/qresearch/ -  Q Research

#30 - Part 1

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>18928925 Video: Mark McGowan resigns as WA Premier - Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is stepping down as the state’s leader, admitting his many years serving has left him “exhausted”. “I just don‘t have the energy or drive that is required to continue in the role as Premier. Or to fight that election which would have been my eighth election as a Member of Parliament,” he said. McGowan led Labor back to government with an overwhelming victory over the Liberal government in March 2017, and again at the 2021 election. He enforced some of the toughest Covid-19 restrictions on travel during the pandemic.

>>18928944 Video: Mark McGowan stands down as WA premier in shock announcement, citing exhaustion - WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is retiring from politics in a bombshell announcement. In a press conference held with just 45 minutes' notice, Mr McGowan said he would step down as premier and member for Rockingham at the end of the week. "The truth is I'm tired, extremely tired. In fact, I'm exhausted," he said. Mr McGowan enjoyed overwhelming popularity in his second term throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, enacting the nation's strictest border policies. The approach came with its critics, with some arguing it was heavy-handed, and prompting then-deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce to describe WA as a "kind of hermit kingdom".

>>18928950 WA Premier Mark McGowan’s shock departure puts Labor seats at risk - Mark McGowan’s shock departure from politics inflicts a ­massive blow to the Labor Party’s prospects at the 2025 state and federal elections. Western Australia’s most popular leader in its history - whose landslide 2021 state election victory left the Liberal and National parties in ruin – played a huge hand in delivering Anthony Albanese majority government. Albanese had to wait for the red wave in Perth - where results rolled in two hours behind those on the east coast – to deliver Labor the Liberal seats of Swan, Hasluck, Tangney and Pearce, before claiming majority government on election night. McGowan’s “X-factor” significantly boosted federal Labor’s stocks in Western Australia, and ALP strategists are concerned that losing his popular appeal in the west will make it tougher to retain seats.

>>18928954 Exit door: ‘Premier’s legacy a weakened federation’ - Mark McGowan was the first premier to take as strong an alternative approach to a federal government in foreign policy and “revelled” in stepping out from the commonwealth particularly on the relationship with China, foreign policy experts say. The outgoing Western Australian leader frequently called out the former Coalition government and its handling of the relationship with Beijing, which he labelled “insane”, and demanded Scott Morrison end the damaging rhetoric against Australia’s biggest trading partner. During a visit to China last month - the first in four years - Mr McGowan said it was “unfounded” to have a “fearful relationship” with Beijing after 50 years of fostering a close economic relationship.

>>18934236 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Great to see @SenSchumer at the Capitol. It was a busy day for the Majority Leader, but we found time to talk about the proliferation of Aussies and (Australian) coffee shops in NYC, and the passage of necessary legislation to support AUKUS.

>>18934236 https://qalerts.pub/?q=schumer - https://qalerts.pub/?q=[CS]

#30 - Part 2

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>18940103 Why ‘gender affirming’ care is destroying our most vulnerable kids - "For years readers of The Australian have been made aware of the controversies surrounding the medical treatment of children who identify as other than their natal sex. But it is only recently the seriousness of the public health crisis has begun to be apparent. This is a public health crisis caused not by a virus, not by a disease, but by a social contagion. It is time for plain speaking about the issue. The transgender movement has been based on one truth and a thousand lies. The truth is that for a very small number of people, mostly born male, there can be such a disconnect between body and mind that they cannot find peace unless and until they take such steps as they can to pass as the other sex. This can involve taking cross-sex hormones and undergoing major surgeries that are difficult and risky. Those who take this path, usually well into their adult years and after much suffering, are courageous. They deserve respect and support from us all. But that one truth has been the nurse log on which a vast number of falsehoods have sprouted. Examples include the notion that there are not just two sexes, or that it is actually possible to change sex or be “non-binary”, or the idea that every child has an innate gender identity that awaits discovery. Most people know these things to be nonsense, but in polite society we have been asked to pretend otherwise." - Patrick Parkinson, emeritus professor of law at the University of Queensland and former chair of the Family Law Council - theaustralian.com.au

>>18940139 Donald Trump Jr demands media apologise for airing false claims that his father colluded with Vladimir Putin for 2016 election - Donald Trump Jr has lambasted the media for airing false claims about his father’s alleged collusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 presidential election and said outlets who endorsed the claims - including the ABC – should publicly apologise. After the release of the 316-page Durham report earlier this month, which criticised the FBI’s handling of the investigation into the alleged ties between the two leaders and found no evidence of collusion between Mr Trump and Mr Putin, Mr Trump Jr said his father was owed an apology. “The media made millions of dollars, the country was divided and my father’s first term was hamstrung by the whole thing,” the former president’s eldest son told The Australian.

>>18940223 Video: Memorial Day | The Last Full Measure of Devotion - May 29, 2023 - This #MemorialDay, we pay tribute to the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice defending the nation’s freedom. Let us remember the greatness of past generations and find inspiration from their courage, devotion, and selfless determination. Semper Fidelis. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Staff Sgt. John A. Martinez) - United States Marine Corps

>>18940278 Q Post #4545 - If America falls so does the world. If America falls darkness will soon follow. Only when we stand together, only when we are united, can we defeat this highly entrenched dark enemy. Their power and control relies heavily on an uneducated population. A population that trusts without individual thought. A population that obeys without challenge. A population that remains outside of free thought, and instead, remains isolated living in fear inside of the closed-loop echo chamber of the controlled mainstream media. This is not about politics. This is about preserving our way of life and protecting the generations that follow. We are living in Biblical times. Children of light vs children of darkness. United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4545

>>18940278 Q Post #1350 - If America falls, the World falls. God bless our brave fighting men & women. They deserve our deepest gratitude. Through their strength, and the millions of united Patriots around the World, we will succeed in this fight. Peace through strength. Now comes the pain. Q - https://qanon.pub/#1350

>>18940278 Q Post #2309 - WHERE WE GO ONE, WE GO ALL! WE, THE PEOPLE! FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA. LET FREEDOM RING, PATRIOTS. IT IS YOUR TIME. IF AMERICA FALLS, THE WORLD FALLS. UNITED WE STAND! GOD BLESS YOU ALL. Q+ - https://qanon.pub/#2039

#30 - Part 3

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>18945832 Health leaders reject the need for oversight of transgender medicine - Australia’s most senior health leaders have dismissed suggestions the commonwealth should take a greater oversight and regulatory role in the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children as the federal government admits it has no idea how widely the drugs are being prescribed off-label for gender dysphoria.

>>18946058 Talisman Sabre Facebook Post: The countdown is on for Talisman Sabre 2023 - The largest bilateral military training activity between #YourADF and the United States is set to take place from 22 July - 4 August in Queensland. This year’s exercise will be the biggest yet in terms of geographical spread and number of partner nations participating. Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Indonesia will all take part and contribute to the exercise’s outcomes. Read more - https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2023-05-15/planning-key-success-talisman-sabre - #TalismanSabre2023

>>18946058 Talisman Sabre - MAGIC SWORD - https://qalerts.pub/?q=Operation+Specialists - https://qalerts.pub/?q=magic

>>18949906 Kyiv ‘needs to wait’ for fresh support, says Anthony Albanese - Anthony Albanese has pushed back at Ukraine’s suggestion his government is preparing to unveil fresh support for Ukraine next month, saying announcements would be made “when they’re ready to be made”. “My governments is a considered, adult government,” the Prime Minister told reporters on Saturday during a visit to Vietnam. “I can confirm that we make the announcements when they are ready, when they’ve been considered by all of our processes, including our cabinet.”

>>18955343 Devin Nunes Truth: Good morning #Australia - Glad to have you here @truthsocial

>>18955343 Karina Samperi Truth: Thank you @DevinNunes for finally letting #Australia join #TruthSocial. We have been waiting patiently to be let in support of the #Patriot movement that will affect #Australia

>>18960235 US Marines to join allied troops in Australia for combined force exercise - U.S. Marines in Australia will kick off a month of field training alongside Australian and Japanese troops next week, a precursor to one of the largest military exercises in the Pacific the following month. The exercise, Southern Jackaroo, is taking place between June 15 and mid-July, Maj. Matthew Wolf, a spokesman for Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, said. Next month, all three nations will participate in Talisman Sabre, a biennial exercise in Australia that’s scheduled to draw approximately 30,000 personnel.

>>18960257 Hawkei armoured cars bound for Ukraine war in Australian support deal - Australia is set to give Ukraine the missile-capable, four-wheel-drive armoured cars that it has been requesting for months - the Hawkei - as the centrepiece of a forthcoming support package. Although a formal commitment has yet to be sealed, there has been serious progress informally and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the Herald and The Age the vehicles were number one on his list of “demands” from Australia. He described the Australian-made vehicles as “very, very famous armed vehicles with air defence systems” in an interview in Singapore after meeting his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, at the weekend. The Hawkei is a seven-tonne armoured car designed to be fitted with the same Norwegian-American air defence system that protects the White House.

>>18965978 Video: Nigel Farage said he decided to join Donald Trump Jr.'s Australian speaking tour because the former president's son is 'blooming-good fun' - Former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage has announced he is joining Donald Trump Jr.’s speaking tour of Australia. The eldest son of the former US president is set to appear in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne between 9 and 11 July, this year. Speaking to Sky News Australia’s Paul Murray, the former UK politician-turned GB News host said he had decided to join the tour - which will also include South Australian senator Alex Antic – at the last minute. “I’m coming, well for a couple of reasons really: One, I don’t think you get quite enough real, proper conservative conversation down in Australia these days; number two, I want you all to realise that whatever madnesses you're facing, we're facing them in America and in Britain; and number three, I really like Donald Trump Jr., he’s blooming-good fun, and it’s going to be a great time,” Mr Farage said.

#30 - Part 4

Australian Politics and Society - Part 4

>>18971108 Australia to ban swastika, SS sign citing rise of far-right - Video: Australia said on Thursday it would introduce laws to the parliament next week banning public displays and sales of Nazi hate symbols, citing a rise in far-right activities at home. The swastika, one of the most recognisable symbols of Nazi propaganda, and the insignia of Schutzstaffel (SS), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, will be outlawed to be used as flags and armbands or printed on clothes. "We've seen, very sadly, a rise in people displaying these vile symbols, which are symbols that have no place in Australia, they should be repugnant," Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus told Channel Seven television.

>>18971120 ‘Not pulling our weight’: Bipartisanship collapses over Ukraine support - A fight has erupted between the major parties over Australian support for Ukraine’s war against Russia, with the federal opposition declaring it embarrassing that Ukrainian officials have been forced to resort to social media posts to plead for more military assistance from the Albanese government. In the Coalition’s strongest criticism yet of the government’s Ukraine policy, opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham and defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said they were concerned that Australia was no longer pulling its weight when it came to supporting Ukraine’s military efforts.

>>18971125 Retired Australian F/A-18 Hornet jets a step closer to joining Ukraine's war effort - Kyiv has assured the White House that it would not deploy second-hand Australian warplanes into Russian airspace if dozens of the retired F/A-18s are transferred to Ukraine. High-level international negotiations are continuing between Australia, Ukraine, and the United States over the fate of the decommissioned fighter aircraft, in what could become this country's largest-ever single transfer of military equipment to a foreign power.

>>18977940 Alexander Soros, PhD Tweet: Was great to see my good friend and now Australian ambassador to the US @MrKRudd when I was in DC, one of the smartest statesmen there is.

>>18977940 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Soros - https://qalerts.pub/?q=soros - https://qalerts.pub/?q=[GS]

>>18977940 Q Post #416 - Soros takes orders from P. You have no idea how sick and evil these people are. Fight, fight, fight. Day of days. Game over. Q

>>18977940 Q Post #4349 - Nobody escapes this. Q

>>18983042 White House asked to approve Australian F/A-18 Hornets for Ukraine - Kyiv has formally asked the White House to green light the transfer of the RAAF’s fleet of retired F/A-18 Hornets to Ukraine under a commercial deal with a US aerospace company that has the rights to buy the aircraft. If the US approves the deal, Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles will be urged to make the sale happen, according to an Australian adviser to the Ukraine government who has been helping to broker the sale. Australian, American and Ukrainian officials are understood to have had initial discussions on the potential agreement in which Texas company RAVN Aerospace - which has paid a deposit for 41 of the jets - would on-sell its stake to Kyiv.

>>18983065 ‘Mystery man’ Robert Potter leads fighter jet talks in Ukraine - An Adelaide-born cyber security entrepreneur has emerged as a central figure in a proposed international arms deal to sell retired Australian fighter jets to Ukraine. Internet 2.0 co-founder Robert Potter has an agreement with Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Ministry to provide cyber security tools and training to support the country’s war against Russia. But Mr Potter’s role in the ­potential sale of up to 41 former RAAF F/A-18 Hornets to the country has raised eyebrows in Ukraine and Australia, with the Kyiv Post newspaper this week describing his involvement as “unconventional”.

>>18983102 Aussie Fighter Jets for Ukraine? More Questions Than Answers - "The mandate for such a deal or for the Australian cyber-security consultant who appears associated with it remains unclear after Kyiv Post investigated. Following the international spread of a media report that Australia and the US were negotiating with Ukraine about providing retired Australian F/A-18 aircraft, doubts about the alleged deal have emerged. Yesterday, the Australian Financial Review (AFR), a highly respected newspaper, published a report by two very well-regarded journalists that Australia, the US and Ukraine “are discussing sending 41 Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornets to Kyiv.” Given the Ukrainian government has repeatedly said that fighter aircraft are critical to their country’s defense, Kyiv Post sought to establish the bona fides of developments reported by AFR." - Pete Shmigel - kyivpost.com

#30 - Part 5

Australian Politics and Society - Part 5

>>18987818 Australian deaths from ‘suicide kits’ linked to global investigation - The deaths of several Australians by suicide have been linked to a now global investigation into a Canadian chef who has been charged in his homeland with selling a lethal substance online to vulnerable people all over the world. Australian law enforcement agencies have joined investigators in Britain, the United States, Italy, New Zealand and Canada to investigate alleged suicide kits sent by Kenneth Law who, for almost two years, used a website to sell a poison that at-risk people could use to end their lives.

>>18987863 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: Video: Always Ready - Check out U.S. Marines with MRF-D as they conduct an embassy reinforcement scenario at Mount Bundey Training Area! - #AlliesandPartners #FreeandOpenIndoPacific #MRFD #embassy - (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Cpl. Brayden Daniel)

>>18992075 The Age sacks columnist Julie Szego amid gender furore - The editor of The Age has sacked one of the masthead’s star columnists, Julie Szego, after she took aim at the publication over its ­refusal to run an article on youth gender transition. Last week, Szego posted on ­social media that while she had been commissioned to write a feature-length story about the contentious issue by the newspaper’s former editor Gay Alcorn, The Age’s current boss Patrick Elligett refused to run it. Szego, a freelancer who has written for The Age on and off for more than two decades, subsequently chose to self-publish the 5000-word piece on her own Substack page, telling her social media followers about her new blog: “I’ll be writing about gender identity politics … without the copy being rendered unreadable by a committee of woke journalists redacting words they deem incendiary, such as ‘male’.”

>>18992075 A QUESTION OF TRANSITION - Youth gender treatment under scrutiny - JULIE SZEGO - 4 JUN 2023 - "This is a piece The Age refused to publish. It is the first in a series I’ll be posting here." - https://szegounplugged.substack.com/p/a-question-of-transition

>>18992091 Senior child psychiatrist stood down after questioning gender medicine - The suspension of a senior staff psychiatrist over her approach to transgender patients has thrown the Queensland Children’s Hospital into turmoil, casting a spotlight on widespread concerns among doctors at the treatment of children with gender dysphoria. The case of Jillian Spencer -- stood down from clinical duties apparently accused of transphobia – has exposed a culture in which clinicians are unable to employ medical discretion or a neutral therapeutic stance and are bound by their employment to affirm children’s gender transition. Dr Spencer, a senior staff specialist in the QCH’s consultation liaison psychiatry team, was removed from clinical duties in mid-April following a patient complaint in an unusual response from a public hospital that followed months of conflict over affirmative gender medicine and trans identity politics within the hospital.

>>18998407 USA puts flying schools on Entity List for training PLA aircrew - The US Department of Commerce has added international flight schools to its Entity List, stating that they have recruited Western pilots to provide training for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The two companies, the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) and Hong Kong-based Frontier Service Group, were among 43 entities added to the list. Entities on the list are subject to additional licensing requirements and policies beyond the USA’s standard Export Administration Regulations. The Commerce Department says that the various entities added have provided assistance to Beijing in areas such as pilot training, aircraft manoeuvres and tactics, hypersonic weapons development, and weapon lifecycle management using Western software. China’s tapping of former western military pilots has come into the spotlight in the last 12 months. Former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan is in Australia fighting extradition to the USA. He faces allegations that he helped train Chinese military pilots.

>>18998479 Video: Australia's Bushmasters to play 'huge role' in Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia, troops say - In a secret location in eastern Ukraine, frontline troops from the 80th Air Assault Brigade are putting one of their Bushmasters through its paces. "It's fantastic," says driver Oleksandr when asked about the armoured personnel carrier that was built in Bendigo. "Words cannot express it. It's such a powerful vehicle. It is much easier to drive than our equipment," he says. Australia pledged 90 Bushmasters to Ukraine after President Zelenskyy addressed the national parliament last year and asked for the vehicles. They have proved invaluable to Ukraine's armed forces over the past year.

#30 - Part 6

Australian Politics and Society - Part 6

>>19005499 Video: Lidia Thorpe accuses fellow senator David Van of ‘sexually assaulting’ her - Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has in parliament accused Victorian Liberal senator David Van of “harassing” and “sexually assaulting” her. The allegation was made by Thorpe soon after Senate question time on Wednesday as Van made a speech accusing the Labor Party of disgraceful behaviour in its handling of the Brittany Higgins sexual assault allegations. “Even yesterday and today the muck that has been thrown from that side [Labor] to this side [Liberal] senators [Michaelia] Cash and [Linda] Reynolds is really just not on and makes a mockery of your words,” he said.” As Van speaks, Thorpe can be heard interjecting and calling out the word “perpetrator” and “You can talk! You can talk! You know what you were doing around this time, you know what you were doing around this time don’t you Van? You got away with a lot.” Senate deputy president Andrew McLachlan repeatedly attempted to stop Thorpe from interjecting. Then the former Greens senator rose on a point of order and said: “I’m feeling really uncomfortable when a perpetrator is speaking about violence”.

>>19005586 KanekoaTheGreat Tweet: Australia's Sky News discusses @MarcoPolo501c3 releasing a 630-page report with 2,020 citations that thoroughly documents 459 crimes committed by the Biden family & their business associates. •140 business crimes •191 sex crimes •128 drug crimes - https://twitter.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/1668724106001543168

>>19005590 Video: 'Out of a novel': Hunter Biden's laptop filled with sex, drugs and shady deals exposed - A former aide to Donald Trump has lifted the lid on Hunter Biden’s laptop which has plagued the Democratic Party since it first surfaced in October 2020. Garrett Ziegler was one of the few people given a copy of the laptop in 2020 by the former president’s ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani. He has been named in Hunter Biden’s attorneys demands for the Delaware attorney general, Department of Justice and IRS to investigate those who published the president’s son's personal material. Within the laptop was a treasure trove of information suggesting the now President’s son had been involved in overseas business deals including lobbying foreign oligarchs, influence peddling. It also includes explicit photos and videos of Hunter engaging in sex acts and taking drugs. Mr Ziegler detailed the contents in an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia in a bid to paint “a true picture”.

>>19010951 ‘Take it to the police’: David Van responds to Lidia Thorpe claims - Victorian Liberal senator David Van has told Lidia Thorpe to go to the police if she believes, as she has claimed, that he sexually assaulted her. The independent senator on Wednesday performed an ­extraordinary backdown in parliament, withdrawing her accusation hours earlier that Mr Van had “harassed and sexually assaulted” her when his party was in government. Senator Van said Senator Thorpe’s accusations were “just awful,” telling 2GB the allegations were “Just terrible for me and my family.” “The only time I’ve ever even touched her was shaking her hand after her maiden speech. “Nothing else, that’s for sure,” he said.

>>19010988 Liberal Senator David Van was accused by Lidia Thorpe of harassment, here’s what we know about him - A former public affairs consultant from Victoria, ousted Liberal senator David Van was thrown into the spotlight when independent Lidia Thorpe used parliamentary privilege to accuse him of harassment and sexual assault. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Thursday afternoon said further allegations had emerged about Senator Van and had “advised Senator Van of my decision that he should no longer sit in the Liberal Party party room.” Senator Thorpe on Thursday spoke of how she had faced “sexual comments” and had been “inappropriately propositioned” in corridors and stairwells of parliament house in an emotional speech to the Senate. “One man followed me and cornered me in a stairwell,” she said. “To me, it was sexual assault and the government of the time recognised it as such.”

#30 - Part 7

Australian Politics and Society - Part 7

>>19011007 Lidia Thorpe says she was propositioned and inappropriately touched in parliament - Independent Lidia Thorpe has doubled down on her allegations that Liberal Senator David Van is a “perpetrator”, telling the Senate on Thursday that he was among a number of men in parliament who had made her feel “unsafe” in the building. In a tearful address to the upper house, the former Greens senator said she had been “propositioned and inappropriately touched” in the hallways and corridors of parliament and called on the government to immediately increase the number of security guards and cameras in the building. “As all women that have walked the corridors of this building know, it is not a safe place. You are often alone in long corridors with no windows and in stairwells hidden from view, where there are no cameras,” she told the senate. “I experienced sexual comments and it was inappropriately propositioned by powerful men. One man followed me and cornered me in a stairwell. “There are different understandings of what amounts to sexual assault and what I experienced has been being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched.”

>>19011031 Video: David Van moves to the crossbench after Thorpe’s Senate accusations - Liberal senator David Van has been removed from the Liberal party room after a meeting with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton following accusations of harassment made by Lidia Thorpe in the Senate. Dutton said he had met with the Victorian senator on Thursday morning after further allegations had been brought to him overnight. “A short time ago I advised Senator Van of my decision that he should no longer sit in the Liberal party room. At the outset, I want to make clear, very clear that I’m not making any judgement on the veracity of the allegations or any individual’s guilt or innocence. I make that very clear,” Dutton said.

>>19011145 Video: ‘Threat to our national security’: Government to terminate lease for new Russian embassy - The Albanese government has introduced emergency legislation to prevent Russia from opening a new embassy less than a kilometre from Parliament House in Canberra, saying the new site poses an unacceptable security risk. The government intervened in the long-running dispute about the embassy site after the Federal Court last week found an eviction order issued by the National Capital Authority (NCA) was invalid. The Russian government was granted the 99-year lease for the plot of land, in the upmarket suburb of Yarralumla, in 2008 but failed to progress plans to develop the site, leading the NCA to claim it should give it up to another country. “The government has received very clear security advice as to the risk presented by a new Russian presence, and so close to Parliament House,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a press conference.

>>19011190 Queensland makes gender optional on birth certificates - Sexual reassignment surgery will no longer be mandatory for adults and teenagers wanting to change sex on their Queensland birth certificates under new laws that were expected to pass state parliament. The transgender reforms, opposed by the Liberal National Party, will also give parents the ­option not to list any gender on their newborn’s documentation. Children older than 16 will be able to legally self-identify as another sex without parental consent, as long as they have a supporting statement from an adult who has known them for at least a year. Those aged 12 to 15 will ­require their parents’ permission to change their birth certificate, but can apply to the courts if their parents do not support an application. Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said the opt-in approach for listing sex on birth certificates was designed to “give people the greatest agency over what information they want recorded. Providing these protections to trans and gender-diverse people does not pose a threat to others,” she said.

#30 - Part 8

Australian Politics and Society - Part 8

>>19016472 Peter Dutton says senator David Van should quit parliament, after another allegation raised with him - Liberal leader Peter Dutton says senator David Van should quit parliament, after airing that allegations made against the senator by a third person were brought to him, contributing to his rapid expulsion from the party room. Over an explosive 48 hours, independent senator Lidia Thorpe raised allegations under parliamentary privilege that Senator Van had sexually harassed and assaulted her - which he immediately denied, and she later withdrew. Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker yesterday raised her own claims that Senator Van had inappropriately touched her at a party by squeezing her bottom twice - something she said she dealt with internally at the time, but felt compelled to bring to Mr Dutton's attention after Senator Thorpe spoke in the Senate.

>>19016500 Sydney MP Alex Greenwich sues Mark Latham for allegedly suggesting he ‘goes to schools to groom children’ - Newly released court documents reveal independent MP Alex Greenwich is suing NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham for purportedly painting him as someone who “goes to schools to groom children to become homosexual”. Conservatives and progressives both responded with fierce disapproval to a graphic and homophobic tweet shared to Mr Latham’s social media on March 30 in which he claimed Mr Greenwich engaged in “disgusting” sexual activities. Mr Latham deleted the tweet after a public uproar and demands for an apology. “Greenwich goes into schools talking to kids about being gay. I didn’t want to be accused of anything similar, leaving that kind of content on my socials.”

>>19016596 Embassy of Russia in Australia Facebook Post: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: «To our regret, Australia diligently continues to move in the main stream of the authors of the Russophobic hysteria that is now taking place in the Western countries. Australia is trying to be an excellent student there».

>>19016596 Australia diligently continues to move in main stream of Russophobic hysteria: Kremlin - Australia, having cancelled the lease agreement for the site for the construction of the new Russian embassy building, diligently continues to move forward in the main stream of the authors of the Russophobic hysteria and tries to distinguish itself on this path, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "To our regret, Australia diligently continues to move in the main stream of the authors of the Russophobic hysteria that is now taking place in the Western countries. Australia is trying to be an excellent student there," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters on Thursday, commenting on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's statement about introducing a relevant bill to parliament. - tass.com

>>19016648 Fears government data has been stolen by cyber criminals grow as law firm’s clients are revealed - The Albanese government has established a crisis group to examine what commonwealth data has been stolen by Russian-linked hackers who infiltrated the systems of HWL Ebsworth, the giant law firm that has tens of millions of dollars of contracts across at least 40 government departments and agencies. Sensitive agencies including Home Affairs, the Australian Federal Police, Australian Taxation Office, Department of Defence, Department of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions are among those feared to have been impacted by the hack.

>>19016676 Data on secret missile testing site, attack helicopters and police operations stolen by hackers - Russian cyber hackers who infiltrated the computer systems of law firm HWL Ebsworth have obtained government files apparently relating to the top-secret Woomera missile testing site, navy’s attack helicopter replacement project and Australia’s politically sensitive enhanced engagement in the Indo-Pacific. Sources said the hack - one of the largest in Australian history - had also seen the ransomware gang ­obtain documents concerning police intelligence about protests at an immigration detention centre, the escape of prisoners, and projects involving special forces. While a court injunction obtained by the giant law firm has sought to limit public knowledge of the content of the hacked documents, The Weekend Australian can ­reveal there is deep concern and fury in Canberra, where at least 45 departments and agencies fear data they shared with HWL Ebsworth has been compromised.

#30 - Part 9

Australian Politics and Society - Part 9

>>19016711 ‘State warcraft’: Police won’t cop $1.7bn worth of meth imports - Federal police say international crime groups and “state actors” are threatening the rules-based order of democracies such as Australia by working together to smuggle illicit drugs, after revealing they had seized $1.7bn worth of meth bound for Victoria and NSW. In an extraordinary five-month operation, the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and other national crime-busting organisations worked with the Five Eyes law enforcement group to capture more than six tonnes of liquid and crystal methamphetamine since December last year. The illicit substance arrived in four separate sea cargo shipments, and originated from Canada. The drugs were replaced with a harmless substance but had it landed, almost 19 million street deals could have taken place.

>>19016940 Ukraine’s plea for Hawkei vehicles ‘unsupportable at this time’, government letter says - The Albanese government says it is unable to send Hawkei protected mobility vehicles to Ukraine in the near future despite increasingly desperate pleas from Kyiv, citing braking issues and a lack of spare parts. Ukraine has been requesting a fleet of Australian-made Hawkeis since September and the country’s Ministry of Defence has taken to social media in recent months to declare the vehicle its new “military crush”. In a letter sent to a member of the public earlier this month on behalf of Defence Minister Richard Marles, a senior Department of Defence official said: “We are aware of calls to provide [the] Hawkei to Ukraine. The combination of an unresolved braking issue and a limited supply of parts means that the gifting of the Hawkei is unsupportable at this time. The government is considering options for further support to Ukraine, which it will announce in due course.”

>>19021590 ‘Disregard for due process’: David Van resigns from Liberal Party following sexual harassment allegations - Victorian Senator David Van has formally resigned from the Liberal Party after what he has described as “wholesale disregard for due process and natural justice” in the handling of numerous sexual harassment allegations levelled against him. The Victorian Senator on Saturday wrote to Victorian Liberal Party president Greg Mirabella to say he was resigning his membership effective immediately. “I cannot remain a member of a party that tramples upon the very premise on which our justice system is predicated,” he said in the letter. “This is a travesty of justice and I reiterate that I deny the allegations made against me.

>>19021740, >>19021747 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Great to spend time with Pacific Ambassadors to the US and US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy. Important conversations about the future of the region we all call home.

>>19026316 Albanese government must recognise Palestine this term: Victorian Labor Conference - The Victorian Labor conference has called on the Albanese government to recognise Palestine before the next election, setting the stage for the matter to become a focal point at the upcoming national conference in August. A motion put to the Victorian Labor conference today congratulated Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong for the restoration of aid to Palestinians and shifting Australia’s vote at the United Nations on matters relating to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. But the state conference called on the federal government to go further and formally recognise Palestine in this term.

>>19031721 Xie Feng (12th Chinese Ambassador to the United States) Tweet: Thank you, @AmboRudd, for inviting me and my wife to your beautiful residence. Good discussion.

>>19037068 Legalise Cannabis party introduces personal use bills in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia - The Legalise Cannabis party has today introduced bills to legalise marijuana for personal use in parliaments in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. It is the first time the same bill has been tabled in three states on the same day. The bills have been introduced to the states' upper houses and will need support from major parties to become law. It will not allow people under 18 to access cannabis, or permit driving while impaired by the drug. New South Wales upper house MP Jeremy Buckingham said the reform would allow people over the age of 18 to grow up to six cannabis plants in their households. It would also allow people to gift small quantities to other people but driving under the influence of the drug would remain prohibited.

#30 - Part 10

Australian Politics and Society - Part 10

>>19037075 Daniel Andrews defends Israel, saying he would have voted against his faction’s Palestine motion - Daniel Andrews has issued a staunch defence of Israel’s sovereignty, voicing his opposition to his own faction’s motion on Palestinian recognition, which passed without dissent at Labor’s Victorian conference on Sunday. Recommitting to comments he made three weeks ago that the Jewish homeland represented the “only true democracy” in the Middle East, the Victorian Premier indicated he would oppose any motion regarding the recognition of Palestine at the national ALP conference due to be held in August. “My position on Israel has been very, very consistent and clear. It’s not always popular, but it’s my view, and it won’t change,” the Premier said.

>>19037159 Donald Trump Jr. Faces Calls to Be Banned From Australia - Donald Trump Jr. is facing calls for his banning in Australia ahead of his upcoming tour there. Trump, the eldest son of the former president and a prominent conservative voice in his own right, will be headed Down Under for a three-city speaking tour presented by the nonprofit organization Turning Point Australia, with stops in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, from July 9 to 11. He is expected to be joined by former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. Trump Jr.'s scheduled appearances have generated calls for the Australian government to block him from entering the country. His Australian critics have launched petitions to ban him from obtaining a visa to come into the country and have vowed to disrupt his speaking engagements. One Change.org petition, titled "Stop Donald Trump Jr getting an Australian Visa," has gained over 14,000 signatures.

>>19037218 Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023: Largest US amphibious assault ship USS America to dock in Brisbane - The largest amphibious assault ship in the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet is expected to arrive in Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon. It will be the second time in three years the USS America, which carries fighter jets and tiltrotor aircraft such as MV22-Ospreys, has visited Queensland, but only the first time it has been allowed to dock and its crew to come ashore. With US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit on board, the warship is pulling in for a port call before heading off to participate in the 10th iteration of Australia’s largest bilateral combined military training activity with the US, Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023.

>>19044137 ‘A real head-scratcher’: Australia’s commitment to Ukraine questioned - The Australian government has been criticised for failing to send a minister to represent the nation at the Ukraine recovery conference taking place in London on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Penny Wong will skip the conference, instead opting to attend parliament and send a pre-recorded video message. “The Albanese government continues to send all of the wrong signals about Australia’s commitment to Ukraine,” Birmingham said. “It’s staggering that the Albanese government is a repeated ministerial no-show at important discussions about Ukraine’s future.”

>>19044166 Left-wing activists try to ban Trump Jr. from Australia ahead of speaking tour - Left-wing activists are pushing to derail Donald Trump Jr.’s planned speaking tour in Australia, and a petition to deny him a visa into the country has netted more than 17,000 signatures. Former President Trump’s eldest son is launching a three-city speaking tour of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne from July 9-11 that’s being held by Turning Point Australia, a sister organization of the American conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk. A Change.org page was launched in response calling for Trump Jr. to be blocked from even setting foot in Australia, which as of Tuesday morning has just over 17,200 supporters. "Donald Trump Jr is an illegal drug-taking bigoted person who should not be allowed to enter Australia for the purpose of earning himself and possibly his father any ‘Campaign Contributions’. Ban him from this country," wrote Kris Eriksen, the petition’s founder.

>>19044192 Amphibious assault ship ready for Talisman Sabre drills - The commander of a US Navy amphibious assault ship says he is "prepared" for attempts by other nations to seize maritime territory in the region. The USS America docked in the Port of Brisbane on Tuesday for a three-day visit ahead of the Talisman Sabre training exercise in northern Australia involving land combat, amphibious landings and air operations. The $A5 billion, 257-metre warship is crewed by 2000 sailors and marines and carries 20 aircraft including six F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighters with vertical take-off and landing capability.

#30 - Part 11

Australian Politics and Society - Part 11

>>19044210 US sailors and Marines flock ashore as mega war ship USS America docks in Brisbane - Seeing koalas and kangaroos are high on the agenda for most of the crew of the USS America which arrived in Brisbane this week. The largest amphibious assault ship in the US Navy's Seventh Fleet docked to allow its 2500 embarked US Marines and sailors to enjoy a port visit before participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023, Australia’s largest bilateral combined military training activity with the US. The 257m-long ship is designed to accommodate F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and a combination of rescue, combat and support helicopters including MV22 Ospreys and CH-53E Super Stallions. US Marine Captain Erik Carlson, an F-35 pilot, said the Americans loved working with the Australian military. “We work with the Australians a lot and we love that relationship,” he said. “It’s good to have close friends down here.”

>>19044241 Video: American navy ship USS America arrives in Brisbane - Brisbane is about to be invaded by a large military force ready to take on the town. The massive navy vessel USS America is in Australia for vital training exercises, but first, its crew is coming ashore. - 7NEWS Australia

>>19044256 Video: Why this American warship has just docked in Brisbane - Queensland has thrown out the welcome mat to 2,000 US marines and navy sailors ready to explore Brisbane. The USS America is the largest amphibious warship in the US Navy's 7th fleet. It has sailed in for a port call before heading north to participate in the military exercise Talisman Sabre. - ABC News (Australia)

>>19051042 Australia issues Elon Musk's Twitter with a 'please explain' notice over surge in online hate - Elon Musk's social media platform Twitter has been issued with a demand from Australian authorities for information on what it is doing to tackle online hate. Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said about one-third of the complaints her agency received about online hate involved content on Twitter, noting a surge in harmful posts since the Tesla chief bought the platform last year. Twitter has 28 days to comply with the "please explain" notice, or face fines of almost $700,000 for every day it misses the deadline.

>>19051054 Australia to Elon Musk: Explain how you’re dealing with hate on Twitter - Australia has ordered Twitter to explain what it is doing to tackle online hate, saying there had been a sharp increase in “toxicity and hate” since Elon Musk took over the company last year. Twitter could be fined as much as $475,000 a day if it doesn’t comply, under an online safety law that Australia touted as world-first when it was introduced in 2021. Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner and a former Twitter executive, said Thursday that she issued the notice after a “worrying surge of hate online” and specifically a sharp increase in reports of serious online abuse since Musk bought the company in October. - Frances Vinall - washingtonpost.com

>>19051106 Ukraine moves to become a cashless society in anti-corruption bid - Ukraine says it wants to make its economy cashless as soon as possible to stamp out corruption and secure the hundreds of billions of dollars from private investors that it will need to rebuild after the war. The plans follow the direct urging to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by Australia’s richest man, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, who has unveiled a new investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction, kick-started with $US500 million ($735 million) paid for via his private company, Tattarang.

>>19051159 George Papadopoulos Tweet: The Australian “diplomat” who lied about me (the reason the sham crossfire investigation investigation went nowhere) also just happened to earmark $25 million to the Clinton foundation while he was Australia’s foreign minister. Are you catching on yet?

>>19058367 Russian Federation launches High Court action against decision to block new embassy in Canberra - The Russian Federation has officially launched legal action in the highest court in Australia as it challenges the government’s decision to block its plans for a new embassy in Canberra. Lawyers acting on behalf of Russian Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky filed an injunction in the High Court on Friday afternoon against new laws that tore up the Kremlin’s lease for the proposed embassy site in Yarralumla. The Kremlin is challenging the new laws on constitutional grounds, arguing the commonwealth didn’t have just terms for terminating its lease, according to court documents.

#30 - Part 12

Australian Politics and Society - Part 12

>>19058407 Germany invites Australia into elite ‘climate club’ - Australia will be invited to join a high-powered “climate club” for countries with ambitious emissions reductions goals when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese makes an expected visit to Berlin next month to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Joining the German-led group would help Australia avoid potential European trade sanctions on countries that fail to take urgent action to tackle climate change. German ambassador to Australia Markus Ederer said the election of the Albanese government had opened up new opportunities for the countries to work together on low-emissions technologies and critical minerals exports. “With the arrival of a new government which is taking serious climate action, I think there’s a lot of convergence between our climate agendas,” he said.

>>19064520 Social media giants to face multimillion-dollar fines for spreading fake news - Social media giants will be hit with millions of dollars in fines if they repeatedly fail to remove disinformation and misinformation from their platforms under a major crackdown by the Albanese government. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland will on Sunday release draft legislation to give the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) powers to hold digital platforms to account for spreading harmful fake news. “Mis- and disinformation sows division within the community, undermines trust and can threaten public health and safety,” Rowland said. “The Albanese government is committed to keeping Australians safe online, and that includes ensuring the ACMA has the powers it needs to hold digital platforms to account for mis- and disinformation on their services.”

>>19064532 Air Force’s readiness chief sent into Home Affairs to fortify response to ‘cyber scumbags’ - The former head of the Royal Australian Air Force’s VIP operations and current air commander, Air Vice-Marshal Darren Goldie, will become the head of the National Office of Cyber Security and Australia’s cyber security coordinator within the Department of Home Affairs. The appointment is a major win for the military in the pecking order of Australia’s sprawling cyber estate. Under current cyber doctrine, the exfiltration and compromise of data and information from systems has largely been accepted as a norm of espionage and intelligence operations, while cyber attacks that seek to replicate kinetic attacks - such as destroying infrastructure or crashing planes - is largely interpreted as war-like. However, these boundaries are being pushed and tested by Russian-speaking actors who have created an extortion industry from ransomware attacks that both encrypt a target’s data and release it into the public domain.

>>19064564 Jacinta Allan, 12 members of the Australia Day Council of South Australia among those sanctioned by Russia - Several Australian businessmen, politicians, and journalists are now banned from visiting Russia in the latest sanctions imposed by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russia has accused those named of being part of a "Russophobic campaign by the collective West". Victorian Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan is the most notable politician on the list, which also has South Australian Labor MP Dana Wortley and Liberal Jing Lee. In response, the deputy premier said her office continued to stand with the Ukrainian community. "We stand with the people of Ukraine and their families and friends during this difficult time," she said.

>>19064687 Video: Former FBI director James Comey speaks on Trump, the mob and his latest book - Former FBI director, James Comey, is a polarising figure in the United States for his role in the 2016 election. Long before that Comey had a storied career as a prosecutor of bullet-proof integrity, including years spent chasing mafia bosses in New York. Now, he's written a novel based on those battles with the Cosa Nostra. It's called Central Park West and he speaks to 7.30’s Sarah Ferguson.

>>19064687 https://qalerts.pub/?q=comey - https://qalerts.pub/?q=corney - https://qalerts.pub/?q=downer - https://qalerts.pub/?q=crossfire

>>19075444 High Court throws out Russia's bid to stop Australian government taking control of embassy site - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the High Court's decision to reject a bid by Russia to prevent the Commonwealth from taking control of a site it leased for a new embassy. Earlier this month, the federal government rushed through legislation terminating Moscow's tenancy on land adjacent to Parliament House, citing a possible national security risk. This morning High Court Justice Jayne Jagot threw out Russia's bid for an injunction, which would have prevented the Commonwealth from entering the disputed land while any court action was underway. Mr Albanese urged the Russian government to heed the High Court's advice and leave the site.

#30 - Part 13

Australian Politics and Society - Part 13

>>19075501 Australia pledges $110 million in military and humanitarian support for Ukraine's battle against Russia - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced another military support package for Ukraine worth $110 million. Australia will send a further 70 military vehicles to Ukraine, including 28 armoured vehicles. It will also send artillery ammunition to Ukraine, and provide $10 million to the United Nations to help meet humanitarian needs in the country in the wake of Russia's invasion. Australia has already supplied Ukraine with support worth more than $650 million, including through providing Bushmaster armoured personnel carriers, drones and ammunition. Mr Albanese denied Australia's extra support for Ukraine was in response to an aborted mutiny in Russia at the weekend. He said Australia had offered additional support for Ukraine around every four months.

>>19075550 ‘I never was a spy’: Space consultant denies she’s a national security risk - An Irish space industry consultant detained in Australia after ASIO advised she posed a national security risk had repeated contact with a suspected Russian intelligence officer. An investigation by this masthead has identified the suspected Russian spy who ASIO has alleged tasked Irish national Marina Sologub with sharing sensitive information she gained by working in the space industry, first in Europe and then in Australia. In an exclusive interview on 60 Minutes, Sologub responded to the allegations levelled at her privately by ASIO - which refused to comment on her case - that she had been liaising with a suspected Russian intelligence officer who was working under diplomatic cover in Ireland. The officer has left Dublin and now works as a Russian trade official in Serbia. “He never told me, ‘Marina, I’m Russian intelligence.’ He was the junior guy,” said Sologub, who arrived in Australia in 2020. “I never shared any information with him.” - Nick McKenzie - theage.com.au

>>19079344 Musk's Twitter Faces Millions In Fines After New 'Disinformation' Laws Released In Australia - Elon Musk’s Twitter and other social media giants face the prospect of billions in fines after the Australian government released new laws targeting “misinformation and disinformation.” Following a months-long process, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland released the draft legislation that will grant the country’s media regulatory body, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), greater powers to stamp out harmful content online.

>>19082405 Taiwan frustrated by Australia’s decade-long trade snub over fears of China - Taiwan’s government is frustrated by Australia’s refusal to begin trade talks, as Anthony Albanese’s China trip becomes the latest in a litany of reasons given for Canberra’s decade-long snub of its fifth biggest trading partner. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that before President Tsai Ing-wen’s government was elected in 2016, it was told Australia wanted to sign a free-trade agreement with all of its major trading partners.

>>19094098 Corruption inquiry in Australia uncovers China links to state lawmaker - The former premier of Australia's most populous state engaged in corrupt conduct involving another lawmaker with whom she was in a secret romantic relationship, a years-long corruption inquiry that examined business dealings with China said on Thursday. The New South Wales Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC) said in a report that Gladys Berejiklian had failed to notify the commission of her concerns that Daryl Maguire, a member of the state assembly with whom she was in a relationship during her term of office, may have engaged in corrupt conduct, and this undermined the ministerial code.

>>19103525 ‘Really angry’: Jacinda Ardern’s tensions with Scott Morrison revealed - New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Australia has revealed the simmering tensions between Jacinda Ardern and the Morrison government over migration policies, saying the NZ Prime Minister at one point became “really angry” with Scott Morrison. In an interview with AAP ahead of her retirement in December, Annette King said the 501 deportation policy - under which Australia deported NZ criminals even if they had never lived in NZ – was a particular bone of contention. In 2020 Dame Jacinda confronted then PM Morrison over the policy, telling him in front of reporters: “Do not deport your people and your problems”. “It certainly upset the Morrison government … the previous government was angry with her for raising it (even though) she had already warned that she would,” Dame Annette said. “She berated ScoMo on his treatment of New Zealanders. It was a really important signal back home to New Zealand.”

#30 - Part 14

Australian Politics and Society - Part 14

>>19103648 Nazi salute banned in Tasmania in an Australian first - Tasmania has become the first state to ban the Nazi salute, with six months jail for repeat offenders, in a move hailed by Jewish leaders but criticised by some free speech advocates. The landmark legislation, similar to that foreshadowed in Victoria amid a national debate on how to tackle Neo-Nazism, was passed by Tasmania’s upper house on Thursday night. “Nazis will not have a refuge here in Tasmania, and this sends a very clear message that Nazi symbols and salutes are not welcome in Tasmania,” said Attorney-General Elise Archer.

>>19104379 Labor Left to push Anthony Albanese on free abortions and to close Nauru - Anthony Albanese will be urged to provide free abortions across Australia, end offshore processing and close Nauru at Labor’s upcoming national conference, as the party membership pushes to government to adopt a more left-wing agenda. The Australian can reveal the motions that will be put up by Labor for Refugees and the influential women’s group Emily’s List, which is co-convened by NSW Left faction MP Sharon Claydon. With the Prime Minister reluctant to pursue abortion reform after the issue hurt Labor with faith communities in the 2019 election, Emily’s List will call for the ACT model of free abortions to be implemented nationally.

>>19104403 Video: Is she or isn't she a spy? The mother accused of working for Russia - The murky business of espionage usually exists in the shadows. But not this week on 60 MINUTES. In an intriguing and at times robust encounter, Tara Brown interviews a woman our spy agency, ASIO, claims is an agent tasked by Russia to gather sensitive information. Her name is Marina Sologub, and up until earlier this year she’d been living and working in Adelaide for three years. Now she’s in immigration detention waiting to be kicked out of the country. As Brown reports, cases like this would normally be kept top secret, but quite remarkably a very bold Sologub is refusing to go quietly, denying accusations she’s a spy, and vowing to fight her deportation to the bitter end.

>>19104595 Talisman Sabre Facebook Post - TS23 - Message from Exercise Directors - “An important part of a significant military exercise like Talisman Sabre are the planning events that are required to train together in dynamic situations across an area as large as northern Australia.” Hear from the Director of Exercise Talisman Sabre, Brigadier Damian Hill, as he shares more about the deep planning that goes into #TalismanSabre2023. This year, more than a dozen nations personnel are set to take part in the Australia-United States-led bilateral exercise. Partner Nations Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Indonesia will work together to enhance interoperability and strengthen key strategic partnerships.

>>19105135 OPINION: Anti-democrat Donald Trump Jr should not be allowed into Australia - "Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of disgraced former US president Don­ald Trump and executive vice-president of The Trump Organisation, will be in Australia for a promotional tour speaking at events in Sydney on July 8 and continuing to Brisbane and Melbourne. But Trump should not be granted a visa to enter Australia because he fails multiple character test requirements under the Migration Act. Trump is an anti-democrat who encouraged the overturning of an election. He is a conspiracy theorist who spread misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic. And he leads an organisation found guilty of tax fraud and document falsification. It is completely unacceptable to allow Trump Jr to come to Australia to give voice to the undermining of democratic elections, disrespecting the rule of law, denigrating people based on their race, religion or sexuality, and provoking political unrest. He has done all of these things and will do so in Australia, in search of a willing antipodean MAGA audience. The Migration Act is clear that if there is a risk the person entering Australia would vilify segments of the Australian community, harass or intimidate people, or “incite discord” with their views, then they should be denied entry on character grounds. There is plenty of evidence that this is what Trump Jr plans to do in Australia." - Troy Bramston, senior writer and columnist with The Australian - theaustralian.com.au

#30 - Part 15

Australian Politics and Society - Part 15

>>19109666 Video: Ukraine ambassador asks Foreign Minister Penny Wong to visit Kyiv amid calls for more weaponry - Ukraine's ambassador to Australia has made a public invitation for Foreign Minister Penny Wong to visit the besieged capital Kyiv and gain a fresh perspective on the conflict. Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko told ABC Insiders he wanted Senator Wong to see the war for herself, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did in July last year. "When you visit it gives you a different angle," Mr Myroshnychenko said. "It gives you a bit of hands-on, I mean I've seen it with your prime minister, I was there on that trip … we were able to hear the stories out there, shared [by] people under the Russian occupation."

>>19114971 Defence, NT government strike deal to house Australian, international military personnel at Darwin's Howard Springs facility - The Northern Territory facility that gained national prominence as the "gold standard" for quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic will house thousands of troops from both Australia and overseas under a new lease agreement struck by the federal and NT governments. Under the deal, which is effective immediately, the 3,500 bed Howard Springs centre on the outskirts of Darwin will be converted to a defence accommodation precinct for housing Australian and international defence personnel.

>>19114980 Telstra partners with Elon Musk’s Starlink - Telstra has signed an agreement to become the first telco globally to offer rural broadband and voice services with Elon Musk’s satellite provider Starlink. Expected to launch in late 2023 with pricing to be confirmed, Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady said the offering would provide additional connectivity options for people and businesses where distance and terrain made it difficult to reach with existing networks. Starlink, a low earth orbit satellite system owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was launched in Australia in 2021 and offers unlimited data for $139 per month along with a hardware fee of about $900. Its speeds are similar to that of NBN’s 100Mbps plans.

>>19115008 Australian firm sues Twitter for $665,000 for not paying bills - An Australian project management firm has filed a lawsuit against Twitter Inc in a U.S. court seeking cumulative payments of about A$1 million ($665,000) over alleged non-payment of bills for work done in four countries, court filings showed. Sydney-based private company Facilitate Corp on June 29 filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District Of California claiming breach of contract over Twitter's failure to pay its invoices. Facilitate said from 2022 through early 2023, it installed sensors in Twitter's offices in London and Dublin, completed an office fit-out in Singapore, and cleared an office in Sydney. For those works, Twitter owed the company about 203,000 pounds, S$546,600 and A$61,300, respectively, Facilitate said.

>>19120629 Visa extension, climate finance agreements as Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits Sydney - Australia will ease some visa rules for Indonesians visiting the country, as part of a series of agreements struck during President Joko Widodo's visit to Sydney. The head of state met with business and political leaders today, in what is expected to be his last visit as president as he nears the end of a second and final term in office. Following bilateral talks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Indonesians will have immediate access to an extended visa from three to five years.

>>19120663 Talisman Sabre Facebook Post - Video: We are counting down the days to the start of #TalismanSabre2023! #TS23 is the largest bilateral military training exercise between Australia and the United States. This year, 12 other nations will take part in the exercise which will take place across the top end of Australia. Stay tuned for more announcements as the countdown begins!

>>19132052 Donald Trump Jr’s Australian speaking tour delayed, promoter says - A speaking tour from the son of the former US president Donald Trump has been delayed, the tour promoter announced on Wednesday. Donald Trump Jr was to speak at events in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, kicking off this Sunday. However Turning Point Australia announced on Wednesday that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the appearances would be postponed. “Ticket holders are urged to hold onto their tickets, with details of the rescheduled date to be confirmed in the coming days,” the announcement said. “Ticket holders will be contacted directly … with details.” In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Turning Point Australia wrote, “It seems America isn’t the only country that makes it difficult for the Trumps. “Hold onto your tickets, this is a short delay nothing more #CancelCulture. “Apologies for any inconveniences especially those who had long travel plans.”

#30 - Part 16

Australian Politics and Society - Part 16

>>19132058 Donald Trump jnr cancels anti-cancel culture tour amid visa doubts - "Donald Trump’s eldest son has cancelled a planned speaking tour of Australia just days before he was due to arrive in the country amid doubts over whether the Albanese government would grant him a visa. Donald Trump jnr was scheduled to make appearances in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne between July 9 and July 11, but organisers abruptly announced on Wednesday afternoon that the “landmark” tour had been postponed “due to unforeseen circumstances”. “Ticket holders are urged to hold on to their tickets, with details of the rescheduled date to be confirmed in the coming days,” event organiser Turning Point Australia said in a statement posted to the tour website. Some commentators, including former Labor speechwriter and The Australian columnist Troy Bramston, had called for Trump jnr’s visa to be cancelled on character grounds because of his role in promoting misinformation about voter fraud in the 2020 US presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic. A change.org petition calling for Trump jnr to be denied a visa to Australia had attracted 21,725 signatures." - Matthew Knott - theage.com.au

>>19132063 Clare O’Neil forced to delete tweet calling Donald Trump Jr ‘big baby’ - Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has been forced to delete a tweet in which she attacked the son of former US President Donald Trump as a “sore loser” and “just a big baby, who isn’t very popular” after the Prime Minister’s Office intervened and directed her to take it down. Turning Point Australia, the organisers for the tour, announced on Wednesday that the speaking engagements in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane would be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. The touring company released a statement detailing the postponement was due to a “the delay in the arrival of a visa for Donald Trump Jr to enter Australia.” Ms O’Neil on Thursday took to Twitter to respond to the claims and remained firm that the eldest son of former US president Donald Trump was granted a visa. “Geez, Donald Trump Jr is a bit of a sore loser. His dad lost an election fair and square - but he says it was stolen,” she wrote. “Now he’s trying to blame the Australian Government for his poor ticket sales and cancelled tour. Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. “He didn’t get cancelled. He’s just a big baby, who isn’t very popular.” Immigration Minister Andrew Giles backed the comments, suggesting the tour was cancelled due to ticket sales.

>>19132069 Clare O’Neil calls Donald Trump Jr a ‘big baby’ in deleted tweets - Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has been accused of childishness for calling Donald Trump’s eldest son a “sore loser” and a “big baby, who isn’t very popular” in a since-deleted series of posts on Twitter. In two tweets sent on Thursday morning, O’Neil said: “Geez, Donald Trump Jr is a bit of a sore loser. “His dad lost an election fair and square - but he says it was stolen. “Now he’s trying to blame the Australian government for his poor ticket sales and cancelled tour.” O’Neil, who has cabinet responsibility for immigration, continued: “Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. He didn’t get cancelled. He’s just a big baby, who isn’t very popular.” She later deleted the tweets. Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson reposted the deleted tweets and said: “It’s good to see these childish tweets have now been deleted. “The minister should leave the woke tweets to Labor backbenchers and get back to focusing on the serious national security challenges facing Australia.”

#30 - Part 17

Australian Politics and Society - Part 17

>>19139080 Gender-sceptic doctor launches human rights challenge to ‘cheerleading’ trans pronouns policy - A doctor’s right to object on medical grounds to the unquestioning affirmation of children as the opposite gender faces a human rights test in Queensland, with a suspended psychiatrist filing a complaint against the state’s children’s hospital over transgender health policies. Jillian Spencer alleges she was prevented from adopting a neutral therapeutic approach and instead forced to comply with gender-­affirming polices that risked causing substantial harm to young ­people, during the course of her employment as a senior staff specialist in the consultation liaison psychiatry team at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. In a complaint lodged with the Queensland Human Rights ­Commission, Dr Spencer, who is openly critical of gender-affirming policies, reveals that she was subject to lawful employment directions that required her to use gender-­affirming pronouns at all times in her practise of medicine and ­refrain from dissuading any child and their family from seeking a ­referral to the hospital’s children’s gender clinic, which frequently prescribes puberty blockers and cross sex hormones to young teenagers.

>>19139143 Endocrinologists’ challenge to the medical transition of gender-questioning children silenced by medical college - The medical affairs committee of the nation’s peak endocrinology society opposed the prescription of hormones to children and expressed deep reservations over the lack of evidence underpinning transgender affirmative medicine standards of care adopted by children’s hospitals in explosive advice to a peak medical college. The Medical Affairs Committee of the Endocrine Society of Australia - a subspecialty college of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians – did not support the endorsement of gender-affirmative standards of care developed by influential doctors at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, pointing to concerns about the lack of evidence behind practices including placing children on puberty blockers at a very young age. The views of the ESA’s medical affairs committee are contained in a letter to the RACP, which in late 2019 was consulting the profession at the request of then health minister Greg Hunt who had requested advice on the treatment of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents.

>>19139214 Slapdown for ‘big baby’ Donald Trump Jr tweet by Clare O’Neil - Anthony Albanese’s office has stepped in and directed a senior cabinet minister to delete a tweet attacking Donald Trump and his son, with foreign policy experts describing the incident as a diplomatic “own goal”. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil accused Donald Trump Jr of attempting to blame the Albanese government for delays in his Australia tour, calling him a “sore loser” and a “big baby”. She also attacked the former US president over his election fraud claims, saying he “lost an election fair and square”. The Australian understands Ms O’Neil deleted the tweets at the direction of the Prime Minister’s office. Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge said Ms O’Neil’s comments were “an unnecessary own goal” that lacked foresight given Mr Trump may be the Republican nominee for the White House at next year’s election. Mr Shoebridge said the election of Mr Trump for a second term was “absolutely a credible scenario”.

>>19139383 EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump Jr accuses Labor of 'lying' about why he cancelled his tour - and suggests a sinister reason for delaying his visa: 'They want to shut down conservative voices' - Donald Trump Junior has hit back at 'lies' from the Government about why he postponed his tour at the last minute - and suggested Labor delayed approving his visa because they want to shut down conservative voices. Trump Jr. confirmed he'd already sold 8,000 tickets to his speaking tour before it was cancelled at the last minute - and called Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil a 'coward' after she risked escalating the matter into a full-blown diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Australia after posting a series of juvenile Tweets. The Prime Minister's Office ordered O'Neil to delete a series of Tweets in which she called Trump Jr. a 'sore loser and a big baby' - and claiming the reason he cancelled his tour was because of 'poor ticket sales' rather than visa delays. Trump Jr. exclusively told Daily Mail Australia her comments were 'ridiculous lies' and perpetuated 'fake news' - as he blamed the Labor Government for his decision to postpone the tour. 'The tyrannical Left doesn't believe people have the right to freedom of expression and will do anything to shutdown conservative voices, but we will not bow down to them,' he said.

#30 - Part 18

Australian Politics and Society - Part 18

>>19148913 Ex-Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage says Clare O’Neil’s tweets criticising Trumps were ‘utterly stupid’ - Former Brexit Party leader and British broadcaster Nigel Farage has questioned the calibre of cabinet ministers in Australia following the social media furore that erupted after Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil posted multiple tweets attacking Donald Trump and his son. Mr Farage said the minister’s comments on social media were “utterly stupid” and it “looked comical, it’s so bad it’s funny”. Mr Farage, a presenter at conservative British news channel GB News, also criticised Australia’s cancel culture after a change.org petition drew more than 22,000 signatures calling for Mr Trump Jr to be stopped from getting an Australian visa. “That’s the embodiment of cancel culture, it’s not only disagreeing with what you have to say or what I think you are going to say, it’s saying I don’t think you’ve got the right to say it,” Mr Farage said. “It really worries me that we have young activist students who don’t seem to be taught in the western world anymore what critical thinking is.”

>>19148947 Trump promises to lift the shroud on JFK murder, releasing all classified documents - Donald Trump has promised to release all the remaining top secret documents surrounding former president John F Kennedy’s assassination, after Joe Biden for the third year in a row refused to release a remaining fraction of them. Former president Trump, the front runner for the Republican party’s 2024 presidential nomination, said he would “declassify and unseal all JFK assassination related documents”, despite himself having withheld their release during his presidency. “It‘s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!” Mr Trump said on his social media platform Truth.

>>19154732 Keating’s swipe at NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg as Albanese flies to Lithuania for summit - Paul Keating has savaged NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg as a “supreme fool” and claimed the military alliance had impeded peace since the Cold War, causing a diplomatic headache for Anthony Albanese ahead of his attendance at the summit of North American and European leaders. With the Prime Minister invited to the summit in Lithuania as part of a grouping of Indo-Pacific guests, Mr Keating signalled his opposition to Australia’s attendance by declaring NATO had no business expanding its footprint into Asia. In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Keating said it was a mistake for Mr Stoltenberg and NATO nations to compare China with Russia. “Stoltenberg, in his jaundiced view, overlooks the fact that China represents 20 per cent of humanity and now possesses the largest economy in the world,” Mr Keating said. “And has no record of attacking other states, unlike the United States, whose bidding Stoltenberg is happy to do.”

>>19154748 Anthony Albanese calls NATO chief a 'friend of Australia' after Paul Keating's 'supreme fool' comment - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the head of NATO as a "friend" of Australia's while trying to distance himself from former prime minister Paul Keating who labelled the secretary-general a "complete fool". Last night Mr Keating issued a statement that slammed NATO's planned expansion into Asia, warning it could bring the "militarism of Europe" into the region. "Exporting that malicious poison to Asia would be akin to Asia welcoming the plague on itself," Mr Keating wrote. He went on to describe NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg as a "supreme fool". "Stoltenberg by instinct and by policy is simply an accident on its way to happen," he said.

>>19154758 Anthony Albanese agrees $1bn defence deal with Germany - Anthony Albanese has announced an export deal with Germany for more than 100 Boxer heavy weapon carriers, worth more than $1bn to the Australian economy. On arrival in Berlin where he will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later today (AEST). the Prime Minister said the two countries were ready to announce a series of deals including that involving the Boxers. These will be produced by the German company Rheinmetall in Redbank, Queensland, which employs 1000 people. Mr Albanese said: “This will be one of our largest ever exports, it will guarantee the 1000 jobs there in Queensland will go into the future and it’s worth in excess of $1bn to the Australian economy. “This will boost our sovereignty, increase our defence capability and boost our economy. This is a great outcome, the first outcome of quite a few ready to announce tomorrow with our friends here in Germany and I thank Chancellor Scholtz for his very kind invitation to come here to commemorate these agreements we will enter into.”

#30 - Part 19

Australian Politics and Society - Part 19

>>19154790 German troops join US in Australian war games - Hundreds of German troops will arrive in Australia this week and join with the United States and 11 other nations in extensive military exercises as a part of a “productive relationship that we are developing with our German friends” to boost defence in the Indo-Pacific. The German military will take part in the comprehensive exercise, called Exercise Talisman Sabre, in Jervis Bay, NSW, Darwin and across Queensland alongside troops from Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom and Canada. As well, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will be observers. Talisman Sabre is to test planning and conducting combined and joint military operations to improve combat readiness and interoperability between Australian and United States’ forces and other partner nations.

>>19154951 Plastic surgeons call for age limit as young teenagers line up for ‘top surgery’ - Leading surgeons are calling for the national medical regulator to step in to set “clear and specific guidelines” on gender-affirming surgery, including consideration of whether the age at which transgender adolescents are ­legally allowed to go under the knife should be raised to 18. Australia is one of the most liberal countries in the world in sanctioning children under 18 to get double mastectomies, a practice that is rare but appears to be increasing despite only a handful of surgeons around the country being willing to perform such procedures. The case of a 15-year old child in Queensland having “top surgery” has prompted Mark Ashton, a plastic surgery specialty elected counsellor to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Melbourne University professor of surgery, to question the lack of regulations.

>>19160207 NATO summit: Australian eyes in the sky join fight for Ukraine - Australia will send one of its most sophisticated surveillance planes - the Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft – to Europe for six months to help protect key wartime logistics hubs, in a significant step up of assistance to Ukraine. The deployment of the Wedgetail will help protect the uninterrupted delivery of key military and humanitarian assets into Ukraine via Poland and other neighbouring countries. As many as 100 Australian military personnel will be based in Germany, from where the plane will operate, for the six months to fly and service it. The Australian government said in a statement: “Along with ongoing military and humanitarian assistance support, this ­deployment reinforces that Australia remains a key partner in international endeavours to assist Ukraine repel Russia’s illegal and immoral attack. This deployment will help to ensure the continued and uninterrupted flow of military and ­humanitarian assistance into Ukraine.”

>>19160241 Video: Major changes to abortion access as all doctors and nurse practitioners can prescribe - All doctors and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe the pregnancy termination pills, and all pharmacies can stock it as new rules are brought in. Until now, prescribers and dispensers of the two-part medical abortion treatment needed extra certification or registration, meaning only about 10 per cent of doctors and 30 per cent of pharmacists are currently able to deal with the pill. But from August 1, restrictions around 'MS-2 Step' will be removed, in a move the government says will “improve equitable access to healthcare for all Australians”. Nurse practitioners - who represent about one per cent of nurses – will also be able to prescribe the medications under the PBS. The changes follow an application from MS Health to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The pill, known as RU486 overseas, was first registered by the TGA a decade ago for use on pregnant women up to nine weeks gestation. Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney said it was a “very safe, very practical move” that met global guidelines.

>>19160276 What is abortion drug mifepristone MS 2-Step and who will be able to prescribe it under new access rules in Australia? - Major changes to abortion access in Australia will take effect from August 1, with all doctors and nurse practitioners to be authorised to prescribe them. Here’s everything you need to know: What is the abortion pill MS-2 Step? - When do the abortion pill changes take effect? - Who has prescribed abortion pills up until now? - How much do abortion drugs cost? - What is MS Health? - What has been the government’s response?

#30 - Part 20

Australian Politics and Society - Part 20

>>19160276 Q Post #3405 - Reality is hard to swallow. Do you know the market price for a fetus? Correlation of market price & days old of fetus/baby? As age (days) increases so does the value? D's block 'born alive' bill? Planned Parenthood political donations? What party? Do you believe this has anything to do w/ a Woman's Right to Choose? Welcome to the Real World. Q - https://qanon.pub/#3405

>>19165867 Anthony Albanese gives Volodymyr Zelensky 30 more Bushmasters at NATO summit in Lithuania - Anthony Albanese will give Ukraine an extra 30 Bushmasters after telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Australia “will remain with you for as long as this takes for you to restore your sovereignty and repel this brutal invasion’’. Meeting the war-torn country’s leader for a second time, the Prime Minister said providing the latest batch of Bushmasters would bring the tally of the vehicles being used by grateful Ukrainian soldiers to 120. So far, the federal government has provided military assistance of more than $710m, with total support, including humanitarian aid, at $890m. Mr Zelensky told Mr Albanese: “Australia stands shoulder to shoulder with our people and we appreciate that support.”

#30 - Part 21

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 1

>>18965947 British cardiologist calls for mRNA vaccines to be suspended due to heart risks - A controversial British cardiologist has called for the Pfizer and Moderna Covid shots to be suspended in Australia until the risk of heart complications is better understood, saying prior vaccines “have been pulled for much less”. Dr Aseem Malhotra, who has emerged as one of the most high-profile figures in the anti-vaccine movement and is currently in Australia on a speaking tour, said it was a “no-brainer” and accused the medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), of ignoring the clear safety signal from its own reporting system once the rollout was well under way. “People can be forgiving if new information comes in, we know people make mistakes - but once you get that information back, them not acting on it … the problem is the cover-up is worse than the crime,” he said.

>>18977760 Victoria health chief Brett Sutton resigns after leading state Covid response - The man behind Victoria’s controversial Covid response which saw much of the state shuttered for months has resigned. Chief health officer Brett Sutton announced he would be stepping down as the state’s health czar after more than three years in the top role. Mr Sutton joined the Health Department in 2011, before leading the state’s response to the Covid pandemic from late-2019. Victoria was subjected to some of the largest Covid waves throughout the pandemic, with six lockdown measures being implemented. While widely seen as being instrumental in curbing Covid cases, tight lockdown laws drew criticism throughout Mr Sutton’s tenure. Victorian Premier Dan Andrews defended the state’s response late-last year, stating the pandemic presented “difficult decisions” for leaders. “These decisions were not made lightly, and they were the subject of debate and discussion and very careful consideration,” Mr Andrews said.

>>19011116 Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists the first to be sickened by Covid-19 - "Three Wuhan scientists toying with the closest relatives of SARS-CoV-2 were the first to contract Covid-19, as evidence the virus came from a lab leak rather than a live animal trade market grows. An investigation by journalists Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi published on the Substack newsletter Public reported that Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers Ben Hu, Ping Yu and Yan Zhu were identified as “patients zero” of the virus by US government sources. They were involved in “gain-of-function” research on SARS-like coronaviruses. The investigation confirms the three WIV members were directly in the lab and were involved in collecting and experimenting with viruses and fell sick in late 2019. Mr Hu, who led WIV’s gain-of-function research, is believed to be a close contact of Shi Zhengli, the Chinese virologist who focuses on coronaviruses of bat origin." - Tricia Rivera - theaustralian.com.au

#30 - Part 22

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 2

>>19011137 Wuhan scientist Ben Hu, Covid’s ‘patient zero’, an explosive development in pandemic origin story - "Three unknown Chinese scientists working inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s coronavirus unit fell sick with Covid-like symptoms around November 2019. One of them, a relatively junior scientist, had started a new project earlier that year that was examining whether two new bat coronaviruses could infect humans. Just months into his experiments, that involved risky gain-of-function research, that can make viruses more transmissible and more virulent to humans, he fell sick, along with two of his colleagues. The names of the three scientists who fell ill with Covid-like symptoms have been published by overseas independent media outlets called Public and Racket. Those scientists are Ben Hu, Yu Ping and Yan Zhu. This is as close as we’ve come to explosive intelligence about patient zero. The United States, British and Australian governments should demand answers from China about whether these experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, funded by Beijing, did in fact lead to the creation and spread of Covid-19." - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19099510 Brett Sutton announced as Victorian of the Year - Victoria’s outgoing chief health officer professor Brett Sutton has been declared Victorian of the year. Dr Sutton, who recently announced he would leave the state’s Department of Health after 10 years and resign as CHO after four years in the job, accepted the gong in a Victoria Day Council Awards ceremony at Melbourne Town Hall on Friday. Dr Sutton was a controversial figure during the Covid-19 pandemic, when his health advice allowed Premier Daniel Andrews to impose curfews, playground bans and 262 days of lockdown. The Covid-19 rules lead to Melbourne being crowned the most locked down city in the world, along with other restrictions that included travel limits and homeschooling children. “It was a privilege to steward Victorians though very very choppy waters … the crisis of a lifetime. It was an achievement not of mine but of the people of Victoria,” Seven News reported Dr Sutton said.

#30 - Part 23

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 1

>>18934224 FBI restarts Julian Assange probe despite hopes of release - United States law enforcement authorities are seeking to gather new evidence about Julian Assange in an apparent effort to bolster their case against the WikiLeaks founder, even as hopes rise among his supporters that a diplomatic breakthrough could soon see him released from prison. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age can reveal that agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week sought to interview acclaimed novelist Andrew O’Hagan about his time working as a ghostwriter on Assange’s autobiography over a decade ago. Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton said it appeared US prosecutors were trying to prepare a new indictment or a superseding indictment against Assange. “It shows they understand how weak the charges against Julian are and are trying to strengthen them,” he said.

>>18934231 Australia 'not aware' of fresh FBI probe into Assange - Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was not contacted about a new FBI probe into WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange. US authorities are reportedly trying to gather new evidence against Mr Assange, and have requested to interview novelist Andrew O'Hagan about his previous work as a ghostwriter on the Australian's autobiography. Asked if he was aware of a new investigation, Mr Dreyfus said he was not until he read reports about it on Thursday morning. "Our position has been very clear for a long time now that this matter has gone on for too long, and that remains our position," he told ABC Radio. "We're doing everything we can to make sure that it's brought to an end."

>>18977745 Julian Assange will fight UK High Court decision in last legal option against extradition to the US - Australian Julian Assange will fight to overturn a United Kingdom High Court ruling that rejected his appeal against extradition to the United States. The 51-year-old WikiLeaks founder is wanted in the US for espionage, where he faces 18 charges related to publishing of tens of thousands of military and diplomatic documents. Mr Assange last year lodged an appeal in the United Kingdom's High Court after the UK government signed an order authorising his extradition to the US. The court rejected his appeal in a three-page written decision from Justice Jonathan Swift issued this week. The latest High Court decision means the WikiLeaks founder is "dangerously close" to being extradited to the US, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

#30 - Part 24

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 2

>>19099473 Pope Francis meets family of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - Pope Francis on Friday granted an audience to the wife of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who is behind bars in Britain and battling extradition to the United States. "The Holy Father has received in audience Mrs. Stella Assange, with family members," a Vatican statement said, with no further details. Stella Assange tweeted that her family was "overwhelmed" by the private audience, with a photo of herself dressed in black in St. Peter's Square and the hashtag #FreeAssangeNOW. She is fronting the campaign to have her husband released, but the Vatican did not say if this was discussed in the meeting or if Francis expressed any support for it. A Vatican spokesman said papal audiences are private affairs.

>>19104294 Pope meets with wife and family of Julian Assange, who says pontiff ‘concerned’ by his suffering - Pope Francis met with imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s wife Stella, who said the pope’s gesture in receiving her was evidence of his “ongoing show of support for our family’s plight” and concern over her husband’s suffering. The Vatican didn’t release any details of the private audience, other than to confirm that it happened. The Argentine Jesuit pope has long expressed solidarity with prisoners, frequently visiting detainees on his foreign visits and prioritizing prison ministry when he was archbishop in Buenos Aires. The visit came as Stella Assange has been seeking to drum up political support for her husband’s cause, including a visit to his native Australia last month. She said there was a growing consensus that his continued detention was inhumane. Citing Australia’s intervention, human rights organizations and press freedom organizations, she said there was growing consensus that “what is being done to my husband is inhumane, that he is suffering, that he’s been in prison for four years for publishing true information revealing the killing of innocents and criminality and injustice.”

>>19160178 Julian Assange’s wife coy on plea deal: ‘The priority is for him to be freed’ - Julian Assange’s wife and chief campaigner, Stella Assange, has not ruled out her husband taking a plea deal to obtain his freedom, but said their priority remains convincing US President Joe Biden to drop the case against the WikiLeaks founder. The election of Biden to the White House and Anthony Albanese in Australia had sparked hopes among Assange’s supporters that the case, being prosecuted by the independent Department of Justice, could be abandoned. However, despite Albanese’s direct lobbying to Biden, this has not eventuated and in May, the prime minister said Assange himself needed to be part of the solution to resolve his case, signalling that the 52-year-old may have to accept a plea deal to obtain freedom. Asked if that was something they were considering, Stella Assange did not rule out the possibility but argued that the case should be dropped. “The priority is for him to be freed. Julian could have a catastrophic health incident any moment and he has been in a high-security prison for four years and three months and this is indefinite. The priority here is for all the people who are involved, and this is a political case that involves the Australian government, to come together and find a solution to free him.”

>>19165628 Julian Assange’s wife in clemency plea to Joe Biden - The wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is petitioning the British government’s decision to extradite him to the US, has appealed for clemency to President Joe Biden. The Australian publisher is the object of a US extradition request to face trial for divulging US military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Biden could end this any time. It’s not in the administration’s interests for Julian to be tried during an election period,” Stella Assange said while speaking to the Geneva Press Club. “The smart thing” for Mr Biden to do “would be to just stop it and end it.” The issue of the extradition was “a Trump-era legacy” and represented “a threat” for democracy and the press, she said.

#30 - Part 25

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 1

>>18928680 Brittany Higgins is the wrong face for #MeToo - "With the board of inquiry into its third week of public hearings, it is becoming increasingly clear that Higgins is, and was, the wrong face for the #MeToo movement. Decisions by her, and those around her, to air her allegation in the media have undermined key features of our criminal justice system. Higgins, of course, has every right to go to the media first and police second. That was her strategy from the start. But that strategy, bolstered daily by her media supporters, came at a high cost to the police investigation, to the workings of the Office of the DPP, to the trial in the ACT Supreme Court and to subsequent events." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18939581 Bruce Lehrmann discontinues defamation action against News Life Media - Bruce Lehrmann has discontinued his defamation action against News Life Media and news.com.au’s national political editor Samantha Maiden. Mr Lehrmann and News have reached an out-of-court settlement. News.com.au editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy said the two articles at the centre of the dispute remain online and have been updated with an editorial note. There is no apology or correction.

>>18939595 Sofronoff inquiry hears Heidi Yates knew of Higgins’s claim before it went public - Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates knew about Brittany Higgins’s sexual assault allegation a month before the former Liberal staffer publicly claimed that Bruce Lehrmann raped her inside Parliament House. And within three days of meeting Ms Higgins, Ms Yates was accompanying her to meetings with Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison. Board chairman Walter Sofronoff KC is considering whether the Victims of Crime Commissioner acted in accordance with her relevant statutory framework in terms of the support she provided to Ms Higgins. During examination, Ms Yates defended her decision to be “the public face of support” for Ms Higgins by walking into the ACT Supreme Court, past a media pack, with her each day, despite its propensity to affect the accused’s presumption of innocence. Mr Sofronoff said by doing so, Ms Yates had decided to “really be the public face of that support”.

>>18939617 Victims of Crime Commissioner reveals ‘sensitive’ details about Brittany Higgins’ mental health - Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates has given harrowing evidence of calling an ambulance for Brittany Higgins when she believed there was an immediate threat to her life. In her first day of evidence at the inquiry into the investigation and prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann, Ms Yates has revealed she was reluctant to canvass the private matters but had sought Ms Higgins permission to do so. Detailing the multiple mental health incidents and hospitalisations that followed during her engagement with Ms Higgins, she revealed one incident followed the delay to the trial that followed Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech. She said despite repeated attempts to secure mental health counselling and support for Ms Higgins, she was struck throughout her contact with Ms Higgins by how isolated she was and how few people she trusted.

>>18939641 ‘She was not OK’: ACT victims advocate feared Higgins would collapse during speech - The ACT’s victims of crime commissioner, Heidi Yates, says she would have reconsidered standing next to Brittany Higgins during a televised speech after the Lehrmann rape trial was aborted if she’d known what she was going to say. Yates, who has been publicly accused of damaging the presumption of innocence of former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann by her actions in the high-profile case, has told a public inquiry she was instead thinking of the possibility of his accuser collapsing while addressing the media shortly after the mistrial. “She was clearly not OK,” Yates told the inquiry into the handling of the case, explaining Higgins had suffered a panic attack when ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum cut short the trial on the morning of October 27, 2022, due to the misconduct of a single juror.

#30 - Part 26

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 2

>>18954987 Video: Wilkinson, Higgins war-gamed ‘friendlies’ - Brittany Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson war-gamed how to recruit prominent politicians and media figures who could help give momentum to their upcoming interview on The Project, as the TV host made suggestions to the former Liberal staffer about how to frame her story. The more than five-hour session, which also involved Ms Higgins’ boyfriend David Sharaz and Wilkinson’s producer Angus Llewellyn, was recorded on January 27, 2021 a few days before they filmed the interview that was broadcast on February 15 revealing Ms Higgins’ claims she had been raped in Parliament House. The group brainstormed MPs who would “fire questions” in question time over the alleged sexual assault, highlighting Labor leaders Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek as key players.

>>18955007 Video: Bruce Lehrmann says he hasn't ruled out suing Brittany Higgins for defamation in first TV interview since being accused of rape - Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann says he has not ruled out suing Brittany Higgins personally for defamation. Mr Lehrmann made the comments in his first television interview since Ms Higgins accused him of raping her at Parliament House in 2019. Mr Lehrmann's trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct last year. There are no findings against him. Speaking to 7NEWS Spotlight, Mr Lehrmann strenuously denied raping Ms Higgins but acknowledged that many people did not believe him. "I accept that there's going to be 50 per cent of the country, probably more, that thinks I'm a rapist," he said.

>>18955017 ‘Brittany Higgins lied to save her job’: Bruce Lehrmann - Bruce Lehrmann has accused Brittany Higgins of lying about being raped to save her job, as he announced he had not ruled out suing the former Liberal staffer for defamation. In a new, wide-ranging interview, Mr Lehrmann spoke of how her sexual assault allegation forced him to contemplate suicide. The Spotlight episode also included footage of Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann arriving at Parliament House on the night of the alleged rape. He claimed Ms Higgins intentionally told senator Linda Reynolds’ chief of staff, Fiona Brown, the “white lie” that he had raped her in order to keep her job after seeing him get sacked.

>>18955049 ‘Malicious’: ABC deliberately tried to prejudice my rape trial, says Bruce Lehrmann - The ABC deliberately tried to prejudice Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial when it broadcast an address by Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame at the National Press Club knowing he had been publicly named and charged, according to documents just filed in the Federal Court. Mr Lehrmann first filed his claim against the ABC in April but now claims it broadcast the Press Club event with “an improper motive”, namely to prejudice upcoming criminal proceedings against him, and that the broadcaster’s recklessness was so extreme that it amounted to “wilful blindness and constituted malice”.

>>18955072 ‘It’s pretty sick’: Bruce Lehrmann denies giving Brittany Higgins bruise in tell-all interview - Bruce Lehrmann has accused Brittany Higgins of having “fabricated” a photo of a bruise she claimed he inflicted during an alleged sexual assault. In February 2021, Ms Higgins spoke on The Project with host Lisa Wilkinson in an explosive interview regarding the alleged rape, during which she shared a disturbing image of a large bruise on her leg. On Sunday evening, Mr Lehrmann addressed the photograph in his own sit-down interview on the Channel 7’s Spotlight program, denying the authenticity of the image. “It was fabricated,” he said. “That’s the only explanation … or it’s a bruise from much later.” Ms Higgins said in her 2021 interview that the site of the bruise was “essentially where (Mr Lehrmann’s) leg pinned (her) down”.

>>18955096 Video: Tanya Plibersek hits back over Brittany Higgins question - A senior politician singled out by Lisa Wilkinson as a “friendly MP” likely to help fuel momentum for Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation in question time says she was never approached and would not have accepted being told what to ask. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was asked five times by Natalie Barr whether or not she had been approached to help fuel the story when she appeared on Sunrise on Monday morning. She said she reached out to Ms Higgins after she made her sexual assault allegations public two years ago. Ms Plibersek, who at the time was a senior opposition frontbencher, said she did not recall if the former political staffer had spoken to her about “firing up” specific questions during question time.

#30 - Part 27

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 3

>>18960074 Disturbed and disappointed: Brittany Higgins’ angry letter to Lisa Wilkinson - Five days after Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations interview aired on The Project she wrote an angry letter to host Lisa ­Wilkinson accusing her of ­putting together a second program based on footage not used in the first, without her knowledge or consent. Ms Higgins writes that she is “disturbed and disappointed” that after making it clear she did not want another program “you have gone ahead and put one together anyway”.

>>18960084 Lisa Wilkinson denies briefing politicians about Brittany Higgins’ allegations - Anthony Albanese referenced allegations of rape made by Brittany Higgins in question time at least 20 times in the two months after the story broke but Lisa Wilkinson denies briefing politicians to promote her interview with the former Liberal staffer. Wilkinson on Monday said she had never spoken to any politician about the story following revelations she, Ms Higgins and Ms Higgins’ partner, David Sharaz, war-gamed recruiting politicians to ask questions in question time over a five-hour brainstorming session just weeks before the story broke on February 15, 2021. In recorded audio of the meeting on January 27, 2021, Ms Higgins told Wilkinson she could find some “friendly MPs” who could fire questions in question time. Wilkinson told The Australian on Monday she did not approach Mr Albanese or other politicians about raising the allegations in question time. “Nor did I speak to any other politicians, their minders or apparatchiks,” she said.

>>18960098 The proper thing to do would be for Lisa Wilkinson to hand back her Logie - "The torch has turned on the Ten celebrity to reveal someone who appears hellbent on launching a #MeToo juggernaut, maybe picking up an award here and there, with a large side-serving of political partisanship, nasty invective about women and gratuitous snide gossip. What’s lacking is a sober, objective and fair search for truth. The proper thing to do would be for Wilkinson to hand in her Logie for her Higgins interview. That interview has been nothing but trouble for her, for the justice system, for good journalism and for people who deserved to be treated better." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18965791 Video: Tanya Plibersek 'briefed' by Brittany Higgins despite denials as Labor ministers come under fire for 'politicising case' - Labor ministers Tanya Plibersek and Katy Gallagher likely knew about Brittany Higgins' rape allegations before the story became public despite repeated denials. Ms Plibersek strongly refuted suggestions she had been in contact with Ms Wilkinson or knew of the case before it made public. Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson revealed secret text messages between Ms Higgins and ABC journalist Laura Tingle which showed Ms Plibersek had been briefed on the matter in early 2021.

>>18965804 Detective investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation complained he ‘didn’t like being threatened’ after call with her boyfriend David Sharaz - In fresh witness statements released by the Board of inquiry into the conduct of police, prosecutors and the Victim of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates, the distress of Detective Superintendent Scott Moller has been laid bare. He said Mr Sharaz threatened to go public with complaints over the speed of the rape investigation and sent emails to the detective investigating the case and the Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates. Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates details a conversation with Det Insp Boorman on the 30th of July, 2021. “It was my recollection that Mr Boorman was upset and said to me, words to the effect of 'I don’t like being threatened.'”

>>18966095 ‘Feed it to Katy’: Higgins-Sharaz text plots - A tranche of previously unseen text messages between Brittany Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz has revealed the pair planned to directly enlist the help of senior Labor figures to pursue Ms Higgins’ rape allegation and her belief the Coalition government covered it up. The texts reveal Mr Sharaz arranging “drops” for favoured reporters, organising meetings with Labor MPs to bolster support for Ms Higgins’ claims of a cover-up by the Coalition government and disparaging former prime minister Scott Morrison, saying “I still hate the c…”. Ms Higgins says: “He’s about to be f.cked over. Just wait. We’ve got him”. The texts reveal Mr Sharaz, a former journalist, boasting of his special relationship with now-Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.

#30 - Part 28

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 4

>>18966103 THE AUSTRALIAN EDITORIAL - Texts show probe is needed into Higgins’ compensation award - "The emergence of highly charged text messages between Brittany Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz raises important questions about the behaviour of senior political figures that must be answered. The plotting and conversations revealed in the text messages are of vital public interest. They go to the heart of how politics is played and how events that are the proper preserve of the criminal justice system can be exploited for personal and political gain. The extent of what appears to be collusion between Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz and political figures demands that a proper investigation be launched into a decision to award more than $2m in compensation to Ms Higgins with what could be considered a questionable regard for proper process."

>>18971017 Anthony Albanese defends Katy Gallagher amid involvement with Brittany Higgins allegation and compensation - Pressure is mounting for Anthony Albanese and key ministers in his government to disclose whether they had any involvement in helping Brittany Higgins pursue her rape allegation against Bruce Lehrmann after it was revealed the former political staffer and her boyfriend David Sharaz strategised how to make use of senior Labor figures. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher sits at the centre of the pair’s scheming, with Mr Sharaz having boasted about his friendship with the senator to Ms Higgins. Texts published in The Australian reveal Mr Sharaz and Senator Gallagher were in touch and that she was “angry and wants to help” before the rape allegation was made public.

>>18971045 Peter Dutton backs move to refer Brittany Higgins’ settlement to the National Anti-Corruption Commission - Peter Dutton has backed a move to refer the confidential Commonwealth payout made to former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins to the new federal integrity watchdog for investigation. The Opposition Leader told 2GB Radio on Thursday that Anthony Albanese and other senior figures in the federal government had questions to answer about the payout and what they knew about Ms Higgins’ rape allegation and when. “It just seems that as each day goes by, there are more questions than there are answers and I think that’s creating a lot of suspicion understandably,” Mr Dutton said.

>>18977050 Video: Sharri Markson: Deep links between Brittany Higgins and Labor show how allegations were 'exploited for political purposes' - Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson has again exposed another link between the ALP and Ms Higgins and her now-fiancé David Sharaz. Emma Webster was seen throughout the Lehrmann trial side-by-side with Ms Higgins offering her support. Ms Higgins even described the former Labor staffer as a “wise advisor”. While Ms Webster was mentioned throughout the trial as a close friend of Ms Higgins and a lobbyist her deep Labor connections were hardly ever revealed. Before starting at Hawker Britton as a senior lobbyist, Ms Webster was a top advisor for former prime minister Julia Gillard, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Ms Gallagher when she was the ACT chief minister.

>>18977104 Katy Gallagher accused of misleading parliament, faces referral to corruption watchdog - Katy Gallagher is facing serious claims she misled parliament over an outburst in which she rejected assertions she was tipped off about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations in 2021, as pressure builds on Anthony Albanese over Labor’s war-gaming with Ms Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz. The Finance Minister and senior government ministers went to ground on Thursday following the damaging fallout from text messages and audio recordings of Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins boasting about contact and collusion with senior Labor figures. The Australian can also reveal texts between the couple that show Mr Sharaz’s response to their growing fame after the allegations became public, with Ms Higgins’ partner telling her they “exude power” and expressing his delight at organising her private meetings with former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull.

#30 - Part 29

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 5

>>18977134 Labor sought to gain - it’s found political pain over Brittany Higgins saga - "The vexing domestic realities of being prime minister have landed squarely at Anthony Albanese’s feet this week after his return from overseas. Facing a war with inflation, battles with business, the spectre of recession and flagging support for the voice to parliament, Albanese now also faces a potential political scandal involving senior members of his government. Having had an easy ride for the first 12 months in office, Albanese is now under pressure, with the road ahead riddled with potential political potholes. The key to the Brittany Higgins text revelations is who among Albanese’s cabinet colleagues knew what and when. There are unresolved questions about what level of involvement members of the then Labor opposition had." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>18977148 David Sharaz is a ‘puppet master’ set on destroying the Liberals: Bruce Lehrmann - Bruce Lehrmann has claimed Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz is a “puppet master” who orchestrated the release of the rape allegations against him, and says he has exploited Ms Higgins’ “fame” to engineer a campaign to support Labor and topple the ­Liberals. Mr Lehrmann’s scathing opinion of Mr Sharaz comes as leaked text messages reveal Mr Sharaz had used his connections with a former Labor media adviser to line up a job for Ms Higgins, following her resignation from the office of former attorney-general Michaelia Cash.

>>18977167 What we know about Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz - From support act to central player, the links of David Sharaz to Canberra and key figures in the Labor Party appear deeply personal. After a week of explosive revelations, the fiance of Brittany Higgins, David Sharaz has gone from support act to central figure in the saga involving her alleged rape at Parliament House. Who is David Sharaz and where did he work? Why did he meet with Lisa Wilkinson? Why is he under fire?

>>18977231 Video: Lisa Wilkinson caught mocking Liberals in secret tape - Ex-Project star Lisa Wilkinson has been caught on tape struggling to pronounce Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s name and mocking Liberals with Ten colleagues. The explosive audio was recorded by Project producer Angus Llewllyn on his mobile phone during a pre-interview discussion at a Sydney hotel on January 27, 2021. It includes Ms Wilkinson, Brittany Higgins, her partner David Sharaz and Llewllyn, an executive producer, drinking gin and tonics and mimosas and giving their ‘unplugged’ views on political leaders.

>>18977278 Wilkinson, Network 10 apologise to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price over leaked recording - Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 have apologised to Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after leaked audio revealed Wilkinson struggling to pronounce the senator’s name in a manner she claimed was racist. But Ms Wilkinson also defended the “tenor” of the conversation, which Senator Price claimed was “derogatory”, as about how many female Liberal pre-selections “were in unwinnable positions”. “I sincerely apologise to Senator Price for any offence I may have caused. The conversation was private and not intended to appear as it has out of context and in the public arena,” she said in a statement released by Network 10.

>>18982556 Brittany Higgins: Gallagher, Wong ‘knew of rape claim’ - Former defence minister Linda Reynolds claims now-Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and now-Foreign Minister Penny Wong conceded to her that they knew about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations before they were made public, hours after Senator Gallagher told the Senate she had no prior knowledge of the ex-staffer’s story. The Coalition will use parliament next week to ramp up pressure on Senator Gallagher over her knowledge of the rape allegation, as Anthony Albanese emphatically denies his minister misled the Senate.

#30 - Part 30

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 6

>>18982587 Video: Katy Gallagher admits she knew of Brittany Higgins’ rape claim, insists she didn’t ‘weaponise’ information - Under-fire Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has conceded she became aware of some details of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations before they were made public, but insists she did not do anything with the information. Facing the media for the first time since text messages surfaced showing Ms Higgins’ boyfriend, David Sharaz, claiming to have corresponded with the senator in the days leading up to the story breaking, Senator Gallagher said she had not misled the parliament. “I was responding to an assertion that was being made by the minister Reynolds at the time that we had known about this for weeks and had made a decision to weaponise it,” she said. “That is not true. It was never true. I explained that to Senator Reynolds that night and she accepted that explanation.”

>>18982744 EXCLUSIVE: Mystery as Grace Tame quietly removes gushing Brittany Higgins birthday tribute where she declared her 'a national hero' on Instagram - Grace Tame has deleted an Instagram post in which she declared Brittany Higgins was 'a national hero' and that the former political staffer was a 'warrior' and 'my friend'. The sexual abuse survivor made national headlines when she wrote the post on Brittany Higgins' birthday last year, but it has now mysteriously disappeared from her social media page. The rousing post, which was an emotional tribute to the former Liberal staffer, decried what Ms Tame called an 'insidious nationwide character assassination campaign' against Ms Higgins, saying her 'friend' had faced 'layered injustice' and 'relentless criticism'. Ms Tame's December 7, 2022 post, which has now vanished from all stories about it linked to her Instagram page, was supporting Ms Higgins as she spent her 28th birthday in a Queensland mental health clinic.

>>18987561 Cash demands answers as new Wilkinson recording surfaces - Michaelia Cash has demanded Network 10 release the full five-hour recording of a pre-interview with Brittany Higgins in which The Project journalist Lisa Wilkinson discusses with her covertly recording the Liberal senator, who was then her boss. It previously came to light Ms Higgins secretly recorded a phone call with Senator Cash - the then-employment minister and now opposition legal affairs spokeswoman - shortly after her resignation from Parliament House. “That a senior journalist in Lisa Wilkinson, and the producer of The Project, would actively have encouraged a young woman in a distressed situation to basically commit what is considered to be an illegal offence by recording a conversation with another person. Personally, I think Channel 10, The Project and Lisa Wilkinson have some very, very serious questions to answer.”

>>18987606 Minister under siege digs in for a fight - Federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was defiant and all but silent as she flew into a Canberra firestorm over her knowledge of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, as Anthony Albanese’s ministers prepare to “back her to the hilt” against a Coalition onslaught in parliament this week. After a rapturous reception from Labor’s female activists at a Perth conference and the firm backing of the Prime Minister over the weekend, Senator Gallagher -- wearing a “Women’s Spirit Network” hoodie – had no patience for questions as she landed back in the national capital. “I’ve got nothing to say,” she said repeatedly after touching down in the ACT.

>>18998319 Video: 'Those are the facts': Katy Gallagher denies misleading parliament over Brittany Higgins' allegations - Katy Gallagher has once again denied misleading parliament over her knowledge of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, while the Australian Federal Police is assesing a complaint over the leaking of text messages in the matter. In a statement to the Senate, the federal finance minister repeated her assertion that, while she knew about Higgins' rape allegations before they became public, she had not misled parliament by telling an estimates committee three years ago that "no one had any knowledge" of the matter.

#30 - Part 31

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 7

>>18998327 Indigenous Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says Lisa Wilkinson has not contacted her personally to apologise - The Indigenous senator who was mocked by Lisa Wilkinson as a “diversity pick” says the star journalist has not contacted her personally to apologise. Northern Territory CLP Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price lashed Wilkinson after audio emerged of the media personality making comments about the senator and struggling to pronounce her name during a pre-interview with Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz. “She hasn’t personally made an apology to myself,” Senator Price told Sharri Markson on Sky News in her first interview since the incident. “If she was a real woman, I’d guess she’d ring me and personally apologise.”

>>18998342 Lehrmann court leak of Wilkinson recordings referred to police - Recordings of a five-hour meeting involving Brittany Higgins and journalist Lisa Wilkinson that were leaked to the media have been referred to police to investigate whether a contempt of court has been committed by passing on sensitive documents originally meant for the Bruce Lehrmann criminal trial. Thomson Geer law firm partner Marlia Saunders, who is acting for Network Ten in Lehrmann’s defamation proceedings, made a complaint to ACT Policing last Wednesday about material issued under subpoena for his criminal trial being aired in a televised interview with the Seven Network last week.

>>18998374 Video: Linda Reynolds sues Tanya Plibersek for defamation over Brittany Higgins comments - Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has taken legal action against Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, claiming Ms Plibersek defamed her in a television interview by stating she had “covered up” Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape. In a defamation concerns notice obtained by The Australian, Senator Reynolds accused Ms Plibersek of making false statements throughout the Channel 7 interview, that implied she had acted inappropriately during the investigation of Ms Higgins’ allegations and had attempted to “hide the commission of a criminal offence.” During the interview, which aired on Monday morning, Ms Plibersek stated: “The central point here is that a young woman made an allegation that she had been sexually assaulted in her workplace and that it had been inappropriately investigated, even covered up by her employers.”

>>19005424 Higgins, Sharaz and Wilkinson’s media campaign has backfired - "The beauty of the press is that it can’t be controlled. True, the supine, the stupid and the ideological end of the press can be manipulated, but eventually, in a free and open society with a competitive media, if a story is important enough, the press will usually ensure the truth comes out. That beauty became a problem for Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz. They made a rookie’s error when they set out on a strategy to use the media, instead of the criminal justice system, to press their case. Having tried to mould the media message, they cannot complain when some parts of the media - including this newspaper - decline to be shaped for their purposes. That was the gamble Higgins and Sharaz took. The effect of the Higgins-Sharaz media and political campaign was not merely to put themselves in the spotlight but to deprive Lehrmann of the presumption of innocence and the due process a normal criminal justice investigation would have given him." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>19005438 Brittany Higgins explains leg bruise injury photo date discrepancy - Brittany Higgins’s explanation of why the photograph of a bruise on her leg did not match the timeline of her rape allegation against Bruce Lehrmann has finally been revealed. File notes made by ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates reveal that Ms Higgins told senior police that the leg bruise image she had provided to them and high-profile journalists was actually a screenshot of the original picture which had been mysteriously wiped from her phone by someone else.

>>19005464 Finance Minister Katy Gallagher reveals she never declared conflict over multimillion-dollar compensation payout - Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has said she never declared a conflict of interest in relation to a multimillion-dollar compensation payout to Brittany Higgins because it “never crossed her desk.” News.com.au revealed in December that Ms Higgins’ legal team had entered negotiations over a multimillion-dollar personal injury claim. Asked whether she subsequently declared a conflict of interest given her close contact and the fact her own department was responsible for administering the payout, Ms Gallagher said there was never any need because the negotiation was kept at arms length. “If it had come to me, I would have declared a conflict but it didn‘t. It didn’t cross my desk,’’ Senator Gallagher said.

#30 - Part 32

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 8

>>19010860 Brittany Higgins’s elusive iCloud password delayed police completing brief of evidence for DPP - The investigation into Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation faced repeated delays because police could not access her cloud drives, which detectives believed contained potentially crucial evidence including emails and photos. New documents released by the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system reveal that senior detectives were desperate to access Ms Higgins’ iCloud account as they worked to complete their brief of evidence for the Director of Public Prosecutions in mid-2021. But after finally gaining access, weeks later, the material they sought was not there.

>>19010879 40 years of economic loss, end to political career reasons for Brittany Higgins $2.5m payout - Brittany Higgins claimed up to 40 years’ worth of economic loss and the end of her pursuit of a future political career were among the reasons she was due more than $2.5m in compensation from the government after allegedly being raped, a draft statement of claim has revealed. The revelations came as Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus refused to answer questions over Ms Higgins’ multi-million-dollar payout, which was provided without the consultation of former senior Liberal ministers at the centre of her claims.

>>19010895 Katy Gallagher was invited to wedding of David Sharaz - Katy Gallagher has confirmed that Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz invited her to attend his first wedding in 2018, as senior Labor ministers hid behind parliamentary procedural tactics to dodge questions about when they first became aware of the Higgins rape allegations. The Finance Minister came under fire for a second consecutive day in question time over her relationship with Mr Sharaz, involvement in Ms Higgins’ reported $3m payout, and who contacted her prior to the sexual abuse allegations airing on The Project in February 2021. Asked about her invitation to Mr Sharaz’s wedding to former wife Alexandra Craig, Senator Gallagher said: “I didn’t recall that until I heard it reported and I had to ask the people I worked with at the time. I got a lot of invitations to a lot of things, some I was able to go to and others I weren’t. I didn’t attend that one. The invitation was declined,” she told parliament.

>>19010904 Labor’s grotesque hypocrisy appears to know no bounds - "For political chutzpah, senior Labor MPs who weaponised a rape allegation win hands down. This week in the federal parliament, Australians were treated to one of the more grotesque displays of political hypocrisy, subterfuge and trickery. The same politicians who weaponised a rape allegation for their own brute political purposes are now in high dudgeon about the public exposure of material that points to the extent of Labor’s involvement in this scandal. This newspaper revealed texts that suggested, among other things, that Katy Gallagher received a transcript of The Project interview before it aired. Publishing that text meant we know now that Gallagher was sought out by David Sharaz and Brittany Higgins about the rape allegation - even before questions were put by The Project to people portrayed as the chief villains: Bruce Lehrmann, Linda Reynolds and her former chief of staff Fiona Brown." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>19010931 Gallagher must come clean for the sake of the Albanese government - "Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has finally admitted she had prior knowledge of the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, so why is it now good enough simply to take her word that she didn’t then weaponise the information? A thorough and independent inquiry needs to be held into whether Gallagher crossed the line. What seemed to have been forgotten by all the sorry actors in this sordid affair is that there was a criminal matter that needed to be tried. A rape was alleged and the victim and the accused deserved their day in court. Neither now have that closure. Both have been let down by a prosecutor and process that is itself under intense judicial scrutiny by Walter Sofronoff KC. Albanese would be well served by outing the truth and let Gallagher clear her name lest this does lasting damage to his own standing as Prime Minister." - Cameron Milner - theaustralian.com.au

#30 - Part 33

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 9

>>19010942 Video: Katy Gallagher apologises to Linda Reynolds over ‘hurt’ amid Brittany Higgins saga - Katy Gallagher has apologised to fellow senator Linda Reynolds for any hurt she endured during the protracted attention around Brittany Higgins’ alleging she was raped in her office in 2019. Claims which were dismissed by the ACT Supreme Court last year. “I’m sorry as Ms Reynolds is clearly upset about what happened to her,” she said. Senator Gallagher’s voice cracked and tears welled during day four of intense scrutiny from the coalition during Senate question time over her involvement and relationship with Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz. Senator Gallagher said she would have happily endured “this type of questioning” but was concerned for the toll the issue is having on women around the country.

>>19016452 Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyers’ furious letter to Sunrise over ‘false’ allegation - Lisa Wilkinson has lodged an official complaint with Channel 7, claiming a segment on its flagship morning program Sunrise aired “false” allegations against her. The former Project host’s lawyers took issue with the claim Wilkinson had “coached” Brittany Higgins to build a campaign against the man she accused of sexually assaulting her, Bruce Lehrmann. “That allegation is false. The material (falsely described in the report as ‘secret recordings’) published on Spotlight on the Seven Network on 4 June 2023 certainly does not justify that allegation,” the lawyers’ letter said.

>>19037048 Menslink CEO Martin Fisk tipped off Heidi Yates about Brittany Higgins’s rape claim - A Canberra charity boss who was nominated for a top Australian honour by David Sharaz and whose wife works for the Labor Party can be revealed as the mystery man who told Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates about Brittany Higgins’s rape claim weeks before it became public. Former Menslink chief executive officer Martin Fisk, whose wife Sandra is the ACT Labor Party’s operations manager, told Ms Yates in January 2021 that he was “working with a young woman who was about to make a sexual-assault disclosure” and that it “would likely attract national media attention”. Mr Fisk’s involvement reveals another puzzle piece as to “who knew what when”, while his wife’s strong links to the Labor Party, where she began working in 2012 while her Facebook friend ­Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was Territory chief minister, raise questions about the politicisation of Ms Higgins’ allegation.

>>19044075 DPP Shane Drumgold wanted ACT Police mistake in Brittany Higgins matter publicly exposed - ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold has extended his leave as new documents reveal the depths of his frustration with police ­investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation. Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates’s file notes, submitted to the inquiry, revealed Mr Drumgold wanted to publicly shame police for inadvertently providing Ms Higgins’ counselling notes to Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer. During a meeting on September 22, 2021, Mr Drumgold told Ms Yates that while he didn’t want the jury at Mr Lehrmann’s impending rape trial to suspect the detectives were incompetent, their mistake “needs to explode at some point”.

>>19058136 Sharaz and Higgins: ‘We’d become quite a twosome on game planning’ - "Brittany Higgins’ book appears to have been shelved. One look at the rough draft and it’s not hard to understand why. There are sound reasons many people are troubled by what they see as Higgins’s fixation on a political sex scandal - evidenced by texts, notes and in her draft book. Somewhere in this saga is an allegation of rape. And this is what makes this story such a dismal episode for the so-called women’s movement. People such as Heidi Yates, the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner, have lauded Higgins for her advocacy work. But what precisely has Higgins become an advocate for? To many women, Higgins has become known, most famously, as the woman who chose to go to the media first, to politicians second, and to the police, to lodge a formal complaint, third." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>19058165 Video: Bruce Lehrmann breaks his silence on Brittany Higgins case. Full 7NEWS Spotlight Interview - The man accused of raping Brittany Higgins in Parliament House has admitted he told three different stories to three different people when asked why he was in the office at the time the alleged rape took place. In a 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive, Bruce Lehrmann has offered his version of events.

#30 - Part 34

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 10

>>19120643 ‘Time to stop’: Brittany Higgins lashes out against Linda Reynolds - Brittany Higgins has lashed out at her former boss, Linda Reynolds, after the Liberal MP said she would ask the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the commonwealth payment to her former staffer. On Tuesday Ms Higgins posted on social media a series of newspaper headlines that she claimed originate “from a current Australian Senator who continues to harass me through the media and in the Parliament …. This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop.” Senator Reynolds has indicated she will refer Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to the NACC over the payment of more than $2.5 million in compensation to her former staffer following Ms Higgins’ claims her allegations of rape were mishandled.

>>19126430 Shane Drumgold extends leave from ACT top prosecutor role following Bruce Lehrmann inquiry - The ACT’s top prosecutor has extended his leave for a second time in the wake of a bruising appearance at an inquiry into a high-profile trial. Shane Drumgold SC has been on leave since May after he faced days of questioning over his claims that he felt pressured not to charge former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins. Mr Drumgold was due to return to work in mid-June, but his leave was extended to the end of June. In a short statement ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury confirmed Mr Drumgold had extended his leave again until August 30.

>>19132091 ‘I have had enough’: Reynolds sends defamation notice to Higgins over Instagram post - Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has accused Brittany Higgins of repeatedly defaming her after sending a legal letter to her former staffer over a social media post this week in which Higgins accused Reynolds of using the media to harass her. On the same day Higgins’ partner, David Sharaz, faced defamation action filed by Reynolds in a West Australian court, Higgins tweeted on Thursday that she had received a concerns notice from her former boss - for whom she worked as a ministerial adviser in 2019 – “threatening defamation over an Instagram story”. Reynolds later said in a statement that her lawyers sent a concerns notice to Higgins the day before in a “private communication, which she has chosen to make public”.

>>19132103 Brittany Higgins considers 'legal options' after being issued concerns notice from WA senator Linda Reynolds - Former Canberra political staffer Brittany Higgins says WA senator Linda Reynolds is threatening to sue her over an Instagram post. In a tweet today Ms Higgins said she had receive a "concerns notice" from Ms Reynolds. "I've just received a concerns notice from @lindareynoldswa threatening defamation over an Instagram story," the tweet reads. "I'm considering my legal options." Prominent defamation lawyer Martin Bennett, who acts for Ms Reynolds, confirmed to the ABC the notice had been sent yesterday to Ms Higgins's legal counsel and was related to an Instagram post.

>>19138736 Peter FitzSimons subpoenaed to produce documents relating to Brittany Higgins book deal - Nine columnist Peter FitzSimons has been subpoenaed to produce documents relating to a book deal he helped secure for former ministerial staffer Brittany Higgins believed to be worth $325,000. Attempts will also be made to subpoena ABC journalist Laura Tingle and publisher Random House for the production of documents in the defamation action brought by former parliament staffer Bruce Lehrmann against Network 10 and the ABC. Mr Lehrmann, who has consistently denied the allegations, is suing Network 10 and Wilkinson over an interview with Ms Higgins that aired on The Project in February 2021 detailing allegations of rape but not naming Mr Lehrmann as the alleged attacker. Mr Lehrmann is also suing the ABC over the broadcast of a ­National Press Club address given by Ms Higgins, and Justice Lee on Friday stood over a subpoena for Tingle, who hosted the club address on February 9 last year, to produce documents. The press club promoted sales of tickets to the address that ­referred to Ms Higgins’ decision to “publicly allege she was raped by a colleague inside Parliament House”.

#30 - Part 35

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 1

>>18960157 Anthony Albanese is expected to face pressure over the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal at national conference in August - Anthony Albanese’s support for AUKUS is expected to come under fire at Labor’s national conference in August, highlighting division within the ALP over the government’s national security agenda. Right faction delegates are preparing to counter an expected resolution from left-wing unions condemning the government’s support of the agreement. At the Queensland state conference on the weekend, the Electrical Trades Union moved a motion asking the branch to “categorically oppose the construction of nuclear-powered submarines” for the safety of constituents and the broader environment.

>>18982804 Transfer of Virginia-class submarines advances in US - US Congress has officially moved to introduce legislation that would pave the way for America’s most secret military intelligence - nuclear propelled submarines - to be transferred to Australia. Democrat congressman Joe Courtney along with Gregory Meeks and Ami Bera introduced the AUKUS Undersea Defense Act which provides legislative authority to allow for the transfer of Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The bill would also lead to the training of Australian private sector defence personnel, as well as the integration of Australian financial contributions to the US defence industrial base.

>>18982955 The case for AUKUS: let’s get things clear - "While opponents like Paul Keating snipe at our strategic policies - and our new lethal weapons - they consistently spare scrutiny of China, despite its likeness to Nazi Germany in several ways. We allowed ourselves, for 20 years after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, to believe the CCP would see the error of its ways and liberalise. We clung - as we profited handsomely from China’s rapid economic growth - to the hope that a rising tide would lift all boats. We miscalculated. The party is not for turning. It is aggressively anti-liberal. It seeks, like Putin, to overturn the liberal international order. That’s why AUKUS now exists." - Paul Monk, fellow of the Institute for Law and Strategy (London and New York) and head of the China desk in Australia’s Defence Intelligence Organisation in the mid-1990s

>>18987638 IAEA must not bend rules for AUKUS: China Daily editorial - "Li Song, China's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, once again stressed that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal is a cover for nuclear proliferation at the board meeting of the IAEA in Vienna on Thursday. No matter how far the de facto anti-China bloc has gone to justify the deal, they cannot deny its fundamental nature, which is the transfer of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium from two nuclear-weapon states to a non-nuclear-weapon state. That violates the principles and practices of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and severely undermines the international non-proliferation regime and the IAEA's safeguards system." - chinadaily.com.cn

>>19011154 Albanese faces AUKUS backlash from Victorian Labor Party faithful - Powerful unions want Labor’s rank and file to formally condemn the $368 billion AUKUS submarine deal this weekend, potentially setting up an awkward clash with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he addresses Victorian Labor’s first state conference in four years. Both the prime minister and Premier Daniel Andrews will deliver speeches to party faithful at the conference, according to several state and federal government sources. The 606 delegates will be asked to vote on a motion from manufacturing union the AMWU seen by The Age, slamming Australia’s decision to acquire a nuclear-powered fleet from the United States and the prospect of the Albanese government “dragging Australia into a new Cold War, rather than pursuing the labour movement’s longstanding commitment to a peaceful and independent foreign and defence policy”.

>>19051132 The surprising reason ScoMo had to hoodwink Macron over AUKUS - Former prime minister Scott Morrison said his controversial decision to hide the truth about the AUKUS deal and the axing of France’s $90 billion submarine contract from President Emmanuel Macron was fuelled by a lack of trust not in the Frenchman but in US President Joe Biden. Mr Morrison said his fear was that if Mr Macron had prematurely found out what Australia was up to, the French leader could have persuaded Mr Biden to back away from the deal - leaving Canberra empty-handed. “He [Biden] could have said, ‘Oh, you know what, Emmanuel has been in contact. Look, I think we should put this off for a week or two while we work through these issues’,” Mr Morrison told UK-based Australian author Richard Kerbaj, in an updated edition of 'The Secret History of the Five Eyes' that will be released in Australia on July 11.

#30 - Part 36

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 2

>>19082419 US ‘aspirational’ on timing of AUKUS submarines - The US navy is “aspirational” about meeting the submarine production targets required to ensure Australia will be able to purchase up to five nuclear-powered Virginia class submarines as promised under the AUKUS security pact. Admiral Michael Gilday told a seminar in Washington on Monday (Tuesday (AEST)) that it was “too early” to say “precisely where those submarines will come from, whether [from] excess capacity or whether that comes out of US inventory”. Bottlenecks in US submarine yards have limited the production of US Virginia class submarines to around 1.2 a year in recent years compared with the minimum of two per year required to fulfil the US navy’s own force projection requirements.

>>19082436 AUKUS could expand in second phase to include other countries, US officials say, while challenges remain for nuclear subs delivery - Senior US officials say they are in talks with a "variety" of other countries about potentially involving them in the second phase of the AUKUS agreement. Australia will obtain nuclear-powered submarines under what's known as Pillar One of the deal with the United States and the United Kingdom. Pillar Two will see the three nations working more closely together on other types of defence capabilities, such as artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

>>19143911 Video: The three Australians on track to become the Top Guns of the sea - In the deep, dark waters of the Pacific Ocean, James Heydon, Adam Klyne, and William Hall could soon be breaking new ground for Australia: spending time at sea as AUKUS-ready nuclear submarine operators. The trio today became the first group of Royal Australian Navy personnel to graduate from Nuclear Power School: one of the US Defence Department’s most rigorous and demanding academic programs. “It’s a historic event for our navy, a historic event for our submarine force and a historic event for our nation,” said Australian Navy chief Mark Hammond, who attended their graduation ceremony at Goose Creek in South Carolina on Friday morning (US time).

>>19143964 Inside 'nuke school', the elite US training ground preparing Australian submariners for an AUKUS future - In America's deep south, a group of students has just completed one of the most rigorous academic programs in the US military. And for the first time, there were Australians among them. Three members of the Royal Australian Navy have graduated from the Nuclear Power School in South Carolina, more commonly known as 'nuke school'. The training pipeline was established with the US as part of the AUKUS agreement, under which Australia will obtain its own nuclear-powered submarines. The three Australians - Lieutenant Commander James Heydon, Lieutenant Commander Adam Klyne, and Lieutenant William Hall - started at the Nuclear Power School in November with the aim of eventually qualifying to operate the reactors onboard nuclear-powered submarines. Lieutenant Commander Heydon described the course he's just graduated from as a "four-year engineering degree crammed into six months". The Australians will now have to complete another set of practical learning, which will include spending time on retired nuclear-powered subs known as moored training ships. After that, they'll receive further training in Connecticut before being assigned to a Virginia-class sub.

>>19160130 China, Solomon Islands take swipe at AUKUS in announcing new strategic partnership - China and the Solomon Islands have signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China. The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, underlining his nation’s foreign policy shift. China will continue to provide assistance to the Solomon Islands to enhance its law enforcement capacity, according to a joint statement released by China’s official Xinhua news agency. It urged “relevant countries” to “prudently” handle issues such as the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and cooperation on nuclear submarines, in a thinly veiled swipe at Japan and AUKUS, the alliance among Australia, the United States and Britain.

#30 - Part 37

Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry and Ben Roberts-Smith Defamation Trial - Part 1

>>18934029 Ben Roberts-Smith: Top Australian soldier loses war crimes defamation case - Australia's most-decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has lost a historic defamation case against three newspapers that accused him of war crimes in Afghanistan. The outlets were sued over articles alleging he killed unarmed prisoners. The civil trial was the first time a court has assessed accusations of war crimes by Australian forces. Justice Anthony Besanko said four of the six murder allegations, all denied by the soldier, were substantially true. These included - A handcuffed farmer the soldier had kicked off a cliff, a fall which knocked out the man's teeth, before he was subsequently shot dead - A captured Taliban fighter who was shot at least 10 times in the back, before his prosthetic leg was taken as a trophy and later used by troops as a drinking vessel - Two murders which were ordered or agreed to by Mr Roberts-Smith to initiate or "blood" rookie soldiers.

>>18934054 Ben Roberts-Smith loses mammoth defamation battle against newspapers, reporters - A defamation case by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith against three newspapers has been dismissed, after a judge found defences of substantial or contextual truth had been established over alleged unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence. The Victoria Cross recipient sued The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and three journalists in the Federal Court over a series of stories published in 2018. Mr Roberts-Smith said they contained false allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan, bullying of his former Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) colleagues and domestic violence against a woman in a Canberra hotel room.

>>18934081 Ben Roberts-Smith: SAS veteran a murderer with a cross to bear - Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, callously murdered four unarmed ­civilians while serving with the Special Air Service in Afghanistan, a judge has found, and now faces the prospect of serious criminal charges and being stripped of his Victoria Cross. Handing down his decision in the high-stakes defamation action brought by the former soldier against Nine newspapers, Federal Court judge Anthony Besanko ruled on Thursday that Mr ­Roberts-Smith had murdered four prisoners, including a ­farmer who was kicked off a cliff in the village of Darwan, and a one-legged man dragged from a tunnel at the compound known as ­Whiskey 108.

>>18939562 Rogues in the ranks await their fate as a giant is toppled - The trials of Ben Roberts-Smith and a raft of other SAS soldiers who served with him in Afghanistan are only just beginning. We are now likely to see a slew of criminal prosecutions for war crimes in Afghanistan that will cast a dark shadow over Australia’s military for many years. Even though this was a civil case and therefore had a lower burden of proof than a criminal prosecution, the result offers further confirmation that Australian soldiers participated in horrific war crimes in Afghanistan. It adds to the findings of the 2020 Brereton report which found “credible” evidence of allegations 25 Australian soldiers murdered 39 Afghan civilians. So far only one former SAS soldier, Oliver Schultz, has been charged with murder. But more criminal charges are now expected, with the Office of the Special Investigator examining “between 40 and 50” further allegations of war crimes.

>>18939570 Courtroom void tells us something about the man - "Ben Roberts-Smith won his cherished Victoria Cross charging towards danger. He lost the honour it bestowed while draped across a sun lounge by a pool in Bali. It’s hard to imagine a greater fall from grace - harder still to know why he chose not to front up on the day of judgement. Roberts-Smith had turned up to court every day of the trial, sharply dressed, shoes polished, ready to stare down his accusers. Not on Thursday, when Judge Anthony Besanko sat down to deliver his verdict. The void in Courtroom 1 where Roberts-Smith should have stood on Thursday tells us something about the man. It speaks of contempt for a judicial system that, once he got a whiff it wasn’t working for him the way he’d planned, could be left at the door like last night’s room service. The war hero brought this case on but wouldn’t see it through to the end." - Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au

#30 - Part 38

Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry and Ben Roberts-Smith Defamation Trial - Part 2

>>18939574 A profound blow to our many honourable soldiers, but Army must be bound by rule of war - "The devastating loss by Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation case will deliver a profound blow to the morale of the army and the Australian Defence Force generally. It was always a difficult case to understand. At some level, Roberts-Smith must believe himself innocent, or either remember or construe his actions differently from the way the court has. On the other hand, the evidence against him was strong. Still, we should remember this was not a criminal case and Roberts-Smith has not been charged with any crime and he has not been found guilty of anything to a criminal standard of proof. Nonetheless, taken in combination with the Brereton report, there is overwhelming evidence that there was grave misconduct by some Australian soldiers in Afghanistan." - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au

>>18955265 ‘Not an honest and reliable witness’: Judge’s scathing assessment of Roberts-Smith - Disgraced former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith gave false evidence, threatened a former comrade who later testified against him and arranged “unusual” legal fee payments for supportive witnesses, the judge who dismissed his multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit said. In the full reasons for the judgment, released on Monday, Federal Court judge Anthony Besanko said the former Special Air Service corporal was “not an honest and reliable witness in … many areas”. He endorsed the credibility and honesty of witnesses who detailed Roberts-Smith’s wrongdoing.

>>18955292 Ben Roberts-Smith may have committed criminal offence, judge in defamation trial finds - War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith may have committed a criminal offence by sending threatening letters to a former SAS colleague, a Federal Court judge has found. Mr Roberts-Smith sued The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and three journalists, denying allegations contained in a series of 2018 reports of war crimes, bullying and domestic violence. The judge was satisfied, to the civil standard of the balance of probabilities, that allegations Mr Roberts-Smith was involved or complicit in four unlawful killings in Afghanistan were substantially true. Mr Roberts-Smith had also denied sending anonymous, threatening letters to a former SAS colleague in 2018 by asking a private detective, John McLeod, to post material on his behalf. In the full judgement, published today, Justice Anthony Besanko said the sending of the letters may constitute a criminal offence; either perverting the course of justice or using a postal service to menace, harass or cause offence. "I am satisfied on the evidence that the applicant, through Mr McLeod, arranged for two threatening letters to be sent to Person 18."

>>18960215 Going woke risks destroying the ADF as a real fighting force - "The government is now pushing a great deal of politically correct nonsense on the army. It has restored the rainbow morning teas. It rejoices in its membership of LGBTQ lobby groups. Diversity, equity and inclusion are all the rage. Recruitment advertisements make no mention of combat or what a life of service in the army is really all about. I am strongly in favour of diversity in the army and the ADF. But diversity should work this way: you encourage people from widely diverse backgrounds to apply, but then the selection and promotion procedures should be absolutely colourblind and gender-blind. We forget what the army is for. The key role of the army is to close with and destroy the enemy. You hope you never need to do that, but that’s what you have a military for. The Australian Army, like many Western armies, is now subject to a bewildering range of woke requirements that have nothing to do with being an effective army, nor indeed with being an ethical and moral military either. Given the emphasis on teamwork and group cohesion, this kind of poison can spread through a military at devastating speed." - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au

#30 - Part 39

Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry and Ben Roberts-Smith Defamation Trial - Part 3

>>18977671 Video: Ben Roberts-Smith alleged to have directed the killing of elderly imam in Afghanistan - Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith directed one of his SAS comrades to kill an elderly man who was dragged from a mosque in Afghanistan, according to allegations uncovered by ABC Investigations. ABC Investigations can reveal the disgraced war hero's alleged involvement in the killing, which sparked a diplomatic row for Australia. The Australian government was quick to defend the August 2012 killing of Haji Raz Mohammad, an imam in the village of Sola, in Uruzgan province, claiming he was an insurgent. ABC Investigations understands the alleged incident is now in the hands of Australia's war crimes agency, the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI).

>>19005517 ‘Massive blow’: AFP war crimes probe collapses over risk of tainted evidence - A five-year Australian Federal Police inquiry into Ben Roberts-Smith’s alleged involvement in the execution of three Afghan captives has collapsed after Commonwealth prosecutors ruled investigators may have unwittingly used tainted evidence. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions’ (CDPP) decision not to prosecute Roberts-Smith based on evidence gathered during the AFP probe has led to a new joint taskforce being set up to investigate the alleged executions. The taskforce comprises detectives from the specialist war crimes agency, the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), and a new team of federal police investigators not connected to the abandoned AFP probe. The CDPP concluded in March that the five-year AFP probe should not lead to a prosecution because of the risk it was unwittingly compromised by the receipt of certain information from the Brereton inquiry, a military inspector general probe which ran from 2016-2020 and used special coercive powers to question SAS soldiers.

>>19016850 War crimes ‘will be prosecuted’ says Andrew Hastie - Opposition defence spokesman and former SAS captain Andrew Hastie says he is confident special forces war criminals will be brought to justice despite the collapse of a five-year investigation into allegations of murder against Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith. The Australian Federal Police defended its conduct on Wednesday after it was forced to junk its investigation into Mr Roberts-Smith’s alleged involvement in the execution of three Afghan prisoners, amid concerns over tainted evidence. The AFP and detectives from the nation’s war crimes agency, the Office of the Special Investigator, have now started a fresh probe into the alleged murders, which sources warn could take years. Mr Hastie said he was not privy to the reasons behind the decision, but declared: “The Office of the Special Investigator is active”.

>>19016902 Video: No apologies as Roberts-Smith returns to Australia following defamation judgment - Former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith has ruled out apologising to the families of the victims affected by his actions in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith - arriving into Perth on a Qantas flight shortly after 9pm on Wednesday – said he was devastated by the outcome of his high-profile defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, adding that he was “100 per cent” proud of his behaviour while serving in the Defence Force. It is the first time Roberts-Smith has spoken publicly since the case ended, spending the days prior to the court judgment in Bali.

>>19037107 Be brave, strip soldiers’ medals, says expert who sparked war crimes inquiry - The sociologist who triggered the Brereton war crimes inquiry has urged Defence Minister Richard Marles to stare down veterans’ groups by stripping medals from soldiers who oversaw alleged wrongdoing in Afghanistan, saying it will reflect poorly on the nation if no action is taken. Samantha Crompvoets, an expert on organisational culture, was commissioned by the Department of Defence in 2015 to produce a report that led to military personnel disclosing claims of unlawful behaviour including alleged war crimes. In her first interview since a Federal Court judge found Ben Roberts-Smith to be a murderer and war criminal when dismissing his defamation case last week, Crompvoets said the decorated former soldier should lose his Victoria Cross for bringing the Australian Defence Force into disrepute. Crompvoets said Australians should prepare to hear confronting allegations at possible future criminal trials flowing from the Brereton inquiry.

#30 - Part 40

Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry and Ben Roberts-Smith Defamation Trial - Part 4

>>19037124 Video: Jacqui Lambie wants International Criminal Court to investigate military commanders for alleged war crimes - Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague investigate senior Australian Defence Force (ADF) commanders over their knowledge of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Senator Lambie has been scathing in her assessment of Major General Paul Brereton's landmark inquiry into allegations of serious misconduct by Australian special forces - a redacted version of which was made public in late 2020. She has argued the ADF's high command has avoided scrutiny and accountability over what they knew of unlawful killings and cruel treatment of prisoners, despite recollections from former SAS personnel and testimony in court suggesting rumours were well known by the top brass.

>>19075534 War crimes investigators want access to Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case secret file Federal investigators are poised to access secret files from Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation case in a development that indicates prosecutors intend to use previously undisclosed evidence from the trial about the killing of unarmed prisoners in a future war crimes trial. A letter sent by the Australian Government Solicitor on Friday to both sides in the defamation case, seen by The Australian, says the Office of the Special Investigator -- the agency set up to investigate war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan - requires access to the case’s Sensitive Court File. The highly protected Sensitive Court File contains hundreds of classified documents and photographs, the identities of all the Special Air Service witnesses in the case and transcripts of evidence given in closed sessions of the trial, including by Mr Roberts-Smith himself.

>>19104491 OPINION: I exposed war crimes among the SAS. A few weeks ago, my car was repossessed - "When my car was repossessed by debt collectors a few weeks ago, amid wrapping up loose ends after my company went into liquidation, it made me reflect on the life I once led and the one I lead now. For me, it all began on Australia Day 2016. That was the day I submitted a report to army chief General Angus Campbell that would trigger the biggest inquiry into war crimes in Australia’s history. When the war crimes allegations emerged, then-defence minister Peter Dutton said he had made it “very clear” to Defence that I should not be awarded further contracts. That he did not want the military to be “distracted by things that have happened in the past”. My credibility was questioned repeatedly by Jacqui Lambie and reiterated in the Murdoch press. In a letter I received from the government solicitor’s office shortly after publication, I was told my conduct and public statements had “harmed the Commonwealth”. The result was that my ongoing work with the government was “terminated for convenience”. The implications for me, my family, my business, and my staff were profound. The message had been sent to the department loud and clear that I was now a liability and a risk. No work would follow. Work in the pipeline was stopped indefinitely. I’d told the truth, so they cut me out. After that my business collapsed and my mental health declined amid the endless stream of misogynistic threats through social media. Work from other organisations was not forthcoming. I gather this was because most businesses hire consultants to tell them what they want to hear, not uncover what is really at the heart of their problems." - Samantha Crompvoets, sociologist and expert in organisational culture - theage.com.au

>>19160231 Ben Roberts-Smith appeals major defamation loss - Disgraced soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has launched an appeal of the judgment in his failed defamation action against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times, which ruled he is a war criminal, murderer and a bully. On Tuesday Mr Roberts-Smith filed a notice of appeal in the Federal Court. According to the notice, Mr Roberts-Smith is appealing on the grounds that Justice Besanko erred in finding the former soldier ordered executions and murdered Afghans. This includes the finding that he kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff in 2012 and ordered his execution, as well as killing an elderly Afghan in 2009 with a machine gun. Nine managing director of publishing James Chessell said: “We believe the Federal Court’s judgment is comprehensive and categorical. The appeal will be opposed. We will always stand up for journalism that is in the public interest.”

#30 - Part 41

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 1

>>18928670 Indigenous Voice to Parliament: There has never been a political alignment like this - "In post-war Australia there has rarely, if ever, been a political alignment like this. Our elites have come together - political, corporate, financial, university, media, sporting, trade union and religious – to persuade and intimidate the Australian people to put an Indigenous voice to parliament into the Constitution. The nation confronts an unparalleled contest between an alliance of elites and a public that is wary and suspicious, increasingly resentful of the pressure to do the “polite” thing. Many Australians see the Yes campaign as well-intentioned deception. They feel they are not being levelled with but patronised, their goodwill exploited. The more the Yes campaign is scrutinised, the more the scale of serial deception is apparent." - Paul Kelly, Editor-at-Large, The Australian - theaustralian.com.au

>>18928883 An Indigenous voice to parliament is our chance to grasp history and create change, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - "Amid the fog of fiction and misunderstanding these past few months, it’s important to spell it out again. This isn’t about politics. This isn’t about politicians. This is about people. People striving to make themselves heard across our great nation. In the regions and beyond in the remotest corners of our vast continent. We are fortunate to be here in this moment in history, where we have within our hands the chance to make a positive change that will last for generations. A change that will outlast us." - Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>18934123 State of Origin fans asked to ‘make right call’ on voice referendum - The Welcome to Country opening State of Origin I has alluded to the looming referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, calling on Australians to “make the right call”. Uncle Karl Winda Telfer addressed Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night ahead of the match between the Queensland Maroons and the NSW Blues. Mr Telfer said the match was taking place on sacred land and Australians would need to have “serious conversations” before the end of the year. “Today we’re not about pushing people apart, we’re about the union,” he said. “Of us all in this great game in this great country, we need to have the conversations leading up to the end of this year. I think we’re mature enough to make the right call yeah.”

>>18934161 Senator Jacinta Price slams State of Origin for using Welcome to Country ceremony to reference Voice to Parliament - Shadow minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has lashed out at the State of Origin Welcome to Country ceremony after it made reference to the proposed Voice to Parliament. Uncle Karl Winda Telfer addressed Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night ahead of the series opener between the Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues where he called on the spectators to have “serious conversations” ahead of the referendum. The mention of the Voice to Parliament divided footy fans and Senator Price was among the vocal critics. “I’m sick and tired of it, I’m sick and tired of these acknowledgements because of nothing more than my racial heritage,” she said

>>18939765 Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum bill passes lower house - The legislation to set up the referendum on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the constitution has passed the House of Representatives. The bill still needs to be dealt with by the Senate, which is likely next month, before the federal government sets a date for the poll later this year. The final vote in the lower house was 121 in favour of the bill, and 25 against - with the Nationals and a handful of Liberal MPs voting to block the referendum going ahead. Applause rung out across the House of Representatives after the result was announced.

>>18939781 Linda Burney says Indigenous voice to parliament has been ‘no flight of fancy’ as bill passes lower house - The Albanese government has been “extraordinarily careful and consultative” in forming the Indigenous voice to parliament, Linda Burney has declared, urging Australians to look at publicly available information to understand the advisory body. The country is on track to head to a referendum between October and December this year, with the government’s legislation outlining the question and constitutional amendment that Australians will be voting on passing the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Constitution Alteration Bill is due to clear the final parliamentary hurdle -- receiving an ­absolute majority of support from senators – in June, before the five-week winter break.

#30 - Part 42

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 2

>>18939811 Indigenous voice to parliament proposal is ‘modest’ no more, says Anthony Albanese - "Anthony Albanese’s lack of a detailed argument supporting the Yes case for an Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government and his propensity to emotionally adjust to the audience he is addressing is leading him into inconsistency. For months the Prime Minister has argued that the voice referendum proposal is “modest and gracious”. But, under emotional influence - genuine and sincere - Albanese has declared to a highly sympathetic audience that the proposal is “modest” no more. “So let us not content ourselves with modest change,” he said in the culmination and conclusion of the Lowitja O’Donaghue oration in Adelaide. “Let us not fill our hearts with the empty warmth of the merely symbolic,” he said." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>18939831 A ‘modest’ Indigenous voice to parliament? Take a look out west to consider it’s far reaching consequences - "Anthony Albanese’s pitch to Australians for months has been that they should vote for his voice because it will be an important “but modest change”. Only the cat is now out of the bag with his comments in a speech to Indigenous leaders this week declaring “let this be no modest change”. In the clearest sign yet of what will come, all Australians need to look at the enormous Aboriginal heritage changes about to roll out across Western Australia from July 1. What’s more, these changes will create a whole new land-use approvals regime that circumvents elected officials and subjects the rights of private property owners to Aboriginal heritage assessment." - Peta Credlin - theaustralian.com.au

>>18939852 Don’t let No scare tactics get in the way of the Indigenous voice to parliament - "Some have claimed the voice’s representations would derail government decisions on everything from nuclear-powered submarines to lighthouses. Michaelia Cash even said the voice would interfere with parking tickets. Others have claimed the voice will stymie Australia’s national security and could even prevent Australia going to war. These suggestions demonstrate the tenor of the No case. The Yes case cannot resort to lies. The case for change must deal in truth. Advocates for this change must fight fear with facts, as Leeser has done in his latest speech. And we must answer hate with love. If we do that, the Yes vote will succeed." - Shireen Morris, constitutional lawyer and director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University law school - theaustralian.com.au

>>18939907 Video: Voice to Parliament draws mixed opinions in Indigenous community of Woorabinda - Like many in his community, Douglas Graham wants to see the town of Woorabinda - and the lives of the people in it - improve, but he is unsure if or how the Indigenous Voice to Parliament would help. Mr Graham, the librarian at Woorabinda's Indigenous Knowledge Centre in central Queensland, has been following the public debate on the proposed Voice to Parliament. But the Gooreng Gooreng/Lamalama man says what it will mean for his people on the ground is still unclear. "We've had a voice … and they still haven't listened to us [since colonisation]," he said.

>>18939935 Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli to vote No on Indigenous voice to parliament - Queensland’s Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli has revealed he will vote No in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum later this year. Mr Crisafulli, who had for months refused to reveal his position, on Wednesday said he planned to vote No but would not actively campaign against the voice. Mr Crisafulli said he was concerned about “risks” of enshrining the voice in the constitution, including the potential it could undermine parliament’s power. “I don’t feel a voice that is legislated wouldn’t be able to achieve exactly the same thing as one that’s enshrined in the constitution, (but) without that level of risk,” he said.

>>18945729 Father Brennan tells Albanese and Dutton to find common ground on Voice - One of the Catholic Church’s leading proponents of the Indigenous Voice to parliament fears the referendum will leave Australians divided - no matter the result - and he lays the blame on both sides of politics for not striving harder to find common ground. Father Frank Brennan, a Jesuit priest and human rights lawyer, will use a lecture in Rome to urge Australians to recommit themselves to a “deep inner listening” towards each other and the land. He will remind Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton that they bear responsibility for the tone of the debate.

#30 - Part 43

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 3

>>18945799 It’s not the No camp that’s highlighting race in Indigenous voice to parliament debate - "Everywhere I go in Australia today, discourse on matters of national interest lends itself to a racially intense focus. The debate surrounding the voice to parliament cannot exist without such discourse, whether Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan likes it or not. This week Tan appealed to political leaders and the media to steer clear of making race the focus of the voice to parliament debate, warning it would embolden racists and expose Indigenous Australians to abuse and vilification. But asking Australians to avoid highlighting race in the voice debate is like asking someone to avoid getting wet walking through monsoonal rains. This is not the fault of everyday Australians but of the unyielding activist class that for the past decade has doused petrol on the flames of identity politics." - Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, CLP senator for the Northern Territory - theaustralian.com.au

>>18949802 ‘Duplicitous’: Noel Pearson accuses Peter Dutton over race argument on voice - Prominent Indigenous leader Noel Pearson has accused Peter Dutton of being “duplicitous” in raising concern that enshrining the Indigenous voice to parliament in the Constitution would “re-racialise the nation”, claiming the Opposition Leader assured him earlier this year he would be not making arguments on the basis of race.

>>18949819 Moral high ground in Indigenous voice to parliament debate has been hijacked by perceived ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ vote - "To label the Yes or No case as right or wrong is to convert people’s votes into moral judgments carrying a weight of guilt that should not attach to the free exercise of our democratic right on such a complex issue with ramifications across the federal government. There is also a conundrum in the heart of the debate about whether the voice will be modest or radical; practical or symbolic; and all-encompassing or restricted to issues affecting Indigenous people only. The difficulty for Albanese and voice supporters is that they are maintaining all points simultaneously despite the inherent contradictions." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>18949840 It’s OK to vote Yes: Meet the Liberals campaigning for the Voice - Kate Carnell wants Liberals, Liberal voters and Liberal-curious people to know one thing: it’s OK to vote Yes. The former Liberal ACT chief minister and Small Business Ombudsman is the head of the Liberals For Yes campaign, which launches today with its own merchandise and website. “We are aiming our campaign at, not just at Liberal party members, but people who traditionally vote Liberal,” Carnell said. “We want to empower them. Just because federally the party is taking a different tack, doesn’t mean you can’t vote Yes.”

>>18955149 Newspoll reveals 46% of Australians intend to vote ‘yes’ to an Indigenous voice to parliament in referendum, 43% no - Less than half of eligible Australians now say they will vote in favour of a referendum to enshrine a voice to parliament and executive government in a troubling sign for the yes campaign and Anthony Albanese’s ambitions to ­secure constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait ­Islander people. An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows only 46 per cent of voters approve of ­altering the Constitution to give effect to an Indigenous voice as proposed by the federal government. With opinion almost equally divided, 43 per cent of voters said they would vote no, while 11 per cent said they didn’t know. It is the first Newspoll survey to present voters with the precise question they will be asked at the ballot box when the referendum is held this year. Past Newspoll surveys showing support for a voice to parliament above 50 per cent were based on a more general question. The new survey suggests that the contest is now closer than previous polls have suggested, with the referendum poised to go either way with clear generational divisions now emerging amid a schism between regional Australia and the capital cities.

#30 - Part 44

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 4

>>18955174 Voice campaigners confident despite new polling - Campaigners for an Indigenous voice remain confident of success at the upcoming referendum despite declining support in new opinion polling. The latest Newspoll shows 46 per cent backing for the proposal, dropping from 54 per cent earlier this year. Some 43 per cent of those surveyed were opposed and 11 per cent did not know. The referendum, due to be held between October and December, needs a national majority as well as a majority of voters in at least four states for the constitution to be changed. But Yes 23 campaign director Dean Parkin said he expected support to grow for the voice as it moves away from political debate in parliament and into communities. "It's understandable in some ways that there has been some tightening up in the numbers. We knew this would always become contested," he told Sky News.

>>18955207 Indigenous voice to parliament Yes campaigners must persuade dubious Australians ahead of referendum - "There is one unlikely point of agreement between the Yes and No camps for the voice referendum. Terror of the consequences of a lost vote. Each understands Indigenous Australians will be shattered. Each will blame the other. The scorched earth will belong to both. For Yes supporters - including me - winning is the only course. Politics, personalities and even past drafting disputes are irrelevant. But the immediate challenge is that the polling for the voice is not good. It is threatening. Multiple polls place the Yes vote between the high 40s and low 50s. Support for No is in the mid 30s. Undecideds are around 20 per cent. There is not a Yes majority in a single state." - Emeritus Professor Greg Craven, constitutional lawyer - theaustralian.com.au

>>18955225 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Indigenous voice to parliament ‘Yes’ campaign strategy is faltering - "Only several months out from the referendum and the Indigenous voice to parliament is in trouble. The strength of the No vote is now significant and the Newspoll results may well come as a shock to the other side. The findings don’t bode well for Anthony Albanese, whose political strategy to hold back detail of the voice to parliament and go on the vibe of constitutional recognition is clearly failing. The Prime Minister’s conviction that the moral imperative will win over Australians is being put to the test." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>18960113 Anthony Albanese’s decision to make no effort to attract Coalition support for Indigenous voice to parliament is backfiring - "The latest Newspoll figures suggest two of Anthony Albanese’s key strategies in his bid to pass the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament - to avoid giving detail and to eschew bipartisan support - are failing. The latest Newspoll figures, which it must be said respond to a different question to the previous referendum polling questions, suggest there is an across-the-board movement against the voice and a surge in uncertainty. The movement against the voice to parliament and the executive government is strongest among older Australians and Coalition supporters." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>18960120 State premiers ‘important’ to Indigenous voice to parliament Yes campaign, referendum - The Albanese government is banking on the country’s premiers playing a crucial role in getting the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum across the line, hoping the state leaders’ popularity in states like South Australia and NSW will help clinch a Yes vote. While Queensland is considered the weakest link for the Yes camp, Labor insiders were hopeful Chris Minns in NSW, Peter Malinauskas in SA and the country’s only Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff in Tasmania, would be influential campaigners.

#30 - Part 45

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 5

>>18960127 Indigenous voice to parliament doesn’t guarantee it will help Indigenous Australians - "Perhaps the most important question in the lead-up to the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum is not whether modifications to the Constitution are legally sound, but will such modifications contribute to helping Indigenous Australians in any practical way? I am not convinced a constitutionally enshrined body can help those Indigenous people who need the most help, any more than the legions of Indigenous people currently working for government can. In fact, I think it can be harmful to them. It sends the poisonous message to Indigenous Australians who suffer needlessly that their salvation lies in the voice and they are powerless to make any positive change in their lives, now or ever, through their own efforts or from receiving the help offered to them." - Anthony Dillon is an honorary fellow in the faculty of health sciences at the Australian Catholic University and identifies as a part-Indigenous Australian - theaustralian.com.au

>>18965820 There’s nothing impartial or even-handed in Labor’s support for the Indigenous voice to parliament - "I’ve been opposed to this voice proposal from day one. It’s wrong on moral grounds (for going down the group rights road and breaking the commitment to equal citizenship). It’s wrong on political grounds because our already sclerotic lawmaking process will grind massively more slowly if this body has to be consulted on near-on everything. And it’s wrong on legal and constitutional grounds (not least because this will be the first proposed referendum mooting a new chapter in our Constitution, a fact that is begging the judges to be activist, because past forays into “making it up at the point of application” always involve judges pointing to the structure and different-chapters nature of our Constitution). That’s my substantive position." - James Allan, Garrick professor of law at the University of Queensland - theaustralian.com.au

>>18965852 Migrants got a fair go, it’s our turn to pay it forward with the Indigenous voice to parliament - "Indigenous communities occupy a special historical place in this country. Provided with accurate information, most multicultural Australians understand this. I urge migrants and their descendants: do not be passive bystanders in this debate. It is inspiring to see more than 120 multicultural community organisations stepping up, saying Yes and helping educate their communities - but we can and must do more. We must fight fake news with facts. We must counter misinformation and division with truth and compassion. Let us do the hard work together. If multicultural Australians stand in solidarity with Indigenous people, the referendum will succeed." - Shireen Morris, constitutional lawyer and director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University law school - theaustralian.com.au

>>18965884 Indigenous voice to parliament ‘does not deal with the reality of what it means to be Aboriginal and what people endure day-to-day’ - "There are many reasons to vote No to the legislation that establishes the voice to parliament: the lack of recognition of First Nations in the concept; the associated lack of a cultural rationale. How is it Indigenous? How can it succeed without being recognisably Indigenous? Associated with this lack of connection to the reality of life in Aboriginal communities is that just by its existence it will undermine the power First Nations have over their lands and waters, their existing relationships to governments, their autonomy; for these reasons it is bound to cause and exacerbate conflicts." - Victoria Grieves Williams PhD has worked for almost 40 years in Aboriginal affairs - theaustralian.com.au

>>18971069 ‘We are the voice from the bush’: Spirit of Yunupingu to spur Yes campaign - Australians will be asked to embrace the idea of an Indigenous Voice to parliament in a historic call from Northern Territory land councils to mark the 35th anniversary of the landmark Barunga Statement. Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney will travel to the Northern Territory later this week to attend the Barunga festival - more than three decades after then-prime minister Bob Hawke was handed the famous treaty request by esteemed rights activist, the late Yunupingu, at the same event.

#30 - Part 46

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 6

>>18971082 The Indigenous voice to parliament could be a new remedy for Aboriginal disadvantage - "If you live in regional Australia the issues that are creating divisions in the community are not based on political structures in Perth or Canberra but the growing incidence of crime and anti-social behaviour. These things I believe are symptoms of wider issues, but unless we create a mechanism to listen to the voices who say we must do something, nothing can change. The two questions I believe Australians should consider at the referendum are “What should we do?” or the more empowering question, “Who do we want to be?” I hope our answer to the second question will lead us to the conclusion that if most of the things we have tried in the past have not worked, and if we would like Aboriginal people to enjoy a better life, we will support the Indigenous voice to parliament." - Ian Trust, chairman of Empowered Communities - theaustralian.com.au

>>18971099 The powerful enjoy special access; Aboriginal people should too, through an Indigenous voice to parliament - "Nobody of any standing is opposed to recognition in the Constitution of the Aboriginal people as the country’s first inhabitants. So that leaves the practical measure that is proposed -- the voice itself. Surely to lift up our most marginalised citizens, so they can lobby just as the powerful can, is a reasonable course of action. For as long as can be envisaged, Aboriginal people will remain less powerful than existing interest groups, which have always had all the access they want. Why? Because, unlike most of the others, Indigenous Australians lack lots of money and entrenched influence. Those who represent the Aboriginal people will never be able to pull strings by way of political donations. But they do seek a seat at the table where decisions affecting them are made. We, the Australian people, ought to give them that seat, that access: the voice." - Ian Temby AO KC, the first commonwealth director of public prosecutions and the first commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption - - theaustralian.com.au

>>18977458 NT land councils back the Voice to Parliament at Barunga Festival, 'to finally be respected as equals' - Members of Northern Territory Aboriginal Land Councils have gathered at Barunga, to declare their support of an Indigenous Voice in the upcoming referendum. More than 200 representatives of the Northern, Central, Tiwi and Anindilyakwa Aboriginal Land Councils gathered on the Traditional Lands of the Bagala (Jawoyn). Land council members signed the Declaration and a copy was then presented to Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney.

>>18977583 Victorian Bar lawyers back the voice following membership poll - The Victorian Bar Association has thrown its support behind the Indigenous voice, claiming it is “sound” and “appropriate”, after a membership poll revealed just over 50 per cent of barristers supported the Bar taking a public stance. The state Bar Council elected to poll the entire association last month following a fractious debate broke out among members over whether it should issue a statement supporting the Indigenous voice, or whether it should stay silent. Results from the poll showed that of the 2229 Bar members who were eligible to vote, 1767 did. Of those 1767 members, 1008 (57 per cent) voted in favour of the Bar supporting the Indigenous voice and 714 (40 per cent) voted for a separate motion that the Bar not publicly support either the “yes” case of the “no” case for the voice. Forty-five members abstained from voting.

>>18992119 Yes campaign at odds with own director Noel Pearson - The Indigenous voice to parliament’s best-resourced campaign, Yes23, has directly contradicted criticism from one of its own directors Noel Pearson that the campaign lacks a clear message. Mr Pearson, one of 11 directors of Yes23 and its charitable arm Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, has pointed to failings in the campaign he helped devise. Amid concern over recent polls showing a reduction in support for the voice, he suggested the campaign must do better to convey the key message that recognition is the aim and a voice is the way to get there. “It’s a lack of clarity that is obviously working against us,” the veteran of the Indigenous rights movement told the Sydney Morning Herald. Danny Gilbert, the prominent lawyer who co-chairs Yes23 with screenwriter and filmmaker Rachel Perkins, was adamant the campaign was on track. “As the campaign moves into a new phase we are fully confident that we are on the right path to bringing Australians together to deliver a resounding ‘yes’.”

#30 - Part 47

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 7

>>18992132 Yes campaign ‘snookered’, says Noel Pearson in call for major campaign shift - Leading Voice architect Noel Pearson is pushing for a fundamental shift in how the Voice to parliament referendum is being presented, warning the Yes movement lacks a clear message and has been snookered by deceptive arguments of its opponents. In a significant intervention months out from a tightly contested referendum, the academic and activist also said there was an urgent need to elevate the goal of recognising Indigenous Australians in the Constitution above the creation of the Voice advisory body. “I think that message has got to be even more prominent than the Voice. The Voice is just the means; the core of the reform is recognition,” he said in an interview, “and our argument is that the Voice is the best means.”

>>18992142 Indigenous voice to parliament can complete the unfinished business of the 1967 referendum - "Australians have come to see the true significance of the 1967 referendum. The unprecedented Yes vote for the Indigenous proposal provided a mandate for national laws and policy on Aboriginal affairs. What was missing was positive acknowledgment in the Constitution and a means for first peoples to have a say on the laws and policies that could now be made for them. The task of the 2023 referendum is to remedy this unfinished business by providing recognition and a voice to Australia’s first peoples." - George Williams, deputy vice-chancellor and Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales

>>18992160 ‘A tipping point’: Support for Voice falls below a majority - Support for the Indigenous Voice has fallen below a majority on the Yes or No question that will decide the referendum, dropping from 53 to 49 per cent ahead of a crucial Senate decision on the wording of the change to the constitution. Voters have swung against the proposal for the third month in a row and are backing the No case in three states - Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia - when asked about the federal government’s proposed question. An exclusive survey shows that support for the Voice is at 56 per cent in Victoria and 53 per cent in NSW but this is outweighed by powerful swings that could block the reform gaining the required threshold of a majority of votes in a majority of states. The Resolve survey is the first major poll to show No has a majority and the first to show three states have shifted to the No side.

>>18992177 Is Anthony Albanese facing a tipping point on the Voice referendum? - "Anthony Albanese is about to reach the point of no return on the Indigenous Voice with an apparent confidence that Australians will back his preferred model for the contentious change. But the latest Resolve Political Monitor highlights the grave danger of defeat -- and a generational setback for reconciliation – unless the prime minister and the Yes campaigners take drastic action to save their cause." - David Crowe - theage.com.au

>>18998240 Conservative think-tank chairman Sean Gordon to co-lead Liberals for Yes campaign - Referendum working group member and chairman of the conservative think-tank Uphold and Recognise, Sean Gordon, will lead the Liberals for Yes campaign alongside former ACT chief minister Kate Carnell, ahead of the referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament. The Liberals for Yes, which include federal opposition backbenchers Julian Leeser and Bridget Archer, officially launched their campaign advocating for the voice earlier this month, arguing the meaningful recognition of Indigenous Australians through a voice to parliament would deliver “practical policy and practical outcomes”. The Australian can reveal Uphold and Recognise, which was founded by Mr Leeser and whose board members include former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt, will formally join the Liberals for Yes this week.

#30 - Part 48

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 8

>>18998246 Voice opponents turn to ‘Trump-like’ politics, misinformation: Burney - Campaigners against the Indigenous Voice referendum are copying Donald Trump by weaponising misinformation, Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney has declared, as Voice backers implore Australians to keep faith in the reconciliation push. Burney used a speech in Canberra on Tuesday night to claim the Voice would lead to tangible improvements in society and a “more productive Australia, with greater social and economic participation”, while highlighting the No campaign’s “post-truth approach to politics”. “I fear that the No campaign is importing American-style Trump politics to Australia,” she said. “Its aim is to polarise people and its weapon of choice is misinformation. No campaign outfit, Fair Australia, regularly posts things on social media that are clearly false or taken out of context. The Yes campaign is articulating a positive vision of Australia’s future … the Australian people are better than Trump politics from the No campaign,” she said.

>>18998265 Australians’ support for Indigenous voice steady with 60% in favour, Essential poll finds - Public support for the Indigenous voice to parliament is holding steady and remains high, the latest Guardian Essential poll shows, in contrast with other recent polls suggesting support is sliding. The poll of 1,123 voters, published on Tuesday, found 60% of respondents were in favour of the voice, up one point on the previous survey, while 40% were opposed to it. The yes vote still leads in all major opinion polls, but voice supporters and senior Labor government figures have raised concerns about the vigour of the yes campaign as the no campaign grows in volume. A Resolve poll for the Nine newspapers, published on Monday, showed 42% in favour and 40% against with 18% undecided -- but when forced to make a yes or no decision only 49% supported the change while 51% opposed it. Last week’s Newspoll showed 46% support, 43% against and 11% undecided.

>>19005407 Yes23 group under increasing scrutiny over Indigenous Voice campaign tactics - Yes23 is under increasing pressure to take control of the campaign for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, as the final vote on the legislation in parliament looms. There are concerns within the government caucus the Yes23 campaign has not ramped up quickly enough, allowing the No campaign a foothold in the debate. A senior member of Yes23 told the ABC, internal polling indicates all six states are still in winnable positions for the Yes camp, and support for the Voice sits between numbers published this week by Resolve, which has been trending downward for some time and dipped below 49 per cent this week, and the Guardian Essential poll which has the proposal holding steady at 60 per cent in favour.

>>19005414 ‘We can’t turn back now’, Linda Burney digs in on Indigenous voice to parliament model - Linda Burney and prominent supporters of an Indigenous voice to parliament are staring down calls to reset the Yes campaign or delay the referendum and reconciliation, with the Indigenous Australians Minister declaring Australia has come too far to turn back now. Ms Burney told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia’s state of the nation conference on Tuesday night: “We have come too far as a nation on this journey of reconciliation to turn back now. We have to go forward. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose by supporting the voice … It is an opportunity to ensure we are getting the best possible advice from the ground. It is a mechanism for us to listen, so that we can make better policies and help close the gap. Because more of the same is not good enough.”

#30 - Part 49

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 9

>>19016362 Indigenous voice to parliament will be a distraction from the real problems, writes John Anderson - "The so-called voice to parliament, enshrined in the much-praised Uluru Statement from the Heart, claims to establish a constitutionally guaranteed Indigenous voice in our legislative and executive arms of government. This, according to its advocates, will ensure that the plight of Indigenous Australians is impossible to ignore. By saying so-called voice, I mean no disrespect, but it is misleading to suggest that Indigenous Australians currently have no voice to parliament when each Indigenous Australian has an equal vote to anyone else and, importantly, each state and territory has a minister for Aboriginal affairs, and federally we have a minister for Indigenous Australians. These portfolios liaise directly with many Indigenous stakeholders. Indigenous Australians, like all Australians, have many voices to parliament already. I and many others am simply not convinced that this so-called voice will achieve anything positive beyond a very short-lived rush of joy for those in favour of it." - John Anderson, deputy prime minister and leader of the Nationals from 1999 to 2005 - theaustralian.com.au

>>19016423 The Yes campaign is calm amid the ‘inevitable’ messy phase. But it still has divisions - "Divided on its core message to Australians, the movement to establish an Indigenous Voice is facing its toughest moment. A day before a poll showed the No side ahead for the first time, arguably Australia’s most eminent Indigenous leader Noel Pearson admitted something to this newspaper that none of his colleagues had said publicly: their adversaries were on top. But the major Yes campaign, Yes23, is calm about the referendum’s trajectory. Albanese remains confident that a perhaps unprecedented coalition of elite corporate and sporting bodies and smaller community groups will sway an increasingly cosmopolitan electorate." - Paul Sakkal - theage.com.au

>>19021634 Video: Uluru Statement from the Heart signatories ‘unhappy’ with Indigenous voice to parliament Yes ‘consent’ - Numerous signatories of the Uluru Statement from the Heart were “surprised” to see their names on the document that calls for an indigenous voice to parliament and “unhappy” to be seen as endorsing the statement, parliament has been told. Liberal senator and indigenous woman, Kerrynne Liddle, told the upper house on Friday she had heard from signatories of the statement that they were uncomfortable with their signatures being “interpreted as consent” for a voice. “I’ve heard from women surprised to see their signatures on the Statement, unhappy that their attendance and consultation is likely to be interpreted as consent - but who are not prepared to publicly come forward,” she said.

>>19021683 Shock of recognition as Yes vote for Indigenous voice to parliament softens - "The Yes campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government is in trouble even before final passage of the referendum legislation next week and the official announcement of a poll date -- expected to be in October. This is not a subjective assessment but an objective judgment based on what the Yes campaign supporters are saying, what they are not saying, what they are doing and what they are not doing. There are also problems with polling and who the Yes campaign wants to be seen campaigning for the Indigenous voice and leading the public debate. This is a crucial point not only for the Yes campaign but also for Anthony Albanese and the Labor government, which stands to lose so much if the referendum is lost." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19026358 Crunch week for Albanese with no turning back on Voice referendum - The campaign for the Indigenous Voice has reached a point of no return after five years of stubborn argument for the peak body to be enshrined in the constitution. The power and membership of this new group will remain the subject of fierce debate, but the change to the Constitution will be set in cement once the Senate decides on the bill to hold a referendum later this year. The vote is expected from 10am on Monday. The Senate will set the clock ticking on a popular vote to be held within two to six months of the passage of the bill, which means the only way to rethink the wording of the constitutional amendment is to cancel this plan and draft a new bill.

#30 - Part 50

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 10

>>19031491 Senate passes referendum plan, cementing Voice to Parliament vote before end of the year - Australians will vote in their first referendum in more than two decades, with the Senate passing legislation to hold a vote on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament later this year. The Senate vote ends months of parliamentary procedures and now requires Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to set a referendum date, which must happen no sooner than two months and no later than six months. The proposed Voice to Parliament would be an independent advisory body that can advise the parliament and government about matters that affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Mr Albanese is expected to announce a referendum for October, which will be the first since 1999 when Australians rejected the establishment of a republic.

>>19031542 ‘Right balance’: PM defends Voice model as referendum bill clears the parliament - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the power of the proposed Voice to parliament strikes the right balance and has vowed to campaign for a Yes vote after the bill to authorise the historic referendum passed the Senate on Monday morning, 52 votes to 19. The bill cleared the parliament after many hours of debate in both chambers, including an extended sitting of the Senate until 4am on Saturday, paving the way for the Yes and No camps to ramp up their campaigns within local communities. “Some people say this goes too far, some say it doesn’t go far enough. I say we’ve got the balance right,” Albanese said.

>>19031584 OPINION: We now face a momentous reckoning. Politicians must not decide the outcome - "Parliament on Monday finally passed legislation to enable the Australian people to vote later this year in a referendum to change our Constitution. I now look forward to discussions devoid of the political posturing that has poisoned the process so far, because this referendum belongs to the Australian people, not to politicians. It was to the people that the convention of First Peoples at Uluru more than six years ago addressed the invitation to walk together for a better future. Those who signed the Uluru Statement wanted the Australian people, not politicians, to decide whether the Voice should be enshrined in the Constitution and not to be just a creature of legislation. A successful referendum offers much hope. A negative result would doubtlessly be celebrated by the No voters, but they will have to live with the legacy bequeathed to our children and generations beyond. First Peoples would remain unrecognised in the Constitution and denied a permanent voice to the parliament and government." - Patrick Dodson, Labor senator for Western Australia - theage.com.au

>>19031593 Obstacles to the voice risk becoming ever more entrenched - "The final legislative hurdle has been passed for the voice referendum to go ahead on a so far unspecified date later this year. But the obstacles to its success remain and are at risk of only becoming more deeply entrenched. The public polling to date suggests waning support. If the referendum were to be held this weekend the chances of a Yes vote appear slim. This question for Anthony Albanese will be at what stage he is forced into a rethink if public support continues to soften. Albanese says he not for turning. He believes the mood will shift in his favour. But the political pressure on the prime minister will only intensify unless the yes campaign can begin to make up ground." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19031608 ‘Happy assimilation day’: Lidia Thorpe embarks on voice tirade in Senate - Outspoken independent senator Lidia Thorpe has declared the “tokenistic” Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government is the final nail in the coffin that gives her people no power, while wearing a T-shirt inferring the advisory body was fake. The Indigenous senator embarked on a tirade against the voice as her upper house colleagues spent nearly an hour delivering their final contributions on the government’s Constitutional Alteration Bill, which will pave the way for the referendum to be held between October and December. Repeating her previous assertion she was in parliament to infiltrate and “destroy the white supremacy that is represented in this place”, Senator Thorpe labelled the Constitution illegal and wished the chamber a “happy assimilation day”.

#30 - Part 51

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 11

>>19031624 Indigenous voice to parliament Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo’s radical vision - Prominent Yes campaigner for the Indigenous voice to parliament Thomas Mayo has described former prime minister John Howard as a “bastard” and threatened that politicians would be “punished” if they ignored the voice advisory body. The militant unionist and outspoken figure on the government’s First Nations referendum working group has also raised the prospect of a voice to parliament being the first step towards “reparations and compensation” for Indigenous Australians. Videos unearthed by No campaign strategists feature Mr Mayo appearing in online forums run by the Search Foundation - established in 1990 as a “successor organisation of the Communist Party of Australia” to preserve the socialist movement. The Maritime Union of Australia national Indigenous officer also delivered provocative statements in videos filmed at Invasion Day, Black Lives Matters and May Day rallies held between 2021 and 2023.

>>19036915 Indigenous voice to parliament campaigns prepare to launch across the country - Major events promoting the Indigenous voice to parliament will be held in every capital city within weeks of the bill needed to set up the referendum passing parliament, while the group known as the Liberals for Yes prepares to meet with high-powered conservatives who can lend their voices to the pro-voice campaign. Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney will also visit WA -- one of the key states of concern for the yes camp – next month as part of her push to convince Australians to support the referendum expected to be held in the middle of October.

>>19036958 Liberal party facing AEC complaint from constitutional lawyer Greg Craven - Conservative constitutional lawyer Greg Craven is considering an Australian Electoral Commission complaint against the Liberal Party for using his quotes as part of its No campaign, when he favours the ­Indigenous voice to parliament. Despite throwing his support behind the voice passing at the referendum, Professor Craven’s comments on potential risks posed by the body retaining the power to advise executive government are prominent on the Liberal website. “The voice can comment on everything from submarines to parking tickets … we will have regular judicial interventions,” his quote reads. Professor Craven’s comment is featured with those of prominent voice critics who are against the body being enshrined in the Constitution, including Coalition members Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Kerrynne Liddle. “The quotes themselves are accurate. But the whole point of these pieces is to give the idea that I am actually opposed to the voice because of these quotes. (It) is completely untrue and misleading, and the Liberals know it,” he said. “I have repeatedly written publicly that I totally support and will campaign for the voice.”

>>19036983 Now it’s up to the people to decide this referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament - "The referendum campaign carries a heavy responsibility for all Australians. It is now up to every citizen to command this debate from the politicians and to discuss and deliberate it with goodwill, to call out the fearmongering and misinformation by those opposing it, and to urge those supporting it to explain how it will deliver practical change. The voice, to my mind, is an opportunity that must be seized to turn Australia in a new direction, with reconciliation and responsibility, and to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Those who argue the voice is backed only by “elites” are misguided. This is a tactic to turn voters against constitutional change by fostering resentment. While referendums can be proposed only by politicians, the people will make the final judgment. That is where this debate now rests: with the citizens. The eyes of the world are upon us. History is calling on us. It is a test for all Australians. We must not fail." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

#30 - Part 52

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 12

>>19037006 The Indigenous voice to parliament needs a fresh start away from Canberra - "Understanding the past can be difficult to comprehend because every experience is different, so I will speak only of my own. I grew up in a foster home on the old Brewarrina Mission in western NSW, and my life’s work has been dedicated to empowering other Indigenous people to step up and take responsibility, and for governments to loosen the control they have over our lives. This is the exact philosophy espoused by the Liberal Party. To me, voting Yes for recognition through a voice will be the ultimate expression of empowerment. It will acknowledge the desire for our people to be accountable to ourselves and our communities, and to our fellow Australians who voted Yes and put their faith in us. Voting Yes at the referendum means you are voting for a better future, where we come together with a common purpose: to see every Australian prosper and thrive, including our First Australians." - Sean Gordon, chairman of Uphold and Recognise and a member of the Referendum Working Group - theaustralian.com.au

>>19037011 Struggling Linda Burney must find her voice or risk damaging the Yes campaign - "Linda Burney is a parliamentary and political weak point in the Yes campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament and is going to have to radically improve her sales pitch for the referendum. As the Minister for Indigenous Australians Burney is the second most important Labor face for the voice to parliament and executive government after Anthony Albanese, and she is struggling in the media and in parliament. There are three parliamentary sitting days before the winter break and Burney is going to have to improve because her performance can’t be shielded forever." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19037035 Lidia Thorpe announces she will be backing No campaign against Indigenous Voice - Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has announced she will give her full support to the No campaign against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and is vying to be part of the group writing the referendum pamphlet. Senator Thorpe had previously stated she would not give her outright backing to the No case, but on Tuesday revealed the change in her position was spurred on by a breakdown in negotiations with the federal government over implementing the recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and the 1997 Bringing them Home report into the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care.

>>19037314 Video: Meet the Architect behind the 'Voice'… who literally wrote the book - "Divisive and aggressive commentary by Referendum Working Group activist Thomas Mayo has destroyed the Prime Minister’s claims that the Voice to Parliament is “a modest request” about “two things only: recognition and listening”. Mayo, the union official and self-described “militant” who wrote the book on the proposed constitutional change, has spoken candidly about the referendum’s aims, describing the Voice as a campaign tool to “punish politicians”, “abolish colonialist institutions” and “pay the rent, pay reparations and compensation”. Rather than what the PM described as an “inspiring and unifying Australian moment”, Mayo told a conference of communists that “there is nothing that we can do that is more powerful than building a first nations' Voice, a black institution, a black political force to be reckoned with”." - Advance Australia - June 19 2023

>>19043992 Indigenous Voice stirs minister’s emotions as Coalition demands Australia Day answers - Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney insists she wants to close the gap rather than engage in culture wars as the federal opposition demands answers about the Voice referendum. Ms Burney became emotional in parliament on Wednesday as Coalition MPs pursued her over why she had said the Indigenous Voice to parliament and executive government wouldn’t provide advice on changing the date of Australia Day. Under intense questioning, Ms Burney said creating a constitutionally-enshrined Voice was not about stoking culture wars but helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were “crying out for a different way of doing things”.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 13

>>19044003 Doubt over Linda Burney’s claim Indigenous voice to parliament won’t advise on Australia Day - Aboriginal leaders and constitutional law experts have cast doubt over Linda Burney’s declaration in parliament that the voice won’t give advice on changing the date of Australia Day, saying the controversial topic could become an issue the advisory body wants to pursue. The Indigenous Australians Minister faced a second day of ­intense parliamentary questioning from the Coalition on what would and would not fit within the voice’s remit, after the government’s referendum legislation cleared the parliament and the Yes and No campaigns began ramping up. Constitutional law expert ­George Williams, a member of the government’s expert group advising on the constitutional amendment, said whether the voice made representations on Australia Day would be up to its members and parliament could not prevent it from doing so.

>>19044017 Yes23 campaign director linked voice to January 26 - Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin told a religious forum that the voice to parliament was the mechanism for Indigenous Australians to influence change on Australia Day and “any other issues” impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In an “Exploring 26th January” online forum hosted by Evangelisation Brisbane, Mr Parkin said a constitutionally enshrined voice was the vehicle for Indigenous Australians to have a seat at the table and ensure that the focus of decision-makers was on “truth”. “We need to make sure that we have that voice in place because that … constitutionally guaranteed voice is going to be the mechanism that allows us a seat at the table to ensure that these conversations around truth, be it on the 26th, be it on any other issues that’s affecting our people, that we have a real say and we have a real opportunity to actually influence change,” Mr Parkin told Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge in a video posted on January 20 last year.

>>19044032 Yes campaign distances itself from Thomas Mayo comments - Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney have distanced themselves from comments made by prominent Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo, who threatened that politicians would be punished if they ignore the voice advisory body. Mr Mayo, who sits on the board of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition which leads the Yes23 campaign, has previously said colonial institutions must be torn down and that the voice was a step towards “reparations and compensation”. Mr Parkin said he had spoken with Mr Mayo, who co-authored The Voice to Parliament Handbook with veteran journalist Kerry O’Brien, and described him as a “great champion” who has been having these conversations for years.

>>19044044 PM’s belief the voice will prevail now under challenge as no vote grows organically - "Anthony Albanese’s belief that Labor’s unassailable clout will be enough to push through a contested referendum is now being directly challenged by the reality of what the Prime Minister hopes to achieve. The strategy of being economical with detail over a significant alteration to the constitution is slowly killing the yes camp’s ability to present a unified message. Concerns about the referendum have been reflected in polling and is evidenced in the online reach of the no-campaign, much of it which is unpaid. The reach of the No campaign appears already to be deeper and broader in the community. And it is happening naturally without too much effort." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19044059 Indigenous voice to parliament referendum date likely to be October 14 - "Anthony Albanese has said enough for us to sensibly conclude the date for a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament will be announced in the first week of August, have about a 12-week campaign and be held on October 14. You’d think Albanese will announce it at the Garma festival on August 4 or 5 because that is where he announced the wording of the referendum. Best bets: the referendum date of October 14 will be announced in the first week of August to avoid colliding with football finals, overseas travel and parliamentary sittings." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 14

>>19050994 Anthony Albanese seeks to place legal limits on Aboriginal voice amid debate over Australia Day - Anthony Albanese is seeking to place legal limits on the scope of the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government by assuring Australians its remit would be restricted to issues that “specifically or differently” affect Aboriginal people. With falling support for the voice in the polls and confusion around how it will work and what it will advise on, Mr Albanese said Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’s second reading speech on the government’s Constitution Alteration Bill would have “legal ­consequences” for any High Court interpretation of what the voice can advise on.

>>19051005 Anthony Albanese rejects Peter Dutton’s request to delay or change the referendum - Anthony Albanese has rejected Peter Dutton’s “offer of friendship” to delay or change the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, ramping up a scathing personal attack against the Opposition Leader in a bid to counter accusations Australians are being starved of detail. As the final parliamentary sitting week before the winter break came to a close, Mr Dutton declared Australians weren’t ready to vote on the voice because of a lack of detail.

>>19051030 Anthony Albanese’s missed opportunity to modulate the voice - "For almost a year, Anthony Albanese chose not to make the one change that could have handed him overwhelming support in the coming referendum. The Prime Minister ignored repeated entreaties to change the scope of the proposed Indigenous voice so it would focus only on matters that affect Indigenous people - and them alone. The fact that Albanese has now embraced this idea - or at least has given a public impression of embracing this view – shows that the government implicitly accepts its design for the voice is flawed." - Chris Merritt, vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>19058008 Peter Dutton doubles down, says Voice risks reconciliation - Peter Dutton is refusing to back down from claims the Voice to parliament referendum is a risky manoeuvre that threatens reconciliation despite the Prime Minister accusing him of speaking “without a heart”. Days after the parliament passed the necessary legislation to set up the referendum, Mr Dutton on Friday doubled down on his argument that Australians are not ready to vote on the Voice due to a lack of detail and said the government should amend its plans for constitutional recognition. Capping off a week of intense questioning in parliament by the opposition on the extent of the Voice’s powers, Mr Dutton warned the proposal risked “splitting the country in half”.

>>19058029 Anthony Albanese says the voice will have no power of veto yet some senators persist with allegations - Anthony Albanese has accused some politicians who oppose the Indigenous voice to parliament of dishonesty by proposing scenarios they know to be impossible. Mr Albanese said the voice would not have any veto right over any parliamentary legislation, yet some opponents persisted with claims that it would. “I don’t believe that senators arguing that a road in Victoria was going to be the subject of the voice believe that that’s the case,” he said.

>>19058047 BHP joins Rio Tinto in donating to Yes campaign for the Voice - Mining giant BHP has donated $2m to the campaign to back the campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, matching the donation of Rio Tinto. BHP confirmed the donation on Friday, as the company released the latest update to its reconciliation action plan, which reiterates BHP’s ongoing support for a yes vote at the referendum and promises to “connect our workforce to information about a Voice and the matters it is seeking to address”. BHP backed the movement to recognise an Indigenous voice in 2019, in its statement of support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and has maintained support ever since.

>>19069463 Anthony Albanese rejects Peter Dutton’s call to put Voice referendum on ice - Anthony Albanese has rejected calls from Peter Dutton to put the Indigenous Voice referendum on ice as some opinion polling shows support for the proposal is lagging. The Prime Minister conceded it would “undoubtedly” be a setback for reconciliation if the referendum failed but said “no one ever won an Ashes Test by staying in the sheds”. “The referendum will be held in the last quarter of this year. Peter Dutton unfortunately has raised a number of issues that he knows, I think, are just not right,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 15

>>19075409 Albanese at record low approval ratings as No vote overtakes Yes for first time on voice: Newspoll - The referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government would fail if a vote were held next weekend, with more voters for the first time opposed to altering the Constitution to achieve it and a majority of states lined up to deliver a “No” vote. An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows the referendum on a path to possible defeat, with the “Yes” campaign falling short of achieving the double majority test of more than 50 per cent of the national vote and majorities in a majority of states. The special Newspoll of 2303 voters conducted between June 16 and June 24, coinciding with the referendum bill’s passage through parliament and an intensifying political debate over the remit of the voice, shows the “Yes” vote falling three points to a new low of just 43 per cent. The “No” vote rose four points to 47 per cent, confirming for the first time that more people are opposed to the Albanese government’s referendum model than those who support it.

>>19075436 Albanese’s political fortunes hang on voice referendum - "Anthony Albanese is now beginning to burn through political capital. His short-term fortunes are undoubtedly tied to the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum’s success or failure. And perhaps the Prime Minister’s long-term fortunes as well, depending on the outcome. The latest Newspoll numbers are unquestionably bad for the voice. Likely worse than expected. It is not surprising that Albanese’s personal numbers have taken a hit given how closely tied he is personally to the referendum debate and how much of parliament has been occupied with these issues. With 52 per cent satisfied with him as leader and 42 per cent dissatisfied, this is the worst outcome since the election." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19082321 ‘No’ campaign starts to spook Labor MPs - Labor MPs are warning the push for an Indigenous voice to parliament is faltering and the No ­campaign is outmanoeuvring supporters of constitutional change, as the Yes camp faces growing calls within government ranks to urgently ramp up their operations. Senior sources said they were getting nervous about the slipping of support and urged for greater campaign activity in coming weeks, including door-knocking, signage and mass mailouts urging people to donate and join the Yes campaign. It comes as Yes 23 prepares to launch its major day of action this weekend -- which will include more than 20 events across the country – in what insiders called a “test” for the campaign to drum up support.

>>19082358 Unions will campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament online and in workplaces - Trade unions, including the union of Indigenous land rights activist Eddie Mabo, are vowing to mobilise their members and actively campaign for a voice to parliament across social media, workplaces, universities and neighbourhoods, amid falling support for the advisory body. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union, the Electrical Trades Union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association and the Transport Workers Union told The Australian they were invested in the campaign and members were being encouraged to engage and advocate during the referendum.

>>19087754 Peter Dutton sends six-page brochure to constituents outlining No case against the Indigenous voice to parliament - Peter Dutton says the High Court will determine the powers of the voice, not the parliament, and Australia will be “stuck with negative consequences” if the referendum succeeds, in an extensive brochure showcasing the central arguments of his No campaign. A six-page pamphlet was sent to residents in the Opposition Leader’s marginal Queensland electorate of Dickson within the past fortnight, which was delivered with a letter from Mr Dutton that states: “The government has overlooked the concerns of many legal experts. It is pursuing a voice that covers all areas of ‘executive government’ … Many legal experts warn this voice could risk years of litigation. The High Court would determine its powers, not the parliament.”

>>19099367 Anthony Albanese rejects ‘frankly diminishing’ Voice scare campaign - Anthony Albanese has reiterated the Voice to parliament will not have the power to veto government, taking aim at fear campaigns for suggesting otherwise. In the wake of lagging support in recent opinion polls, the Prime Minister called on those clinging to a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality to consider the status quo is already “profoundly broken”. “Indigenous people have an eight-year gap in life expectancy, a suicide rate twice as high, and rates of disease and infant mortality and family violence so much worse than those of the general community,” he said.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 16

>>19099380 Yes23 expects up to 50k volunteers to campaign on-the-ground for an Indigenous voice to parliament - Yes23 - the leading organisation in support of an Indigenous voice to parliament - is hoping to assemble an army of up to 50,000 on-the-ground volunteers by referendum day, as the Albanese government prepares to deliver a “supporting” political campaign. While the Prime Minister will inject himself into the centre of the Yes case, The Australian understands there will be no central federal Labor headquarters during the official campaign as there is ahead of an election. It was unclear whether Mr Albanese’s travel schedule would mirror an election campaign, according to government sources, and ministers were being invited to speak at events rather than ­directing the campaign. “Since day one, we’ve not wanted it to be ‘Anthony Albanese’s voice’. We can’t be leading this,” a senior government source said.

>>19099393 Mansell plea: ‘Stop polarising Voice referendum and negotiate compromise with progressive No campaigners’ - Veteran Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell is urging Anthony Albanese to cancel the voice referendum in the face of falling support and instead legislate an advisory body and start treaty talks. Mr Mansell, who is chair of the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania, told The Weekend Australian the Prime Minister should drop the referendum and negotiate with “progressive” voice opponents on alternatives. The lawyer and leading advocate for Indigenous Tasmanians since the 1970s said these could include legislating a voice, Aboriginal-designated parliamentary seats and a national treaty and truth-telling process.

>>19104269 Worried about the Indigenous voice to parliament? Wait until you see the treaty - "Australians will discover that if they vote Yes, the constitutionally entrenched Indigenous voice is not the conclusion of the intended makeover of our national governance arrangements. It is but the first step. While the voice is a major change to our Constitution, it is a mere enabler for activists’ overriding objective of a treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. What few voters understand is that while the voice provides the necessary negotiating platform and leverage for activists to achieve the desired treaty, the new constitutionally enshrined race-based body is only secondary to the treaty. That is because the voice does not in itself give ATSI people the two things activists really want: namely, sovereignty and a form of self-government, and reparations. Only a treaty can do that. That’s why voters should realise that a Yes vote will likely guarantee many more years of agitation and division until, and perhaps even after, a treaty is achieved." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>19104284 Rio Tinto’s first Indigenous director Ben Wyatt says campaign against voice has likely had maximum impact - The campaign against the Indigenous voice to parliament has revealed its arguments and it has likely had it maximum impact­, ­according to Rio Tinto director Ben Wyatt. “Obviously the No campaign is having an impact, but I’m still quite optimistic about the outcome,” Mr Wyatt said. “I think the Yes campaign ­momentum will continue to increase and the No campaign, I think they’ve made their arguments, it’s probably had its maximum impact and then the Yes campaign certainly has the ­capacity now to deal with the concerns raised.”

>>19109625 Voice defeat will undermine Australia’s standing on world stage: Dodson - Labor senator and Indigenous elder Pat Dodson says Australia will have no integrity to criticise China over its human rights record if the Voice referendum fails, warning the country needs to have “clean hands” on the international stage. In his first interview since taking medical leave in April to fight a serious illness, Dodson said winning the referendum would be difficult but he believed Australians were “better than those who are currently running the No case”. He also said elevating the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution over the creation of the Voice, as some Yes campaigners have suggested, is the wrong approach.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 17

>>19109631 Indigenous Voice to Parliament Yes camp intensify campaign as referendum draws closer - The Yes campaign for the Indigenous Voice believes there is enough time to turn around negative polling results revealing softening support for constitutional change. The Yes campaign, spearheaded by the organisation Yes23, is due to intensify this weekend with a series of community events, amid criticism it has failed to build the same head of steam as the No campaign despite the chance the referendum could be held in less than two months. Veteran campaign analyst Kos Samaras, a director at the Redbridge group, says the Yes campaign should have ramped up its efforts sooner. "In an environment where people are just not really keeping an eye out for this type of information, it really takes a fairly long time to actually get cut through," he said.

>>19109647 Voice to parliament: Yes23 holds rally blitz to bolster support for referendum - Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has issued a rallying war cry for Australians to support an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, as more than 25 community rallies gathered on Sunday. “The eyes of the world are truly on Australia and I have every faith Australians will rally and vote yes in this referendum,” she said at the Brisbane event. “What we’re being asked in a few months time is not what the colour of the carpet is going to be, but whether or not we believe Aboriginal people should be recognised in the founding document of this nation: the Australian Constitution. And the answer is yes.”

>>19109659 The simple reason the 'Yes' campaign is dumping celebrities in a major backflip, as supporters are schooled in how to avoid debates about the facts: 'Aussies don't like being told what to do' - Yes campaigners will not be putting celebrities at the front and centre of their campaign in an extraordinary backflip. In April, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intended to recruit Indigenous superstars, but the campaign has since shifted its focus to ordinary Australians. A source in the campaign said fears were raised using celebrities would backfire and the shift was made because Australians don't like being told what to do. Indigenous sporting superstars such as Cathy Freeman, footballers Adam Goodes and Johnathan Thurston and tennis legends Evonne Goolagong-Cawley and Ash Barty were hand-selected earlier in the year to promote the Yes campaign. The stars will still endorse the Voice, however they will not play a prominent role in the campaign.

>>19114941 Yes campaign pushes power of the positive - There was no brass band, not a bell or whistle to be heard when the Yes campaign on the voice finally took its no-frills pitch to the people. It was more a day on the green with the kids dancing in the warm Brisbane sun while Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney applied the soft-sell to the question that threatens to divide the nation ahead of a referendum later this year. Yes campaign director Dean Parkin appealed to people to join the movement. Don’t sit back or wait for an invitation; don’t be distracted by the “noise in the news”, he said. “It’s really simple: if only one in 10 of you here today are able to have a yarn with two people in your families or your communities and bring them on board to Yes, we will win this referendum.”

>>19114955 Peter Dutton says corporate Australia lacks ‘significant backbone’ for supporting an Indigenous voice to parliament - Big business is digging in behind an Indigenous voice to parliament despite a scathing attack from Peter Dutton, who accused some of Australia’s largest companies of lacking a “significant backbone” for supporting the constitutional reform. The Opposition Leader declared a constitutionally enshrined voice was not in the country’s or companies’ best interests after Rio Tinto, Wesfarmers and BHP each donated $2m to the Yes23 campaign. Mr Dutton, the leading No campaigner, said many people in corporate Australia were craving popularity and trying to appease those in the Twittersphere by supporting the voice, including through major donations.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 18

>>19114964 Coalition open to working with Pauline Hanson on No pamphlet - Coalition frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has left open the door to working with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on the written No case to be published in the official Voice referendum pamphlet, after they met in Parliament House last month to discuss Hanson’s potential contribution. Hanson wants the No pamphlet to include the claim that the Voice will override the supremacy of parliament, which has been widely rejected by constitutional law experts, as well as unfounded assertions that it could pave the way for a separate Indigenous state and “racially exclusive” seats in parliament. Their document will form the opposing half of the official Yes/No referendum pamphlet that the Australian Electoral Commission is required to distribute to every Australian household at least 14 days before the vote. There is no legal requirement for the pamphlet to be truthful or accurate.

>>19120589 Liberals ‘have lost contact with mainstream’ over Indigenous voice to parliament, says Ken Wyatt - The Coalition risks descending into political irrelevance unless it can find a way to reconnect with middle Australia, former federal Liberal MP Ken Wyatt has warned. In his latest scathing broadside against the party he served for more than a decade, Wyatt -- who was the first Indigenous Australian elected to the House of Representatives, the first to serve as a government minister, and the first appointed to cabinet – said it was hard to see a ­future for the Liberals and the ­Nationals if they did not change their stand on a range of issues. “The party is going to have to consider its position in respect to the political landscape of the nation or face a period in which it’ll be ­irrelevant and its numbers will be small,” he told The Australian.

>>19126371 Indigenous voice to parliament: Linda Burney defines policy remit under her watch - Linda Burney has revealed health, education, jobs and housing as the four policy priorities on which she will ask the Indigenous voice to provide advice, as she is forced to define its remit and silence criticism from the No camp. In a full-throated defence of the advisory body, the Indigenous Australians Minister will use a major address in Canberra on Wednesday to outline more of her vision for the voice to parliament and the executive government, which is facing falling support in the polls as opponents home in on the lack of detail about it and warn it will divide Australia. Ms Burney will tell the National Press Club the voice will be active and engaged under her watch and offer new perspectives to old challenges from Indigenous Australians.

>>19126382 ‘The voice will be tasked with taking the long view’: Linda Burney - "From day one the voice will have a full in-tray. I will ask the voice to consider four main priority areas: health, education, jobs and housing. The voice will be tasked with taking the long-view. Unlike government, it won’t be distracted by the 3 year election cycles. It will plan for the next generation, not the next term. It will be focused on making a better future for the next generation. The time to make a generational difference is now. Friends, history is calling us. And I hope more than anything that the answer is Yes. Yes to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Yes to a voice to parliament. And Yes to a better future." - The Hon Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians - theaustralian.com.au

>>19126388 Indigenous voice to parliament: Linda Burney in damage control over Yes campaign - "Linda Burney is now seeking to ameliorate the damage she and the government helped inflict on the Yes campaign for the voice in the final week of parliament before the winter break. The damage from a failure to supply detail, and the subsequent dispute over the remit of the voice in its advice to executive government and parliament, has been acute. It has become the central problem for the government. A new strategy was always going to be required for the government to halt the momentum of the No campaign. This was desperately needed weeks ago, if not months. Burney now says that under her watch as minister, she will be directing the voice to advise her on better Indigenous policy outcomes across four priority areas: health, education, employment and housing. This is the first time the government has articulated such an explicit set of policy areas it expects the functions of the voice to concentrate on. They should have been obvious from the outset." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 19

>>19126399 Video: Linda Burney calls out ‘No’ campaign for running ‘Trump-style politics’, Jacinta Price hits back - Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has accused Linda Burney of launching an “arrogant” and “elitist” attack, after the Indigenous Australians Minister said Voice opponents were using “Trump-style politics”. Addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday during NAIDOC week, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said Fair Australia, the main campaign group against the upcoming Voice to parliament referendum, was threatening to divide Australia. “Fair Australia … is imposing Trump-style politics to Australia. It is post-truth and its aim is to polarise, to sow division in our society by making false claims, including providing advice to government would somehow impact the fundamental democratic principle of one vote, one value,” she said. Senator Price, a key proponent of the “No” vote and spokeswoman for Fair Australia, said Ms Burney had launched an “arrogant attack” on ordinary Australians voting no, proving the referendum was “about division”. “The good news is that mainstream Australians are wise to the division the ‘Yes’ campaign is trying to enshrine in our national rule book. We will not be standing idly by while Ms Burney launches her elitist attacks from the comfort of the Press Club.”

>>19126410 Linda Burney didn’t do enough to reset the voice narrative - "Linda Burney’s mission was simple. In her address to the press club on Wednesday, the Minister for Indigenous Australians needed to reset the narrative on the voice, clarify its function and begin a new conversation over what Australians are being asked to vote for. Instead, she lectured the media, warned against the importation of Trumpian politics and offered rhetorical answers to reasonable requests for more detail. It has been Burney’s inability to present a clear articulation of how the voice will function and what it may or may not provide advice on that has become the critical issue that has undermined her underlying conviction." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19126419 Indigenous voice to parliament ‘an incredible opportunity’: Cate Blanchett backs Yes vote - Australian actor Cate Blanchett says this year’s referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament is “an extraordinary time” for Australian history. The Oscar-winning actor made the comments alongside Kaytetye filmmaker Warwick Thornton while promoting their latest film, The New Boy, which opened the Sydney Film Festival last month. “It’s an extraordinary time for an extraordinary country,” she told 7.30. “We have this incredible opportunity to embrace our unique history, shared history, you know, with all of its missteps and all of its successes, to actually evolve into a really modern democracy, like New Zealand, like Canada.”

>>19132076 Why it’s all uphill for the Yes campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament - "Constitutional change is not for the faint-hearted. The framers of our Constitution set the bar for success deliberately high. Reform requires a popular vote rather than mere parliamentary approval, as well as a double majority. A proposal must be supported by a majority of Australians and in a majority of states. Polling in the lead-up to this year’s referendum mirrors past votes, despite no referendum being held for nearly a quarter of a century. In the eight referendum proposals put to the people since 1977, the big states (NSW and, to a lesser extent, Victoria) have more readily supported constitutional change, while the smaller states have opposed it. Tasmania has been the nation’s bellwether state in most often voting in a way that reflects the outcome of the referendum. Only in votes held in 1910 and 1951 did the Tasmanian vote not match the final outcome. Other smaller states have been similarly reluctant to support referendums in past decades. WA, Queensland and SA have joined Tasmania in rejecting every one of the eight referendum proposals put to the people since 1977." - George Williams, deputy vice-chancellor and professor of law at the University of NSW - theaustralian.com.au

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 20

>>19138429 Yes camp must explain how an Indigenous voice to parliament will close the gap - "The need to close the gap in health and wellbeing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians was the centrepiece of Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney’s speech at the National Press Club, in which she spoke about the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament. But the proposed voice has its own gap: namely, the one between what proponents of the voice claim it will achieve and what it can realistically be expected to achieve. I believe it will achieve virtually nothing at best. At worst, it will leave many Australians, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, disappointed and perhaps angry. The Yes camp insists the voice is what’s needed to close the gap in health and wellbeing; yet no clear plan has been offered about how to achieve this." - Anthony Dillon, researcher, academic and prominent Aboriginal affairs commentator - theaustralian.com.au

>>19138494 Nine apologises for running Voice No campaign ad criticised as ‘racist’ - Nine has apologised for running a Voice No campaign ad in The Australian Financial Review newspaper that has been heavily criticised as racist for its cartoon portrayal of Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo, who appeared to be dancing for money. The ad by conservative lobby group Advance Australia, which ran across a full page in the newspaper on Thursday, depicted Mayo reaching for a wad of cash from Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney in a cartoon that ridicules the financial support that big corporates have given the Yes campaign. A spokesman for Nine, which owns the paper and this masthead, said it regretted running the ad. “The political advertisement about the Voice referendum placed into today’s Financial Review should not have run, and we apologise for that. We want to encourage a mature debate from both sides and avoid personal and/or inappropriate attacks,” the spokesman said.

>>19138541 Video: Voice to Parliament 'damaging in the long term', former prime minister Tony Abbott says - Former prime minister Tony Abbott says a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament is "wrong in principle" and will reinforce "separatism" in Australia. Mr Abbott is an advisory board member of the lobby group Advance Australia, which is supporting the No campaign in the upcoming referendum on creating a Voice to Parliament. He supports constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians but is a fierce opponent of the Voice. "If this Voice gets up, I think it will be very damaging in the long term," he told 7.30. "It will entrench race into the constitution." Australia's constitution already contains references to race under Section 51 xxvi, which enables parliament to make laws for "the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws".

>>19138604 Indigenous voice to parliament: Million calls in No-vote survey - The campaign against the Indigenous voice to parliament made 1.1 million phone calls to households and mobiles on Thursday night using a recorded message by its most high-profile activist Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Senator Price’s star power is considered Fair Australia’s big asset as it seeks to defeat the voice referendum due to be held between October and December. The No campaign was preparing to make 1.5 million more calls on Friday night using her voice. Fair Australia has called the phone blitz “the biggest community survey in the nation’s referendum history”. During each call, people are asked a series of questions and invited to respond using their phones. Fair Australia said it was particularly interested in understanding why soft Yes and No voters, along with undecided voters, might vote No.

>>19138642 Australia, New Zealand cleared to fly Indigenous flags at Women's World Cup - Global soccer governing body FIFA has agreed to requests from Australia and New Zealand to display Indigenous flags at the Women's World Cup, the co-hosts said on Friday. The Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag will be on display at all 35 matches across Australia, with the Maori flag, known as 'Tino Rangatiratanga', to feature at all 29 matches in New Zealand. "Confirmation by FIFA that all official flags of Australia will be flown during the FIFA Women's World Cup is an important moment for all Australians, particularly First Nations People," Football Australia boss James Johnson said in a statement. Australia's World Cup squad includes Indigenous Australian players Kyah Simon and goalkeeper Lydia Williams.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 21

>>19143769 Littleproud claims country ‘never at war’ with Indigenous Australians, rebuffs treaty position - David Littleproud has reiterated the National Party’s opposition to the Voice and to a treaty, claiming the country has “never been at war” with Indigenous Australians. The Nationals leader said his party would “stand convicted” for “standing up for regional Australia” while addressing supporters at the LNP State Conference in Brisbane. Asked about historic conflicts such as the frontier wars - violent wars, conflicts and massacres involving settlers and Indigenous Australians from the 18th century - Mr Littleproud acknowledged “mistakes” had been made. “There were mistakes in areas across our country, no-one is walking away from the fact they were made by settlers,” he said. “There was conflict between Indigenous tribes as well … but as a nation we have walked forward. We should also as a nation put our chin up and our chest out at what we have achieved together.”

>>19148884 Nationals leader David Littleproud urges government to create voice legislation before the referendum - Nationals leader David Littleproud says the government’s refusal to declare that it will legislate priorities for the indigenous voice to parliament goes to the heart of the dilemma facing Australian voters. On Sunday indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney was asked if the advisory body’s remit would be legislated and responded by saying decisions about what the indigenous voice would advise on would be “a two way process” between the government and the advisory body. Mr Littleproud believes the government’s decision to create the legislation for the voice after a successful referendum is causing difficulties for Australians trying to decide how to vote at the voice referendum due to be held between October and December. “Shouldn‘t the Australian people have that level of detail before they are asked to vote?” he said.

>>19148903 Voice advocate Thomas Mayo criticises media for publishing ‘negative headlines’ on ‘positive stories’ - Voice to parliament architect Thomas Mayo has condemned the media for publishing “negative headlines” on “positive stories” about the upcoming referendum and said such actions had harmed the yes campaign. Speaking at a University of Melbourne and Melbourne Press Club event, Mr Mayo said plenty of misinformation had been spread about the Voice. He also criticised some content published on social media platforms, labelling it “terrible”. “People tend to just read the headlines from time to time and that doesn’t help us.” Mr Mayo, a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man and union official, made the news last month after tweets he posted in 2018 revealed him saying it was necessary to have repatriations, give land back and pay rent to Indigenous people.

>>19154565 Social media company Meta said it will roll out measures to stamp out misinformation in the lead up to the voice referendum vote - Tech giant Meta has vowed to tackle misinformation about the voice referendum by providing “social media safety training” to MPs and advocacy groups, blocking fake accounts and significantly boosting its funding for fact-checkers. The US-based company - owner of popular platforms including Facebook and Instagram - said it had been preparing for the referendum for a long time and it would implement a “comprehensive strategy to combat misinformation, voter interference and other forms of abuse on our platforms”. Meta Australia’s director of public policy for Australia and NZ, Mia Garlick, said measures would include increasing artificial intelligence, which “can more effectively detect and block fake accounts” that were often behind the threats to elections and referendums.

>>19154602 Video: Fight breaks out over smoking ceremony - The opening of a freeway extension in Perth's northern suburbs was interrupted on Sunday when an argument broke out between two Indigenous men over who had the rights to conduct the traditional smoking ceremony. The incident occurred at the Romeo Road ribbon cutting ceremony that was being conducted by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti. It's the second cultural issue that has plagued the Cook government in as many days. On Saturday, a tree planting exercised was cancelled in Geraldton after a "respected local knowledge holder" stepped in citing WA's new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws which came into effect on July 1. The individual did not have any authority to do so according to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti.

#30 - Part 62

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 22

>>19154635 Video: New Aboriginal heritage laws ‘shut down’ tree planting event - Updated Aboriginal cultural heritage laws in WA have reportedly stopped a tree planting event to commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth II at the weekend. Geraldton mayor Shane van Styn said a well publicised, planned event to plant trees at Wonthella Bush Reserve had to be cancelled due to conflict and confusion caused by WA’s new heritage legislation, a week after it came into effect. “Despite checking the site online prior, for any Aboriginal heritage, of which there was none, a respected local knowledge holder shut down proceedings on the basis of ground disturbance and the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act and the ‘significance’ of the site to the family,” Mr van Styn said. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti confirmed to The Australian the Elder acted without authority and has now called for the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage to “investigate further”.

>>19154665 Video: 'Progressive No': Thorpe tells 60 Minutes voice to fail - Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe told Karl Stefanovic he was “not bad for a white guy” during a wide-ranging interview where she addressed her past scandals head-on. The fiery and outspoken politician appeared on 60 Minutes on Sunday where she explained her combativeness is “misunderstood”. Now a leader of the progressive No campaign against the upcoming voice to parliament, Senator Thorpe told Stefanovic she does not see the proposal getting up later this year. “I’m part of the progressive no, and … we want more,” she said.

>>19160107 Indigenous voice to parliament: WA heritage laws cast shadow over referendum - Separate incidents in different corners of Western Australia have underscored the difficult introduction of the state’s new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws and further complicated the Yes campaign for the voice in the west. Premier Roger Cook and Treasurer Rita Saffioti on Monday had to clarify the details of different matters, including the abandonment of a planned tree-planting in the Mid West city of Geraldton and a heated argument between two Indigenous men over who had the rights to conduct a smoking ceremony at the opening of a highway extension. Both incidents come as support among West Australians for an Indigenous voice to parliament appears to be waning. Federal MP Rick Wilson said he believed opposition to the voice was as high as 80 per cent in his vast West Australian electorate of O’Connor, citing the response of 1487 people to a survey emailed to his own database. Mr Wilson said the Geraldton tree-planting incident was exactly how he expected the new heritage act to play out and warned that a 20 per cent Yes vote in WA could be optimistic if the state government did not backflip on the new regulations.

>>19160117 Indigenous voice to parliament: ‘Last great chance for our communities’, says Noel Pearson - Noel Pearson has warned a voice to parliament is the “last great chance” for the nation’s remote Indigenous communities, as Cape York mayors ask how many more people have to die early before Australians do the right thing. Aboriginal leader Mr Pearson urged non-Indigenous Australians to vote Yes, and said he was confident the campaign could win over the “ground zero” state of Queensland despite recent polling tipping a majority No vote. He said while polling showed at least 80 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people backed the voice, Indigenous Australians made up only 3 per cent of the population. “We can’t win the referendum, our numbers just don’t count. It’s your 97 per cent that counts - you, the whitefellas. You’re the ones … it will fall to you, the 97 per cent, to decide whether we seize this opportunity.”

>>19165614 Labor MP scolded for spruiking Voice at ‘politically neutral’ citizenship ceremony - Federal Labor MP Jerome Laxale says he will not shy away from using council citizenship ceremonies to detail his reasons for voting Yes in the upcoming Voice referendum, after a Liberal-led Sydney council alleged it had received complaints that he was politicising the events. In a speech at a ceremony held by Ryde Council last Thursday, the Bennelong MP - a former Ryde Council mayor - urged a new cohort of Australian citizens to “do your research” about the referendum, which he referred to as a “simple offer” and an “opportunity that was too important to waste”.

#30 - Part 63

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>18929002 Australian citizen Daniel Duggan is accused of training Chinese military pilots by the US. His wife alleges he's caught in a 'political power play' - Daniel Duggan was born in the United States and served as a pilot in the Marines between 1989 and 2002. He's been an Australian citizen since 2012. He's now in custody in Lithgow Correctional Centre in NSW pending extradition to the US on charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. "He 100 per cent denies all accusations," Ms Duggan told 7.30. Key to the US government's pursuit of Mr Duggan is his time as a contractor with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa between 2010 and 2012. Mr Duggan says he provided training to civilian aviators. But in its indictment, the US government alleges the flying school had a contract with a state-owned entity in China to deliver training to military pilots.

>>18929024 Video: Wife of former US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots by the US speaks out | 7.30 - Last October Australian authorities, acting on a request from the United States, arrested former Marine pilot Daniel Duggan for allegedly training pilots from the Chinese military. Duggan is being held in a maximum-security prison while he fights extradition to America. This report by Angelique Donnellan and Xanthe Kleinig. - ABC News In-depth

>>18939663 Closer China-Australia ties will not come at Taiwan's expense: Former Australian PM - “Taiwanese perspectives and experience are more important than ever,” according to former Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull. Turnbull is in Taiwan for the first time to attend the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI) 2023 Annual Forum on Monday (May 29). When Taiwan News asked Turnbull if he thought improvements in the Australia-China relationship would come at the expense of Australia's relationship with Taiwan, Turnbull said he did not. “The Australian Government under (Prime Minister) Albanese has not taken one backward step on matters of substance as far as China's concerned,” he said, but “what has changed is the rhetoric.”

>>18939695 Let’s not forget Taiwan as we kowtow to China on trade - "Few countries understand China’s military thinking better than Taiwan. We run the risk of being called on to defend one of the few genuinely successful liberal democracies in the Indo-Pacific without having any substantive military or intelligence relationship. If Australia was serious about reducing the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific, the best way to do this would be to help Taiwan strengthen its own military forces. The bilateral relationship needs to be rethought. A start would be to send Trade Minister Don Farrell to Taipei to discuss Taiwan’s proposed membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. It’s also time to reopen discussion of a free-trade agreement. The absence of one with our fifth largest export market is, to use a technical trade term, crazy." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au

>>18939721 Battle lines drawn on Albanese going to China - Now that the prime minister has received an official invitation to visit Beijing later this year, the political and diplomatic lines are being drawn. China’s informal bans on coal, copper, timber and cotton have eased, but restrictions on wine and live lobsters remain. All eyes are now on China’s expedited review of the tariffs it placed on barley. But consider this hypothetical: if the trade bans are all lifted before Albanese steps onto the tarmac in Beijing, “the result will be pocketed, with thanks, and soon forgotten”. Which could mean that the visit’s focus becomes the two Australians detained in China on murky charges: Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun. Their imminent release is paramount: achieving it by the time the visit takes place, however, will prove difficult. In that case, Albanese will have to press the matter privately with Chinese leaders. This is a powerful bargaining chip in China’s uncaring hands.

>>18939748 ‘No timeframe or conditions’ on Albanese’s visit to China - Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says there is no timeframe or conditions on Anthony Albanese’s upcoming visit to China, signalling the Australian government was managing expectations of trade sanction relief and the release of two detained Australians. The federal opposition has called on the government to secure a guarantee that all $20 billion in trade sanctions on half a dozen industries will be lifted by Beijing before the prime minister travels. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham has also labelled the ongoing detention of Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun “unacceptable”.

#30 - Part 64

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>18940061 Attack revived on AFP raid over Chinese pilot training - A former pilot suspected of training the Chinese military has tried once more to invalidate a federal police raid on his South Australian home. The Australian Federal Police executed a search warrant and seized items from the home of Keith Andrew Hartley, chief operating officer of the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), in November. The warrant said Mr Hartley was suspected of breaking commonwealth law by organising and facilitating training to PLA pilots "in regard to military aircraft platforms and military doctrine, tactics and strategy". Mr Hartley's Federal Court bid to quash the warrant was dismissed in April. He has now filed an appeal in the Full Court seeking to set aside this dismissal.

>>18945189 Video: Albanese urges China to pick up the phone and keep line open to Australia, US - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a message to China that the risks of invading Taiwan far outweigh the rewards, while warning that a breakdown in communication in the contested Indo-Pacific could have devastating consequences for the world. The Australian leader also defended the country’s plan to acquire a fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines as he made the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence forum in Singapore.

>>18945219 Avoiding extremes, Albanese defines his approach to Beijing as the middle ground - The prime minister has laid out his vision for Australia’s most pressing foreign policy challenge: managing the rise of China. In his first major foreign policy speech since becoming prime minister, Albanese criticised what he sees as two simplistic propositions: Australia could choose to engage with China and forget Beijing’s military and security ambitions, or it could focus on building up its defences and national security to stop the threat from Beijing. His middle path will require ongoing engagement with China, an openness to economic cooperation and constant reminders, however sincere, that Australia and its partners, particularly the United States and Japan, are not attempting to contain its economic ambitions.

>>18945286 Force against Taiwan still on cards, says China - China’s Defence Minister has declared the People’s Liberation Army will “absolutely not” renounce the use of force on Taiwan, as his American counterpart warned a military accident between the two superpowers could “very quickly spiral out of control” because of Beijing’s refusal to engage in talks. The scene setting comments by Minister Li Shangfu and Secretary Lloyd Austin were made on the eve of the Shangri-La Dialogue, the region’s most important security forum. The American and Chinese defence chiefs are both in Singapore for the three-day summit.

>>18945341 US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin backs Anthony Albanese’s call to China - US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has backed Anthony Albanese’s call for Beijing to work with Washington to establish “guardrails” to avoid conflict and outlined Australia’s growing role in American-led efforts to deter Chinese military action in the region. President Joe Biden’s top defence official - speaking the morning after Prime Minister Albanese gave the opening address at a security conference in Singapore — said his frequent visits to the region had underscored a widespread and growing desire for a “free and open and secure Indo Pacific”. “As we all heard from Prime Minister Albanese last night, each country has a role to play. And the choices made by countries across the region reflect the deepening commitment to these shared principles,” Secretary Austin told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the region’s most important security forum

>>18949874 Chinese general threatens foreign navies after warships nearly collide in Taiwan Strait - China’s defence minister Li Shangfu has warned foreign naval vessels and warplanes to stay out of the Taiwan Strait, intensifying Beijing’s military posture a day after a Chinese warship nearly collided with an American destroyer in the contested waters. In a strident speech on Sunday that escalated China’s threats towards the democratic island of Taiwan, Li told other countries to “mind their own business”. “As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go, when friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns,” he said.

#30 - Part 65

Australia / China Tensions - Part 3

>>18949887 Richard Marles ‘haunted’ by prospect of US, China war in Indo-Pacific - Richard Marles says he is “haunted” by whether Russia’s war in Ukraine is a “forewarning of the contest to come” as China challenges America’s global dominance. Australia’s Defence Minister told Singapore’s Shangri-La security conference that Vladimir Putin’s invasion - launched months before the election of the Albanese government - had raised the prospect of war in the Indo-Pacific. “The question that haunted me then - and still does a year on - is whether the war in Ukraine is a ‘terminal spasm of Europe’s imperial past’, or a forewarning of the contest to come in a post-hegemonic world.”

>>18955315 China lobbies press club against Tibetan appearance - The Chinese government has been accused of undermining free speech in Australia by seeking to block the head of Tibet’s government-in-exile from making a scheduled appearance at the National Press Club this month. Officials from the Chinese embassy met with the press club’s chief executive, Maurice Reilly, in Canberra last week to convey their unhappiness about Penpa Tsering’s June 20 scheduled appearance and to ask for his invitation to be revoked. “China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to Australia, in disregard of China’s position and concern, allowing him to use the NPC platform to engage in separatist activities,” the embassy argued in a letter handed to Reilly.

>>18960171 Xi Jinping’s message to the world: mind your own business - "Anthony Albanese acquitted himself with great dignity at the recent Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. He spoke fluently and without notes and rather eloquently articulated the case for a liberal rules-based international order and the need for collective security. He was clear and statesmanlike in his observations about what made for peace, stability and prosperity, and what could disrupt them. His problem and ours is that Xi Jinping does not see things that way. Beijing’s goal is to detach us from our alli­ances, to displace the US in Asia and to subject Taiwan to its dominion, as it has Hong Kong. All this was underscored when, later in the day at the Shangri-la, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu bluntly told those present that, when it came to China’s territorial and maritime claims, others should “mind their own business”." - Paul Monk former head of the China desk in the Defence Intelligence Organisation and fellow of the Institute for Law and Strategy (London and New York) - theaustralian.com.au

>>18960196 Daniel Andrews’ speech at Melbourne pro-China forum a mystery as reporters barred from event - Premier Daniel Andrews delivered his speech, on behalf of Victoria, to the Post Pandemic China-Australia Economic Cooperation Forum on Monday night. But in a move described as “highly irregular”, those Victorians for whom Mr Andrews spoke cannot hear what he did or did not say. The Herald Sun turned up to the forum, at the Park Hyatt, tape recorder in hand. And was turned away from the super secretive talkfest ostensibly about navigating Chinese trade markets and opportunities. It appears that the Herald Sun, along with all Australian media, was left off the invitation list. A lady at the front desk said Chinese media only. Signs outside the function room warned guests not to take photos or videos inside.

>>18965896 Daniel Andrews responds to allegations reporters were barred from attending pro-China forum speech - Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has come under scrutiny for refusing to release the speaking notes for his speech at a secretive Chinese forum, an event Australian journalists were reportedly barred from. “I didn’t organise the event. I didn’t invite anyone to the event. I didn’t prevent anyone from going to the event,” he said. “If you have a challenge or a problem or issues in relation to the event, then the event organisers would be the logical place to go.”

#30 - Part 66

Australia / China Tensions - Part 4

>>18965905 China used ‘god credential’ to spy on ByteDance users - Chinese Communist Party members used a “god credential” at TikTok parent ByteDance to examine the personal data of civil rights activists and protesters in Hong Kong, and identify and track them down, a former company executive said in a court filing. Yintao “Roger” Yu, a former head of engineering in the US for ByteDance, described a special committee of the Chinese government installed at the company’s Beijing offices that he said monitored all data on the platform, including that of users in the US, according to the filing. “This was a backdoor to any barrier ByteDance had supposedly installed to protect data from the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance,” according to the filing in state court in San Francisco. The party’s “superuser credential,” also known as a “god credential,” was “commonly discussed between employees at various levels of the company, including senior executives,” Mr Yu said.

>>18987638 IAEA must not bend rules for AUKUS: China Daily editorial - "Li Song, China's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, once again stressed that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal is a cover for nuclear proliferation at the board meeting of the IAEA in Vienna on Thursday. No matter how far the de facto anti-China bloc has gone to justify the deal, they cannot deny its fundamental nature, which is the transfer of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium from two nuclear-weapon states to a non-nuclear-weapon state. That violates the principles and practices of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and severely undermines the international non-proliferation regime and the IAEA's safeguards system." - chinadaily.com.cn

>>19016566 Morrison warns against age of self-loathing, Western guilt - Scott Morrison says Chinese President Xi Jinping must be regarded as a serious figure who “means exactly what he says”, as he warned Beijing could be encouraged to seize Taiwan if the West does not strongly support Ukraine and start to reverse a fading belief in liberal values. The former prime minister used a speech to Britain’s Oxford Union, one of the world’s most prestigious debating chambers, to express concern that digital echo chambers and so-called cancel culture have fuelled enthusiasm for society to disown past transgressions without appreciating reasons for success. He told the democratic world it must be careful how it judges those responsible for abhorrent practices of the past, warning that the enemies of freedom will welcome an appetite for self-loathing with “open arms”.

>>19031657 Chinese hackers use G7 ruse to target Australian government officials - Australia is among four countries whose government officials were targeted by suspected China-based hackers after last month’s Group of Seven meeting in Japan, attempting to install malicious software on their devices and steal information. Following the meeting between G7 countries and leaders from Ukraine, Australia, Brazil, the Cook Islands, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea and Vietnam, a co-ordinated email campaign began targeting government officials, attempting to lure them into downloading a compromised Word document. Cybercriminals sent emails pretending to be part of Indonesia’s ministries of Foreign and Economic Affairs to government officials from Australia, France, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

>>19044115 ‘China is our best publicity agent’: Tibet urges tougher line on Beijing - Tibet’s exiled political leader says it is unfair for Australia to punish nations such as Iran and Russia for human rights abuses while letting China off the hook because it is Australia’s biggest trading partner. In his first trip to Australia since being elected the head of Tibet’s government-in-exile in 2021, Penpa Tsering urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise human rights with Chinese President Xi Jinping if he travels to Beijing later this year and to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for the mistreatment of ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang.

>>19044128 'Stolen generation': Tibet's fight to preserve culture - George Orwell's 1984 has become a reality in Tibet as the Chinese government aims to eradicate culture's identity through processes reminiscent of Australia's stolen generation, Tibet's leader-in-exile says. Tibet's exiled president Penpa Tsering said the situation in the region has deteriorated to a point comparable to South Sudan and Syria, accusing the Chinese regime of "striking the very identity of Tibetan people" in a bid to erase the culture. "If anyone has read George Orwell's 1984, that has come into reality in China and more so in the Tibetan region," Mr Tsering told the National Press Club in Canberra.

#30 - Part 67

Australia / China Tensions - Part 5

>>19051180 Parliamentary plea for former pilot's prison release - A supporter of an Australian citizen facing extradition to the US on conspiracy charges has called for his release from prison in an emotional speech to parliament. Former marine Daniel Duggan was arrested in October 2022 after the US government accused him of money laundering and committing offences under US arms export control laws. Mr Duggan's wife Saffrine and his friend Warwick Ponder were on the floor of the Senate on Thursday during a speech by the Greens' David Shoebridge urging the US to release him from custody, where he has been in solitary confinement. "In the last few weeks, he's seen the sky only a handful of times but has otherwise been locked up completely alone. There are grave concerns with Dan's wellbeing," Senator Shoebridge told parliament.

>>19069501 Taiwan calls on Australia to send military attache to Taipei over China threats - Taiwan’s Foreign Minister has called on Canberra to install a military attache in the Australian Office in Taipei to help the two liberal democracies work together to prevent “the worst from happening” amid sustained threats of war from China. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told The Australian that President Tsai Ing-wen’s government wanted Canberra to station a military officer in its de facto embassy in Taipei to liaise with Taiwanese security agencies, as countries including the US, Japan and Singapore have for decades. “I think it is very important when the Australian government is paying so much more attention to the regional security issues for the two countries to be able to share their observations, their assessment of the situation,” he told The Australian in an exclusive interview in Taipei.

>>19069536 China virus researchers were working on defence projects, declassified US intelligence says - Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers were working on defensive and biosecurity projects for the Chinese military and were not taking adequate biosafety precautions while handling coronaviruses, intelligence declassified by the United States has confirmed. The intelligence report on the potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the pandemic was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence late on Friday US-time, when Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to China had concluded. The report, which reveals the CIA is unable to determine whether a lab-leak or natural contact with an infected animal spawned the pandemic, was published after Congress voted unanimously to declassify the intelligence. - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19087765 Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles landing in Solomon Islands for talks on the future of Australia's defence presence - Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has suggested Australian troops and police might stay in Solomon Islands beyond this year, in a sign the federal government could push for an enduring security presence in the Pacific Island nation. Mr Marles will land in the country's capital Honiara later today for a two-day visit, where he'll hold talks with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and meet Australian police and soldiers deployed there. Both Australian Defence Force and Australian Federal Police personnel were sent to Honiara in late 2021, when Mr Sogavare asked for help to restore order after major riots broke out. Last year China's government supplied dozens of motorbikes and two water cannon trucks to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, as well as expanding training programs for local police both in China and across multiple provinces in Solomon Islands.

>>19094004 Bondi man Alexander Csergo was warned to leave China by American contact he suspected was a spy - A Sydney businessman accused of selling Australian defence and security secrets in China was warned to leave the country immediately by an American contact who he suspected was a US intelligence operative, his lawyer told a Sydney court. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged the man, Alexander Csergo, 55, with one count of reckless foreign interference in April. Mr Csergo is the first person to be charged with the offence, which attracts a jail term of up to 15 years under laws introduced by the Turnbull government in 2018.

#30 - Part 68

Australia / China Tensions - Part 6

>>19094098 Corruption inquiry in Australia uncovers China links to state lawmaker - The former premier of Australia's most populous state engaged in corrupt conduct involving another lawmaker with whom she was in a secret romantic relationship, a years-long corruption inquiry that examined business dealings with China said on Thursday. The New South Wales Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC) said in a report that Gladys Berejiklian had failed to notify the commission of her concerns that Daryl Maguire, a member of the state assembly with whom she was in a relationship during her term of office, may have engaged in corrupt conduct, and this undermined the ministerial code.

>>19104349 Australia, Solomon Islands to review security pact after China moves in - Australia and Solomon Islands will review their bilateral security treaty in a move experts say is aimed at checking China’s burgeoning security partnership with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s government. Following a meeting with Mr Sogavare in Honiara, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the treaty would be updated to reflect the “contemporary” security environment in the Solomon Islands, including the presence of an Australian-led Pacific nations peacekeeping force.

>>19104518 Japan, Australia, US stage joint drill - Japan, Australia and the US are holding an annual joint drill in Queensland, northeastern Australia. It's aimed at streamlining defense cooperation as China ramps up its maritime activities. A record-high number of some 2,500 personnel from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, the Australian Army and the US Marine Corps are taking part in the exercise, called "Southern Jackaroo."

>>19104539 Australia and Japan conduct war games in contested waters, closely watched by Chinese military - An Australian warship and surveillance aircraft have conducted military exercises with Japan in the South China Sea under the close watch of the People's Liberation Army. The war games, which took place over the past weekend in strategically contested waters, focused on tactical operations, including anti-surface and anti-air warfare, but were not publicised by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Sources with knowledge of the two-day exercises have confirmed China's People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) was in "the vicinity" of the activity but did not interact directly with the Australian warship or aircraft. The Commander of Japan's first surface unit for the Indo-Pacific Deployment 2023, Rear Admiral Takahiro Nishiyama, said his nation and Australia were considered "special strategic partners". "Like our country, Australia, an ally of the United States, is a 'Special Strategic Partner' in the Indo-Pacific region, sharing not only universal values but also strategic interests in security," the rear admiral said in a statement.

>>19120607 Hong Kong police put bounty on two high-profile Australian residents - Hong Kong police have put a $HK1m ($191,800) bounty on Melbourne-based Australian lawyer Kevin Yam and Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong politician who now lives in Adelaide, in an unprecedented application of the Beijing-authored National Security Law. Announcing the bounties late on Monday, Chief Superintendent Steven Li said Hong Kong’s police force “won’t stop chasing them”, setting up a confrontation with an Australian government already straining to maintain the recent “stabilisation” of relations with China. “We are absolutely not staging any show or spreading fear. We are enforcing law,” said Superintendent Li at a press conference in Hong Kong.

>>19120614 ‘Hilarious’: Hong Kong activists in Australia slam China’s arrest threat - Hong Kong activists living in Australia who have had a bounty put on them by the Chinese government have dismissed the threat as a stunt, arguing it reveals how powerless Beijing has become against dissent overseas. The $HK1 million bounties ($192,000) were offered by Hong Kong police chief superintendent Steve Li on Monday night for information leading to the arrests of Melbourne lawyer Kevin Yam, who is an Australian citizen, and former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui, who has settled in Adelaide with his family. Hui, a pro-democracy leader, has had multiple warrants issued for his arrest since he left Hong Kong in 2020 after his family’s accounts were locked by HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China. Hui, who led protests against Beijing’s growing influence over Hong Kong in 2019, said he did not fear for his or his family’s safety in Australia. “I think the bounty is ridiculous and hilarious. It can only be a high-profile gesture without any legal effects. Free countries will not extradite us because of that. It only shows how powerless the Chinese Communist Party is in response to the Hong Kong diaspora who advocates for freedom and democracy.”

#30 - Part 69

Australia / China Tensions - Part 7

>>19126437 Australia PM says Hong Kong bounty on overseas activists 'unacceptable' - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday it was "unacceptable" that Hong Kong has put bounties on two Australian residents who are among eight overseas democracy activists wanted under a national security law. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday eight overseas-based Hong Kong activists who were issued with arrest warrants for alleged national security offences would be "pursued for life". "It's just unacceptable," Albanese said of the Hong Kong announcement in a Nine television interview. "We will continue to cooperate with China where we can, but we will disagree where we must. And we do disagree over human rights issues." Australia's opposition leader Peter Dutton said it was "completely unacceptable that Australians should be tracked down or hunted down".

>>19126468 Australian businesses in the dark about China’s new spy laws - Beijing’s new anti-espionage laws, which came into effect days before Hong Kong police put a bounty on two Australian residents, have further raised the risk Australian companies could have staff ­detained for what would be deemed ordinary business activities outside of China. The brazen extraterritorial application of Hong Kong’s sweeping National Security Law in Melbourne and Adelaide on Monday has underlined just how serious Xi Jinping’s regime is about snuffing out behaviour it deems “anti China” and a threat to the Communist Party’s rule. It shocked many Australians with dealings in China, a country already known for arbitrary detention. Concerns were already elevated over Beijing’s new anti-espionage laws, which took effect over the weekend. Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said the Coalition was “gravely concerned” over the police bounties. “This represents an unacceptable attempt to silence and intimidate critics of the Chinese government living in Australia, and further demonstrates the corrosive effects of the National Security Law to democratic principles and the rule of law in Hong Kong,” Senator Paterson said

>>19126504 China tells Australia to stop harbouring Hong Kong 'fugitives', DFAT updates travel advice - China's Foreign Ministry has told Australia to stop sheltering fugitives, after Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed deep concern over Hong Kong issuing arrest warrants for eight overseas-based activists, including two living in Australia. Australian citizen and legal scholar Kevin Yam, and former Hong Kong politician Ted Hui, who fled the island and now lives in Adelaide, were among the eight people wanted for alleged breaches under the controversial national security law. Asked about the condemnation from Western countries, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning alleged Mr Yam and the others had engaged in "anti-China activities aimed at destabilising Hong Kong". "We strongly deplore and firmly oppose individual countries' flagrant slandering against the national security law for Hong Kong and interference in the rule of law in Hong Kong," she said. "Relevant countries need to respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, stop lending support for anti-China elements destabilising Hong Kong, and stop providing a safe haven for fugitives."

>>19126523 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on July 4, 2023 - "Kevin Yam and the others have long been engaging in anti-China activities aimed at destabilizing Hong Kong. After fleeing overseas, they have acted in an even more outrageous way to create trouble and continued to instigate the division of the country and subversion of state power, acting as pawns for external anti-China forces in their effort to interfere in Hong Kong affairs. Their abominable moves gravely violate the national security law for Hong Kong, seriously threaten the bottom line of One Country, Two Systems, severely harm the fundamental interests of Hong Kong and gravely jeopardize China’s sovereignty, security and development interests."

#30 - Part 70

Australia / China Tensions - Part 8

>>19126537 Anthony Albanese should reconsider rapprochement with China - "Penny Wong was right to warn the Chinese government of the existence of strong foreign interference legislation in Australia, after Hong Kong authorities ­issued arrest warrants for two democracy activists now resident in Australia. Hong Kong’s national security police also offered $HK1m rewards for information that leads to the capture of lawyer Kevin Yam, an Australian citizen, and former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui, who lives in Adelaide. The Foreign Minister expressed her “deep disappointment” at the Chinese actions, and reiterated that Canberra had long held deep concerns about the ­application of national security laws in Hong Kong. Wong said: “I want to be very clear. Australia has a view about freedom of expression, we have a view about people’s right to express their views peacefully, and people in Australia who do so in accordance with our laws will be supported.” Her comments make it clear the official Chinese actions represent an ugly effort to intimidate Australia, to intimidate the diaspora and ethnic Chinese community within Australia, and to intimidate the two democracy ­activists named. The Australian government has an overwhelming operational responsibility now to make sure no agents of the Chinese government, and no one inspired by their effective call to persecution, can act against any Australians." - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19126550 Calls for Chinese-made DJI drones to be removed after 3000 devices found across government - More than 3000 drones and other devices manufactured by Chinese company DJI are owned by federal government agencies, despite the People’s Liberation Army-linked technology being black-listed in the US. A government-wide audit by opposition cyber security spokesman James Paterson has revealed 3114 drones, cameras and other DJI-manufactured devices were in the possession of agencies ranging from the National Portrait Gallery of Australia to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Some devices are batteries and gimbals - camera stabilisers that do not connect to the internet - but most are cameras and drones with internet connectivity. Senator Paterson said the widespread use of the DJI devices demonstrated the need for Australia to follow the example of Britain and introduce a new office within the Department of Home Affairs to assess risks posed by technology originating from “auth­oritarian countries.’’

>>19138979 Security concerns raised as state MPs plan China junket - Victorian state Labor MPs are planning a ten-day junket in China to learn the country’s culture and gather “three years’ worth of social media content”, prompting national security concerns from experts and the federal Coalition. The September trip’s itinerary, drafted by Victorian MP Will Fowles and leaked by Labor figures worried about the wisdom of the visit, also advised MPs how to utilise their $10,000 annual taxpayer-funded travel allowance by making bookings before June 30 so next financial year’s allowance remained. Occurring months after Premier Daniel Andrews faced scrutiny for a trip to China, the jaunt promises MPs “an appreciation of Chinese culture”, “a working understanding of how business in China operates”, and “an understanding of how Chinese government works”.

>>19139019 Hong Kong dissident and Labor member wants MPs’ China trip cancelled - An Australian lawyer and Labor Party member with a bounty on his head for criticising the China-led rights crackdown in Hong Kong has urged Andrews government MPs to abandon a planned trip to China, arguing the visit was a “propaganda” tour that insulted his plight. Kevin Yam, 47, is one of two Australia-based activists accused by Hong Kong police of national security offences, including foreign collusion. Authorities have offered $130,000 for information leading to his arrest and urged Australia to “stop providing a safe haven for fugitives”. Yam, who is also a rank and file member of the Australian Labor Party, told this masthead he was disappointed to learn of a 10-day September junket being planned by a group of state Labor MPs who intend to learn about Chinese culture and business. “You’ll never see the real China on these trips,” he said. “If you’re talking about a cultural exchange - we all know these sorts of trips are not really about that. It’s about China trying to show a positive side of itself to a bunch of unwitting regional-level Australian MPs. “And why now? Especially given in my case as an ALP member, I have a bounty over me and MPs are going on what they think is a cultural exchange. But really it is a propaganda trip. I certainly hope they would reconsider whether this is the right timing for something like this given an Australian citizen and fellow ALP member has got this over his head.”

#30 - Part 71

Australia / China Tensions - Part 9

>>19154798 Solomon Islands leader visits security partner China with focus on infrastructure - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare arrives in China on Sunday for his first visit since striking a security deal, pledging to "remain neutral" amid rising China-U.S. competition and prioritise his nation's development needs. Western analysts said Sogavare would be feted after signing the security pact that alarmed Washington and some Pacific Islands neighbours including Australia last year. Concern over China's naval ambitions in the strategically-located region prompted Washington to strike a defence agreement with Papua New Guinea last month.

>>19154815 Prime Minister Sogavare participates in the first High Level Meeting of Forum on Global Action for Shared Development in China - Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare began his weeklong engagement with the Government of the People’s Republic of China this morning. Prime Minister Sogavare underscored the need to rise above those that want to create a divided world with ideological geopolitical fault lines.....“we must remain united in our focus in creating innovative paths of cooperation to close the gap between the haves and the have not. Share our development experience using frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative to convert our potentials into prosperity.” The Prime Minister thanked China for its commitment to construct a new comprehensive Public Medical Center in Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital. Solomon Islands is pleased that the People’s Liberation Army Naval Peace Ark will be visiting Solomon Islands, he stated.

>>19154823 Sogavare’s visit to deepen ties between China and Solomons - Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare arrived in Beijing to start his weeklong visit to China - his second - on Sunday, during which the leaders of the two countries will have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest. He will also inaugurate the country's embassy in China, meet company executives and visit East China's Jiangsu and South China's Guangdong provinces. As the two countries move forward their relationship under the principle of "mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit," the tangible benefits the Solomon Islands receive come in sheer contrast to US and Western aid, which shrank quickly and was largely applied in political and ideological fields, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Sunday. - Zhang Han - globaltimes.cn

>>19154878 OPINION: On the weekend my footy team lost. On Monday, there was a $190k bounty on my head - "Along with seven others, there is now a warrant out on me for alleged national security offences. According to Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, we will be “pursued for life”. My alleged crimes were calling for action in response to China’s crackdown on Hong Kong in meetings with Australian members of parliament and the foreign minister, as well as testifying by video-link before United States Congress. The support I have received from across the spectrum in Australia and beyond has been overwhelming, including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Friends from everywhere have congratulated me for earning a badge of honour in resisting authoritarian tyranny. If only living normally with a bounty over my head was so straightforward." - Kevin Yam, non-resident senior fellow of Georgetown University Centre for Asian Law and master of laws student at the University of Melbourne - theage.com.au

>>19160130 China, Solomon Islands take swipe at AUKUS in announcing new strategic partnership - China and the Solomon Islands have signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China. The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, underlining his nation’s foreign policy shift. China will continue to provide assistance to the Solomon Islands to enhance its law enforcement capacity, according to a joint statement released by China’s official Xinhua news agency. It urged “relevant countries” to “prudently” handle issues such as the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and cooperation on nuclear submarines, in a thinly veiled swipe at Japan and AUKUS, the alliance among Australia, the United States and Britain.

#30 - Part 72

Australia / China Tensions - Part 10

>>19160144 Solomon Islands, China should publish details of police deal, Australia says - Australia said the Solomon Islands and China should "provide transparency of their intentions to Australia and the region" by immediately publishing details of a policing deal signed in Beijing. The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. A spokesperson for Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was aware of reports referencing a policing implementation plan linked to a deal signed between China and Solomon Islands in March 2022. "We are concerned that this development will invite further regional contest," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Solomon Islands and China should provide transparency of their intentions to Australia and the region by publishing the agreement immediately, so the Pacific family can collectively consider the implications for our shared security."

>>19160164 America walks the walk in battle for Pacific minds - "NATO leaders gather in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, this week and Ukraine will dominate the summit. Anthony Albanese will be there. Security is global so it’s positive that he is attending. But we can’t escape our own region. Fortunately, there’s good news here. The US is finally starting to walk the walk in the Pacific. In May, the US signed a Defence Co-operation Agreement with Papua New Guinea that allows the US military to deploy assets to select PNG military bases in the event of an emergency. It’s a nice counterpunch to what China’s got going with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands. If the US-PNG agreement is properly funded and staffed, then PNG will become a key location for the US to build some real influence in Melanesia." - Anthony Bergin, senior fellow at Strategic Analysis Australia and expert associate at the National Security College - theaustralian.com.au

>>19160171 Video: 'Contempt': Popular Chinese social media platform WeChat refuses to front foreign interference probe after repeated requests - Popular Chinese social media platform WeChat has again refused to front a Senate inquiry into foreign interference prompting an outburst from shadow home affairs minister James Paterson. Senator Paterson, the chair of the Select Committee on Foreign Interference Through Social Media, has repeatedly requested WeChat appear at public hearings over concerns of its immense influence in the Chinese diaspora community. In response to the Senator’s July 4 letter, Tencent’s head of corporate affairs legal Elizabeth Byun again rejected the request. The company argued it was unable to attend the hearings on Tuesday because it does not have “local operations or employees based in Australia”.

>>19165653 'Visionary and insightful politician': Chinese media fawns over Paul Keating's criticism of NATO, saying he 'hit the nail on the head' - Chinese media have fawned over former Labor prime minister Paul Keating for his harsh criticism of NATO and its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Mr Keating launched a blistering attack on the NATO chief on Sunday, calling him a "supreme fool" for looking to foster deeper connections with Asia as China's dominance grows. The former prime minister, who has continued to defend China's military rise, further accused Mr Stoltenberg of attempting to export "malicious poison" to Asia. China's Global Times, a tabloid newspaper owned by the Chinese Communist Party, published an opinion piece on Tuesday fawning over Mr Keating's remarks. The 800-word article praised the former prime minister for condemning NATO and its Secretary General "without reservation". "Keating is a visionary and insightful politician. We highly agree with his statement. No one has criticized NATO more accurately and vividly than Keating," the article read.

>>19165662 OPINION: Two stern warnings must be given to the arrogant NATO: Global Times editorial - "No one has criticized NATO more accurately and vividly than Keating. His words reflect a consensus among Asian countries. The transatlantic military alliance, which has been expanding and disrupting the security situation in Europe since the Cold War, is now extending its reach into the Asia-Pacific region. Its ulterior motives are well-known in the international community. Inciting division and hatred, creating group confrontations, and causing chaos in Europe, they now seek to disrupt the peace in the Asia-Pacific region. We firmly resist this, together with the majority of countries in the Asia-Pacific region." - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

#30 - Part 73

Australia / China Tensions - Part 11

>>19165673 NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg shakes off criticism, and praises Australia - Jens Stoltenberg has brushed off “supreme fool” criticisms of his leadership of the NATO alliance as Anthony Albanese emphasised that Australia would be engaged in supporting the alliance’s efforts in Ukraine “for as long as necessary and to the best of our capacity’’. Mr Stoltenberg showed no agitation about the remarks of former prime minister Paul Keating, who criticised him for trying to set up a NATO office in the Indo-Pacific in what he ­ perceived as an anti-China ­manoeuvre. The Prime Minister countered that view with an effusive welcome to Mr Stoltenberg at the opening of the two-day summit, congratulating him on his reappointment for another year, noting “it is very well deserved”, and on his leadership of NATO and what the alliance was doing to promote regional security.

>>19165707 China tensions spur council’s sister city fears - A town on Western Australia‘s southern coast will consider severing ties with its Chinese sister city amid concerns from some councillors that the relationship could lead to “influence and interference” in its affairs and “pressures to sovereign integrity”. City of Albany councillor Thomas Brough will move a motion later this month proposing that the town “respectfully conclude” its sister city relationship with Linyi, in China’s Shandong province. “China has been engaged in economic warfare with Australia since 2020 and political warfare since the mid 2010s. This form of conflict is unfamiliar to many citizens of Western democracies but will be easily recognisable to those familiar with the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist modus operandi,” the report says. “To effectively counter and defeat CCP influence and interference there is a need to expose such operations to the intense sunlight of public scrutiny.” Dr Brough’s report said sister city relationships had been used by the Chinese Communist Party to help enable foreign influence.

>>19165734 Meta says China experimenting with Facebook influence tactics - Chinese agents are spreading targeted misinformation to journalists on Facebook as part of new efforts coming out of the Communist Party state to grow its influence. Meta, which owns the social media giant, removed 200 operations globally for “violating our policy against co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour, and these networks came from 68 countries and operated in 42 languages”, Meta regional director of policy Mia Garlick told the Senate Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media on Tuesday. In the first quarter of 2023, Meta disrupted two so-called Co-ordinated Inauthentic Behaviour (CIB) networks originating out of China, and although they did not specifically target Australia, Meta said there had been a shift in tactics by China-based agents.

>>19165779 Solomon Islands officially opens embassy in Beijing, 'a big milestone' to further enhance relations between countries and people - Through a ceremony with applause and dances in Beijing, the Solomon Islands officially opened its embassy in China on Tuesday, almost four years after the two countries established diplomatic ties. The Tuesday event, as Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told the Global Times, is "a big milestone" that is expected to further enhance the relations between the two countries and their people. The ceremony, held in Beijing, was attended by Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Sogavare, who is on his second official visit to China. In the future, through the embassy, bilateral relations between the Solomon Islands and China, people-to-people ties, and shared values between the two countries will be further strengthened, Sogavare told the Global Times. He further noted that China is a great country, and for countries like the Solomon Islands and other similar Pacific Island countries, it would be "very stupid" not to increase cooperation with China and seize the development opportunities it offers. - Shan Jie, Bai Yunyi and Fan Anqi - globaltimes.cn

>>19165800 Zelensky 'to thank Albanese in person' for arms - Anthony Albanese still hopes to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, the final day of the NATO summit in Lithuania, after a breakthrough saw alliance members agree on a 'clear path' for Ukraine’s NATO membership. The NATO members also discussed a “coercive” China and the risk that poses to security across Europe and the Atlantic. “China is not our adversary, and we should continue to engage,” NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said, but warned: “Beijing’s increasing assertiveness affects our security” as well as challenging the rules-based international order.

#30 - Part 74

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

>>18939346 EXCLUSIVE: Newly minted Virginia Giuffre stumbles outside NYC court as she's sued for $10M by Rina Oh for publicly naming her as recruiter for Jeffrey Epstein - Virginia Giuffre took a tumble outside Manhattan federal court after she faced Rina Oh who is suing her for $10 million for publicly naming her as a recruiter for Jeffrey Epstein. The two have been battling it out in court since 2021 when Oh filed the lawsuit against Giuffre for defamation, citing a series of year-old tweets that asserted that Oh was Epstein's girlfriend and recruited girls for him to abuse. Oh has said the authorities have agreed with her that she was also a young victim of Epstein 20 years ago and not a co-conspirator or part of his inner circle. The two women were back in court in New York on Wednesday. Giuffre was being escorted from the courthouse with a suit jacket over her head when she suddenly stumbled and fell to the pavement. Security rushed to her side and helped her up.

>>18939352 Q Post #4923 - https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319071346282778624 Dearest Virginia - We stand with you. Now and always. Find peace through prayer. Never give up the good fight. God bless you. Q

>>18998381 Jeffery Epstein: JP Morgan pays out $429 million to victims, allegedly helped facilitate sex trafficking ring - JP Morgan last night settled a lawsuit for allegedly facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring for a reported $429 million. The US bank will pay the money to more than 100 victims of the late paedophile who claimed it turned a blind eye to his abuse of underage girls. Lawyers for the victims welcomed the settlement but David Boies, who previously represented Prince Andrew’s accuser Virginia Roberts, said it was “not enough but it’s close” - a line from the 1973 film The Sting.

>>19103702 US urges appeals court to uphold Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking conviction - The U.S. government has urged an appeals court to uphold Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction and 20-year prison sentence for helping the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. In a Thursday night filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, federal prosecutors said none of Maxwell's legal arguments about the fairness of her trial undermined their case, or justified a dismissal or new trial. In her appeal, Maxwell, daughter of late British media mogul Robert Maxwell, accused prosecutors of making her a scapegoat because Epstein was dead and "public outrage" demanded that someone else absorb the blame. Prosecutors rejected her claims that they waited too long to bring charges, and that Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement arising from alleged abuse at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion also immunized her. They also said the trial judge had discretion to conclude that Maxwell's jury was fair and impartial, though one juror failed to disclose during pre-trial questioning that he had been sexually abused as a child. "This case does not present the extraordinary circumstances that justify overturning a jury's verdict based on an error during voir dire," prosecutors said.

#30 - Part 75

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 1

>>18928685 Survivor of former Townsville paedophile priest Neville Creen reveals toll the abuse took on her life - "He was supposed to be God's shepherd, but instead he was a wolf in shepherd's clothes, waiting to prey on our innocence and devour us," Megan said. "We had no power to fight him, that's how I feel. I felt I was trapped."

>>18928691 Taskforce Argos arrest 71yo Redbank Plains man at fast food restaurant for child sex offences - An elderly man who brought condoms and chocolates as gifts for a “young girl” he believed to be meeting for sex has been arrested by undercover detectives. The 71-year-old Redbank Plains man was taken into custody at a Brisbane fast-food outlet where he thought he was meeting a school-aged girl. Instead, he was met by detectives from Queensland Police Taskforce Argos who had been posing as the child online.

>>18928705 The Satanic Temple: Think you know about Satanists? Maybe you don't - The Satanic Temple is recognised as a religion by the US government, and has ministers and congregations in America, Europe and Australia. More than 830 people snapped up tickets for its late April convention, dubbed SatanCon. Members say they don't actually believe in a literal Lucifer or Hell. Instead, they say Satan is a metaphor for questioning authority, and grounding your beliefs in science. The sense of community around these shared values makes it a religion, they say. - Rebecca Seales - bbc.com

>>18928713 Q Post #4627 - One party discusses God. One party discusses Darkness. One party promotes God. One party eliminates God. Symbolism will be their downfall. The Great Deceiver(s).

>>18928713 Q Post #4429 - The Armor of God - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Have faith in Humanity. Have faith in Yourself. Have faith in God. The Great Awakening. Q

>>18928713 Q Post #4396 - God wins. Q

>>18929116 Better the Devil You Know! Conspiracy theorists make shock claims that Kylie Minogue is part of a Satanic cult: 'The Illuminati has a new toy puppet' - Kylie Minogue is embroiled in a bizarre and baseless Satanic conspiracy theory. The Australian pop star, who is currently in the midst of a major career comeback thanks to her new single Padam Padam, has been accused of pushing satanic messaging in her music videos and album artwork. God-fearing conspiracy theorists have pointed out that the cover of the 55-year-old's upcoming album Tension features an Illuminati pose. The Illuminati are a group that conspiracy theorists assert controls the world's affairs and economy, and its members come from the worlds of politics, business and entertainment. In the Tension cover image, Kylie holds one hand over her eye, which conspiracy theorists believe is a reference to the 'evil eye'. 'I don't know who told you to pose like this but it is a symbol of Satanism,' one fan tweeted.

>>18929148 "...a bizarre and baseless Satanic conspiracy theory." - Q Post #3906 - Decide for yourself (be resistant to blindly accepting fact-less statements) - When you are awake, you are able to clearly see. The choice is yours, and yours alone. Trust and put faith in yourself. You are not alone and you are not in the minority. Difficult truths will soon see the light of day. WWG1WGA!!! Q

#30 - Part 76

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 2

>>18940046 Archbishop of Melbourne loses appeal of $2 million altar boy payout - A Catholic archbishop has lost a bid to reduce an almost $2 million court-ordered payout to an altar boy subjected to horrific sexual abuse by a pedophile priest. Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli launched an appeal of a Supreme Court decision to award $1.9 million in damages to one of former priest Desmond Gannon's victims, after being found vicariously liable for the abuse. Gannon sexually assaulted the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, three times between 1968 and 1970 while he was an altar boy and pupil at a Catholic primary school in regional Victoria. The priest drove the boy out to a remote area where he molested and raped him. He was terrified Gannon would get a shovel, kill and bury him. Gannon was jailed for up to 25 months for the abuse in 2009. The victim said the abuse had impacted his entire life as he continued to suffer poor mental health, contemplated suicide and abused alcohol to numb his pain. He was awarded $1,908,647 in damages, including for economic loss and future treatment expenses, by Justice Andrew Keogh in June 2022, with the judge finding Gannon's abuse to be "horrific". Archbishop Comensoli appealed the payout, claiming it should be reduced because some of the victim's injuries were caused by factors outside of the abuse. But three justices rejected the appeal, finding the archbishop's arguments were unconvincing. The Court of Appeal judges said the victim continued to suffer the impact of the abuse to this day. "The abuse occurred at a time when the respondent was young, extremely vulnerable and dependent on those around him for care and support," Justices David Beach, Richard Niall and Stephen Kay said.

>>18945864 Former Malka Leifer student settles abuse claim with ultra-Orthodox school - A former student has settled a legal claim against Adass Israel School, the former employer of convicted rapist Malka Leifer, over new allegations of abuse connected to the ultra-Orthodox inner-Melbourne religious college. The woman, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Adass community, filed a suit against Leifer and the Adass Israel School over fresh allegations of abuse. She settled the case on Tuesday morning, hours before the trial was due to begin.

>>18945953 Police reopen probe into school board that allegedly helped Malka Leifer flee to Israel - Board members from an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school who in 2008 allegedly helped then-principal Malka Leifer flee Australia to Israel - where she for years avoided justice for sexually abusing students - are back under investigation, despite police previously ruling out charges. Former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu, a prominent advocate for the three sisters who accused Leifer of abusing them at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick where they were students, confirmed Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton wrote to him on Friday to say police had resumed their investigation into the school’s board.

>>18955324 Former head of Adass Israel School board defended sending sex offender Leifer overseas without informing police - The Adass Israel School board acted “as any normal person would act” in helping sex offender Malka Leifer flee Australia, the board’s former president once said. Yitzhak Benedikt, then school board president, was part of a small group who a court said hastily arranged Leifer’s departure at a meeting on March 5, 2008. In late-2016, when The Australian interviewed Mr Benedikt, he strongly defended the decision to help Leifer flee the country despite a count finding that he was aware of at least eight separate allegations of sexual misconduct against her. “We have acted as any normal person would act, we have responsibilities for our children and for our community,” Mr Benedikt said. “We could not allow a teacher like that to stay anywhere near the children. Don’t you agree with me that the best thing is that they don’t have any more to do with the children?”

>>18965915 Ex-MP Milton Orkopoulos taken to hospital after being bashed in jail - Convicted child sex offender and former NSW Labor minister Milton Orkopoulos has been taken to hospital with head, body and leg injuries after being bashed in custody. Orkopoulos, 65, was found injured at Long Bay jail and was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital. “A 65-year-old inmate has received treatment in hospital following an assault at the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre, at Long Bay,” a NSW Corrective Services spokeswoman said in a statement. “Corrective Services NSW takes great care to determine appropriate security classifications and placements for inmates to maintain the safety and security of our prisons.”

#30 - Part 77

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 3

>>18987672 ‘Red flags everywhere’: high court asks Catholic church why it didn’t investigate priest’s abuse 50 years ago - The high court has pressed the Catholic church to explain why it didn’t have an adequate opportunity 50 years ago to investigate the extent of a priest’s abuse of children, given there were “red flags everywhere” about his crimes. The court on Thursday began hearing a key case about a legal tactic now routinely being employed by the church and other institutions to permanently shield themselves from abuse survivors’ civil claims for compensation. Institutions are now regularly seeking permanent stays, or a permanent halt to proceedings, by arguing the death of alleged perpetrators and the inability to obtain their response to a survivor’s allegations leaves them unable to receive a fair trial. The approach has infuriated survivors and their advocates, who say the church is now effectively using the passage of time to avoid trial, despite the fact the church systemically and deliberately concealed abuse for decades in dioceses across Australia.

>>19011175 Hillsong founder Brian Houston accused of covering up father’s sexual abuse - Brian Houston concealed his paedophile father’s sexual abuse of a schoolboy amid a church-wide culture of keeping things “in house”, a court has been told. Mr Houston, 69, has pleaded not guilty to one count of concealing the serious indictable offence of another person, arguing he was merely abiding by the wishes of his father’s victim by not going to police. The former Hillsong pastor, at the NSW Local Court for a hearing, is accused of concealing that his late father Frank Houston had sexually assaulted a seven-year-old boy in January 1970. He argues that from September 1999 until his father’s death in 2004, he had a “reasonable excuse” not to go to police because of the man’s unwillingness to come forward.

>>19016485 Brian Houston told thousands of people about his father’s child sexual abuse, court told - Former Hillsong leader Brian Houston did not cover up his father’s sexual abuse of a child and actually told tens of thousands of people, including an annual church conference attended by the police commissioner, a court has heard. Houston, 69, is accused of concealing a serious indictable offence over failing to report the crime to police between learning of it in 1999 and his father’s death in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty. In closing submissions, defence barrister Phillip Boulten, SC, told Downing Centre Local Court his client had a reasonable excuse for not making a police report - that the victim, Brett Sengstock, did not want police involved. The court heard Houston confronted his father in November 1999 and the older man confessed to molesting Sengstock in the 1970s. Houston then informed his father he was no longer welcome to attend Hillsong.

>>19016533 Former football star Barry Cable ordered to pay damages in civil sexual abuse case - A Perth judge has ruled football "legend" Barry Cable sexually abused a young girl who decades later, has been awarded $818,700 for the "catastrophic" damage she suffered. The woman, who is now aged in her 60s, launched the civil action in 2019, claiming Cable started abusing her in the late 1960s when she was 12 years old. She further alleged that after she turned 17, the sexual contact continued, and Cable harassed her until she was in her mid-30s. She sued the now bankrupt former footballer for around $1 million and today District Court Judge Mark Herron ruled the woman was sexually abused by Cable as a child.

#30 - Part 78

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 4

>>19037087 ‘It’s in the psyche of some people’: How predators get close to children - The NSW child abuse squad has arrested 10 alleged paedophiles every week this year and is convicting more and more offenders who infiltrate families, schools and social media to prey on children. But as victims and detectives pay the psychological toll, authorities warn online child abuse content is proliferating in Australia, where tech giants are yet to meet “minimum expectations” in key areas. Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett, in her 41 years with a badge, has questioned countless paedophiles. “It’s in the psyche of some people,” Howlett said. “They’re happy to talk to you about it, they’re trying to justify why they’ve done it. And they believe it.” Howlett commands the 240 officers of the child abuse squad across 19 locations. But they find the same stories everywhere: offenders who are not motivated by money, power or lifestyle but what Howlett calls a “unique mindset”. “Often they’re the people parents couldn’t talk highly enough about,” Howlett said. “They volunteer for school groups, camps, sporting activities, they look around for single parent families to help them go shopping or gardening. They not only groom children, they groom families. You’re not going to leave your children with someone you don’t trust.”

>>19044142 North Melbourne premiership great Barry Cable will be removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame - Barry Cable will be stripped of his legend status and be booted from the Hall of Fame in the wake of the historical sexual abuses he was found to have committed. The unprecedented decision will be set in motion after next Tuesday’s Australian Football Hall of Fame dinner. Preceding the dinner, the AFL Commission will meet and among the agenda items will be Cable’s eligibility. Afterwards, the commission is certain to officially write to Cable and inform him he will be stripped of football’s highest honour. Cable, 79, is one of the sport’s most decorated players, having played 379 senior games for Perth, North Melbourne and East Perth. He was awarded legend status in 2012. Cable last week was found to have sexually abused a Perth girl for five years from the age of 12, starting at or around 1970.

>>19051251 Notorious paedophile Gerald Ridsdale pleads guilty to fresh charge relating to 72nd victim of abuse - Notorious prolific paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale has pleaded guilty to another charge relating to a historical sex offences. Ridsdale was charged in 2022 with one count of indecent assault of a minor in the 1980s, and today he pleaded guilty to that charge. It comes after the victim-survivor came forward after he was assaulted at St Brigid's College in Horsham by the then-assistant priest between 1987 and 1988. The Ballarat Magistrates Court heard this afternoon the priest told the then-13-year-old boy "it's alright" as he molested him. He was acting as a counsellor to the teenager at the time. The college student is the 72nd known victim-survivor of Ridsdale's abuse.

>>19064589 Jailed pedophile priest David Edwin Rapson admits abusing more boys - A convicted pedophile and former priest who abused six schoolboys in Victoria has admitted historical sexual crimes against children in Tasmania. David Edwin Rapson was in 2015 found guilty of sexually abusing boys, aged between 11 and 16, at two Victorian boarding schools in the 1970s and 1980s. He is serving 12 years and six months behind bars, with a non-parole period of nine years and four months. Rapson, 69, appeared in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Hobart on Friday, after pleading guilty to three counts of indecent assault against three boys in the 1980s. One survivor told the court the sexual abuse destroyed his faith in the Catholic church and people in general. "(Rapson's) actions caused my family relationships at the time to disintegrate and sent me into self-destructive behaviour, drug addiction, prostitution and petty crime," he said. He said he has dealt with decades of self-loathing and carrying blame and shame.

#30 - Part 79

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 5

>>19082514 AFL Commission officially remove Barry Cable from Hall of Fame - The woman who was sexually abused by Barry Cable when she was a child says the AFL’s move to strip the former player and coach of the game’s highest honours has come “25 years too late”. Former North Melbourne player and coach Cable was immediately removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame and had his Legend status stripped following harrowing evidence of historical child sexual abuse. As the league defended its handling of the situation, the AFL commission met and considered the matter, including a written submission from 79-year-old Cable, before unanimously voting to strip Cable of his football honours.

>>19087791 Victim of former principal Malka Leifer reveals she lost baby during sexual-abuse trial - A Melbourne court has heard one of convicted paedophile Malka Leifer's victims lost her baby during the trial. In April, Leifer was convicted in the County Court of Victoria of 18 offences, including rape and child sexual assault crimes. She was a principal at the Adass Israel School in Melbourne's south-east in the early 2000s when she was accused of abusing three sisters. She was convicted of abusing two of the sisters, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich, when they were teenagers. The sisters read victim impact statements today during a plea hearing in the County Court. Ms Sapper told the court she had been pregnant during the trial in April. She said while she had to be "torn apart on the stand" as she gave evidence, her child had been like a light, giving her strength. "It gave me the courage and strength to face every day in court," she said. But she said her baby did not survive the trial. "Six days before the verdict we lost our little girl, her heart stopped beating," she said. Ms Sapper said she would never know if the stress and trauma of Leifer's abuse and trial had contributed to the loss of her daughter. "She abused me and I am forced to inherit the consequences for the rest of my life," Ms Sapper told the courtroom, where people could be seen crying.

>>19087815 Malka Leifer: Impact of principal’s abuse laid bare as sisters share their stories - Former Jewish school principal Malka Leifer is “lonely, isolated and broken” inside prison following her conviction for sexually abusing two students. The former religious teacher and principal of Adass Israel School in Melbourne was convicted of sexually abusing two women while they were students and junior religious teachers following a two-month trial earlier this year. She remained still and expressionless as sisters Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper read victim impact statements to the court. Ms Erlich told the packed court she trusted the powerful school community leader “completely” which had now left her feeling like a broken and traumatised adult. “I remember the first time Malka Leifer told me she cared, I was 16-years-old,” she said. “‘I love you like a mother’, she told me. “Malka Leifer you shattered my trust and stole my body and altered my life trajectory, but you could not take my spirit. Today I stand as a survivor.”

>>19087825 Sisters fight darkness after Orthodox principal's abuse - Sisters sexually abused by once revered ultra-Orthodox Jewish principal Malka Leifer refuse to be swallowed by the darkness of what happened to them. Elly Sapper yearned for love and Leifer was the first person to tell her she was loved. Her sister Dassi Erlich recalls the moment Leifer told her she loved her like a mother. It wasn't genuine love but a manipulation that led to years of sexual abuse and trauma. "Faced with the painful truth that her love wasn't real was a betrayal of such magnitude it left me broken," Ms Sapper told Leifer at a pre-sentence hearing in the Victorian County Court.

#30 - Part 80

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 6

>>19087827 ‘Echoes of trauma’ as Malka Leifer victims detail impact statements in court - Persistent nightmares. Crippling mental health fallout. Possibly a lost pregnancy. These are three of many consequences Malka Leifer’s sexual abuse victims say her offending and criminal trial has had on their lives during impact statements given to Victoria’s County Court on the first day of the former principal’s plea hearing. Leifer, 56, watched remotely from a room in the Dame Phyllis Frost prison as sisters Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich delivered summaries of the way her abuse had cast a shadow over their lives, including their relationships, mental health and ability to work. Ms Sapper and Ms Erlich’s sister Nicole Meyer also delivered a victim impact statement outside of court after the jury had acquitted Leifer of allegations made by her. “The scars both visible and invisible persist, no matter the verdict delivered by a jury,” she said. “Her manipulation, control and violation of my body and mind has had profound and devastating consequences in shaping the person I have become. The physical impact remained long after the abuse and continues to be present, with chronic pain, eating disorders and sleeping issues and PTSD.”

>>19087883 Video: ‘Leifer stole my body’: Sisters reveal lasting legacy of abuse by former principal - With the court lectern turned to address her rapist - former ultra-Orthodox school principal Malka Leifer - Elly Sapper stood up, gathered her courage and revealed that just six days before her abuser was convicted, she lost her unborn child. She didn’t know whether it was linked to her abuse, or the stress she had endured at the trial, but it was part of a story of exploitation and loss that began two decades ago and continued in the Melbourne County Court on Wednesday. “What can I do? Nothing,” Sapper told the court. “Because this trauma was done to me, and I am forced to inherit its pain and consequences for the rest of my life.” The miscarriage of her little girl is another cost that forms part of the decades-long fight that has cost three sisters - Sapper, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer - an impossible toll for seeking justice, and one they are still paying.

>>19087902 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Today, was empowering and difficult. It was important to share in our words, the pain and trauma we endured. However, we also heard about the 'hardships' Leifer faces where she attempted to paint herself as a victim of her own consequences.

>>19094002 Inquiry to look at allegations of ‘vile’ historical child sexual abuse at Victorian state school - Allegations of “evil and vile” historical child sexual abuse at a Victorian state school in the 1960s and 1970s will be investigated by a special inquiry that will hear the testimonies of victim-survivors. The premier, Daniel Andrews, announced the board of inquiry on Wednesday morning and pledged to deliver a formal apology to recognise abuse victim-survivors who attended Beaumaris primary school, in Melbourne’s south-east. The apology will be separate to a wider apology the government is due to deliver later this year that will recognise historical child abuse in institutional care settings like orphanages.

>>19094129 Leifer faked mental illness and should be denied sentencing discount, prosecutor says - Malka Leifer should be denied a significant sentencing discount for her time in prison and under house arrest in Israel because she was feigning mental illness to frustrate her prosecution, a court has heard. Prosecutor Justin Lewis also told County Court Judge Mark Gamble that attempts by the former principal of a Jewish ultra-Orthodox school to thwart extradition to Australia may have been intended at preventing her trial for sexual crimes entirely. Leifer, a mother of eight, was found guilty by a jury in April of 18 charges including rape and indecent assault against two sisters, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich, who were former students of Adass Israel School. After a six-week trial, she was cleared of all charges relating to a third sister, Nicole Meyer.

#30 - Part 81

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 7

>>19103576 Video: Glen was sexually abused at Beaumaris Primary School. For 50 years, he thought he was the only one - Glen Fearnett joined Beaumaris Primary School in 1971, as a knock-kneed grade 4 kid. By his first school camp, Fearnett had been sexually abused by one of a number of teachers who preyed on students, operating at the school with seeming impunity in the 1960s and ’70s. He thought he was the only one. It took him 50 years -- until other survivors began to come forward – to realise there were dozens of other victims who had suffered like he had. Fearnett believes at least 50 other children were sexually abused during the ’60s and ’70s at Beaumaris Primary School, and perhaps as many as 100 children. “It’s bigger than people could possibly imagine,” he said. “There’s three people [victims] I know who aren’t here with us anymore, for all sorts of reasons, and others whose lives were wrecked … And I think we needed some people needed to stand up and go, ‘Hey, this wasn’t okay’.” On Wednesday the Victorian government joined that chorus, announcing a Board of Inquiry into what Premier Daniel Andrews described as “vile, evil and incredibly damaging abuse” at the school in Melbourne’s south-east. Andrews said the investigation would acknowledge the “unique and evil goings-on” perpetrated in the past by at least three teachers at the school. It will also examine abuse by the same employees at other government schools.

>>19103632 Lack of apology spurred action on decades of school child abuse - It was the lack of an apology that spurred the action. When Beaumaris Primary School victim-survivor Glen Fearnett shared his story about historical child sexual abuse at the school with then Justice Party MP Stuart Grimley, his adviser Olivia Nicholls couldn’t believe the government hadn’t acknowledged what had occurred. Then Fearnett’s story snowballed. The more Nicholls scratched the surface, the more distressing stories she found: other accounts of historical abuse at Beaumaris Primary; evidence of accused teachers being shuffled from school to school; widespread claims of teachers abusing children in other state schools. Nicholls and Grimley spent a year working with Premier Daniel Andrews’ office to seek justice for victim-survivors before the MP lost his seat in the November state election. The government committed to an apology in February. But this week, it went further. Andrews on Wednesday announced a board of inquiry to examine what he described as “vile, evil and incredibly damaging” historical sexual abuse of children at Beaumaris Primary School in the 1960s and ’70s. At least three teachers were involved in perpetrating abuse at Beaumaris and other schools. More than 50 children are believed to have been abused.

>>19104755 Video: ‘I don’t get another chance to get justice’: Leifer accuser - Malka Leifer’s conviction was the triumphant culmination of an international campaign by three sisters - Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper – to extradite their former principal and teacher from Israel and bring her to trial in Australia. But as the three sisters held hands in the court listening to the jury’s verdict, there was a terrible sting in the tail. The 18 guilty verdicts against Leifer related only to the abuse of Dassi and Elly. For each of the five charges of rape and sexual abuse relating to Nicole, the jury found Leifer not guilty. The three sisters, so united in their marathon quest for justice, suddenly found themselves landing with a thud on different sides of the law. Nicole had fallen through the cracks, her legacy separated ­forever from her sisters by a jury verdict that had to be respected even if it didn’t pass the pub test given what Leifer did to Dassi and Elly. “I keep hearing ‘not guilty’ looping around in my head,” Nicole says. “I think the verdict has changed everything for me. It’s a very different journey to the one I expected.” Nicole says she now wants to focus on getting her life back on track. She plans to study law next year and hopes to one day become a criminal prosecutor as well as helping victims of sexual abuse. But mostly she just wants to move beyond the shadow of Leifer and the verdict. “I am 37 and she has been in my life since I was 16; that’s more than half my life,” she says. “I wanted so badly to move past having Leifer in my life but it is a lot harder now. I have to figure out a life without her in it. That is the hardest part for me. “But I know my truth and I’m grateful for the support from those who believe me.”

#30 - Part 82

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 8

>>19105014 After School Satan Club launches the first-ever summer club - On Friday, June 30, the After School Satan Club launched its first summer club at the Broome County Public Library. At the club, the kids made cat scratch pads made of recycled material. Campaign Director of the After School Satan Club, June Everett, said what goes on in the club is inspired by the 7 Satanic Tenants. Director of the Broome County Public Library, Josias Bartram, said they follow the First Amendment carefully and don’t want to intrude on anyone’s freedom of speech. “Our meeting rooms are available for any non-profit to book and that’s what happens with the Satanic Temple,” said Bartram. “This is not a Satanic Temple, and as with any non-profit that books our rooms, we’re not in any way endorsing them,” said Bartram. - Shabeli Acevedo - wbng.com

>>19105014 Q Post #4942 - https://time.com/collection/great-reset/ - This is not about R v D. This is about preserving our way of life. If America falls, the World falls. Patriots on guard. Q

>>19105014 Q Post #3967 - These people are pure evil. This is not about politics. You are ready. Q

>>19126586 Airport luggage search of Queensland man at Sydney Airport leads to the rescue of 16 children from alleged sexual abuse overseas - A search of a Queensland man's luggage at Sydney Airport has resulted in a record number of children being rescued from alleged sexual abuse overseas. Police say 16 children in the Philippines have been "removed from harm" by local authorities after a major international child protection investigation. The children, the youngest aged 10, were found during raids at four locations in Taguig and Nueva Vizcaya in the country's north. The operation began in January when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at Sydney Airport examined a Queensland man's bags following his return from the Philippines. They searched the man's phone and allegedly found child abuse material and messages "detailing his intent" to pay someone to sexually abuse children overseas. ABF officers alerted the Australian Federal Police (AFP) who shared the information with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre.

>>19143800 Hundreds caught up in crackdown on sex trafficking, organised crime - Officials have stopped almost two dozen women at the border suspected of being sex-trafficked into Australia, amid a crackdown on organised criminal syndicates rorting the visa system to enable human trafficking. The Australian Border Force is also targeting more than 175 people in Australia and overseas who are suspected of being involved with criminal groups. Since November last year, border officials have intercepted 22 women suspected of coming to Australia from overseas to work in the sex industry. Intelligence from law enforcement agencies suggests not all were entering Australia against their will. The women, who travelled from Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Japan, Cambodia and South Korea, were refused entry into Australia on the grounds they were non-genuine travellers planning to work in breach of their visa conditions. Most were intercepted in Sydney and Cairns. Border Force has launched a month-long crackdown on migrant-worker abuses. Officers will visit more than 200 workplaces nationwide across the food, construction, mining and manufacturing industries.

>>19144068 Video: Satan Club returns for summer program - The After School Satan Club is inviting the community to participate in its summer program. The ASSC, sponsored by the Satanic Temple, is a national organization that recently established a presence at Homer Brink Elementary School in Endwell. The Satan Club summer program takes place at the Broome County Public Library. The campaign director for the club, June Everett, says that each meeting is unique and promotes activities that relate to the seven tenants of the Satanic Temple. Everett says that the purpose of the Satan Club is to teach kids how to be a good person, not to stir up controversy. “We’re not looking to create controversy, we’re not looking to upset the community, we just want to have an inclusive, fun, inviting place for those that don’t always feel comfortable sending their children to an Evangelical Christian Bible club,” said Everett.

#30 - Part 83

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 9

>>19144068 Q Post #4545 - Humanity is good, but, when we let our guard down we allow darkness to infiltrate and destroy. Like past battles fought, we now face our greatest battle at present, a battle to save our Republic, our way of life, and what we decide (each of us) now will decide our future. Will we be a free nation under God? Or will we cede our freedom, rights and liberty to the enemy? If America falls so does the world. If America falls darkness will soon follow. Only when we stand together, only when we are united, can we defeat this highly entrenched dark enemy. This is not about politics. This is about preserving our way of life and protecting the generations that follow. We are living in Biblical times. Children of light vs children of darkness. United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4545

>>19165808 Barry Cable removed from Sport Australia Hall of Fame - Disgraced AFL footballer Barry Cable has been removed from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. The decision comes after a Judge Mark Herron found in the District Court of Western Australia in June that Cable had repeatedly sexually assaulted a girl during his playing career. The civil matter was brought by the complainant, and was not a criminal prosecution. The judge also found there was compelling evidence Cable also abused other children. Sport Australia chair John Bertrand said his board decided on Friday to strip the once-esteemed footballer of the national honour that had been bestowed on him. In making the decision, the board said: “Induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame is reserved for the best of the best. Those who are inducted into this elite group have not only excelled in their chosen field, but uphold the character traits of dignity, integrity, courage, modesty and pride. “Cable’s actions are contrary to the values of the organisation, and as a result his SAHOF membership is revoked immediately.”

>>19165824 Police speaking with Barry Cable's sex abuse 'victim' - Police are speaking with a woman found to have been repeatedly sexually abused by Barry Cable amid the possibility of criminal charges against the disgraced footballer. After a civil trial in the District Court of Western Australia, Judge Mark Herron in June found Cable abused the victim over five years from 1968 when she was aged 12. Judge Herron said there was also compelling evidence the now 79-year-old, who has denied all allegations, had violated other children. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said he had to be cautious in commenting because of the sensitive nature of sexual offences. But he confirmed police were talking with the now 67-year-old woman. "We are speaking with the victim and the family, and we've got to make sure that we take every step appropriately through this and support any victim of any sex offence as best we can," he told ABC radio

#30 - Part 84

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide

>>18939681 ‘Drowning in lies’: Turnbull warns Taipei audience of internal threat to democracy - Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has told an audience in Taipei that lies and disinformation spread by “wicked” local actors poses the greater threat to democracy than from external threats such as authoritarian nations. Renewing his long-waged battle with Rupert Murdoch and his media stable, Turnbull cited Fox News, and said misinformation was not simply spread by conspiracy theorists at their keyboards but by established media. Fox News last month settled a $1.17 billion lawsuit with voting machine maker Dominion Systems for broadcasting lies peddled by Trump and his allies over the 2020 presidential election. - Jono Thomson - taiwannews.com.tw

>>19021795 ‘I was wrong’: Trump grows stronger, can beat Biden and topple US democracy, pollster fears - Leading US pollster Frank Luntz says Donald Trump can re-win the presidency and that if that happens, US democracy could collapse. Luntz said he was wrong to declare in 2021 that Trump would never again be president. “I now have to acknowledge that it is a distinct possibility that Donald Trump could be elected president - I did not believe that one year ago,” he said. “I did not believe that the search of Mar-a-Lago would be handled so badly, I did not believe that the indictment of him in New York would be handled so badly. “I did not believe that his opponents would be so inept as to actually strengthen him and the combination of all of those makes him now viable, not just in the Republican primary but in the general election.” - Latika Bourke - theage.com.au

>>19021837 Donald Trump could still have a shot at the presidency despite his legal troubles. But is Anthony Albanese prepared? - "Anthony Albanese probably didn't think there was much chance of Donald Trump returning to power when he openly criticised the then US president during his final days in the White House. Albanese, still opposition leader at the time, said Trump had "encouraged" the January 6 insurrection in 2021. He labelled it a direct assault on "the rule of law and democracy". The Labor leader also suggested Trump's foreign policy approach "saw the first steps in a retreat by the US from its historical role as leader of the post-war international order". These comments were made from a position of relative diplomatic safety. Trump had already lost to Joe Biden, who would be sworn into office within days. There was little risk in joining the chorus of criticism being levelled at such an outrageous president on his way out the door. Surely the man in the red MAGA cap was done. And yet, more than two years later, now Prime Minister Albanese is being urged to prepare for the very real possibility of a Trump return." - David Speers - abc.net.au

>>19021887 ‘Good morning #Australia’: Trump’s social network Truth Social comes Down Under - "Australians can now join the Donald Trump-founded social media platform Truth Social after geoblocking that prevented citizens from most countries from accessing the website was removed. Last week, former congressman and CEO of Truth Social Devin Nunes announced that the Twitter clone was available to users all over the world. Last Monday he “truthed” - the platform’s verb for posted - a message specifically welcoming Australians. “Good morning #Australia Glad to have you here @truthsocial,” he said, replying to a truth from an Australian user whose profile bio contained QAnon hashtags." - Cam Wilson - crikey.com.au

>>19051082 Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers reports rise in social media abuse, misinformation - "As Australia gears up for a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the national election watchdog has reported a rise in abuse from social media users spreading misinformation over its voting process. Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said the tone of online comments on its posts about recent elections and the upcoming referendum voting information has been "aggressive". A rise in social media misinformation followed false claims made by former US President Donald Trump in relation to the voting process during the 2020 presidential election. Mr Trump accused an electronic voting system widely used by authorities in the US of deleting or switching votes in an attempt to pin the blame for his loss to President Joe Biden. Mr Rogers said the commission was working to address both the misinformation on the electoral process, as well as online threats to staff ahead of the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament." - Daryna Zadvirna - abc.net.au

>>19199762

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The Northern Territory-based Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man said he would keep talking to Australians about how the voice would be modest, meaningful, uniting and something that would be celebrated forever.

“Housing, health, education, employment, those are common issues across all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and a voice will be so important to helping our people to offer the solutions to the parliament in a way that is transparent, in a way that is difficult to ignore, and we’ve been ignored for too long,” he told Sky News.

“That’s why we have the life expectancy gap of around eight years. Why we have such terribly high suicide rates amongst youth. I mean, these aren’t choices of us as Indigenous people ourselves, it’s a result of trauma and poor policy over a long period of time and a voice is absolutely vital to that.”

Asked how he’d personally found the campaign, Mr Mayo said: “Oh, it’s been difficult. It’s disappointing when you know these sorts of personal attacks happen but, you know, I just keep focusing on talking to Australians, just doing what I know I’m good at, which is communicating with people what the truth is about this.”

“It’s hurtful when you see that stuff (attacks), but what keeps me going is addressing crowds of Australians … In Perth last week, you know, there was over 600 people gathered to hear myself and (independent MP) Kate Chaney and former chief justice of the High Court, Robert French, and just a great vibe.”

Mr Mayo said he wasn’t concerned by the latest Newspoll showing just 41 per cent of voters would vote Yes while the No vote in the regions has grown to 62 per cent

“I’m not worried about the trends, most polls will go up and down,” he said.

“The feeling that I get out in the community when I’m travelling, I’ve been to Doomadgee and Mt Isa, the Pilbara and to cities – Perth, Sydney Melbourne – just in the last two weeks and, you know, it’s a great feeling that I get when people are informed.”

Videos unearthed by No campaign strategists showed Mr Mayo describing former prime minister John Howard as a “bastard” and threatening that politicians would be “punished” if they ignored the voice.

The militant unionist has raised the prospect of a voice being the first step towards reparations and compensation for Indigenous Australians.

“‘Pay the Rent’ for example, how do we do that in a way that is transparent and that actually sees reparations and compensation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people beyond what we say and do at a rally?” he said previously.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/thomas-mayo-says-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-will-be-difficult-to-ignore/news-story/c1054506123f374e95905b4f178251e2

https://news.nab.com.au/news/understanding-the-voice-to-parliament-with-thomas-mayor/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=655mzGRmkZw

Daniel Andrews reveals Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games will not go ahead

Australia’s Commonwealth Games chief says scrapping the Games is embarrassing for Melbourne’s claim to be the sporting capital, while he questioned the sums used to justify the decision.

Kieran Rooney, Mitch Clarke, Brooke Grebert-Craig and Jade Gailberger - July 18, 2023

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Australia’s Commonwealth Games chief has slammed Victoria’s decision to pull out of the event, questioning the sums used to justify the call.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday morning confirmed the event would not go ahead in Victoria in 2026 and blamed a higher-than-forecast cost for the sudden cancellation.

But Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips AM said the Andrews government’s move was “beyond disappointing”.

He said the multi-city regional model was pitched to the Commonwealth Games Federation after it sought interest from multiple states.

“They did not step in as hosts at the last minute, as indicated by the Premier earlier today,” Mr Phillips said.

“The detailed budgetary implications announced today have not been sighted or discussed with the CGF or CGA ahead of being notified of the government’s decision.

“The stated costs overrun, in our opinion, are a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operational costs presented to the Victoria 2026 Organising Committee board as recently as June.

“Beyond this, the Victorian government wilfully ignored recommendations to move events to purpose-built stadia in Melbourne …”.

Mr Phillips said Commonwealth Games Australia had pushed to bring down costs by moving some events in Melbourne but there was a “slavish” desire within the government to keep all events in the regions.

“Certainly the cost of some of those temporary builds, particularly with limited legacy value to them, were of concern to us, and we made that known to the Victorian government,” he said.

“Some of the costs were heading north because of inflationary factors that there were some measures which could have brought some of the venues back into Melbourne without compromising the desire to have content in regional Victoria.

“The velodrome is the best example of that, you have a purpose-built velodrome here at John Cain Arena but the we were continuing to prosecute running a Games in a temporary venue in Bendigo that would have no legacy value.

“These are the type of conversations we had with the government over some months about how the Games’ costs could be contained but (they) didn’t want to hear it.”

Mr Phillips said this pressures had likely led to cost increases but not to the extent reported by the government.

He said he found it hard to believe the government’s claims it would cost $4bn to run the games in Melbourne, with the Gold Coast event costing about $1.2bn to run while Birmingham’s was about $1.8bn.

“I’m not sure how we get a leap of more than double that to run the Games,” Mr Phillips said.

Mr Phillips said the news was embarrassing for Melbourne’s claim to be the nation’s sporting capital.

“The most recent figures on a survey that’s done globally about sporting cities, Melbourne have already slipped from 10 to 23.

“I can’t see going north after today’s announcement.

“I’d be very careful if I was an international sporting body coming and doing business in the states in the future.

“I don’t think I’ve had many days in my career that would rank with this one in terms of the level of disappointment.

“A state that prides itself on being the sporting capital of the world, I’m not sure this is a great look.”

Mr Phillips said his organisation would welcome the opportunity to review the government’s financial analysis, which alleged the Games could now cost up to $7bn.

“The Victorian government, however, has jeopardised Melbourne and Victoria’s standing as a sporting capital of the world,” he said.

(continued)

>>19199716

>>19204775

Anthony Albanese reveals deepening Indigenous voice to parliament frustration during clash with 2GB Radio host Ben Fordham

SIMON BENSON - JULY 19, 2023

Anthony Albanese has publicly revealed what is clearly a deepening personal frustration over where the voice referendum is heading.

In an interview with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham Wednesday morning the Prime Minister allowed himself to become audibly vexed and abrasive by the questioning.

At one point he accused the host of reading off the no pamphlet before denying he had levelled such a charge, triggering an on-air squabble.

It wasn’t all his fault. He was talked over and goaded.

But this was not the demeanour that the nation’s leader will have wanted to present in prosecuting the argument for the yes case.

Particularly to an audience such as Fordham’s, which is one the yes campaign needs to reach. It is this demographic likely to possess the deepest antipathy.

But Albanese’s stoush with Fordham reflected the exasperation that he clearly feels over the no campaign’s ability so far to steer the debate.

He even conceded that the polls were an accurate portrayal of where public support was.

This follows his call on Monday for the yes campaign to lift its game and present a stronger case.

The Prime Minister needed to take control of the issue. This interview was an attempt to do so.

He sought to clearly set out the case for the referendum but got bogged down over trivialities before being led down the road of treaty, compensation and reparations. All of which he denied were on the table or even relevant to the voice.

The Prime Minister was at least emphatic about what the government would and would not entertain when it came to the range of advice that may come from the voice.

There will be no change to Australia Day, even if the voice decided it wanted it on the agenda.

And it won’t be giving advice to the Reserve Bank of Australia. As he pointed out, even he can’t do that as prime minister. As much as he may like to.

In doing so he was adamant that Labor would ignore the advice of the voice if it chose to.

Albanese maintains that once people read the question that they will be asked at the referendum then consider the material in the Yes and No pamphlets, people will come down in favour of constitutional change.

This relies on a majority of people reading the material, which many may not.

In the absence of that, it will be interviews like the Fordham one that people will be listening to when considering the question to be asked of them.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/anthony-albanese-reveals-deepening-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-frustration-during-clash-with-2gb-radio-host-ben-fordham/news-story/9dd118199f7841b31dbafb5582524d42

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUuC1BC7Wkc

>>19205022

USS Canberra arrives in Sydney to be commissioned for the US Navy

7NEWS Australia

Jul 18, 2023

Today saw a historic moment in Australia's military alliance with the US, as an American warship arrived in Sydney to be commissioned into the US Navy. The USS Canberra will be named in honour of a piece of our own military history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9BeKxb0R7A

>>19205022

USS Canberra arrives in Sydney to be commissioned

Sky News Australia

Jul 18, 2023

USS Canberra has arrived in Sydney ahead of the first ever commissioning of a US navy ship in an allied country, making it a historic moment for Australia’s military alliance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7EglKe76DI

>>19205022

USS Canberra arrives in Sydney

Defence Australia

Jul 19, 2023

Australia welcomed the USS Canberra to Sydney Harbour, with HMAS Canberra guiding the Independence-variant littoral combat ship to berth alongside Fleet Base East ahead of the formal commissioning on 22 July.

The crews of HMAS Canberra and USS Canberra will focus on joint activities during commissioning week, including playing sport, ship tours and sharing their countries' culture and traditions. This ceremonial commissioning emphasizes the more than 100 years of mateship built on friendship, history, democracy, and respect.

The two countries have fought side-by-side in every major conflict since World War I. Canberra’s namesake is a reminder of the shared responsibility the U.S. and Australia have to each other as allies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvCaIzzSexk