauty around her — from landscapes and flower arrangements to likeness portraits.

"There's more than one time that I've got a mouth full of paint as I try to get the lid off [the tube]," she says with a laugh.

She says her pursuit for independence began young, recalling a childhood accident that involved an attempt to solicit an ice cream from the freezer.

"I had to get a chair to stand on and reached for the ice block with my mouth, and my tongue got stuck to the bottom of the freezer," she says.

"[Mum] wasn't too impressed."

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19952057 (211003ZNOV23) Notable: ‘Very important signal’: Zelensky welcomes Fox chief Lachlan Murdoch’s visit to Kyiv - Lachlan Murdoch, the new chairman of News Corp, has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in a sign his global media empire will continue to throw its weight behind the war-torn nation’s struggle against Russia

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>>128595

>>>/qresearch/19925020

‘Very important signal’: Zelensky welcomes Fox chief Lachlan Murdoch’s visit to Kyiv

Rob Harris - November 21, 2023

London: Lachlan Murdoch, the new chairman of News Corp, has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in a sign his global media empire will continue to throw its weight behind the war-torn nation’s struggle against Russia.

The president’s office said the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who officially took control of the company last week, travelled to Ukraine at the weekend alongside Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall and The Sun’s Jerome Starkey.

Hall, who in early 2022 was severely injured while he reported from Ukraine, also met with service members who assisted in his evacuation. Cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian fixer Oleksandra Kuvshynova were killed while Hall lost both feet, a leg and an eye.

The younger Murdoch, whose father described him last week as “a believer in the social purpose of journalism”, was in March reported to have previously spoken with Zelensky and other Ukrainian government officials via Zoom.

The Ukrainian president said Murdoch’s visit sent a “very important signal” at a time when some international media attention was shifting away from the war in Ukraine.

Almost 21 months since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which increasingly appears to be locked in a bloody stalemate, Ukrainians fear loss of support in the West as the global gaze shifts to the Israel-Hamas war.

“For some reason, people treat it like a movie and expect that there will be no long pauses in the events, that the picture before their eyes will always change, that there will be some surprises every day,” Zelensky said in a statement.

“But for us, for our warriors, this is not a movie. These are our lives. This is daily hard work. And it will not be over as quickly as we would like, but we have no right to give up and we will not.”

The visit of Murdoch, a leading figure in media because of his company’s massive US Republican-leaning audience, comes ahead of a US presidential election next November that could bring the return of Donald Trump. Trump has been sharply critical of support for Ukraine and there is increasing division over aid for Kyiv in Congress.

Before – and occasionally after– the start of the full-scale invasion Fox News coverage of Ukraine was controversial, with former star host Tucker Carlson openly spreading pro-Russian propaganda on his show until he was fired in April 2023.

But in a statement Zelensky thanked Fox News for its fair news coverage of Russian atrocities despite the security risks and awarded Hall the Order of Merit for his contribution to supporting Ukraine’s “independence and territorial integrity”.

News Corp is also the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, whose reporter Evan Gershkovich has been imprisoned in Russia for the past eight months on disputed espionage charges.

Zelensky noted the important role of the world media in consolidating international support for Ukraine and expressed condolences to all those whose relatives and friends were taken by the war.

“All this time, journalists, cameramen, editors, photographers, drivers have been on the frontline,” he said. “As this is a hybrid war, information is also a weapon in Russian hands... it is thanks to journalists from many countries that we now have such support in the world.”

Earlier this month Murdoch warned about a “surge of antisemitism” both abroad and in Australia following last month’s terror attack on Israel.

News Corp also owns Australian mastheads including The Australian, Melbourne’s Herald Sun and Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/very-important-signal-zelensky-welcomes-fox-news-chief-lachlan-murdoch-s-visit-to-kyiv-20231121-p5elhn.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19952065 (211010ZNOV23) Notable: Australians to receive new COVID vaccines targeting Omicron sub-variants - Australians will have access to the latest COVID-19 vaccines that target common variants from December, while only about a quarter of vulnerable people have had their booster shots as the country reports a surge in cases.

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>>128547

Australians to receive new COVID vaccines targeting Omicron sub-variants

Natassia Chrysanthos - November 20, 2023

Australians will have access to the latest COVID-19 vaccines that target common variants from December, while only about a quarter of vulnerable people have had their booster shots as the country reports a surge in cases.

Health Minister Mark Butler on Monday said the government had accepted advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and approved the use of the new monovalent vaccines, which have been targeted at sub-variants of the Omicron strain.

The new XBB.1.5 vaccines have modest improved protection against the COVID-19 strains currently circulating the community, according to a government statement, which said that all available vaccines still continued to provide strong protection against serious disease.

The latest monovalent Omicron vaccines have been approved as both primary and additional doses, with Pfizer’s version approved for eligible people over five years old, and Moderna’s for those over 12-years-old.

“All currently available COVID-19 vaccines are anticipated to provide benefit to eligible people, however the monovalent Omicron XBB.1.5 vaccines are preferred over other vaccines,” the ATAGI advice said.

“Most Omicron subvariants currently circulating in Australia are sub-lineages of XBB.1, with BA.2.8 representing a small but growing proportion … Available data suggests monovalent XBB vaccines provide modestly enhanced protection from severe disease compared to older vaccines.”

It did not recommend extra doses of the new jab for people who already had their recommended 2023 dose of a COVID vaccine.

But it encouraged recommended groups – those over 75, and younger people with medical comorbidities – who had not been vaccinated this year to receive one as soon as possible, given there had been an increase in COVID cases across Australia this month.

There were about 160 people in hospital with COVID at the beginning of November – the highest number since June, but fewer than the 430 who were hospitalised at the start of this year.

The latest data from November shows just 27 per cent of people aged 75 or over have received their booster in the last six months.

Only 20 per cent of 65- to 74-year-olds and 5.5 per cent of adults under 65 have had their top-up, although they are not in the priority age group.

Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said she was concerned there had been no media campaign or public press conferences with the chief medical officer to improve awareness in the Australian community.

“At a time when hospitals are dealing with historic ramping, bulk billing rates continue to plummet, and it is harder and more expensive to see a GP, the government must explain why they have failed to act quicker and protect particularly vulnerable Australians,” she said.

The federal government said providers could order the new vaccine and doses should be delivered by December 11.

Butler said it demonstrated his government was committed to providing the latest and most effective vaccines.

“While we are no longer in the emergency phase of this pandemic, COVID-19 is still present, and people should continue to follow the advice of the experts from ATAGI, including getting vaccines as required,” Butler said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australians-to-receive-new-covid-vaccines-targeting-omicron-sub-variants-20231120-p5eles.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19952193 (211113ZNOV23) Notable: John F. Kennedy’s leadership legacy lives on, 60 years after Dallas - "The tragic and traumatic nature of Kennedy’s death has shaped perceptions of his presidency. There also have been many attempts to sanitise his flaws and sentimentalise his achievements, not least the Camelot lore. We need to assess his legacy not through the prism of his death but by what he did in life. If we do so, his exalted place in history is earned." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

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>>128606

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John F. Kennedy’s leadership legacy lives on, 60 years after Dallas

TROY BRAMSTON - NOVEMBER 21, 2023

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In early 1962, John F. Kennedy invited David Herbert Donald, renowned scholar of Abraham Lincoln, to the White House. “How do you go down in history books as a great president?” Kennedy asked. He wondered if Lincoln would be judged great if he had not been assassinated. Donald later wrote to a friend that Kennedy was eager to unlock “the secret” to greatness.

From the opening stanzas of his soaring inaugural address at the dawn of a new era, Kennedy dreamed big dreams for America and the world. He did not want to just be president; he wanted to be a great president.

The events in Dallas 60 years ago this week limited his promise but no president since has been more popular or rated so highly among historians.

He was young and radiated charisma, grace and style; believed in the nobility of public service and the presidency as a platform for national and international leadership; read widely about politics and history, fuelling his curiosity and intellect; learned from his mistakes and grew as a president; and could be wickedly funny and self-deprecating.

For many, Kennedy was inspirational. He made people believe in themselves and their potential. With the talents of speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, Kennedy was able to move audiences in town halls, or those listening on radio or watching on television, with the power of his oratory.

No modern president’s speeches are better remembered. In person, he could be charming and persuasive.

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” Kennedy instructed in his inaugural address on that bitterly cold day in 1961. It was a lyrical expression of hope, optimism and confidence rooted in the timeless American ideals of self-reliance, responsibility and service. Throughout his 1036-day presidency, Kennedy used these oratorical powers to advance his political and policy agenda.

In 1962, he reaffirmed the goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him to Earth by the end of the decade and explained that the scale of that challenge, and others, should be embraced “not because they are easy, but because they are hard”.

Kennedy was the first television president. He understood the power of the visual medium, the importance of imagery and celebrity, and how to harness it. Politics was the family business; one grandfather had been mayor and another a state legislator, his father an ambassador.

His World War II heroism and intellectualism, underscored by a Pulitzer prize, were part of the Kennedy mystique. So were the photographs of wife Jackie and children Caroline and John Jr in the pages of Life, Time and Newsweek.

He also used weekly televised press conferences to charm the White House press corps and appeal directly to voters watching at home. It was a very different style of presidency to Dwight D. Eisen­hower, a respected but stiff figure from a bygone era. Kennedy was more accessible, used the medium as a mass communication tool and made it essential to his presidency.

The 1960 campaign debates with Richard M. Nixon were a turning point in politics. The tanned Kennedy was relaxed, self-assured and gave authoritative well-rehearsed answers to questions. Nixon looked pale, uncomfortable and often was long-winded in his replies.

“It was TV more than anything else that turned the tide,” Kennedy said of his narrow election victory.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19952195 (211116ZNOV23) Notable: Q Post #2573 - "The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high - to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future." - JFK - Q - https://qanon.pub/#2573

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Leaders must have a vision, be able to persuade, and possess the necessary temperament and judgment to manage crises. Kennedy’s vision for America and the world, namely the fight against communism, was well established. His command of language and communications skills were unrivalled. But, as he wrote in Profiles in Courage, “great crises make great men”.

Kennedy faced two notable challenges: the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 and the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962. He accepted responsibility for the botched CIA plan to topple Fidel Castro, learned critical lessons, and his approval rating climbed to 82 per cent. His cool-headed peaceful resolution of the 13-day Cuban missile crisis, ignoring demands from military chiefs to bomb or invade Cuba, brought the world back from the brink of nuclear war. This alone elevates Kennedy’s presidency well above the average.

The Peace Corps and Nuclear Test Ban Treaty are worthy achievements. He was a fiscal conservative who advocated balanced budgets and tax cuts. He increased US involvement in Vietnam but stopped short of sending combat troops. Kennedy was slow to act on civil rights but did protect freedom riders, enforce university integration in the south and submitted a comprehensive bill to congress that his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, would render into law.

Political leaders should be judged on their public rather than private lives. But character matters when assessing a full life. Kennedy was a serial adulterer. He covered up the extent of his health problems. Yet voters gave him an astonishing 90 per cent retrospective approval, according to Gallup this year, far ahead of any other modern president. C-SPAN’s survey of presidential historians rates him highly, too, at eighth out of 45 presidents.

The tragic and traumatic nature of Kennedy’s death has shaped perceptions of his presidency. There also have been many attempts to sanitise his flaws and sentimentalise his achievements, not least the Camelot lore. We need to assess his legacy not through the prism of his death but by what he did in life. If we do so, his exalted place in history is earned.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/john-f-kennedys-leadership-legacy-lives-on-60-years-after-dallas/news-story/55295f7bf716602278f1f3f74df3a643

https://qresear.ch/?q=Troy+Bramston

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/coastwatcher-arthur-reginald-evans-and-the-rescue-of-john-f-kennedy-and-pt-109

—

Q Post #783

Feb 16 2018 20:05:17 (EST)

Clown Agency>No Such Agency.

RIP JFK - we will succeed.

Pyramid will collapse.

Think shell.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#783

—

Q Post #2573

Dec 10 2018 14:47:08 (EST)

"The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future."

–JFK

Q

https://qanon.pub/#2573

https://qalerts.pub/?q=jfk

https://qalerts.pub/?q=white+squall

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19957834 (221008ZNOV23) Notable: Political leaders from both sides come together to open Melbourne Holocaust Museum

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Political leaders from both sides come together to open Melbourne Holocaust Museum

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to “denounce” all forms of anti-Semitism in Australia as leaders from both sides of politics come together to open the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.

Athos Sirianos - November 22, 2023

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered a passionate promise to the Jewish community that Australia will “denounce” all forms of anti-Semitism.

Mr Albanese officially opened the refurbished Holocaust Museum in Elsternwick on Wednesday in front of a packed auditorium of Jewish community leaders as well as Premier Jacinta Allan and leader of the opposition Peter Dutton.

After reflecting on the horrors of the holocaust, the Prime Minister said Australia must “reject” the rise in anti-Semitism since the escalation of the conflict in Gaza.

“Since the atrocities of the terrorist acts conducted by Hamas on October 7, Jewish Australians have been bearing a pain you should never have had to bear again,” Mr Albanese said.

“You are feeling fear, anxious that the long shadows of the past have crept into the present.

“That should not be happening in a land that offered refuge then and embraces you now.

“Anti-Semitism is on the rise … Australia will always denounce it and reject it utterly just as we do all forms of racism.”

The museum has renovated one of its buildings and has opened two new exhibitions, which will complement the array of holocaust survivors who speak to students and visitors daily.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the new museum will help better educate Victorians about the “stories of survivors from this horrible chapter in human history”.

“It honours the memory of the six million Jewish victims. It honours the lives of survivors and a legacy we have a duty to see live on,” she said.

Ms Allan also acknowledged the “deep grief” felt across the Jewish community during the conflict with Hamas.

“I want to acknowledge the deep grief that many in the Jewish community are feeling following the terrorist invasion by Hamas on October 7,” she said.

“The date that saw the single largest loss of Jewish life since the holocaust itself.”

In his address to the room, Opposition leader Peter Dutton described the “hateful thoughts and behaviours” directed towards the Jewish community in recent weeks as similar to the lead up to the holocaust.

“We stand here today in the wake of the barbarity visited upon Israel on 7 October, we stand here having been filled through TV screens by hate fuelled mobs marching through democratic cities calling for the slaughter of Jews,” he said.

“We stand here in the aftermath of obscene and unfathomable acts of anti-Semitism on our own shores and in the context of these events the opening of this museum is even more poignant.

“We’re witnessing an unmasking of the same hateful thoughts and behaviours that lead to the holocaust.

“Perhaps naively we thought our century … would be immune from the anti-Semitism of the last century.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19957888 (221028ZNOV23) Notable: Never again: Holocaust survivors angered by emergence of antisemitism

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>>128584

Never again: Holocaust survivors angered by emergence of antisemitism

Chip Le Grand - November 22, 2023

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One of the most sinister exhibits on display in the newly rebuilt Melbourne Holocaust Museum is a children’s book. The Poisonous Mushroom is a thin, illustrated volume laced with antisemitic tropes that the Nazis distributed through primary schools to incite children to hate Jews.

Holocaust survivor Henry Ekert tells two stories of what it was like growing up in Nazi-occupied Poland. The first is a murder he witnessed when a ghetto guard grabbed a little boy he was playing with and smashed his head against a brick wall. The second is about the bullying he continued to experience, at the hands of classmates and teachers, well after his town was liberated.

Ekert, 97, says he is worried about the rise in antisemitism in Australia since Hamas’ atrocities in southern Israel on October 7 and Israel’s deadly response in Gaza.

“It hasn’t made me afraid, because I refuse to be afraid,” he said on Wednesday. “It has made me angry. Very angry.

“When they [Hamas] crossed the border and did what they did, they committed what we have been speaking about: Never again.”

Ekert’s anger is chiefly directed at Hamas, an organisation that he says essentially ascribes to the same charter as Hitler: to wipe out Israel’s 9 million Jews.

He is also frustrated by what he says was the federal government’s slowness to unequivocally denounce antisemitism. “That is a very dangerous virus that can spread very quickly,” he said.

The government denies it was hesitant to condemn antisemitism. At Wednesday’s formal reopening of the Holocaust Museum, a project supported and funded by both sides of politics and some of Melbourne’s most prominent Jewish families, there was no equivocation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Peter Dutton flew down from Canberra to speak at the opening. They made a show of shaking hands before they took the stage. Each carried a message of resolute support for Australia’s Jewish communities and condemnation of antisemitism. Both leaders framed today’s hatreds against the horrors of the Holocaust.

“Since the atrocities of the terrorist acts by Hamas on October 7, Jewish Australians have been bearing a pain they should have never had to bear again,” Albanese told a room of Holocaust survivors, philanthropists, community leaders and federal and state parliamentarians.

“You are feeling fear, anxious that the long shadows of the past have crept into the present. That should not be happening in a land that offered refuge then and embraces you now.

“As the conflict continues, antisemitism is on the rise. We will not let it find as much as a foothold here. Australia will always denounce it and reject it utterly, just as we do all forms of racism and prejudice.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19958277 (221223ZNOV23) Notable: JFK assassination 60th anniversary: How Australians heard the news about US president's murder

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JFK assassination 60th anniversary: How Australians heard the news about US president's murder

Richard Wood - Nov 22, 2023

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When news about the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, sped across the world, most Australians were asleep blissfully unaware of the seismic events thousands of kilometres away in Dallas.

Due to the time difference, news of Kennedy's murder only started trickling through to Australia at about 4.30am the following day, a Saturday.

Hours before, adoring crowds in the Texas city had watched the US president's motorcade fatefully flash past them as it came under the aim of gunman Lee Harvey Oswald awaiting on the Texas School Book Depository's sixth level.

Like millions of people across the world, Australians were left stunned and grieving when they finally heard about the fatal shooting of the popular 46-year-old statesman, better known as JFK.

The tragedy consumed the public's attention for days after.

But at the start of that momentous weekend, it also presented media outlets with a giant task in reporting the murder to a public desperate for news.

Obtaining photographs was a major hurdle for editors, with it normally taking three to four days for film to arrive in Australia from overseas.

But the history-making tragedy in Texas led that delivery time being slashed to about 30 hours.

Radio provided an instant source of news about Kennedy's death for Australians in the early hours of that Saturday.

A regional North Queensland station, RTQ7, clinched an exclusive when one of its reporters phoned Dallas and interviewed the city's police chief for a blow-by-blow telling of the tragedy.

But the relatively new medium of television - ironically a form of media the articulate and handsome Kennedy excelled in - was leading coverage of his murder in the US and other countries.

In 1963, the Australian TV industry had only been established for seven years, and the fledgling networks were left to broadcast coverage of the global event without satellite links or any of the technology available today.

In Melbourne, producers at GTV9 - which is today part of Nine, the publisher of this website - started working frantically on hearing the news from radio reports.

By 11am, it was broadcasting the news, accompanied by still images from The Age newspaper, to viewers and provided updates throughout the day.

News coverage was supplemented with carefully edited newsreels from Kennedy's life and commentary about the consequences of the momentous event.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19958280 (221225ZNOV23) Notable: JFK assassination 60th anniversary: How Australians heard the news about US president's murder

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For many among Australia's population of 11 million in 1963, newspapers and other print media was the mainstay for their news.

With early Saturday papers printed by the time Australia learnt of Kennedy's killing, editors frantically recalled reporters, sub-editors, printers and other staff for later editions through the weekend.

The Canberra Times was one of the earliest papers to publish an edition Saturday in the national capital, with the headline "President Kennedy Assassinated", below the words "Shot down in open car by sniper".

The following day the NSW tabloid The Sun-Herald provided comprehensive coverage with its "Special Kennedy Issue", bringing readers news about Oswald's arrest.

By the end of the weekend, Australians, like the rest of the world, expected a respite from the dramatic, history-making events of the past 48 hours.

But the Kennedy assassination took another bloody turn when Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot dead Oswald in the city's police headquarters live on television, with the news reaching Australia at about 3.30am on the Monday.

The JFK assassination continued to dominate news for the following days and weeks.

Television footage showed hundreds of thousands of mourners lining the streets of Washington as Kennedy's body in a bronze casket was carried on a horse-drawn carriage to the Capitol.

Then came the murdered president's state funeral, with the famous images of the stoic family members standing beside 50 world leaders.

https://www.9news.com.au/world/jfk-assassination-60th-anniversary-how-australia-heard-news/d4e7a737-da4b-47e9-a099-500dc33143e5

https://www.theage.com.au/national/act/the-canberra-times-has-selected-some-notable-front-pages-from-19262016-20160707-gq10at.html

—

Q Post # 4129

May 6 2020 18:48:35 (EST)

Ready to stand?

Q

https://qanon.pub/#4129

—

Q Post #3924

Apr 9 2020 14:04:38 (EST)

https://qanon.pub/#3924

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19964026 (230957ZNOV23) Notable: Video: Hundreds of Victorian students abandon school in name of Palestine - Hundreds of Victorian school students have ignored days of warnings from principals and politicians to skip class in the name of Palestine

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>>128527

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Hundreds of Victorian students abandon school in name of Palestine

Rhiannon Tuffield annd Allanah Sciberras - Nov 23, 2023

Hundreds of Victorian school students have ignored days of warnings from principals and politicians to skip class in the name of Palestine.

High school students abandoned school to march through Melbourne this afternoon, gathering around Flinders St Station and crowding Melbourne Central.

Students donned traditional Palestinian headdresses and wore Palestinian flags over their shoulders, taking to the streets with powerful chants and handmade signs.

"We have come out today, people have left school en masse, to say that business as usual can't continue when Palestinians are being slaughtered in their thousands," one protestor with a megaphone screamed at the crowd.

"We know that a truce or a temporary pause to this atrocity is not enough.

"We are not fighting so there can be six hours in a day where Palestinians can not be murdered, we are fighting so that there is never another Palestinian killed ever, ever again."

Students from a number of inner-city schools participated in the strike, which began on the steps of Flinders Street Station.

The protest was inspired by mass school walk-outs in the US and UK.

Students chanted "Free Palestine" and held signs that read 'bombing kids is not self-defense'.

And while police kept watch over the protest, no arrests or disturbances were recorded.

Organiser Ivy said the "city-wide walk-out" was a powerful way to cause disruption.

"We are walking out because there's genocide happening right now and we have to take action," she said.

"Schools talk about politics all the time but on this issue we are silenced."

It comes at a time of increased tension around the country, with hostility between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrators.

The tense political climate has culminated in assaults in Melbourne, disturbing political statements and vandalism of MPs' offices and Jewish businesses.

Jewish community members condemned today's action.

"There's something very wrong in this country when children are being weaponised, brainwashed and exploited to promote a dangerous and divisive agenda," Dvir Abramovich from the Anti-Defamation Commission said.

"At a time of skyrocketing anti-semitism, it will be Jewish students who will pay the price."

Meanwhile, Labor MP Bill Shorten lashed out at activists who graffitied his Moonee Ponds electoral office.

Protestors wrote "Dial down the apartheid, Bill" in response to his comments on radio, telling protestors to "Dial down the aggro".

"Who do you convince by putting cowardly, gutless graffiti on an office," he told 3AW today.

"I understand the power of protest, that's democratic, but there is a line."

Real Schools chief executive Adam Voigt told Today the unfolding situation in the Middle East was a "sensitive" topic for schools to navigate.

"It is a tricky issue for them to handle and to handle sensitively and with respect to the way that families are feeling," he said.

"The good part is from an operational point of view schools are well-equipped.

"These are the people who switched to remote learning and did it really successfully.

"They are trying to manage the people part of it and trying also to encourage their young people to be safe and I can understand that.

"Tensions are high and schools are really trying to lean into their moral obligation at the moment."

https://www.9news.com.au/national/propalestine-protest-hundreds-of-students-to-walkout-of-schools-in-support-of-palestine-in-melbourne/8acd2cb7-a831-490f-bd6e-5c3c82a5ff09

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19964313 (231102ZNOV23) Notable: Boat from Indonesia arrives undetected on Australian mainland - Asylum-seekers have arrived by boat at a WWII airfield owned by Aboriginal people on an isolated and rugged stretch of Kimberley coastline, sources have told The Australian. The group of 12 people - believed to have travelled from Indonesia - are not fishermen but asylum-seekers, according to sources familiar with events.

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Boat from Indonesia arrives undetected on Australian mainland

PAIGE TAYLOR - NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Asylum-seekers have arrived by boat at a WWII airfield owned by Aboriginal people on an isolated and rugged stretch of Kimberley coastline, sources have told The Australian.

The group of 12 people – believed to have travelled from Indonesia – are not fishermen but asylum-seekers, according to sources familiar with events.

The group arrived on the traditional lands of the Wunambal Gaambera people, about 36km west of the remote Aboriginal community of Kalumburu. The Australian has been told they were “not in good shape” when they were found. They were helped by workers at the Wunambal Gaambera people’s airstrip called Truscott.

Police arrived by helicopter at Truscott on Wednesday and were still there with the group on Thursday.

While asylum boats are occasionally intercepted close to the Australian territory of Christmas Island, 460km south of West Java, it is very rare for a people-smuggling operation to reach the Australian mainland.

The arrival is likely to heighten concerns that people smugglers believe they again have an attractive product to sell to desperate and naive people as a result of the High Court’s landmark High Court decision on immigration detention. On November 8, the High Court ruled that Australia’s system of indefinite immigration detention was a breach of the constitution.

In practice, the ruling was never likely to apply to new asylum boat arrivals, who are routinely screened out at sea and deported within days.

However, immigration authorities know that smugglers lie to customers and pitch any change to Australia’s hardline as a sign that boats are welcome.

Opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson claimed Australian Border Force was stretched because Labor slashed $600m from the border security budget.

“This would be the tenth people smuggling venture to attempt to arrive illegally in Australia since May 2022, and reports that they successfully reached the Australian coast are particularly alarming,” Senator Paterson said.

Australian Border Force did not acknowledge the boat arrival when contacted by The Australian on Thursday. Instead, the Commonwealth government agency’s media team issued its standard response to asylum boat queries for the past decade: “The Australian Border Force does not does not comment on operational matters”.

The ABF also told other government agencies including police not to talk about the boat.

It is unknown how long the group was on the mainland before they were discovered. There were early rumours that some in the group had gone missing in the bush but The Australian has been told everyone onboard was accounted for by late Thursday.

One Kalumburu resident said the arrivals could have perished quickly if they had not been found. The area is known for saltwater crocodiles and the temperature in recent days has been between 34C and 35C.

There is no town at the Truscott air base. The RAAF built the airstrip on the Anjo Peninsula in 1944 because it is closer to Java than any other point on the Australian mainland – it was for medium and heavy bombers, as well as Catalinas, to attack Borneo, Java, Timor and the Celebes during World War II.

The Wunambal Gaambera people now lease it out as a refuelling point and airstrip for the oil and gas industry to transfer workers to offshore rigs.

West Australian Liberal MP Neil Thomson, whose electorate takes in the Truscott air base, said: “Reports that a dozen or so people have illegally entered Western Australia’s remote Kimberley Region should raise alarm bells for every Australian especially given the poor messaging that is being sent internationally after the release of asylum-seekers who have criminal history into our community.”

“There have been a number of warnings to the government with recent illegal fishers entering our waters and this should have sent a clear message for increased vigilance but that appears to have broken down. Our community expects safety and vigilance as a minimum,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/boat-from-indonesia-arrives-undetected-on-australian-mainland/news-story/11d85694e2ef6101ba68c7bbe97df2d6

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19969874 (241531ZNOV23) Notable: Video: Chilling words of Aussie schoolkid at Melbourne rally: Hamas ‘doing a good job’

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Chilling words of Aussie schoolkid at Melbourne rally: Hamas ‘doing good job’

TRICIA RIVERA - NOVEMBER 24, 2023

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It may have only been uttered by a teenager who ditched school for a protest in Melbourne, but the declaration Hamas was “doing a good job” and Israel “shouldn’t exist” speaks to the wave of anti-Semitism that Jewish leaders say is sweeping the world since the terrorist attacks of October 7.

The 16-year-old girl, who was one of the hundreds of students who walked out of class to attend a pro-Palestinian rally on Thursday, said the borders of Israel should not exist. “I don’t really think it’s important to stay in school when matters like this really matter,” she told The Australian.

“I think (Hamas) are doing a good job. I think they should stand up and protect … Palestine.

“After what they’re putting my brothers and sisters through, I don’t think (Israel) should really exist.”

A fellow 16-year-old said she felt it was important to “talk about the people who can’t speak for themselves”. “There are people in Palestine who are dying, who are suffering and we have the opportunity in this country to say something and do something,” she said.

“Of course Hamas is a group … that went against Israel. But at the end of the day what do you expect when you are subjected to 75 years of occupation, 75 years of killing, 75 years of genocide?”

About 500 protesters, mostly school-aged children along with adults and parents, gathered on the steps of Flinders Street Station to call for an end to the war in Gaza. The group shouted “Free Free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a chant viewed by members of the Jewish community as a call to ­destroy Israel. Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich said the rally should have never gone ahead.

“Before our very eyes we see a generation of anti-Jewish bigots rise, and the ripple effects of this vilification will be felt for many years to come,” he said.

“Free Palestine Melbourne has taken a leaf of out of the Hamas playbook in weaponising and exploiting children and using them as human shields to promote their ugly and divisive agenda.”

Dr Abramovich said Jewish students would pay the price “when their classmates return after absorbing the anti-Israel venom”. “They will feel contempt for their Jewish classmates and ­violence and harassment may follow,” he said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19969918 (241545ZNOV23) Notable: Journalist union MEAA backs ‘scepticism’ campaign against Israel - The nation’s journalists’ union and key figures from outlets including the ABC, the Guardian Australia and Nine newspapers have endorsed and distributed an open letter to Australian journalists asking them to sign and commit to applying the same “professional scepticism” to uncorroborated Israeli government information as it applies to the terrorist group Hamas. In response, Nine’s editorial leadership team has banned any reporters who sign the letter from reporting on the conflict

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Journalist union MEAA backs ‘scepticism’ campaign against Israel

JENNA CLARKE - NOVEMBER 24, 2023

The nation’s journalists’ union and key figures from outlets including the ABC, the Guardian Australia and Nine newspapers have endorsed and distributed an open letter to Australian journalists asking them to sign and commit to applying the same “professional scepticism” to uncorroborated Israeli government information as it applies to the terrorist group Hamas.

In response, Nine’s editorial leadership team has banned any reporters who sign the letter from reporting on the conflict.

“The Israeli government is also an actor in this conflict, with mounting evidence it is committing war crimes and a documented history of sharing misinformation,” the letter states.

It also seeks to water down reporting of the October 7 terrorist attack as a trigger point for the current conflict, calling the ongoing war a symptom of “Israel’s devastating bombing campaign and media blockade in Gaza.”

“The Israeli government’s version of events should never be reported verbatim without context or fact-checking. This is our basic responsibility as journalists,” the letter outlines.

The campaign also claims “both-sidesism” is not balanced or impartial reporting.

“It acts as a constraint on truth by shrouding the enormous scale of the human suffering currently being perpetrated by Israeli forces. The immense and disproportionate human suffering of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza should not be minimised,” it says.

The Australian understands the letter was endorsed on Thursday. It was circulated and distributed widely to members on Friday via an online portal. High-profile ABC presenters Jan Fran and Tony Armstrong have signed the petition.

Since October, the MEAA has issued two official statements about the conflict, however members of the MEAA – acting independently of the union – circulated an earlier petition that was not endorsed by the MEAA board. That petition condemns “the Australian government’s support for ­Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza”.

This latest campaign is asking journalists to commit to “improve coverage” by providing “historical context” when referencing the October 7 Hamas attack which left 1200 Israelis dead with more than 200 hostages, including women, children and the elderly.

“The conflict did not start on October 7 and it is the media’s responsibility to ensure audiences are fully informed,” it says.

The Australian understands leaders of Nine newspapers are “abhorred” by this latest appeal and have issued a missive to staff in newsrooms around the country saying any member of staff that signs the petition will be banned from coverage moving forward.

The directive, authored by Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields, The Age editor Patrick Elliget, national editor David King and executive editor Tory Maguire, was posted to all staff in Slack on Friday.

“It is a strongly held tenet that our journalists’ personal agendas do not influence our reporting of news events. This applies across the board, including to our coverage of the current war in Israel and Gaza.

“Any newsroom staff who signed this latest industry open letter will be unable to participate in any reporting or production relating to the war. We will continue to uphold the mastheads’ social media policy. This will have no impact on our capacity to continue to provide extensive, quality journalism on this topic.”

A spokesman for the MEAA told The Australian the letter — signed by high profile journalists including Peter Greste and the ABC’s Benjamin Law, Tony Armstrong and Jan Fran — was not organised by the union “but MEAA supports it as a signatory and supports our members’ rights to sign it.” It is understood a group of Australian journalists approached MEAA to sign an open letter regarding media coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict after meeting in person ahead of the Walkley awards in Sydney on Thursday night.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/journalist-union-meaa-backs-scepticism-campaign-against-israel/news-story/c7932eabaa30edbf1eb5765ed4618b02

https://form.jotform.com/233177455020046

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19969939 (241551ZNOV23) Notable: Don’t give up on Indigenous voice, say First Nations leaders - Labor and Indigenous leaders are exploring other ways to implement advice from First Nations Australians into policymaking after the failure of the referendum last month, with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney leaving the door open to pursuing local and regional voices as an alternative model

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Don’t give up on Indigenous voice, say First Nations leaders

SARAH ISON and PAIGE TAYLOR - NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Labor and Indigenous leaders are exploring other ways to implement advice from First Nations Australians into policymaking after the failure of the referendum last month, with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney leaving the door open to pursuing local and regional voices as an alternative model.

Ms Burney said the government was considering “the way forward” after 60 per cent of the nation voted against an Indigenous voice to parliament, as the joint council on Closing the Gap met on Friday for the first time since the referendum.

“In places like … the Tiwi Islands, where I was two weeks ago, we had votes in Maningrida of 96 per cent, 84 per cent, 82 per cent. What that said to me is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanted this change and those votes are really important. So are the voices of those places,” the minister told the ABC.

“A number of places across the country are already talking about regional arrangements … certainly the views of Aboriginal people have to be sought and … given, and we’re exploring ways to do that.”

Ms Burney said it was clear the other steps in the Uluru Statement from the Heart – treaty and truth-telling – also needed to continue being discussed.

“Very much what I’m hearing … is what does (the referendum failure) mean for the rest of the Uluru Statement? In particular … the importance of truth-telling,” she said.

Lowitja Institute chairman Selwyn Button said that while regional and local voices were absolutely necessary, the country should not give up on setting up a mechanism for advice to be given from a national body to government.

“We are not dismissing having some national construct … unfortunately that didn’t occur on October 14, but it doesn’t mean we’re going give it up on it,” he said.

Mr Button argued the government should set up a standing parliamentary committee for Indigenous affairs that included members of the public and could serve a purpose similar to a constituted voice to parliament.

The joint council – which includes all state and territory Indigenous Australians ministers – agreed the referendum, while unsuccessful, showed there was “significant public support for more actions to be taken to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.

Members also agreed to offering grants of up to $100,000 for short-term initiatives “to support the strength and determination of First Nations communities”.

Ahead of the meeting, the commonwealth announced it would double the number of Indigenous rangers from 1800 to 3600 by the end of the decade.

“Together, we remain committed to the realisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination,” said a statement issued after the council meeting.

“We stand side by side with all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in respect and solidarity, strengthened by all the obligations to action and reform through the national agreement.”

A crucial element of the Closing the Gap agreement signed by all governments in 2020 is the promise of shared decision-making with Indigenous communities. However, the Productivity Commission’s interim review of the Closing the Gap deal in July found state governments were taking a business-as-usual approach to Indigenous affairs.

Michael Dillon, a policy commentator and visiting fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy at the Australian ­National University, urged the commission to examine if the agreement itself needs to change.

He described its framework as “an overwhelmingly complex and convoluted bureaucratic maze, deliberately designed … to ensure governments cannot and thus will not be held accountable for failure while giving the appearance of action”.

National Native Title Council chief Jamie Lowe said while an Indigenous voice had not received the mandate of the broader Australian public, it had done so from many Indigenous communities.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/dont-give-up-on-indigenous-voice-first-nations-leaders/news-story/5797858d5aac60b88e7380b3cecec7ad

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19969966 (241559ZNOV23) Notable: Linda Burney says she’s ‘going forward’ after Voice defeat, remains committed to truth-telling - Linda Burney has no regrets over Labor’s approach to the Voice to parliament referendum and says local and regional voices, and truth-telling, remain on the government’s agenda despite last month’s outcome.

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Linda Burney says she’s ‘going forward’ after Voice defeat, remains committed to truth-telling

ELLEN RANSLEY - NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Linda Burney has no regrets over Labor’s approach to the Voice to parliament referendum and says local and regional voices, and truth-telling, remain on the government’s agenda despite last month’s outcome.

In one of her first major media appearances since the resounding No vote on October 14, the Indigenous Australians Minister said the referendum had shown Australia that the “life opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country are unacceptable”.

Her comments came ahead of a Closing the Gap meeting with her state and territory counterparts and peak body representatives on Friday as they attempt to chart a path forward for Indigenous affairs.

“Closing the Gap is about making a practical difference on the ground, to things like overcrowding, to things like employment, to things like education, to things like justice, to things that are to do with life outcomes, particularly early childhood education, and of course, life expectancy,” she said at a media conference on Friday morning.

“It deals with health issues, it deals with justice issues, it deals with incarceration, and a whole range of other things that are important to the Indigenous community. But we are all determined to make a practical difference in terms of closing the gap.”

Earlier, she had used a comprehensive radio interview to say she was not a person who “spends a lot of time looking at the entrails of things”.

“I’m more interested in going forward … we’ve been on this merry-go-round before; 65,000 years is a pretty long time, and I don’t think that’s going to stop any time soon,” she told ABC Radio.

Just four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track, and in their push for a Voice to Parliament, the government had said the model would make a practical difference to improve those outcomes.

Ahead of the meeting on Friday, Ms Burney said the group would discuss what comes next, with specific discussions about housing, education, and employment all set to be on the agenda.

She said in terms of the government’s own policy moving forward, truth-telling, along with local and regional voices, remained on the agenda.

“Very much what I’m hearing moving around the country is ‘what does it mean for the rest of the Uluru statement?’” Ms Burney told ABC Radio.

“In particular, I’m hearing the importance of truth-telling. I am not saying I’ve got a model in my mind, but I am saying that what I’m hearing very clearly from Aboriginal communities is the importance of truth-telling.”

The Voice to parliament was the first step of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for truth-telling and treaty, and the Voice proposal called for local and regional dialogues to feed into the national level.

She said something akin to local voices remained “a very live discussion”, pointing to state and territory-based models.

“There are structures across Australia and they have to be self-determined, it’s not up to government to say ‘this is the way you do things’,” she said.

“But our job is to make sure that we implement the things that were promised in the last election … what’s most crucial, in my view, is to make sure we come up with a considered way forward, not a grab bag.”

Asked about her own political future amid speculation of a cabinet reshuffle, Ms Burney said she remained “completely committed to my job”.

“There’s a lot of speculation post referendum, but if anyone thinks that the Aboriginal affairs portfolio is just about the referendum, they are very, very wrong,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/linda-burney-says-shes-going-forward-after-voice-defeat-remains-committed-to-truthtelling/news-story/89b4c91859469bab651d0d07c2996353

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19969991 (241605ZNOV23) Notable: Labor’s asylum-seeker headache lands in WA as arrivals sent to Nauru - The 12 asylum-seekers apprehended by Australian Border Force officials in Western Australia on Wednesday have been flown to Nauru. After initial processing in Darwin, the 12 individuals have been confirmed as unauthorised maritime arrivals. The Australian understands they will remain in Nauru awaiting regional processing, which is consistent with Operation Sovereign Borders protocols that have been in place for more than a decade.

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Labor’s asylum-seeker headache lands in WA as arrivals sent to Nauru

GEOFF CHAMBERS - NOVEMBER 24, 2023

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The 12 asylum-seekers apprehended by Australian Border Force officials in Western Australia on Wednesday have been flown to Nauru.

After initial processing in Darwin, the 12 individuals have been confirmed as unauthorised maritime arrivals.

The Australian understands they will remain in Nauru awaiting regional processing, which is consistent with Operation Sovereign Borders protocols that have been in place for more than a decade.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Anthony Albanese has given people smugglers a green light to resume operations, warning the government’s dismantling of Operation Sovereign Borders could see “people drown at sea and kids end up back in detention”.

Mr Dutton, a former immigration and home affairs minister who oversaw Operation Sovereign Borders, on Friday accused the Prime Minister of a “catastrophic failure” after a vessel made landfall in Western Australia.

Attacking the government for not providing details about the group who arrived by boat on an isolated and rugged stretch of the Kimberley coastline, Mr Dutton said “this is the tenth venture (since Labor won the election) and the public is not hearing a lot about it at the moment”.

“The Albanese government dismantles Operation Sovereign Borders and the boats restart. Under this Prime Minister, he stops the economy but he starts the boats,” Mr Dutton told Ray Hadley on 2GB.

“The people smugglers have worked out there’s a Prime Minister who’s weak and doesn’t have the ability to stand up to people smuggling and the human tragedy if it starts again. People drown at sea and kids end up back in detention. It’s exactly what Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd did.”

After the government abolished Coalition-era temporary protection visas and watered-down other immigration enforcement powers, which Mr Dutton says creates a “pull-factor” for people smugglers, the Liberal leader warned “there’s a greater likelihood that these people now stay”.

“If you come from Afghanistan or Iran or other countries where the Albanese government determines you can’t be returned to, then the people smugglers are going to market that,” he said.

“(The people smugglers will) say … jump on the boat because look at what’s happened with the High Court, you can get an outcome in Australia which means you might be in immigration detention for a few months, or even a couple of years, but eventually you’ll get back out into the community and you’ll be given a permanent visa.

“That’s exactly what the government has created. It’s a huge mess and it’s a pull factor for these people smugglers who are selling their wares again. Tragically, people drown at sea as a result, you don’t know who is coming into our country and the Prime Minister has sent all of the wrong messages and signals from the first day he was elected.”

After the Albanese government was last week forced by the Coalition into rushing through emergency powers legislation in response to a High Court ruling on indefinite detention, Mr Dutton said Australians were “shaking their heads at this government at the moment”.

“It’s just not the action of a competent government and I think the training wheels (are) well and truly falling off this Prime Minister and I think a lot of people are really shaking their heads as to how the Prime Minister could put Australians at risk the way that he is currently.

“There are now 340 more people it seems that can get out into the community and the government has no answers.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19978453 (260918ZNOV23) Notable: Video: ‘We know your pain’: Federal independent senator Lidia Thorpe addresses thousands at Free Palestine rally

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‘We know your pain’: Lidia Thorpe addresses thousands at Free Palestine rally

Rachael Dexter - November 26, 2023

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A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas has been condemned by speakers at a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne on Sunday and described as falling short of addressing the long-running plight of Palestinians living under occupation in Gaza.

As some Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the truce agreement over the weekend, several thousands marched through Melbourne’s CBD for the seventh consecutive Free Palestine rally, where speakers criticised the temporary ceasefire.

Federal independent senator Lidia Thorpe tearfully told the crowd that 30,000 of her constituents had contacted her about the war in Gaza, wanting the government to act.

She said Indigenous Australians were sympathetic to the plight of Palestinian people.

“We know your pain and we are sorry that you have lost so many babies and so many family members,” said Thorpe, who is a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman.

Victorian Greens senator Gabrielle di Vietri asked the assembled protesters: “What are you doing on Tuesday at 7am?”

“Are you getting ready for work? You’re getting ready for school. You’re still sleeping, maybe having a coffee.

“Tuesday 7am is when the Israeli government will continue its indiscriminate bombing of Palestine,” she said.

Di Vietri also called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “gutless” for failing to call for a permanent ceasefire.

Another speaker, anti-Zionist Jewish author Nevo Zisin, said they were a “white Jewish settler coloniser on violently stolen Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung land”.

Many protesters wore traditional keffiyeh scarves, which have become a symbol of the Palestinian movement.

Many also held signs calling for a ceasefire, labelling the bombardment of Gaza a genocide. Some held signs of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a Hitler moustache and captioned “child killer”.

A small number of protesters, including speakers, wore army camouflage and covered their faces.

Police were seen guarding Starbucks outlets in the CBD on Sunday after coffee stores and McDonald’s outlets were vandalised with fake blood and pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stickers at last week’s rally.

Nasser Mashni, the head of the largest Palestinian organisation in Australia, the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network, criticised the brevity of the ceasefire and encouraged boycotting international brands “complicit in crimes against Palestinians” but told protesters not to target businesses in Jewish neighbourhoods.

“There’s no room for any hate, no room for any hate in our movement. There is no room for antisemitism,” he said.

“If you went to Caulfield and you put boycott stickers on a Jewish-owned store, you did not help us. You did not help us, you hurt us.

“Our battle is against Zionism, it’s against oppression, it’s against colonialism, it is not against Judaism.”

Mashni said Israel “might be winning the death toll, but we are winning the humanitarian struggle”.

At various times during the protest, the crowd chanted: “Resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied”, “intifada, intifada”, “Alahu akbar”, “ceasefire now”, “out, out Israel now”, “1, 2, 3, 4, occupation no more, 5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state”.

They also chanted the popular Free Palestine slogan, “from the river to sea, Palestine will be free”, which some Jewish people say is antisemitic as they believe it calls for the annihilation of Israel. But Palestine advocates say the term calls for freedom and human rights for Palestinians.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19978489 (260933ZNOV23) Notable: Shock Liberal senate preselection victory as Dave Sharma returns to federal politics - Former Wentworth MP Dave Sharma has returned to frontline politics, beating a packed field of candidates in a Liberal preselection on Sunday to replace outgoing senator Marise Payne in federal parliament

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Shock Liberal senate preselection victory as Dave Sharma returns to federal politics

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - NOVEMBER 26, 2023

Former Wentworth MP Dave Sharma has returned to frontline politics, beating a packed field of candidates in a Liberal preselection on Sunday to replace outgoing senator Marise Payne in federal parliament.

Mr Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, beat frontrunner and former NSW Liberal minister Andrew Constance in a shock victory in the eighth and final round of voting.

Mr Sharma – who lost the affluent Sydney seat once held by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to Allegra Spender – was one of the final entrants into a crowded field, in a contest that had at one point seemed Warren Mundine’s, and then Constance’s, to lose.

Leading No advocate Mr Mundine was highly rumoured to run to fill Ms Payne’s position, but after comments about Indigenous treaties alienated some of the Liberal voting base, he ruled himself out.

It had then appeared to most, until the shock result on Sunday, that it was Mr Constance who would most likely head to Canberra.

It was understood the former NSW transport minister had secured the backing of the party’s moderate faction, although sources told The Australian on Sunday night they now believe they were “misled”.

Former ACT senator Zed Seselja was eliminated in the third round of voting, preceded by Jess Collins, James Brown and Monica Tudehope in the previous rounds. Former NSW MP Lou Amato, another from the party’s right, withdrew from the race on the eve of the party’s state convention.

Mr Sharma reached the requisite 251 votes to beat Mr Constance in the eighth round of voting, tallying 295 votes once all preferences were counted, with the majority of Mr Seselja’s preferences filtering to the former Wentworth MP.

Speaking after his victory, Mr Sharma said he was “privileged” to fill Ms Payne’s role.

“I would like to thank members for the opportunity to hold the Albanese government to account in the Senate over its many missteps and wrong decisions, and to fight for the many NSW households struggling to deal with Labor’s cost of living crisis,” he said.

Sources, from across the party’s warring factions, had told The Australian since the onset of the October 7 Israel-Palestine war that Mr Sharma’s expertise on the topic – which has seen him return to the public eye – helped his position, even after Mr Constance had appeared to tie up the moderate base.

“What Dave had were the skills and experience the country needs right now,” a senior Liberal source close to the winning camp said.

“He’s got a proven track record representing Australia on the world stage – big geopolitical issues are Dave’s background.”

The source said Mr Sharma would “take the fight to Penny Wong” and provide Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s party with a “shot in the arm”.

Mr Sharma’s geopolitical expertise was also backed by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, whose co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the incoming senator had been a strong voice during the conflict.

“Dave is a thoroughly decent and principled person who possesses an unparalleled understanding of diplomacy and foreign policy, particularly the Middle East,” he said.

Deputy leader Sussan Ley called Mr Sharma a “fitting replacement” for Ms Payne.

“Dave’s keen foreign policy intellect will be particularly welcome given we are in the most dangerous set of geopolitical circumstances since WWII,” she said.

Sources from across the party’s right factions, however, said the result was an “absolute shock”.

“He has been working hard behind the scenes and been across TV talking about Israel,” a senior Liberal source conceded.

“But it’s unexpected. That (providing commentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict) really did help him – he knows Israel better than anyone.”

A Liberal source close to Mr Constance’s campaign said the mood within the camp was one of “extreme shock”.

“We were led to believe we had certain support from senior figures in the moderate faction,” he said.

“It appears that certain people were misleading and working against us.”

Mr Sharma’s election means that the four NSW Liberal senators are all metro-based, a scenario lamented by regional-based sources.

“I’m gutted we don’t have a senator now representing the regions, all four senators are within 20km of the Sydney CBD,” one senior source said.

Another said that the party had “forgotten the regions”.

“I’m shocked that the party hasn’t turned their head to that as an issue,” the source said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/shock-liberal-senate-preselection-victory-as-dave-sharma-returns-to-federal-politics/news-story/7c2b14c8a6e1865066cc7f2c3ad097fd

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19984139 (270845ZNOV23) Notable: Newspoll: Voters abandon Anthony Albanese as Labor’s fortunes nosedive - Labor’s primary vote has tumbled to below its 2022 election result for the first time with both major parties now neck and neck on a two-party-preferred basis as cost-of-living pressures escalate and the Albanese government faces a mounting list of political and policy crises

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Newspoll: Voters abandon Anthony Albanese as Labor’s fortunes nosedive

SIMON BENSON - NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Labor’s primary vote has tumbled to below its 2022 election result for the first time with both major parties now neck and neck on a two-party-preferred basis as cost-of-living pressures escalate and the Albanese government faces a mounting list of political and policy crises.

An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows Labor’s primary vote falling four points to 31 per cent in the past three weeks.

The government now heads into the final parliamentary sitting of the year with its primary support lower than its election result of 32.6 per cent. The Coalition’s primary vote has lifted a point to 38 per cent – its highest level of support since the election.

In two-party-preferred terms, this puts Labor and the Coalition at 50-50 for the first time, on the back of a four-point turnaround since the last Newspoll on November 3.

Labor also lost votes to the left, with the Greens’ support rising a point to 13 per cent, and other minor parties including the teal ­independents lifting two points to 12 per cent. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation remained on 6 per cent.

The sharp fall for Labor marks a 2.1 per cent national swing against the government since the election. If an election were held at the weekend, Labor would likely lose its majority in the House of Representatives.

Anthony Albanese has also suffered a further fall in his approval ratings, reaching the lowest level of support since the election.

The sharp electoral backlash against Labor follows the 13th ­interest rate rise earlier this month amid warnings from the Reserve Bank that the inflation problem was far from being resolved with further borrowers and businesses facing the prospect of more rate rises.

But the government has also been plagued with unexpected political events since the failure of the voice referendum in October which marked the beginning of a slide in electoral support for the government and the prime minister personally.

Since the last Newspoll, the government has stood accused of bungling the policy response to the High Court’s decision to overturn indefinite immigration detention, while the Prime Minister was criticised for his delayed and secretive response to the Chinese navy’s ­aggressive manoeuvres against Australian navy divers.

The opposition has also taken the government to task over a ­perceived slow response to rising anti-Semitism and pro-Palestinian protests against a backdrop of Mr Albanese’s frequent overseas travel.

While electoral support for Labor fell following the loss of the referendum, the latest Newspoll conducted between last Monday and Friday marks the single greatest fall in a single period for the government.

Labor’s primary vote has ­fallen five points since July while Mr ­Albanese personal approval ratings have fallen deeply into negative territory and is now level with Liberal leader Peter Dutton.

Mr Albanese’s approval ratings fell a further two points to 40 per cent.

This is the Prime Minister’s lowest level of approval since the election. It has fallen 12 points since July. His dissatisfaction levels rose a point to 53 per cent, giving him a net approval rating of minus 13.

Mr Dutton’s approval rating of 37 per cent and disapproval of 50 remained unchanged, giving the Opposition Leader the same net result as Mr Albanese.

This is the second poll in a row to show more voters were dissatisfied with Mr Albanese’s performance than they were with Mr Dutton.

The head-to-head contest ­between the two leaders remained largely unchanged, with Mr Albanese on 46 per cent and Mr Dutton down a point to 35 per cent.

The margin between the two leaders has narrowed significantly since July when Mr Albanese ­enjoyed a 25-point lead over Mr Dutton.

The Coalition’s primary vote is now more than two points higher than its election result of 35.7, while Labor’s is almost two points lower.

The Greens primary vote is slightly higher than its election ­result of 12.2 per cent, while the vote for other minor parties and independents is down on the election levels of 14.5 per cent.

The two-party-preferred vote of 50-50 represents the loss of five seats for Labor if applied as a theoretical uniform swing of 2.1 per cent across all seats.

This would reduce Labor to 73 seats in the 151 seat lower house, forcing into minority government.

The Newspoll surveyed 1216 voters across the country.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/newspoll-voters-abandon-anthony-albanese-as-labors-fortunes-nosedive/news-story/75db97702fe93193b9fec4af9c421caa

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19984152 (270858ZNOV23) Notable: Get your act together: voters’ Newspoll warning to Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party

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>>128704

Get your act together: voters’ Newspoll warning to Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party

SIMON BENSON - NOVEMBER 26, 2023

Australians have sent the Albanese government a clear, unambiguous message: get your act together.

The decline in electoral support has been sharp and swift. A four-point fall in primary vote support in the space of three weeks is the largest single drop in this election cycle so far.

It has tipped Labor into negative territory next to its election result and elevated the Coalition on to an equal footing on the two-party-preferred vote.

If an election were held on these numbers, Labor would likely be in minority government with the loss of almost half a dozen seats.

This theoretical prospect will present an unexpected and destabilising development for Labor caucus as it meets this week formally for the last time this year.

A different mood will prevail to the one earlier this year when Anthony Albanese addressed his MPs and boasted of Labor’s superiority, listing the seats he believed Labor would win at the next poll.

This has all changed. A two-term proposition is under threat, only midway through the first.

Not that the Coalition is in any position to believe it could form government.

Labor now proceeds into the second half of the term on the ­defensive, with its ascendancy having evaporated at a faster pace than for the Rudd/Gillard government.

The effect of the Reserve Bank’s recent interest rate hike and warnings of more to come can’t be underestimated.

There is clearly now deep electoral irritation. While the referendum defeat caused significant harm to Albanese personally, the party is now copping it as well.

The policy inertia and political paralysis that appears to have seized Labor since the referendum loss is reverberating electorally.

Albanese appears disengaged and the government adrift. The rhetorical and policy response to multiple political crisis – immigration detention, Chinese military aggression, anti-Semitism – has exposed a structural weakness within the party, an absence of ideological rigour and a failure of political management.

These are the events of government that determine its competence. Some of it will be short-lived, but it is the worsening economic outlook and the rapid decline in living standards that is surely now having the greatest impact in the polls.

Until now, the Albanese government had avoided blame for people’s worsening circumstances.

The latest Newspoll poses the question as to whether that linkage has now been made.

The impact of the referendum loss appears two-fold. Albanese has been damaged for backing a losing proposition, reinforcing a perception he was out of touch with mainstream Australia. At the same time, the perceived lack of attention to the core economic imperative is now biting.

This is the first poll since the election where the 2PP contest has narrowed to 50-50.

Even Peter Dutton will be surprised that fortune has turned so acutely the Coalition’s way. It took the Tony Abbott-led opposition almost three years to tighten the contest to this point in 2010.

Labor’s primary vote at 31 per cent is below where it was at the election, while the Coalition has built on its own result, lifting to 38 per cent with a leader widely considered unpopular.

This is not a winning formula for the Coalition, although the Howard government won the 1998 election with a primary vote of 39.51 per cent.

Nevertheless, it is bound to have an impact on how Albanese and Labor reframe the forward agenda if the party’s internal research is reflecting a similar electoral mood.

Albanese is now on a net approval rating of minus 13, level with Dutton, whom Labor believes is unelectable.

This is a strategy that must now surely be under revision.

The only measure on which Labor is now ahead is who would make the better PM.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/get-your-act-together-voters-newspoll-warning-to-anthony-albanese-and-the-labor-party/news-story/8ae6e90c40bc3f930a4299217f5cf0f4

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19984157 (270906ZNOV23) Notable: Newspoll shows Anthony Albanese is following Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd down the tubes

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>>128704

Newspoll shows Anthony Albanese is following Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd down the tubes

DENNIS SHANAHAN - NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister is on the same downward trajectory in voter support and at a similar time in the parliamentary and electoral schedule as Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in the months before they were removed as Labor leaders.

Indeed, on some measures Albanese’s support and the ALP primary vote as shown in Newspoll are worse at this stage than they were for both his immediate Labor predecessors.

While it is highly unlikely Albanese will suffer the same fate as Rudd and Gillard at the hands of Labor MPs the fall in voter support for the PM and primary vote for the Government is a grim warning from recent political history.

A combination of faulty political judgment, policy blunders, administrative mistakes, legislative failure, a lack of unified ministerial messages and a deep public belief Albanese has been distracted and not paying attention to detail means that the government is going into the summer break and beyond the half-term point with its lowest primary vote and highest dissatisfaction with Albanese’s performance.

According to the latest Newspoll, Labor’s primary vote has slumped to just 31 per cent - less than it’s election vote in May last year - and satisfaction with Albanese’s performance as Prime Minister has dropped to 40 per cent and dissatisfaction up to 53 per cent - a net approval rating of minus 13 points - his worst since the election.

That’s a fall in Labor’s primary vote of five percentage points since October and a seven-point rise in voter dissatisfaction with Albanese in the same period.

In themselves these figures are certainly not grounds for removing a leader but there are trends emerging which suggest Labor’s position could be worse early next year when there is only about 12 months to when an election must be called.

Of course, the searing experience of many of the Labor MPs who were in the Rudd-Gillard turmoil and still serving, will put a brake on loose talk about leadership change - after all Gillard took Labor to minority government in 2010 and Rudd, on his return in 2013, lost the election heavily to Tony Abbott.

But, messages coming from the public now about misplaced priorities, leaders being out of touch, unpopular policies on climate change and tax and disunity are similar to the complaints of the last months of the Rudd and Gillard leaderships.

Rudd, like Albanese, had a long political honeymoon and high voter satisfaction with a solid Labor primary vote in Newspoll surveys, but for Rudd the turnaround started quickly and accelerated. After record highs early in his prime ministership Rudd started to suffer a fall in support in October-November 2009 with voter satisfaction dropping 22 points from its record high and primary vote falling 16 points from its high to 56 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

There was a further fall in February-March 2010 and an even greater fall in April-May 2010 after bungled immigration decisions, climate change fatigue and a proposed mining tax. Voter satisfaction with Rudd fell to 39 per cent and the ALP primary vote fell to 35 per cent.

Rudd was removed soon after when a Labor state by-election loss in the western suburbs of Sydney was blamed on federal Labor.

Gillard had a much lower platform to begin with and lost Labor’s majority in 2010. She went on to lose even more support after the Wattle Day massacre in September 2011 when she did a carbon tax deal with the Greens.

But she recovered briefly and by October November 2012 had regained ground only to go into the 2012 summer break with see-sawing poll numbers and rising internal division.

By February-March 2013 as Parliament resumed Gillard had started to fail in the polls again and satisfaction with her performance fell to 26 per cent and dissatisfaction rose to 65 percent. Labor’s primary vote was down to 30 per cent.

Within three months Gillard was removed and replaced with Rudd for a second time who had a brief rise in ratings until losing the election in September.

While reason, logic and commonsense would suggest there is no real threat to Albanese there is terrible propensity to panic at this time in the electoral cycle - not just Labor - when trends start to go bad in polling as bad decisions turn off voters and the inexorable timetable of elections and parliamentary sittings starts to play on politicians minds.

There is still time for Albanese to turn the trends around but it is going to take a big, concentrated effort and be much improved on what has been on display since October.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/newspoll-shows-anthony-albanese-is-follows-julia-gillard-and-kevin-rudd-down-the-tubes/news-story/0e07ede05531d7d29d7f0b31ce83079d

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19984184 (270926ZNOV23) Notable: Melbourne Jewish school principal slams teachers’ week of solidarity for Palestine - Mount Scopus Memorial College principal Rabbi James Kennard said he is fearful for Jewish students in schools where teachers may be planning a week-long action in support of Palestine

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>>128694

Melbourne Jewish school principal slams teachers’ week of solidarity for Palestine

TRICIA RIVERA - NOVEMBER 27, 2023

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The principal of Melbourne’s largest Jewish school has slammed a flyer calling on teachers to wear keffiyehs and invite Palestinian advocates to campuses in what he describes as activism that “crosses the line into anti-Semitism”.

Mount Scopus Memorial College principal Rabbi James Kennard said he is fearful for Jewish students in schools where teachers may be planning a week-long action in support of Palestine.

The action, which encourages teachers to wear Palestine shirts and badges and host activists to speak at schools, is endorsed by the inner city and Maribyrnong regions of the Australian Education Union’s Victoria branch.

“This is a matter of great concern for the entire Jewish community, that these campaigns laced with anti-Semitism are becoming so frequent and ubiquitous in Australia today,” he told The Australian.

“Children should be physically safe and safe from poisonous ideas. And when I see the education union endorsing a plan for teachers to very much bring politics into schools, and inevitably, to affect the minds of young children, then I think we’ve reached some sort of critical turning point.”

Rabbi Kennard said schools were right to educate students about current affairs but were obligated to do so in a nonpartisan way.

“This is proposing to present a very one-sided approach, which on the basis of what we’ve seen from Palestinian activism so far, will consist of lies, distortions, and will cross the line into anti-Semitism,” he said.

He said the real aim of the week of action was to influence young school-aged people.

“I think it’s clever that the flyer is directed at teachers, and the union can say we’re not saying that the teachers should pass this on to students, but of course they will,” Rabbi Kennard said.

The flyer advertising the action says that teachers should show their support within schools.

“As teachers, we teach history so that mistakes are not repeated, we teach human rights that are meant to apply to all human beings,” it says

“We have students with family in Gaza, if we can be tough on mobile phones, but silent on genocide as it happens, there is something awry with the moral compass of our schools”.

Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has condemned the planned action.

“The government does not support the action that is being put forward by a small subsection of the education union,” he said.

“This action is inflammatory, it’s divisive, and sows more seeds of disharmony in our community.

“We’re calling on all teachers that hold a privileged position to teach the curriculum in the classroom. Not to be inviting strangers or political activists into class.”

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19984211 (270951ZNOV23) Notable: Powerful Home Affairs boss Mike Pezzullo sacked after investigation into backchannel lobbying - Mike Pezzullo, the head of the Home Affairs Department, was considered one of the most influential figures in the machinery of government even before alleged private conversations with a Liberal powerbroker exposed he had seemingly spent years using a political backchannel to influence prime ministers and undermine others

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>>126048 (pb)

Powerful Home Affairs boss Mike Pezzullo sacked after investigation into backchannel lobbying

Jake Evans - 27 November 2023

One of the most powerful figures in the public service has been sacked after leaked conversations revealed the depths of his attempts to influence the government on policy and the shape of government.

Mike Pezzullo, the head of the Home Affairs Department, was considered one of the most influential figures in the machinery of government even before alleged private conversations with a Liberal powerbroker exposed he had seemingly spent years using a political backchannel to influence prime ministers and undermine others.

Following the leaked text exchanges, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil stood aside Mr Pezzullo and referred the matter to the Australian Public Service Commission to investigate.

In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the governor-general had terminated the appointment of Mr Pezzullo.

"This action was based on a recommendation to me by the secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Public Service Commissioner, following an independent inquiry by Lynelle Briggs," he said.

"That inquiry found breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct by Mr Pezzullo. Mr Pezzullo fully cooperated with the inquiry."

The inquiry found Mr Pezzullo had broken the public service code of conduct on at least 14 occasions. The breaches included:

• Using his duty, power, status or authority to seek to gain a benefit or advantage for himself

• Engaged in gossip and disrespectful critique of ministers and public servants

• Failed to maintain confidentiality of sensitive government information

• Failed to act apolitically in his employment

• Failed to disclose a conflict of interest

The prime minister thanked Ms Briggs for conducting the inquiry and added that Stephanie Foster would continue to act as secretary of the department until a permanent appointment was made.

Mr Albanese announced Mr Pezzullo had been sacked in a written statement issued 30 minutes after Ms O'Neil held a press conference at Parliament House. Two weeks earlier, the government acted similarly, in announcing a Chinese warship had injured Australian Navy personnel, about 90 minutes after Mr Albanese held a press conference in the US.

Mr Pezzullo, who had a contract until October next year, was paid $931,893 in the 2022-23 financial year.

He has been on full pay while stood down from his role.

On Friday, a new pay determination that could seek to strip secretaries of their entitlements if they breach the public service code of conduct was signed off by the Remuneration Tribunal.

This could result in Mr Pezzullo not having the duration of his contract paid out.

A career public servant

Mr Pezzullo first entered the public service in 1987 as a graduate in the defence department, with a stint in the offices of former foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans and former opposition leader Kim Beazley, before returning to defence in 2002 where he soon became the deputy secretary.

He worked in senior roles at the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, and then under former prime minister Tony Abbott as secretary of the Immigration and Border Protection Department, where he helped to craft the Australian Border Force.

In 2017, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull brought several departments under one umbrella, creating the powerful Home Affairs department — to be led by Mr Pezzullo, a key architect of the super department.

The move was labelled by critics as a concession made to ward off a leadership challenge by Peter Dutton, who was given the home affairs ministry.

Behind the scenes, leaked text conversations suggest Mr Pezzullo had been agitating for "a right winger" to be installed as home affairs minister for the new department, and allegedly spelling out that he would like for Mr Dutton to be given the portfolio.

Nine Newspapers and 60 Minutes reported in conversations spanning five years Mr Pezzullo allegedly undermined Coalition ministers and public servants, particularly those who he viewed were standing in the way of a home affairs super department.

The ABC has not independently verified the text messages, which were obtained legally by Nine through a third party.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/home-affairs-mike-pezzullo-investigation-handed-down/103127944

https://twitter.com/political_alert/status/1728912522663825430

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989420 (280922ZNOV23) Notable: Covid-19 conspirator Robert Kadlec warns lab leak could spark another pandemic - The US health official who conspired with Anthony Fauci to downplay suggestions that Covid-19 leaked from a Wuhan laboratory says another pandemic could emerge from high-risk experiments in laboratories globally, saying the lessons from Covid-19 have not been learnt. The former assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the US Department of Health, Robert Kadlec, has also revealed to Sky News that he lies awake at night agonising at the chain of events he and Dr Fauci had set in motion.

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>>128709

Covid-19 conspirator Robert Kadlec warns lab leak could spark another pandemic

SHARRI MARKSON - NOVEMBER 28, 2023

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The US health official who conspired with Anthony Fauci to downplay suggestions that Covid-19 leaked from a Wuhan laboratory says another pandemic could emerge from high-risk experiments in laboratories globally, saying the lessons from Covid-19 have not been learnt.

The former assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the US Department of Health, Robert Kadlec, has also revealed to Sky News that he lies awake at night agonising at the chain of events he and Dr Fauci had set in motion.

Dr Kadlec, who worked for presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump and led American efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, said his intention in initially downplaying a lab leak was to encourage co-operation from China in the early days of the outbreak.

The public denial of the lab leak theory spiralled, however, and the proposition Covid may have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology turned into a conspiracy.

“I wake up at usually about 2am or 3am and think about it honestly, because it’s something that we all played a role in,” Dr Kadlec said.

In his first television interview to air on Sky News on Tuesday night, Dr Kadlec said the failure of governments to accept the risk­iness of virus research and its role in the last pandemic was hindering necessary steps to prevent a future lab outbreak.

“The trajectory of biolife sciences is such that these tools are out there and we could see something like this or worse,” he says in the Sky News documentary “What Really Happened in Wuhan, the Next Chapter”.

“The tools of science to do this kind of synthetic biology, this risky research, has not been limited to China. It happens in the US. It’s happening in a lot of places in the world and we could have another one of these (pandemics) if we don’t accept that.

“We know that in the past it could happen in an animal wet market, but we need to understand now it could happen in a lab … that requires a whole different set of considerations around the training of laboratorians, the construction of laboratories, the practices that are used, both in terms of how scientific experiments are performed (and how) research is performed generally.”

Former US State Department official Thomas DiNanno, who was a leading investigator into the causes of Covid-19, also told Sky News that the failure to learn from Wuhan threatened another crisis.

“The problem with all of this is … we’ve made no meaningful changes to prevent it from happening again, either a zoonosis or a lab leak. This debate has stifled any debate for us to make meaningful changes.

“There’ve been no meaningful public policy changes because the US government and the national security establishment, the public health establishment, has decided that they don’t want to deal with this potential scenario.

“As a result, we’re just as vulnerable now as we were three years ago to a pandemic.”

Scientist Justin Kinney from Cold Harbour Laboratory said there was a widespread reluctance within the US and global scientific community to hold themselves accountable. “The Covid-19 pandemic spurred an unprecedented mobilisation in the scientific community to understand how the virus works and to create vaccines in new disease treatments,” Mr Kinney said.

“But there has been no similar effort in the scientific community to examine the role that they themselves might have played in starting the pandemic.

“People just want to ignore that possibility. And by and large, the scientific community has been ignoring that possibility.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989446 (280935ZNOV23) Notable: Covid-19 cover-up exposed at last - "It’s astonishing to consider that Anthony Fauci stood on the White House podium in early 2020, beside the president of the United States, and resolutely told the world that Covid-19 was a natural virus. Curiously, he failed to mention that his agency had funded coronavirus experiments in Wuhan so dangerous that they had been banned in the US by the Obama administration. Fauci knew, too, that eminent scientists privately harboured concerns Covid-19’s genetic sequence had unusual features inconsistent with evolutionary theory. Yet he reassured the public that there was no reason to suspect a laboratory incident in Wuhan and, as he did so, Fauci cited as evidence a new scientific paper. Far from being a conclusive, rigorous scientific study, it was, in fact, a piece of commentary that had been rejected from a prestigious medical journal. This is not to blame Fauci for the pandemic, although his agency may have funded the research which created Covid-19. The culpability truly lies in Wuhan where scientists were pushing the boundaries of acceptable experimentation on coronaviruses to make them more infectious and transmissible to humans." - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

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Covid-19 cover-up exposed – at last

SHARRI MARKSON - NOVEMBER 27, 2023

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It’s astonishing to consider that Anthony Fauci stood on the White House podium in early 2020, beside the president of the United States, and resolutely told the world that Covid-19 was a natural virus.

Curiously, he failed to mention that his agency had funded coronavirus experiments in Wuhan so dangerous that they had been banned in the US by the Obama administration. Fauci knew, too, that eminent scientists privately harboured concerns Covid-19’s genetic sequence had unusual features inconsistent with evolutionary theory.

Yet he reassured the public that there was no reason to suspect a laboratory incident in Wuhan and, as he did so, Fauci cited as evidence a new scientific paper.

Far from being a conclusive, rigorous scientific study, it was, in fact, a piece of commentary that had been rejected from a prestigious medical journal.

This is not to blame Fauci for the pandemic, although his agency may have funded the research which created Covid-19.

The culpability truly lies in Wuhan where scientists were pushing the boundaries of acceptable experimentation on coronaviruses to make them more infectious and transmissible to humans.

For years the scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology had been playing God, and had grown increasingly bold and, as it turns out, shockingly careless, conducing their almost existential experiments in low-security laboratories.

But Fauci’s role in claiming the virus was natural, when he had no incontrovertible evidence to make such a claim, goes to the very heart of the cover-up over the origins of Covid-19. Instead of advancing the world’s understanding of what was unfolding, he was deliberately covering it up and, in doing so, ­creating confusion that crippled the world for years.

He also led desperate and diabolic anti-scientific efforts to shut down investigation into the origins of Covid-19; so anxious was he to divert attention from a lab leak and what would surely follow – accountability of him and his agency.

The early insistence of zoonosis from a such an esteemed and trusted figure saw the lab leak theory assigned to the conspiracy pile, censored by tech giants and ridiculed by the media.

Unravelling the web of cover-ups, conflicts of interest and false narratives surrounding the origins of Covid-19 has been a large part of my life over the past 3½ years.

I’ve written an investigative book, created a documentary and a podcast and written dozens and dozens of newspaper articles, features and television reports.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of scientists, government officials, investigators, intelligence agency insiders and whistleblowers from all over the world. They each share a common determination; to discover the truth of the origins of Covid-19.

Piecing together information from these individuals has helped to form a more complete picture of what we know about how the first pandemic in 100 years began.

As we near the fourth anniversary since Covid shook the world, there’s a new chapter in this investigation – a documentary airing on Tuesday night on Sky News called What Really Happened in Wuhan, the Next Chapter.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989477 (280947ZNOV23) Notable: Palestine solidarity action risks breaching code of conduct, teachers warned

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>>128527

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>>128707

Palestine solidarity action risks breaching code of conduct, teachers warned

Robyn Grace and Rachel Eddie - November 28, 2023

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Teachers who engage in a campaign to show solidarity with Palestine face misconduct processes if they are found to be in breach of their professional code of conduct.

Premier Jacinta Allan said on Tuesday the Education Department was working with schools in response to the teachers’ week of action, which encourages them to show support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war by wearing a traditional keffiyeh scarf or inviting advocates into classrooms.

More than 200 teachers are also expected to attend a vigil outside the State Library on Thursday night.

Allan would not say what specific action could be taken but Education Department deputy secretary David Howes warned in a letter to principals on Monday that teachers who took part in the campaign risked breaching their obligation to maintain impartiality and public trust.

Howes said it was important teachers were reminded that school staff “should not use their professional position to make political statements or seek to influence the political views of students”.

“This includes not participating in the proposed teachers’ week of action,” he said.

Two Australian Education Union sub-branches, covering the inner city and Maribyrnong, started the week of action on Monday.

A government school teacher involved in the campaign said they had been warned they may be in breach of several clauses in the public sector’s code of conduct, including impartiality, using their platform for personal gain and bringing the department or school into disrepute.

Failure to behave in the ways described in the code may lead to action under relevant performance management or misconduct processes, the department’s website says.

A teacher who says she was sent home for giving colleagues leaflets that supported Palestine said school staff have been told to shut down classroom conversations about the Israel-Hamas war.

The inner-city teacher, who asked to be known only as Louisa, said the silence in schools about the situation in Israel and Palestine was doing a disservice to students.

The leaflet incident was the subject of a motion by the inner city AEU sub-branch, which defended the rights of teachers to communicate with other staff members about civil, political, human rights and trade union business.

Louisa said her school had run a fundraiser last year for Ukrainian refugees during the war with Russia. She was told the same could not be done for humanitarian aid for Gaza.

“We have been told to not allow any discussions in the classrooms in regards to what is happening in Palestine and in Israel,” she said.

“You can see the grief in the students and I don’t think they know how to process at all. I think the silence that is coming from the schools is actually quite damaging.”

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989556 (281012ZNOV23) Notable: Australian National University study of 4200 Australians finds voters rejected voice model, not constitutional recognition

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>>128523

ANU study of 4200 Australians finds voters rejected voice model, not constitutional recognition

ROSIE LEWIS - NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The “largest and most comprehensive survey” on the Indigenous voice to parliament has found the model put by the Albanese government was a key reason the referendum failed amid widespread support for a broader definition of constitutional recognition.

After tracking the views of 4200 voters since January, the Australian National University will release on Tuesday the study showing 41.5 per cent of respondents would definitely have voted Yes to recognise Indigenous ­people in the Constitution compared with 9.2 per cent who were certain they’d vote No.

Nearly a third (29.3 per cent) were unsure and wanted more details when asked: “If the referen­dum question was not to establish the voice to parliament but instead to recognise Indigenous people in the Constitution only, would you have voted YES or NO?”

In a finding that doesn’t align to the result of the referendum, which was voted down 60 per cent to 40 per cent, 87 per cent of voters surveyed believed Indigenous Australians should have a voice or say over matters that affected them and 76 per cent of No voters thought they deserved a voice on key policies and political decisions.

Study co-author Nicholas Biddle said the survey showed most voters were supportive of some form of constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians.

“This raises serious questions about why the proposed referendum failed and saw more than 60 per cent of voters, and all states and territories except the ACT, categorically reject it,” he said.

“Our findings suggest it is not so much the premise of recogni­tion but the model that was being presented to voters at the referendum, among other key factors.

“Our findings show that there is widespread support for a broad definition of constitutional recognition. Almost five times as many Australians, 61.7 per cent, said they would definitely or probably would have voted Yes if there was a referendum on recognition compared to those who said that they would probably or definitely would have voted No, 12.5 per cent.”

Most voters (79.4 per cent) thought the federal government should help improve reconciliation and 80.5 per cent wanted the country to undertake formal truth-telling processes – the third request of the Uluru statement, behind voice and treaty.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley asked Anthony Albanese on Monday if his government remained committed to implementing treaty and truth-telling one month after the referendum.

The Prime Minister downplayed the federal government’s role in treaty-making.

“Prior to October the 14th, I stood at this dispatch box and they were trying to say that what people were voting on was treaty,” he said.

“I indicated at this dispatch box that that wasn’t what people were voting on. That indeed, treaty negotiations are under way at state level, not at federal level. There is no treaty negotiations under way by the federal government.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anu-study-of-4200-australians-finds-voters-rejected-voice-model-not-constitutional-recognition/news-story/5cbe2e3dfbef3dbe221fe6e6842696c4

https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/voters-rejected-voice-due-to-fears-of-division-anu-study

https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/detailed-analysis-2023-voice-parliament-referendum-and-related-social-and

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989571 (281017ZNOV23) Notable: Labor senator Patrick Dodson to retire from parliament amid health battle

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Labor senator Patrick Dodson to retire from parliament amid health battle

ROSIE LEWIS - NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Patrick Dodson has endorsed local and regional voices and says non-Indigenous Australians must come on board if the country is to progress treaty-making and truth-telling.

Known as the Father of Reconciliation, Senator Dodson, who will formally retire on January 26, three days before his 76th birthday, said he left parliament with a sense of sorrow after the failed voice referendum.

Flanked by Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Indigenous Labor colleagues after receiving a standing ovation in the final caucus meeting of the year, Senator Dodson said he believed the jury was out on constitutional recognition through a voice to parliament but he conceded that many Australians of goodwill didn’t understand the implications and complexities of the proposal put by the Albanese government and referendum working group.

“That requires consultation, and I accept that,” Senator Dodson said, adding that the successful No campaign had created an “Australian problem”.

“A 60-40 split of that (referendum) vote makes it an Australian problem. It’s not an Aboriginal problem ... We need to seriously think now of the way in which our civil society knits together with its diversity and differences.

“We can’t take that for granted and it is not just First Nations peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, this is an Australian problem we now have and it’s the legacy of the success of the No voters.”

The Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, who has this year battled a life-threatening infection on his oesophagus and incurable Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said he had recognised during the referendum debate that he wasn’t able to carry out his duties as he wished.

Senator Dodson nominated three ways forward in Indigenous affairs that would make reconciliation more meaningful, including improving Closing the Gap outcomes, seeking inspiration from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people to set standards and measures for future public debates and ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people could become economically independent.

Noting that he and Liberal MP Julian Leeser had previously recommended regional bodies to give Indigenous Australians decision-making roles in programs and funding that affected them, Senator Dodson said it was “still a very important factor” for local and regional communities to hold governments to account.

“I know the minister (Ms Burney) is considering that (regional and local voices) and my colleagues are. It’s not an easy thing having people tell us we shouldn’t have a national voice but we are working through that and we want to be respectful to the First Peoples and we will find a way to come through that,” he said.

The West Australian senator, a Yawuru man who entered federal parliament in 2016, said the government required input and direction from Indigenous people on how best to progress a Makarrata Commission to oversee treaties and truth-telling processes.

“The lesson we’ve learned out of this is (that) the non-Indigenous people have to come on board with this. You can’t have a treaty with yourself. You can’t have truth-­telling on your own in some little secret room. It’s got to involve all of us,” Senator Dodson said.

“We don’t bow to people telling us what we can’t do.”

Anthony Albanese said he was filled with sadness at Senator Dodson’s plans to retire but also gratitude, saying he had spent his life championing justice and advancing reconciliation. “A commissioner into Aboriginal deaths in custody, the first chair of Reconciliation Australia, and a director of the Central Land Council and the Kimberley Land Council, he shone a spotlight on the gaping chasm in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and put forward solutions grounded in policy reform,” the Prime Minister said.

“He always sought to call attention to the deep connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples share with the land and waters and the incredible contribution they have made to our ­national life.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/labor-senator-pat-dodson-to-retire-from-parliament-amid-health-battle/news-story/c539b8b6f2edb029f48ecc7cf452fb7b

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989602 (281027ZNOV23) Notable: Labor backflips to criminalise Nazi salute - The Albanese government will outlaw the Nazi salute, doing an about-face on its previous refusal to ban the gesture, as Labor moves to repair relations with the nation’s Jewish community

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Labor backflips to criminalise Nazi salute

BEN PACKHAM - NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The Albanese government will outlaw the Nazi salute, doing an about-face on its previous refusal to ban the gesture, as Labor moves to repair relations with the ­nation’s Jewish community.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus revealed that the government would amend its own legislation banning the display of Nazi symbols to also criminalise the salute.

Mr Dreyfus had previously argued that banning the gesture was “something better dealt with by state and territory laws” but on Tuesday he said the government had decided to add the gesture to its Prohibited Hate Symbols Bill to “send a clear message” to those who glorified the Holocaust.

“There is absolutely no place in Australia for hatred, violence and anti-Semitism,” he said.

“Amendments to be introduced tomorrow will strengthen our legislation by making the Nazi salute a criminal offence under commonwealth law. The amendments will ensure that no one will be allowed to glorify or profit from acts and symbols which celebrate the Nazis and their evil ideology.”

The move came as five Jewish Australians with loved ones murdered or kidnapped by Hamas met with Anthony Albanese and senior members of the government in Canberra.

They also held a vigil outside parliament with 240 cardboard cut-outs representing the hostages taken by Hamas.

The Prime Minister said there should be “no place in the world in 2023” for what happened to Israel on October 7.

“I just express on behalf of the government and on behalf of the Australian people our sincere sympathy and condolences for your loss of loved ones, friends and family,” he told the delegation.

“And our commitment to continue to call consistently, unequivocally, for the release of all hostages that have now been taken for a long period of time.”

Labor’s relations with the Jewish community have been strained amid claims by some members of the government, including cabinet ministers, that Israel is collectively punishing Palestinians for the crimes of Hamas.

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council’s Colin Rubenstein said strengthening of the hate symbols legislation was welcome at a time of rising anti-Semitism. “The Nazi salute is used to frighten and intimidate its targets,” Dr Rubenstein said.

“These laws will send a clear message to the Australian community that we as a nation will not tolerate those who seek to divide us by promoting an ideology characterised by racism, industrialised genocide and mass murder.”

Coalition members of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security had previously been unsuccessful in having the Labor bill amended to include a ban on the Nazi gesture.

The committee’s deputy chair, Liberal MP Andrew Wallace, said he was “glad to hear Labor have done a backflip and have finally committed to amending legislation to prohibit the Nazi salute”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/labor-backflips-to-criminalise-nazi-salute/news-story/7085b1529e25b970ed5c3443af2aef47

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989621 (281033ZNOV23) Notable: ‘She’s very excited’: Top Trump foe Nancy Pelosi to visit Australia - One of the most influential politicians in recent United States history - former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi - is set to visit Australia next year as part of an effort to boost American tourist numbers. Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said he invited Pelosi and husband Paul to make the trip while sitting beside the pair during a dinner in San Francisco earlier this month

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>>128628

‘She’s very excited’: Top Trump foe Nancy Pelosi to visit Australia

Matthew Knott - November 28, 2023

One of the most influential politicians in recent United States history – former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi – is set to visit Australia next year as part of an effort to boost American tourist numbers.

Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said he invited Pelosi and husband Paul to make the trip while sitting beside the pair during a dinner in San Francisco earlier this month.

“I said it would be fantastic for her to visit Australia and she readily accepted the invitation,” Farrell said. “She’s very excited about it.”

Farrell said United Airlines, which runs direct flights to Australia from Los Angeles and Pelosi’s hometown of San Francisco, had agreed to sponsor her trip.

Pelosi, whose electoral district includes several tech headquarters, is expected to visit Google’s Sydney headquarters during the planned visit.

She is also close friends with the US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy.

Past efforts to increase US tourist numbers included a high-profile trip by Oprah Winfrey in 2011.

“It will be a very well publicised trip on both sides of the Pacific; I think it will be fantastic for tourism,” Farrell said.

Pelosi is the only woman to serve as House speaker in US history, from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.

Her international profile rose during the Trump years when she became a key antagonist of the divisive Republican president, including a famous moment when she tore up a copy of Donald Trump’s speech at the end of his 2020 State of the Union address.

An image of her giving Trump what appeared to be a patronising clap during the same speech also went viral.

Farrell said Australia had struggled to attract the same number of US travellers as the pre-COVID era, and that tourism operators were especially eager to boost tourist numbers from the US west coast.

Pelosi’s visit could hopefully help push US tourist numbers above pre-COVID levels, he said.

He said Pelosi, 83, told him she had travelled to 83 countries but never to Australia.

Farrell and the Pelosis bonded over a passion for winemaking during their conversation on the sidelines of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework talks in San Francisco.

Farrell said the Pelosis, who own a sprawling vineyard estate in northern California, would be welcome to visit his family vineyard in South Australia, but he doubted they would have time.

Pelosi played a key role in organising the numbers to ensure the successful passage of former president Barack Obama’s signature healthcare legislation, as well as current president Joe Biden’s infrastructure and climate change bills.

Pelosi, who was first elected to Congress in 1987, stepped down from the Democratic House leadership last year after her party lost its majority following midterm elections.

She announced in September that she would run for another congressional term in 2024, fuelling a debate in the US about the advanced age of many senior politicians from both major parties.

Pelosi visited the self-governing island of Taiwan on a controversial trip last year, prompting China to launch a massive round of live-fire drills and military exercises.

Her husband Paul was left with a fractured skull last year after a right-wing conspiracy theorist broke into the Pelosis’ home and attacked him with a hammer.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/she-s-very-excited-top-trump-foe-nancy-pelosi-to-visit-australia-20231128-p5enam.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19989725 (281101ZNOV23) Notable: ‘Fully engaged’: Rudd opens up on Biden’s age and Trump’s possible return - Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has staunchly defended Joe Biden amid growing concerns the US president is too old to run for re-election, describing him as engaged, across his brief and a first-class negotiator on global issues

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‘Fully engaged’: Rudd opens up on Biden’s age and Trump’s possible return

Farrah Tomazin - November 28, 2023

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Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has staunchly defended Joe Biden amid growing concerns the US president is too old to run for re-election, describing him as engaged, across his brief and a first-class negotiator on global issues.

In a broad-ranging interview with this masthead, Australia’s ambassador to the US also hit out at China over the recent sonar incident at sea; played down hopes that AUKUS legislation could pass by the end of the year; and addressed disparaging comments he previously made about Donald Trump, who he once described as “nuts”, “treacherous” and “the most destructive president in history”.

Asked if he stood by those comments, Rudd did not shy away but noted that he made them as an “independent think tanker” with the Asia Society Policy Institute based in New York, whose job it was to be “free and frank” on matters of public debate.

But he insisted that Australia would be able to deal with the potential return of Trump to the White House if the Republican wins next year’s election, pointing out that there is “a level of bipartisan support in Australia for the alliance,” which he said “transcends party politics – both in Australia and the United States”.

In terms of Biden, who turned 81 this month and faces lingering concerns about his age and overall performance, Rudd replied: “What I can say is that in my own engagements with the President on matters near and dear to the hearts and minds of Australia, is that he has been fully engaged and fully seized of the importance of the issues that we have been discussing with him.

“We have found him to be a first-class interlocutor in dealing with all the complex issues that we’re wrestling with in the world: including the Middle East, including Ukraine, including China, including critical minerals and including clean energy,” he added.

Rudd’s reflections come seven months after he took on the job as the Albanese government’s top diplomat in Washington, replacing former Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos.

As the first former prime minister in the role – and as someone with an Oxford University doctorate on Chinese President Xi Jinping – his presence immediately boosted Canberra’s diplomatic clout in a city where few things unite Democrats and Republicans more than the growing threat of Beijing.

Both sides of politics have also shown bipartisan support for the AUKUS pact – a trilateral agreement in which the US and Britain will help Australia acquire nuclear-propelled submarines to safeguard the Indo-Pacific.

But one month after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Washington to lobby members of Congress to pass AUKUS legislation “by the end of the year”, Rudd was far less bullish about the likelihood that this could be achieved.

“I think it’s unwise to put a timeline on it because we’re all captured by the internal processes of the Congress,” he said. “My bottom-line analysis is our legislation will get through, but I’m not prepared to make a statement on what day or month [that might happen].”

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/19995394 (290943ZNOV23) Notable: Worst offenders among immigration detainees could be locked up again - The worst offenders released from immigration detention could be locked up again under new preventative detention laws the Albanese government vows to rush through parliament before Christmas

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Worst offenders among immigration detainees could be locked up again

Angus Thompson and Paul Sakkal - November 28, 2023

The worst offenders released from immigration detention could be locked up again under new preventative detention laws the Albanese government vows to rush through parliament before Christmas.

In outlining its reasons for overturning indefinite detention, the High Court left the door open to re-detaining people considered a risk to the community if new laws were passed.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil urged parliament “to support the government in protecting the Australian community”.

“Today our government received reasons from the High Court. We are moving quickly to finalise a tough preventative detention regime before parliament rises. The safety of Australian citizens is our utmost priority,” she said.

On November 8, the High Court overturned a 20-year precedent that had enabled the indefinite detention of foreigners who could not be deported.

In the summary of the reasons for the decision, the court found the government contravened the Constitution on the basis that detention was punitive “in circumstances where there was no real prospect of the removal of the plaintiff from Australia becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future”.

However, the court said its decision did not prevent people from being placed back in custody if the prospect of deportation became a practical option.

“Nor would grant of that relief prevent detention of the plaintiff on some other applicable statutory basis, such as under a law providing for preventive detention of a child sex offender who presents an unacceptable risk of reoffending if released from custody,” part of the reasons expressed by Justice James Edelman say.

The reasons were published as the government grapples for control of the political agenda after the Coalition dictated the terms of laws rushed through parliament to supervise and track former detainees in the community.

In question time, which was dominated by questions about the detainees, O’Neil accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of hypocrisy and weakness for voting against legislation on Monday night that would have levied fresh criminal penalties for breaches of strict new conditions.

“When the minister for immigration brought forward strong laws to attach criminal offences for child sex offenders going near schools, they voted against it,” O’Neil said.

“The truth is, there’s one side of politics here that is trying to do the right thing, and adapt to the High Court change, and do so in the interests of the community, [and] another side of politics that’s being hypocritical.”

The successful legal challenge to indefinite detention by a stateless Rohingya man – a child sex offender given the pseudonym NZYQ – had already forced the government to introduce emergency legislation for mandatory electronic monitoring and curfews on freed detainees.

The judges noted that Australian officials attempted to deport the man to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. Each of the nations rejected the approach except the US, with an official saying the US Department of State would “have a hard look” at the case.

Despite this prospect, the court found the possibility of his resettlement was far from definite and “could not occur without the exercise of multiple statutory discretions by multiple agencies within the US, including some discretions involving waiver of statutory prohibitions”.

O’Neil last week said the government was considering preventative detention laws similar to counter-terror legislation allowing people to be detained when the community is at risk.

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said on Tuesday the court had “given a green light for the preventative detention regime the opposition has been calling for for almost three weeks”.

“Now there are no excuses. The Albanese government must introduce and legislate a preventative detention scheme this week before the parliament rises,” he said.

University of Canberra professor Kim Rubenstein, an expert in constitutional and citizenship law, agreed the reasons paved the way for preventative detention measures to be introduced. “But very clearly within a criminal code framework, because it’s very clear you can’t have administrative detention,” she said.

Constitutional expert George Williams said preventative detention of any of the cohort may become a state responsibility, “because they’re the ones responsible for ordinary criminal law”.

“It’s misguided to focus on federal parliament ... it would need a national response,” he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/high-court-publishes-reasons-for-indefinite-detention-decision-20231128-p5ena0.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20001884 (300908ZNOV23) Notable: Video: Protesters target Israeli hostage families with pro-Palestine signs, bloodied dolls - Family members of Israelis who were killed or taken hostage by Hamas had to seek shelter at a Melbourne police station after they were confronted by a group of pro-Palestinian protesters in the lobby of their Docklands hotel. The group of masked protesters stood in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Melbourne hotel on Spencer Street, holding Palestinian flags and a large sign with the words “Stop arming Israel” and “Free Palestine”, and placed two bloodied dolls on the ground

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Protesters target Israeli hostage families with pro-Palestine signs, bloodied dolls

Marta Pascual Juanola and Broede Carmody - November 30, 2023

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Family members of Israelis who were killed or taken hostage by Hamas had to seek shelter at a Melbourne police station after they were confronted by a group of pro-Palestinian protesters in the lobby of their Docklands hotel.

The group of masked protesters stood in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Melbourne hotel on Spencer Street, holding Palestinian flags and a large sign with the words “Stop arming Israel” and “Free Palestine”, and placed two bloodied dolls on the ground.

Footage of the protest, circulated on social media, shows the group at the top of escalators chanting “shame”, as four police officers approach them.

Deputy head of mission for the Israeli embassy in Australia Chris Cantor said the delegation of family members had finished meeting Jewish community members when they encountered the protesters on Wednesday night.

Cantor said the delegation was led into a secure area inside a police station until officers cleared the hotel and allowed them back to their accommodation about two hours later.

“For us, it’s totally unacceptable that these people who came here to meet politicians, meet civil society organisations, meet the media … have to meet in plain Melbourne city, a mob of people shouting and protesting against them,” he said.

Victoria Police confirmed officers moved on a group of about 20 protesters who had walked into the lobby of the Spencer Street hotel with flags and signs about 10pm. No one was injured.

In a statement released on social media, the pro-Palestinian protesters, who identify as “an autonomous group of pro-Palestine activists”, said the protest was aimed at Israeli embassy officials and the Crowne Plaza hotel for hosting them.

“The group of activists is committed to non-violence. The Israeli delegation came seeking military support and war,” it read.

A Free Palestine Melbourne spokesperson said the group did not organise or condone the protest.

“Free Palestine Melbourne played no part in this action. Palestinians understand the pain of being unjustly separated from those we love,” organiser Muayad Ali said.

“We are hopeful that all of the hostages will be freed in exchange for the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli custody.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who met with members of the delegation when they visited Canberra on Tuesday, condemned the protest, saying, “why people would make the conscious decision to hold a protest where the families of these people were staying is beyond my comprehension and beyond contempt.

“I’m appalled by the actions of these protesters and I condemn them.”

Premier Jacinta Allan, who met one of the delegates on Wednesday, denounced the protest in a brief statement released on social media.

“I condemn the extreme behaviour on display last night, in the strongest possible terms. I condemn the antisemitism. I condemn targeting people in their moment of grief,” she said.

“Whatever your views, we all expect Victorians to act with decency and humanity.”

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20001913 (300927ZNOV23) Notable: Video: Dutton demands apology for O’Neil’s claims he voted to protect paedophiles - Peter Dutton is demanding an apology from federal Labor ministers who claimed he had voted to protect paedophiles rather than children, even as the federal government scrambles to secure his support for new laws that would return to detention the worst criminal offenders released after the landmark High Court ruling. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Sports Minister Anika Wells both made the claim against Dutton - a former Queensland police officer who had worked in the sex offenders squad - in parliament and during a television interview, prompting a fierce response from the federal opposition leader and his colleagues

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Dutton demands apology for O’Neil’s claims he voted to protect paedophiles

James Massola and Olivia Ireland - November 30, 2023

Peter Dutton is demanding an apology from federal Labor ministers who claimed he had voted to protect paedophiles rather than children, even as the federal government scrambles to secure his support for new laws that would return to detention the worst criminal offenders released after the landmark High Court ruling.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Sports Minister Anika Wells both made the claim against Dutton – a former Queensland police officer who had worked in the sex offenders squad – in parliament and during a television interview, prompting a fierce response from the federal opposition leader and his colleagues.

On Monday, the federal government announced new laws to wind back the High Court decision that ruled indefinite detention was illegal, which had obliged the government to release 142 people from indefinite detention, including killers and rapists.

The Coalition has also refused to confirm if they will help pass the government’s separate new citizenship cessation laws that would give judges the power to strip terrorists of their citizenship.

The opposition voted against the laws to address the High Court’s decision on indefinite detention, which would have imposed a range of tough new conditions including banning paedophiles going near schools, arguing the laws did not go far enough.

With parliament due to rise for the year in a week’s time, the government and opposition are scrambling to agree on the details of a new set of laws, after the High Court left the door open to redetaining people considered a risk to the community.

But even as Labor sought to strike a deal with the Coalition over the laws, it also sought to demonise Dutton in and outside the parliament.

On Nine’s Today show, Wells said she agreed with the claim that Dutton had been a “protector of paedophiles”, prompting the opposition leader to respond on radio station 2GB that “I think I’m owed an apology from Anika Wells and the prime minister, but we’ll see if they’re big enough to make that apology.”

The hostilities escalated in question time as O’Neil repeated her attack line that Dutton and the opposition voted “to protect paedophiles over children. That is what they did” in blocking the paedophile school zone ban earlier in the week.

“They came in here and instead of supporting Labor’s attempts to criminalise paedophiles, who loiter near daycare centres and schools, the leader of the opposition came in here and played politics instead,” she said.

The claim prompted a furious response from opposition frontbenchers including social services spokesman Michael Sukkar, who said the comment was a “disgusting slur” that should be withdrawn, prompting Speaker Milton Dick to order the minister to temper his language and withdraw the remark.

Sukkar said every member of the opposition had been accused of protecting paedophiles and that it would be “extraordinary if that be allowed in the chamber, and I request that the minister not only withdraw but apologise”.

O’Neil withdrew the comment but said the opposition could not “hide” from the fact that it had voted against stopping paedophiles being able to stand in front of schools.

Dutton then moved to suspend standing orders in the parliament to expresses grave concern over the Albanese government’s “catastrophic handling of the NZYQ High Court case [the pseudonym of the stateless Rohingya man convicted of child rape] that resulted in a mass release of hardened criminals from detention into the Australian community”.

The citizenship laws come after the High Court ruled it was invalid for the government to strip terrorists of Australian citizenship because it gave the Commonwealth judicial powers, breaching the Constitution.

Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash and opposition home affairs minister James Paterson told media this afternoon that they support the new citizenship legislation, but want the scope broadened to include more crimes, including espionage and foreign interference.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-demands-apology-for-o-neil-s-claims-he-voted-to-protect-paedophiles-20231130-p5eo3l.html

https://9now.nine.com.au/today/peter-dutton-comments-ignite-fiery-stoush-between-chris-okeefe-and-anika-wells/6f4c7b00-5a2c-4431-9a17-6f6874035c95

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20008367 (011357ZDEC23) Notable: ‘A bucket of dirt dropped on us’: Backlash grows to Australia-Tuvalu treaty - Australia is facing an intense backlash to its landmark resettlement and security treaty with Tuvalu, as the island nation’s opposition leader Enele Sopoaga vows to scrap the pact in its current form if elected

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‘A bucket of dirt dropped on us’: Backlash grows to Australia-Tuvalu treaty

Matthew Knott - December 1, 2023

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Australia is facing an intense backlash to its landmark resettlement and security treaty with Tuvalu, as the island nation’s opposition leader vows to scrap the pact in its current form if elected.

Former prime minister Enele Sopoaga, who wants to retake the top job when Tuvalu holds elections on January 26, blasted the deal announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Tuvalu’s Prime Minister, Kausea Natano, last month as “alarming”, “bullish” and “inconsiderate”.

Sopoaga said many Tuvaluans were offended and confused by the treaty, promising to campaign strongly against it in the lead-up to the Pacific nation’s elections.

“This is like a bucket of dirt that is being dropped on the people of Tuvalu,” Sopoaga, who served as prime minister from 2013 to 2019, told this masthead in an interview.

“I can’t express how disappointed I am with the wording of the text. This should never have been signed without prior consultation with the people of Tuvalu.”

The pact, known as the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, would allow 280 people a year to migrate from the climate-affected nation while granting Australia defacto veto rights over any security pact signed by China and Tuvalu.

Sopoaga said he was concerned that the special visa pathway would see many of the nation’s most highly skilled workers depart for higher wages in Australia.

“This would deplete the economy of Tuvalu within two to three years,” he said, noting the nation had a population of 11,200 people.

“There are very serious questions that need to be answered.”

He said it was insulting that Tuvalu’s government would have to ask Australia permission to strike any defence or security agreements with any other nation under the deal.

“When are you going to stop selling the sovereignty of Tuvalu to other countries like Australia?” he asked his successor as prime minister.

Sopoaga said he would rather strike a similar arrangement with the United Kingdom than Australia given it was a member of the United Nations Security Council.

“This text is very one-sided for Australia,” he said.

“If elected, I would work to improve it for the betterment of the people of Tuvalu. I think I can offer the people a much better deal.”

Tuvalu, a collection of nine low-lying atolls, is considered by the World Bank and the United Nations to be at risk of being deserted as sea levels rise.

Sopoaga earlier blasted the treaty as an act of “bribery” and a way to “buy Tuvalu’s silence over Australia’s coal exports” in an opinion piece published by Radio New Zealand this week.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20013200 (021131ZDEC23) Notable: OPINION: The first Madam President? The woman Biden may fear more than Trump - "Nikki Haley is having a moment. Polling in the key primary state of New Hampshire suggests that the sole female Republican presidential candidate has surged ahead of the charisma-challenged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has tried to position himself as the alternative to Donald Trump. More significantly, this week Haley received the backing of the political network founded by the Koch brothers, the right-wing businessmen whose vast wealth made them such mighty powerbrokers on the American right. Let us put to one side how the influence of elderly billionaires shows that US politics is not just a gerontocracy but also a plutocracy. David Koch died in 2019, aged 79, while 88-year-old Charles is still active. More germane is that Haley is solidifying her status as Trump’s main rival." - Nick Bryant, author of 'When America Stopped Being Great: A History of the Present' - theage.com.au

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>>128628

>>>/qresearch/19995429

OPINION: The first Madam President? The woman Biden may fear more than Trump

Nick Bryant - December 2, 2023

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Nikki Haley is having a moment. Polling in the key primary state of New Hampshire suggests that the sole female Republican presidential candidate has surged ahead of the charisma-challenged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has tried to position himself as the alternative to Donald Trump.

More significantly, this week Haley received the backing of the political network founded by the Koch brothers, the right-wing businessmen whose vast wealth made them such mighty powerbrokers on the American right.

Let us put to one side how the influence of elderly billionaires shows that US politics is not just a gerontocracy but also a plutocracy. David Koch died in 2019, aged 79, while 88-year-old Charles is still active.

More germane is that Haley is solidifying her status as Trump’s main rival.

The former president, of course, remains the presumptive nominee. With the ongoing backing of the MAGA faithful, his cult-like base, he remains way ahead of his rivals. Not even 91 felony counts have damaged his prospects of remaining the party’s figurehead.

Instead, he can portray himself as a MAGA martyr, and arouse among supporters the same sense of shared victimhood which in 2016 helped explain how a New York property tycoon became a working-class hero in the Rust Belt.

Winning the presidency, however, is a wholly different undertaking than securing the Republican presidential nomination because of the need for broader electoral appeal. And this, in essence, is Nikki Haley’s pitch.

One poll last month suggested that she posed significantly more of a threat to Joe Biden than Trump. In a hypothetical match-up, Haley trounced Biden by 10 points, 55 per cent to 45 per cent. If the Republican Party was rational, which, in its Trumpian period, it most definitely is not, then she would not only stand a strong chance of becoming its first female presidential nominee but also America’s first Madam President.

The 51-year-old Haley has an impressive resumé. In deeply conservative South Carolina, where the first shots rang out in the American Civil War, she became the state’s first female governor. What made this all the more remarkable is that she is an Indian American whose name at birth was Nimrata Nikki Randhawa.

Haley was governor in 2015, when Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who had draped himself in the Confederate flag, massacred nine African-American parishioners at a Black church in Charleston. Bravely, Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House, where it had been hoisted in the early 1960s as a rebuke to the civil rights movement.

I was there the day when the flag came down, a ceremony that felt like the final surrender of the Civil War. Little did we know that what we were actually witnessing that summer was the beginning of the white nationalist counter-offensive headed by Trump. In a strange quirk of history, he launched his presidential bid the very day before the Charleston massacre.

During the Trump presidency, Haley served as America’s United Nations ambassador, and drew praise from her boss for bringing “glamour” to that role. Though a foreign policy neophyte, she quickly established herself as a formidable diplomat.

From her seat at the Security Council’s famed horseshoe table, she excoriated the Russians, a bold move since Trump was so smitten with Vladimir Putin. At a time when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres privately expressed fears that the US president could destroy the global body with a single tweet, Haley helped protect it from the “America First” wrecking ball.

After the Capitol Hill attack of January 6, 2021, she said Trump would be “judged harshly by history”, although she quickly backtracked when it became clear that many Republicans supported his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Haley’s campaign launch video also spoke of her political timidity in the face of the MAGA mob. Footage of her most courageous act, the lowering of those Confederate colours, was banished from view.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20018188 (030941ZDEC23) Notable: Emmanuel Macron says Australia should lift its nuclear ban as Albanese government shuns 2050 nuclear pledge - French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Australia to lift its nuclear ban as the Albanese government shunned a declaration endorsed by more than 20 countries at the UN climate change conference to triple nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050.

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Emmanuel Macron says Australia should lift its nuclear ban as Albanese government shuns 2050 nuclear pledge

ROSIE LEWIS - DECEMBER 3, 2023

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Australia to lift its nuclear ban as the Albanese government shunned a declaration endorsed by more than 20 countries at the UN climate change conference to triple nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who will head to Dubai for the COP28 summit this week, on Sunday faced Coalition claims that the government had “foolishly isolated itself from its AUKUS allies” by refusing to sign up to the nuclear pledge.

When 17-year-old Nuclear for Australia founder Will Shackel, who identified himself as an Australian, asked Mr Macron for his thoughts on nuclear energy’s role in global plans to decarbonise, the President responded: “I hope that you will manage to lift the ban. Nuclear energy is a source that is necessary to succeed for carbon neutrality in 2050.”

The government signed up to the UAE’s initiative to triple global renewable energy generation capacity and double global average annual energy ­efficiency improvements by 2030 but rejected its nuclear declaration.

Countries that endorsed the pledge included the US, Canada, France, Japan, the UAE and Britain, recognising “the key role of nuclear energy in achieving global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century and in keeping a 1.5C limit on temperature rise within reach”.

With nuclear set to be a political flashpoint between the major parties at the federal election, Peter Dutton hit out at the Albanese government for being the only G20 nation not to have embraced or be on the pathway to embracing nuclear technology.

“When more than 20 countries, including some of our closest allies, signed a pledge today at COP28 in Dubai calling for a tripling of zero-emissions nuclear energy, our government was nowhere to be seen,” the Opposition Leader said. “US Climate Envoy John Kerry said ‘ … you can’t get to net zero in 2050 without some nuclear’. If Australia is serious about reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 while keeping the lights on and getting prices down, we can’t afford to take any option off the table.”

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said the government had “foolishly isolated itself from its AUKUS allies and 20 other ­nations” by refusing to back the pledge.

Mr Bowen’s spokesman said it would “take decades for Australia to start from scratch if we ­followed the Liberal National Party’s gamble for nuclear in ­Australia. (That’s) time we don’t have after the LNP oversaw 26.7GW of coal generation announced closure dates – with no plan to replace it.

“Australia has a massive comparative advantage when it comes to the cheapest form of energy-firmed renewables, with more sunlight hitting our landmass than any other country.”

The spokesman also said the government would support COP28’s triple renewable pledge through the expanded Capacity Investment Scheme; its $2bn Hydrogen Headstart program; the $20bn Rewiring the Nation plan to upgrade the electricity grid; developing a national energy performance strategy; a $1.7bn energy savings program; and rolling out solar banks and community batteries.

“Australia has the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the world and a plan to get to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 to deliver cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy. For emissions to go down around the world, we need a big international push,” Mr Bowen said. “Australia has the resources and the smarts to help supply the world with clean energy technologies to drive down those emissions while spurring new Australian industry.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/emmanuel-macron-says-australia-should-lift-its-nuclear-ban-as-albanese-government-shuns-2050-nuclear-pledge/news-story/2a1a591719cfec2bf75dc0e6647e78cd

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20018229 (031000ZDEC23) Notable: Video: Neo-Nazi protest rocks Ballarat as community expresses outrage over march - A group of masked neo-Nazis has shocked a Victorian city after they paraded down a major street with strange demands for an “Australia for the white man”

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>>128715

Neo-Nazi protest rocks Ballarat as community expresses outrage over march

A group of masked neo-Nazis has shocked a Victorian city after they paraded down a major street with strange demands for an “Australia for the white man”.

Eli Green - December 3, 2023

A neo-Nazi march through a Victorian city has sparked outrage as police investigate whether any laws were broken.

Ballarat locals were left shocked when dozens of masked men dressed in black from the National Socialist Network paraded down Sturt Street in the city’s centre on Sunday afternoon.

Led by a single unmasked man and another holding a megaphone, the group were heard shouting “Australia for the white man” while they marched down the middle of the road.

“Heil victory,” they were also heard chanting.

The group were also heard singing Rule Britannia as they marched and were seen taking photos at Ballarat’s Eureka memorial.

Victoria Police have confirmed they attended the unplanned demonstration at 12:30pm.

“There were no major incidents of note during the demonstration. However, as a matter of course, police will review any vision or CCTV from the day,” a spokesperson said.

“Our top priority was keeping the peace to ensure the event did not impact the safety of the broader community.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe in our community regardless of who they are.

“We understand incidents of anti-Semitism can leave communities feeling targeted, threatened and vulnerable. Hate and prejudice has no place in our society.”

Ballarat Community Alliance said they were aware of the protests and had demanded a swift response from police, adding that “neo-Nazis are not welcome”.

“We condemn this group of blow-ins and their message of hate,” the group said in a statement.

“They have come to Ballarat to co-opt the Eureka legacy on the inclusive and peaceful commemoration of the anniversary of Eureka Stockade.

“We are a proud multicultural city and at the recent referendum were one of the biggest yes votes in regional Australia. We are a safe and inclusive city and we unequivocally condemn their presence in this city.”

The group questioned why police did not enforce new laws that prohibit the performance or display of Nazi symbols and gestures.

“Why weren’t these laws enforced by police who instead helped the neo-Nazis by making safe passage through the street for their protest?” they wrote on social media.

A man who witnessed the event said that the rally sparked disbeliefs in bystanders and said that the event was likely timed to coincide with the Spilt Milk music festival held the day before.

The group were also spotted walking along rural roads at the back of Sovereign Hill, trailed by a police car with lights on.

A bank of cars was seen behind as the group took up the entire lane of traffic.

Many questioned why police did not step in when they took to the streets,

“So they disrupt traffic & don’t get arrested? Climate protesters would be in jail almost immediately!” one person wrote on social media.

It’s not the first time the area has been the target for neo-Nazi protests, with residents saying they felt in danger after a group of men descended on the town of Halls Gap, 150km northwest of Ballarat, on Australia Day in 2021.

Pictures of the gathering showed shirtless men wearing balaclavas burning a cross.

The protest was likely connected to the anniversary of the Eureka Stockade, where gold miners battled with police and the military over land rights and policing of their work.

“They swore to fight together against police and military. After the oath, they built a stockade at Eureka, and waited for the main attack,” the State Library of Victoria says about the rebellion.

“On 3 December, there was an all-out clash between the miners and the police, supported by the military. The miners planned their defence and attack carefully, but they were no match for the well-armed force they faced.

“When the battle was over, 125 miners were taken prisoner and many were badly wounded. Six of the police and troopers were killed and there were at least 22 deaths among the diggers.”

The Eureka flag has been co-opted by neo-Nazi groups in Australia as a symbol of rebellion against the government.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/neonazi-protest-rocks-ballarat-as-community-expresses-outrage-over-march/news-story/c712298f91da22cbe050fe48d9f0cbec

https://twitter.com/randal_m_smith/status/1731153049169850625

https://www.facebook.com/BallaratAlliance/posts/656455466679552

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20022688 (040911ZDEC23) Notable: Video: Long wait for anti-vilification laws as police grapple with neo-Nazis - Tougher anti-vilification laws will not be brought before the Victorian Parliament until the second half of next year as the state grapples with another neo-Nazi demonstration

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>>128727

Long wait for anti-vilification laws as police grapple with neo-Nazis

Rachel Eddie and Broede Carmody - December 4, 2023

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Tougher anti-vilification laws will not be brought before the Victorian Parliament until the second half of next year as the state grapples with another neo-Nazi demonstration.

Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the second action from far-right extremists in seven weeks, while the police association and the state opposition called on her government to help police take tougher action.

Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt told The Age the Ballarat incident on Sunday and another in October, when a group of neo-Nazis stormed a train at Flinders Street, highlighted the tough position facing police members.

“In situations like this, police find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place,” Gatt said. “If something is not illegal, police cannot act. It is up to the government to set expectations of what is legally acceptable behaviour and how it wants police to deal with it.

“Relying on minor summary offences, unrelated to the conduct in question, is a workaround, but not a solution.”

Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the Liberal Party’s proposal to expand “move on” powers would give police more options to respond and could defuse situations.

“We want laws changed so that Victoria Police have more powers at their discretion so that they can deal with potentially difficult situations without the binary choice of doing nothing or arresting people,” Pesutto said.

The government objected to the opposition’s “draconian” proposal last month, which Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes at the time said had been misused in the past.

A government spokeswoman said police still had the power to move people on if they posed a danger.

“Victoria Police have plenty of powers to respond to events that threaten public safety and order, including existing move-on laws and the ability to declare designated areas where police can search people without a warrant,” she said.

Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien told The Age the opposition would reintroduce the bill to the upper house next year.

About 30 people from the National Socialist Network marched through Ballarat on Sunday afternoon with their faces covered while chanting, “Australia for the white man” and “hail victory”, which translates to the Nazi Party slogan “sieg heil” in German.

Victoria Police confirmed it was investigating whether someone performed a Nazi salute, which was outlawed in October, following an earlier ban on public displays of the swastika.

Police said its priority was keeping the peace to ensure the event did not become a danger to the broader community.

Allan condemned what she described as disgusting behaviour and said all Victorians deserved to live free from bigotry.

“These disgraceful and cowardly acts have no place in Victoria – that’s why we have banned the Nazi salute and stand ready to take further action to stamp out this disgusting behaviour,” Allan said

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Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20022713 (040926ZDEC23) Notable: Video: Masood Zakaria, alleged Alameddine crime figure, deported to Australia - Alleged Alameddine crime figure Masood Zakaria will face an Australian court two years after police allege he escaped the country on a fishing boat and entered Turkey

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Masood Zakaria, alleged Alameddine crime figure, deported to Australia

Jessica McSweeney - December 4, 2023

Alleged Alameddine crime figure Masood Zakaria will face an Australian court two years after police allege he escaped the country on a fishing boat and entered Turkey.

The 28-year-old has been a top priority for NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police, who have been fighting for his deportation to Australia to face conspiracy to murder charges.

AFP officers told Turkish police that Zakaria had allegedly entered the country on a false passport and was using his time in Turkey to associate with organised crime figures with links to Australia.

In January this year, Zakaria was arrested in Bodrum on the country’s south-west coast and remained in immigration detention until this week.

Zakaria was put on a plane and touched down in Darwin just after 2pm on Sunday, where the AFP was waiting to make their arrest.

NSW Police will apply for his extradition to Sydney to face a slew of charges relating to violent and organised crimes when Zakaria faces Darwin Magistrates Court on Monday.

Police allege Zakaria was involved in the failed murder plot of rival organised crime figure Ibrahem Hamze. He is also charged with knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group, supplying a prohibited drug, dealing with proceeds of a crime and contravening a serious crime prevention order.

Police will allege in court that Zakaria is the second in charge of the Alameddine crime family, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald slapped down suggestions authorities are fighting a “war” against organised crime groups like the Hamzy and Alameddine clans, instead saying police have prevented more drug-related gang violence from erupting in recent months.

“There is no war, there are a number of conflicts that are occurring in NSW because of the high price of drugs,” he said.

“We believe we have made great inroads in preventing further crime occurring.”

There are about 20 figures around the world with alleged connections to Australian organised crime, with a number having direct links to NSW.

“The AFP has long-standing relationships with the Turkish National Police and what is evident … is that Turkish authorities have no tolerance for transnational serious organised crime operating in their country,” AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto said.

“Australians who think they can hide offshore in perceived safe havens and avoid facing Australian courts for their alleged crimes need to heed this warning; the AFP is relentless in our pursuit to ensure you face justice.”

https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/masood-zakaria-alleged-alameddine-crime-figure-deported-to-australia-20231204-p5eopm.html

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/sydney-man-arrested-following-deportation-turkiye

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20022724 (040933ZDEC23) Notable: Australia and France sign military access agreement as post-Aukus tensions ease - Australia and France have promised to grant access to each other’s military bases and training facilities in a clear break from their post-Aukus blues

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>>>/qresearch/19822796

Australia and France sign military access agreement as post-Aukus tensions ease

Reciprocal access to military bases and training facilities to be granted in clear break from diplomatic rupture over failed submarine deal

Daniel Hurst and Sarah Basford Canales - 4 Dec 2023

Australia and France have promised to grant access to each other’s military bases and training facilities in a clear break from their post-Aukus blues.

The reciprocal access agreement is expected to allow Australian forces to access French bases in the Pacific region, while also giving France access to Australian facilities.

The plans were announced after the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, held talks in Canberra with her visiting French counterpart, Catherine Colonna.

The deal marks a clear break from the diplomatic rupture that occurred in 2021 when France complained it was blindsided by the then Morrison government’s decision to scrap a French contract for conventional submarines.

The government’s decision to pursue the Aukus pact with the US and the UK, under which Australia will acquire and build nuclear-powered submarines, prompted France to temporarily recall its ambassador from Canberra in protest.

The row also sparked the infamous refrain from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, “I don’t think, I know,” when asked whether he thought Scott Morrison, then prime minister, lied to him about the saga.

Morrison denied the claim at the time, but more recently has said that secrecy was necessary to prevent France from trying to “kill” the Aukus deal.

“Not telling him is not the same as lying to him,” Morrison told the book author and journalist Richard Kerbaj.

In an address to the National Press Club in Canberra earlier on Monday, Colonna said the Aukus announcement was not a “pleasant” moment “but we decided to move on”.

Colonna emphasised the need for stability in the Indo-Pacific region, saying the world “doesn’t need a new crisis”.

She raised concerns about China’s military interactions with Australian naval divers in Japan’s exclusive economic zone last month, as well as confrontations with the Philippines.

At a later meeting at Parliament House, Wong and Colonna adopted a “bilateral roadmap” to improve the relationship in three areas: security and defence; climate action and resilience; and culture and education.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/04/australia-france-military-access-agreement-bases-details-aukus-aftermath-submarines

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20022733 (040937ZDEC23) Notable: Sub snub forgiven as Australia, France step up defence ties - Australian warships will get access to French naval bases in the Pacific under a new defence cooperation agreement that sweeps away lingering ill-will from the AUKUS pact and boosts Western efforts to counter China’s influence in the region

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>>>/qresearch/19822796

>>128730

Sub snub forgiven as Australia, France step up defence ties

Andrew Tillett - Dec 4, 2023

Australian warships will get access to French naval bases in the Pacific under a new defence cooperation agreement that sweeps away lingering ill-will from the AUKUS pact and boosts Western efforts to counter China’s influence in the region.

Under a new road map for bilateral ties unveiled on Monday by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her French counterpart Catherine Colonna, the two countries will also ramp up cooperation on foreign aid projects in the Pacific, where Paris will boost development spending by $333 million over four years.

Ms Colonna expressed French alarm over China’s increasingly aggressive “interactions” with foreign navies, including the recent sonar incident in the East China Sea that left an Australian diver injured.

“That shouldn’t have happened,” she said.

Bilateral ties, including defence cooperation, soured dramatically in September 2021 when the Morrison government cancelled the $90 billion French designed submarine project in favour of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines from the US and UK.

Ms Colonna said she wouldn’t describe it as a “pleasant moment” by a friend nation, “but we decided to move on, so let’s move on”. She described Australia as the “number one partner” in the Pacific.

Under plans for beefed up defence cooperation, the Australian and French militaries will enjoy extra access to each other’s defence facilities.

“Enhanced Australian access to French defence facilities in the Pacific and Indian Oceans will facilitate a more sustained Australian presence in priority areas of operation,” the road map document said.

France operates naval bases at its Pacific territories in New Caledonia and Tahiti, and at Réunion and Mayotte islands in the Indian Ocean.

“We do already lots of joint exercises and there is this tradition of working together, but having access to facilities will help, I’m sure,” Ms Colonna said.

The access agreement is the latest example of major players striking security agreements across the Pacific after China’s shock deal with Solomon Islands last year.

Last month, Australia assumed a right of veto over any security agreements the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu might want to sign with other countries, in return for Canberra offering security guarantees in the event of attack.

Australia has also reached updated security pacts with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, although finalising those agreements have been delayed. The US this year also rolled over for another two decades its compact agreements with Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands.

Other initiatives under the road map including talks on critical minerals projects, including joint government funding and facilitating offtake agreement; joint research on the energy transition, including the involvement of business; and creation of a joint Indo-Pacific Studies policy think tank to encourage academic exchanges.

On the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – which Labor has promised to sign subject to several conditions – Ms Colonna reiterated France’s objection to the agreement.

She said the treaty could undermine existing arms control architecture and “doesn’t take into account the current existing threats”.

Appearing at the National Press Club earlier, Ms Colonna said France would continue to engage with China “constructively”. She said countries should not be forced to choose between Washington and Beijing, but needed to work together to preserve the international order.

“We know who our friends are and we know where the threat comes from,” she said.

Following President Emmanuel Macron’s call for Australia to reconsider its ban on nuclear energy, Ms Colonna said “audacious” action was required to tackle climate change, but ultimately it was up to each country to decide its response. She added nuclear energy provided France with “comparatively low cost” electricity.

“Time is short though. And by all accounts – all studies from all bodies – we know that we need both to develop renewable energy and to have some nuclear civilian capacities,” she said.

She cautioned that Australian goods sold to Europe could be captured by the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – a tariff on some emissions intensive exports – unless they conformed with “carbon neutrality”.

“We cannot imagine that we can reach that objective with importing goods that will be produced elsewhere without respecting carbon neutrality or without respecting the rules that apply to us,” she said.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/sub-snub-forgiven-as-australia-france-step-up-defence-ties-20231204-p5eosf

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20027549 (050814ZDEC23) Notable: Marles says Australia a safe destination as Israel issues travel warning - Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has defended Australia as a safe place to travel after the Israeli Security Council raised its threat level for several countries, advising its citizens to exercise extra caution due to a rise in attempted attacks and expressions of antisemitism

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>>128527

>>128611

>>128676

>>128722

Marles says Australia a safe destination as Israel issues travel warning

Olivia Ireland - December 5, 2023

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has defended Australia as a safe place to travel after the Israeli Security Council raised its threat level for several countries, advising its citizens to exercise extra caution due to a rise in attempted attacks and expressions of antisemitism.

The Israeli government named Australia, alongside the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Russia as countries where its citizens should take increased precautions when travelling as a result of the conflict in Gaza.

“We absolutely understand that many in the Jewish community are finding this to be a very difficult time and it is really important that, be it those in the Jewish community or those in the Islamic community, that Australians are looking after everyone,” Marles told ABC Radio National on Tuesday morning.

“I think we are seeing a rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia and there can be no place for that,” Marles said.

The far-right rally in Ballarat on Sunday was an example of increased tensions in Australia, Marles said.

Last week a group of pro-Palestinian protesters stood in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza hotel in Docklands, Melbourne, where family members of some of the Israelis who were killed or taken hostage by Hamas were staying.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry data has found an almost 700 per cent increase in reported incidents of antisemitism.

As of November 28, the Islamophobia Register of Australia reported an “unprecedented” rate of incidents. Reports of Islamophobia rose thirteen-fold since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in early October.

The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman, Simon Birmingham, said Israel’s increased warning about travel to Australia should be discussed at national cabinet when it meets on Wednesday.

“Prime Minister Albanese should be seeking a consensus statement of all national leaders condemning antisemitism, committing to combat it, committing to education and committing to the police resources and efforts to ensure that the types of intimidation we have seen are stamped out,” he said.

Birmingham said Australia was still a “welcoming place”, but he could understand if people from Israel were concerned about travelling to Australia.

“I can understand your concerns at seeing the protests on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, reports of convoys or rallies targeting regions of Jewish faith or the appalling, shameful actions of protesters targeting the families of hostage victims and murder victims of Hamas,” he said.

“I can understand why those images cause concern and alarm and we as a nation must be able to stamp that out and to ensure that Australia’s reputation is restored.”

Co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin said the travel warning reflected a “damning new reality”.

“Many families have chosen to cover Jewish symbols, and have warned their children not to mention Israel or anything Jewish in public. Hamas has sympathisers in our midst and this poses a threat to all Australians,” he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/marles-says-australia-a-safe-destination-as-israel-issues-travel-warning-20231205-p5ep37.html

https://twitter.com/AustralianJA/status/1731754963507028236

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-issues-severe-travel-warnings-to-dozens-of-countries-amid-rising-antisemitism/

https://www.gov.il/en/departments/dynamiccollectors/travel-warnings-nsc

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20027558 (050825ZDEC23) Notable: Australia and Papua New Guinea to sign major bilateral security agreement during PNG prime minister James Marape's Canberra visit - The agreement will focus heavily on Papua New Guinea's internal security, with PNG looking to Australia to do more to help train and bolster its police force

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>>128538

Australia and Papua New Guinea to sign major bilateral security agreement during PNG prime minister's Canberra visit

Tim Swanston and Stephen Dziedzic - 5 December 2023

Australia and Papua New Guinea will sign a major bilateral security agreement this week as PNG Prime Minister James Marape visits Canberra for talks with Anthony Albanese.

The agreement will be signed following a bilateral meeting between Mr Marape and Mr Albanese on Thursday.

The agreement will focus heavily on Papua New Guinea's internal security, with PNG looking to Australia to do more to help train and bolster its police force.

Mr Marape said the agreement could also include support from Australia for PNG's Police Training Academy at Bomana, as well as support to help set up a regional academy elsewhere in the country.

"The security arrangement is in the best interest of Papua New Guinea and also for Australia and its regional security interests," Mr Marape said.

"Cabinet will fully endorse the finer details before Prime Minister Albanese and I sign off. Australian police officers will work under the command and control of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary and the Police Commissioner."

Papua New Guinea has been grappling with escalating tribal violence and an influx of high calibre weapons.

A round of tribal violence in August left dozens dead in PNG's highland region.

PNG Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso told the ABC that the agreement would aim to build the capability of both the PNG military, as well as the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC).

"Internal security remains one of our biggest issues in the country," Mr Rosso said.

"Part of the negotiations of the bilateral treaty agreement is focused on assisting us, the capabilities of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and police."

PNG, which has a population of about 12 million, wants to increase its police service from around 6,000 members to 26,000.

Australian Federal Police do work in Papua New Guinea, but only as unarmed advisors, following a 2005 PNG Supreme Court challenge.

"Part of the agreement is also for the upscale of the Bomana Police College, to ensure that we pass out over 1,000 police recruits every year to achieve those targets," Mr Rosso said.

"Not just any ordinary recruit, but good, screened, properly trained recruits to combat any internal issues we have here."

The federal government will be pleased to finally land the agreement with Papua New Guinea after months of sometimes difficult negotiations.

Concerns of encroachment on rights

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flagged the pact during an historic visit to PNG early this year, and the federal government initially wanted to wrap up negotiations by June.

But the talks stalled in the wake of controversy generated by PNG's defence cooperation agreement (DCA) with the United States, which was signed in May.

Mr Marape also said he was concerned that the initial wording in the Australian pact "encroached into [PNG's] sovereign rights."

The US pact could still be tested in PNG's Supreme Court, while the opposition accused Mr Marape of drawing Papua New Guinea into broader geopolitical turmoil.

In August, local media also reported that PNG's foreign affairs secretary and lead negotiator Elias Wohengu was at "a sort of impasse" with Australia over several matters in the agreement.

Mr Wohengu also said that the pact would be called a "framework agreement" rather than a "treaty" – although Australian officials have insisted that it will remain legal binding and have been adamant it has not been diluted in any way.

A draft of the document was finally put in front of both cabinets last month.

Australia's finalisation of its agreement with PNG comes after China signed a police cooperation deal with PNG's neighbour, Solomon Islands, earlier this year.

Last month, Mr Marape told the ABC his country was caught in a "confluence of interests" in the region, but said PNG's relationship with Australia ranked as number one.

"Whatever we put into paper … will be an agreement that consolidates our two nations relations in the middle of many, many bilateral relationships that are now emerging in Papua New Guinea," Mr Marape said.

"In the Indo-Pacific conversation, we are caught in the confluence of interests in the Pacific and Asia.

"We know who our priority relationships are and Australia ranks number one, in my view."

"What we need to put together doesn't dilute PNG's bilateral relations with other nations we relate to, but at the same time entrenches PNG's own relations with Australia."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-05/australia-and-png-to-sign-a-major-bilateral-security-agreement/103188340

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20027565 (050833ZDEC23) Notable: Papua New Guinea to recruit Australia police in security deal - Papua New Guinea will recruit Australian police officers for key positions in its national police force under a wide-ranging security deal to be signed this week that also covers defence and biosecurity, Papua New Guinea's Minister of State Justin Tkatchenko said

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>>128538

>>128733

Papua New Guinea to recruit Australia police in security deal - minister

Kirsty Needham - December 5, 2023

SYDNEY, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea will recruit Australian police officers for key positions in its national police force under a wide-ranging security deal to be signed this week that also covers defence and biosecurity, Papua New Guinea's minister of state said.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will travel to Canberra on Thursday to sign the security agreement, his office said.

"The security arrangement is in the best interest of Papua New Guinea and also for Australia and its regional security interests," Marape said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Australian security agreement was delayed after backlash from some opposition PNG politicians to a defence deal with the United States in May that they said infringed on PNG sovereignty by giving access to ports and airports, and could embroil the Pacific Islands' largest nation in strategic competition between the U.S. and China.

China formed security and policing ties with the neighbouring Solomon Islands last year. PNG, a few kilometres to Australia's north, is also being courted by China amid rising tensions between the two major powers.

"This shows our commitment to Australia as one of our traditional security partners now and into the future," Minister of State Justin Tkatchenko told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Defence and internal policing are a major part of the security agreement with Australia, while respecting PNG sovereignty, along with assisting farmers to meet Australia's stringent biosecurity rules and boosting biometric technology for airports, Tkatchenko said.

"Respecting each other is the big thing," he added.

The Australian Federal Police and the defence minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the security agreement.

PNG police have this year struggled with a surge in violent crime, and Marape has pointed to law-and-order concerns and said boosting security would help to attract foreign investment in PNG's burgeoning resources sector.

"Its a big issue and Australia can help us out considerably," said Tkatchenko, who began negotiations with Australia on the deal last year.

The agreement includes an option for Australian police to work directly for the PNG Royal Constabulary on contract, he said.

"The positions will be advertised for expatriate or qualified international police officers to fill about 50 positions throughout the country, from police station commanders to heading the CID (criminal investigation department) or fraud squad and so on," he said.

In 2005, a PNG court ruled that Australian Federal Police deployed to PNG should not have the powers of local police, or immunity from prosecution, and since then Australian police have only deployed in unarmed advisory roles.

"These officers will wear PNG uniform. They will be contracted officers reporting directly to the police commissioner of Papua New Guinea and they will be under all the laws of PNG. That was always the sticking point," he said.

Australia will also boost training for PNG police.

The security negotiations recognised PNG's sovereignty as a nation that won independence from Australia 48 years ago, while appreciating Australia's role as the region's largest economy, he said.

"What we want is economic independence, where we can rely on ourselves into the future," he added.

Help to meet Australia's strict biosecurity guidelines will open new export markets for PNG, which produces coffee and other agricultural products as "the oldest living gardeners or agriculturalists in the world".

France, which this week pledged $100 million to PNG for forestry and climate change, is also boosting defence cooperation with Australia in the Pacific and earlier this year signed an agreement giving its navy access to patrol PNG waters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/papua-new-guinea-recruit-australia-police-security-deal-minister-2023-12-05/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20027579 (050844ZDEC23) Notable: Government rejects calls for O'Neil and Giles to resign after released detainees arrested - Colleagues of Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have rejected calls for their resignations, following charges of indecent assault laid on a man released from immigration detention just weeks ago

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>>128665

>>128673

>>128718

Government rejects calls for O'Neil and Giles to resign after released detainees arrested

Nicole Hegarty and Matthew Doran - 5 December 2023

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Colleagues of Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have rejected calls for their resignations, following charges of indecent assault laid on a man released from immigration detention just weeks ago.

The man released from immigration detention as a result of the High Court's ruling on indefinite detention faced an Adelaide court yesterday over two counts of indecent assault.

Aliyawar Yawari appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court three weeks after he was released from Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia.

The 65-year-old was arrested at a motel in the Adelaide suburb of Pooraka on Saturday night after a report a woman had been indecently assaulted by a guest.

He did not apply for bail and has been remanded in custody until next month.

Mr Yawari was one of 148 people released in response to last month's High Court ruling that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful where there is no prospect of them being deported in the reasonably foreseeable future.

A second released detainee was also charged in NSW with possession of cannabis, which was confirmed yesterday by Senate leader Penny Wong, speaking from the Senate floor.

On Tuesday afternoon, Victorian police confirmed a third released detainee had been arrested after failing to meet his "reporting obligations as a registered sex offender".

"The 33-year-old was arrested in Dandenong this morning without incident. He was subsequently interviewed by police and charged with nine counts of fail to comply with reporting obligations. He has also been charged with trespass in relation to a reported incident in Dandenong on 24 November," police said in a statement.

The man is set to face Dandenong Magistrates' Court on Tuesday afternoon.

Government rejects calls for ministers to resign

The Coalition has called for Ms O'Neil and Mr Giles to resign over the alleged incident, saying planned legislation that would return the detainees into "preventative detention" should have been ready to go ahead of any High Court ruling.

In a series of interviews this morning, Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan told Sky News and Nine the ministers should take personal responsibility for being "asleep at the wheel" when the High Court handed down its decision in October.

"They need to take personal responsibility for the catastrophic failure of their handling of this issue, which sadly has led to this outcome," Mr Tehan said.

"They were told that they needed to put a preventative detention regime in place and be ready to go with it immediately.

"At the moment, what we’re seeing is they breached their number one fundamental duty to Australia."

Government ministers have rejected calls for Mr Giles and Ms O'Neil to resign, with frontbencher Bill Shorten telling Nine radio it made no sense for the ministers to quit their portfolios.

"The logic of that is that the High Court should resign, if you really think there was some way to prevent this," Mr Shorten said.

"The reality is the High Court has made this decision, that is their right and prerogative in our judicial system."

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20027602 (050856ZDEC23) Notable: Video: Senate speeds through new lock-up laws after child sex ringleader charged - A man who ran a child sex ring in Victoria has become the third former immigration detainee to face court on fresh charges after he allegedly contacted a child online following his release, as the Senate waved through tough new laws to lock up the worst offenders

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>>128665

>>128673

>>128718

>>128735

Senate speeds through new lock-up laws after child sex ringleader charged

Angus Thompson, Olivia Ireland and James Massola - December 5, 2023

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A man who ran a child sex ring in Victoria has become the third former immigration detainee to face court on fresh charges after he allegedly contacted a child online following his release, as the Senate waved through tough new laws to lock up the worst offenders.

Emran Dad, 33 – who in 2012 pleaded guilty to child sex and procurement offences for paying teenage girls in state care for sex, and to have sex with other men – was arrested on Tuesday in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong and charged with three counts of making contact with a child, using email, TikTok, Instagram and live-streaming, all without reporting the use to the police.

His arrest spurred the government to urge the Senate to immediately pass its new preventative detention laws in the upper house as politicians feuded over the consequences of the landmark High Court decision overturning the legality of indefinite immigration detention.

The new laws will allow the government to refer criminals freed from immigration detention to judges to decide if they still pose a risk to the community and should be locked up again.

“I would’ve thought the fact that we’ve now seen three of these individuals either arrested or charged with new offences would have underlined the importance of passing this legislation as quickly as possible to keep the community safe,” Labor minister Murray Watt told the Senate ahead of the vote.

The Coalition wanted an amendment requiring the government to publish the reasons for releasing every person as a result of the High Court decision, but the opposition ultimately backed the government’s latest emergency measures.

The bill is expected to be passed in the lower house on Thursday.

Dad’s arrest came a day after another former detainee, violent sex offender Aliyawar Yawari, faced an Adelaide magistrate on two charges of indecent assault, and another released detainee was charged with possessing cannabis.

Former Coalition attorney-general Christian Porter revealed his own office “was always alive to the narrowness of the majority” in Al-Kateb, the 2004 judgment that allowed the Commonwealth to indefinitely detain foreigners if they had no hope of being deported.

Documents tabled in the Senate showed Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus had allowed the Human Rights Commission to intervene in the most recent case while the Coalition had twice refused to allow the independent body to mount arguments in immigration cases before the High Court.

Defending his own decision to muzzle lawyers for Australia’s human rights watchdog from intervening in a separate 2019 High Court case challenging indefinite detention, Porter said he had been committed to doing everything he could to uphold that precedent.

“Authorising another Commonwealth agency to argue against that decision was considered to be a very bad idea,” Porter told this masthead on Tuesday.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20033209 (060854ZDEC23) Notable: Fourth detainee arrested as Labor, Coalition race to pass new laws - As Labor and the Coalition prepared to pass new laws late on Wednesday evening that would allow individuals to be re-detained, a fourth person was charged in Melbourne for allegedly failing to comply with a curfew and stealing luggage at Melbourne Airport.

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>>128665

>>128735

>>128736

Fourth detainee arrested as Labor, Coalition race to pass new laws

James Massola and Paul Sakkal - December 6, 2023

The federal government is preparing applications to lock up high-risk offenders released from immigration detention by a High Court ruling, but Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has repeatedly refused to say how many criminals could return to custody.

As Labor and the Coalition prepared to pass new laws late on Wednesday evening that would allow individuals to be re-detained, a fourth person was charged in Melbourne for allegedly failing to comply with a curfew and stealing luggage at Melbourne Airport.

The Australian Federal Police arrested and charged the 45-year-old man, Sudanese-born Abdel Moez Mohamed Elawad, at a Melbourne hotel on Wednesday. They will allege Elawad breached conditions of his visa on December 1 by failing to observe his residential curfew obligations and stealing luggage from an airport traveller who was asleep in the terminal.

Under changes made to the Migration Act on November 16 to create parole-like requirements for newly released detainees, the theft charge would carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment while failure to comply with the curfew carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a $93,900 fine.

The arrest comes a day after Emran Dad, 33, who once ran a child sex ring in Victoria, faced court after he contacted children online, and two days after violent sex offender Aliyawar Yawari faced an Adelaide magistrate on two charges of indecent assault. A fourth detainee has been charged with possessing cannabis.

Nearly a month after the court overturned the 2004 Al Kateb case and ruled it was illegal to indefinitely detain a person in immigration detention, the federal government has been scrambling to deliver a legislative fix that will send the worst of the released detainees back into custody. The cohort is made up of non-citizens who cannot be deported.

The court’s decision on November 8 was made in a case brought on behalf of a stateless Rohingya man who had served time for raping a child found that detainees could not be kept in indefinite immigration detention if they could not be deported.

The new laws were due to be passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday, but instead MPs were told on Tuesday that the matter would be introduced on Wednesday night.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said Labor was engaged in a “kneejerk reaction to a dishonest fear campaign run by Peter Dutton”, while crossbenchers slammed the government for the rush in which it wanted to pass the laws.

Under the new laws, a non-citizen would be re-detained if, after an application from the minister, a judge found with a high degree of probability that they posed an unacceptable risk of committing a serious violent or sexual offence.

Giles said Commonwealth officials were working with the states and that “we’ve already begun applications to ensure that we can do all that we can as quickly as we can, noting that this will require detailed engagement with the states and possibly territories as well”.

“This proposed preventative detention regime would allow for a court to detain the worst of the worst offenders,” he said.

Giles was asked repeatedly how many of the 148 detainees released so far the government would try to lock up again but refused to answer the question. He also refused to say what their crimes were or how soon applications would be made to send them back into detention.

In addition to the preventative detention laws, the government is expecting on Thursday to pass separate laws that would strip terrorists of their dual Australian citizenship.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil defended the government’s handling of the High Court fallout during a press conference with Giles and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, noting the government had no choice but to obey the court’s decision, and added that “if I had any legal power to re-detain all of these people, I would do it immediately”.

At that point, a visibly Dreyfus stepped in to reprimand Sky News reporter Olivia Caisley for asking if the government owed an apology to people affected by the reoffending former detainees.

“I will not be apologising for upholding the law. I will not be apologising for pursuing the rule of law and I will not be apologising for acting ...”

Caisley tried to interrupt with a follow-up question – a common practice for reporters – and Dreyfus snapped. “Do not interrupt! I will not be apologising ... for acting in accordance with a High Court decision. Your question is an absurd one,” he said.

O’Neil could then be heard muttering: “OK, I think we will move on here.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/fourth-detainee-arrested-as-labor-coalition-race-to-pass-new-laws-20231206-p5epky.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20033221 (060906ZDEC23) Notable: Video: ‘I will not be apologising’: Dreyfus shouts at reporter in fiery High Court exchange - Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has lost his temper at a Sky News reporter, declaring he would not be apologising for upholding the rule of law

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>>128665

>>128735

>>128736

>>128737

‘I will not be apologising’: Dreyfus shouts at reporter in fiery High Court exchange

James Massola - December 6, 2023

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has lost his temper at a Sky News reporter, declaring he would not be apologising for upholding the rule of law.

In a fiery exchange during a press conference on the federal government’s proposed preventative detention laws, and laws to strip terrorists of their dual Australian citizenship, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil was asked by reporter Olivia Caisley if the government owed an apology to people affected by the reoffending of three people released from immigration detention.

The High Court’s decision on November 8, in a case brought on behalf of a stateless Rohingya man who had served time for raping a child, found that detainees could not be kept in indefinite immigration detention if they could not be deported.

In a statement tabled in the Senate yesterday, Dreyfus said the legal advice made clear that a detainee’s criminal record could not be used to keep them in detention.

Since the landmark ruling, at least three of the approximately 150 people released from detention have been either arrested or charged.

The Coalition has called on O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to resign after a violent sexual offender and a child sex offender released into the community were charged with fresh offences this week. A third former detainee was charged after he was found in possession of cannabis.

The home affairs minister began to respond to Caisley, pointing out the government had acted in accordance with the court’s ruling, as it was legally bound to do so, and added that “if I had any legal power to redetain all of these people, I would do it immediately”.

At that point, a visibly annoyed Dreyfus stepped in to reprimand Caisley, pointing and raising his voice at her.

“I want to suggest to you that question is an absurd question. You are asking a cabinet minister, three ministers of the Crown, to apologise for upholding the law of Australia, for acting in accordance with the law of Australia, for following the instructions of the High Court of Australia,” he said.

“I will not be apologising for upholding the law. I will not be apologising for pursuing the rule of law and I will not be apologising for acting ...”

Caisley tried to interrupt with a follow-up question – a common practice for reporters – and Dreyfus snapped. “Do not interrupt! I will not be apologising ... for acting in accordance with a High Court decision. Your question is an absurd one,” he said.

O’Neil could then be heard muttering: “OK, I think we will move on here”.

Caisley has tangled with senior politicians before.

Earlier this year, former prime minister Paul Keating snapped at her “because I have a brain” when she asked him why he was certain that China was not a threat to Australia’s national interest.

Giles said the government had already begun preparing applications to return high-risk offenders to custody once the new laws pass.

“I will work firstly with the officials of the Commonwealth and then with the states, to ensure that we are prepared for every high-risk offender, to make sure that we can get the best application in as quickly as possible,” he said.

“I’m really disappointed at the contribution of the Greens on this. Because this is not a novel concept. We already have a preventative detention regime that deals with high-risk terrorist offenders.

“And I would say here the risk is clearer because we’re dealing with people who have already committed offences, and serious offences.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/i-will-not-be-apologising-dreyfus-shouts-at-reporter-in-fiery-high-court-exchange-20231206-p5epg1.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20033239 (060915ZDEC23) Notable: Video: Man arrested in Arizona over religiously motivated terror attack at Wieambilla sent shooters 'end of days' ideological messages - A man arrested in the US state of Arizona in connection with the religiously-motivated terrorist attack in Wieambilla last year sent the shooters "Christian end-of-days" ideological messages in the months leading up to it, police have revealed. The 58-year-old, who can now be identified as Donald Day, was arrested near Heber-Overgaard, north-east of Phoenix, on December 1 US time as part of the investigation

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Man arrested in Arizona over religiously motivated terror attack at Wieambilla sent shooters 'end of days' ideological messages

Kelsie Iorio and Jessica Black - 6 December 2023

A man arrested in the US state of Arizona in connection with the religiously-motivated terrorist attack in Wieambilla last year sent the shooters "Christian end-of-days" ideological messages in the months leading up to it, police have revealed.

The 58-year-old, who can now be identified as Donald Day, was arrested near Heber-Overgaard, north-east of Phoenix, on December 1 US time as part of the investigation.

Alan Dare, Constable Rachel McCrow and Constable Matthew Arnold were shot and killed on December 12, 2022 in the rural Queensland community.

Stacey, Gareth and Nathaniel Train, who police say subscribed to a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism, also died.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the FBI, Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon said there was evidence the man and the Trains commented on one another's YouTube videos.

"Between May 2021 and December 2022, the man repeatedly sent messages containing Christian end-of-days ideology to Gareth, and then later to Stacey," she said.

The man appeared in court today and remains in custody.

'We need to understand why'

Queensland police investigators from the Ethical Standards Command and the Security and Counter Terrorism Command had travelled to the US to work with local law enforcement and the FBI.

Assistant Commissioner Scanlon said the investigation had "a long way to go", adding that police had not identified anyone else in Australia who had contact with the man who was considered to be of risk.

"This is a terribly tragic event, and with the loss of lives, we need to understand the why," she said.

"None of this is possible without our partnerships and our relationships with others, and if it takes us across the world to do that, to have that reach given the impacts of the internet and the online world, then that's the way it has to be."

Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford said earlier this year that there was "significant evidence of advanced preparation and planning" by the Trains ahead of the fatal attack.

Mr Dare's widow Kerry Dare told the ABC she had not been told many details about the arrest.

"I'm surprised it's taken them so long," she said.

"I'm interested to see what they've arrested him for."

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was asked about the arrest after today's National Cabinet meeting, and said she had recently met with Mrs Dare.

"She's obviously very distressed," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"The entire community in that region went through so much and I know it's going to be a very trying time."

Investigations are ongoing.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-06/qld-wieambilla-shooting-arrest-arizona-queensland-police/103196120

https://qresear.ch/?q=wieambilla

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20033273 (060934ZDEC23) Notable: US man arrested over inciting violence online in 'religiously motivated' Wieambilla police massacre - A man has been arrested in the United States over online comments that allegedly incited violence before the "religiously motivated terrorist attack" in regional Queensland where two police officers and an innocent neighbour were slain. Queensland Police said officers travelled to the US to meet with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to arrest Donald Day, 58, near Heber Overgaard in Arizona on December 1

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>>128739

US man arrested over inciting violence online in 'religiously motivated' Wieambilla police massacre

Savannah Meacham - Dec 6, 2023

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A man has been arrested in the United States over online comments that allegedly incited violence before the "religiously motivated terrorist attack" in regional Queensland where two police officers and an innocent neighbour were slain.

Queensland Police said officers travelled to the US to meet with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to arrest Donald Day, 58, near Heber Overgaard in Arizona on December 1.

Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, and innocent neighbour Alan Dare, 58, were shot dead at close range by Gareth Train, 47, Nathaniel Train, 46, and Stacey Train, 45, at the Wieambilla property on December 12 last year.

The Trains were shot dead by heavily armed police hours later.

The series of events that allegedly linked Day to the Trains began two years before the massacre.

Police allege Gareth began following Day on YouTube in May 2020.

He and the man began commenting directly on each other's videos in May 2021.

"We have evidence to show the Trains subsequently accessed an older YouTube account created by the same man in 2014 and viewed the content," Queensland Police Service Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon said.

Between May 2021 and December 2022, Day allegedly sent repeat messages containing "Christian end-of-days ideology" to Gareth and Stacey.

Scanlon confirmed Day is connected to a YouTube video posted by the Trains on the night of the confrontation.

This evidence has been seized and analysed by the FBI.

Scanlon said the Trains were motivated by a "Christian extremist ideology and subscribed to the broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism".

After investigations, a grand jury issued two indictments to Day, one of which relates to comments posted online in December 2022 inciting violence over the Wieambilla attack.

The other indictment is not connected to the Wieambilla attack, Scanlon said.

Day faced court today and was remanded in custody in the US.

A search warrant has also been carried out at a remote property in northern Arizona in relation to the incident.

Investigations are continuing.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20038459 (070943ZDEC23) Notable: Northern Arizona man charged for inciting religious terror attack in Australia that killed two police officers - "A U.S. citizen has been charged in Arizona over online comments that allegedly incited what police describe as a “religiously-motivated terrorist attack” in Australia a year ago in which six people died, officials said Wednesday. Court documents identify the suspect as 58-year-old Donald Day Jr." - Jason Sillman - azfamily.com

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>>128739

>>128742

Northern Arizona man charged for inciting religious terror attack in Australia that killed two police officers

AZFamily Digital News Staff, The Associated Press and Jason Sillman - Dec. 6, 2023

CANBERRA, Australia (3TV/CBS 5/AP) — A U.S. citizen has been charged in Arizona over online comments that allegedly incited what police describe as a “religiously-motivated terrorist attack” in Australia a year ago in which six people died, officials said Wednesday. Court documents identify the suspect as 58-year-old Donald Day, Jr.

Queensland state police officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold and innocent bystander Alan Dare were fatally shot by Gareth Train, his brother Nathaniel Train and Nathaniel's wife Stacey Train in an ambush at the Trains’ remote property in the rural community of Wieambilla last Dec. 12, investigators say.

Four officers had arrived at the property to investigate reports of a missing person. They walked into a hail of gunfire, police said at the time. Two officers managed to escape and raise the alarm. Police killed the three Trains, who have been described as conspiracy theorists, during a six-hour siege.

FBI agents arrested the suspect, since identified as Day, near Heber Overgaard, Arizona, last week on a U.S. charge that alleged he incited the violence through comments posted online last December, Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon said at a joint news conference in Brisbane with FBI legal attaché for Australia Nitiana Mann.

Day has been indicted in the U.S. on two counts of making interstate threats. According to the charging document, Day “engaged in a course of conduct demonstrating a desire to incite violence and threaten a variety of groups and individuals including law enforcement and government authorities.” He also reportedly posted on a UK-based sharing platform called BitChute that he’s “an x-con (sic), who’s armed to the teeth.”

Following the murders of the QPS officers and an innocent bystander, documents say two of the suspects posted a video of themselves on their YouTube channel called “Don’t Be Afraid,” saying, “they came to kill us, and we killed them. If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward. We’ll see you when we get home. We’ll see you at home, Don. Love you.” Day reportedly posted a reply to the video offering comfort and assurance, adding that “our enemies will become afraid of us.”

The indictment also alleges that Day posted a video on YouTube with the username “Geronimo’s Bones” days later praising the suspects’ actions, ending with, “the devils come for us, they [expletive] die. It’s just that simple. We are free people. We are owned by no one.” He allegedly posted a similar video later that day.

Day was remanded in custody when he appeared in an Arizona court on Tuesday. He faces a potential five-year prison sentence if convicted.

“We know that the offenders executed a religiously motivated terrorist attack in Queensland,” Scanlon said, referring to the Trains. “They were motivated by a Christian extremist ideology.”

The FBI is still investigating the alleged motive of the American. Queensland police had flown to Arizona to help investigators there.

“The attack involved advanced planning and preparation against law enforcement,” Scanlon said.

Gareth Train began following the suspect on YouTube in May 2020. A year later, they were communicating directly.

“The man repeatedly sent messages containing Christian end-of-days ideology to Gareth and then later to Stacey,” Scanlon said.

Mann said the FBI was committed to assisting the Queensland Police Service in its investigation.

“The FBI has a long memory and an even longer reach. From Queensland, Australia, to the remote corners of Arizona,” Mann said.

“The FBI and QPS worked jointly and endlessly to bring this man to justice, and he will face the crimes he is alleged to have perpetrated,” she added.

https://www.azfamily.com/2023/12/06/navajo-county-man-charged-inciting-religious-terror-attack-australia-that-killed-two-police-officers/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20038464 (070950ZDEC23) Notable: Video: Exclusive: Witness records FBI agents arresting Arizona man tied to Australia terror attack - "The FBI has arrested and charged an Arizona man for online comments that allegedly incited what police are calling a “religiously-motivated terrorist attack” in Australia in which six people died, including two police officers. 58-year-old Donald Day Jr. was arrested on December 1 in the small community of Heber Overgaard. Residents said it happened at the Chevron on Hwy 260 on the morning of December 1. Usually, the town is quiet, with most of the buzz hitting during summer tourism. However, that changed last Friday when people said about 20 FBI officers swarmed the gas station to arrest Day." - Mason Carroll - azfamily.com

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>>128739

>>128742

Exclusive: Witness records FBI agents arresting Arizona man tied to Australia terror attack

The eastern Arizona community of Heber Overgaard reacts to arrest in their community

Mason Carroll - Dec. 7, 2023

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The FBI has arrested and charged an Arizona man for online comments that allegedly incited what police are calling a “religiously-motivated terrorist attack” in Australia in which six people died, including two police officers.

58-year-old Donald Day Jr. was arrested on December 1 in the small community of Heber Overgaard. Residents said it happened at the Chevron on Hwy 260 on the morning of December 1.

Usually, the town is quiet, with most of the buzz hitting during summer tourism.

However, that changed last Friday when people said about 20 FBI officers swarmed the gas station to arrest Day.

One woman, who did not want to be named, visited the gas station that morning with her friend. “I was playing on my phone and she opens the door and starts yelling at me, ‘don’t come in don’t come in,’’ she said. ‘She was so alarmed,”

At the time, she did not know what was going on, just that over a dozen FBI agents full-armed were arresting someone in her quiet town.

“I stopped and looked around and when I looked around I saw in excess it seemed at least 20 FBI agents in full gear, side arms, everything. It really shocked me because we’re kind of a small community.”

People throughout the community have shared that even if they weren’t at the scene, it still shook the community. Hannah Ballesteros has lived in the community for 21 years, her whole life, and said her family took precautionary measures after they heard about the incident.

“My dad was out of town for a hunting trip so my mom and I just made sure to lock all our doors like have all keys with us like ammunition and our guns like just in case,” Ballesteros said.

Day is in custody and appeared in an Arizona court on Tuesday. He faces a potential five-year prison sentence if convicted.

People in Heber Overgaard have returned to life as usual, but things do feel different after the incident. “Again it was very quiet, it was just a, we’re a very small town,” the woman said. “To this day I’m still shook up it’s in unnerving, it’s just in unnerving.”

https://www.azfamily.com/2023/12/07/exclusive-witness-records-fbi-agents-arresting-arizona-man-tied-australia-terror-attack/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20038468 (070959ZDEC23) Notable: Albanese stokes Bougainville tensions, amid new security pact with PNG - Anthony Albanese has inflamed tensions over one of the region’s potential flashpoints - the future of Bougainville - as he signed a landmark new security agreement with Papua New Guinea. The Australia-PNG pact sidelines China by prioritising security dialogue between Canberra and Port Moresby above other partners, and introducing an ANZUS-like guarantee to consult if either country is attacked

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>>128538

>>128733

Albanese stokes Bougainville tensions, amid new security pact with PNG

BEN PACKHAM and GORETHY KENNETH - DECEMBER 7, 2023

Anthony Albanese has inflamed tensions over one of the region’s potential flashpoints – the future of Bougainville – as he signed a landmark new security agreement with Papua New Guinea.

The Australia-PNG pact sidelines China by prioritising security dialogue between Canberra and Port Moresby above other partners, and introducing an ANZUS-like guarantee to consult if either country is attacked.

The new agreement comes with a $200m law and order funding boost by Australia to invest in new PNG police infrastructure, including a new $110m police investigations training centre in Port Moresby.

But the diplomatic win was undermined when the Prime Minister, standing alongside his PNG counterpart James Marape, declared Bougainville’s independence aspirations were a matter for PNG alone.

“I’ll say very clearly … I respect PNG’s sovereignty and those issues are a matter for Papua New Guinea,” Mr Albanese said.

His comments, which followed an overwhelming 97.7 per cent ­independence vote by Bougain­villeans four years ago, prompted a swift reaction from the Autonomous Bougainville Government.

“Australia is supposedly the ‘Big Brother’ in the Pacific, but is a coward when it comes to the Bougainville independence issue,” ABG Attorney-General Ezekiel Massat told The Australian.

He said Australia was “deliberately avoiding” its obligations to hold PNG accountable, amid delays by the Marape government in tabling the referendum result in the nation’s parliament.

“Bougainville is not surprised at Australia’s endorsement of PNG’s games. They supplied the helicopters that (the PNG Defence Force) used to pick up our young revolutionary fighters and threw them out at sea, some dead, some still alive when thrown out,” Mr Massat said, referring to the 1988-98 Bougainville conflict.

The backlash came as China looks to make inroads in Bougainville, with promises to fund major infrastructure upgrades in the autonomous region.

The new Australia-PNG pact follows China’s shock security pact with Solomon Islands, and its failed attempt to seal a region-wide security agreement.

Under the latest deal, Australia has agreed to fund the appointment of new judges, and the appointment of at least 50 Australian and Commonwealth police officers who will wear the uniform of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary and answer to its chief commissioner.

PNG has pledged to nearly double the size of its police force from 5600 officers to 10,000, as it struggles to contain deadly tribal fighting, gender-based violence, and corruption. It is relying on Australia to help train the new officers and provide supporting infrastructure, including housing.

Mr Albanese, who invited Mr Marape to address Australia’s parliament in February, said the deal showed the countries’ mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“It will make it easier for Australia to help PNG address its internal security needs, and for Australia and Papua New Guinea to support each other’s security, and the region’s stability,” he said.

Mr Marape said the agreement benefited both countries, because PNG’s internal security “is in Australia’s interests as much as it is in PNG’s interest”.

The pact follows drawn-out ­negotiations between the countries to address concerns in Port Moresby that it could compromise PNG’s sovereignty, following domestic criticism of an earlier defence agreement with the US.

Mr Marape denied the pact ­violated PNG’s “friends to all, enemy to none” policy, saying the it would not preclude security agreements with other countries.

“There is no exclusivity. Australia has given us respect to our relationships elsewhere,” he said.

But the text of the agreement confirms the PNG-Australia security relationship will stand above other such relationships, saying the parties “shall prioritise consultations with each other”.

Like Australia’s ANZUS treaty with the US, it includes a requirement for the countries to “consult” in the event of an armed attack on either country.

Both leaders insisted the agreement would be legally binding, ­despite it being downgraded from treaty status.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australiapng-security-pact-edges-out-china/news-story/427728f4ae7c782ef81c84f5ec909617

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20038482 (071008ZDEC23) Notable: Uproar as NSW Police, AFP drop investigations into southwest Sydney hate-speech clerics - State and federal police have dropped their investigations into a series of hate-fuelled anti-semitic sermons in NSW, saying the clerics’ calls for jihad and spitting on Israel so “Jews would drown” didn’t meet the criminality threshold. The sermons by Sydney-based clerics Abu Ousayd and “Brother Ismail” across multiple videos involved calling for jihad, reciting parables calling for the killing of Jews, and encouraging Middle Eastern Muslim nations to spit on Israel so the “Jews would drown”. NSW Police launched an investigation and the Australian Federal Police referred one of the sermons - believed to be Brother Ismail’s - to its terror squad for ­assessment in early November. On Wednesday, NSW Police confirmed investigations had been dropped and would not resume. “The content of the speeches were reviewed, with legal advice from parties independent of the investigators ­obtained,” a NSW Police spokesman said. “The NSW Police Force understands it does not meet the threshold of any criminal offence. There will be no further investigation into the matter.”

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>>128564

>>128581

>>128646

Uproar as NSW Police, AFP drop investigations into southwest Sydney hate-speech clerics

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - DECEMBER 7, 2023

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State and federal police have dropped their investigations into a series of hate-fuelled anti-semitic sermons in NSW, saying the clerics’ calls for jihad and spitting on Israel so “Jews would drown” didn’t meet the criminality threshold.

The decision has been met with “outrage” across the Jewish community and political circles.

The sermons by Sydney-based clerics Abu Ousayd and “Brother Ismail” across multiple videos involved calling for jihad, reciting parables calling for the killing of Jews, and encouraging Middle Eastern Muslim nations to spit on Israel so the “Jews would drown”.

“If all the Muslims in that region (the Middle East) spat on ­Israel, the people of Israel would drown, the Jews would drown,” Mr Ousayd said in an October 21 sermon.

NSW Police launched an investigation and the Australian Federal Police referred one of the sermons – believed to be Brother Ismail’s – to its terror squad for ­assessment in early November.

On Wednesday, NSW Police confirmed investigations had been dropped and would not ­resume. “The content of the speeches were reviewed, with legal advice from parties independent of the investigators ­obtained,” a NSW Police spokesman said. “The NSW Police Force understands it does not meet the threshold of any criminal offence.

“There will be no further investigation into the matter.”

An AFP spokesman confirmed soon after that “no commonwealth criminal offences had been identified” and that the matter was now closed.

The Australian has previously reported on the high threshold inherent in both state-based incitement laws and commonwealth terror legislation, of which it is understood the latter is particularly high.

Meanwhile, Mr Ousayd posted a video to his personal YouTube account on Monday showing him at Sydney’s Town Hall trying to convert people to Islam, including what appeared to be six teenage boys.

The Australian in November revealed that Mr Ousayd was jihadi preacher Wissam Haddad, an extremist who had ­expressed support for terrorist groups. His defunct al-Risalah Islamic Centre was frequented by men who went on to commit atrocities in Syria, such as Khaled Sharrouf and ­Mohamed Elomar.

Newly sworn-in senator Dave Sharma, a previous Australian ambassador to Israel, asked how no action had been taken. “Our law enforcement authorities need to enforce the law, make arrests and lay charges,” he said.

“Until the wider community understands that such hateful speech and incitement to violence against our Jewish community is not only unacceptable, but also unlawful, this disgusting spike in anti-Semitism will continue.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20038490 (071017ZDEC23) Notable: Peter Dutton finishes 2023 in the political ascendancy over Anthony Albanese - "Peter Dutton finished the 2023 parliamentary sittings in a political ascendancy over Anthony Albanese that was so complete, the Opposition Leader actually delivered a better annual Christmas message than the Prime Minister. Albanese’s Christmas message seemed to lack a focus and life while Dutton’s was composed, had a checklist of thanks and even mentioned Christianity. After the Christmas messages Albanese left the chamber unaccompanied. A government is in the doldrums when it loses the Christmas valedictories." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

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>>128704

>>128705

>>128706

Peter Dutton finishes 2023 in the political ascendancy over Anthony Albanese

DENNIS SHANAHAN - DECEMBER 7, 2023

Peter Dutton finished the 2023 parliamentary sittings in a political ascendancy over Anthony Albanese that was so complete, the Opposition Leader actually delivered a better annual Christmas message than the Prime Minister.

It’s a harsh call but true because the Christmas valedictory messages – known as the Christmas hypocriticals to some hardened politicians – is a chance for some good humour and cheer as well as an opportunity to raise the spirits of MPs who may be feeling beleaguered.

Thursday’s final House of Representatives parliamentary question time was a missed opportunity for Albanese and the Labor government as they went through the motions of casting a few barbs towards Dutton, but failing utterly to provide any end-of-year boost to morale and momentum.

Instead of the traditional rousing prime ministerial flourish at the end of the parliamentary year designed to lift political spirits and assert authority, Albanese’s contribution was flat as his backbenchers appeared disengaged and looking to the exit for the Christmas break.

Even Albanese, who signals his calling an end to question time by packing up his folders, was neatly stowed at exactly 3.10pm – the earliest he can call off questions in normal circumstances.

After two months of punishing defeats, mistakes and diverting events it is understandable that the Labor government is despondent and collectively depressed, realising it faces enormous challenges to restore public confidence and assert itself over the Coalition.

But in the last face-to-face opportunity for Albanese get one over Dutton the PM was found wanting with flat presentations, looking tired and without enthusiasm.

On the back foot, once again, because of the High Court’s ruling to release immigration detainees and the arrest of the fifth detainee on criminal charges, Albanese tried to quell the furore over the furious response of the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, to the suggestion he should apologise to the victim of a sexual assault by declaring that the behaviour was below acceptable standards.

Albanese even said he was “sorry” when anyone, anywhere was the victim of an assault.

But the ongoing saga of released criminals could not be put aside or lift Labor’s political burden. Some desultory attacks on Dutton’s record as health minister or his opposition to bulk billing and Medicare went nowhere.

Even the Prime Minister’s final answer of the year, with a complete list of Labor’s policies designed to cut the cost-of-living, had all the impact of reading a laundry list as some Labor MPs used computers, mobile phones or wrote Christmas cards.

Albanese’s Christmas message seemed to lack a focus and life while Dutton’s was composed, had a checklist of thanks and even mentioned Christianity.

After the Christmas messages Albanese left the chamber unaccompanied. A government is in the doldrums when it loses the Christmas valedictories.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/peter-dutton-finishes-2023-in-the-political-ascendancy-over-anthony-albanese/news-story/9e8cb2f730a994912f15be632d8f56d1

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20043902 (081156ZDEC23) Notable: Penny Wong plans peace mission to Israel, Middle East - Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit Israel within weeks as part of a wider Middle East trip to urge regional leaders to chart an end to the war in Gaza

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>>128527

>>128624

>>128631

Penny Wong plans peace mission to Israel, Middle East

BEN PACKHAM - DECEMBER 8, 2023

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit Israel within weeks as part of a wider Middle East trip to urge regional leaders to chart an end to the war in Gaza.

Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts will lay the groundwork for the trip, announcing on Thursday he would travel to ­Israel, Qatar and Egypt next week. “Arrangements are being made for the Foreign Minister to visit the Middle East early in the new year,” Senator Wong’s spokeswoman told The Australian. “Australia has been working with countries that have influence in the region to help protect and support civilians, to help prevent the conflict from spreading and to reinforce the need for the just and enduring peace that all of us want.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham is also due to visit Israel next week, leading a bipartisan ­delegation that will include ­the Victorian Labor MPs Josh Burns and Michelle Ananda-Rajah, the LNP’s Andrew Wallace and ­Victorian Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie.

Senator Wong will seek to meet key counterparts in Israel, the West Bank and countries with influence in the wider region.

It’s understood planning for the trip has been under way for some time, with the government waiting for the early stages of the war to pass before ramping up its on-the-ground engagement.

It follows opposition calls for Anthony Albanese or a senior government minister to visit Israel following Hamas’s October 7 attack on the country that killed more than 1200 people and saw 240 hostages taken.

Mr Watts said in his meetings with Israeli counterparts, he would express “Australia’s unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attacks and support for victims and families”.

He said he would also raise the plight of civilians in Gaza, and urge measures to prevent the conflict from escalating.

“In both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, I will continue Australia’s advocacy for a just and enduring peace through a two-state solution, and discuss the next steps in a political process toward that goal,” Mr Watts said.

“We want to see continued steps towards a sustained ceasefire, but it cannot be one-sided.”

Divisions within Labor over the war disappointed members of Australia’s Jewish community, and delayed a phone call between Mr Albanese and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the October 7 attack.

It’s understood Israel has been enthusiastic about Senator Wong’s upcoming trip, and issued an invitation for her to travel there. The Foreign Minister has consistently backed Israel’s right to defend itself, while arguing “the way it does so matters”.

“Israel must respect international humanitarian law and it must conduct its military operations lawfully. And we are very concerned about the scale of civilian death that we are all seeing, including children,” she said earlier this week.

The diplomatic push comes as Israel escalates its assault on Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis, where one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack is believed to be hiding. Mr Netanyahu said in a video statement that Israeli forces were closing in on the home of Hamas’s chief in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar.

The Israeli army on Wednesday said it had struck about 250 targets in Gaza in 24 hours and troops had found an arms depot “in the heart of a civilian population” near a clinic and school in the north of the territory.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the deadliest attack in its history, vowing to eradicate the terrorist group and bring home all its hostages but it is facing a global outcry over the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza, and dire short­ages of food, water and fuel.

Hamas said the war had killed more than 16,000 people in the Palestinian enclave, most of them women and children.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-plans-peace-mission-to-israel-middle-east/news-story/cdcd1c7e8ab45fbf524958018278a54a

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20047900 (091128ZDEC23) Notable: Sixth immigration detainee arrested after High Court ruling - A sixth person released from immigration detention has been arrested after allegedly breaching his curfew conditions in Melbourne’s inner west overnight. The 36-year-old man from Eritrea was arrested by the Australian Federal Police on Friday evening after allegedly breaching a residential condition of his Commonwealth visa

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>>128665

>>128737

>>128747

Sixth immigration detainee arrested after High Court ruling

NATHAN SCHMIDT - DECEMBER 9, 2023

A sixth person released from immigration detention has been arrested after allegedly breaching his curfew conditions in Melbourne’s inner west overnight.

The 36-year-old man from Eritrea was arrested by the Australian Federal Police on Friday evening after allegedly breaching a residential condition of his Commonwealth visa.

He was remanded into custody by police to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday.

The man was charged with one count of failing to comply with a curfew condition. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years’ in prison and a $93,900 fine.

The arrest comes as pressure continues to grow on the Albanese government following a ruling by the High Court that led to the release of about 150 immigration detainees.

The ruling, which sparked outrage from the opposition, determined it was unlawful to hold non-citizens in indefinite detention at the country’s immigration centres.

Asked about the release of a sixth detainee on Saturday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it would be up to the courts to determine whether released detainees would be re-detained.

“We will not risk any legal consequences by trying to pre-empt those processes,” he said.

“I make this point, the High Court made the decision. We had to respond to what was the law, because governments should not break the law.”

NSW Police confirmed on Friday that a fifth detainee had been arrested by Queensland Police after allegedly breaching parole following an earlier assault conviction.

On Friday, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said that the public deserved to know why thorough checks weren’t completed before the 39-year-old man was released.

“What I want to know from Anthony Albanese today is how many of these individuals will be locked back up before Christmas so that the community can feel safe,” she said.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government understood the anxiety that had been felt in the community since the detainees’ release.

“We understand it because in the High Court we argued against the release,” Mr Marles said on Friday.

“Our position is that they should have not been released.”

Just a day earlier, a 45-year-old man was arrested by police at a Melbourne hotel charged with one count of theft and one count of failing to comply with his curfew.

Eritrea, on the Horn of Africa, is often regard as the “North Korea of Africa” and has for years been one of the world largest exporters of refugees and migrants.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/sixth-immigration-detainee-arrested-after-high-court-ruling/news-story/d709eedfd41b11a027b5fac35c9b501b

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20047909 (091133ZDEC23) Notable: Anthony Albanese announces plan to reduce immigration levels following Covid influx - Immigration will be scaled back to what are considered sustainable levels hand-in-hand with a crackdown on abuses of Australia’s intake of overseas students.

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Anthony Albanese announces plan to reduce immigration levels following Covid influx

Overhaul follows once-in-a-generation review which found immigration system ‘badly broken’

Australian Associated Press - 9 Dec 2023

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has flagged a major plan to return immigration to what he believes is a sustainable level after a post-Covid influx.

Immigration will be scaled back to what are considered sustainable levels hand-in-hand with a crackdown on abuses of Australia’s intake of overseas students.

The impending overhaul follows a once-in-a-generation review which determined the nation’s immigration system was “badly broken” and in need of a 10-year rebuild, Albanese said.

“What we know is that we need to have a migration system that enables Australia to get the skills that we need but make sure the system is working in the interests of all Australians,” he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

“Well, we are determined to fix this.”

Albanese said there was always going to be a jump in immigration after Covid-19 although current projections were lower than those prior to Australia shutting its borders during the pandemic.

Treasury forecasts also showed the intake is expected to decline substantially over the coming financial year.

However, the review, conducted by former Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet head Martin Parkinson, had found concerning abuses of Australia’s acceptance of international students, the prime minister said.

“People are coming here, enrolling in courses that don’t really add substantially to either their skills base or to the national interest here,” he said.

“So it’s not in the interests of our neighbours, nor is it in the interests of Australia, that there not be a crackdown on this.

“We’re determined to do that.”

While the government already had a blueprint for increased housing and a $120bn infrastructure rollout, the full details of the immigration overhaul would be unveiled next week, Albanese said.

Its preliminary announcement comes as an Eritrean-born man was expected on Saturday to appear in court as the sixth former immigration detainee arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a curfew.

The AFP arrested and charged the 36-year-old on Friday night after he was located in inner Melbourne.

It will be alleged the man breached the conditions of his commonwealth visa by failing to observe his residential curfew obligations, with the offence attracting a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $93,900 fine.

The government has been scrambling to respond to a high court decision, which overturned 20 years of legal precedent to rule indefinite custody of detainees unlawful when there was no prospect of resettlement.

Opposition pressure has escalated for it to apologise to Australians over the affair.

However, Albanese said Labor had a legal obligation to respond to the court’s decision and had no interest in risking the consequences of pre-empting such processes.

He said the government had received very clear and explicit advice on the issue but despite making it available to the opposition, it had been ignored.

A Treasury estimate earlier this year of Australia’s net immigration intake for 2022-23 at a tick more than 400,000 has been well exceeded.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the nation grew 2.2% to 26.5 million people in the 12 months to 31 March, or roughly the period following the closure of international borders. Net overseas migration accounted for 81% of this growth and added 454,400 people.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/09/anthony-albanese-announces-plan-to-reduce-immigration-levels-following-covid-influx

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20047917 (091140ZDEC23) Notable: ‘Show some backbone’: call for Albanese to help release Julian Assange - Family and high-profile advocates of Julian Assange have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “show some backbone” and fight for the WikiLeaks founder to return home to Australia. Members of the Free Julian Assange Campaign rallied outside of Mr Albanese’s Sydney office in Marrickville in 41C heat on Saturday to express their support and commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.

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>>128526

‘Show some backbone’: call for Albanese to help release Julian Assange

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have called on Anthony Albanese to fight for his release, as his father reveals what they chat about from prison.

Elizabeth Pike - December 9, 2023

Family and high-profile advocates of Julian Assange have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “show some backbone” and fight for the WikiLeaks founder to return home to Australia.

Members of the Free Julian Assange Campaign rallied outside of Mr Albanese’s Sydney office in Marrickville in 41C heat on Saturday to express their support and commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.

Assange’s father John Shipton led the group of speakers and renewed the call for his son to be released from high-security prison in the United Kingdom, before his extradition to the United States where he faces up to 175 years imprisonment.

“Julian Assange can be freed with a phone call, the government can ring up their colleagues in the UK and say send him home,” Mr Shipton told the crowd.

“For 13 years we have witnessed acquiescence for whatever the US and the UK have wanted to do to Julian, 13 years of it.

“Acquiescence means complicity … We participated in sending a man to Cavalry, we participated.”

After his speech, Mr Shipton revealed he only spoke to Assange yesterday from prison about his wife and two children.

“We gossip about the wives and the kids and then we get down to the serious business but by that time eight of the 10 minutes is gone,” he said.

“He still laughs; he loves his Aussie-isms, you know how Aussies like black humour.”

When asked about whether he speaks to his son about life in prison, Mr Shipton said he preferred to keep their brief conversations positive.

“I don’t ask him those sort of questions because what if he says ‘it’s sh*t’? I can’t alleviate his suffering by listening to his suffering.”

Greens Senator David Shoebridge earlier addressed the crowd and took aim at Mr Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong over their perceived inaction.

“I got to tell you Albanese is feeling the heat today isn’t he, and so he bloody should be,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“What country allows two of its closest allies to treat one of its own citizens, a citizen journalist, like this?

“I will continue to press the likes of Penny Wong to actually show some backbone and stop saying that this is all just a matter for the courts and that she can’t intervene. She’s never said that in relation to freeing Australians from China, Iran, or Russia. It’s just that when it’s one of the great and powerful allies of Australia that this government surrenders its will.

“Australia should put some critical assets on the line in these relationships … put something meaningful on the table like it matters.”

Fellow whistleblower David McBride also doubled down on his support for Assange ahead of his sentencing in March, after he pleaded guilty to three charges of stealing and unlawfully sharing secret Australian military information.

“I’ve had tremendous support and as we expected, as I always expected, we could well lose the battle but we will win the war,” Mr McBride said.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/show-some-backbone-call-for-albanese-to-help-release-julian-assange/news-story/48dfd3999dc90bad6b581df1c6d8c8fa

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20051477 (100852ZDEC23) Notable: Video: ‘Time for me to leave’: Annastacia Palaszczuk to quit as Queensland premier - Annastacia Palaszczuk, the so-called “accidental premier” who led Labor to three Queensland election victories, will resign from politics after almost nine years in the top job

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‘Time for me to leave’: Annastacia Palaszczuk to quit as Queensland premier

Zach Hope - December 10, 2023

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Annastacia Palaszczuk, the so-called “accidental premier” who led Labor to three Queensland election victories, will resign from politics after almost nine years in the top job.

An emotional Palaszczuk made the announcement on Sunday morning after updating the media about the impending arrival of Tropical Cyclone Jasper – potentially her 63rd Queensland natural disaster as premier.

She said she turned her mind towards stepping down while on a recent Italian holiday with her partner, Reza Adib, as speculation swirled about her leadership.

But her mind was only made up following last week’s national cabinet meeting as she looked around the table at the relatively fresh set of premiers and her fourth prime minister.

“I thought to myself, ‘renewal is a good thing’,” she said.

“When I led this party from an opposition of just seven members, I said that the first election will be like climbing Mount Everest. I went on to climb that mountain twice more. I don’t need to do it again.”

She will step down as premier at the end of the week, and as the member for Inala at the end of the year.

The next leader will be a matter for the Labor caucus. Palaszczuk said she would give her deputy, Steven Miles, her “strong endorsement”. Miles said on Sunday he would nominate for the leadership.

Treasurer Cameron Dick and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman are considered the other frontrunners.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Palaszczuk contacted him on Sunday morning informing him of her decision.

“She retires as a Labor hero, a three-time election winner, Australia’s longest-serving female premier and, above all else, a champion for Queenslanders,” he said.

Despite conjecture about her political future, particularly in recent months as her popularity slipped in opinion polls, Palaszczuk always insisted she would lead the party to the state election in October next year.

The most recent poll, published by this masthead on Tuesday evening, had Labor trailing the LNP by four percentage points and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli opening up a larger margin as preferred premier.

Her government has been fighting losing battles on multiple political fronts, including youth crime, hospital failures, and a housing crunch.

She had faced calls this month from two former Labor politicians to step down as leader, but none of her present colleagues added their names to the suggestion. Neither had anyone publicly declared their own leadership intentions.

“Queensland is in good shape, which is why now it’s time for me to leave,” Palaszczuk said on Sunday.

The premier broke down in tears and took some moments to compose herself while explaining how standing up for Queenslanders had been the “honour of my life”.

“I have given everything, but now is the time for me to find out what else life has to offer,” she said.

“I want to thank my mum, my dad, my sisters, my nieces and nephew. Most of all Reza and his family for all their love and support. They’re looking forward to having me home.

“Thank you to my cabinet and my staff. Thank you to the Labour Party, to all of our frontline workers, but most of all, thank you every single Queenslander.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20051482 (100859ZDEC23) Notable: ‘Be brave’: Penny Wong urged to break with US over war in Gaza - The top Palestinian representative in Australia has urged Foreign Minister Penny Wong to be “brave” enough to break with the United States over the war in Gaza, arguing that Israel’s right to self-defence did not offer a license to kill an unlimited number of Palestinian civilians. Izzat Salah Abdulhadi, the head of the general delegation of Palestine to Australia, warned that Israel’s war against Hamas has boosted the militant group’s popularity in the West Bank and Gaza, draining support from the more moderate and secular Palestinian Authority that he represents

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‘Be brave’: Penny Wong urged to break with US over war in Gaza

Matthew Knott - December 10, 2023

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The top Palestinian representative in Australia has urged Foreign Minister Penny Wong to be “brave” enough to break with the United States over the war in Gaza, arguing that Israel’s right to self-defence did not offer a license to kill an unlimited number of Palestinian civilians.

Izzat Salah Abdulhadi, the head of the general delegation of Palestine to Australia, warned that Israel’s war against Hamas has boosted the militant group’s popularity in the West Bank and Gaza, draining support from the more moderate and secular Palestinian Authority that he represents.

He said the federal government would make a major contribution to the Middle East peace process by immediately recognising Palestinian statehood and demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Abdulhadi met with Wong last week in Parliament House alongside diplomats from Indonesia and Algeria, where they pressed her to take a stronger line against Israel’s conduct in the war and its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Abdulhadi said he emerged from the meeting disappointed because he got the impression that Wong would find it difficult to further harden her stance by calling for Israel to unilaterally end the war.

Asked about the meeting, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said: “Minister Wong reaffirmed Australia’s principled position, including Israel’s right to defend itself following the October 7 attack, the importance of all parties respecting international law, concern over the civilian toll and Australia’s support for international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire, recognising this cannot be one-sided.”

Wong is preparing to travel to Israel and the wider Middle East in January, and is expected to travel to the West Bank to meet with top Palestinian representatives.

“We are calling on her to have a brave stance about what’s happening in Gaza,” Abdulhadi said.

“I think leadership means sometimes to bear risk and take a principled position ... Even if they support self-defence, this is not a carte blanche for Israel to kill, there’s not a license to kill.”

Abdulhadi said he was “very cautious” about applying terms such as genocide to the war, but accused Israel of committing a “really huge violation of human rights in Gaza”.

“Five thousand children being killed is something nobody can accept under any pretext,” he said.

Noting that Labor’s voting base includes many voters of Middle Eastern descent, he said: “I think it’s time for Australia not just to support the United States’ foreign policy.”

Abdulhadi added that it was “wishful thinking” to believe Hamas, a prescribed terror organisation in Australia, could be eliminated as a result of the war, triggered by the massacre of 1200 Israelis in a shock assault on October 7.

The Hamas media office said that more than 17,000 people have died since the start of the war, including more than 7000 children and 5000 women. Officials from the Israeli Defence Forces have said that around 5000 Hamas fighters have been killed in the war.

The Israeli government has argued that a permanent ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and stage future attacks against Israeli civilians.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20051506 (100918ZDEC23) Notable: Melbourne University students plan pro-Palestine graduation stunt - University of Melbourne students have been encouraged to wear Palestinian scarves at their upcoming graduation events this week. In a “call to action” on social media, the ‘unimelbforpalestine’ group has urged students to “show (their) solidarity” with Palestinian students as graduation ceremonies begin on Monday

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Melbourne University students plan pro-Palestine graduation stunt

TESS MCCRACKEN - DECEMBER 10, 2023

University of Melbourne students have been encouraged to wear Palestinian scarves at their upcoming graduation events this week.

In a “call to action” on social media, the ‘unimelbforpalestine’ group has urged students to “show (their) solidarity” with Palestinian students as graduation ceremonies begin on Monday.

“Show your solidarity with your fellow students in Palestine and wear your keffiyeh at the graduation,” a post on Instagram read.

“It cannot be ‘business as usual’ while the University of Melbourne actively participates in the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

The post also encouraged students to tag the university in photos of themselves wearing the traditional Palestinian scarf and use the hashtag #NoBloodOnOurDegrees.

The university’s rules state graduates are “not permitted to wear self-resourced regalia”.

Opposition Education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson has written to the University of Melbourne’s vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell to seek “assurance” that no students will don the Palestinian scarf at graduation ceremonies.

“The opposition is concerned that university students are being encouraged to wear a keffiyeh as a symbol of protest when graduating which is not only provocative but raises serious safety concerns for Jewish students.

“Please advise the consequences for graduates who wear protest regalia including whether they will be permitted to graduate, and what action will be taken against those who seek to incite students to protest in breach of university rules?

“I seek your advice as to how the university is combating acts of anti-Semitism on campus and in connection with the university, as well as anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hatred which is fuelling anti-Semitism.

“The alarming increase in antisemitism in our community means many Jewish Australians are living in fear including university students. Numerous students have reported they are too afraid to attend university or display symbols of their faith. This situation is intolerable.”

Ms Henderson told The Australian on Sunday she is “concerned this type of protest activities could spread to other universities”.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said universities must send the message that “Jewish students count and deserve to be free of discrimination, intimidation and harassment”.

“This is a state of emergency for our tertiary education sector and a problem from hell that no one can run or hide from. Jewish students feel under siege and do not feel protected on campuses,” Dr Abramovich said.

“Our leaders need to take the high moral ground and declare that anyone who spews hate speech that incites to violence, that calls for the murder of Jewish people, that compares Jews to Nazis, that accuses anyone who supports Israel of being a criminal committing murder and ethnic cleansing, does not belong on their campuses.

“If they do not push back against this evil which is spreading like wildfire, this storm of anti-Semitism will engulf these educational institutions and will become normalised and accepted. I have already been contacted by parents asking whether their children will be harmed if they attend the University of Melbourne graduations, given that they have Jewish-sounding names.

“Another warned that if this tide of hatred is not stemmed, universities will be perceived as no-go zones for anyone who is Jewish or supports Israel.”

Duncan Maskell was contacted for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/melbourne-university-students-plan-propalestine-graduation-stunt/news-story/8fb47b3733679dddc5fc320500c20cac

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0jE_iWxw1V/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20057006 (110848ZDEC23) Notable: ‘January 26 is still Australia Day’: High commissioner cancels London gala over ‘sensitivities’ - Anthony Albanese’s hand-picked high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, has closed the doors of Australia House to organisers of an annual Australia Day fundraiser, citing sensitivities around celebrating the national day

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‘January 26 is still Australia Day’: High commissioner cancels London gala over ‘sensitivities’

Latika Bourke - December 11, 2023

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London: Anthony Albanese’s hand-picked high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, has closed the doors of Australia House to organisers of an annual Australia Day fundraiser, citing sensitivities around celebrating the national day.

It is part of a wider purge of what Smith believes are “parties without purpose” that he has told visiting Labor MPs he has killed off since taking up residence at his luxurious manor, Stoke Lodge, next to Hyde Park, on Australia Day last year.

The Australia Day Gala dinner run by the not-for-profit Australia Day Foundation is a fixture on the London calendar and has previously attracted some of Australia’s biggest names, including singers Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Peter Andre, Tim Minchin, Philip Quast, Delta Goodrem, Tina Arena, the boy band Human Nature and entertainers Barry Humphries, Clive James and naturalist David Attenborough.

The black-tie event, which is widely regarded as the London version of G’Day LA, also honours Australians and Britons who have contributed to the bilateral relationship and has showcased food cooked by Australian chefs, including Maggie Beer, Neil Perry and the Michelin-starred Brett Graham.

The dinner has been held in the marble Exhibition Hall of the Australian High Commission on Strand on the Saturday evening closest to January 26 for two decades, and in recent years it has begun turning a profit, which organisers have used to fund scholarships for young Australians to study in Britain.

But when organisers went to confirm arrangements for the 2024 celebration, the first to be held under the reign of Stephen Smith, they were told by the high commissioner that it wouldn’t be appropriate to hold the Australia Day event around January 26, which marks the First Fleet’s landing in Sydney in 1788 and some Indigenous campaigners call Invasion Day.

“I was very disappointed to be told that it was not appropriate to have a function around Australia Day that might be interpreted as insensitive back in Australia,” Phil Aiken, founding member of the foundation told this masthead.

“It’s been supported by the High Commission for 20 years, so it’s very sad.”

Advertising legend Bill Muirhead, who was also a founding member, said it was “un-Australian” to cancel Australia Day.

“The last time I checked, January 26 was still Australia Day,” Muirhead said.

The High Commission of Australia wanted to charge the charity a minimum of £29,000 ($55,000) to hold the event, instead of operating costs, impose a curfew of 11pm and proposed that the Australia Day Gala be held in March instead of near Australia Day, leaving organisers with no option but to cancel.

“It is well known that Australia Day touches on sensitivities for some Australians,” a spokesman said in a statement.

“The high commissioner is happy to acknowledge that was part of the decision-making process with respect to the various alternative dates suggested by the foundation.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20062088 (120925ZDEC23) Notable: Dutton attacks High Commissioner for Australia Day ‘shame’ - Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Stephen Smith should be “looking for a new job” if doesn’t believe in Australia Day, accusing him of being “ashamed” of the controversial national holiday.

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Dutton attacks High Commissioner for Australia Day ‘shame’

RHIANNON DOWN - DECEMBER 12, 2023

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Stephen Smith should be “looking for a new job” if doesn’t believe in Australia Day, accusing him of being “ashamed” of the controversial national holiday.

Mr Dutton attacked the top diplomat - who was handpicked by Anthony Albanese - for his decision to cancel the Australia Day Gala dinner next year, arguing that January 26 needed to be celebrated at a“significant post” such as London.

Mr Smith told organisers of the charity gala - which is a mainstay of the London social calendar attracting high profile Australians such Kylie Minogue, Tim Minchin and Delta Goodrem - that it would be insensitive to hold the event. January 26 marks the landing of the First Fleet’s in Sydney in 1788 and has been branded as Invasion Day by some Indigenous activists.

“I think I speak for the majority of Australians here who are proud of our country, recognise that we’ve got a history of Indigenous heritage, white settlement in our country and all of that is to be celebrated,” Mr Dutton said.

“We have the institutions here in our country that make us a great democracy, freedom of speech, we have the ability to contribute in an egalitarian way and that is to be celebrated.

“I think the vast majority of Australians will be celebrating Australia Day and I think the High Commissioner in London, if he’s not prepared to celebrate Australia Day, if he’s ashamed of Australia Day, then frankly I think he should be looking for a new job.”

Mr Dutton called on Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to reveal if they backed the High Commissioner’s position, accusing Mr Smith of “changing” his story.

“How can we have a High Commissioner who is ashamed of Australia Day?,” he said.

“Australia Day is a celebration of our history and our heritage, celebrate our Indigenous heritage and celebrate settlement in this country which has together made us the greatest country in the world.

“The story put out by Foreign Minister Wong and Mr Smith keeps changing, it was about sensitivities and all sorts of things, but Australia Day needs to be celebrated and it needs to be celebrated at a significant post such as that in London.”

The gala, run by the not-for-profit Australia Day Foundation, has been held in the Exhibition Hall of the Australian High Commission on the Saturday closest to January 26 for 20 years.

A spokesman for Mr Smith said the decision had been motivated by the expense with the annual gala dinner predicted to cost Australian High Commission about $55,000.

“The High Commission determined that Australian taxpayers should no longer bear such a cost,” the spokesman said.

“The event was not ‘cancelled’ by the High Commission. The Australia Foundation (which has changed its name from the Australia Day Foundation) decided last week to not proceed with a gala dinner for 2024.

“It is the Government’s view that Australia Day should continue to be held on 26 January.

“The High Commission has already planned and will host an appropriate event to mark Australia Day at Australia House, as embassies and consulates do around the world.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/dutton-attacks-high-commissioner-for-australia-day-shame/news-story/0f04fd8e6434157b732f58ef9517eec0

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20062118 (120934ZDEC23) Notable: ‘Roll up your sleeves’: Wong must demand Hamas’ elimination, says Sharma - Foreign Minister Penny Wong should use her upcoming trip to the Middle East to demand the elimination of Hamas and secure a role for Australia in brokering a post-war political settlement in Gaza, according to former Australian ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma

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‘Roll up your sleeves’: Wong must demand Hamas’ elimination, says Sharma

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Foreign Minister Penny Wong should use her upcoming trip to the Middle East to demand the elimination of Hamas and secure a role for Australia in brokering a post-war political settlement in Gaza, according to former Australian ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma.

The former Wentworth MP, who was sworn in as a Liberal senator for NSW last week, said Wong’s planned mid-January trip to Israel was “overdue” and that it was unfortunate she had not visited the Middle East in the 18 months since Labor took office.

“I think she needs to express quite clearly Australia’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself, and that extends to the elimination of Hamas as a political and military actor,” Sharma said in an interview with this masthead.

“I don’t see a sustainable resolution to this conflict unless and until Hamas is removed from political power in Gaza.

“That’s certainly the view of Israel’s government and across the political spectrum in Israel.”

Sharma, who served as Australia’s top representative in Israel from 2013 to 2017, said Wong should use meetings with officials from neighbouring Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Jordan to identify how to fill the political vacuum that would be left by the removal of Hamas in Gaza.

“The government has been armchair commentators, but this is not about giving press conferences from Adelaide, it’s about rolling up your sleeves and getting involved,” he said.

Asked about the reception Wong can expect in Israel, Sharma said: “Israel counts Australia as a close friend and partner so they will welcome the visit.”

But he added: “I don’t think this government is particularly highly regarded in Israel. The fact Netanyahu took several weeks before he accepted Albanese’s call tells you something about the warmth, or lack of it, in the relationship.”

Netanyahu and Albanese had their first telephone call since the October 7 attacks, which claimed the lives of 1200 people in Israel, a little over three weeks after Hamas’s shock incursion.

Sharma said Israel had found the Labor government’s changes to official language on the “occupied Palestinian territories” and West Jerusalem as “gratuitous and unnecessary”.

While Australia is not a lead player in the Israel-Palestine conflict, Sharma said it could serve as an “important supporting actor” given its historic support of Israel and strong relations with other Middle Eastern nations.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20066801 (130826ZDEC23) Notable: Australia breaks with US, backs Gaza ceasefire at United Nations - Australia has dramatically toughened its stance on Israel’s war against Hamas, breaking with the United States and United Kingdom to vote in favour of an immediate ceasefire at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The turnaround was welcomed by Palestinian advocates, but drew speedy criticism from Israel’s ambassador to Australia and leading Australian Jewish groups, which said the Albanese government “cannot have it both ways” on the war

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Australia breaks with US, backs Gaza ceasefire at United Nations

Matthew Knott and James Lemon - December 13, 2023

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Australia has dramatically toughened its stance on Israel’s war against Hamas, breaking with the United States and United Kingdom to vote in favour of an immediate ceasefire at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The turnaround was welcomed by Palestinian advocates, but drew speedy criticism from Israel’s ambassador to Australia and leading Australian Jewish groups, which said the Albanese government “cannot have it both ways” on the war.

Australia abstained during a previous vote in late October because the resolution did not recognise Hamas’ responsibility for the October 7 attack against Israel that resulted in 1200 deaths.

But on Wednesday morning, Australia supported a reworded ceasefire resolution.

Efforts by the US and Austria to amend the motion to include criticism of Hamas failed to obtain the two-thirds majority support needed to pass.

Australia was among the 153 nations to vote in favour of the ceasefire resolution, with 10 voting against and 23 abstaining.

The vote is non-binding, but is seen as an expression of the views of the international community and will increase pressure on Israel to scale back its military campaign.

The US voted against the latest ceasefire resolution, while the United Kingdom abstained.

Thirty-one other nations joined Australia in voting for the first time in favour of a ceasefire, compared to the vote on October 27.

The resolution agreed to by Australia demands an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza and expresses “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population”.

It also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and that all parties comply with international law.

Ceasefire or pause

Foreign Minister Penny Wong framed Australia’s vote in favour of the resolution as support for more pauses in the fighting like the one agreed to in November, in which Israel halted its military campaign in exchange for the release of 10 hostages a day.

She said Australia would have preferred that the resolution referred to Hamas’s attacks against innocent civilians and that Australia supported the failed amendment on this issue.

“Australia has consistently affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and in doing so, we have said Israel must respect international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, must be protected,” Wong told reporters in Adelaide.

“The resolution we have supported is consistent with the position we have previously outlined on these issues.

“We see the pauses as a critical step on the path to sustainable and permanent ceasefire. As I have said previously, such a ceasefire cannot be one-sided.”

Israel’s ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said on X, formerly Twitter: “I find it difficult to understand how Australia can support Israel’s right to defend its people from terrorist aggression, while also voting in support of a ceasefire that will embolden Hamas and enable it to resume its attacks on Israelis.

“Australia’s vote comes a day after Israel returned the remains of two murdered hostages from Gaza, and rocket fire continued to rain down on southern Israel.

“This war can only end with Hamas being totally defeated and the liberation of all our hostages.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan urged member nations to vote against the resolution, saying: “I honestly don’t know how can someone look in the mirror and support a resolution that does not condemn Hamas and does not even mention Hamas by name.”

He continued: “Not only does this resolution fail to condemn Hamas for crimes against humanity, it does not mention Hamas at all. This will only prolong the death and destruction in the region, that is precisely what a ceasefire means.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20066826 (130842ZDEC23) Notable: Khawaja to test cricket rules with pro-Palestine stand - Usman Khawaja will make a stand in support of Palestinians in Gaza during the First Test against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday. The opening batter had the words “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” written on his shoes at team training ahead of the match

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Khawaja to test cricket rules with pro-Palestine stand

In an act sure to attract controversy, the opening batter plans to wear shoes with ‘Freedom is a human right’ and ‘All lives are equal’ written on them during the first Test.

PETER LALOR - December 12, 2023

Usman Khawaja will make a stand in support of Palestinians in Gaza during the First Test against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday.

The opening batter had the words “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” written on his shoes at team training ahead of the match.

Khawaja, who did not want to be quoted, told The Australian he planned to wear the shoes during the match but insisted it was a human rights gesture and not a protest.

The act is sure to attract controversy, if not a sanction from cricket authorities.

The player said he believed he was not contravening any International Cricket Council regulations and said the act was similar to Cricket Australia expressing solidarity with the LGBTI ­community or the Indigenous community.

Khawaja, who is the first Muslim to play for Australia, has not informed anybody in cricket of his plans. The words on his shoes are carefully chosen to express equal support for all human life and are not partisan.

The opener who calls himself the “people’s champion” recently signed a deal to work as a ­commentator with Fox Cricket.

Khawaja’s statement comes after the October 7 massacre by terror group Hamas and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza led to protests and social divisions erupting in Australia.

An Australian protester who identified himself as Wayne ­Johnson staged a pitch invasion in ­support of Palestine during Australia’s World Cup final against India last month.

Cameras cut away from the protester who was wearing a T-shirt that had the words “Stop Bombing Palestine” and “Save Palestine”.

Sport has struggled to smother protests, with Scottish fans of football team Celtic staging mass protests against the killings despite ­attempts by the club’s administration to ban such gestures.

Cricket has a complicated ­relationship with political protests. The game prides itself on having played a role in helping to bring about the end of apartheid in South Africa but is uncomfortable with individual gestures from players. English all-rounder Moeen Ali was given a warning by the International Cricket Council for wearing a pro-Palestine wrist band for a short period during the 2014 Test match against India in Southhampton. Moeen’s band said “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” which the ICC said was in breach of its regulations.

“The ICC equipment and clothing regulations do not permit the display of messages that relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes during an international match,” it said at the time.

“Moeen Ali was told by the match referee that whilst he is free to express his views on such causes away from the cricket field, he is not permitted to wear the wristbands on the field of play and warned not to wear the bands again during an international match.”

Since then the ICC has allowed players to take a knee during the Black Lives Matter protests.

Khawaja, who turns 37 next week, is a senior member of the side and captain of Queensland.

Born in Pakistan, he is a practising Muslim and is highly respected by his teammates and the father of two children.

Cricket Australia took a political stance early in the year when it withdrew from a one-day series against Afghanistan in protest at the Taliban’s treatment of women in that country. “This decision follows the recent announcement by the Taliban of further restrictions on women’s and girls’ education and employment opportunities and their ability to access parks and gyms,” CA said.

“CA is committed to supporting growing the game for women and men around the world, including in Afghanistan, and will continue to engage with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improved conditions for women and girls in the country.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/if-the-shoe-fits-usman-khawaja-to-test-crickets-politics-rules-with-propalestine-stand/news-story/8180a6fe04e07f35096fe78ba9adb4bb

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20066832 (130848ZDEC23) Notable: Cricket Australia tells Usman Khawaja to comply with 'personal opinion' rules over Gaza support shoes - Cricket Australia has quashed a planned on-field message Test cricketer Usman Khawaja intended to make about the Israel-Gaza war, saying it expects players to follow the rules about "personal opinions"

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Cricket Australia tells Usman Khawaja to comply with 'personal opinion' rules over Gaza support shoes

Garrett Mundy and Tom Wildie - 13 December 2023

Cricket Australia has quashed a planned on-field message Test cricketer Usman Khawaja intended to make about the Israel-Gaza war, saying it expects players to follow the rules about "personal opinions".

Khawaja was filmed training in Perth earlier this week wearing shoes with hand-written messages saying "freedom is a human right" and "all lives are equal".

He told reporters he planned to wear them during day one of the Perth Test on Thursday.

In a statement released to journalists on Wednesday, Cricket Australia poured cold water on the idea.

"We support the right of our players to express personal opinions," it read.

"But the ICC has rules in place which prohibit the display of personal messages which we expect the players to uphold."

The 35-year-old has recently spoken out about the Israel-Gaza war, and has reposted pro-Palestinian messages on his social media account.

Khawaja won't wear shoes: Cummins

Australia captain Pat Cummins said he spoke with Khawaja, who said he wouldn't wear the shoes on the field.

"He had some words on his shoes. I think it's one of our strongest points of our team that everyone has his own personal views and thoughts," he said.

"I chatted to Ussie about it briefly today. I don't think his intention was to make too big of a fuss, but we support him.

"He said he won't be [wearing them].

"I think it drew the attention to the ICC rules … which I don't know if he was across them beforehand.

"I think he had 'All lives are equal'. I don't think that's very divisive. I don't think anyone can have too many complaints about that."

"All lives are equal. I support that."

But federal Minister for Sport Anika Wells said she didn't think Khawaja's decision to display the messages on his shoes would contravene ICC rules.

"Usman Khawaja is a great Australian and he has every right to speak up on matters that are critical to him," she told reporters on Wednesday morning.

"I think he has done it in a peaceful and respectful way … and as a way that he as an individual can express an individual opinion in a way that doesn't compromise the Australian cricket team's obligations to the ICC."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-13/usman-khawaja-told-not-to-display-shoe-message/103224376

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20066856 (130909ZDEC23) Notable: Pell’s nemesis insists he will be found not guilty of Vatican fraud - Disgraced cardinal Angelo Becciu has mounted an 11th-hour blitz in the Italian media, insisting he is not a crook and has “faith” he will be acquitted of all charges, from embezzlement and fraud to perverting the course of justice. Cardinal Becciu - nemesis of the late cardinal George Pell – and architect of the sacking of the Vatican’s first independent auditor-general, Libero Milone, not only proclaimed his innocence on the evening news but suggested he was the real victim of forces inside the Holy See who wished to derail Pope Francis’ financial reforms

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Pell’s nemesis insists he will be found not guilty of Vatican fraud

PAOLA TOTARO - DECEMBER 13, 2023

Disgraced cardinal Angelo Becciu has mounted an 11th-hour blitz in the Italian media, insisting he is not a crook and has “faith” he will be acquitted of all charges, from embezzlement and fraud to perverting the course of justice.

In a move dubbed by the Vatican press as his “Nixon moment”, Cardinal Becciu offered the Italian state broadcaster, RAI, a rare interview in full knowledge that a Vatican tribunal is about to hand down a verdict following a two-year corruption trial.

Judges in Vatican City surprised trial observers last month when they announced that they planned to deliver their decisions in the second week of December, within seven days of hearing closing arguments.

The prosecutor has recommended that the 10 defendants accused of an array of financial crimes serve sentences totalling more than 73 years, with Cardinal Becciu facing seven years and up to €14m ($23m) in fines for embezzlement.

Cardinal Becciu – nemesis of the late cardinal George Pell – and architect of the sacking of the Vatican’s first independent auditor-general, Libero Milone, not only proclaimed his innocence on the evening news but suggested he was the real victim of forces inside the Holy See who wished to derail Pope Francis’ financial reforms.

“I will continue to proclaim my innocence and I will say that never have I stolen, never have I done anything to ameliorate my personal economic position. I don’t have villas, I don’t have houses, I don’t have apartments and my personal bank accounts are very, very modest,” he said.

“My sole aim was to make decisions that benefited the Holy See. If others profited from this, then it is upon them to respond … I can also say that I am proud of having helped the Pope in his campaign for financial reforms in the Vatican and took the liberty of telling the Pope that there were some people who did not deserve to stay working within the Holy See.”

Cardinal Becciu’s proclamation of support for Pope Francis’s reforms come as a surprise given that those who were appointed to lead the clean-up, including Pell and Mr Milone, both publicly said he was the principal architect of internal opposition to transparency and oversight.

In May last year, Pell, took the unprecedented step of issuing a statement in which he described Cardinal Becciu’s testimony to the court as “incomplete”.

Pell added that Becciu had given a “spirited defence of his blameless subordinate role in the Vatican’s finances” and challenged him on several, unexplained payments including a six-figure payment to an Australian tech company during Pell’s prosecution and trial for sex charges in Melbourne.

He accused Cardinal Becciu of failing to explain his rejection of the Pope’s decision to approve a supervisory role for the then new Council and Secretariat for the Economy and said he had not properly explained his role in the sacking of auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the auditor-general. Pell also described Cardinal Becciu’s accounts to the court on the use of church as “bizarre” and “at odds” with what was expected.

When Cardinal Becciu was asked by the TV interviewer if he planned to ask for clemency from the Pope if he is found guilty, he said he did not allow himself to contemplate such a possibility: “The Holy Father always told me ‘Have faith, have faith’. I have faith because I am innocent.”

Four years have passed since the launch of a criminal investigation into the Vatican’s 2018 acquisition of a building in London’s exclusive Mayfair from a businessman and investment manager, Raffaele Mincione. The Holy See lost more than €100m on the deal.

Apart from his alleged role in the property agreement, Cardinal Becciu stands accused of diverting church funds not just to his family, including €250,000 to his brother, Antonio, but also to pay Cecilia Marogna, a self-described intelligence agent who told investigators she had conducted surveillance for the cardinal on other officials.

She is accused of spending thousands on luxury goods including handbags and stays at five-star resorts.

Cardinal Becciu’s reference to his “very modest bank accounts” also raised eyebrows in Rome as it emerged during the trial that he offered to repay half a million euros from his personal account with the Vatican bank when Interpol asked him to explain his payments to Ms Marogna.

The tribunal’s verdict is expected to be handed down at the weekend.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/pells-nemesis-insists-he-will-be-found-not-guilty-of-vatican-fraud/news-story/48781afd95cc8564a4085e2b1fa6f88c

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20072028 (140908ZDEC23) Notable: US seeks Australian help to protect ships in Red Sea as Middle East tensions soar - The US Navy has asked Australia to send a warship to the Red Sea as part of an expanded international task force, in response to growing attacks on shipping by Iran-backed militia that are threatening vital global sea lanes

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>>128527

>>128758

US seeks Australian help to protect ships in Red Sea as Middle East tensions soar

CAMERON STEWART - DECEMBER 14, 2023

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The US Navy has asked Australia to send a warship to the Red Sea as part of an expanded international task force, in response to growing attacks on shipping by Iran-backed militia that are threatening vital global sea lanes.

The move, under consideration by the Albanese government, would mark a major escalation in Australia’s response to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East and reflect fears the conflict could become a region-wide war.

Any Australian warship sent to the Red Sea in this crisis would be entering a hot war zone where it could easily find itself fired upon and forced to fire back amid a volatile and fast-changing security situation.

The US request came as the government toughened its stance on Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza by breaking from Washington and voting for a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire despite the resolution failing to recognise Hamas’s role in the October 7 massacre of 1200 Israelis.

The move was criticised by Israel and by Jewish groups, with ­Israel’s ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon saying: “I find it difficult to understand how Australia can support Israel’s right to defend its people from terrorist aggression, while also voting in support of a ceasefire that will embolden Hamas and enable it to resume its attacks on Israelis.”

The US has been quietly approaching allies this week to ­contribute to an expanded international naval task force in ­response to Yemen’s Iran-­sponsored Houthi rebels launching an ever-growing barrage of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, US Navy ships and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The attacks, including a missile slamming into a Norwegian-Flagged tanker off Yemen, threaten global shipping transiting the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The attacks heighten the chances of a direct military clash ­between the US Navy and the Iran-backed rebels, which would escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The Australian understands the US Navy-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) have requested to Canberra that Australia consider sending a warship as part of a larger naval task force to focus on protecting shipping as it transits the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

A spokesperson for Defence Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on the request except to say: “The Australian Defence Force currently contributes to maritime security in the Middle East region under Operation Manitou through staff embedded with the Combined Maritime ­Forces.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20072043 (140914ZDEC23) Notable: Gaza vote ‘risks US trust’ in Australia, Scott Morrison warns - Scott Morrison has warned Anthony Albanese’s failure to side with Joe Biden on Israel risks eroding American trust in Australia at a time when the nation’s strategic future depends on ongoing US support for the AUKUS submarine partnership. The former prime minister said Australia’s decision to break with its closest ally in a UN ceasefire resolution on Gaza had undermined US diplomacy, threat­ening Australia’s standing in Washington

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>>128527

>>128758

>>>/qresearch/20066837

Gaza vote ‘risks US trust’ in Australia, Scott Morrison warns

BEN PACKHAM - DECEMBER 14, 2023

Scott Morrison has warned Anthony Albanese’s failure to side with Joe Biden on Israel risks eroding American trust in Australia at a time when the nation’s strategic future depends on ongoing US support for the AUKUS submarine partnership.

The former prime minister said Australia’s decision to break with its closest ally in a UN ceasefire resolution on Gaza had undermined US diplomacy, threat­ening Australia’s standing in Washington.

“I think the way that we have isolated the United States on Israel as both an AUKUS and Five Eyes partner is concerning,” Mr Morrison told The Australian.

“To put the US in a more weakened position, and to make it even more difficult for them to carry that position, I just don’t see how that aligns with any of Australia’s objectives at the moment. It ­potentially undermines US confidence in Australia’s outlook.”

The warning came as the US Senate passed legislation to enable the transfer of three nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under the AUKUS partnership.

The bill, which still needs to pass the US House of Representatives, has multiple get-out clauses for a future US president to scupper the agreement if it is deemed at the time to degrade US submarine capabilities or weaken the nation’s foreign policy or security.

Mr Morrison – the instigator of the AUKUS partnership – commended congress members for backing the submarine plan, and the Albanese government for its dedication to the pact.

He said the AUKUS partnership was “never a blank cheque” and there would be many hurdles to clear in the future. But he cautioned: “We also have to maintain our standing as a trusted and reliable partner more broadly.

“Relationships are added to and, potentially, subtracted from every day. All issues are related.”

His comments came as Jewish Australian MP Josh Burns blasted the Australian-backed UN resolution that demanded an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza without mentioning Hamas, underscoring the growing split within Labor on the government’s position on the issue.

Speaking from Israel during a visit by a bipartisan delegation, the member for the Victorian seat of Macnamara said the UN vote was meaningless to those on the ground because the terrorists remained in charge of Gaza.

“It’s ludicrous to not include Hamas in this picture,” he told the ABC. “Honestly, (the resolution) couldn’t be more unimportant to the people here on the ground.

“It was not relevant in the sense that the fighting is going to continue. Hamas is not laying down its weapons. Hamas is not returning hostages. Hamas is still in control of the Gaza Strip.

“Israel is still committed to removing Hamas from power and Israel is still committed to the ­return of hostages.”

Mr Burns said he did not want to diminish the “devastating” loss of civilian lives in Gaza, but argued wiping out Hamas was the only way to guarantee the safety of non-combatants.

A day after the UN vote, a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to crush the terrorist group.

“We’re continuing until the end, until victory, until Hamas is annihilated,” he told soldiers in Gaza in a radio broadcast. “I say this in the face of great pain but also in the face of international pressures. Nothing will stop us.”

Jewish groups attacked Australia’s position on the non-binding resolution as inconsistent with the government’s calls for a “sustainable peace”, while the Coalition condemned it as a cynical ploy for inner-city votes.

But Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government’s position had been “completely consistent” since the October 7 attack by Hamas.

“We want to see humanitarian concerns obviously placed front and centre. And might I say that’s part of the American advocacy in this space as well. But we’ve also been really clear that any ceasefire cannot be one-sided,” he said.

The resolution called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the “unconditional release of all hostages”, and for “all parties” to comply with humanitarian law.

Labor has in the past called for humanitarian “pauses” and a “sustainable ceasefire” that must involve Hamas.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/gaza-vote-risks-us-trust-in-australia-scott-morrison-warns/news-story/4388467142074a668fd247b94b7450d1

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20072071 (140926ZDEC23) Notable: Usman Khawaja vows to fight ruling as ICC rules pro-Palestine message out - Usman Khawaja has hit back at critics and cricket administrators after being told he could not wear shoes with human rights statements on them in Thursday’s Test match. Khawaja has been forced to retreat after being warned he could face serious consequences if he went ahead, but he has promised to fight the ruling and has explained his actions in a video

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>>128760

Usman Khawaja vows to fight ruling as ICC rules pro-Palestine message out

PETER LALOR - DECEMBER 14, 2023

Usman Khawaja has hit back at critics and cricket administrators after being told he could not wear shoes with human rights statements on them in Thursday’s Test match.

The Australian revealed on Wednesday that the opening batter was planning to wear shoes with the words “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” on the field as a show of support for the innocent lives being lost in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Khawaja has been forced to retreat after being warned he could face serious consequences if he went ahead, but he has promised to fight the ruling and has explained his actions in a video.

“The ICC have told me that I can’t wear my shoes on field because they believe it to be a political statement under their guidelines,” Khawaja said in a statement to camera that he released on his Instagram account.

“I don’t believe it is so; it’s a ­humanitarian appeal. I will respect that view and decision but I’ll fight it and seek to get approval. Freedom is a human right. And all lives are equal. I will never stop believing, whether you agree with me or not.”

The ICC intervened after The Australian’s story and warned Khawaja he could face severe punishment, including being blocked from taking the field, if he went ahead with his plans.

The Pakistan-born father of two called out those who dis­agreed with his words and said it was shocking how many people disagreed with the statements on the shoes. “Human life to me is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life and so on.

“I’m just speaking up for those who don’t have a voice. This is close to my heart. When I see thousands of innocent children die, without any repercussions or remorse, I imagine my two girls – what if this was them?

“No one chooses where they’re born. And then I see the world turn their backs and my heart can’t take it.

“I already felt my life wasn’t equal to others when I was growing up. Luckily for me, I never lived in a world where … inequality was life or death.”

Khawaja has spoken in the past about his feelings of alienation as a Muslim migrant in the Australian cricket community. “I won’t say much. I don’t need to,” he said. “But what I do want is for everyone who did get offended somehow, is to ask yourself these questions: Is freedom not for everyone? Are all lives not equal?

“To me personally, it doesn’t matter what race, religion or culture you are. Let’s be honest – if me saying all lives are equal has resulted in people being offended to the point where they’re calling me up and telling me off, well isn’t that the bigger problem? These people obviously don’t believe in what I have written. It’s not just a handful of people. You’d be shocked about how many feel this way.”

Khawaja had earlier received the backing of the federal Sport Minister and his teammates.

“I actually think it’s one of our strongest points in our team that everyone has their own passionate views and individual thoughts, and I chatted to Usi briefly about it today,” captain Pat Cummins said. “And yeah, I don’t think his intention is to make too big of a fuss.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/usman-khawajas-propalestine-stand-blocked/news-story/46e4cab407b5abf9df38f3e7b0d27297

https://twitter.com/Uz_Khawaja/status/1734830493890404372

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20078353 (151356ZDEC23) Notable: Labor considers local, regional voices after failed voice referendum - Labor is considering rolling out local and regional voices across the country using an existing model and without legislation, as it prepares to unveil “next steps” following the failed referendum as early as February

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>>128523

>>128678

>>128698

>>128713

Labor considers local, regional voices after failed voice referendum

ROSIE LEWIS and SARAH ISON - DECEMBER 15, 2023

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Labor is considering rolling out local and regional voices across the country using an existing model and without legislation, as it prepares to unveil “next steps” following the failed referendum as early as February.

The Australian understands one option being looked at by the Albanese government is ­expanding Empowered Communities – a program that puts Indigenous people from remote, regional and urban areas in the same room as government decision-makers – to act as local and regional voices.

While no decision has been made on whether to pursue a Makarrata commission to oversee truth-telling and treaty-making, which was a federal Labor election commitment and has been partly funded, The Australian understands the government will focus in the new year on practical policies such as remote housing and overhauling the work for the dole program.

There is a view within government that local and regional voices, which Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has conceded remain on the table after a constitutionally ­enshrined national voice was rejected by 60 per cent of voters, do not need to be legislated.

Instead, Empowered Communities – which covers 10 regions – could be supported and scaled-up through more public funding and administrative support to ensure grassroots voices across the country are heard by all levels of government.

Federal governments have provided $47m to the program from 2016 to mid-next year.

“You could look at other sites over time. It doesn’t require government to take that many risks,” a government source said.

Ms Burney has met with several Aboriginal leaders and groups, including Empowered Communities, since the referendum was voted down on ­October 14 but is facing increasing pressure to outline the government’s plan B.

Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price accused Ms Burney and Anthony Albanese of “failing Indigenous Australians” by being “missing in ­action” since the referendum and with no plan to address disadvantage.

While referendum working group member Sean Gordon has previously advocated for Empowered Communities to be the voice “independent of the Constitution or legislation” called for by Indigenous leaders in the wake of the referendum, on Wednesday he said some form of legislation was needed.

“The reason for legislation, ­although it doesn’t give the guarantee the Constitution would have provided (for an enshrined voice), it guarantees these voices would be created and supported. The guarantee is crucial,” he said.

“The beauty of legislation is it would broaden its scope to other departments (beyond the ­National Indigenous Australians Agency) that up until now haven’t been engaged in Empowered Communities.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/20078453 (151416ZDEC23) Notable: ‘Gas you’, ‘kill you’: surge in anti-Semitism incidents - Reports of serious incidents of anti-Semitism across Australia since the Hamas terror attack on Israel of October 7 have surged a staggering 738 per cent, a figure that Jewish leaders warn is “only the tip of the iceberg”. The most comprehensive report yet on the backlash against Jews from October 7 and the ­Israel-Hamas war, contains numerous shocking examples of how the scourge of anti-Semitism has taken hold in mainstream Australia

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>>128527

>>128549

>>128562

‘Gas you’, ‘kill you’: surge in anti-Semitism incidents

CAMERON STEWART - DECEMBER 14, 2023

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Reports of serious incidents of anti-Semitism across Australia since the Hamas terror attack on Israel of October 7 have surged a staggering 738 per cent, a figure that Jewish leaders warn is “only the tip of the iceberg”.