/qresearch/ - Q Research

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CURRENT DOUGH

https://controlc.com/bb86b212

Human Rights Watch reveals harassment, surveillance of Chinese students studying in Australia

Matthew Doran - 30 June 2021

1/2

As Bonnie Wong* watched a pro-democracy protest at the University of Queensland in mid-2019, she noticed some people loitering off to the side.

The student did not recognise them, but their presence triggered both curiosity and fear.

"They weren't participating in a protest, but just taking pictures of us," she said.

Bonnie hails from Hong Kong, and had been instrumental in helping to organise the rally.

The demands at the protest for Beijing to drop its highly contentious national security law, planned for the semi-autonomous city, attracted the attention of people she suspected to be pro-China activists.

"They actually send those pictures online to Chinese social media, for example Weibo, to publicly defame us and try to expose our identities," she said.

"[That] will put us at risk, to say that we are actually separators, and we are challenging the security or the national security of China, which is definitely not the case.

"I'm very worried about my family back home, so I seldom talk to them about these kinds of activism that I do."

Bonnie said one of the other organisers of the rally, who is a member of the persecuted Uyghur minority, felt the full force of reprisals after the protest.

"After a certain period of time, he suddenly received a phone call from [Chinese Communist Party] agents," she said.

"But then the phone call was actually a video call, and in the video his mum actually got sent to the concentration camp in Xinjiang.

"This is very concerning, and this is definitely exposing how dangerous it is just to speak up at protests at universities."

Students fear being 'doxed'

Bonnie is among almost 50 students and academics who spoke to Human Rights Watch, as it investigated allegations of intimidation, harassment and surveillance of Chinese and Hong Kong students on Australian university campuses.

Many reported concerns about being "doxed", which is when people on social media share personal details about individuals, such as their home address, without their consent.

But for others the fear of reprisals went much further, as they dreaded what would happen to their family and friends if they made a stand on issues such as the political situation in Hong Kong.

Researcher Sophie McNeill said the behaviour by supporters of the Chinese state was fuelling an atmosphere of anxiety across the country, and students and academics were choosing to not express honestly held opinions so as not to rock the boat.

"It was really quite shocking to see how pervasive and common not only harassment and intimidation, but it's the self-censorship, I think, that is really quite shocking," Ms McNeill said.

"We verified three cases of students who had their parents back home in the mainland visited by the police or questioned because of activities that they had engaged in in Australia.

"We interviewed people who had been teaching Chinese students for years and just said, 'look, I don't use negative examples of China anymore, because I'm worried about being reported on or doxed online, or I have already been talking about China now'."

Human Rights Watch said the activities that attracted the attention of Chinese authorities and supporters ranged from the fairly mundane, such as creating a personal Twitter account (where Twitter is blocked in China), through to participating in pro-democracy rallies and debating the sovereignty of Taiwan in university tutorials.

Ms McNeill said she had confirmed one Chinese student who had set up a social media profile in Australia had his passport confiscated once he returned to China.

"Someone who expressed support for pro-democracy movements in Australia was threatened with being reported to Chinese authorities. And it actually happened, and he's now suffering real personal repercussions for that."

(continued)

>>14020059

2/2

Australia needs to be 'laying down a firm line'

Education Minister Alan Tudge said the Human Rights Watch report raised "deeply concerning issues".

"Any interference on our campuses by foreign entities cannot be tolerated," he said in a statement.

"We have already taken several actions to combat foreign interference and are working closely with the universities and we will soon be updating our university guidelines."

Mr Tudge said Federal Parliament's powerful Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security was already investigating national security risks in the higher education sector.

The Minister's concerns were echoed by the federal Opposition.

"One of the great benefits of an Australian university education should be that we can show students from around the world that freedom of thought, robust debate, and polite disagreement is healthy," Shadow Education Minister Tanya Plibersek said.

"It's important that universities protect these freedoms."

The Chinese Embassy in Canberra said the report was "rubbish".

"Human Rights Watch has decayed into a political tool for the West to attack and smear developing countries," a spokesman said.

"It is always biased on China."

The Human Rights Watch report made a number of recommendations as to how the situation could be improved for foreign students enrolled at Australian institutions, after finding many students were not reporting their concerns because they did not believe their complaints would be handled properly.

One of the organisation's demands was for universities to publicly acknowledge instances and allegations of harassment and intimidation.

"Laying down a firm line, letting students know that if you engage in this behaviour that it's violating the academic code of conduct, and you could lose your spot at the uni if you do it," Ms McNeil said.

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson was wary of what that might mean for the privacy of the students involved.

"That could be really very complex," she said.

But Ms Jackson conceded there was work to be done.

"Every single university leader will be saddened and concerned to read the details of the Human Rights Watch report," she said.

"I'd like to say I'm surprised, but no, we're not particularly surprised.

"It's not just one country, it's a number of countries — but certainly there are issues of students and staff not feeling free to speak, and that's absolutely not on."

Ms Jackson said the higher education sector was in deep discussion with the government on how to address issues of freedom of speech and interference on campuses.

"Universities just can't deal with this all by themselves, it's got to be a matter of it gets dealt with at a government level, as well as institution level," she said.

"Your heart does go out to those students who are afraid — they're afraid of what might happen when they go home.

"Universities can do lots of things, but they can't surround them and protect them when they're not even in the same country's institution."

According to Human Rights Watch, around 40 per cent of international students studying in Australia came from China.

Ms Jackson rejected suggestions universities were sweeping the issue under the carpet, concerned about losing the lucrative Chinese student market.

"I don't see any evidence at all that institutions are less forthright with a commitment to free academic inquiry and free speech on campus," she said.

Bonnie is adamant that despite the fear she has experienced, she would not stop advocating for causes she believed in.

"No matter how huge the threat is, I don't think we should stop, and I don't think I will stop," she said.

"This fight is not only related to Hong Kongers, but also Australians because I think the Australian authorities should be protecting Australian students and also stand up for what they used to stand up for.

"I don't feel protected here … and this is very disappointing for me."

* The name Bonnie Wong is a pseudonym

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-30/china-international-students-australia-human-rights-watch-report/100253852

>>13955828 (pb)

Environment Minister Sussan Ley invites UN to inspect Great Barrier Reef

ADESHOLA ORE - JUNE 30, 2021

Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has formally invited UNESCO to visit the Great Barrier Reef and conduct an on-the-ground assessment, after the agency proposed declaring its health status was “in danger”.

Australia has vowed to fight a recent decision by the China-chaired UNESCO World Heri­tage Committee to downgrade the reef’s health class­ification without any consultation or any on-the-ground verification.

Last week, 11 countries backed Australia in denouncing UNESCO’s lack of consultation process following the draft listing.

Writing in The Australian on Wednesday, Ms Ley said an in-person visit to the reef by committee representatives was the only way to assess its status.

“The reef is big enough to be seen from space, but you can’t see it from an office in Paris, and that is the least that was deserved in this instance,” she said.

Ms Ley said Australia was being used as a “poster child” for the wider climate change agenda, which she argued eroded both confidence in, and the credibility of, the World Heritage Committee’s processes. “UNESCO representatives admit they want to sound an international warning note about the dire fate that awaits all countries if global warming is not halted,” she said. “If UNESCO wants to make an example of Australia, despite all it is doing to protect its reefs, what incentive is there for those who do not have the same level of resources?”

She acknowledged climate change was the biggest threat facing the Great Barrier Reef, but said it required global action. “Are the (WHC) advisers seriously sugges­t­ing Australia can single-handedly change the emissions trajectory of the whole world?” she said.

Ms Ley said following past bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and 2020, Australia had refocused its efforts to invest in research on heat-resistant corals and water-quality strategies.

She said in May the World Heritage Centre advised Australia’s officials that none of its properties would be considered for an “in-danger” listing this year.But a senior UNESCO official told Guardian Australia that Australia had not been provided – either formally or informally – any assurances before the decision was announced.

The draft listing will be presented for ratification at the 44th meeting of the World Heritage Committee next month. The Morrison government will heavily lobby members of the World Heritage Committee to push back against the ruling. However, it faces an uphill battle because a majority of the body’s members have signed up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Labor has accused the government of years of inaction ­on protecting the reef, pointing to past UNESCO decisions and bleaching events which the opposition claims should have “sounded alarms” for the government.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/environment-minister-sussan-ley-invites-un-to-inspect-great-barrier-reef/news-story/79e478bfb0291ea1645c07b291e7e9cb

>>14020145

Australia shouldn’t be poster boy for climate change perils

SUSSAN LEY - JUNE 30, 2021

1/2

Once again, the sometimes troubled waters of the Great Barrier Reef are being politicised as a lens through which the world can argue climate change.

Global climate change threatens landscapes, biodiversity, nature and people. Tropical and temperate coral reefs, and the marine ecosystems they support, are no exceptions.

Climate change is real and it is the biggest threat facing the reef; it requires global action rather than global promises.

Our vast and magnificent reef remains a natural wonder and an amazing place to visit, but it also has been through a rough few years from warming oceans, tropical cyclones and coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and last year.

As Environment Minister, I did not back away from the sobering assessment of “poor to very poor” when I released the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s 2019 Outlook report.

Investment in the reef, in partnership with the Queensland government, has risen to more than $3bn under the Reef 2050 Plan, a commitment the World Heritage Committee continues to praise.

Notwithstanding the realities we face, I was stunned last week by the draft recommendation to the WHC that singled out our reef for an “in danger” listing. I say this because an “in danger” listing effectively asks a country to change or accelerate its management of the listed site to mitigate the threat. Are the WHC advisers seriously suggesting Australia can single-handedly change the emissions trajectory of the whole world?

UNESCO representatives admit they want to sound an international warning note about the dire fate that awaits all countries if global warming is not halted. Australia shouldn’t be the poster child of a wider agenda.

If the World Heritage List is to be used as a lever for global emissions policy, instead of an assessment of how sites are being managed by individual countries, then there are many more sites around the world, from reefs to rainforests and glaciers, that should face the spectre of imminent danger listing.

If Australians ceased driving our cars and using fossil fuels tomorrow, the threat of climate change to the reef and the impact of warming oceans would remain.

We need broader global action and that is why Australia is forging ahead with international partnerships on hydrogen as we lead the world in the uptake of renewable energy.

As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, we are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the correct forum for deliberations on emissions policy. We take our responsibilities seriously. If UNESCO wants to make an example of Australia, despite all it is doing to protect its reefs, what incentive is there for those who do not have the same level of resources?

(continued)

>>14020149

2/2

Up and down the 2300km coastline of a 400,000sq km catchment, how do we maintain, support and engage our reef communities if we tell them that, regardless of the outstanding work they do, their life blood will be classified as in danger?

It promotes a false “reef is dead” narrative that risks affecting tourism and the 65,000 jobs the reef supports.

Internationally it also erodes confidence and credibility in the WHC process, which assesses 83 natural World Heritage properties as facing very high or high threats from climate change. Under the global threat logic of this draft decision, these properties, too, should be subject to the same treatment as Australia.

When considering a property for “in danger” listing, paragraphs 183 to 189 of the operational guidelines state “the committee shall develop, as far as possible, in consultation with the State Party, a Desired State of Conservation for the removal of the property from the In Danger List”. This did not occur.

In May, the World Heritage Centre advised our officials that none of Australia’s properties would be considered for “in danger” listing this year. This decision, based on a desktop review, did not include the latest science showing coral recovery and water quality improvements or the strength of collaborations on reef restoration and adaptation, and that is why it came as a shock.

The reef is big enough to be seen from space, but you can’t see it from an office in Paris, and that is the least that was deserved in this instance.

Australia is not on its own in expressing its broader international concerns. On June 23, 11 other countries, including France, Canada, Britain, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Thailand and Turkey, wrote to UNESCO to add their collective voice to concerns about a broader lack of transparency and proper process in the lead-up to the 44th World Heritage Committee meeting next month.

I would be pleased to invite the World Heritage Centre to conduct a site visit to the Great Barrier Reef. This is the only way to assess its true state. From there, we can work together. That is what the World Heritage Convention is meant to be about: working together to protect iconic properties, not punishing one country to draw focus to a global threat that requires global co-operation and global commitment.

Sussan Ley is the federal Environment Minister.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/australia-shouldnt-be-poster-boy-for-climate-change-perils/news-story/dd4d6ae08358bbd6133ebb609f5be549

SA DPP drops two charges in case against HIV+ pedophile Jadd William Brooker but says he is guilty of two more sex crimes

Two sex charges against an HIV+ pedophile who vowed to infect children and adults with the virus have been dropped – but two more will proceed, a court has heard.

Sean Fewster - June 30, 2021

Prosecutors have dropped two sex abuse charges filed against HIV+ pedophile Jadd William Brooker – but still allege he is guilty of yet more crimes against children.

Brooker appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday by video link, and was scheduled to answer the four outstanding charges laid against him.

However Tim Clarke, for Brooker, said that could not occur because attempts to negotiate a resolution to those remaining charges had been unsuccessful.

“The prosecution is going to say it’s not proceeding with two of the counts, but is proceeding with the other two,” he said.

“I’ve sought to obtain instructions from my client … regrettably, because of the need to get (copies of the) electronic evidence, he’s not been in a position to give those instructions.”

Brooker, 38, of Glenelg East, has already earned two sentencing discounts for pleading guilty to dozens of child sex charges.

He earned up to 40 per cent off his prison time for confessing to seven crimes just weeks after his arrest in September, and 15 per cent for 32 guilty pleas in May.

Previously, the court has heard Brooker expressed his intention to infect adults and children with HIV and filmed himself attempting to do so, meaning a victim had to be tested.

Prosecutors alleged he had committed “category five” crimes – involving acts such as coerced bondage, sadism, torture or bestiality – against six children and teenagers.

They also alleged the 4.5 million files of child abuse material on Brooker’s electronic devices could link him to pedophiles in Australia and around the world.

Investigations into that material led to the arrests of former Labor staffer Ben Waters, former senior corrections officer Stewart Iain Berry and a third man.

On Wednesday, Mr Clarke asked for further time to speak with Brooker and ascertain what pleas he would enter to the two remaining charges.

The state’s chief magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal, remanded Brooker in custody until next month.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-sa/sa-dpp-drops-two-charges-in-case-against-hiv-pedophile-jadd-william-brooker-but-says-he-is-guilty-of-two-more-sex-crimes/news-story/d4fa07ef34bf86752c7cd1074d49e15d

Lockdown measures extended in Australia amid COVID-19 outbreak

Renju Jose - June 30, 2021

SYDNEY, June 30 (Reuters) - Australian officials extended lockdown and social distancing measures to more of the country on Wednesday, with four major cities already under a hard lockdown in a race to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

Around one in two Australians are under stay-at-home orders, with millions of others subjected to movement curbs and mandatory mask-wearing amid COVID-19 flare-ups in several locations.

With more than five million residents of greater Sydney under a two-week lockdown until July 9, New South Wales state reported 22 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, all linked to prior infections.

That was up slightly from the previous two days, but still below the peak of the current outbreak of 30 new cases reported on Sunday.

"New South Wales is demonstrating a steady rate of cases at this stage … but to date our fears about huge escalation haven't materialised and we certainly want to keep it that way," state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

With a total of around 170 new locally transmitted cases since the first infection was detected two weeks ago in a limousine driver who transported overseas airline crew, NSW is the worst-affected state or territory in the current outbreak.

Residents of Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin were joined in lockdown on Wednesday by those of the outback town of Alice Springs, the gateway to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Uluru. Officials issued stay-at-home orders for the town after a potentially infected traveller used the airport.

South Australia, meanwhile, reported its first locally transmitted cases for 2021, but stopped short of imposing a full lockdown, saying they believed the threat was contained.

Officials instead limited home gathering and urged people to wear masks in public after they reported five new cases - a miner who had returned home from a Northern Territory mine and his wife and children who had been in self-isolation.

Elsewhere in the country, Queensland reported three new locally acquired cases, Western Australia logged one and the Northern Territory recorded none.

Singapore on Wednesday said travellers from Australia will have to undergo home quarantine for a week from Friday.

VACCINE WOES

Lockdowns, tough social distancing, swift contact tracing and a high community compliance have helped Australia quash prior outbreaks and keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low. It has reported just over 30,550 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began.

But less than 5% of its 20 million adult population has been fully vaccinated, leading to criticism of a sluggish national inoculation drive.

The federal government on Monday announced it would indemnify doctors who administer AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) vaccine shots to people under 60, after previously preferencing Pfizer (PFE.N) doses for that age group due to blood clot concerns.

Two deaths have been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, a 52-year-old woman and a 48-year-old woman.

However, Queensland state authorities said they would not endorse the move, saying it would unnecessarily put their younger population at risk.

"I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID probably wouldn't die," Queensland state Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said in a media conference.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydneys-covid-19-cases-rise-four-australian-cities-lockdown-2021-06-30/

Prince Andrew’s ex believes Ghislaine Maxwell was ‘brainwashed’ by Jeffrey Epstein

Lee Brown - June 29, 2021

A socialite ex of Britain’s Prince Andrew insisted Tuesday that their “secretive” mutual friend Ghislaine Maxwell was “brainwashed” by late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

“I think she was so brainwashed by [Epstein] and so in love with him that she lost the reality of what she was doing,” Lady Victoria Hervey, 44, told ITV’s “Lorraine” talk show, according to a clip shared by Metro.

“It was very shocking when I first heard everything about her because that was not the Ghislaine I knew,” insisted Hervey, the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol.

“I think she got in way too deep and just couldn’t leave,” she said of Maxwell, who remains in custody in Brooklyn awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges tied to Epstein.

Hervey said she has known Maxwell — the daughter of disgraced media baron Robert Maxwell — at least 20 years. She has previously said Maxwell introduced her to Andrew, whom she dated briefly in 1999.

“She was always the centre of every fun party and she was a vibrant character that a lot of people wanted to be around,” Hervey said, recalling one party where former President Bill Clinton joined them all.

“She loved fame and power. If you weren’t going to be of any use to her, she wasn’t going to pay you any attention.

“Bill Clinton was the president at the time and I think she liked to flaunt that she was friends with someone so powerful,” she said.

Still, Hervey said Maxwell “always exuded this air of mystery about her, you just never really knew where she’d flown in from and was quite secretive about her life.”

Hervey said she noted Epstein’s behavior with young women, but put it down to typical behavior of many rich men she met in high society in both London and New York.

“I think there’s a lot of people in his position that like to be surrounded by young models — it didn’t look that different to what I’d seen before,” she said.

“I was very young and very naive and didn’t realise what was happening.”

Hervey believes Epstein gave her pal the financial security she needed, while she provided access to “all these powerful people.”

“Everybody knew Ghislaine Maxwell but no one knew him. It was a partnership they had,” she said.

Hervey said that it will be “really tough” for Maxwell in custody.

“If you’re used to luxury, it will be hell on Earth for her I’m sure,” she said.

“I think she’s very tough but it’s a front, I don’t think she is as tough on the inside as what she exudes on the outside,” she warned.

Maxwell is accused of procuring four girls for Epstein to abuse in the 1990s and early 2000s and also charged with lying under oath. She has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence.

Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan lockup in August 2019 while awaiting further serious sex charges. Andrew has repeatedly denied any knowledge of his late pal’s crimes and denied having sex with one of his accusers.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/29/prince-andrews-ex-believes-ghislaine-maxwell-was-brainwashed-by-jeffrey-epstein/

https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/29/lady-victoria-hervey-calls-ghislaine-maxwell-victim-of-jeffrey-epstein-14844097/

>>13914986 (pb)

>>14004059 (pb)

Chinese rail firm refutes 'forced labor' claims in Australia

Global Times - Jun 29, 2021

Chinese railway equipment manufacturer KTK Group on Tuesday pushed back against claims from some Australian media outlets that the company used "forced labor" from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, saying that the allegations are "groundless" and its overseas business operations remain normal.

A staff at the company told the Global Times on Tuesday that the claim was an old slander that started a while ago, and the company has already clarified the matter and even asked third-party organizations to inspect the company to reassure its clients.

"We did hire dozens of Uygur workers before, as part of a poverty alleviation program, but the workers were all voluntary," said the staff, adding that the allegations were "groundless."

Some Australian media reports recently claimed that a billion-dollar train deal in Perth involving French firm Alstom was linked to "forced labor" in China, because KTK Group was a supplier.

The staff at KTK said that the company has businesses both in France and Australia, and Alstom has been its customer for many years.

The company's products cover all the main bullet train models and major urban rail vehicles in China, and they are exported to dozens of markets, including the UK, France and Australia, according to a company report published in August 2020.

The "forced-labor" allegation regarding the Chinese trainmaker has circulated in some foreign media reports since July 2020, when KTK became one of the 11 companies on a US blacklist over the allegation.

After the US blacklist came out, the transport minister of Australia's Queensland state, Mark Bailey, asked his department to urgently review whether parts manufactured by KTK overseas and installed in the state's new trains involved any forced labor, while looking for alternative suppliers, media reports said.

But the government in Australia's Victoria state recently assured that there was no so-called forced labor involved in KTK Group's business. New trains for Melbourne's railway network would continue to be built with parts from KTK, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on June 15.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1227428.shtml

>>14020199

Queensland's Chief Health Officer rejects Prime Minister's comments on AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for under-40s

Stephanie Zillman - 30 June 2021

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has made clear her view on people under the age of 40 getting AstraZeneca vaccinations — don't do it.

Her remarks followed a surprise announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying anyone under the age of 40 could now approach their GP and request the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But Dr Young has rejected the Prime Minister's suggestion.

"I do not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca," she said.

"It is rare, but they are at an increased risk of getting the rare clotting syndrome. We've seen up to 49 deaths in the UK from that syndrome.

"I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID, probably wouldn't die.

"We have had very few deaths due to COVID-19 in Australia in people under the age of 50 and wouldn't it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic, died because of the vaccine.

Dr Young said she "genuinely did not understand" why Mr Morrison had departed from the advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

"We are not in a position that I need to ask young, fit, healthy people to put their health on the line getting a vaccine that could potentially, significantly harm them."

Dr Young said she supported the latest advice from ATAGI that AstraZeneca vaccine should only be administered to people over 60 due to the risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome.

She said that despite the current lockdowns and outbreak fears, there were not sufficient cases to warrant the risk.

"We are not [where] Indonesia is," Dr Young said.

"If I was the Chief Health Officer in Indonesia, I might be giving different advice."

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan also said he agreed with Dr Young and that people under 40 should not get the AstraZeneca COVID vaccination, based on health advice.

"That is the advice we have and that is the national advice from the immunisation experts," Mr McGowan said.

'It's a discussion for doctors'

Australia's Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly argued that AstraZeneca had technically always been available to anyone over the age of 18, and that the Prime Minister's announcement related to indemnity for GPs.

"There's a preference for Pfizer up to the age of 60. But that preference is a preference. It's a discussion for doctors to have with their own patients and the work through their own risk and benefit in relation to that," Dr Kelly said.

Dr Young said she would be attending an urgent meeting with the Commonwealth and other state chief health officers to discuss the confusion.

But as Dr Young spoke on Wednesday morning, Commonwealth's expert medical panel member Dr Nick Coatsworth expressed a different view on Twitter.

"Well, I guess that put me at odds with the QLD CHO," he tweeted.

In response to Dr Young's comments, he also tweeted that the debate had raised a "critical ethical principle of autonomy" and that the federal government should not be "paternalistic".

"Adults should be allowed to consent to an intervention with a 3-in-100,000 risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome and less than 1-in-1,000,000 of death," he tweeted.

'No issues with it'

Disability support worker Jaiden Ivers, 23, has already had his first dose of AstraZeneca and will receive a second vaccination in a fortnight.

He was in the first tranche of frontline workers to be vaccinated and did so before the health advice for particular age groups changed.

"It was probably a week later that they advised people in my age group not to get AstraZeneca," Mr Ivers said.

But he said the changing advice around AstraZeneca did not concern him at all.

"I have no issues with it whatever. Just knowing it's such a small proportion of people who have adverse reactions, I guess the advantages just outweigh the risks for me personally."

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said National Cabinet had not agreed to the Prime Minister's announcement.

"My message to Queenslanders today is: please listen to Dr Young's advice and listen to the health experts when it comes to the vaccine," Ms Palaszczuk said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-30/qld-cho-rejects-morrisons-astrazeneca-comments-covid-vaccine/100256022

>>14020199

‘A personal choice’: NSW clinics will not give AstraZeneca to under-40s

Mary Ward - June 30, 2021

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NSW authorities have held firm on health advice regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the state’s vaccine clinics will not administer AstraZeneca to under-40s.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Wednesday that state-run clinics, including the mass vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park, would not change their protocol.

On Monday night, the Prime Minister said anyone could receive AstraZeneca at a GP clinic despite vaccine advisory group ATAGI recommending Pfizer as the preferred shot for under-60s, after announcing an indemnity scheme for practitioners.

Over the past 24 hours, the Australian Medical Association and federal Health Minister Greg Hunt have asked people to follow ATAGI’s advice, with the Royal Australian College of GPs calling for clarity on the rules.

“I think ATAGI is the group that we need to respect,” Dr Chant said, adding that “ATAGI has said that people can make personal choices, but they need to be informed”.

“The view I have is that, in a mass vaccination clinic, the detailed risk discussions cannot take place and they are discussions best to have with your GP.”

NSW Health clinics administer the Pfizer vaccine to frontline workers, people with pre-existing health conditions and people in their 40s and 50s.

People aged 60 and over have been encouraged to received AstraZeneca at a GP or Commonwealth clinic, although bookings are available at NSW Health sites for over-60s without a GP or others seeking a second dose.

Dr Chant said younger people should discuss their personal circumstances with a GP, noting NSW Health was looking to increase Pfizer appointments in coming weeks, provided supply was there.

From July until August, NSW will receive between 104,910 and 120,600 Pfizer doses a week.

Last week, a spokesperson for the federal Health Department said Pfizer would be available at all 136 Commonwealth vaccination centres before the end of July. A small number of GPs will also start to administer the vaccine next month.

There are also plans for a new mass vaccination hub at Lake Macquarie as well as a Wollongong site, confirmed by Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday.

The Premier said Monday’s national cabinet agreed to an indemnity scheme, not a change to the health advice.

“What we need to do as a state government is follow the federal regulatory health advice, which is that AstraZeneca is offered for over 60s and obviously second doses are strongly, strongly advised,” she said.

She encouraged the state’s 3 million residents aged 60 and over to come forward for their shot.

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AMA NSW President Danielle McMullen said the state’s position was “fair enough”.

“The ATAGI advice hasn’t changed and the preferred advice for under 60s is Pfizer, but we recognise there are some people who will want the AstraZeneca now and the best place for them to receive all the relevant information is at a GP.”

NSW/ACT chair of Royal Australian College of GPs Charlotte Hespe said the college’s position mirrored NSW’s: younger people should talk to a GP.

“If they, weighing up the risk, still feel they want to access a vaccination, that is their choice,” she said, noting some people may not be included in Phase 1a or 1b but still consider themselves at higher risk of catching the virus or transmitting it to someone vulnerable, such as retail workers or people who live with grandparents.

“With [Sydney’s Delta COVID-19 variant], you can be behaving yourself and still manage to catch it while walking through the shopping centre.”

Words were stronger in Queensland, where Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said she did not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca.

“I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID probably wouldn’t die,” she said.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan also said he wanted under-40s to only receive Pfizer.

“The Commonwealth has made a decision to allow for that and provided an indemnity for GPs who do that. The health advice we have is that they shouldn’t,” he said.

Mr McGowan also said people aged 60 and older should be allowed to get Pfizer to tackle hesitancy

Dr Hespe said politicians’ announcements regarding the vaccine over the past two days had been “chaos”.

“It would be really good to have everyone on the same page,” she said.

ATAGI moved to recommend Pfizer as the preferred vaccine for under-60s earlier this month, in response to a very rare blood clotting syndrome which previously led it to make the same recommendation for under-50s.

“For those aged 60 years and above, the individual benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine are greater than in younger people,” the advisory group said.

“COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca can be used in adults aged under 60 years for whom Comirnaty [Pfizer] is not available.”

According to the most recent TGA vaccine safety report there have been 39 confirmed cases and 25 probable cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), and two deaths likely linked, from approximately 4.2 million administered doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-personal-choice-nsw-clinics-will-not-give-astrazeneca-to-under-40s-20210630-p585ip.html

Tasmanian Labor leader to stand aside during investigation into allegations of sexual harassment

Emily Baker - 30 June 2021

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Tasmanian Labor leader David O'Byrne will stand aside while the party investigates allegations he sexually harassed a junior union employee more than a decade ago.

Reading from a statement outside Parliament, Mr O'Byrne said he believed text exchanges and a kiss with a 22-year-old employee at the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous were consensual, but "I now understand that this was not the case".

"This matter has caused me to reflect deeply on the nature of consent, and I've come to appreciate why the person concerned says our interactions were not consensual."

Mr O'Byrne said he had written to the complainant to apologise.

"I genuinely thank her for having the strength to bring this issue to light, and I also thank other women who have advocated and spoken about their experiences to inform the current national conversation about consent."

He said he would stand aside for the duration of Labor's internal investigation.

"I acknowledge that my behaviour did not meet the standards I would expect of myself," he said.

"I also acknowledge that I have let down my wife and family."

The complainant, who the ABC has not named, wrote in her complaint that working at the LHMU in 2007 and 2008 under Mr O'Byrne "had a negative and significant effect on my mental health".

The complaint — obtained by the ABC — was sent to senior members of the party's national executive, including federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese.

She claimed that he sent her "sexually suggestive, vulgar and unwanted sexual text messages" and twice kissed her outside of work without her consent.

The woman alleged that when she asked Mr O'Byrne to stop messaging her, she was called into a meeting and given a verbal warning regarding her performance.

"I felt it was nothing to do with my performance and everything to do with me not succumbing to the ongoing advances of David towards me, and my recent message telling him to stop with the sexually inappropriate messages," she wrote.

"During this meeting and up until my resignation, David's behaviour and attitude towards me was very different.

"He didn't talk to me much, he was rude or short with me and treated me differently to the others, but now in a negative and sometimes nasty way rather than the favourable tone he had used previously."

The woman's complaint said she then moved to a new job at the Health and Community Services Union.

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Her complaint references two former colleagues she alleges directly witnessed Mr O'Byrne's behaviour, and another three people she said had been made aware of her concerns between 2007 and 2010 — including Clark Labor MP Ella Haddad and Clark independent MP Kristie Johnston, both of whom are close to the complainant.

Ms Johnston released a statement this afternoon, saying she was aware of the allegations and that "they need to be appropriately and thoroughly investigated".

"It is appropriate that Mr O'Byrne has stood aside as Leader whilst these investigations are underway," she said.

When contacted by the ABC, the eyewitnesses would not confirm the allegations.

One person — a HACSU colleague — has written a statement in support of the complainant.

That person wrote that, early in 2008 and just after starting at HACSU, the complainant had broken down in tears when sharing details of Mr O'Byrne's alleged conduct.

The colleague said the complainant had read out "very inappropriate" texts and shared details of the two alleged attempted kisses.

"I found [the complainant's] disposition to be bubbly and energetic and was able to interact with all members of the staff," the person's supporting statement said.

"However, there were occasions when I observed [the complainant] become anxious, nervous and at times distraught when Mr O'Byrne's name was either mentioned or he was there in person attending various places or events, as part of official union business and/or Labor/Left affiliation discussions, functions and conferences."

Woman 'emboldened' by Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame

The woman's complaint acknowledged it had taken almost 15 years to come forward but said she was worried she would not be believed.

She is part of Labor's right faction, while Mr O'Byrne is senior within Labor's left.

The woman wrote that Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame had "emboldened me to finally stand up".

"I'm tired of carrying this weight and I'm tired of the hypocrisy of David himself," the complaint said.

"He knows what he did to me, but he still advertises himself as a supporter and fighter for women's rights."

The complainant did not provide further comment when contacted by the ABC.

It is understood the party's national secretary Paul Erickson has referred the complaint to state secretary Stuart Benson. The status of the investigation is not known.

"The ALP will not comment on any matter that relates to our Code of Conduct and associated policies, save to say that our policies are being complied with," Mr Erikson said in a statement to the ABC.

Mr Benson and Mr Albanese's office did not respond to request for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-30/labor-investigates-sexual-harassment-claims-against-david-obyrne/100253560

Lone woman on train harassed by police who then absconded with her property.

Australian MPs call on US President Biden to drop charges against Assange

Rob Harris - June 30, 2021

Former security analyst turned federal Labor MP Peter Khalil has joined a group of Australian politicians directly lobbying the United States to drop an appeal over a British court’s ruling against the extradition of the WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange.

In a video message to US President Joe Biden released on Wednesday evening Australian time, 11 federal MPs from across the political spectrum have also appealed to Washington to drop its espionage charges against the Australian citizen and for the British government to allow him to return home.

Before entering politics Mr Khalil, the member for the Victorian seat of Wills, was director of National Security Policy of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. As a national security adviser to former prime minister Kevin Rudd, he was personally named in diplomatic cables sent to Washington by the US Embassy, which were later released by Wikileaks.

While he has previously criticised Mr Assange’s actions in helping obtain and leak classified information on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Mr Khalil said the case was “not just about one individual”.

“In an era where rising authoritarian regimes are denying and attacking freedom of the press, such as the shut down of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily by the Chinese Community Party, it is more important than ever that when it comes to condemning the denial of press freedom the rhetoric of liberal democracies is actually matched with substantive actions to protect the right of journalists and the media to do their work freely to hold governments to account,” Mr Khalil said.

He said while the Obama administration had clearly chosen not to indict Mr Assange because it would set a damming precedent against journalistic practice and behaviour, the Trump administration aggressively pursued the case.

“Therein lies the problem. These charges are so broad-based that if successful they would go well beyond this individual case – they would impact investigative journalism and open up prosecutions of countless media doing this journalism, they would have a chilling effect on all journalists reporting on national security and foreign affairs matters,” he said.

The 49-year-old Mr Assange has been in Belmarsh Prison since April 2019 trying to avoid extradition to the US to face charges on multiple counts of conspiring with and directing others, from 2009 to 2019, to illegally obtain and release US secrets.

In doing so he aided and abetted hacking, illegally exposed confidential US sources to danger and used the information to damage the US, according to the charges. If convicted on all counts he faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years.

In 2012 Mr Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape allegation that he denied. An investigation into the 2010 rape allegation has since been dropped by Swedish prosecutors.

He was awarded a Walkley award, Australian journalism’s highest honour, in 2011 for a “most outstanding contribution to journalism” for his “brave, determined and independent stand for freedom of speech and transparency”.

In March this year Nationals MP George Christensen, Independent Andrew Wilkie and Labor’s Julian Hill personally met with the US embassy’s charge d’affaires, Michael Goldman, arguing that Mr Assange should be allowed to return home.

A 24-member parliamentary group established to support Mr Assange’s bid to return home contains members from all major parties, including now Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in January Mr Assange would be allowed to return to Australia if all charges were dropped. He said consular support had consistently been offered to Mr Assange, but made clear the government were “not parties to those set of proceedings”.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-mps-call-on-us-president-biden-to-drop-charges-against-assange-20210629-p585a1.html

Final Australian troops leave Afghanistan as 20-year mission draws to a close

Andrew Greene - 1 July 2021

Australia has completed its formal troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending an almost 20-year military commitment to the war-torn country that claimed 41 ADF members' lives.

The recent departure of Australia's final Defence personnel comes amid reports American troops could complete their exit "within days", and as Taliban fighters continue to retake districts across Afghanistan.

Since 2001 the Australian Defence Force's mission has been to "contain the threat from international terrorism", firstly under Operation Slipper, and then Operation Highroad.

According to the Defence Department's website, Australia currently contributes "around 80 Defence personnel" to NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. They are involved in training, advising and assisting local forces.

However military sources have confirmed to the ABC the last remaining ADF members flew out of Kabul in the middle of June, ahead of a September 11 deadline announced by the United States for the withdrawal of all coalition forces.

"September 11 was the timeframe given, but everyone is rushing for the door," one Defence official told the ABC, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

"Operation Highroad is done and dusted, but Operation Accordion (the overarching mission in the Middle East) will remain because it has been identified that we still need a staging point in the sandpit," another official said.

United States media reports suggest American troops could complete their withdrawal, or retrograde, "within days" after President Joe Biden outlined an exit strategy in April.

The Australian Defence Department has so far declined to publicly confirm the formal end of its NATO-led mission to Afghanistan or say whether some military personnel will relocate elsewhere in the Middle East.

"On 15 April the Prime Minister announced Australia would finalise the drawdown of our contribution to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan," a Defence spokesperson told the ABC.

"As Australia brings its contribution in Afghanistan to a close, the Minister for Defence will be delivering remarks on Australia's role in the days ahead".

"For operational security reasons, we will not provide further details at this time," the spokesperson added.

At the end of May, Australia became the first country involved in coalition military activity to not only announce military withdrawal by September but the full retreat on its foreign presence, by closing its embassy.

In recent weeks fighting has intensified between Taliban militants and Afghan forces, with many government-held districts falling into the hands of the former enemy.

Uruzgan, where Australian troops served for close to a decade, could be the first entire province to fall back under Taliban control as foreign militaries withdraw from the war-torn country.

The former chief of army, retired Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, said the formal departure of Australia's last troops was an enormously significant occasion.

"It signifies the end of an era for the ADF, I think we've all known that it's been coming for a long time but it's no easier to accept now that it's here," he said.

"I find it as an occasion to reflect and remember, and some of the reflections and remembrances are not easy."

Lieutenant General Leahy said his thoughts were particularly with the families of the 41 Australian soldiers who died in the conflict, as well as the many others who suffered physical and mental injuries from their service.

"Was it worth it? Well as we face the prospect of a savage retribution by the now ascendant Taliban, and I think a return in some ways to the dark ages for Afghanistan — it's really hard to say that it was worth it," he said.

Germany, which had the second largest contingent of troops after the United States in Afghanistan, announced on Tuesday that it had concluded its withdrawal from the nation.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-01/final-australian-troops-leave-afghanistan-after-20-year-mission/100256294

>>14020199

Australia to slash traveller intake, PM announces pathway out of COVID-19

Nick Bonyhady - July 2, 2021

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National Cabinet has agreed on a pathway for Australia to move from trying to suppress COVID-19 to living with the disease once enough of the population is vaccinated, but in the short term, there will be a 50 per cent reduction in passengers arriving in the country.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement on Friday morning, saying a cut in the passenger cap is intended to relieve pressure on the hotel quarantine system, but came with the promise of a trial of home quarantine for vaccinated travellers. The new passenger caps will come into effect by 14 July, but some states may move sooner.

Mr Morrison also announced a four-phase pathway to transition Australia from its first phase of virus suppression to a fourth phase of life as it was pre-pandemic, with each new phase triggered when Australia hits a threshold of vaccinated people.

“The good news I have for Australians who are subject to restrictions today is we have agreed a new deal for Australians on the pathway out of COVID-19,” Mr Morrison said.

The current phase, phase one, is about vaccinating, preparing and planning, he said. The pathway will transition Australia from its current pre-vaccination settings, focusing on suppression of community transmission, to post-vaccination settings “focused on prevention of serious illness, hospitalisation and fatality and the public health management of other infectious diseases”.

While still in the first stage, the reduction in passenger caps is intended to take pressure off the hotel quarantine system as it is tested by the more contagious Delta strain of the coronavirus. However, the Commonwealth will facilitate increased repatriation flights to Darwin for quarantine at Howard Springs while the reduction is in place, the Prime Minister said.

It will also extend freight subsidies to ensure that supplies, such as medicines and vaccines, continue to come into Australia by air.

The Prime Minister also said Australia will trial and pilot a home quarantine scheme, which could also be shorter than the current two week quarantine time.

“The work that we have already done … shows that a vaccinated person doing quarantine for seven days is stronger than an unvaccinated person doing quarantine for 14 days,” he said.

South Australia is likely to be the first state to trial the program, Mr Morrison said. It will happen on a small scale and other states and territories may follow.

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The traveller cap will return to the current level in phase two, with even larger caps for vaccinated travellers, Mr Morrison said.

The second phase of the roadmap out of the coronavirus, as agreed by all the state and territory leaders, will kick in when we get to a specific target of vaccinations, which the Prime Minister has not specified but said will be based on “scientific evidence”.

In that phase, lockdowns will only be used in extreme circumstances and vaccinated people will have eased restrictions when lockdowns or border closures occur.

More students and economic visitors will be allowed in then as well, he said.

The third phase will be the consolidation phase and will mean the virus will be managed like any other infectious disease.

“That basically means that the hospitalisation and fatality rates that you would see from COVID-19 would be like the flu,” Mr Morrison said.

Vaccinated people will be able to travel abroad at will at that point, he said.

Mr Morrison defended the speed of the vaccine program in outlining a pathway based on vaccination numbers.

“I think the performance in the most recent June month indicates how much we’ve been able to ramp up, 1 million doses in eight days. Three and a half million doses in one month. We keep the pace up and we’ll get this done,” he said.

“We get this done, Australia, and you can see what is on the other side. We made it very clear today what’s on the other side. You get vaccinated, and we get there, and this all changes.

“A new deal for Australians today, a new deal to get Australians to the other side,” Mr Morrison says.

He said more details on the phases will be coming from a task force headed by the boss of the Prime Minister’s department, Phil Gaetjens. National Cabinet will make the final call on each of the steps, which Mr Morrison anticipates will be done over the next month.

The Prime Minister didn’t commit to any firm dates or targets for the four-phase reopening plan, saying it will depend on the modelling from coronavirus experts on what level of vaccination is necessary to keep serious illness and fatality rates very low, and the progress of the vaccine rollout in hitting those levels.

“I hope we’re living in that second phase next year,” Mr Morrison said. Asked whether that means we’ll see the 50 per cent arrival cap cut last until next year, he said “that’s what this agreement says today”.

“If medical advice changes between now and then, if medical advice suggests that we can alter that, then of course the national cabinet has always been receptive to that advice and we’ll continue to monitor that.”

What will new cap arrangements look like state by state?

Sydney will go from 3010 passengers per week to 1505

Perth 530 to 265

Adelaide 530 to 265

Melbourne 1000 to 500

Brisbane 1000 (plus 300 surge capacity) to 500 (plus 150 surge capacity)

The current total of 6070 will reduce to 3035

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-to-slash-traveller-intake-pm-announces-pathway-out-of-covid-19-20210702-p5869s.html

https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/hub/media/tearout-excerpt/2390/National-Plan-to-transition-Australia's-National-COVID-19-Response—July-2021.pdf

Albanese backs Biden's approach on China

Daniel McCulloch - 2 July 2021

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind a "competition without catastrophe" approach towards China.

Drawing a line through Donald Trump's erratic behaviour towards Beijing, Mr Albanese backed Joe Biden's more conventional strategy.

"I am pleased that under the Biden administration there is a return to diplomacy and a return to engagement and a normalisation of international politics under the leadership of the United States," he said on Friday.

"Which, shall we say, carries less uncertainty than was there under the previous administration on Donald Trump."

Mr Albanese said Australia would always have to live with strategic competition between the US and China.

"Australia - under Labor, it must be said - picked a side some time ago when we formed the alliance with the United States," he told the National Press Club in Canberra.

"As a democratic nation, we do have different values to China, and that's something that enjoys bipartisanship."

Mr Albanese made it clear Australia's approach towards China would not change significantly under a Labor government.

"The truth is, whoever was in government at this period of time would have to be navigating the different environment which is there, with China making decisions against Australia's national interest," he said.

"Australia should always stand up for our national interest and for our sovereignty and for human rights.

"On issues like the South China Sea, the treatment of Uighurs, Hong Kong, and a range of other issues, there is no difference whatsoever in Australian politics."

Mr Albanese said China had changed under Xi Jinping, who defiantly put the world on notice during a major speech to mark the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese president hailed the country's "irreversible" rise and declared the rising superpower would not be bullied.

Mr Albanese said a future Labor government would work with the US and regional partners to advance Australia's interests, while also recognising the country's economic interest in engagement with China.

"There are many jobs which are dependent upon that relationship," he said.

"It's a matter of tackling it in a mature way, but also recognising things are going to be difficult for some time, and recognising China is responsible for the difficulties which have arisen."

Australia's relations with China are at their lowest point in decades.

China imposed a freeze on diplomatic talks and launched a series of trade strikes on Australian exports in response to a laundry list of grievances.

https://7news.com.au/politics/albanese-backs-bidens-approach-on-china-c-3290009

Allegations of serious criminal conduct exposed in Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case

Tammy Mills - July 2, 2021

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Two cases of alleged serious criminal conduct have arisen from the defamation case launched by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, including the unlawful leaking of information from the military inspector-general’s secret hearings into war crimes.

The allegations, detailed during the ongoing case before the Federal Court, also involve accusations of unlawful handling of classified information.

The allegations put fresh pressure on the Australian Federal Police, which is separately investigating Mr Roberts-Smith over allegations he committed war crimes and intimidated war crimes witnesses.

The AFP said in a statement on Thursday it would not comment on matters that “may be subject to investigation”.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald over a series of 2018 reports that he says portray him as a war criminal. He denies all wrongdoing.

Earlier this week, the Federal Court called a month-long halt to the trial, with coronavirus restrictions posing a barrier to witnesses travelling to and from Sydney.

Accusations of possessing and mishandling classified Defence Department information – which in some circumstances may be an offence under the Commonwealth criminal code – came to light during the third week of the defamation trial.

Under cross-examination last Thursday, Mr Roberts-Smith admitted he had inappropriately handled classified information to prepare for the defamation trial.

Lawyer for the newspapers Nicholas Owens, SC, put to Mr Roberts-Smith that “highly classified” drone footage of a mission dubbed “Whisky 108” was among information sent to him on USB sticks.

The “four or five” sticks were sent anonymously in the post, including to Mr Roberts-Smith’s workplace, Channel Seven.

“At some point you must have realised that at least some of the material on the USBs was classified or secret Commonwealth material?” lawyer for the newspapers, Mr Owens asked.

“Yes,” Mr Roberts-Smith responded.

“And you agree, don’t you, that you are not authorised to retain secret or classified Commonwealth material at your home address?” Mr Owens said.

“That’s my understanding,” Mr Roberts-Smith replied.

Mr Roberts-Smith said the images had “nothing to do with Australia’s security”.

“I accept it was a poor decision by me to maintain those images, but I had absolutely no intention of doing anything untoward with them other than share them with my legal team to explain what was going on in these proceedings,” he said.

The AFP have previously raided journalists and charged former Defence Department officials for mishandling classified files.

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Mr Roberts-Smith also confirmed during the cross-examination that he had been sent a document by a fellow SAS soldier – given the pseudonym Person 5 – that detailed information derived from a secret inspector-general hearing into war crimes in 2018.

The lawyer for the media put to Mr Roberts-Smith the disclosure of information from Person 5 may be a breach of a section 21 direction of the Inspector-General’s regulations, which makes it an offence to disclose evidence to the inquiry.

Former NSW Court of Appeal judge and chair of the Centre for Public Integrity Anthony Whealy, QC, speaking generally, said there was a clear requirement for the work of the Brereton inquiry to be kept confidential.

“If any information was being conveyed by witnesses to other persons that are interested, that would be a seriously wrong thing to happen and would undermine the correct principles of the application of the rule of law,” Mr Whealy, who would not comment on what has emerged from the Roberts-Smith defamation case, said.

“It could never be justified.”

The court heard Person 5 had detailed in a letter to Mr Roberts-Smith specific subjects he was asked during his own questioning in the Brereton inquiry.

Mr Roberts-Smith said he forwarded the correspondence to his lawyers.

The court heard his lawyers sent a letter to the Assistant Inspector-General raising a concern about the “leaking of confidential information” by members of the SAS called to give evidence before the inquiry.

Mr Owens said the effect of Person 5’s letter was alerting Mr Roberts-Smith to what the inquiry was looking at.

“No, I disagree with that,” Mr Roberts-Smith responded.

He said he didn’t ask for the information and “I gave it away as soon as I got it, back to the lawyers”. He said the purpose of the letter was that Person 5, who is a friend, wanted to complain about his treatment before the inquiry.

“He was upset and probably wanted my view on what he had written or how he had framed it,” Mr Roberts-Smith said.

Mr Roberts-Smith was contacted for comment through a public relations agency. The request for comment was forwarded to Channel Seven commercial director Bruce McWilliam, who did not provide a response on record.

Defence, including the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, responded that it had no comment as the questions relate to the ongoing defamation case.

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

https://www1.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/health-well-being/services-support-fighting-fit/need-help-now/all-hours-support-line

https://www.openarms.gov.au

https://www.theage.com.au/national/allegations-of-serious-criminal-conduct-exposed-in-ben-roberts-smith-defamation-case-20210701-p585z8.html

Judge rules to unseal dozens of documents about Ghislaine Maxwell's personal affairs, including those that reveal her and Jeffrey Epstein's relationship with the Clintons

DANIEL BATES - 2 July 2021

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A judge has ruled that dozens more documents about Ghislaine Maxwell's personal affairs should be made public, including some that could reveal more about her finances and her relationship to the Clintons.

Judge Loretta Preska said that unsealing the documents would not impact Maxwell's right to a fair trial in November as her lawyers have claimed.

Among the documents which will be made public in two weeks' time will be Maxwell's efforts to quash requests from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who sued Maxwell for defamation, to obtain her financial records.

Giuffre's lawyers demanded a vast array of documents from Maxwell including 'funding received from the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation,' according to court filings.

The judge also ruled that documents relating to a request from Giuffre for email accounts that Maxwell allegedly kept secret from the court should also be made public.

They could give an insight into powerful men who Maxwell knew, such and Prince Andrew of the British royal family.

The documents are part of a tranche of material gradually being released by Judge Preska from the defamation case Giuffre filed against Maxwell in 2016 for calling her a liar.

Giuffre claims Maxwell recruited her when she was 16 and took her to Jeffrey Epstein to be repeatedly raped and abused, including by Prince Andrew, which he denies.

The defamation case was settled in 2017 but after requests from the media organization the documents are gradually being unsealed.

During a hearing at New York's federal court, Judge Preska said she was not persuaded by Maxwell's argument that 'continued unsealing of these materials implicates her right to a fair trial in her pending criminal case', which is due to start in November.

Among the documents made public will be a motion for a protective order filed by Maxwell's lawyers to limit the amount of information about her finances they had to hand over.

Giuffre's lawyers sought such information so they would be better informed if the case went to a settlement, which it did.

Giuffre's lawyers sought Maxwell's tax returns, balance sheets for companies Maxwell controlled and financial statements for companies she controlled among other materials.

One section reads: 'From January 2012 to the present, produce all documents concerning any source of funding for the TarraMar Project (Maxwell's nonprofit) or any other not-for-profit entities with which you are associated, including but not limited to, funding received from the Clinton Global Initiative, the Clinton Foundation (a/k/a William J. Clinton Foundation, a/k/a/ the Bill, Hilary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation),and the Clinton Foundation Climate Change Initiative'.

While it is unclear if the Clintons will come up in the documents which will be made public, there is considerable back and forth and dozens of documents on this subject that will be unsealed.

(continued)

>>14035867

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Bill Clinton's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell came under intense scrutiny when the financier was arrested in July 2019.

Clinton flew on Epstein's plane dozens of times and photographs have shown him receiving a neck massage from Chauntae Davies, one of Epstein's victims who worked as a flight attendant on his private jet, known as the 'Lolita Express'.

The book 'A Convenient Death: The Mysterious Demise of Jeffrey Epstein', by journalists Alana Goodman and Daniel Halper even claimed that Clinton and Maxwell had a secret affair.

Other documents that will be unsealed relate to a request for information from Maxwell regarding what Giuffre's lawyers called an 'undisclosed email account' that she kept secret from the court in breach of an order to hand it over.

In a publicly available filing, they state: 'Ms Giuffre is aware of two email addresses that appear to be the email addresses defendant used while Ms Giuffre was with defendant and Epstein, namely, from 2000 - 2002.

'Defendant has denied that she used those accounts to communicate, but she has not disclosed the account she did use to communicate during that time, nor produce documents from it'.

Over four pages of redacted text, which will be made public in two weeks, Giuffre's lawyers argue why it should be made public.

Emails that have already been made public in the case showed Maxwell talking to Epstein about personal matters.

In one from January 2015, when Giuffre made her allegations in a court in Florida and sparked a media firestorm, Epstein told Maxwell to keep her head up and stop acting like a 'convict'.

The pedophile told Maxwell: 'You have done nothing wrong and I would urge you to start acting like it'.

Other emails show that Prince Andrew emailed Maxwell 5.50am on January 3 2015 about Giuffre.

He said: 'Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts'.

Maxwell replied: 'Have some info. Call me when you have a moment'.

Maxwell is due to go on trial for sex trafficking conspiracy and perjury among other charges.

The 59-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all the allegations.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9747011/Judge-rules-unseal-dozens-documents-Ghislaine-Maxwells-personal-affairs.html

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?order_by=desc&page=5

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.370.1.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.468.0.pdf

Bill Cosby is free; Ghislaine Maxwell should be, too

DAVID OSCAR MARKUS - JUN 30, 2021

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court did the right thing when it threw out Bill Cosby’s convictions because prosecutors cheated: They promised Cosby that they would not prosecute him if he would testify in the civil cases against him; based on that promise, Cosby testified and did not invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Prosecutors then broke their promise and used Cosby’s statements in those depositions to win a conviction against him.

The state Supreme Court not only acquitted him but barred the prosecutors from retrying him.

The court framed the issue as whether the prosecutor’s “decision not to prosecute Cosby in exchange for his testimony must be enforced against the Commonwealth.” That seems pretty straightforward, right? Even prosecutors should have to live up to their end of a bargain. If a prosecutor promises something, he should be bound by his word — just like the rest of us.

And for 79 pages, the court detailed why prosecutors are no different than any other actor in the justice system. When they make a promise, they have to stick to it.

This opinion and reasoning applies directly to Ghislaine Maxwell’s case.

In her case, Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty and struck a bargain with the prosecutors in Miami: In exchange for pleading guilty in state court, the U.S. attorney’s office agreed that it would not prosecute any of his alleged co-conspirators.

There has been quite a bit of criticism of this deal. But it is a contract that Epstein and the government entered into knowingly and voluntarily. And certainly, the government was in the better bargaining position as it is with any criminal defendant.

Maxwell is accused of being one of Epstein’s co-conspirators from 25 years ago. She has declared her innocence and is set to fight the case at trial in November. But she should not have to fight her case at trial and her case should be thrown out, just like Cosby’s has been, because prosecutors promised Epstein when he pleaded guilty that they would not prosecute her.

When Epstein agreed to plead guilty and go to state prison, the United States agreed not to prosecute him or his alleged co-conspirators. This is in black and white: “the United States . . . will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein.”

Despite its promise not to go after Maxwell, federal prosecutors in New York brought a federal case against her after Epstein died, arguing that it does not need to live up to the deal struck by federal prosecutors in Miami.

But that reasoning makes no sense. We have one federal government, and the agreement says clearly that the United States would not prosecute Maxwell.

And just like in Cosby’s case, the New York prosecutors want to use Maxwell’s depositions against her even though the government had said there would be no charges. The trial court, just like the trial court and intermediate appellate court in Cosby’s case, has agreed to let the government out of its deal.

The case against Ghislaine Maxwell is extremely weak — based on 25-year-old, uncorroborated allegations made only after Epstein died. A jury should reject those flimsy and stale charges. But in the event of a conviction, she should get relief on appeal for the same reason Cosby did — prosecutors should have to live up to the deals they make. As that court explained: “A contrary result would be patently untenable. It would violate long-cherished principles of fundamental fairness. It would be antithetical to, and corrosive of, the integrity and functionality of the criminal justice system that we strive to maintain.”

The Cosby case reaffirms that a prosecutor is bound to act with integrity and the public must be able to rely on his word. What a concept.

David Oscar Markus is Ghislaine Maxwell’s appellate counsel.

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-cosby-maxwell-free-20210630-gqlcsn6yczaivp5h7g7x73lfzu-story.html

Exclusive: Planting 'consultants,' blocking vaccine approval, threatening officials – Australia sabotages China-PNG cooperation by all means

Global Times - Jul 02, 2021

By planting Australian consultants in Papua New Guinea to manipulate local epidemic prevention policies targeting China, obstructing the authorizing of Chinese vaccines' emergency use, threatening senior officials from welcoming Chinese vaccines, Australia has been found sabotaging and disturbing Pacific Island nations' cooperation with China on vaccines and anti-virus measures, with experts criticizing Australia's actions as hurting people's interest in the Pacific Island countries out of a pure Cold War mentality.

The Global Times has learned exclusively from sources that Australia has been racking its brain to undermine China's vaccine cooperation with Pacific Island countries. For example, it has planted several "consultants" in the national epidemic prevention center in Papua New Guinea and manipulated the country's policies in the fight against COVID-19. Under Australia's colonial-style dominance, some of Papua New Guinea's new prevention policies target Chinese.

Despite that China has effectively controlled the epidemic domestically, PNG still lists China as "high risk" and requests foreigners arriving from in the country to wear electric location finders with high charges. But the fact is that currently, only Chinese travel to PNG to resume work in the country's projects.

As for China's supply of vaccines to Papua New Guinea, Australia has also proactively tried to set up hurdles to block the authorization for emergency use of Chinese vaccines. In February, China announced it would offer vaccines to Papua New Guinea and also provided the trails data on the vaccines, but with Australia working in the shadows, Papua New Guinea's epidemic prevention center did not approve the emergency use of Chinese vaccines until the end of May, when Australia provided vaccines had already arrived in the country.

Sources also told the Global Times that when the Chinese vaccines arrived in Papua New Guinea, the country's president had planned to welcome them at the airport, but he was blocked by Australia, which also threatened Papua New Guinea's officials by saying that if they would welcome the Chinese vaccines, they must bear the consequence of Australia ceasing investment in the country's road projects.

Australia has closely followed the US and a small group of Western countries to hype the issue of tracing virus origins, attacking and smearing China's vaccines and groundlessly accusing China of expanding its influence by donating vaccines to developing nations.

But the reality is that Australia is actually pushing for political influence in the name of anti-virus cooperation, with the purpose of spreading Australia's vaccines throughout Pacific Island countries and showcasing its influence in the area.

In March, Australia offered 8,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine sent via military helicopters, becoming the first foreign aid of vaccine to Papua New Guinea.

If Pacific Island states choose China's vaccines in the fight against the virus, it means the economic recovery of these countries in the post-COVID-19 era would be boosted with China's leadership, and would demean Australia's reputation and influence in the area, according to Australian think tank, Lowy Institute.

Regarding the South Pacific as its own backyard and sphere of influence, Australia has taken a hostile attitude against China for China's cooperation with countries in this area, although China has expressed its willingness to also work with Australia. Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, criticized Australia for its "colonialism mentality."

Australia has a clear Cold War mentality and is sabotaging China's cooperation with Pacific Island countries at the cost of the people's health, said Chen, noting that weaponizing the anti-virus fight for political purposes is shameful.

Chen said that instead of increasing its influence in the area, Australia's moves would actually damage its reputation as its malicious purposes have been fully exposed and witnessed by the international community.

Chen also noted that the vaccines that Australia has offered to Papua New Guinea are restricted to be used only among citizens above 60 years old, with their safety for other groups being questioned by scientists. Under this scenario, Australia is "dumping" its stock-piled, unsafe vaccines to other counties in its pacific playground.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1227658.shtml

Arlington National Cemetery Tweet

Earlier today, Australian Ambassador to the U.S. @A_Sinodinos viewed the Changing of the Guard and participated in a Public Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He was greeted upon arrival by @KDurhamAguilera and ANC Superintendent Charles R. Alexander Jr.

https://twitter.com/ArlingtonNatl/status/1409949791878991873

https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil

>>14036004

Arthur Sinodinos Tweet

Today, Elizabeth & I; and Maj. Gen Andrew Freeman and Jane Freeman had the great honour of laying a wreath on behalf of Australia in remembrance of US fallen service men & women at @ArlingtonNatl. This year (Australia) & (United States) commemorate 70 years of our unbreakable #ANZUS alliance

https://twitter.com/A_Sinodinos/status/1410016863447289856

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Facebook Post

June 29 2021

Walk It like I Talk It

Last week, U.S. Marines, Australian Army soldiers and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers conduct a rehearsal of concept before their final training event during #SouthernJackaroo. The event exercised their combined capabilities to give mounted and dismounted support to small unit ground maneuvers, while utilizing multiple weapons systems, at Mount Bundey Training Area, NT, Australia.

(U.S. Marine Corps photos by Sgt. Micha Pierce)

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/163077602521398

>>14020199

Covid-19 vaccine targets to unlock the path to freedom

OLIVIA CAISLEY and GREG BROWN - JULY 3, 2021

1/2

Scott Morrison has clinched a deal with premiers to return life to normal by tying the national ­reopening to new vaccination targets, under a plan that will leave potential lockdowns and a ­shuttered international border in place for at least another six months.

National cabinet agreed to a four-step blueprint on Friday for a phased easing of restrictions once Australians have met the new vaccine thresholds, which will be set using scientific modelling from epidemiologists at the Doherty Institute in Melbourne.

But, to secure the support of national cabinet, Mr Morrison was forced to accept demands from Labor states to slash the number of international arrivals by 50 per cent, amid concern over the more-infectious Delta strain.

The numbers of foreign arrivals will be cut to 3034 a week from July 14 with no end date in sight, dampening the repatriation hopes of 34,000 Australians stranded overseas and alarming business, which is warning of critical skills shortages driven by a “Fortress Australia” mindset.

The Prime Minister sealed the breakthrough agreement in separate late-night conversations with NSW Premier Gladys ­Berejiklian and her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews on Thursday, following a week of political conflict between the states and commonwealth over vaccine supply.

In his first in-person appearance since returning from the G7 summit in Cornwall and France, the Prime Minister said further restrictions on international travel represented a “prudent action while we remain in this suppression phase of the virus”.

Mr Morrison said the first phase of his plan would include new trials of at-home quarantine – most likely in South Australia – and the introduction of a vaccine authentication regime on the international border. Lockdowns would only be used as a “last ­resort.”

He rejected suggestions that the halving of overseas arrivals was the result of hotel quarantine system failures, after community outbreaks flared across the nation and plunged 11 million people into lockdown. Rather, it was “about the Delta variant”, he said.

“It’s simple,” he said. “The delta strain is more contagious, and so we’re just seeking to take precautionary steps to overall reduce the risk. I mean infection rates in quarantine are 1 per cent.”

Mr Morrison signalled the abandonment of any pursuit of an elimination strategy, making it clear he wanted to get to a stage where Australians had enough protection through vaccinations so that Covid-19 “would be like the flu”.

Australians would need to “learn how to live with those strains, learn about them, and modify our approaches as required”, he said.

Just over 8 per cent of the ­Australian population is fully vaccinated. The nation broke through the 8 million dose mark on Friday, making it one of the slowest rollouts in the OECD.

Medical experts welcomed the plan on Friday, but suggested the delta strain would require an unlikely vaccination take-up of more than 80 per cent to allow for the full unwinding of restrictions.

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said the plan recognised that the “road out of this crisis is vaccination”. “The four stages of the plan announced today show a ­future that includes a reduction in restrictions, a limited use of lockdowns, an increase in travel caps, and potential return of international outbound travel – particularly for those who are vaccinated,” Dr Khorshid said.

“By the final stage of the plan, we see a vaccinated population and as a result, a health system prepared to treat Covid similar to how we manage the flu.”

(continued)

>>14041172

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University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely said vaccination was “not sufficient” to unlock restrictions and warned that Australians would need to practice Covid-safe living – such as masks, QR tracing and social distancing – for the next two years.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the plan provided hope.

“We are pleased to see plans to trial alternative quarantine options and the return of international students and economic visa holders,” Ms Westacott said. “We think we can be more ambitious and provide more incentive for getting the vaccine: for example vaccinated residents should be able to return to Australia as soon as possible. Also, vaccinated residents should be exempt from domestic restrictions.”

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said it was a “major step forward that ­finally delivers some hope to the Australian community” but he was disappointed at the “unwelcome six-month 50 per cent cap on international arrivals”.

Group of Eight universities chief executive Vicki Thomson said she backed the plan’s inclusion of commercial trials for the limited entry of student and economic visa holders during the first phase. “It seems likely that we may not see significant international student numbers returning to Australia until well into 2022, which is not unexpected but still sobering for the sector – notwithstanding our first priority of keeping Australians safe,” she said.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said home quarantine could be more safe than the current hotel system, arguing there was ­“decreased interaction with staff”,

Professor Kelly said there would need to be a shift in the national psychology to “concentrate increasingly on severe illness rather than (on) numbers of cases”.

The slashing of arrival caps was a win for the Victorian, West Australian and Queensland governments, which had been pushing for a decrease until more of the population was vaccinated.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she didn’t agree with the decision but would respect her fellow state and territory leaders.

While timelines under the four-step plan have not been agreed, Mr Morrison said a new phase could be entered once a yet-to-be specified vaccine threshold was achieved. He was optimistic all Australians would be offered a first jab by the end of the year. “I would hope that we were living in that second phase next year,” he said.

Anthony Albanese said the plan had come too late, arguing that the nation was already 18 months into the pandemic. “We need to fix the rollout of the vaccine and we need to fix the national quarantine,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/covid19-vaccine-targets-to-unlock-the-path-to-freedom/news-story/047c2dbe63338c594ba4a350f07c350b

>>14020199

Lockdowns ‘can stop in two months’ when Covid-19 vaccines hit 30pc

NATASHA ROBINSON - JULY 2, 2021

Epidemiologists believe there will be sufficient Australians fully vaccinated within the next two months to make lockdowns unnecessary in any state.

As the number of vaccinations hit a daily record of more than 163,000 on Friday, Deakin University’s chair in epidemiology Catherine Bennett said the proportion of people fully vaccinated to avoid the need for lockdowns would be in the order of 30 per cent – a prospect that was likely to be only a couple of months away.

“Thirty per cent is probably enough that it slows the spread of the virus and means contact tracers should be able to do their job,” she said. “It should mean that we’re less likely to need to go to these extreme measures.”

Once the vaccination rate reached between 50 and 65 per cent of a population, transmission of Covid-19 was significantly slowed, allowing the easing of restrictions and a gradual opening of international borders while keeping mitigation measures such as home quarantine in place.

More than 30 per cent of Australians now have received at least one vaccine dose, with 7,970,153 doses administered. The proportion of the population fully vaccinated is 8.37 per cent, and this will rise quickly within the coming weeks with millions of people scheduled to receive their second AstraZeneca shot.

International modelling has indicated that vaccine coverage of about 80 per cent would be required to allow for fully open borders and the easing of all restrictions aimed at curbing Covid-19. Professor Bennett said Australia might never get to that level.

“Eighty per cent coverage is what people would like to see, but that’s completely opening up and removing your quarantine,” Professor Bennett said.

“So it’s about how you step your way up to that. But at the end of the day, I think if you say ‘actually, we’re opening up the borders regardless at the end of March’, because that’s when everyone can be vaccinated, then I think you can’t be saying ‘we haven’t quite met the 80 per cent, therefore we’re not going to do it’.”

The federal government has commissioned modelling to identify the threshold of vaccination required to begin to open up international borders and that work is not yet complete.

Burnet Institute director Brendan Crabb said announcing that the threshold level was yet to be determined was “honest” of the Prime Minister.

“The reason why being cautious is important is because you can start to open without relying on some force shield immunity,” Professor Crabb said. “Of course we want herd immunity, that’s the ultimate goal, but we could be waiting forever for that.”

He said a minimum threshold for beginning to open up borders in a managed way was 60 per cent of all people vaccinated, including children.

“If your only goal is preventing serious illness and death you’d need less vaccine coverage than if your goal was preventing all transmission,” he said. “But I think 60 per cent is the point at which you can start to think there is a chance that community-based immunity is going to stop transmission chains.

“What should be the aim is high enough vaccine coverage with non-vaccine mitigations including mask wearing, the judicious use of border protection and, most importantly, well-ventilated workplaces and recreational facilities of any sort.”

La Trobe University epidemiologist Hassan Vally agreed about 60 per cent vaccine coverage was likely to have a significant impact on disease transmission and would see minimal deaths and hospitalisations. But he was doubtful herd immunity could ever be achieved.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/lockdowns-can-stop-in-two-months-when-covid19-vaccines-hit-30pc/news-story/d443aa225caae36497ebec2261c2b4cf

George Pell’s $3m legal bill to clear his name

JOHN FERGUSON - JULY 3, 2021

George Pell received a $3m legal bill to battle the sex crime charges and convictions that were eventually thrown out by the High Court.

Cardinal Pell confirmed the huge bill is yet to be fully paid off after supporters, both wealthy and battling, helped fund the elite legal team that helped end his 404-day incarceration.

He said there was still a “significant” amount of money to be paid, despite having walked free more than a year ago.

The Archdiocese of Sydney said on Friday that Cardinal Pell had received $390,000 in costs from the state of Victoria after the hung jury of the first County Court trial.

Cardinal Pell’s legal team initially applied for $800,000 in costs, with most of the 26 original charges falling away in the early phase of the battle.

An archdiocese spokesman said Cardinal Pell, 80, had not have any of his legal defence covered by the church but was afforded the same help as other retired clergy. “The church does not fund criminal defences as it has consistently maintained. Cardinal Pell is retired. Any matters related to his legal affairs are private,” he said.

Cardinal Pell discussed the size of the legal bills during an ­interview in Rome, although he has now returned to Australia.

It is almost four years to the day since Cardinal Pell was originally charged with 26 offences, most of which were withdrawn or dropped or didn’t pass the committal phase. Hell was eventually convicted of sexually molesting two 13-year-old choir boys in the sacristy of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1996 and 1997.

After a first jury was deadlocked, he was then sentenced to six years in prison.

The High Court found there was reasonable doubt in the testimony of his sole living accuser, whose story was deemed improbable because of the timing, nature and location of the alleged ­offending.

Eight weeks ago while promoting the second volume of his prison diaries, Cardinal Pell spoke about the burden of the legal bills and who had helped pay them.

“The debts were very considerable,” he told religious TV network EWTN.

“There is still a significant amount that remains to be paid. I was disconcerted but I am not particularly worried about it.

“I am very grateful to all the people who have kicked in and sometimes very generously. Many, many ordinary battlers put in money to the defence fund.”

Cardinal Pell had been in Rome for months where he had a papal audience and was involved in talks about corruption at the Vatican. He was also able to clean out his old apartment, which he used while being head financial officer for the Vatican.

The publication of the Pell prison diaries has attracted global attention. They carry rare insights into prison and spiritual life, investigating the mundane nature of solitary confinement and the burden of the convictions.

Lawyer Peter Kelso, who specialises in abuse cases, said the large sum spent on defending Cardinal Pell showed that celebrities and the wealthy had a better opportunity to fight allegations.

“When you have the money you can afford a full-on defence,” he said. “That is, you can afford not only the lawyers but their team behind them … whereas the ordinary punter accused of anything can’t afford that.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/george-pells-3m-legal-bill-to-beat-jail/news-story/29e2f4a5783b83df1081a09ab39a9976

>>14028446

Julian Assange’s 50th birthday marked with Parliament Square picnic

Press Association - 3 July 2021

Supporters of Julian Assange will hold a picnic opposite Parliament on Saturday to mark the 50th birthday of the WikiLeaks founder.

There will be giant picnic blankets in Parliament Square stencilled with a Free Assange slogan, and the Australian’s partner Stella Moris will cut a birthday cake.

It will be the third birthday he has spent in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London.

His supporters sailed past Parliament and the US Embassy earlier this week as part of a growing campaign to free him.

An attempt to extradite Assange to the United States was rejected in January, but he continues to be held in prison pending an appeal.

Ms Moris told the PA news agency that the US case had “sunk”, adding there is growing support across the world for Assange to be released.

She said: “The longer this goes on the clearer it is that this is a political case. Julian should be at home with me and our two children.

“This has gone on far too long – it has to stop. He is not a criminal.”

Ms Moris has asked the authorities in Belmarsh if the couple can get married, saying it should be a right for anyone.

She hopes Assange will be granted permission to get married outside the prison.

“We will celebrate his birthday – and have cake,” she added.

A number of Australian politicians have appealed to the US Government to drop its Espionage Act charges against Assange.

The MPs and Senators urged US President Joe Biden to take the “opportunity for urgent reconsideration”, following a UK court’s decision to deny the US extradition request earlier this year.

John Rees, who organises events to keep up the pressure for Assange’s release, said: “Momentum is building across the world for our campaign. The case against Julian is collapsing.”

https://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/national/19417535.julian-assanges-50th-birthday-marked-parliament-square-picnic/

—

Q Post #3341

May 23 2019 21:01:32 (EST)

>Q

>What can you tell us about Assange??

>>6572364 (/pb)

Under protection.

Threat is real.

Key to DNC 'source' 'hack' '187'.

Q

https://8kun.top/qresearch/res/6571752.html#6572364

https://8kun.top/qresearch/res/6572498.html#6572667

https://qanon.pub/#3341

Dutch court approves alleged drug syndicate leader Tse Chi Lop for extradition to Australia

Reuters/ABC - 2 July 2021

A Dutch court has approved an Australian request to hand over the alleged leader of an Asian drug syndicate who has been compared to Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Tse Chi Lop, a Chinese-born Canadian national, was arrested in January at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at the request of Australian police while in transit from Taiwan to Canada.

The defence said it would appeal, and the matter will be decided by the Dutch Supreme Court.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) claims Mr Tse's organisation dominates the $90 billion-a-year Asia-Pacific drug trade.

A final decision on extradition will be made by the Dutch government.

Mr Tse has denied wrongdoing and contested his arrest, saying the Australian authorities in effect engineered his expulsion from Taiwan to Canada on a flight with a stopover in the Netherlands so that he could be detained there.

The defendant is alleged to have led a drug syndicate that is dominant in the Asia-Pacific crystal methamphetamine trade, which increased fourfold in the five years to 2019, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

He is wanted in Australia for his connection to Operation Volante, which dismantled a global crime syndicate operating in five countries.

According to the AFP, the operation resulted in the arrest of 27 people for importing and trafficking "substantial quantities" of heroin and methamphetamine into Australia in 2013.

Police seized 42 kilograms of drugs and more than $4 million in cash in the operation.

Jeremy Douglas, South-East Asia and Pacific representative for the UN drugs agency UNODC, said in 2019 that Tse Chi Lop is in the league of El Chapo or maybe Pablo Escobar referring to Latin America's most notorious drug lords.

Mr Tse has denied he is a drug kingpin.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-02/court-approves-tse-chi-lop-extradition/100264964

Top SA arts identity Timothy Sexton’s spectacular fall from grace revealed after sentencing for teen sex offending in the 1980s

At the apex of his career, one of SA’s top arts identities was exposed as a manipulative teen sex predator – kicking off a spectacular and deserved fall from grace.

Sean Fewster - July 2, 2021

It was a moment of artistic and personal triumph – the unexpected translation of a seminal Australian novel into, of all things, an opera.

In 2016, the much-anticipated production of Cloudstreet was about to take its first bow, all under the guiding hand of the State Opera of SA’s artistic director, Timothy Sexton.

The opera told the story of characters navigating “a changing world, tragedy, love and forgiveness” over a 20-year period.

At the time, few knew Sexton was not only the steward of a piece of grand art, but also the source of more than 20 years of torment for two women.

The pair had, as teenage girls, been beguiled, groomed, sexually abused and then discarded by Sexton – who also manipulated them into believing they had seduced him.

He had immersed them in his lies so successfully that they kept his criminal secrets for decades, fearing they might derail his stratospheric career in the arts.

On Friday, their pain ended – and their new leases on life began – when the District Court jailed Sexton, 60, for a near-record 14 years.

The women, whose identities remain suppressed, embraced one another to celebrate the end of a heinous experience that, prior to charges being laid, they had not realised they shared.

SONG SHEET

By his mid-20s, Sexton was already a recognised conductor and musician in high demand.

Colleagues and especially students considered him charming, dashing, handsome and easy to talk to.

His eventual victims met Sexton separately, in the 1980s, but through the same medium – his work as a singing teacher – and were immediately infatuated.

“Because of their feelings of affection, they wanted to be around him, to please him, to be liked by him,” prosecutor Carmen Matteo told jurors.

“They didn’t want ‘their Mr Sexton’ to get into trouble … each girl had a crush on him, and he would have known that.”

For a creative person, Sexton played from the most basic paedophile song sheet available – his style of grooming was spectacularly pedestrian.

Tragically his little gifts, flirtatious comments, nickname for his penis and making each girl feel “adult” worked, leaving them vulnerable to repeated abuse.

When he was done with them, he casually severed contact, demanding his victims be “mature” about it while paying no heed to their distress.

It was a mindset he would maintain to the bitter end.

REJECTED

From the moment of his arrest – which saw the State Opera request his resignation – Sexton maintained, and has continued to insist, he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

On the witness stand, he sought to convince jurors the girls had initiated all inappropriate contact – a move that echoed the allegations against him.

“There was nothing sort of coquettish or really, really flirtatious,” he said.

One girl, he claimed, had “planted a kiss” on him but he did not discipline her because “everyone gets to make a mistake”.

He was, he explained, the target of adolescent fantasy and the victim of misunderstood teaching techniques.

“Because singing is an internal physical activity, it was necessary to make certain corrections … quite often, the issue with students is bad posture,” he said.

Jurors rejected Sexton’s evidence and found him guilty, prompting him to file an appeal which is scheduled to be heard next month.

In their victim impact statements, the girls – now women – dubbed Sexton “an astounding narcissist”, a “weak human being” and “conceited, self-opinionated, cruel-hearted” predator.

In sentencing, Judge Geraldine Davison stopped short of agreeing with them.

“You are undoubtedly a very intelligent man who is hardworking and talented,” she said.

“The very reason you were able to commit these offences is the fact you were a talented man who ingratiated himself to all around him.

“You attracted, and took advantage of, young people who were susceptible to your charms.”

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-sa/top-sa-arts-identity-timothy-sextons-spectacular-fall-from-grace-revealed-after-sentencing-for-teen-sex-offending-in-the-1980s/news-story/b5b0301adea640d27a40e95b2df17b34

50 years after Whitlam’s China visit, it’s imperative for Canberra politicians to learn his political sagacity

Chen Hong - Jul 02, 2021

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Fifty years ago on July 3, a very special delegation from Australia arrived in Beijing, led by the then Australian opposition leader, Gough Whitlam. This visit was history-making, as called by Stephen FitzGerald, later Australia's first ambassador to China, "an expedition of bravado and exposure, but great political judgment and luck." Canberra at that time was still bogged down in the Cold War trap, stubbornly refusing to recognize the fact that Beijing had already been the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China. Whitlam was lambasted by the anti-China forces Down Under as making Australia a pawn of China, and himself, a "lickspittle Sinophile." It indeed had taken extraordinary political judgment and enormous courage for him to take this ice-breaking step.

Whitlam was a visionary au fait with the changing tides of the times. As early as 1954 he advocated diplomatic recognition of Beijing. His ground-breaking decision to visit China in 1971 was both wisely cognisant of the geopolitical reality of the world, and perceptively mindful of the historic inevitability to proactively engage and cooperate with the rising Asian giant with the biggest population and the greatest potential.

As then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai pointed out during his mid-night conversation with Whitlam and his delegation on July 5, "All things develop from small beginnings." After Whitlam took office as prime minister following his overwhelming victory in the federal parliament election in 1972, he decisively established formal diplomatic relationship with the People's Republic of China, steering Australia onto a speed track of constructive cooperation with China.

China never forgets Whitlam's pioneering efforts to promote mutual understanding, trust and friendship between the two countries. China always remembers Australia's invaluable contribution to its economic growth and national development. Recently declassified documents of the Australian government show that between 1959 and 1962, Australia increased wheat exports to China in defiance of the US' embargo on the fledgling People's Republic.

Since the late 1970s, China's reform and opening-up have greatly benefited from the Australian investments and joint ventures, which in turn also provided vibrant momentum to Australia's economic growth thanks to China's increasing and enormous imports of energy and mineral, food, dairy and other products from Down Under.

In 1972 the merchandise trade between China and Australia was valued at a meager A$100 million, but in 2020 bilateral trade volume skyrocketed to as high as A$ 229.623 billion, in spite of the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent Chinese poll indicates that Australia still ranks among the first as a preferred destination for Chinese students, although Chinese parents are becoming increasingly nervy of the resurgence of racist sentiments and sometimes occurrences of violently verbal and even physical assaults.

It is therefore imperative that today's politicians in Canberra should modestly learn the political sagacity of Whitlam and other like-minded judicious Australian political leaders. A constructive bilateral relationship is the critical keystone to both countries' national interest, which any mature and independent government should do its best to ascertain and safeguard against ulterior motives of some foreign power.

(continued)

>>14042279

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It was thought-provoking that Whitlam's 1972 visit to China was ferociously condemned by Australia's then Liberal government led by prime minister Billy McMahon, who was timorously worried about his imagined vehement reactions from Washington. He criticized Whitlam's late night meeting with Premier Zhou as "an impertinence to the United States, and it is not likely to be forgotten by the American administration." However McMahon was dumbfounded and humiliated when Washington announced that on July 9 Henry Kissinger had also visited China and that US president Richard Nixon would be flying to Beijing in early 1972, on which Whitlam vindictively commented about his denigrators, "They're f..ked."

The current administration in Canberra needs to come to terms with its relations with China, in which pragmatism overrules ideological bigotry and recalcitrance. Australia's anti-China campaign has reaped in for itself nothing but economic and political losses. Australia's Morrison administration might also be massively stunned to know that "at present Australia's exports of food and beverage to China has dropped from 5.6 percent to 3.5 percent, while those of the other countries in the so-called Five Eyes alliance rose from 22 percent to 35 percent.

It is now high time for Canberra to come to grips with the present day international realpolitik, in which China will continue to be one of the biggest players. Meaningless contestation and confrontation with China will only result in Australia's losses while China goes on with its dynamism toward stability and peace and greater economic prosperity.

The author is president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies, and professor and director of the Australian Studies Centre, East China Normal University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1227674.shtml

Chief of Navy Australia Tweet

I have just conducted my inaugural call with incoming Japanese Defence Attache, CAPT Reona Aso & his predecessor COL Shigehiro Noshita

#AusNavy's partnership w @ModJapan_en is founded on shared strategic interests & building a secure, prosperous & inclusive Indo-Pacific

https://twitter.com/CN_Australia/status/1410362982429642754

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet

#Marines Posted during #ExerciseDarrandarra

Sharpening our embassy reinforcement skills with #yourADF

@USMC (photo) by Cpl. Colton K. Garrett

https://twitter.com/MrfDarwin/status/1410742514307538945

III Marine Expeditionary Force Tweet

“It was important for us to interact with the community so we could show our appreciation for the opportunity to train in Nhulunbuy. .”

-Australian Army Lt. Col. Daniel Gosling

Read about @MrfDarwin and @AustralianArmy’s training in Nhulunbym, Aus.

https://dvidshub.net/r/89la9z

https://twitter.com/IIIMEF/status/1409678132525756420

>>14042879

>>14042885

U.S. Marines in Australia complete embassy reinforcement and noncombatant evacuation operations exercise

1st Lt. Gabriel Lechuga - 06.24.2021

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin successfully completed an embassy reinforcement and noncombatant evacuation operations exercise called “Darrandarra,” last week at the Australian Defence Force’s Northern Command depot in Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia.

The focus of Darrandarra was to enhance Marine Rotational Force – Darwin’s ability to assist the U.S. Department of State with reinforcing embassies in the Indo-Pacific region and evacuating American citizens whose lives are in danger due to rising civil unrest or political tensions.

The exercise was conducted in coordination with members of the Australian Defence Force who assisted the Marine Corps with logistical planning, exercise control and community engagement.

The planning phase of the exercise began at Robertson Barracks, where Marines and ADF members developed a plan that allowed Marine Rotational Force – Darwin to transport troops and equipment to Nhulunbuy using an Australian C-130 Hercules in addition to U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys.

Once in Nhulunbuy, Marines conducted various training activities at the simulated embassy on the depot, such as using non-lethal force to deescalate civilian riots, enhancing embassy security, and preventing unauthorized people from entering the embassy.

“Working side-by-side with the Australians proved critical to the success of the exercise. Sharing resources makes MRF-D and Northern Command a more efficient and capable force,” said exercise forward command element officer in charge, Capt. Zach Ball.

As the exercise scenario reached a point where the simulated embassy needed to be shut down completely, MRF-D’s Logistics Combat Element established an emergency evacuation center, which is used to safely process and evacuate American citizens. Marine Rotational Force – Darwin used Marines as role-players to make the training as realistic as possible.

An additional MRF-D and ADF priority while in Nhulunbuy was to conduct community engagements. Marines and members of the ADF showed support for the local community by attending the opening ceremony of the new East Arnhem Regional Council building, interacting with locals in Yirrkala—a small town in East Arnhem Land—and hosting a community engagement on June 18th.

The community engagement involved a static display of the Marine Corps’ MV-22B Osprey, where locals were able to tour it to get an idea of what it would be like to ride one. Additionally, Marines played sports with local children, let them try on their protective equipment like flak jackets and Kevlar helmets, and discussed their jobs and experience in the Marine Corps and in Australia.

“It was important for us to interact with the community so we could show our appreciation for the opportunity to train in Nhulunbuy. Everyone was friendly and excited to interact with Marines and ADF soldiers and see Ospreys,” said Headquarters Northern Command Operations Officer, Australian Army Lt. Col. Daniel Gosling.

Darrandarra, meaning “together,” demonstrated the Marine Corps' ability to operate with the Australian Defence Force, reinforce embassies, and conduct noncombatant evacuation operations to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The exercise was a tangible demonstration to the Marine Corps and Australian Defence Force’s commitment to strengthening the current alliance and interacting with the community.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/399591/us-marines-australia-complete-embassy-reinforcement-and-noncombatant-evacuation-operations-exercise

>>14036029

Department of Defence Tweet

Exercise Southern Jackaroo.

#YourADF, @USMC & @Japan_GSDF participated in the combined exercise recently, which included more than seven live-fire traces open simultaneously and the first Javelin fired in the Mount Bundey Training Area.

bit. ly/3AjNvWe

https://twitter.com/DeptDefence/status/1410497372950499339

>>14042906

Tactical capability focus of Exercise Southern Jackaroo

Private Jacob Joseph - 30 June 2021

With more than seven live-fire traces open simultaneously, the culminating activity of Exercise Southern Jackaroo, held from June 15-24, took months to plan, and included forces from the US Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defence Force.

Private Brendan Hannam, from 5 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR), fired the first Javelin in the Mount Bundey Training Area.

“I didn’t realise I would actually get to fire a Javelin on this exercise,” Private Hannam said.

Private Hannam’s action involved a direct attack while the US Marines, just meters away, simultaneously fired a top down attack.

A coordinated fire mission from Australian MAG 58 and US .50cal machine guns followed against targets on the adjacent hillside.

Watching the heavy weapons at the support by fire position, Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Officer In Charge bilateral exercises Major Mitsuo Matsuda observed a way to improve his soldier’s training with more barrel change drills.

“Japanese soldiers do not fire the same amount of ammunition on our live fire ranges so they do not get to change barrels very often,” Major Matsuda said.

Japanese forces also took advantage of the larger Australian ranges on day one, firing their Type 01 LMAT anti-tank missile at moving targets for the first time.

It was also the first time snipers from the three nations participated in a two-day, live-fire practice, which included moving targets travelling up to 40kmph and long-range shooting beyond 2km.

Australian and US gunners from 103 Battery and US Marine Corps Mike Battery used the exercise to test a digital link between gun detachments, according to Bravo Detachment Commander Bombardier Eduardo Osborne.

“There’s a digital radio inside the gun that can send trajectory and elevation information between computers,” Bombardier Osborne said.

While the exercise aimed to develop a combined arms relationship between militaries, there were also personnel exchanges, according to 5RAR Lance Corporal Joshua Young, who worked with Japanese and US forces at the urban training facility.

“We showed them how we did our individual up to section level SOPs, like quartering drills and signals, so they could operate without talking,” Lance Corporal Young said.

Soldiers practised urban clearances and explosive breaching serials, and received a visit from Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell who spoke about the importance of Australia’s strategic partnerships.

US Marine Rotational Force–Darwin Commanding Officer Colonel David Banning said Exercise Southern Jackaroo was a key exercise for the United States Marines based in Darwin with the rotational force.

“This is a critical building block in terms of our ability to gradually increase the complexity of what we’re doing with our partners,” Colonel Banning said.

“We’re focused on maintaining our tactical capability so we have the flexibility to respond to whatever situation we might encounter.”

The US Marines will participate in exercises Talisman Sabre and Koolendong in the coming months. The Japanese forces will return home in early July.

See all the images of Exercise Southern Jackaroo on the Defence News Gallery.

https://images.defence.gov.au/assets/S20212094

https://news.defence.gov.au/international/tactical-capability-focus-exercise-southern-jackaroo

>>14036029

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Facebook Post

July 2 2021

Here comes the guns

U.S. Marines participate in support to ground maneuvers training during Exercise #SouthernJackaroo at Mount Bundey Training Area, NT, Australia, June 23, 2021. The training exercised U.S. Marines’, Australian Army soldiers’ and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers’ combined capabilities to give mounted and dismounted support to small unit ground maneuvers while utilizing multiple weapons systems.

(U.S. Marine Corps photos by Sgt. Micha Pierce and Cpl. Sarah E. Taggett)

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/164490145713477

Vatican indicts cardinal, nine other people in London realestate deal

FRANCIS X. ROCCA - JULY 4, 2021

The Vatican said it indicted Cardinal Giovanni Becciu and nine other people in connection with a costly investment in London real estate, the source of one of the biggest scandals of Pope Francis’s reign.

Cardinal Becciu, who was the second highest official at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State when it acquired the property, was indicted on charges of embezzlement, abuse of office and subornation. His trial will be the first of a churchman with his rank in Vatican City’s criminal court.

Pope Francis ordered an investigation in 2019 after the Vatican bank flagged as suspicious a request by the Secretariat of State for a €150m ($A236m) loan to refinance the acquisition costs of a building in London’s upscale Chelsea district.

Through a series of complex transactions, the secretariat had paid the equivalent of more than $US400m ($A531m) by 2018 for the property, which had sold for half that amount six years earlier, Vatican prosecutors told a London court last year. The Vatican was seeking the extradition of a middleman, Gianluigi Torzi, accused of extortion, embezzlement, fraud and money laundering.

Cardinal Becciu, 73, was a leading adversary of Cardinal George Pell during the Australian’s time as Vatican treasurer from February 2014 to June 2017. Cardinal Pell’s focus was on cleaning up the Vatican’s entrenched financial corruption and imposing modern accounting standards and transparency on its finances.

“I am the victim of a plot hatched against me, and I have been waiting for a long time to know any accusations against me, in order to promptly deny them and prove to the world my absolute innocence,” said Cardinal Becciu in a statement on Sunday.

According to the official Vatican News outlet, prosecutors didn’t originally consider Cardinal Becciu a suspect but concluded last May that he was behind efforts to acquire the London property.

They also allege that he tried to get a witness in the investigation to change his account.

Under Vatican law, the pope is required to sign off before a cardinal may be tried in a Vatican City court.

Four other former Vatican officials were indicted on various counts, including a former head and deputy head of the Vatican’s internal financial watchdog, and two former employees of the Secretariat of State.

“This matter constitutes a procedural blunder that will be immediately clarified by the organs of Vatican justice,” said Rene Brulhart, a former head of the Vatican financial watchdog, who has been indicted on a charge of abuse of office. “I have always carried out my functions and duties with correctness, loyalty and in the exclusive interest of the Holy See and its organs.”

Five outsiders were also indicted, including Mr Torzi, a lawyer for whom, Marco Franco, said he was preparing a comment on his client’s behalf. Other accused or their lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Vatican said that the trial would begin with a hearing on July 27.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/the-wall-street-journal/vatican-indicts-cardinal-nine-other-people-in-london-realestate-deal/news-story/fb3bf6faf925bde3abbfee6653695eae

>>14050764

Holy See Press Office Communiqué

Saturday 03.07.2021

By decree issued today, the President of the Vatican Tribunal has ordered the summons to trial of the defendants in the case related to the financial investments of the Secretariat of State in London. The trial will begin at the hearing on 27 July next.

The request for the summons for trial was submitted in recent days by the Office of the Promoter of Justice, in the persons of the Promoter Gian Piero Milano, the Deputy Alessandro Diddi and the Applicant Gianluca Perone, and regards ecclesiastical and lay personnel of the Secretariat of State and senior figures of the then Financial Intelligence Authority, as well as external figures active in the world of international finance.

They are:

- René Brülhart, who is accused of abuse of office;

- Msgr. Mauro Carlino, who is accused of extortion and abuse of office;

- Enrico Crasso, who is accused of embezzlement, corruption, extortion, money laundering and self-laundering, fraud, abuse of office, forgery of a public deed committed by a private individual and forgery in a private document;

- Tommaso Di Ruzza, who is accused of embezzlement, abuse of office and breach of confidentiality;

- Cecilia Marogna, who is accused of embezzlement;

- Raffaele Mincione, who is accused of embezzlement, fraud, abuse of office, embezzlement and self-laundering;

- Nicola Squillace, who is accused of fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and self-laundering;

- Fabrizio Tirabassi, who is accused of corruption, extortion, embezzlement, fraud and abuse of office;

- Gianluigi Torzi, who is accused of extortion, embezzlement, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and self-laundering;

and against the companies:

- HP Finance LLC, referable to Enrico Crasso, to whom the indictment alleges the crime of fraud;

- Logsic Humanitarne Dejavnosti, D.O.O., attributable to Cecilia Marogna, accused of embezzlement;

- Prestige Family Office SA, attributable to Enrico Crasso, who is accused of fraud;

- Sogenel Capital Investment, which can be traced back to Enrico Crasso, to which the indictment alleges the crime of fraud.

Some of the aforementioned offences are also alleged to have been committed "in complicity".

The investigations, launched in July 2019 following a complaint by the Institute for the Works of Religion and the Office of the Auditor General, involved full collaboration between the Office of the Promoter and the Judicial Police Section of the Gendarmerie Corps. The investigations were also carried out in close and fruitful cooperation with the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rome and the Economic and Financial Police Unit - G.I.C.E.F. of the Guardia di Finanza of Rome. The cooperation of the Public Prosecutor's Offices of Milan, Bari, Trento, Cagliari and Sassari and their respective judicial police sections was also appreciated.

Elements also emerged against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is being prosecuted, pursuant to the law, for the crimes of embezzlement and abuse of office, also in collaboration, as well as subornation.

The investigations, carried out also with rogatory commissions in several other foreign countries (United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, Jersey, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Switzerland), have brought to light a vast network of relationships with operators in the financial markets that have generated substantial losses for the Vatican finances, having also drawn on the resources intended for the personal charitable works of the Holy Father.

The judicial initiative is directly related to the indications and reforms of His Holiness Pope Francis, in the work of transparency and rehabilitation of Vatican finances; work that, according to the accusation, was countered by speculative illegal activities and detrimental to reputation in the terms indicated in the request for trial.

Vatican City, 3 July 2021

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/07/03/210703a.html

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/07/03/210703a.pdf

Court documents shed new light on man behind moniker 'Witness K' and how he met lawyer Bernard Collaery

Elizabeth Byrne - 4 July 2021

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I can't tell you who Witness K is.

Even if I knew I couldn't say without risking jail time, because as a former spy for Australia's overseas intelligence service, his identity is protected under strict security laws.

But his notoriety has grown since he was charged with conspiracy to reveal classified information about alleged Australian espionage in East Timor, with his former lawyer Bernard Collaery.

It has been a long, curious and partly secret prosecution involving the discovery of key evidence in a handbag, the international courts in the Hague and the unwelcome exposure of alleged Australian espionage in East Timor.

When he finally fronted a Canberra court last month to be formally charged and sentenced, he and his wife were hidden behind tall black screens, in a room where even the glass doors were blacked out.

"Guilty your honour," were his only words to the court.

The voice that emerged from behind the screens was not deep or loud, instead sounded like the voice of a man in his late 70s you might say hello to on the street and pass by without a second thought.

When Witness K entered his plea and was sentenced to a three-month suspended sentence, it was the first time he had stepped foot in the court — despite multiple sessions in the lead up as lawyers fought over how secret the case should be, and what facts would be agreed.

Witness K's case has been polarising from the start, with a loyal crowd of supporters gathering outside every time it appeared in court.

Now documents cleared by the Canberra courts for public release have revealed something of the man, and the circumstances which led to this extraordinary chapter for Australia's intelligence community.

A career characterised by danger and trauma

Witness K had had a career of nearly four decades, starting in the navy in Vietnam and ending as a senior Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) spy.

But three psychiatric reports to the court gave perhaps the best insight into the man, who had suffered episodes of depression and anxiety since he was sent to Vietnam when still a teenager, and was more recently diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.

One report noted his mother said he had been "crazy" when he returned from Vietnam.

The trauma listed by the doctors included his service on the "gun line" when he had been fired at and feared he would die.

Another said, "two major incidents seemed to have had a significant effect on his mental state, however, he never sought treatment or support for many years".

But the trauma did catch up with him, leading to several periods of stress leave, after breakdowns at work.

According to court documents, in 2005 it all came to a head when he missed out on a job he had been acting in for some time.

Witness K was profoundly disappointed and called for an independent inquiry.

And that is when Bernard Collaery was appointed his lawyer to help him through the legal process.

At the time Mr Collaery was also representing the government of East Timor.

(continued)

>>14050787

2/2

'A process of vindication'

One of the key pieces of evidence in the case was a letter Mr Collaery wrote to Witness K in February 2013, in which he reflected on how the alleged spying operation arose in their discussions.

"As I have said to you I was troubled for some considerable time about the knowledge you unwittingly passed to me in my dual role as adviser to the Timor-Leste government," Mr Collaery said, as he also noted he had sought legal advice to confirm that there was no conflict of interest with him acting in both capacities.

In the letter, he advised Witness K his best legal option for his own case would be to seek an ex-gratia payment but noted his real objective was not money, but vindication.

"I set about for you a process of vindication that welded together two interlocking issues," Mr Collaery said.

"The interlocking issues are that you seek a remedy through the scope of the Timor-Leste government to have an independent inquiry into the actions that you most disapproved of, namely the activities of your clandestine mission in Timor-Leste that had nothing to do with national security."

The letter came only weeks before Timor Leste launched action against Australia in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.

East Timor alleged a negotiated treaty on maritime arrangements in the Timor Sea was invalid because Australia had not negotiated in good faith and had engaged in espionage.

But as hearings were about to begin, ASIO swooped on the homes of Bernard Collaery and Witness K.

Key evidence found in Witness K's wife's handbag

The statement of facts released by the court revealed the letter from Mr Collaery to Witness K, as well as copies of letters exchanged between East Timor's then-prime minister Xanana Gusmao and Australia's then-prime minister Julia Gillard, were found in Witness K's wife's handbag.

The summary of facts said the key piece of evidence was found in a camera tripod bag in the hallway linen cabinet.

It was an affidavit intended for the International Arbitration Court, dated May 7, 2013, using Witness K's own name, and containing information consistent with statements made to the media by Mr Collaery.

The summary also stated a second affidavit signed in November was also found, both witnessed by Mr Collaery.

Documents were also seized from Mr Collaery's home, with TV footage from the time showing the agitated bees from his hive swirling around, as ASIO agents went to work inside.

Mr Collaery was in Europe preparing for the hearing at the Hague, but the raids put a stop to his star witness.

After all of that, the pair was not charged, even after Commonwealth prosecutors recommended a prosecution to then-federal attorney-general George Brandis.

It was not until 2018 that a new attorney-general, Christian Porter, authorised the case to proceed.

Court hears Witness K is now like any other retiree

While Witness K pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month, Mr Collaery, who is facing other charges, is fighting the case in the ACT Supreme Court.

Currently the parties are locked in a battle over what evidence is of national security significance and should stay secret, to be heard in a closed court.

Lawyers for the federal Attorney-General won round one, but Mr Collaery is awaiting the results of an appeal, as others including the ACT's Bar Association call for the prosecution to be abandoned altogether.

For Witness K, the matter is now at an end, and he is no doubt relieved he will not spend time in jail.

His barrister Robert Richter QC did his best to avoid even a conviction, telling the court Witness K had been a highly decorated officer but was now an elderly man, married with children.

"His retirement occupations are genteel and admirable," he said.

One of his doctors listed those activities.

"[Witness K] reports to be using playing music, fixing guitars, physical fitness and endurance exercises as his main coping mechanisms", he said.

Mr Richter also noted it had been many years since Witness K had known there would probably be a prosecution.

"The mental anguish he has suffered has been amplified," he told the court.

"There is no utility in convicting Mr K."

But Magistrate Glenn Theakston found Witness K had still deliberately breached security laws, convicting him, handing him a suspended sentence with a 12-month good behaviour order, and an opportunity to move on with his life.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-04/court-document-witness-k-bernard-collaery-cleared-public-release/100263168

>>14003983 (pb)

‘Eat a bat and die’: Vile threats against Wuhan lab conspiracy-buster

Wendy Tuohy - July 4, 2021

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Before she agreed to run a fact check on a February 2020 article claiming COVID-19 probably leaked from Wuhan Institute of Virology as part of Chinese bioweapons research, Australian virologist Danielle Anderson was relatively unknown outside her highly specialised field.

Dr Anderson, who has extensive experience in bat-borne virus research, was one of two scientists asked to examine claims in the New York Post that the People’s Liberation Army had dispatched Major-General Chen Wei to Wuhan “to try and put the genie back in the bottle” after the SARS-CoV-2 virus escaped the lab.

Soon after she and her counterpart declared the claims to be misleading, the Victorian, who is the only foreign scientist to have worked in the Wuhan institute’s high-security BSL-4 lab, had her name trashed so viciously by extremists she had to call in police.

Dr Anderson’s crime, according to conspiracy theorists, was to have defended the professionalism of colleagues she had met in Wuhan as an unpaid visiting scientist during regular short trips from her lab at the National University of Singapore’s Duke Medical School.

“It is difficult to respond to this article because it is infuriating on a personal and professional level,” she wrote on the website Health Feedback of the Post’s claims.

“I have worked in this exact laboratory at various times for the past two years. I can personally attest to the strict control and containment measures implemented while working there. The staff at [Wuhan Institute of Virology] are incredibly competent, hard-working, and are excellent scientists with superb track records.”

The theory that the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan lab is being investigated by US intelligence on the orders of President Joe Biden.

A joint China-World Health Organisation investigation, hampered by Beijing’s lack of transparency, said in February that COVID-19 was most likely to have been transmitted through an intermediate animal host and may have been spread through frozen wild animals in a Wuhan market. Former US president Donald Trump’s administration, on the other hand, enthusiastically promoted the theory that the virus leaked out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology – regarded as the least likely scenario of those examined by WHO’s medical experts.

Dr Anderson was last in Wuhan in November 2019 when, it is now believed, the virus was beginning to spread. She has known the director of the lab’s emerging infectious diseases section, Shi Zhengli, since meeting her at the CSIRO in Geelong in 2003. She refuted claims that scientists in the Wuhan lab became ill, saying had this been true she would have known.

Facebook’s decision to remove large amounts of misinformation about COVID-19 and replace it with fact-checked material, including Dr Anderson’s, infuriated extremist conspiracy websites so much that one published her email address.

The man dubbed America’s “most prolific” conspiracy theorist, Texan Alex Jones, named Dr Anderson as “the woman running projects with weaponised COVID” and claimed she “ran all the censorship for Facebook … and silences the president”.

Geelong-born Dr Anderson had no idea she was being targeted until a friend from New York asked: “Why am I seeing your face?”

The first email to hit her inbox read simply: “Eat a bat and die, bitch.”

When the onslaught became intense enough for her to call Singapore police, they took it seriously.

“They said to be aware of my surroundings, and that freaked me out a bit,” Dr Anderson said from Melbourne, where she returned to work last month. “I’m a runner and on one of the apps I use, Strava, it shows where your running route [is], so you can watch someone and figure out where they live, so I had to lock down my Strava.”

(continued)

>>14050812

2/2

For Dr Anderson – now a senior research fellow at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity – being dragged into the global information wars has “shaken” her trust in the way parts of the media industry work.

She is particularly concerned about the Australian book What Really Happened in Wuhan by journalist Sharri Markson, which is being marketed in part on the strength of an “unearthed” video showing scientists with bats at the Wuhan lab.

“To my knowledge, that was a video made several years ago to promote the lab,” Dr Anderson said.

“I didn’t know who [the author of the book] was until I saw the headline about the bat video, a ‘secret’ bat colony. There are many labs working with bats and have bat colonies in multiple countries.

“There are scientific meetings dedicated specifically to bat virus research and the last such meeting that I attended was in Colorado, USA.”

When she saw the “secret video” claim, “I thought, ‘This is just rubbish’ … It’s crazy and it gives the public a terrible impression of scientists.

“A colleague said to just think about what happened to climate change scientists, we’re in their shoes now, and that’s a really good point. I kind of want to reach out to climate scientists and say, ‘I know what you’re going through.’ ”

In response to Dr Anderson’s claims, Ms Markson said the video was important because WHO investigators had called it a conspiracy to suggest there were bats in the Wuhan labs.

“Contrary to Anderson’s claims, the video is not secret and the WHO should have examined it prior to insisting there were no bats in the Wuhan labs. Yet the WHO report did not once mention there were bats at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

Dr Anderson is sticking by her belief COVID-19 has a natural origin, saying: “The reason I think the virus escaping from the lab is a less likely scenario is if we look in the last 50 years, so many of the diseases and outbreaks that have happened have come from animals.”

But she is open to reading evidence to the contrary.

“If someone comes from a lab in China and says, ‘Look, this is what we’re working on and here’s the way it got out of the lab,’ I would not discount [it] and I am open to changing my view.

“My opinion is based on the evidence I have in front of me, and my collective research background. Virology training is my background and I am using that to make my decisions, not a politician saying, ‘This is what we should think.’

“Science is a self-correcting mechanism. If the evidence does change I expect as scientists our opinions will change. We constantly gain new knowledge and this is how we learn and advance the field.”

https://www.smh.com.au/national/eat-a-bat-and-die-vile-threats-against-wuhan-lab-conspiracy-buster-20210701-p5861i.html

>>14035776

Ben Roberts-Smith's long wait to face accusers

Sam McKeith - JULY 4 2021

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After 12 gruelling days in the witness box at his defamation trial, Ben Roberts-Smith now faces an anxious wait to hear from those accusing him of war crimes in Afghanistan.

Mr Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing three newspapers in the Federal Court in Sydney over claims in 2018 media reports he says paint him as a criminal who broke the moral and legal rules of engagement during his military deployments.

Australia's most decorated soldier is also pursuing the outlets over an allegation he assaulted a woman at a Canberra hotel.

The war hero, who completed six tours of Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012, denies all claims. His accusers maintain they are true.

On Tuesday, the landmark trial was adjourned in its fourth week for at least a month after Sydney's COVID-19 outbreak prevented the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times opening their defence.

It nonetheless gives Mr Roberts-Smith time to gather his forces after a lengthy stint in the witness box laying out his case against the papers.

Bruce McClintock SC opened by painting the Victoria Cross winner as a courageous, highly organised and disciplined leader who risked his life in battle under the SAS motto "Who Dares Wins".

In what is expected to be the veteran barrister's final trial, Mr McClintock described the 2010 Battle of Tizak, where Mr Roberts-Smith earned his VC, as a "high water mark" for the SAS and his client's devotion to duty and self-sacrifice.

He also alleged the defamatory articles were the result of a lying campaign against Mr Roberts-Smith by soldiers jealous of his stellar career and achievements.

Mr McClintock submitted his client lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after his reputation was smashed by the media reports and his speaking business "evaporated".

When he took the stand himself as first witness, Mr Roberts-Smith told the court the VC made him a tall poppy within the SAS and served to broaden attacks on him from envious associates out of "pure spite".

"It put a target on my back," he told the court.

The two-metre tall former corporal said the media reports left him devastated.

He also stridently defended his actions at several key engagements in Afghanistan that are the subject of the serious misconduct claims against him.

Mr Roberts-Smith told the trial of an April 2009 SAS mission in Uruzgan where he says two insurgents were killed near a compound known as Whiskey 108.

The respondents allege what in fact occurred was that two unarmed Afghans - one a man with a prosthetic leg - were brought out of a tunnel and taken prisoner.

The outlets claim an SAS soldier, codenamed Person Four, shot the older Afghan in the head with a silenced firearm on the orders of another SAS operator, codenamed Person Five.

They allege Mr Roberts-Smith carried the Afghan with the fake leg out of the compound and shot him with an extended burst of machine gun fire.

Mr Roberts-Smith vehemently denied the claim.

"There were no men in the tunnel," he said under oath.

(continued)

>>14050829

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Another engagement where versions are diametrically opposed centres on an SAS mission in the village of Darwan, also in Uruzgan province, on September 11, 2012.

On Mr Roberts-Smith's version, he moved up an embankment with another soldier, person 11, and engaged an insurgent "spotter" in a cornfield.

Mr Roberts-Smith maintains he fired at the insurgent who was moving around in the field and later found a radio, known as an ICOM, near the fighter's body.

But that scenario was queried by the respondents' barrister, Nicholas Owens SC, who suggested in cross-examination the man was handcuffed, kicked off a cliff, dragged across a creek bed into the cornfield and shot.

"That is completely false," Mr Roberts-Smith told the court.

The trial has also been told of alleged assaults on Afghans, accusations Mr Roberts-Smith bullied another trooper and the practice of soldiers at the SAS pub in Afghanistan known as the "Fat Lady's Arms" drinking from the prosthetic leg of the man killed at Whiskey 108.

Mr Roberts-Smith denies ever drinking from the leg but concedes possessing two engraved glass replicas of the leg given to members of his squadron.

Australia's most acclaimed living soldier has also denied, after his exit from the SAS, writing threatening letters to another SAS veteran, burying USBs with secret material in his backyard or dousing his laptop with petrol and burning it out of panic.

"When I'm getting rid of a laptop that's what I do", he told the court.

On the domestic violence allegation, Mr Roberts-Smith gave some of his most impassioned testimony.

Asked if he punched the woman, Person 17, in the temple causing her to stagger and fall onto a bed in a Canberra hotel room in March 2018, Mr Roberts-Smith said: "I've never struck any woman and I certainly didn't strike Person 17".

"This a complete fabrication," he said.

He also denied photographing Person 17 while naked and asleep and later showing her the photos with the intention of having a "hold over her".

On Mr Roberts-Smith's version, the woman, with whom he had an extra-marital affair, was injured when she fell down stairs drunk at an event at Parliament House.

Once the trial resumes, it is expected to hear evidence from 21 current and former SAS members, and several Afghan villagers.

It has already heard from former Liberal MP Brendan Nelson - a reputation witness for the applicant - who described Mr Roberts-Smith as the most respected, admired and revered soldier Australian soldier in half a century, since Vietnam veteran Keith Payne VC.

Other notable witnesses set to testify include federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie and Mr Roberts-Smith's ex-wife Emma Roberts.

The matter is next listed for mention on July 19 before Justice Anthony Besanko.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Open Arms 1800 011 046

https://www.lifeline.org.au

https://www.openarms.gov.au

https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/7325098/roberts-smiths-long-wait-to-face-accusers/

Resignations in the news

Tasmanian Labor leader David O'Byrne resigns amid sexual harassment allegations investigation

Emily Baker and James Dunlevie - 4 July 2021

David O'Byrne has resigned as Tasmanian Labor leader over allegations he sexually harassed a junior union employee more than a decade ago.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr O'Byrne said the "allegations raised will be dealt with through the confidential process initiated by the [Labor] state secretary".

"I intend to respect the confidentiality of that process and I will make no further public comment on it."

Mr O'Byrne was made Labor leader only in June, following the resignation of Rebecca White.

Mr O'Byrne announced on Wednesday he was stepping aside from his role while Labor investigated a complaint from one of his former employees at the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union about alleged behaviours in 2007 and 2008.

The complainant, who was 22 at the time, alleged Mr O'Byrne sent inappropriate text messages, twice kissed her without consent outside of work, then gave her a verbal warning regarding her performance when she asked him to stop.

On Wednesday, Mr O'Byrne apologised to the woman publicly and in a private letter, and thanked her for coming forward.

Mr O'Byrne said he had thought the "kiss and text exchanges" were consensual at the time but now realised that was not the case.

Today, Mr O'Byrne said "ongoing speculation about this matter is not in the best interests of the party".

"The focus of the party needs to be on holding the [Peter] Gutwein government to account and the current debate is a distraction from this central task."

"I have a life-long commitment to the cause of Labor and my decision to resign from the Leadership reflects this.

"I intend to remain in the Tasmanian House of Assembly as the Member for Franklin. I will continue to represent the people of Franklin and to represent them to the best of my ability.

"I will neither seek nor accept any shadow portfolios and will give my strong support to a new Labor leadership team."

It is understood the complaint about Mr O'Byrne was sent early last month but the investigation did not start until last week.

A second, separate complaint sent to Labor has alleged the Tasmanian branch has a broader "serious problem with sexual harassment".

The parliamentary Labor Party will meet on Wednesday, where Mr O'Byrne will formally resign the leadership.

It is not clear who will take over the role.

Former leader Ms White recently gave birth and was effectively forced out of the role after two election losses.

Braddon MP Shane Broad, who contested the leadership, is unlikely to have the support of the broader party.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Broad said: "I'm having discussions with my colleagues and will have more to say in the coming days."

O'Byrne should go altogether, independent says

Kristie Johnston, the newly elected Member for Clark, said Mr O'Byrne should quit from politics altogether.

"I remain firmly of the view that he needs to resign from Parliament, not just the leadership position," she said on Sunday.

Referring to the former Tasmanian Labor president who resigned as a candidate in the April election, Ms Johnston said it was "hypocritical of the Labor Party to consider that Ben McGregor was not a fit and proper person to even be a candidate but now allow David O'Byrne to remain as an elected member".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-04/david-o-byrne-resigns-as-labor-leader/100266864

Heather was sexually assaulted by her chiropractor when she was a teenager, but took decades to report it

Kelly Hughes - 4 July 2021

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One afternoon in 2016, Heather Wynands got in her car and drove along a dusty rural road towards the nearest police station.

She had just finished a dance recital in the South Australian regional town of Berri and was ready to report a crime that happened 30 years ago.

"Something just came over me," Ms Wynands said.

"I knew in that moment, I just had to go and do it."

She was raped by her chiropractor in 1988. It was the day of her end-of-year dance performance at the Chaffey Theatre in Renmark.

"I was so excited, I was on my Ps and mum had let me borrow the car for the first time to go to my chiropractors appointment," she said.

Through dance, she had developed issues with her hips and also had a mild scoliosis of the back.

"During that appointment I told him I was having trouble doing the splits, so he asked me to get down on the floor and do the splits for him, which I did," she said.

She could only go so far before she felt her hip locking.

"That's when he said, 'Oh, we're doing a new treatment that can help with that issue, it's an internal examination, it should only take 10 to 15 minutes'."

He asked her to undress and put a robe on.

"When I got into the change room, I thought this is really odd," she said.

"It dawned on me what was going to happen and I thought, 'He can't do this, surely?'"

At the time, she thought she had an escape. She was on her period.

"But, instead, he said, 'That's fine, take out whatever you're using and just get on the chiropractic bed when you're ready'," Ms Wynands said.

Not wanting to question his professionalism, she did what he told her.

"At that stage, I knew I lost all chances of getting out," she said.

"It took me years to understand the extent of what he did to me that day in the clinic room."

Heather did not want to be known as 'that girl'

All throughout high school and well into her adult life, she struggled with immense feelings of shame and guilt over what happened to her.

For years after the abuse, she battled with bulimia and substance abuse, and had "little care for herself".

"You grow up in a small country town, and everyone knows who you are," she said.

"No-one wants to talk about it, it makes them uncomfortable because it could be someone you know or someone you're related to."

She went to school with the chiropractor's daughter, making her more reluctant to come forward and report her assault.

"I wanted to protect her … and I wanted to protect myself from the shame of what we would have been subject to at school had it all come out," Ms Wynands said.

She also knew, if she spoke out about what happened, things would never be the same.

"If I had gone through with reporting my abuse, I would have been known as 'that girl'," she said.

Living in such a community, she said, the label would have "stuck" and she would have been an "outcast".

She and her mother believed the chiropractor's status in the community as a well-respected medical professional would make the police and people in the town doubt her story.

"We didn't go to the police because we were fearful the police wouldn't believe me and that would have added more pain," she said.

So, she buried her secret, trying desperately to "fly under the radar" in her small town, hoping no-one would find out.

(continued)

>>14050941

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Barriers to getting help

Support group Relationships Australia said experiences like Ms Wynands's were not uncommon, and that perpetrators in small towns were often people considered to be pillars of their local communities.

"People who are likely to engage in these sorts of behaviours could be very charismatic figures in the community, they could have stature and status," NSW Relationships Australia chief executive Elisabeth Shaw said.

"Because of their privilege in the community, they could get away with it. And in small towns, everyone knows your business and that's a very hard and unique set of circumstances when trying to report sexual assault."

Regional communities are often described as "tight-knit", but in cases of sexual assault, that becomes part of the problem.

While country towns often act as their own support networks in times of crisis, such as bushfires, they can also turn against those who disturb the status quo, and become places of exclusion and ostracism.

"Your popularity and your social connection rises and falls on your reputation and stature in the community," Ms Shaw said.

"So if anything happens to question that … it can feel catastrophic in terms of how you hold your own in that community."

She said for victims living in regional and rural communities, "there is a real fear and anxiety" over whether to report abuse.

"If you go to the police station, everyone [might] know you … so there's that sense you can't necessarily get a fair hearing … and that makes it extra tough," she said.

"There are very real barriers to getting help."

An abuse of power

In May, Ms Wynands's chiropractor Robert Linke was sentenced in Adelaide's District Court to five years in jail with a non-parole period of two years.

In sentencing remarks, Judge Patrick O'Sullivan described the assault as "an abuse of power."

"A young patient presented herself to you seeking chiropractic treatment," Judge O'Sullivan said.

"You were in a position of power in relation to your victim … you abused your power and you raped her."

For Ms Wynands, not being able to speak out at the time of the assault, made her question the seriousness of the crime.

"When I received the phone call about the decision, I just burst into tears," she said.

"I was relieved, because I was being believed.

"It was validation that what he had done … he should never had done."

No-one should be stopped from speaking out

At the time Ms Wynands was assaulted, she said the pressures of living in a small community meant she did not feel safe or supported reporting her abuse.

But she wants to change that culture.

"No-one should be stopped from speaking out," she said.

She said the decision to talk about what happened to her all those years ago has been "life-changing" and wants other women hearing her story to feel empowered.

"Do it. Without a doubt, do it," she said.

"We need to stand up, and report these people. We need to show them we are stronger than them and we won't put up with it anymore.

"I finally feel free, I feel like I can be me, and I don't have to hold my head in shame anymore."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-04/woman-speaks-out-after-sexual-assault/100235518

—

1800RESPECT - National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24 hour helpline

1800 737 732

https://www.1800respect.org.au

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https://www.lifeline.org.au

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1300 22 4636

https://www.beyondblue.org.au

Kids Helpline - Free Australian telephone and online counselling service for young people aged between 5 and 25

1800 55 1800

https://kidshelpline.com.au

Department of Defence Tweet

Allies unite!

#YourADF is taking part in the multi-national Joint Warfighting Assessment in USA, practising fighting against a notional enemy alongside the @USArmy, @canadianarmy and @BritishArmy.

bit. ly/JWA-21

#AusArmy #CommonGoals

https://twitter.com/DeptDefence/status/1411550358120378370

>>14051007

Allies unite for exercise in US

Captain Taylor Lynch - 28 June 2021

Personnel from Brisbane’s 7th Combat Brigade and supporting elements from the 6th Brigade are taking part in the multi-national Joint Warfighting Assessment 2021 (JWA 21) at Fort Carson in the United States.

The 141 ADF personnel participating in the exercise left Gallipoli Barracks in early June, with the aim of strengthening ties with strategic allies and partners.

In the US, they are practising fighting against a notional enemy alongside the US, Canadian and British armies, with the Australians using a computer-generated concept of what the Army would look like in the year 2028.

Working long days and nights, the Australian contingent planned their manoeuvre for the notional war for weeks before the exercise commenced via a 24/7 digital simulation.

Brigade Major, Major Sam Thackray, said he was impressed with the contingent’s efforts during the planning phase, which gave the Australians a decent start when the simulated conflict began.

“JWA 21 presents a unique opportunity to work in a multi-national division, assessing our interoperability with our partners in a simulated environment,” Major Thackray said.

“The 7th Combat Brigade team was extremely well-prepared for the activity, conducting two exercises prior to deploying to Fort Carson to develop the knowledge required to participate effectively.”

Major Thackray said there were many advantages to working in person with the ADF’s strategic partners in the US, Canadian and British armies, and was grateful for the opportunity to deploy to the US.

“7th Combat Brigade has made a significant contribution to the ADF’s support on domestic operations including floods, bushfires and COVID-19 in the past 18 months, so we are making the most of the experience to update our warfighting foundations,” he said.

“For many of our people, this is their first time training in a multi-national team; they are enjoying the experience of employing future capabilities and are learning plenty.

“It’s a privilege to represent the ADF overseas.”

Commander of the 7th Combat Brigade Brigadier Jason Blain said he was pleased with how JWA 21 was progressing, outlining the importance of combined exercises with strategic partners.

“At any time, Australia has around 500 Defence personnel in the United States, working alongside our counterparts,” Brigadier Blain said.

“Our alliance is our strongest defence relationship, forged through fighting side-by-side on combat operations for over 100 years.

“The relationship is underpinned by cooperation through training exercises like the Joint Warfighting Assessment, combat operations, shared intelligence, capability development and deep people-to-people links.

“To be able to also share this learning experience with partners from the British and Canadian armies is a unique and valuable opportunity.

“Exercises like this remind us of our strong ties.”

All ADF personnel deployed on JWA 21 will continue to fight the simulated battle from Fort Carson until the end of June.

They will complete 14 days of quarantine on their return to Australia before going back to work.

https://news.defence.gov.au/international/allies-unite-exercise-us

Japan boosts military links to fend off China

BEN PACKHAM - JULY 4, 2021

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Japan will step up joint military training and regional infrastructure projects with Australia, with the nation’s top diplomat in Canberra declaring the strategic partners must work together to prevent the Indo-Pacific becoming “a lawless jungle”.

Japanese ambassador Yamagami Shingo said Australia would not resist Chinese economic coercion alone, and vowed to work with Australia and other free countries to provide “a counterweight against such a dominant power”.

He said China’s “blatant ­attempt to change the status quo” in the East and South China Seas had direct relevance to Australia, which needed free access to the waterways for its economic security, and warned Australia could face disruption of its supply lines even closer to home.

Mr Yamagami said he hoped a new Reciprocal Access Agreement for the nations’ militaries, agreed in-principle between Scott Morrison and Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga last November, would be finalised by the end of the year, paving the way for “more complex and sophisticated” defence co-­operation.

The landmark defence treaty, which was delayed over concerns about legal indemnities for Australian troops on Japanese soil, will set out a clear framework to allow each nation’s military to operate in the other’s country, streamlining arrangements for joint exercises and humanitarian missions across the region.

Mr Yamagami suggested Japan was interested in making greater use of Australia’s remote training facilities and weapon ranges in the future, and undertaking more joint exercises with the Australian Navy.

“I am quite sure that with the conclusion of the RAA, we will have more of those exercises in Australia, and in Japan, because you have the advantage of a huge, tremendous land size – less populated compared with Japan – and the strategic importance of the Northern Territory, especially the Port of Darwin, is obvious to any strategist,” he said.

Mr Yamagami said there was no proposal yet for long-term rotations such as those by US Marines, but “in terms of conducting efficient military exercises, I think it is possible for them to stay here longer than they used to do.”

Greater interoperability was vital, he said, because “at the time of contingencies, we have to work closely together”.

At a “2+2” meeting last month between Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Defence Minister Peter Dutton and their Japanese counterparts Motegi Toshimitsu and Kishi Nobuo both countries committed to “opposing coercion and destabilising behaviour by economic means, which undermines the rules-based international system”.

The statement was a clear show of Japanese support for Australia, which has suffered targeted sanctions on more than $20bn of exports to China.

Mr Yamagami said the two nations would “speak out together” to maintain the rules-based order.

“The important principle we need to keep upholding is the rule of law; otherwise we will end up living in a lawless jungle,” he said.

(continued)

>>14053439

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Mr Yamagami said Japan’s trilateral infrastructure program with Australia and the US aimed to provide “higher quality” projects than Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, helping developing nations to withstand Chinese pressure.

“If you look at Southeast Asia and Pacific island countries, nobody wants to be dominated by any particular hegemonic power. They need a counterweight against such a dominant power.

“We are also not here to lecture and hector. We are here to strike an equal partnership. In that regard we can make a lot of difference.”

He said the projects would offer wider benefits, without the money ending up “in the pocket of a small number of people”.

Mr Yamagami said there was also strong potential for Australia and Japan to co-operate more closely on space science and technology, noting the two countries were at effectively the same longitude, allowing the sharing of information from geostationary satellites.

The former head of the intelligence branch of Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said his country shared “values and strategic interests” with Five Eyes countries, but wasn’t ready to pitch for formal membership of the intelligence sharing alliance.

He said Japan had “a lot of homework” to do in relation to its legal and organisational frameworks around the collection of intelligence.

“We have tremendous challenges in front of us … so rather than talking about the institution, on the ground we can keep building specific blocks of co-operation.

“That might be the most solid, and the shortest cut, to what we can achieve together.”

Mr Yamagami said his country was on the “frontline” of Chinese harassment, with Beijing using its coastguard and maritime militia to challenge Japanese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

“If it can happen in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, it can happen anywhere,” he said.

“This is an issue for Australia too. Your cargo ships – their number one destination is China, number two destination is Japan, number three destination is South Korea.

“All of those cargo ships carrying Australian minerals go through the East China Sea, so this is an issue for Australia as well.”

Japanese Self Defence Force soldiers participated in Exercise Southern Jackaroo in June with Australian and US troops, and will take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre with the ADF and US Marines this month.

In May, Anzac Frigate HMAS Parramatta joined ARC 21 amphibious exercises off Japan, while the nations’ air forces conducted their first bilateral air combat exercises in Japan last year.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/japan-boosts-military-links-to-fend-off-china/news-story/b60b3e0b6bfcd3d93b6dfc6ebdb4d137

At 27, Claire's husband forced her to join a cult. They were preparing for the world's end.

BILLI FITZSIMONS - JULY 4, 2021

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The end of the world is near. Days are filled with preparations. Fear is high, as eternal blackness is nigh.

Women need to be covered from their neck to their elbows and ankles. Their clothing must be loose so that men cannot see the shape of a woman’s body and be tempted to commit a sin. Women need to learn how to make bread from scratch and how to sew clothes - to be self-sufficient when the apocalypse arrives on their doorstep.

The women prepare the menu and meals for all community members. They serve and clean-up afterwards, too.

There is no contraception. Women should have as many babies as possible. If you look around, there are pregnant 16-year-olds expecting ‘mystical’ babies.

The man is the head of the house. He is the breadwinner, working at the local convenience store for minimum wage.

There is mandatory mass and prayers three times a day. There is a strict hierarchy that includes a leader, an inner circle, and princesses and queens.

Welcome to The Order of St Charbel. On a “sacred” property in Nowra, nestled in NSW’s South Coast, 200 people live in a doomsday cult.

One of them was Claire Ashman.

Ms Ashman had joined the fringe religious group, who claim to be part of the Roman Catholic Church, in February 1997.

It was her husband, whom she had married when she was 19 years old, who forced her to move there. He told her he was attracted to the lifestyle of living in a small community. He was also interested in end-of-the-world prophecies.

“Since he was the breadwinner and controlled all the money, he literally sold our house in Melbourne from underneath us and we moved up to Nowra,” Ms Ashman explains.

“I thought, I'll sacrifice myself for my husband for a few years and then he'll see the futility of it and then we'll move on. But that wasn't the case.”

The concept of a strict religious group was not completely foreign for Ms Ashman. She had been brought up in Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a sect which was a breakaway from the Catholic Church.

In the strict religion, Ms Ashman was taught that women are submissive and obedient. They don’t aim for higher education and they sacrifice their lives for their husbands. She had left that group, but it wasn’t long before she was forced into joining another one.

So at 27 years old and with four children - the eldest of whom was seven years old - Ms Ashman joined the now-infamous Order of St Charbel.

The group was founded and led by William Kamm, who claimed he was the first person in history who could ask the Virgin Mary questions and receive answers.

“You could write a letter asking any question that you wanted of the Virgin Mary,” Ms Ashman explains to Mamamia. “The Virgin Mary would give Kamm the answer and he would write it down and give it back to the person. But whatever the answer was, you had to follow it, otherwise you would lose your special graces and any kind of special mission that would be given to you in the new holy era.”

The cult was even worse - even darker and more apocalyptic - than she had anticipated. And she had little choice but to be submissive and suppressed.

“I had no access to any money. I didn't have any friends. I couldn't go anywhere, even if I wanted to.”

(continued)

>>14057769

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It wasn’t until she read a book, The Beautiful Side of Evil, about a religious cult in America, that she began to realise what was happening around her. From the hierarchy to the indoctrination, she knew she was in a cult.

After about three years of living on the property, Ms Ashman began having suspicions that their leader, William Kamm, was impregnating young girls.

“They were apparently ‘mystical babies’ but obviously over time, you see that they're not mystical - he's the father.”

“I told my husband that I was horrified and disgusted and didn't want to live there anymore,” Ms Ashman remembers. “He just said William has permission from the Virgin Mary to be able to do this.”

There was, she explains, little she could do except protect her own daughters.

Whilst in the cult, Ms Ashman had four more kids - making her the mother of eight children. They all attended a primary school on the property, where they learnt that the world was going to be decimated.

When the kids returned home, they knew their house had been prepared for doomsday.

“You're just constantly fearing some new prophecy. You're hoarding food and clothing and blankets and making sure that the black plastic fits over everything. It's all prepared and hanging off of the windows so you can just drop it at a moment's notice…

“Surely God does not want us to live like this?” Ms Ashman remembers constantly asking herself.

In 2005, Kamm was convicted with aggravated sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in 1993, and sentenced to five and a half years in jail.

“You got what you deserved. Hopefully they’ll take you to jail,” Ms Ashman remembers thinking when she learnt of his arrest.

In 2007, he was convicted of five counts of aggravated sexual assault in relation to another 15-year-old girl in 1994 and 1995.

He was sentenced to 10 years in jail, and was released on parole in 2014.

Kamm’s conviction saw the closure of the cult.

For Ms Ashman, this wasn’t the end she was preparing for but the one she had been hoping for.

But returning to the ‘outside world’ wasn’t simple.

“It’s not just about being physically free, it’s about being mentally free as well.”

At 38 years old, Ms Ashman needed to learn how to set up a bank account for the first time and to wear ‘normal’ clothes.

It took several years for her to come to terms with what she had been through and to find her feet back in normal life.

Now, she often shares her story to reduce the shame and stigma many people who have escaped cults feel. At Vivid Sydney in August, she will share more of her story at the Sects, Lies & Cults panel, alongside other Australian cult survivors.

Meanwhile, in April, paedophile William Kamm won a legal battle to return to his “sacred” land in Nowra.

https://www.mamamia.com.au/the-order-of-st-charbel-cult/

OPINION: Greg Hunt has failed to vaccinate the nation and must go

Kevin Rudd, Former Australian prime minister - July 5, 2021

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A defining quality of our Westminster parliamentary democracy is that cabinet ministers are held personally responsible for serious policy or performance failures in their portfolios. Across the decades, ministers have been kept on track by the knowledge that grave errors on their watch will result in their removal. This principle lies at the heart of accountable government.

In 2009, I had to lose Joel Fitzgibbon as defence minister after his office hosted a meeting between defence officials and his businessman brother. Nothing came of the meeting, but Joel acknowledged he had to go.

But this pales into insignificance with the rolling series of ministerial disasters we have witnessed under Scott Morrison, where the new rule has become one of bluffing and blustering through crises in the expectation that all will fade into political memory with no price ever being paid.

Around Morrison’s cabinet table sits: Michaelia Cash, who refused to fully cooperate with police investigating leaks from her office; Angus Taylor, who was caught trading in a falsified annual report; Bridget McKenzie, the architect of sports rorts; Alan Tudge, whose car park rorts put McKenzie to shame; Linda Reynolds, who mishandled an alleged rape in her office, then called the complainant a lying cow; Peter Dutton, another pork-barreller who wouldn’t let Border Force officials appear at the Ruby Princess inquiry; Christian Porter, who resisted an inquiry to establish that he was fit and proper for ministerial office; and the list goes on. They are now all part of political blur – in fact that’s Morrison’s strategy. But in the process he has effectively destroyed an essential Westminster convention.

Breakdowns of fundamental standards of governance don’t come much bigger than the Morrison government’s medley of pandemic policy and performance failures on aged care, quarantine and vaccination. For these reasons, Health Minister Greg Hunt should resign, or else Morrison should dismiss him now.

In February last year, Hunt’s department volunteered to take control of residential aged care nationwide and this was codified in his department’s pandemic manual. However, aged care has borne the brunt of coronavirus deaths on Hunt’s watch.

Three-quarters of Australia’s 910 coronavirus deaths have been in aged care. With no specific plan to protect residents, one-third of confirmed infections in aged care ended in death. This was despite Hunt publicly assuring residents and their families that the sector was “immensely prepared”.

Hunt’s aged care failures continue. Despite a raging pandemic, staff were quietly cleared to resume working across multiple facilities. Two-thirds are still not vaccinated. Hunt was the cabinet minister for aged care, and he failed.

His second area of policy failure is quarantine. Coronavirus can only enter Australia through a failed, leaky quarantine system. Although quarantine is a clear-cut federal responsibility, the states helped out in March 2020 by agreeing to hotel quarantine. It was a reasonable stopgap, but Hunt abused the states’ trust by treating hotels as a permanent solution.

Hunt’s failure to build regional quarantine hubs is inexplicable. Did he imagine hoteliers would act as quarantine stations forever? Wasn’t he alarmed by evidence of airborne spread through ventilation ducts? Didn’t he notice Howard Springs in the Northern Territory had a perfect record while hotels elsewhere across Australia leaked again and again?

Hunt planned to bring all Australians home by last Christmas. More than six months later, vulnerable Australians remain trapped overseas and exposed to ever more dangerous variants. When they tried coming home from India, Hunt threatened them with five years’ jail.

Sixteen months later, Hunt is finally looking at new quarantine stations in Melbourne and Brisbane. Neither facility will be open this year, leaving aside the question of whether it’s wise to place them in the middle of suburbia. Queensland’s developed plan for Toowoomba continues to be rejected, seemingly because Hunt is too obstinate to accept a Labor government’s idea. Quarantine was Hunt’s responsibility, and he failed.

(continued)

>>14057811

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Hunt’s greatest failure, however, has been on vaccination. At virtually every stage, bad decisions have sabotaged the rollout of safe, effective vaccines for the Australian people. As other countries rushed to sign vaccine contracts last year, Hunt’s department became notorious for not returning calls. An early overture from Pfizer, which was searching for partners to demonstrate the large-scale effectiveness of its vaccine, resulted in prolonged haggling between the company and Hunt’s officials — his department says no detailed offer for a nationwide rollout was put on the table. Scientists’ calls to bring online domestic manufacturing of mRNA vaccines were ignored.

By moving quickly, various European governments banked on an array of vaccines including Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline and are now returning to a kind of normality. But not Australia. Hunt foolishly bet the house on a single “workhorse” vaccine, AstraZeneca, which could be manufactured cheaply in Melbourne.

Australia was not “well prepared” for the vaccination phase as Hunt arrogantly claimed. Nor were we at the “front of the queue” for the Pfizer mRNA vaccination. When the opposition warned the government to sign more contracts, Hunt lashed out at the comments as “weird and irresponsible” and claimed Labor had “no idea what you are talking about”.

Australia was slow to start vaccinating, guided by the fiction that we were “not in a race” and could safely hang back. Hunt dismissed calls for federal mass-vaccination centres, instead urging all eligible patients to start booking in with their GPs. This swamped clinics, which had to turn patients away because many doctors weren’t told how many doses to expect.

As the rollout creaked along, Hunt shifted blame onto the states. In March, his minions planted a dodgy story in the Murdoch press insisting supply limitations had been resolved and accusing the states of hoarding vaccines. NSW’s Health Minister Brad Hazzard hit the roof.

Hunt’s vaccine targets were clear: 4 million jabs by April; the nation “fully vaccinated” by October; and “widespread international travel” by the New Year. Those targets have all now slipped from view.

It isn’t Hunt’s fault that AstraZeneca proved too dangerous for younger people, but it was his responsibility to invest in a broader portfolio of vaccines. British citizens will start receiving their third “booster” jabs in September, while many Australians are left waiting for their first.

These policy failures have been compounded by communications failures. Where is the Australian advertising campaign to rival those fronted by Dolly Parton, Michael Caine and Elton John? Hunt personally poured fuel on the fire of hesitancy in May by suggesting older Australians could all receive mRNA vaccines later in the year. Having failed to ease fears about the safety and effectiveness of the AstraZeneca jab, Hunt hopes to boost the vaccination rate by pushing it among younger people.

Other failures include Hunt’s COVIDSafe app and the government’s failure to secure surplus mRNA vaccines from the United States, as Canada and South Korea did last month.

Over many months, Morrison and Hunt have unveiled a series of new “plans” to reset the rollout, each of which promised much but delivered little. Last Friday’s announcement by Morrison — a “four-phase plan” with hazy targets and no timeline — is part of the same. If you remove the wrapping paper it’s just another political mirage designed to project an image of competence after yet another week of chaos. But little actually changes.

For all these reasons, Hunt has failed as Health Minister. He must go.

What are the realistic chances of Morrison sacking Hunt? Unlikely, judging how Morrison has made a mockery of ministerial accountability throughout his term. Aside from the countless ministers who should already have been sacked, Morrison has failed to deliver a national integrity commission; he has attempted to de-fund the Auditor-General and the ABC; and he has deployed a politicised public service to cover up his government’s misdeeds.

After this pandemic, there will no doubt be numerous inquiries into what transpired at various stages of the crisis. I wholly expect Hunt to throw Brendan Murphy under the proverbial bus, given how Liberals have already started briefing against him to journalists. But the buck doesn’t stop with officials; it stops with ministers.

Kevin Rudd, who has received one AstraZeneca jab, is a former Labor prime minister.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/greg-hunt-has-failed-to-vaccinate-the-nation-and-must-go-20210703-p586jq.html

Department of Defence Tweet

#AusNavy's HMAS Brisbane sailed into Sydney Harbour on 3 July with (Japan) @jmsdf_pao_eng destroyer JS Makinami, (South Korea) Navy destroyer ROKS Wang Geon and (United States) #USSRafaelPeralta.

The contactless, COVIDSafe port visit is ahead of Exercise PACIFIC VANGUARD.

https://twitter.com/DeptDefence/status/1411210613200769032

>>14057971

TalismanSabre Tweet

Exercise Pacific Vanguard is the Air Maritime Integration Exercise workup activity, prior to Exercise #TalismanSabre!

#TS21 #TalismanSabre2021 #YourADF #AusNavy

@USNavy @jmsdf_pao_eng @Australian_Navy @AusAirForce

https://twitter.com/TalismanSabre/status/1411833342639575040

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

ASIO Corporate Plan 2021-2025

Mike Burgess, Director-General of Security - 1 Jul 2021

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I am pleased to present the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO) Corporate Plan 2021–25, as required under section 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

ASIO protects Australia and Australians from threats to their security. Our corporate plan sets the foundation for ASIO to fulfil this purpose—describing the environment we operate in, articulating our key priorities, and detailing how we will measure our success.

ASIO’s work protecting Australia and Australians remains vital in a complex, challenging and changing security environment.

Threat to life

Australia’s national terrorism threat level remains at PROBABLE. There are individuals and groups that have the capability and intent to conduct an act of terrorism. This threat is not going away.

• The legacy of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant endures, and we have continued to see religiously motivated attacks in Australia and around the world. In the last year, we have worked closely with law enforcement counterparts to disrupt multiple terrorist plots.

• Ideologically motivated extremists—such as nationalist and racist groups—are now more reactive to world events, and in the last year this threat has grown in scale. Investigations are approaching 50 per cent of ASIO’s priority onshore counter-terrorism caseload, reflecting an international trend and our decision to allocate more resources to the threat.

Threats to our way of life

Our adversaries seek to covertly undermine our sovereignty, interfere in our democratic institutions and steal classified or sensitive information—across government, defence, academia and private industry.

All foreign states seek to influence others on matters of importance to them. This is a common feature of statecraft, and not of concern when it occurs in the open. Clandestine and deceptive interference and espionage, however, has the potential to cause serious harm to Australia’s democratic institutions, sovereignty, economy, and national security capabilities.

In the last three years, ASIO has seen examples of espionage and foreign interference targeting all levels of government, and in every state and territory.

• Foreign intelligence services and their proxies persistently seek to develop relationships with Australian Government figures, academics, journalists, and Australian businesses and their representatives in order to pursue objectives detrimental to Australia’s security.

• This includes attempts to obtain information about Australia’s national security priorities and capabilities, our defence technology, and our trade relationships. It also includes attempts to monitor diaspora communities in Australia. In some cases, foreign interference extends to intimidation and threats of physical harm against Australians.

In coming years we expect espionage and foreign interference will supplant terrorism as Australia’s principal security concern.

(continued)

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Our partners

ASIO’s purpose is enabled by our strong partnerships with law enforcement; the National Intelligence Community; Australian state, territory and federal governments; industry; academia; and our international counterparts. These relationships are vital to our success.

COVID-19

The pandemic had a profound impact on our operating environment, evolving and intensifying the security landscape and introducing new challenges. Among other things, it placed a greater emphasis on how the online world shapes our environment—exacerbating the threat from extremism, and also from espionage and foreign interference.

We are meeting and defeating these challenges through the agility, ingenuity and diversity of our staff. ASIO officers are creative thinkers and problem solvers. We take advantage of new opportunities and technologies, adapting to our changing environment to counter the security threats we face.

Capability

The government has approved $1.25 billion in new funding for ASIO over the next 10 years, giving the Organisation an unprecedented ‘capability uplift’ and the assurance it can maintain its core capabilities and infrastructure. The capability program will support ASIO’s human-led, data-driven and technology-enabled approach, improving our capacity to operate in a more complex threat environment.

The investment will future-proof our response to security challenges posed by rapid technological change and an exponential growth in the volume of multi-source, multi-format and multi-language data. Smart use of technology, developed by partnering with the Australian technology sector, will sustain ASIO’s ability to ‘join-the-dots’ across this data.

Conclusion

ASIO’s success is enabled by the trust and confidence placed in us by government, our partners and the broader public. I am determined to build on this through a commitment to accountability and transparency. We act ethically, carry out our work impartially, and engage honestly and proactively with Australia’s intelligence oversight frameworks.

As Director-General, I am committed to being as open and transparent as I can be while safeguarding what needs to be protected. This corporate plan, and its performance measures, provide a window into what ASIO does to achieve our purpose, while protecting the sensitive capabilities that allow us to deliver operational outcomes.

While the security challenges facing our country are significant and evolving, ASIO remains determined to secure Australia and protect its people.

https://www.asio.gov.au/corporate-plan.html

https://www.asio.gov.au/sites/default/files/ASIO%20Corporate%20Plan%202021-25.pdf

Afghanistan angels left for dead as Taliban closes in

BEN PACKHAM - JULY 6, 2021

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Hundreds of Afghans linked to Australian-funded “hearts and minds” projects will be left vulnerable to advancing Taliban forces after being denied access to a ­special visa program for those who supported Australia’s two-decade presence in the country.

Correspondence sent on behalf of Foreign Minister Marise Payne to one Afghan aid worker who helped deliver a $6.7m AusAID ­infrastructure project makes it clear he would not be considered for the Locally Engaged ­Employee Visa.

The former Central Asia ­Development Group employee is among about 50 Afghan aid workers heavily involved in Australian-led projects, including the flagship Children of Uruzgan program ­delivered by Save the Children.

The local workers and their family members, together with 100 contracted security guards and their families, will be forced to join the offshore asylum-seeker queue with millions of other ­Afghans seeking to flee the country. An estimated 200 Afghan interpreters directly employed by the Australian government are also still in the country awaiting immigration rulings.

The Department of Foreign Affairs ruling comes as the Taliban continues to gain territory across the country after the US, Britain and Australia pulled out their remaining forces, leaving the crumbling Afghan National Army to battle the insurgency alone.

The aid worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing ­security risks if his identity was ­revealed, was told on June 21 that he could not apply for the special Australian visa because he had been engaged through a subcontractor.

“The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has considered your application,” the letter, obtained by The Australian, reads. “Unfortunately, you are not eligible for certification under this visa policy as you were not considered an employee of one of the Australian government agencies identified in the legislative instrument.”

The man, who is now in hiding with his wife and five children, said his work on the Uruzgan Municipal Infrastructure Program from 2011 to 2015 had made him a Taliban target.

“I put my life at risk. It’s not just me, it is a risk for my family. If you were in my shoes what would you do? If I will die, the responsibility will be on the shoulders of the ­Foreign Minister,” he said in a ­recording from Afghanistan.

“I did honest work for (for Australia), I tried my best, and I always tried to spend the funds provided by the Australian government honestly, I did not give it to the mafia, or share the funds … with the Taliban or terrorist groups.

“They asked me several times and I said no.”

(continued)

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Retired Army Major Stuart McCarthy said the rejection letter was an effective “death warrant”, with 15 of the man’s former colleagues already feared murdered.

“These people delivered projects that were vital to our counter-insurgency campaign at the height of Australia’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan, and yet we are leaving them to be slaughtered,” Major McCarthy said.

He said the failure to evacuate Afghans who had helped Australia could have long-term national security implications.

“What we are saying to the world is if you work for Australia in a conflict zone, you could be left behind when the going gets tough,” Mr McCarthy said.

Australian National University academic William Maley, who has spent decades researching ­Afghanistan, said the government had taken “a highly legalistic approach” in determining who could apply for LEE visas.

“The Taliban doesn’t care if a person was an employee or a subcontractor. It’s a meaningless distinction from their point of view,” he said. Professor Maley said there were also many recipients of Australian scholarships, which were heavily promoted by Australia through social media, who were now in danger.

“There is a much wider circle of people who are vulnerable by virtue of their connection to Australia,” he said.

Afghans who worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade must first seek ­approval from the department before applying for an LEE visa, while those who worked for the Australian Defence Force must initially apply through Defence.

The categories of eligible applicants date back to 2012, with the current government opting not to open up the program to contracted workers. A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said: ­“Locally engaged staff who worked for us, and who have a legitimate case for a visa are being provided with an opportunity to come to Australia.

“The Australian government is working to ensure each case is considered swiftly and those at risk of harm who meet visa requirements are resettled to Australia as soon as possible. For privacy reasons, we do not comment on individual cases.”

The Department of Home ­Affairs said it was “urgently processing” Afghan LEE visa applications.

It said more than 230 Afghans had been granted the visas since April 15, including employees’ family members. Other nations are also struggling to evacuate their own locally-engaged employees, amid growing chaos within the country.

In recent days, the US abandoned Bagram Airfield – the centre of its operations over two decades – in a clear indication its withdrawal from the country was all but complete. The last of Australia’s soldiers are also believed to have left the country, but ­Defence refused to confirm or deny whether any remained.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/afghanistan-angels-left-for-dead-as-taliban-closes-in/news-story/22a4ac3a7ae4c642432dac6c19128237

>>14020145

Australia backed by 11 countries after calling foul play over China’s reef ‘in danger’ push

The Chinese-backed World Heritage committee draft decision to list Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as "in danger" has been rejected by the Morrison Government who claims the move was politically motivated.

Brianna McKee - July 6, 2021

Environment Minister Sussan Ley is at the helm of an internationally backed push to block the possible downgrading of the Great Barrier Reef by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee which is currently chaired by a Chinese Communist Party diplomat.

Ms Ley made clear the federal government’s frustration with the move to reclassify the reef as "in danger" in a conference call with 16 nations on Monday.

It comes after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was unexpectedly hit with a draft World Heritage Committee decision on June 22 recommending the site’s environment alert be lifted without proper consultation.

The Environment Minister blamed UNESCO’s move against the Great Barrier Reef on a Chinese push to punish Australia on the call which included diplomats from New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Spain, South Africa and Norway.

Eleven nations have supported Australia’s concerns over UNESCO’s verification process by signing a letter to the United Nation’s organisation’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said UNESCO officials have not visited the site since 2015 leaving on-the-ground verification of the reef’s current state notably absent from the draft document.

He told Sky News Australia in an exclusive interview on Sunday that 14 of the 21 countries on the World Heritage Committee this year have signed up to China’s Belt and Road agreement.

Representatives of these nation’s will officially meet on July 16 to decide on the ratification of the draft decision under the guidance of World Heritage Committee Chair Tian Xuejun who is coincidentally Beijing’s Vice-Minister for Education.

China has slammed Morrison Government claims the draft decision was politically driven as “groundless smear and slander”.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin advised the Morrison government to “face up to its serious failings” in world heritage protection instead of politicising technical issues.

Mr Wang accused the government of “wantonly hurling unfounded accusations” at UNESCO in a bid to “shift the blame to others” during a Monday press conference.

Mr Canavan admitted the Morrison Government had to some extent brought the current contention over the Great Barrier Reef on themselves because the World Heritage Committee was using official Australian reports to back their decision.

“We’ve got ourselves to blame to some extent because when you read the UNESCO draft decision … they quote Australian government reports that say the reef is terrible and in very poor condition,” he said.

Despite government concerns China is pulling strings behind the scenes, environment groups in Australia and the United states have supported the reef being placed on the "in danger" list on the basis not enough is being done to address the impact of climate change.

A 2019 outlook report for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park noted climate change posed the most danger to coral reefs world-wide but the overall value of Australia's largest reef site was intact.

This comes after an "in danger" proposal was put forward by the World Heritage Committee in 2014 which triggered the development of the Reef 2050 Plan - the result of collaborative efforts between the Queensland and federal governments.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/defence-and-foreign-affairs/australia-backed-by-11-countries-after-calling-foul-play-over-chinas-reef-in-danger-push/news-story/ccf470a1d5b8dcb3d5c317824f56d7da

>>14064520

Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on July 5, 2021

The Paper: According to media reports, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee announced on June 22 that it's considering to put Australia's Great Barrier Reef on a list of world heritage in danger. Australia's Environment Minister claimed "there were politics behind it". Australian media believed the Australian government was pointing the finger at China, as it chairs the committee. Do you have any response?

Wang Wenbin: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently recommended that the Great Barrier Reef be listed as a world heritage site "in danger", which represents a recommendation made by this professional advisory body of the World Heritage Committee based on long-term evaluation.

As a party to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and especially a member of the World Heritage Committee, Australia should lead by example and respect the opinion of the professional evaluation institution. It should face up to its serious failings in world heritage protection and earnestly step up preservation efforts instead of politicizing technical issues, wantonly hurling unfounded accusations at UNESCO and its professional evaluation body and shifting the blame to others. Still less should it pressure the World Heritage Committee through innuendo and sensational media reports to sway the Committee's impartial and just decision.

We urge the Australian side to earnestly fulfill its obligations under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, take seriously the opinion of the professional body, take concrete measures to preserve the Great Barrier Reef world heritage site and take care of the treasure of the whole mankind.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1889823.shtml

Chinese ties ‘vital’ to trade survival, say resource states

RICHARD FERGUSON - JULY 5, 2021

Queensland and Western Australia say their ties to China must continue unimpeded to secure billions of dollars’ worth of trade and thousands of jobs, as the resource states’ deals with the Asian superpower come under the scrutiny of the Morrison government.

Months after cancelling the controversial Belt and Road Agreement between China and the Andrews government in Victoria, Foreign Minister Marise Payne is set to decide whether to allow nearly 50 deals between Chinese entities and other state governments.

While many of the deals with China are likely to survive, the Queensland government warned Canberra on Monday that its agreements with the communist nation were helping to preserve government-to-government contact in the midst of a low point in bilateral relations.

And the West Australian government said it was vital it keep its ties with China to support $110bn worth of trade.

The NSW Department of Education has also handed over half a dozen “sister school” deals it has struck between its public colleges and primary and high schools in China to assess whether they are still in the national interest.

A spokesman for Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her state’s agreements with China helped to partly power its $63bn export industry and ensured the federal government maintained people-to-people contacts in the Asian superpower. “Trade equals jobs. That’s why Queensland has its own trade commissioners to help Queensland businesses gain access in overseas markets,” he said on Monday.

“(Trade and Investment Queensland)’s offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu provide in-market support to importers and distributors of Queensland products and services and are our advocates on the ground, an invaluable resource while travel ­restrictions are in place.”

The Foreign Arrangement Scheme (FAS) was introduced by the Morrison government earlier this year amid growing concerns that states and universities were engaged in foreign deals that contradicted Canberra’s foreign policy objectives, particularly with China.

More than 6000 university deals with foreign powers have been submitted to the foreign deals scheme for scrutiny, amid higher education sector claims that overseas partners had begun to withdraw from research due to the legislation.

Queensland’s 30-year sister state agreement – renewed in 2019 – includes department-to-department deals on science and technology research between Brisbane and Shanghai. South Australia has similar deals with Shandong Province which includes sub-department deals with the pair’s agricultural ministries. Western Australian has memorandums of understanding with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s Investment Promotion Agency and Beijing’s National Development and Reform Commission.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has called on Canberra to repair its relationship with China and labelled recent comments of senior Canberra officials on China as “insane”.

A state government spokeswoman said on Monday that China accounted for 56 per cent of the state’s good exports last year and the trading relationship made up a major share of its state revenue and gross product.

“It’s vital Western Australia continues to retain a strong relationship with its biggest trading partner which as a result creates and supports WA jobs,” she said.

In NSW, the deals submitted to FAS include a 2011 memorandum of understanding with the ­Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell earlier this year cancelled her department’s engagement with the Beijing-backed Confucius Institutes.

Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute executive director Peter Jennings said every deal with China had to be scrutinised due to its attempts to influence through different channels.

“Deals involving hard science research are probably more important, but the schools and council links are all part of the Chinese United Front influence network,” he said. “We spectacularly misread China and thought if our state and local governments reached out to the CCP we would have more influence in its direction, but that’s turned out not to be the case. “It’s absurd that Queensland has four offices in the ­People’s Republic of China. It has no business in foreign affairs and it shows our investment in China.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/chinese-ties-vital-to-trade-survival-say-resource-states/news-story/0fe58979cff04dbbc9ef48633741d74a

>>14035922

China accuses Australia of COVID-19 vaccine sabotage in the Pacific

Natalie Whiting, Marian Faa and Annika Burgess - 6 July 2021

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The Australian government has denied accusations it has been "sabotaging" China's aid programs with Pacific nations and using "political manipulation" to interfere in COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in the region.

Articles in Chinese state-owned media this week claim Australia has been "planting" consultants in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to obstruct the authorisation of Chinese-supplied vaccines.

The Global Times said it had "learned exclusively from sources" that Australia had been "racking its brain to undermine China's vaccine cooperation with Pacific Island countries," even accusing Australian authorities of threatening PNG officials.

Australia's Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, who arrived in PNG this week for the first time since the pandemic began, told the ABC this was "absolutely not the case".

"Obviously, when we see that, it's rejected by the Australian government," he said.

"My message to people who may have read that, or other articles, would simply be to look at Australia's record during this period, and over a long period of time, of providing high-quality healthcare support and providing vaccine support."

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday repeated the claims, warning Australia to "stop interfering with and undermining vaccine cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries".

"Some people in Australia use the vaccine issue to engage in political manipulation and bullying, which is a disregard for the life and health of Papua New Guinea people, goes against the basic humanitarian spirit, seriously interferes with the overall situation of global cooperation against the pandemic," Mr Wang said.

Jonathan Pryke, director of the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands Program, said the accusations levelled at Australia were unfair.

He said Australia had stepped up its support to PNG during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing vaccines, medical equipment, and services to administer vaccines as the country works to control its outbreak.

"It's a bit unfair to be characterising it this way, that Australia is undermining Chinese actions," Mr Pryke said.

"I think, rather, we're just providing better alternatives than what China is offering to Papua New Guinea."

PNG initially held off accepting vaccine donations from China, until they received emergency use approval from the World Health Organisation.

200,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine arrived in the country a little over a week ago, but it has not been approved for general use yet.

"Once we complete the rollout plan and other critical details, we can make this vaccine available through the national program, but currently it's only for Chinese citizens," PNG's COVID-19 incident manager Dr Daoni Esorom said.

PNG's pandemic controller said earlier this week that the country was looking to ramp up its vaccination program now that it has AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and soon Johnson & Johnson doses.

(continued)

>>14064583

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Pacific nations caught up in regional vaccine diplomacy battle

A rollout of China's Sinopharm vaccine began in the Pacific in May after it was approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Despite the WHO approval, Sinopharm is not being administered in Australia.

In the same week Sinopharm was launched in the Pacific, Australia pledged to donate tens of thousands of additional doses of its AstraZeneca jabs to Pacific nations, in what some say points to a growing diplomatic rivalry between China and Australia in the region.

Sinopharm is said to be a key component of China's "vaccine diplomacy", where hundreds of millions of doses of Chinese-made vaccines are being offered to low-and middle-income countries around the world.

And while experts say China's efforts may deepen the coalition of developing countries that increasingly look to China for "global leadership," Mr Wang said Beijing's vaccine rollout in PNG had "no geopolitical purpose and no political conditions attached".

In the Global Times report, China instead accused Australia of using vaccines to push for political influence in the region.

Australia initially donated 8,400 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to PNG, and has since committed to supplying 10,000 doses every week, along with medical support.

Mr Seselja said the Australian government was simply "fulfilling our moral and economic responsibility".

"We come to these issues in good faith, and we'll continue to do things that are in the interests of our region and in the interest of our friends and neighbours, most particularly PNG," he said.

"As our region thrives, so does Australia thrive."

PNG willing to embrace any support

Pacific health officials have said they are not concerned about where their vaccines come from — they just want them to protect their citizens.

Dr Orovu Sepoe, an expert in PNG politics, said the country's foreign policy stance was to be a "friend to all and enemy to none".

"Because of the desperation for vaccines, and for other forms of assistance, our government will just stick their hand out and embrace the support of friends who are coming in to assist," Dr Sepoe said.

But she said growing diplomatic tensions between Australia and China needed to be managed carefully by PNG.

PNG had a worrying surge in coronavirus cases from March to May and has faced logistical issues getting immunisation programs running across the country.

The country, which has a population of 9 million, has so far administered just under 55,000 jabs.

PNG has officially recorded just over 17,000 cases and 173 deaths since the pandemic began.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-06/china-accuses-australia-papua-new-guinea-covid-vaccinations/100269320

>>14035922

>>14064583

Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on July 5, 2021

CCTV: According to media reports, Australia has planted several "consultants" in the national epidemic prevention center in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and proactively tried to set up hurdles to delay and thwart the authorization of and access to China-assisted vaccines, even blocking PNG leaders who want to welcome the Chinese vaccines. Does China have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: Those in Australia who take advantage of vaccine issues to engage in political manipulation and bullying coercion are being callous to the life and health of the people in PNG. What they've done is a breach of the basic humanitarian spirit and gravely undermines global anti-pandemic cooperation. China voices its deep concern over and firm opposition to such irresponsible behavior.

China is committed to forging a community of health for all. We always see vaccines as a global public good and do our utmost to help developing countries save more innocent lives. We have no geopolitical agenda and attach no political strings. We urge the Australian side to stop disrupting and undermining vaccine cooperation between China and Pacific island countries and work together with us to help protect the health and wellbeing of people in island countries and advance international anti-pandemic cooperation with concrete actions.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1889823.shtml

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