/qresearch/ -  Q Research

‘Unsafe and unprofessional’: Australian Navy helicopter in near miss with Chinese fighter jet

Andrew Probyn - May 6, 2024

A Chinese fighter jet dropped flares in front of an Australian Navy helicopter in international waters, in an incident Defence Minister Richard Marles has condemned as unprofessional and unacceptable.

The near-catastrophic incident occurred about 7.30pm (AEST) on Saturday during a routine operation in the Yellow Sea off South Korea.

A navy Seahawk operating off HMAS Hobart was intercepted by a Chinese J10 Air Force jet.

“The PLA Air Force plane dropped flares about 300 metres in front of the Seahawk helicopter about 60 metres above it, requiring the helicopter to take evasive action in order to not be hit by those flares,” Marles told Nine News.

Defence sources have told Nine News only the quick reflexes of the Australian pilot averted disaster – the Seahawk normally operates with a crew of four to six. No one aboard the helicopter was hurt.

Marles condemned the incident and said Beijing had been formally notified of Australia’s concerns.

HMAS Hobart was taking part in Operation Argos, a United Nations mission to prevent North Korea smuggling sanctioned goods across the sea.

“This was an incident which was both unsafe and unprofessional,” Marles told Nine News.

“Now Australians are engaging in important work enforcing UN Security Council sanctions and in doing that work, we’re operating on the high seas in accordance with international law in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“And we expect that when we have interactions with other militaries, including with the Chinese military, that those interactions are professional and safe. This incident was completely unacceptable.

“We have expressed our concerns to the Chinese government formally in relation to this incident. HMAS Hobart continues in its work in enforcing those UN Security Council sanctions.

“When you look at the speed at which fighter planes move, at which helicopters move, the reaction time here is measured in a couple of seconds. And the consequences of the flare actually making contact with the helicopter could have been deeply significant, would have put lives in danger.

“Our concern is always for the welfare of the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform … serving as Defence Force personnel, and the interactions that were occurring by the PLA Air Force were unacceptable.”

Two navy divers were injured last November after they were subjected to sonar pulses from a Chinese warship during an operation in international waters on HMAS Toowoomba.

The sonar incident occurred just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing in an effort to stabilise the relationship with Australia’s biggest trading partner.

Albanese has resisted calls to reveal whether he raised the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, but condemned Beijing for the “dangerous”, “unsafe” and “unprofessional” conduct.

The incident will test Australia’s relationship with China just as the two nations mend trading links. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Australia in June.

However, the Albanese government directly identified China’s unprecedented military build-up as the biggest threat of conflict in the Indo-Pacific at the Defence strategy launch on April 17.

“The risk of a crisis or conflict in the Taiwan Strait is increasing, as well as at other flashpoints, including disputes in the South and East China Seas and on the border with India,” the strategy says.

It accuses China of employing “coercive tactics in pushing its strategic objectives, including forceful handling of territorial disputes and unsafe intercepts of vessels and aircraft operating in international waters and airspace in accordance with international law”.

Also in November last year, in an incident reminiscent of the Australian helicopter near miss, China jets fired flares at a Canadian helicopter over international waters in the South China Sea. Canada’s defence minister said at the time the incident was “unnecessary” and “unsafe”.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-helicopter-involved-in-near-miss-with-chinese-fighter-jet-20240506-p5fpby.html

>>20555431

>>20634736

Gang rampage: ‘There’s a war zone in Australia that no one knows about’

An attack on a Northern Territory community, which sent terrified residents running for their lives from shotgun blasts, left people savagely beaten, shot with arrows and homes torched, has sparked fears of retaliation.

LIAM MENDES - May 6, 2024

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An armed attack last week on a remote Northern Territory community that sent terrified residents fleeing from shotgun blasts and left homes torched has sparked fears of retaliation and an all-out war between rival family groups.

The tiny community of Nauiyu on the Daly River, three hours south of Darwin, was attacked last week by up to 25 people armed with various weapons – including shotguns, axes and crossbows – who had driven into the community and set homes and vehicles alight, with locals describing the town, population 350, as a “war zone”.

One person allegedly fired the shotgun at a group of people, with video obtained by The Australian showing residents, including chil­dren, running for their lives as shots erupt behind them.

One man can be heard yelling “gun, gun, gun” as smoke billows into the sky in the distance.

One stolen car was paraded through the community before being smashed into a home and set on fire, an eight-month-old baby apparently inside, although it had safely escaped when police arrived.

Police say four people attended the local clinic to have pellets removed from their skin. Another man was pictured with an arrow piercing his abdomen and protruding from his back.

Yet another video shows a group of five girls in their teens and early 20s smashing down a door and savagely beating a woman with their fists.

She falls to the floor, defenceless, while they continue to stomp and beat her. Locals say the victim had made comments online about a deceased male.

“There’s a war zone in Australia that no one knows about,” said one local, too scared to be identified. It is a commonly used term in the NT, but it had greater resonance last week, with the community at breaking point and bracing for the violence to return.

Elder Mark Casey, the oldest living Indigenous man in the area, said what happened on Tuesday last week first started after a dispute over a local footy grand final several years ago, with social media exacerbating tensions.

“They kept on fighting, it just escalated to what it is now, and now we’re here,” he said.

“It’d simmer and then someone would put something on ­social media, and then its off again,” the 73-year-old said.

“This community was built by people in the 1950s and ’60s; the old people have died out and it means nothing to young people.

“Hardly anybody works in this community, they’ve got nothing else to do than get on Facebook and sling crap at one another. And that’s what starts these wars.”

The retired Aboriginal community police officer of almost 23 years said seeing the destruction and violence in his community was a “crying shame”.

“To see the community being destroyed in such a short time, in the space of three years … it breaks my heart. People don’t want to come here because of what’s happening,” he said.

“It’s a crying shame to see what they are doing to what was once a thriving, prosperous community where people looked after each other.

“There’s no respect for traditional customs or traditional law. These kids get offered jobs, but they won’t go. The government tells them they don’t have to work because they’re getting Centre­link,” he said.

“They get paid not to work, there is no incentive for people to work in this community, it’s plain as that.

“They get their money, they go down to the pub, they acquire their gunga (marijuana). And ice is starting to rear its ugly head too,” he said.

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>>20827038

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Some locals have fled to Daly River and almost all are too scared to speak publicly for fear of retribution from the outlaw gang.

“These Jovi Boys have been out of control for months and months; it’s not even safe for us to go down to the river fishing at night time,” one local said.

The local, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, said members of the gang travel three hours to Darwin to steal cars then return to the community.

“It is out of control. They drive them back here and burn them out, and it’s just been getting more and more unsafe,” the person said.

“This is the worst, I’ve never seen anything like this before. People are too scared to come out of their houses, the community is a ghost town after what happened last week.

“We’re in the middle of the Northern Territory, it’s the most beautiful place you can be, but it’s the wild west out here. It’s always been not good out here, but what happened on Tuesday, everybody needs to see it,” they said.

Two sources on the ground said locals had made multiple ­triple-0 calls in the weeks leading to Tuesday’s peak but police didn’t act. “I guess those families felt unsupported by police and eventually took matters into their own hands by calling in Jovi boys,” one person said.

When questioned last week, NT Minister for Police Brent ­Potter said police attending a land clearing protest took up resources and the Territory Safety Division could have been redeployed sooner had they not been occupied.

“Because people want to behave badly at a development site that has full approval, we have to put additional police there to ­support those security guards,” he said.

“So if you want to get more resources to West Daly, maybe the protesters at Lee Point could go back to work, and go and do other things, and get those resources out there.”

Extra police resources have now been moved in from Adelaide River, Pine Creek and Katherine.

The Territory Response Group has also been present in the town.

Six men aged between 18 and 24, and two other men – including the man accused of firing the shotgun – have been arrested.

Acting Superintendent Erica Gibson said she was astonished there were no serious injuries.

“Community disagreements and familial conflict is no excuse for wanton destruction and aggravated assault,” Superintendent Gibson said.

“Everyone within the Victoria River Region is tired of this behaviour and the small cohort that continues to perpetuate it.”

Superintendent Gibson police were “holding meetings with traditional owners, elders, community members and other stakeholders to help facilitate calm within the region.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/indigenous/war-zone-shotguns-crossbows-and-axes-used-in-nt-rampage-near-daly-river/news-story/4d2fe69e3c36464f34c3b43c50c48b9f

https://twitter.com/liammendes/status/1787396862170857914

>>20822380

>>20822408

Schoolmates of ‘jihadi’ Perth teen circulate bombing video

PAIGE TAYLOR and PAUL GARVEY - MAY 7, 2024

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The principal of the high school attended by the 16-year-old self-described “jihadi” shot dead by police at the weekend has moved to reassure students about their safety after a series of threatening messages were posted on an internal school forum.

The messages, posted to the account under the name of a student of Rossmoyne Senior High School, said they had “always planned to shoot up at the school”.

“All I’m saying is ALLAHU AKBAR I WILL KILL THE N… TOMORROW,” one of the messages read.

In an email to parents and students, Rossmoyne principal Alan Brown said the disturbing messages were the result of a “hacking incident” and that there was no risk to students.

“Police do not have any concerns for the safety of the students, teachers, and the broader community, and WA Police continue to work with the Department of Education to identify the source of the messages,” he wrote.

The radicalised 16-year-old was killed by police on Saturday night after stabbing a male stranger in a Willetton car park and has since been identified as year 11 Rossmoyne student James Hollands.

Hollands had been under a deradicalisation program for the past two years amid growing concerns among parents and students about the behaviour of him and a cohort of boys at the school.

Video footage circulating among the school community since the shooting shows Hollands throwing a small homemade explosive device into a school toilet block, folllowed by the sounds of an explosion, as a group of other students look on.

The teens are then heard laughing and yelling.

It has also emerged that Hollands was forced to have a phone without internet ­access to keep him away from ­extremist ­material and had officers at his house on a regular basis for two years.

As the quiet Perth suburb of Willetton and Hollands’ prestigious school Rossmoyne Senior High were left reeling by his horrific ­attempt at jihad, neighbours, parents and authorities painted a picture of a child who “went mad” on radical online propaganda and whose fatal ­attempt at a terror act shocked even the imam assigned to him by a deradicalisation program.

The boy’s mother was visited by a supportive family at her home near Rossmoyne on Tuesday as neighbours said the boy had been increasingly attracting police ­attention over recent years. The WA Department of Education late on Monday confirmed there had previously been an incident at Rossmoyne Senior High involving a toilet block, after school parents and WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam flagged that the boy had set fire to the toilets using a homemade bomb. The ­department said the incident had been reported to and investigated by WA Police.

WA’s most senior imam, Sheikh Mohammed Shakeeb, said the Islamic scholar assigned to help deradicalise the boy was in shock and called for authorities to let him and other Muslim leaders know who was in the deradicalisation program so they could be ­better prepared to help stop future attacks.

It came as WA Premier Roger Cook confirmed that parents at the school had raised concerns with authorities over the boy and a cohort of like-minded students.

Sheikh Shakeeb told The Australian that he and other Muslim leaders needed to be better informed about those in their community who had caught the attention of the authorities.

“We would like to be informed of this. We can’t control who walks in the door so we would like to know if someone has been identified by police or some other authority as having a fixation on violence and extreme ideologies and so on,” he said.

“These ideologies don’t come from local sources.”

He said the imam assigned to mentor the teen as part of the Countering Violent Extremism Program had worked very hard to build an understanding with the boy. That imam felt he knew the teen and had been “torn up” since his violent rampage and death.

Sheikh Shakeeb said he believed the imam assigned to mentor the boy had been asked by police not to tell anyone at the time for privacy reasons. That imam was now hurting very badly and had fallen silent since news of the boy’s death emerged.

“He didn’t expect this,” Sheikh Shakeeb said. “But then when you are dealing with mental health ­patients, something out of the ­ordinary can happen.”

He said the boy had occasionally been seen at mosques around Perth and seemed “very nice” but they did not know him or that he was in the Countering Violent Extremism program.

(continued)

>>20831561

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Mr Cook on Monday confirmed that parent concerns about the boy and a cohort of like-minded children at Rossmoyne had been raised with the state in the lead-up to Saturday’s ­incident.

“We can confirm that a letter was sent to the Minister for Education and as is appropriate the minister automatically referred that letter to the education department for action,” he said.

“The education department obviously took that information on-board and continued to manage that.”

Mr Cook said it was up to the state’s education department to clarify if there were further issues inside the school, but he did reveal that the boy had for the past two years been able to access only a basic phone without connectivity to the internet as part of his involvement with the deradical­isation program.

The Premier said he did not know which online platforms radicalised the boy initially.

Since the boy entered the program two years ago, his online activity had been strictly limited.

“As part of the Countering Violent Extremism program, the individual in question only had a very basic telephone,” Mr Cook said. “So when he came into contact with the … program there is a range of measures and I think that includes limiting his access to online media and social media.

“This young gentleman in confronting a range of complex issues in his life has taken on board extremist attitudes. That was the issue that we have been managing for some time now.

“It is incredibly regrettable.”

Ms Mettam questioned why authorities hadn’t taken more ­action in relation to the boy, given concerns expressed by parents at Rossmoyne in the months leading up to Saturday’s incident.

She said she had spoken to parents from the school who had told her that the boy had been involved in making a homemade bomb that blew up some toilets at the school.

She also said there had been concerns raised by parents at the school that a cohort of boys, including the 16-year-old, had been trying to “recruit” more students.

“He had plans to interrupt an assembly in the most devastating of ways and had been able to continue to learn in a public mainstream school,” Ms Mettam said.

“There were a number of red flags raised by parents in this community and the Minister for Education continued to fob off those very real concerns.”

WA Police Minister Paul Pap­alia said that while police were still investigating the circumstances that lead to Saturday night’s incident, many of the reports about the boy and the other students at Rossmoyne were “hearsay”.

“There was no opportunity for police to lock him up because of his views – we don’t do that in Australia,” Mr Papalia said.

Students filed into Rossmoyne on Monday morning amid a ­sombre mood following the news of the boy’s death.

One parent, Niranji Wickramasinghe, told reporters outside the school that the dead boy had been a friendly and helpful child. Ms Wickramasinghe has a daughter in year 11 – the same year the dead boy was in – and a son in year 9, and both of her children had interacted with the boy.

“He was a very kind-hearted and helpful child. My son who is in year nine said he was very friendly, he had helped them before,” she said.

Ms Wickramasinghe said the boy was a good child who had underlying mental health issues and who had “gone mad” after watching videos online.

Ms Wickramasinghe said her children had believed that the boy’s threats about targeting the school were nothing more than an attempt at humour.

“Sometimes he would say ‘I’m going to bomb this bus’ and kids were laughing, they were thinking it was a joke,” she said.

Speaking through tears, she said she believed more could have been done to help the boy.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/search-for-answers-continues-in-wake-of-perth-terror-stabbing/news-story/d023ad34dd0a6a7a9be6ec1790fd28b2

>>20827002

Australian PM Albanese says China military air incident unacceptable

Kirsty Needham - May 7, 2024

SYDNEY, May 7 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday it was unacceptable for Australian defence personnel to be put at risk in international airspace by the Chinese military as they took part in an operation to enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea.

A Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian military helicopter during an unsafe and unacceptable confrontation over the Yellow Sea, Australia said on Monday.

The Chinese air force J-10 jet dropped flares above and several hundred meters ahead of an Australian MH60R Seahawk helicopter on a routine flight on Saturday in the Yellow Sea as part of an operation to enforce sanctions against North Korea, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Monday evening.

In a television interview, Albanese said China had not yet responded publicly to Australia's representations over the incident.

"This issue, we have made public in order to be able to speak out very clearly and unequivocally that this behaviour is unacceptable," he told Nine's Today Show.

The Australian Defence Force personnel were "in international waters, international airspace, and they're doing work to ensure that the sanctions that the world has imposed through the United Nations on North Korea, due to their intransient and reckless behaviour, are enforced".

"They shouldn't have been at any risk," he said.

The Australian public expected an explanation from China about the incident, and Australia had made "very strong representations at every level to China", he added.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Australia next month, he said.

"We will make our position clear as well in discussions," he said.

The helicopter, flying from destroyer HMAS Hobart, dodged the flares. The confrontation put the aircraft and those on board at risk, although no one was hurt, the Department of Defence said in a separate statement.

This is the second such incident in six months to mar what has otherwise been a growing rapprochement between the two countries after years of strained relations and trade disputes.

Australia said in November a Chinese naval vessel injured some of its divers in Japanese waters using an underwater sonar. China denied it had used its sonar, however Australia rejected the explanation.

In 2022, Australia protested after a Chinese navy vessel pointed a laser at an Australian military aircraft close to Australia's northern coast.

In a separate incident in 2022, Australia said a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea, releasing a "bundle of chaff" containing pieces of aluminium that were ingested into the Australian aircraft's engine.

Liu Jianchao, head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party, said during a visit to Australia in November the Australian navy's movements in the South China Sea and East China Sea appeared to be an effort to contain China.

Australia has rejected this, saying it respects the right of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law.

China claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. An international tribunal in 2016 said China's expansive claim had no legal basis.

Chinese navy vessels have been tracked off Australia's coast several times in recent years, including monitoring exercises with the U.S. military.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-pm-albanese-says-china-military-air-incident-unacceptable-2024-05-07/

>>20827002

>>20831574

‘Stop provocations’: China fires back at Australia over Yellow Sea flare incident

Matthew Knott and Olivia Ireland - May 7, 2024

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The Chinese government has fired back at Australia over a dangerous military incident in the Yellow Sea, accusing Australia’s military of behaving in a provocative and threatening way by operating in international waters near China.

Beijing’s first official response to the incident came as a top United States diplomat joined Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in condemning China for dropping flares in front of an Australian Navy helicopter, declaring it part of a pattern of increasingly aggressive behaviour by Beijing that could cost lives.

Albanese said he would raise the incident with Chinese Premier Li Qiang when he visited Australia next month, after the government lodged multiple protests with the Chinese government.

However, China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has not been called in for an official rebuke and the government has declined calls to expel diplomats in retaliation for Saturday night’s incident.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has urged Albanese to call Chinese President Xi Jinping to express his “disgust” at the incident, which has strained Australia’s attempts to stabilise relations with Beijing.

The Defence Department confirmed that a PLA-AF fighter aircraft dropped flares about 300 metres in front and 60 metres above a Royal Australian Navy MH-60R helicopter, which had launched from HMAS Hobart.

The helicopter pilot averted disaster by taking evasive action to avoid the flares.

“The Australian military aircraft flew near China airspace in a threatening way,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press briefing on Tuesday, insisting the Chinese military took the necessary steps to warn Australia.

“What truly happened was that an Australian military aircraft deliberately flew within close range of China’s airspace in a provocative move which endangered China’s maritime air security.

“China has launched serious protests with the Australian side on these risky moves. We urge Australia to stop provocations to prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation.”

Albanese said navy personnel were working in the Yellow Sea to ensure the enforcement of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, making China’s intercept “completely unacceptable”.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the US State Department’s assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the Biden administration was “deeply concerned” by the incident and called for China to do more to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea.

“These are serious matters; you could have an accident that could put someone’s life at risk,” Kritenbrink said during a visit to Canberra to meet with Australian officials.

“These are not just abstract principles, we’re talking about the safety and wellbeing of our military personnel.”

Kritenbrink said that over recent years, “the general trend has been a Chinese military that is more aggressive and assertive … and unfortunately, oftentimes unprofessional and unsafe in how it’s operated”.

“Unfortunately, this is a phenomenon that has been developing for many years now, and it’s probably going to be with us for many years to come,” Kritenbrink said.

“I think it’s really incumbent for all of us to speak up and speak out when these incidents happen, to demonstrate that we expect China and its military to operate in a professional and safe manner.”

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>>20831586

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Kritenbrink said Australian military personnel were doing important work enforcing international sanctions on the illegal transfer of nuclear weapons material to North Korea.

“Candidly speaking, we wish China were doing more to implement UN Security Council resolutions and various related sanctions vis-a-vis [North Korea] rather than engaging in conduct that is viewed as unsafe,” he said.

Government sources said complaints had been lodged with Beijing through official Defence channels, as well as through embassies in Canberra and Beijing.

Albanese would not confirm if he had called Xi to discuss the incident but said he would raise the matter with Li directly when they met next month.

“We’ve made the appropriate diplomatic representations, as you’d expect. We regard this as unprofessional and … unacceptable, and we’ve made clear that view to Beijing, both through Beijing and also through Canberra,” Albanese told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.

“We do have communications with China. That includes visits, and the Chinese premier will be here in June. We will make our position clear as well in discussions.”

Albanese added: “I think the Australian public would expect some form of explanation about how this could occur.”

Dutton urged Albanese on Tuesday to pick up the phone to Xi to “express his dismay – and, really, disgust – with what has happened because they have put Australian lives at risk and that is completely unacceptable”.

“We want peace to prevail in our region, but we don’t do it from a position of weakness. I think the prime minister has to pick the phone up and express our deep concern because, at the moment, we’ll see a response from China to deny that it happened or that we had made a mistake,” he told Today.

“It is at some stage going to escalate, perhaps by accident, but it’ll be that unintended consequence, and Australian Defence Force personnel will pay with their lives and we don’t want to see that.”

The Chinese embassy in Canberra has been contacted for comment.

In a statement, the Defence Department criticised China’s behaviour as posing a risk to the aircraft and personnel.

“While there were no injuries sustained by ADF personnel or damage caused to the MH-60R helicopter, the safety and wellbeing of our ADF personnel continues to be our utmost priority,” the department said.

News of the incident came as reports emerged that the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence had been targeted by a massive China cyberattack that revealed the details of armed forces personnel.

In November 2023, two Australian navy divers were injured during an operation in international waters on HMAS Toowoomba after a Chinese warship released sonar pulses.

Albanese condemned Beijing for the “dangerous” conduct at the time but resisted calls to reveal whether he raised the matter with Xi when they spoke on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/pm-condemns-china-for-fighter-jet-dropping-flares-in-front-of-australian-helicopter-20240507-p5fpgb.html

‘Not Marrickville or Newtown’: Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books

Jessica McSweeney - May 7, 2024

A council in western Sydney has voted to “rid” its libraries of books that contain same-sex parenting material in a move that has outraged the mayor and local families.

The motion at Cumberland City Council was passed six votes to five, and prompted an angry NSW government to threaten a review of its library funding.

“When civilisations turn to burning books or banning books it is a very bad sign. That is equally true for local councils,” Arts Minister John Graham said.

The council, which includes the western Sydney suburbs of Auburn and Merrylands, met last Wednesday to vote on a new strategy for the eight council-run libraries.

During the debate, former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou put forward the amendment “that council take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council’s library service”, while brandishing a picture of one book he said his constituents had complained about.

The book, title Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, is part of a series depicting diverse family structures for a younger audience. It features two men and a child on the front cover.

During the debate, Christou said Cumberland’s “religious and conservative” community didn’t want “controversial issues going against their beliefs indoctrinated into their libraries”.

“This is not Marrickville or Newtown, this is Cumberland City Council, and we need to respect the wishes of our residents,” he said during the debate.

Christou rejected suggestions the ban was discriminatory, but instead told the Herald that books concerning same-sex parenting were sexualising young children.

“Don’t open up our children to any form of sexualisation … Children are innocent and should be allowed to enjoy appropriate story reading time in their libraries without being burdened by issues of sexualisation,” he said.

Mayor Lisa Lake voted against the motion, and said it should not be up to local governments to decide which books parents allow their children to read.

“If it’s not a banned book then certainly there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be available to someone who may be seeking it through our libraries, and it’s certainly not a matter for us to censor,” Lake said.

“It’s not reflective of the principles that Cumberland City Council upholds generally in our community.”

Fellow councillor Diane Colman, who also opposed the ban, said she was concerned about the message it would send to families in the area.

The arts minister said it was up to readers to choose which book to pick up off the shelf. “It should not be up to local councillors to make that choice for them or engage in censorship,” Graham said.

“We are examining the consequences this decision may have for the council continuing to receive library funding from the NSW government.”

Local grandmother Caroline Staples worried rainbow families like hers could feel unwelcome in Cumberland.

“This community is incredibly diverse. A lot of people have come to live in this community to escape regimes that target them because of their race, their religion, or their sex or sexuality,” she said.

“What we want from our public libraries are a whole range of ideas, thoughts and materials that mean people can access things that are perhaps outside their experience so when they encounter people, they won’t believe the ugly, nasty stereotypes.”

Rainbow Families, an organisation which supports LGBTQ families in Australia, has noticed an increase in hate towards members and protests at events in the last 12 months.

Executive officer Ashley Scott said local families no longer feel accepted in their community.

“There seems to be support from local government at the moment across Sydney against our families, which is a move backwards for inclusion and diversity,” Scott said.

A spokesperson for Cumberland City Council did not say if the ban would include all books featuring same-sex parents, or just those aimed at children.

“Council has commenced the process of reviewing its collection with a view to determining those titles which would need to be considered for removal from library services in implementing this resolution,” the spokesperson said.

“Council welcomes everyone to our local government area and our libraries, irrespective of the materials available in our library collections.”

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/not-marrickville-or-newtown-sydney-council-bans-same-sex-parenting-books-20240507-p5fpkr.html

>>20575610

‘Most evil crimes imaginable’: Childcare worker, partner jailed for decades

Clare Sibthorpe - May 7, 2024

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Warning: Graphic content

A former childcare worker and his partner, who abused dozens of children over nine years and filmed the acts, have been jailed for decades for hundreds of the “most evil crimes imaginable”.

The men’s maximum sentences of 37 years and 26 years are the culmination of a multinational investigation into a child abuse ring, which led to the arrest of 25 men, including a soccer coach, teacher and disability worker.

The former couple, who were aged between 18 and their early 20s at the time of their offences against 30 children, cannot be named for legal reasons.

These were laid bare as Judge Sarah Hopkins sentenced them at Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on Tuesday.

One man worked in a leadership role at a NSW daycare centre for two years of his nearly-decade-long paedophile crime spree, taking young children outside on “play dates” or when being the only carer in a room. His undoing began when a parent complained he had kissed one child on the lips.

Much of his crimes are too graphic to publish. Some took place at his parents’ home.

He groomed a young child he met on Facebook, convinced the child to sneak out of home and abused him. When the parents reported him missing to police, who knocked on the man’s door, he told the child to hide inside.

He pleaded guilty to 248 offences, including sexually abusing a very young child and using a young child to make child abuse material. He admitted to abusing more than 20 children over nine years and exchanging the material on chat platforms such as Snapchat to other paedophiles.

His former partner pleaded guilty to 106 child abuse offences against at least eight children.

Hundreds more charges were dropped against both men during a plea deal.

Hopkins said one man played a submissive role to his “coercive and controlling” partner, becoming involved in the heinous crimes because his lover threatened to end their relationship or his own life if he didn’t. They regularly concealed each other’s offending.

The judge said the abuse they recorded was of “extreme depravity,” with 29,500 video files and more than 100,000 images found on one man’s device upon his arrest on June 4, 2020.

Both men have been in custody since their arrests four years ago.

“Early sexual relationships with adults will often exploit and exacerbate a precarious sense of self-worth and self-respect with the victim, which may have lifelong consequences, including the inability to form stable partnerships in adulthood and possible self-destructive behaviour,” Hopkins said.

The court heard both men were abused by others as children.

The first man was sentenced to 37 years jail with non-parole period of 26 years.

The other man was sentenced to 26 years in prison with a non-parole period of 16 years and nine months.

The sentences were for a combination of Commonwealth and state child abuse charges.

(continued)

>>20831652

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How Australia’s largest online child abuse investigation unfolded

The former couple were the last major targets of the Australian Federal Police’s sweeping Operation Arkstone investigation, which resulted in the sentencing of 25 men. More than 50 children and 11 dogs were saved from harm.

AFP Commander Kate Ferry said police were relentless in their pursuit of anyone producing and sharing child abuse material.

“Operation Arkstone began as a result of one small piece of information. What the AFP and its domestic and international law enforcement partners uncovered in the weeks and months that followed was truly some of the worst offending we have ever seen,” Ferry said.

“The criminal behaviour of these two men is perhaps the most disturbing representation of what child sex offenders are capable of, being the systemic sexual abuse of children over many years, across geographical locations and by people who have been entrusted with so much responsibility.”

Ferry said some of the men arrested under Arkstone were meant to keep children safe, but used their position to commit some of the most evil crimes imaginable.

She acknowledged the courage of the victims and their families.

Operation Arkstone began in the small town of Wyong on the Central Coast in early 2020.

Child abuse investigators discovered a mobile and USB sitting in the bedroom of the home of 29-year-old Justin Radford, a separate man to the childcare worker and his partner.

On those devices, they encountered some of the most depraved material they had ever witnessed.

On February 11, 2020, Radford pleaded guilty to 17 crimes, including filming himself sexually assaulting a young boy and sending child abuse material to 19 people online.

He was jailed for 18 years.

A few months later, in Sydney’s western outskirts, police arrested soccer coach Grant Harden, who pleaded guilty to 179 offences, including sex with a child under 10 and disseminating thousands of child sex abuse videos and images.

Two years ago, Harden was sentenced to 30 years with a minimum of 22 years. He is in the process of appealing his sentence with the court.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline (13 11 14), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.kidshelpline.com.au/

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/most-evil-crimes-imaginable-childcare-worker-partner-jailed-for-decades-20240424-p5fm5r.html

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/two-nsw-men-jailed-horrific-child-abuse-offences

>>20575610

>>20831652

Operation Arkstone: child abuse material network kingpins sentenced

A NSW childcare educator and his boyfriend who abused young children and then shared the vile videos online have been sentenced to decades behind bars.

Eliza Barr - May 7, 2024

A NSW childcare educator and his boyfriend who committed some of the most vile, protracted child abuse ever uncovered by the Australian Federal Police will spend decades behind bars for their appalling crimes.

The childcare educator and his boyfriend were netted in 2020 by the AFP’s Operation Arkstone, which smashed a domestic online network of child sex offenders.

They were charged with sexually abusing a number of children over several years, photographing and recording the abuse, and distributing it to an online pedophile network.

The offenders cannot be identified, as the childcare educator committed crimes against infants and toddlers at his workplace, and the boyfriend against children known to him.

The highly invasive sexual crimes – which are too distressing and graphic to repeat – were committed against babies aged one up to children aged 17.

The pair pleaded guilty to a raft of NSW child abuse and Commonwealth child abuse material offences.

The childcare educator, in his 30s, was sentenced to an overall 37 year prison term, with a non-parole period of 26 years.

He will be eligible for parole on June 3, 2046.

The boyfriend, in his 20s, was sentenced to an overall 26 year prison term, with a non-parole period of 16 years and nine months.

He will be eligible for parole on March 3, 2037.

At Sydney District Court last week, Judge Sarah Hopkins described the pair’s commitment to maximising their sexual gratification through the offending.

“A number of the offences were committed using various degrees of physical force or other forms of coercion or incentivisation,” Judge Hopkins said.

“Other offences occurred while the victims were asleep or playing computer games – whatever the means by which it occurred, it was dehumanising treatment of their victims as play things, being positioned for the best camera angles or for the most gratification.”

The pair were ultimately found with thousands of horrific child abuse videos in their possession – many of which they had created while meting out the abuse themselves.

Judge Hopkins referred to statements from two victims which outlined the grave impact of the appalling abuse.

“(One child) described feelings of anger, shame and sadness,” Judge Hopkins said.

“(Another child) details the impact, including feelings of guilt, anger, humiliation, worthlessness and a sense of betrayal by someone they trusted.”

Judge Hopkins earlier outlined how the pair had themselves been victims of horrific child sexual abuse perpetrated by family members and the childcare educator’s teacher.

The childcare educator in particular had been subjected to violent, degrading abuse which was filmed, resulting in him discovering videos of himself as a child online.

Both offenders have been repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted since they have been on remand, with the boyfriend now prescribed prophylactic HIV medication as a result.

Judge Hopkins also acknowledged the pair had admitted to certain offences that would otherwise have not been detected due to an absence of complaints by some victims, and that they had provided pin codes to their devices to assist police with their investigation.

After the sentences, AFP Commander Kate Ferry said the AFP was relentless in its pursuit of anyone producing and sharing child abuse material.

“Operation Arkstone began as a result of one small piece of information,” she said.

“What the AFP and its domestic and international law enforcement partners uncovered in the weeks and months that followed was truly some of the worst offending we have ever seen.”

Commander Ferry said the pair’s behaviour might be the “most disturbing” representation of what child sex offenders are capable of.

“Some of those arrested during Operation Arkstone were meant to keep our children safe – instead, they used their position to commit some of the most evil crimes imaginable,” she said.

“Operation Arkstone should serve as a warning that there is no dark corner of the internet that is safe for offenders to hide, and there is nowhere the AFP and its law enforcement partners won’t go to hunt you down and drag you out into the light.”

Commander Ferry also acknowledged the victims’ courage, and said their determination to seek justice inspired the AFP’s investigators daily.

“I hope today’s court result helps you to take the next step in your path towards healing,” Commander Ferry said.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/operation-arkstone-child-abuse-material-network-kingpins-sentenced/news-story/246739f317a951c7e80352204756e7a3

>>20827002

>>20831574

‘Stop shifting blame’: Australia, China trade barbs over helicopter incident

Matthew Knott - May 8, 2024

China and Australia have escalated the blame game over a dangerous aerial encounter above the Yellow Sea, with China’s Defence Ministry claiming the Australian military acted provocatively by conducting short-range reconnaissance of its military assets.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood by Australia’s explanation of the incident, accusing Beijing of offering a contradictory rationale for the interception, in which a Chinese fighter jet set off flares near an Australian navy helicopter on Saturday night, forcing the helicopter pilot to take evasive action.

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Defence, said the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart had dispatched a ship-borne helicopter three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training exercises of the Chinese naval fleet.

He said Chinese troops sent a “vocal warning” to the Australian helicopter before conducting “legitimate, reasonable, professional and safe operations to expel it”.

“We urge the Australian side to truly respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns, cease spreading false narratives, strictly contain the operations of its naval and air forces, stop all dangerous provocations, and avoid undermining the overall relationship between the two countries,” Zhang said.

“Australia’s statement confuses right and wrong and shifts the blame. We’re firmly opposed to that.”

Under pressure from the opposition to raise the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Albanese said the government had spoken to China’s ambassador to Australia and officials in Beijing.

“This is an area of disagreement. We’ve called it out,” he said.

Describing the incident as “unacceptable” and “unprofessional”, Albanese homed in on a statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Tuesday night that said Australia was operating near China’s airspace.

Albanese said such wording showed that “there’s no question that the Australian Defence Force personnel were both in international waters and in international airspace, and they were undertaking work on behalf of the international community in enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea”.

Albanese said that “we stand by the comments that have been made by our Defence, and we will always back them in”.

Asked if he would speak directly to Xi to lodge a protest, Albanese told 6PR radio: “Well, we will take up every opportunity to raise these issues, which we do.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Albanese of being too soft on China, saying: “It’s completely unacceptable and the prime minister should pick up the phone immediately to the Chinese president to make sure that he understands that it will not be tolerated.

“We shouldn’t compromise our national interests because we’ve got a weak prime minister who refuses to pick up the phone to the Chinese president to tell him that putting the lives of Australian Defence Force men and women at risk is somehow something that can be tolerated.”

Ely Ratner, the US Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, backed Australia in a statement on social media, saying: “This weekend, a [Chinese People’s Liberation Army] aircraft deployed flares above and ahead of an Australian MH-60R helicopter conducting a routine UN mission in international waters.

“We stand with Australia. All nations should be free to operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows.”

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stop-shifting-blame-australia-china-trade-barbs-over-helicopter-incident-20240508-p5grky.html

https://twitter.com/ASD_IndoPacific/status/1787965676033896852

>>20827002

>>20831574

China changes story on military confrontation, accuses Australia of spying

Stephen Dziedzic - 8 May 2024

Beijing has shifted its story on the latest confrontation between Chinese and Australian forces, claiming that one of its fighter jets intercepted an Australian helicopter because it was trying to spy on naval exercises in the Yellow Sea.

Australia lodged diplomatic protests with Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares just in front of an Australian Seahawk helicopter enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea, with Defence Minister Richard Marles warning the incident endangered Australian personnel.

A spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Australia of "provocative" behaviour but seemed to confirm the confrontation occurred over international waters, saying the helicopter simply flew "within close range of China's airspace".

But in a later statement, the Chinese Ministry of Defence issued a different account, accusing Australia of spying on military exercises being conducted by China in the region.

"A Chinese naval fleet conducted training in relevant waters of China's Yellow Sea from May 3 to 4, during which the Australian guided missile destroyer HMAS Hobart dispatched a ship-borne helicopter for three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training activities of the Chinese side," said Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang.

"Chinese troops sent a vocal warning to the Australian helicopter and conducted legitimate, reasonable, professional, and safe operations to expel it, which are fully in line with the international law and international practice."

A spokesperson for Mr Marles declined to respond, but said the government stood by its account of the incident.

Beijing has previously accused the US of spying on its forces in the wake of confrontations and interceptions in the South China Sea.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wasn't directly questioned about the spying allegation but said the statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs proved Australia's account was accurate.

"Indeed in the wording they've used saying they were near Chinese airspace is confirmation that there's no question that the Australian Defence Force personnel were both in international waters and airspace," he said.

"They were undertaking work on behalf of the international community enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea."

Jennifer Parker, who is an expert associate at the ANU's national security college, told the ABC that China's account was "highly unlikely" because it would represent a radical departure from the usual practice of Australian forces in the region.

"It's not Australia's normal procedure to send a helicopter to investigate the naval exercises of other countries — there are more effective ways to achieve that with satellite-based capabilities," she said.

"Also, Australia's lack of participation in FONOPS (Freedom of Navigation Operations) in the region shows the Australian approach to China has been to not be provocative.

"It would be highly unlikely for an Australian ship helicopter to provoke China like this during a naval exercise for limited to no benefits."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-08/beijing-shifts-story-chinese-australian-forces-confrontation/103820684

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on May 7, 2024

Reuters: The Australian government said yesterday that a Chinese fighter jet threatened and intercepted an Australian military helicopter above the Yellow Sea. They also criticized the dangerous actions of the Chinese fighter jet. What is China’s comment?

Lin Jian: What truly happened was, an Australian military aircraft deliberately flew within close range of China’s airspace in a provocative move that endangered China’s maritime and air security in the name of enforcing UN Security Council’s resolutions. The Chinese military took necessary measures at the scene to warn and alert the Australian side. The way the situation was handled was consistent with our laws and regulations, professional and safe. China has lodged serious protests to the Australian side on its risky moves. We urge Australia to immediately stop the provocations and hypes to prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation.

https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202405/t20240507_11300694.html

—

Australia should stop all dangerous provocations: Defense Spokesperson

China Military Online - 2024-05-07

BEIJING, May 7 - "The operations of the Chinese side are legitimate, reasonable, professional and safe, and are fully in line with the international law and international practice. Australia's statement confuses right and wrong and shifts the blame. We're firmly opposed to that," said a Chinese defense spokesperson on Tuesday.

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks when rebutting the claims made by Australian defense minister Richard Marles saying that Chinese fighter jet's interception of an Australian helicopter in the international waters of Yellow Sea on May 4 was "a very serious incident."

According to Zhang, a Chinese naval fleet conducted training in relevant waters of China's Yellow Sea from May 3 to 4, during which the Australian guided missile destroyer HMAS Hobart dispatched a ship-borne helicopter for three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training activities of the Chinese side.

The spokesperson noted that the Chinese troops sent a vocal warning to the Australian helicopter and conducted legitimate, reasonable, professional, and safe operations to expel it, which are fully in line with the international law and international practice.

"We urge the Australian side to truly respect China's sovereignty and security concerns, cease spreading false narratives, strictly constrain the operations of its naval and air forces, stop all dangerous provocations, and avoid undermining the overall relationship between the two countries and the two militaries," stressed the spokesperson in the end.

http://eng.mod.gov.cn/xb/News_213114/TopStories/16306495.html

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

Chinese military takes legal, professional and safe operations to warn against provocations by Australian helicopter: FM

GT staff reporters - May 07, 2024

In refuting accusations from Australia which claimed that a Chinese fighter jet fired flares into the path of an Australian naval helicopter last weekend over the Yellow Sea, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday clarified that the truth is that an Australian military aircraft deliberately flew within close range of China's airspace in a provocative move that endangered China's maritime and air security in the name of enforcing UN Security Council's resolutions.

The Chinese military took necessary measures at the scene to warn and alert the Australian side. The way the situation was handled was consistent with Chinese laws and regulations, professional and safe, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday.

Lin stated that China has lodged serious protests to the Australian side on its risky moves, while urging Australia to immediately stop the provocations and hypes to prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation.

The Chinese spokesperson's remarks came after Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Monday that a Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighter jet released flares in the flight path of an Australian navy Seahawk helicopter deployed from the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart, according to Western media outlets, including AP News. The media outlets claimed that the Australian air warfare destroyer on Saturday was "enforcing UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea in international waters in the Yellow Sea." According to media outlets, there were no injuries or damage reported.

"We've just made it very clear to China that this is unprofessional and that it's unacceptable," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Nine Network television.

Also on Tuesday, China's Ministry of National Defense debunked the Australian accusations.

"We are firmly opposed to what the Australian side has said, which distorts black and white," said Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense.

According to Zhang, from May 3 to 4, during the training of Chinese naval vessels in relevant waters of the Yellow Sea, the Australian guided-missile destroyer HMAS Hobart sent shipborne helicopters three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training activities of the Chinese side.

The Chinese military issued warnings and forced them away. The relevant operations were reasonable, professional and safe, and fully in line with international law and practice, Zhang stated.

We urge the Australian side to earnestly respect China's sovereign security concerns, stop spreading false narratives, strictly restrain naval and air force operations, and stop all dangerous and provocative actions so as not to undermine the overall relationship between the two countries and two militaries, Zhang said.

Chinese military experts pointed out that Australia's actions under the guise of implementing UNSC sanctions against North Korea are in fact provocation, probing, and reconnaissance against China.

Military expert Zhang Xuefeng told the Global Times on Tuesday that the fact that Australian warships have travelled so far into the Yellow Sea, so close to China's territorial waters and inland seas, is itself a sign of the growing aggressiveness.

It is not the first time that Australia has conducted close-in reconnaissance against China and been expelled after not listening to warnings, Zhang Xuefeng noted. The Australian military is responsible for all the consequences by those provocations, he warned.

Last November, Australia claimed that a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) destroyer used sonar to force divers from an Australian frigate to exit the water. In response, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on November 20, 2023 that "The Chinese military is strictly disciplined and always operates professionally in accordance with the international law and international common practices. We hope relevant parties will stop making trouble in front of China's doorsteps and work with China to preserve the momentum of improving and growing China-Australia ties."

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202405/1311842.shtml

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

Here’s the proof that China holds Australia in contempt

All the happy talk from the Prime Minister and his senior ministerial colleagues about a newly stabilised relationship with China has just been shown to be worth absolutely nothing.

GREG SHERIDAN - May 7, 2024

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Beijing has made it absolutely clear that it holds the Albanese government in contempt.

All the happy talk from the Prime Minister and his senior ministerial colleagues about a newly stabilised relationship with China is shown to be worth absolutely nothing.

The Chinese air force, which harassed a helicopter launched from HMAS Hobart in the Yellow Sea, was just as hostile, just as dangerous, just as irresponsible as any similar action the Chinese military took against Australian forces when Scott Morrison was prime minister.

The Chinese have trained the Albanese government now to regard the mere existence of high level meetings, the dialogue, the so-called normalisation, as the ­object of Australian policy.

But in foreign affairs, a dialogue is meant to achieve something. To be worthwhile, a dialogue has to have substance, purpose and effect. The Albanese government’s dialogue with the government in Beijing has so far achieved absolutely nothing.

It was always the case, and long predicted by this writer, that Beijing would eventually get tired of imposing its fairly minor trade sanctions on Australia.

When Beijing moved its global diplomatic approach away from its extremely counter-productive wolf warrior style back to its default charm offensive style, a few trade restrictions against Aus­tralia, which never had the slightest justification anyway, were removed.

In exchange, the Albanese government dropped its actions against China in the World Trade Organisation, stopped criticising China unless the Chinese military actually endangered Australian military personnel overseas, and stopped saying why we were pursing AUKUS nuclear submarines in the first place.

At the same time, the Albanese government effectively gave up any effort to modernise or expand Australia’s military capabilities, outside the absurdly distant time horizons of the notional AUKUS subs.

But all that good behaviour has earnt Canberra nothing.

Albanese says he will raise the latest dangerous and provocative Chinese action with the Premier of China, Li Qiang, when he visits Australia in June.

I wonder of Li will end up visiting, and I wonder if Albanese will actually raise the matter with him.

Last time the Chinese aimed sonars at Australian naval personnel, actually injuring them, the Australian government kept the incident quiet until after the APEC summit was finished so that Albanese didn’t have to raise the matter with China’s president, Xi Jinping, nor take questions on it at a press conference.

What on earth is the point of erecting this architecture of ­dialogue if the Australians are so timid and scared that they cannot even raise the most serious matters with the Chinese, in case they once more get banished ­diplomatically?

That’s not dialogue, that’s subservience.

(continued)

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Government figures occasionally claim that Foreign Minister Penny Wong has a good rapport with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Yet when Wang Yi visited Australia he went out of his way to humiliate Wong by seeking out her most vituperative and contemptuous critic, Paul Keating, and lavishly praising Keating’s views on China, which have included numerous personal attacks on Wong.

Frankly, I’d rather Wong had a frosty relationship with her Chinese counterpart and not have Australian service personnel endangered, than have a warm relationship but have an endless series of these incidents at sea.

The chief of the Australian Navy, Mark Hammond, only a week ago raised these reckless Chinese incidents with his Chinese counterpart. That conversation it turns out wasn’t worth the secret recordings the Chinese no doubt made of it.

The other critically important lesson out of this incident is just what a tiny, feeble navy we have. The Australian ship involved was the HMAS Hobart, one of our three Air Warfare Destroyers. These are the only modern warships we have.

All navies have a rule of three. You need three ships to deploy one. So participating in this United Nations Security Council authorised operation takes up in effect the entirety of the Australian naval surface combatant fleet.

We were going to upgrade the ANZAC frigates so they too could possibly participate usefully in international operations like this. But the Albanese government, though it is pumping money out at a furious rate, decided instead to start retiring the ANZACs.

Notionally we are building general purpose frigates, which will be very light frigates, to begin replacing them, and plan to get the first at the end of the decade. Yet the bid by the Korean defence firm, Hanwha, to buy Austal, which the government has designated as its strategic sovereign ship building partner, has complicated all this.

There hasn’t even been a formal request for tender issued for the new light frigates. Yet Defence Minister Richard Marles, who has developed a magnificent tradition of claiming credit and praising himself for things which have not happened and are not likely to happen, claims the light frigate will be delivered in record fast time. Gimme a break. The government is in its third year in office and hasn’t yet ordered a single new combat ship.

No matter how many signals the Chinese send us, and the signal in the Yellow Sea could hardly be more clear, we are determined to do nothing to be able to defend ourselves, or even contribute meaningfully to coalition defence, even in our own region.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/hmas-hobart-nearmiss-shows-china-holds-australia-and-labor-in-contempt-despite-dialogue/news-story/580de339e42fa4062763df7fe2c17b13

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

PM’s rinse-and-repeat response to China jet incident will do little to deter aggression

Matthew Knott - May 8, 2024

Since the Albanese government came to power two years ago, its approach to China relations has been summed up by one word: stabilisation. But how stable are relations if China’s People’s Liberation Army is regularly putting the lives of Australian military personnel at risk?

Australian naval divers suffered minor injuries last November after being subjected to sonar pulses from a Chinese warship while supporting a United Nations mission in international waters. Their injuries could easily have been much worse. At the time, Anthony Albanese called China’s behaviour “dangerous, unsafe and unprofessional”, adding that Australia had lodged complaints through “all the forums that are available”.

However, as complaints go they appeared pretty muted. China’s ambassador to Australia was not called in for a rebuke, and the government minimised the fallout by withholding details of the incident until after Albanese spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Plans for Chinese Premier Li Qiang to visit Australia proceeded unabated.

Did Beijing feel at all chastened by Australia’s complaints? Absolutely not, based on the display of chutzpah Chinese officials put on at a January press conference.

Without presenting any evidence, Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian said that Australia’s close security partner Japan may have been responsible for the sonar pulses. Australia and China, Xiao said, should go beyond stabilisation by restarting joint military exercises. Senior embassy official Zhang Hua suggested that Australia was to blame for the incident, calling for it “to stop making troubles in front of China’s doorsteps and to work with the Chinese side to preserve the momentum of improving and growing China-Australia ties”.

Four months later, a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares near an Australian navy helicopter flying in the Yellow Sea. Once again, the Australian navy personnel were operating in international waters and supporting an important UN mission – this time helping to enforce sanctions on the rogue state of North Korea. Once again, it was lucky no one was seriously hurt.

Albanese’s response this time around? Almost identical to that after the sonar pluses. “We’ve just made it very clear to China that this is unprofessional and that it’s unacceptable,” Albanese said. Complaints had been registered to Beijing through multiple forums, he said.

Rather than a remarkable incident requiring a remarkable response, the government appears to be going through the diplomatic motions – registering complaints through what it describes as “appropriate defence channels”. Again, the Chinese ambassador has not been summoned for a dressing down. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has not said anything publicly about the incident. Albanese has not had a phone call with Xi. Apparently, a high-level discussion about the incident can wait until Li visits Australia as planned next month.

For its part, China again denied any responsibility for the incident and sought to shift blame to Australia.

“China has lodged solemn representations with the Australian side and urges the Australian side to immediately cease provocations and hyping up so as to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement issued on Tuesday night.

As the United States’ top official for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, pointed out during a visit to Canberra this week, these incidents are not isolated. Instead, they form part of a pattern of behaviour in which China tries to intimidate democratic nations from enforcing international law.

Over recent years, “the general trend has been a Chinese military that is more aggressive and assertive … and unfortunately, oftentimes unprofessional and unsafe in how it’s operated”, Kritenbrink said.

“These are not just abstract principles, we’re talking about the safety and wellbeing of our military personnel,” he said.

Admiral John Aquilino, who has just finished his stint as head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, warned last week that China was stepping up its aggressive conduct through a “boiling frog” strategy, in which it gradually raises the temperature so the ultimate danger is under-appreciated until it is too late.

It’s an important message for Australia to consider as it seeks to manage a complex relationship with a nation that is both its biggest trading partner and most significant strategic rival. There’s no reason to believe that formulaic rinse-and-repeat rebukes from Canberra will be enough to prevent a disastrous miscalculation on the high seas.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/pm-s-rinse-and-repeat-response-to-china-jet-incident-will-do-little-to-deter-aggression-20240508-p5gjc8.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

>>20550335

>>20705252

Penny Wong told not to ‘reward terrorism’ by supporting Palestine UN vote

JOE KELLY - MAY 8, 2024

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Penny Wong has been urged to vote against a resolution calling for Palestine to be admitted as a full member of the UN, warning it would make a two-state solution “less achievable” and signal to the world that “acts of mass terrorism should be rewarded.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry wrote to the Foreign Affairs Minister on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming vote of the UN General Assembly as soon as on Friday May 10, saying that a “Palestinian state cannot be declared into existence.”

“It must exist in fact. This requires the establishment of institutions which are performing all of the functions of a state on a sustainable basis,” the letter said. “These institutions would preferably be of a democratic nature, bringing freedom and prosperity to its people and withstanding internal security pressures that will pose a threat to regional stability.”

Signed by ECAJ President, Daniel Aghion, and co-chief executives, Peter Wertheim and Alex Ryvchin, the letter said the establishment of a functioning Palestinian state would require “comprehensive reform of the Palestinian Authority, and the eradication of those forces fundamentally and irredeemably opposed to the very notion of nation states, let alone peaceful coexistence alongside the Jewish nation state.”

It warned that voting to admit Palestine as a full member of the UN when no functioning state existed was inconsistent with the past practice of Australian governments concerning the criteria for recognition of putative new states.

“It would enshrine into legitimacy the present chaotic, fissiparous and dysfunctional nature of Palestinian political bodies and would thus make a two-state solution less achievable. It would not alter the realities on the ground,” it said. “Instead, it would signal to the Palestinians (and the world) that acts of mass terrorism should be rewarded.”

Admitting Palestine as a full member of the UN would also “strengthen the position of the most violent forces in Palestinian society” while playing “into the hands of the most hard-line segments of Israeli politics.”

The upcoming vote at the UN coincides with the emergence of growing social tensions within Australia over the unfolding Middle East conflict and the emergence of pro-Palestine encampments at Australian universities.

Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson warned on Tuesday that the chant “from the river to the sea” being used at pro-Palestine protests was a “very violent statement.” He warned that statements of violence against Israel had the potential to “very easily flow over into actions of violence against communities.”

The ECAJ letter referred to a speech given by Julia Gillard in Abu Dhabi in 2014 when she said the key to peace was for a “simple declarative statement by Palestinian leaders – that they accept Israel as a Jewish State.”

“Once that is stipulated, then virtually everything can be successfully negotiated – because Israel’s existential identity is successfully secured,” the former prime minister said.

But the ECAJ letter said the declarative statement to which Prime Minister Gillard referred, “to this day, has not been made.”

“We urge this government to vote against the resolution in the General Assembly and instead to be guided by the principles of the ‘Gillard Doctrine,’ as a sincere and meaningful action towards mutual recognition, peace and justice for both sides,” it said.

(continued)

>>20837033

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Australia Palestine Advocacy Network President Nasser Mashni said the Palestinian people needed to be “granted their basic, inherent right to participate in decision-making at UN level, about issues that directly concern their lives and political aspirations.”

“Australia now has a historic opportunity to back its statements of commitment to the principles of international law and justice with tangible action,” he said. “Australia must vote in support of Palestinian self-determination and equality, and support its full membership of the UN.”

Mr Mashni said it was “outrageous that Palestine’s bid for self-determination via UN membership has been stalled and blocked since it first applied in 2011, as part of the ongoing process by Israel – backed by the US.”

“It is unethical and unjust to make a people’s right to self-determination contingent upon the agreement of their occupier and oppressor, Israel, and its backer, the US,” he said.

When asked on Monday how Australia would vote, Anthony Albanese did not provide a direct answer. “We’ll address issues when we address them. And we’ll announce them when we’ve made decisions, when we’ve seen the texts of any resolutions,” he said.

Labor has previously split over UN votes on Palestine, with the Gillard cabinet fracturing in 2012 over a resolution giving the Palestinian territories observer status at the UN.

Ms Gillard had told cabinet of her intention to vote no, but it ignited a backlash, led by then foreign minister Bob Carr, that forced the prime minister to back down and instead abstain from the vote.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-told-not-to-reward-terrorism-by-supporting-palestine-un-vote/news-story/1bcf3948553e16dcdf31bf547c0b1cfa

>>20550335

>>20789187

University of Sydney campus speaker Sami Hamdi said to ‘celebrate victory’ of Israel attack

NOAH YIM and NATASHA BITA - MAY 7, 2024

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A controversial Muslim commentator who told people to “celebrate the victory” of the October 7 terror attack on Israel addressed the University of Sydney’s pro-Palestine encampment during a protest.

British commentator Sami Hamdi appeared at the sandstone university telling the crowd Israel is a “rabid Zionist project that wants to eradicate Palestine”.

Mr Hamdi, currently on an Australian tour, has previously had speaking engagements cancelled by Canadian universities for his comments following Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

Ten days after Hamas killed 1200 Israelis, most of them civilians, Mr Hamdi urged an audience to “celebrate the victory”, while wiping away tears.

“How many of you feel it in your hearts when you got the news that it happened? How many of you felt the euphoria? Allahu Akbar! How many of you felt it?” he said.

Canadian broadsheet newspaper the National Post reported in February this year that at least two universities had cancelled his planned speaking engagements after the controversial comments came to light.

According to his public events schedule, Mr Hamdi has already appeared at an event at a wedding venue in northern Melbourne and at the University of Adelaide.

Two weeks ago, he shared the stage with controversial anti-Israel Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah in a five-person panel at Bankstown Sports Club Theatre in Sydney’s west.

On Tuesday, Mr Hamdi appeared at the University of Sydney’s pro-Palestine encampment which held a protest in response to the unfolding Israeli attack into Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold in the Gaza Strip.

“The power that you are manifesting, that is making them panic so much,” he said. “When Biden and Netanyahu wanted to break UNRWA by cancelling the funding, EU ended up restoring the funding because of you!

“Australia restored the funding because of you! Canada restored its funding because of you!”

He continued with a list of countries that had restored funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, the chief aid agency that was enveloped in scandal following allegations at least 12 staff had directly participated in the October 7 attacks.

“Do not let them come at you with anti-Semitism for they are starting to rebrand what anti-Semitism is,” he said. “After the Holocaust – an anti-Semitic European phenomenon – the Jews went to the only haven they knew, they came to Muslim lands and Palestine and unfurled the banner, ‘please don’t do to us what the Europeans did to us’.

“Do not let them change history. The anti-Semites are the ones supporting genocide.”

The encampment protest at the University of Sydney has now remained standing for more than a week. Its protest on Tuesday heard chants of “from the river to the sea”, which Anthony Albanese on Monday said expressed opposition to a two-state solution.

A University of Sydney spokesperson, when asked about Mr Hamdi’s address and previous statements, said the university would “not hesitate to take disciplinary action where needed”.

“Political speech, even when confronting, is not necessarily a breach of our policies or codes of conduct – but we will not tolerate any form of racism, threats to safety, hate speech, intimidation, threatening speech, bullying or unlawful harassment on our campus,” the spokesperson said.

After The Australian contacted the encampment organisers for comment, they took down the video of Mr Hamdi from their Instagram account.

Mr Hamdi is scheduled to appear at the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland in the coming week.

A spokesperson for the University of Queensland, when contacted for comment, said the university was now “considering” whether the talk should proceed.

“The venue booking was made prior to the current encampments on campus,” they said.

“In light of the recent developments and calls for social cohesion on Australian university campuses, we are considering if the event should proceed and will advise organisers of the outcome as soon as possible.”

(continued)

>>20837099

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Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin condemned Mr Hamdi’s appearance. “The fact that anti-Israel fanatics can openly support a listed terror organisation, vilify and abuse Jewish students, radicalise children in plain sight and profess their euphoria at mass atrocities, is an embarrassment to our institutions of higher learning,” he said.

“These individuals have no place in civilised society, much less being in the company of students. It is made possible by insipid leadership and it is a danger to our society.”

There were scattered protests on university pro-Palestine encampments across the country in response to Israel’s bombardment of Rafah.

At Deakin University, protesters appeared to be chanting “f*ck off, Zionist scum” while filming and dancing in front of another person who was carrying a flagpole with both the Israeli and Australian flags. In another incident, The Australian has seen videos from the same campus of a crowd chanting “f*ck, f*ck, Zionists” as a man walked away with a large Australian flag.

Separately, University of Queensland vice-Chancellor Deborah Terry revealed she had reported some protesters to police.

In a memo to staff and students on Tuesday, Professor Terry said the university was “taking appropriate action, including having an inappropriate flag removed, addressing anti-social behaviour and escalating matters, where appropriate, to Queensland Police,‘’ she wrote.

“Whilst the vast majority of protest activities have been civil, there have been a few incidents from a small number of individuals that are unacceptable.”

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), the government regulator of universities, also said it had received two complaints about universities failing to keep students safe during protests.

“TEQSA is engaging directly with universities where protest activities are taking place to better understand how these universities are assuring student and staff safety and freedom of speech,” a spokesman said.

“Since 7 October 2023, TEQSA has received 2 complaints related to the conflict in the Middle East.”

TEQSA did not give more details of the complaints, but its outgoing chief commissioner, Professor Peter Coaldrake – who will step down this week – told The Australian that universities have “a very important obligation to protect freedom of speech.’’

“They also have a responsibility to provide safe environments for their staff and students and visitors,’’ he said.

“The balancing of all those is very complex.’’

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/university-of-sydney-campus-speaker-sami-hamdi-said-to-celebrate-victory-of-israel-attack/news-story/1b654eb236595aaecb5d01e2d2b733a7

>>20686589

>>20789170

Men caught ‘in mangroves’ in Torres Strait after trying to enter Australia illegally

SARAH ELKS, LYDIA LYNCH and CHARLIE PEEL - MAY 8, 2024

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New video has emerged of five men detained by Australian Border Force officials on Saibai Island, in the far-northern reaches of the Torres Strait, after they were caught in mangroves attempting to enter Australia illegally.

The short clip, captured by a local on Saibai, shows the five men – reportedly from West Africa – shrouded in blankets and flanked by four Border Force officers under a shelter on the island.

Saibai is only about 4km from mainland Papua New Guinea, and PNG can be seen from the Torres Strait island. The men are understood to have travelled to PNG, via Indonesia, before attempting to enter Queensland in the latest brazen bid at illegal arrival.

Saibai Island councillor Chelsea Aniba said the men were spotted on Monday by local hunters in an uninhabited part of the island, known to be crocodile habitat.

Ms Aniba told The Australian that the men – who she said were African – were then brought to the community.

“They were found in an uninhabited place, and you know where there are crocs around,” she said.

“I do not know if they were fearing for their life … who knows how long they were there for, and we don’t know how they got there.”

Ms Aniba – who was recently elected in the March local government elections – wrote to the Australian Border Force just weeks ago requesting another officer to back up Saibai’s sole monitoring officer, and asking for compliance powers for the worker.

She said the monitoring officer had no power to do anything but watch arrivals, and was always busy with traditional arrivals from Papua New Guinea under the Torres Strait Treaty.

“The department needs to work with the regional council for a better way to protect our 15 islands (of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council),” she said.

“We are all that lies between PNG and Australia.”

The group was undergoing medical checks in the Torres Strait on Tuesday evening and had travelled to PNG, via Indonesia, before attempting to enter Queensland, The Australian understands.

PNG’s Post-Courier newspaper reported the men were from the West African nation of Senegal and were travelling with fraudulent documents.

An Indonesian immigration official from Skow, the only border post between Indonesia’s Papua province and Papua New Guinea, told The Australian a number of Rwandans crossed into PNG on tourist visas on April 18.

The official said it was rare to see foreigners pass through the border crossing, which was usually only used by Papua New Guineans, Indonesians and Malaysians working in palm oil companies in PNG.

The Rwandans had obtained visas on arrival after landing at Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta international airport.

PNG Assistant Police Commissioner Hodges Ette told Post Courier the men were found in mangroves on Saibai Island while trying to run from ABF officials and had been ferried into Australian waters by five PNG nationals in a dinghy.

“Their whole travel was to get into Australia, and they have already broken several laws including coming into the country illegally,” he said.

“While they tried to run from the border task force, they were caught at the mangroves. The men are now being dealt with in Australia.”

(continued)

>>20837133

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Torres Strait Island Regional Council mayor Philemon Mosby said it was a “reality check” for the current border protection measures.

“I’m not happy that in this day and age and the technology that we have that this has occurred, but it’s a reality check of the current system and investment and interest of Australian government presence in our region,” he said.

Liberal Party MP Warren Entsch, whose electorate of Leichhardt includes Cape York, said he was not surprised that the men had been apprehended so quickly.

He said the joint treaty zone that permits the cross-border movement of people between the islands was a dearly protected right.

“It doesn’t surprise me that they were caught,” Mr Entsch told The Australian.

“Don’t underestimate the vigilance of the locals.

“If they do see something they think isn’t right they won’t hesitate to report it. They don’t want to disturb the system that they have.”

The region is patrolled by the Army’s 51st Far North Queensland Regiment, which includes C Company, based out of Sarpeye Barracks on Thursday Island.

Most of its reservists are Torres Strait Islanders, which Mr Entsch said gave the unit a wide, trusted intelligence network.

In 2017, it was reported that a boat carrying six Chinese men and an alleged people smuggler from PNG landed on Saibai Island.

Five of the men were sent back to China, and one was charged with people smuggling, along with the Papua New Guinean national.

Under the Torres Strait Treaty – signed by PNG and Australia in 1978 and in action since 1985 – there is free movement for traditional activities between the two nations, including fishing, trading and marriage celebrations.

It is only allowed for Torres Strait Islanders from the northernmost islands (including Saibai) and the PNG Treaty Villages.

The landing of suspected asylum seekers in the Torres Strait follows a rash of illegal maritime arrivals on the West Australian mainland between November and last month.

Three boatloads of people have been detained in the six-month period on the Kimberley coast in northwest Australia, sparking increased patrols by Australian Border Force authorities on the lookout for faster boats.

None of the boats were found, leading authorities to believe faster, more seaworthy boats were being used, and then the asylum seekers were being told to hide for a few days before seeking help to allow the people smugglers to escape.

The most recent arrival, in April, was a group of about 10 Chinese men, who wandered onto an airbase in the northwest.

In February, about 40 men believed to be from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were found on Western Australia’s remote Dampier Peninsula.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/men-caught-in-mangroves-after-trying-to-enter-australia-illegally/news-story/f9df78e3cdec202c04c01bd757881ecb

https://www.postcourier.com.pg/illegal-border-crossers-caught-trying-to-enter-aust/

>>20793630

AstraZeneca withdraws COVID-19 vaccine citing a decline in demand

Reuters / ABC - 8 May 2024

AstraZeneca has initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic.

"As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company said.

The surplus had led to a decline in demand for its vaccine, known as Vaxzevria since 2021, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied, the company said.

The company said it would also proceed to withdraw the vaccine's marketing authorisations within Europe.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been available in Australia since March 21, 2023.

It was linked to a rare but serious side effect, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TSS), according to the Department of Health and Aged Care.

In TSS, a person develops blood clots (thrombosis), which can appear in different parts of the body, combined with a low blood platelet count.

Other COVID-19 vaccines are not associated with TSS.

After AstraZeneca-linked TSS cases were reported in March 2021, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation updated its advice to recommend a different vaccine for people under 50 due to their slightly higher risk of developing the condition.

From June 2021, an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine was recommended to people under 60.

The Department of Health estimated the rate of TSS from Vaxzevria to be about two in every 100,000 in people over 60, and about two to three in 100,000 in people under 60.

Cases were reported in all ages, some mild and others fatal.

Some 13 million AstraZeneca doses were administered in Australia, with 173 "probable" or "confirmed" cases of TSS reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), a Department of Health spokesperson said.

The TGA reported 14 deaths linked to a COVID-19 vaccination, eight of which were associated with a case of TSS, the spokesperson said. No new deaths were identified since 2022.

AstraZeneca admitted that the vaccine caused side-effects such as blood clotting in court documents relating to a UK class action, The Telegraph reported.

The application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7, the newspaper wrote.

AstraZeneca began moving into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year after a slowdown in growth as COVID-19 medicine sales declined.

The latest advice by the Department of Health recommends one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as a primary course for most Australians, or two doses for those at risk of severe illness.

A COVID-19 booster dose is recommended for people aged 65 years and over every 12 months.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-08/astrazeneca-withdraws-covid-19-vaccine-vaxzevria/103819422

https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccines/advice-for-providers/clinical-guidance/tts

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/07/astrazeneca-withdrawing-covid-vaccine/

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

‘Legitimate, peaceful’: Anthony Albanese hits back at China spy claims

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 9, 2024

Anthony Albanese has pushed back against China’s claims an Australian helicopter was spying on a PLA-Navy exercise when a Chinese jet dropped flares in its flightpath, declaring the ADF was engaged in “legitimate, peaceful activity” at the time.

A Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman alleged on Wednesday the Seahawk helicopter was trying to conduct “close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training activities of the Chinese side”.

But Mr Albanese said the Australian aircraft did nothing wrong.

“Australian Defence Force personnel were engaged in international waters, in international skies, and engaged in international work consistent with the United Nations sanctions being imposed on North Korea.

“It was legitimate, peaceful activity, which should be respected and … I’m proud of the role that Australian Defence Force personnel play in upholding international law and international sanctions, and the appropriate processes as determined by the United Nations.

“This action by China was unprofessional and unacceptable. We’ve made that very, very clear going forward.”

Beijing on Wednesday changed its story on the confrontation, accusing the Seahawk’s crew of trying to spy on a PLA-Navy ­exercise in the Yellow Sea.

“A Chinese naval fleet conducted training in relevant waters of China’s Yellow Sea from May 3 to 4, during which the Australian guided-missile destroyer HMAS Hobart dispatched a ship-borne helicopter … three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training activities of the Chinese side,” Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said.

He said Chinese forces sent a “vocal warning” to the Australian helicopter before conducting “legitimate, reasonable, professional and safe operations to expel it”.

Mr Albanese said the incident was “unprofessional and unacceptable”, and the government had lodged protests with Chinese officials in Canberra and Beijing.

“This is an area of disagreement. We’ve called it out,” he said.

But Colonel Zhang called on Australia to “truly respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns and “cease spreading false narratives” about the incident. “Australia’s statement confuses right and wrong and shifts the blame. We’re firmly opposed to that,” he said.

The Chinese jet dropped flares about 60m above and 300m in front of the helicopter, which was policing sanctions against North Korea in international waters, forcing the aircraft to take evasive action.

China’s Foreign Ministry claimed on Tuesday that the Australian aircraft “deliberately ­approached China’s airspace … ­endangering China’s maritime and air security”.

Mr Albanese said the comment was “confirmation that there’s no question that the Australian ­Defence Force personnel were both in international waters and in international airspace”.

Peter Dutton pressed his ­attack on the Prime Minister over the incident, calling for him to raise the matter directly with Xi Jinping. “We shouldn’t put the lives of our Australian Defence Force members at risk, and that’s what’s happening at the moment when the Prime Minister continues his silence,” the Opposition Leader said. “China doesn’t know red lines if the Prime Minister doesn’t point out very clearly where they are.”

The Albanese government opted against hauling in Beijing’s top diplomat to protest the near-miss. The ambassador was ­instead contacted by phone by an unnamed Australian official.

Neither Defence Minister Richard Marles nor Foreign Minister Penny Wong sought phone calls with their Chinese counterparts over the incident.

An Australian official told The Australian the helicopter and the ship it was flown from were operating well outside China’s contiguous zone, in which Beijing can legally prevent intrusions.

The fallout over the incident comes as the government ramps up its pushback against China in the Pacific with a $110m package for Tuvalu.

The budget package is for the first stage of the nations’ Falepili Union, which establishes special visas for Tuvaluans to live and work in Australia in return for a right of veto over the country’s ­future security relationships.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/australian-helicopter-on-a-spy-mission-says-china/news-story/6db0cfd83a935da4527bf24696b388ef

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

Defence chief rejects China's spying accusation after helicopter's near miss in confrontation

Andrew Greene - 9 May 2024

Beijing's claim that an Australian helicopter was attempting to spy on the Chinese military has been rejected by Defence chief Angus Campbell, who insists the Seahawk was behaving "professionally" when it was targeted by flares.

In his first comments since last weekend's military confrontation in international waters, General Campbell has hit back at suggestions the Australian military was provoking China while operating in the Yellow Sea on a UN mission.

"The incident involving our helicopter was unsafe and unprofessional," he told reporters after addressing the Air and Space Power Conference in Canberra.

Asked directly about Beijing's accusation that the Australian helicopter was launched repeatedly from HMAS Hobart to conduct "close-in reconnaissance" of training activities, General Campbell insists it was China who acted inappropriately.

"The helicopter was behaving in a correct and disciplined fashion, and I don't accept that the response was anything but unsafe and unprofessional," he said.

"I'd encourage actively all our military partners internationally throughout the world to conduct themselves in a professional and in a safe manner, and that's what I expect our people to give.

"In the circumstances that occurred we were not satisfied, and very reasonably not satisfied with regard to both safety and professionalism."

General Campbell declined to say whether he planned to directly contact his Chinese counterpart to relay Australia's concerns over the incident, which occurred in international waters off the South Korean coast.

On Monday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said a People's Liberation Army-Air Force plane had dropped flares about 300 metres in front of the Seahawk helicopter and about 60 metres above it, forcing the pilot to take urgent evasive action.

Britain's visiting Air Force Chief has suggested Australia's Defence Force should release any imagery it had of the confrontation to help call out China's "unprofessional" conduct.

During his speech, General Campbell also gave an impassioned defence of Australia's AUKUS plans for nuclear-powered submarines, telling critics to stop "cringing" about the massive project.

"We are so good at telling ourselves what we can't do," General Campbell said, while invoking past criticisms of other large endeavours such as building the Sydney Harbour Bridge or Snowy Mountains Scheme.

"I don't cringe when thinking about the defence of this nation, and I don't think anybody else should either," he told the audience of Australian and international military leaders in Canberra.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-09/defence-denies-spying-china-jet-flare-confrontation/103827682

>>20827002

>>20831574

>>20836959

Beijing’s bullying needs to be called out, loud and clear

PETER JENNINGS - MAY 9, 2024

Defence Minister Richard Marles was absolutely right to call out China publicly for the “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” in which a People’s Liberation Army jet dropped flares in the flight path of an Australian helicopter operating off the air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart in international waters near the Korean Peninsula.

China’s action could have downed the helicopter if the flares had damaged rotor blades or been ingested by the engine. This follows an incident last November when two divers from the frigate HMAS Toowoomba were injured by a Chinese use of a sonar system.

Both ships were enforcing internationally agreed sanctions against North Korea and looking to prevent the north from exporting weapons by sea.

Apart from the risk to Australian Defence Force people and platforms it is noteworthy that China is aggressively undermining sanctions enforcement against North Korea – now a major supplier of artillery ammunition to Russia for use in Ukraine.

That should lend extra weight to the strength of Australian protests against Beijing’s bad behaviour. It may be unsafe and unprofessional but you can be certain these military actions, in a strategic if not tactical sense, are centrally directed from the top in Beijing. China’s military leaders are seeking to push the military forces of all other countries (bar Russia and North Korea) as far away as possible from their claimed territories.

Late last year the US Defence Department released a list of several hundred similar incidents involving the PLA in recent years.

It is astonishing that some of these incidents haven’t already led to air crashes, ships sinking and deaths. This will happen unless China can be jolted into changing its behaviour.

Marles is emerging as the one government minister willing to take a reasonably tough public rhetorical line about Chinese actions. As Defence Minister he has no other choice. Like some of his predecessors in the job he has presumably read deeply into classified reporting about China’s relentless attempts to threaten, undermine, compromise or otherwise attack its Indo-Pacific neighbours.

It’s disappointing that Marles is receiving half-hearted support from his ministerial colleagues. Anthony Albanese talks awkwardly and without precision about “communications with China” to express Australian unhappiness. The Prime Minister foreshadows that he will raise the issue with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on his June visit. That should be an absolute priority: Chinese senior leaders are sensitive to public criticism.

Albanese should not lose an opportunity to be seen to push back against Beijing’s bullying as a way to correct the impression that he has been too fawning and susceptible to Communist Party flattery.

Beyond comments to our media and polite diplomatic exchanges with Chinese leaders, my view is that the Australian government needs to look harder for actions that seek to impose some cost on Beijing for its aggressive and risky behaviour.

Nothing has been said at the political level – or in senior military-to-military exchanges – that would lead Beijing’s Communist Party hardheads to curb their military risk-taking. Australia needs to make it clear to China that risking the lives of ADF personnel is unacceptable and will have conseq­uences. Measures that should be considered include sending the Chinese defence attache home. Let’s be clear, the role is purely an intelligence-gathering mission.

(continued)

>>20841268

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Australia could choose to pause the promised resumption of the very limited military exercising and training we do with the PLA. We also should hit the pause button on senior level Defence and ADF-PLA talks.

Frankly there is no substance in these highly formulaic encounters. In the Xi Jinping era there is no such thing as candid discussions. So why reward China with the look of defence legitimacy after it routinely threatens our military?

Australia also should pursue more formal agreements with military counterparts in the Indo-Pacific on safety at sea and in air operations. Mostly these conventions are well understood and respected, but there would be value in Australia convening an Indo-Pacific discussion on how to deal with such incidents.

China could choose to participate or not in such a multilateral discussion. No country at the table would miss the reality that Beijing is the problem here.

Finally, just as Australia has applied its new sanctions legislation to ban a Russian involved in ransomware attacks on our citizens, so too could we sanction PLA commanding officers of ships, squadrons and units that engage in threatening and risky actions.

The message should be clear: if you threaten ADF personnel don’t plan on visiting here any time in the future. Will the Albanese government do any of this? Probably not. But low-key political rhetoric will not change Beijing’s behaviour. We have paid a high price in terms of compromising our strategic interests to supposedly stabilise our relations with China.

The test for the Albanese government is to know when and how to push back against bullying behaviour. Failure to get this right means China will continue to threaten our people at sea and in the air.

No Australian government should just shrug its shoulders at that reality.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/beijings-bullying-needs-to-be-called-out-loud-and-clear/news-story/b6ba37bc6b508e46153d27bb1e380974

>>20550335

>>20789187

Police called in after radical activists hijack Gaza war protests at universities

NATASHA BITA - MAY 8, 2024

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Hardline activists have hijacked student peace protests as universities call in police to investigate claims of violence on campus.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare on Wednesday demanded universities “throw the book at blow-ins’’, as the federal opposition denounced “cesspits of activism’’ and flagged a Senate inquiry into anti-Semitism at ­universities.

“There is no place for hate or the poison of anti-Semitism at our universities or anywhere else and there is no place for blow-ins coming into universities to intimidate students,’’ Mr Clare said.

At Monash University in Melbourne, students filmed pro-­Palestine activist Mohammad Sharab as he swore at Jewish students at the Clayton campus on Wednesday. “I am a Palestinian from Gaza,’’ he told a Jewish student trying to walk past the pro-Palestine protesters.

“What you are experiencing right now is exactly what I experienced my entire f.cking life, going from one city to the other, through checkpoints. Look how uncomfortable you are.

“Israel is a terrorist state and Zionism is a terrorist entity. Now get your phone and f.ck off.’’

Mr Sharab is on bail over ­charges of alleged kidnapping and assault.

Another visitor to the campus on Wednesday was activist Ihab al-Azhari, who was filmed telling pro-Palestinian protesters not to let the Jewish students past.

Mr Azhari, founder of the Sit-Intifada protest movement, was filmed on the steps of Victoria’s parliament on Monday declaring that “7 October is just the bloody beginning of it’’.

Hamas terrorists raided an Israeli music festival on October 7, killing and kidnapping 1200 civilians and triggering the five-month Gaza-Israeli war to free hostages.

“You are going to have plenty of 7 Octobers coming, plenty of it,’’ he was filmed saying on Monday.

A Monash University spokesman yesterday refused to say why the two activists, who are not staff or students, were on campus.

“Monash has referred a number of matters to police,’’ he said. “We will take all necessary action to ensure the safety of students and the Monash community.’’

Monash University also revealed it had asked social media platforms to remove posts stating that “Zionists … are not welcome’’ on campus, following “expert independent” advice.

“Our best judgement, based on that advice, is that this statement likely constitutes harassment and/or vilification,’’ it said.

“We have reported and form­ally requested the relevant social media platforms remove the unacceptable posts.’’

At the University of Queensland, police are investigating the alleged assault of two security guards since rival pro-Palestinian and pro-Jewish protesters pitched tents at opposite ends of the great court last week.

A woman was fined after reportedly urinating in the office of a Jewish academic.

“Investigations are ongoing into the alleged assault of two security guards by two men at the educational facility earlier this month,’’ a Queensland Police Service spokesperson said.

“While we respect the right for anyone in Queensland to protest peacefully, violence of any kind will not be tolerated.

“Police will act swiftly if any acts reach a criminal threshold.’’

(continued)

>>20841292

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Queensland police said they had fined a 23-year-old West End woman for trespassing, and then taken her to hospital after she “attended a study area before allegedly creating a disturbance’’ on May 3. The next day, they were called to another “disturbance’’ at the university and charged a 23-year-old West End woman with public nuisance.

A UQ spokeswoman said it had sought “police support on another matter involving a student and staff member, which has been conflated with the protests on campus’’.

“While the behaviour of the student is unacceptable, there were extenuating circumstances relating to this matter,’’ she said.

“The university has a duty of care to the student and staff member, and cannot comment further on this matter.’’

Outside activists were present at both rival protest camps at UQ throughout the week, including stalls set up by the Revolutionary Communist Organisation and the Socialist Alternative group, which prevented students from speaking to journalists.

The pro-Palestinian camp displayed a sign “Join the camp!! F.ck your classes!!!’’

UQ emeritus professor Tor Hundloe – a veteran protester hailed by his university as the “green Viking’’ – yesterday wrote to UQ vice-chancellor Deborah Terry complaining about outsiders “squatting’’ on campus.

He said outsiders were “prohibiting free speech’’ by students.

“Some obvious ringleaders/controllers of the protesters are not students or university staff,’’ he wrote. “Nevertheless, as squatters, they had taken it upon themselves to erect tents on the campus. What I witnessed on campus … was akin to enemies in the trenches. Debate was out of the question.’’

A Senate inquiry into anti-Semitism on campus will be demanded by the Coalition when parliament resumes next week.

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said universities should “dismantle these cesspits of activism’’.

“(This) is flourishing at some universities because of a failure of moral courage and leadership by the Albanese government and some vice-chancellors,’’ she said.

“Allowing the establishment of encampments opens the floodgates to round-the-clock occupation by extremist protesters, including those who have no connection with a university.

“There must be zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.

“This is a level of harassment that would not be tolerated for any other group of students.

“These cesspits of activism, in flagrant breach of university policies, must be shut down.’’

Mr Clare said he had made it clear to universities that “there is nothing more important than the safety of students and staff on campus’’.

He said the university regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, had set up a “regulatory response team to proactively monitor the actions universities are taking’’.

Police are also probing an incident filmed at Monash University on Tuesday, when a Jewish student wrapped himself in the Israeli flag and sat within the pro-Palestinian protest space.

A group of pro-Palestinian protesters stood over him, screaming “Free free Palestine’’ into a megaphone pointed at his ear while shining a bright light into his eyes, as two Monash University security guards watched on in silence.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/police-called-in-after-radical-activists-hijack-gaza-war-protests-at-universities/news-story/5d109c38932c444969262b29154c3c60

>>20793630

Premiers blasted by Greg Hunt for Covid overreach without medical advice

JESS MALCOLM - MAY 8, 2024

Former health minister Greg Hunt has hit out at states and territories over “unilateral” health decisions taken during the pandemic that were not backed by medical advice, recommending all jurisdictions be forced to formally commit to a new national code mandating all medical advice be published.

In a submission to the federal government’s inquiry into Covid, Mr Hunt was critical of actions taken by premiers that were not the subject of commonwealth advice nor the advice of their chief medical officers.

Mr Hunt hit out at Victoria in particular over decisions taken by former premier Daniel Andrews to implement stringent curfews, a 5km radius as well as the state’s choice not to use ADF personnel at hotel quarantine facilities.

“Subsequent unilateral decisions of some states outside of the national cabinet framework, such as Victoria’s curfews or 5km movement restrictions, were not the subject of commonwealth advice and nor to the best of my ­knowledge has the medical advice for such restrictions been released or affirmed at state level,” he said.

Mr Hunt urged premiers and chief ministers to commit to not taking “unilateral decisions against national cabinet decisions unless there is published and signed medical advice”.

Mr Hunt suggested Australia’s presumption of individual freedom was under threat without a formal commitment from the states to avoid unilateral decision making, recommending all state leaders adopt a uniform national code for pandemic management mandating medical advice be published for any restrictive measures.

While this was not legally required for Mr Hunt under the nation’s biosecurity laws, he said the routine publication of medical advice underpinning policy changes during the pandemic was a practice the former Coalition government adopted, and recommended the Biosecurity Act be amended.

Mr Hunt, who is expected to appear in front of the inquiry’s panel on Thursday, also urged the federal government to implement a public awareness campaign for booster shots, and warned rates of immunisation had plunged. Indigenous booster rates had fallen significantly since mid-2022.

The independent panel overseeing the 12-month inquiry includes chair and retired public service boss Robyn Kruk, epidemiologist Catherine Bennett and economist Angela Jackson.

The former cabinet minister also said there had been a 163 per cent increase in recorded Covid-19 deaths in aged care since Labor took office in May 2022, calling on the Albanese government to implement a five-year aged care plan to manage the virus.

“One concern is that despite Covid-19 having transitioned from pandemic to endemic status, in the period from May 19, 2022, to March 21, 2024 resident deaths in aged care have increased by 3947, or 163 per cent,” Mr Hunt said.

“This indicates the need for … support in the form of PPE, infection control and training, workforce support and vaccination support for staff and residents.”

Mr Hunt said the four most significant decisions taken by the Morrison government during the pandemic were closing the border with China, the establishment of universal Telehealth and the integration of the private hospital system within the public sector, the national vaccine manufacturing program, and economic stimulus initiatives including JobKeeper and JobSeeker.

Mr Hunt said the commonwealth’s decision to close its border with China was fundamental to helping Australia achieve one of the lowest rates of loss of life globally, calling it “the most important peacetime decision taken by any Australian government since World War II”.

According to analysis of his records, Mr Hunt said he attended approximately 50 high-level decision-making meetings relating to Covid in March 2020 – underscoring the importance of co-­ordination between all levels of government during the pandemic – and gave about 65 press conferences and media interviews.

“Ultimately, Covid-19 was a global pandemic with immense pain, suffering and loss, both within Australia and globally.

“No country escaped unharmed; however, very few countries emerged with a lower loss of life and less economic damage than Australia.

“The findings of the March 2024 global burden of disease study which showed Australia increased life expectancy in 2020 and 2021 by 0.2 years while the global average decreased 1.6 years is the single most important and telling assessment of how Australia fared relative to other countries.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/premiers-blasted-by-greg-hunt-for-covid-overreach-without-medical-advice/news-story/b4785fc39b13f9b29941701c7f370368

https://www.pmc.gov.au/domestic-policy/commonwealth-government-covid-19-response-inquiry

https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/submissions/PMC-CGCRI-2024-2173.pdf

>>20731815

>>20751248

Australian Government Threatens Gab With $500,000 Fine For Refusing To Censor Video

Andrew Torba - May 8, 2024

This morning Gab received a notice from the Australian government threatening us with a fine of $500,000 for refusing to censor a video of the tragic attack at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in western Sydney. The video was posted by a Gab user and followed with a heartfelt message from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who was wounded in the attack.

The footage of the attack at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church that the Australian government wants us to remove is undeniably distressing to watch, as it captures the sheer brutality and senselessness of the violence that unfolded. While it may be challenging for some viewers to bear witness to such a tragic event, it is crucial to recognize that this video serves a vital purpose in informing the public about the reality of this horrific incident. Furthermore, the video’s inclusion of a heartfelt testimony from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who was a victim in the attack, adds an essential layer of context and humanizes the impact of this devastating event. As a result, the footage is undeniably newsworthy and in the public interest, shedding light on the tragic consequences of violence and the resilience of those who have been directly affected by it.

As a platform committed to free speech principles, Gab refused to comply with the censorship demands of the Australian government. We believe that the right to free speech is fundamental and are determined to stand up against any attempts to suppress it. If you would like to support us in our efforts to combat this attack on free speech from the Australian government you can make a donation here or upgrade to GabPRO here.

The Australian government’s threat to Gab is a clear violation of our users’ freedom of speech. The notice states that “Failure to comply with the Notice may result in enforcement action, including the commencement of civil penalty proceedings for a civil penalty order of up to a maximum penalty of $782,500 (AUD) for a single contravention by a body corporate.” This is equivalent to $500,000 in USD.

Gab’s Response: We refuse to succumb to the pressure of the Australian government and will not censor the video posted by our user. We stand by our commitment to free speech and support the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in their time of need. We encourage our users to share their thoughts, prayers, and support for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the entire congregation affected by this tragedy.

Gab was founded in 2016 as an alternative to mainstream social media platforms that are known for their overly censorious and biased policies against conservative viewpoints. We believe in providing a platform where users can express themselves freely within the bounds of American law. Our leadership style is characterized by vocal advocacy for free speech and a staunch opposition to Silicon Valley’s monopolistic control over online discourse.

We urge our users to stand with Gab in our fight for free speech and support for the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church. Share your thoughts, prayers, and support for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the congregation on Gab, and help us spread the word about this important issue. Together, we can demonstrate that the power of free speech is stronger than any government’s attempt to suppress it. Let’s stand united in our commitment to protect and preserve free speech online for everyone.

Andrew Torba

CEO, Gab.com

Christ is King

https://news.gab.com/2024/05/australian-government-threatens-gab-with-500000-fine-for-refusing-to-censor-video/

https://gab.com/DonMatchett/posts/112278079173114632

https://shop.dissenter.com/category/donations

https://pro.gab.com/upgrade

>>20141992 (pb)

>>20147812 (pb)

Christian extremist allegedly linked to Wieambilla police shooting, Donald Day, offered plea deal by the FBI

Lawrence Jeffcoat - 9 May 2024

An American man with alleged links to Queensland's Wieambilla police shootings has been offered a plea deal.

Arizona District Attorney Gary Restaino filed the court motion to have a pre-trial hearing delayed to allow time for Donald Day Jr and his lawyers to consider the deal.

"A plea offer has been extended and the deadline for acceptance is May 17," Mr Restaino said in court documents.

After a joint Queensland Police Service and FBI investigation, Mr Day was arrested in December and charged with two counts of making an interstate threat.

In January, he was further charged with illegal gun possession and threatening FBI agents added.

The 58-year-old is alleged to have communicated directly with Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train online, sending messages containing Christian end-of-days ideology.

Police constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow and neighbour Alan Dare were killed in the religiously motivated terrorist attack by the Trains, who were later shot dead by specialist police.

The officers were responding to a missing person report on December 12, 2022, at the property shortly before they were fired upon.

An FBI search of Mr Day's property outside of Phoenix, Arizona also found nine firearms and thousands of rounds ammunition.

A court hearing will be held in the US on May 20.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-09/-qld-police-shooting-wieambilla-donald-day-us-plea-deal/103824250

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20780521

Australian regulator says Musk's X should not set limits of internet law

Byron Kaye - May 10, 2024

SYDNEY, May 10 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's X has policies to take down harmful content when it chooses but should not be allowed to overrule Australian law in deciding what can be viewed there, a lawyer for the cyber regulator told a hearing into video of a bishop being stabbed.

X, formerly Twitter, is fighting an order by the eSafety Commissioner to remove 65 posts showing video of an Assyrian Christian bishop being knifed mid-sermon in Sydney last month, in what authorities called a terrorist attack.

"X says … global removal is reasonable when X does it, because X wants to do it, but it becomes unreasonable when X is told to do it by the laws of Australia," Tim Begbie, the lawyer, told a hearing of the Federal Court, Australia's second-highest.

Other platforms, such as Meta, took down the content quickly when asked, he said, adding that X had policies to remove very harmful content, as responsible services did.

But X's opposition to global removal could not be right as it would determine the definition of "reasonable" within the terms of Australia's Online Safety Act, he added.

The company Musk bought in 2022, with a declared mission to save free speech, says it has blocked Australia from seeing the posts but refuses to remove them globally on the grounds that one country's rules should not control the internet.

Begbie said the dispute was not a debate about free speech but rather about the practicality of the Australian law that gives the regulator power to protect citizens from the most objectionable content.

Geo-blocking Australians, the solution X offered, was ineffective because a quarter of the population used virtual private networks that disguise their locations, he added.

"Global removal in these circumstances is a reasonable step," he said. "It would achieve what parliament intended, which is no accessibility to end users in Australia."

X's lawyer, Bret Walker, said Australian laws left it open to interpretation what amounted to reasonable steps to protect the country from offensive content but the Musk-owned company had gone to reasonable lengths.

"The idea that it's better for the whole world not to see this obviously newsworthy matter, presumably to form their own views, and to consider the views of others … is in our submission a startling one," he told the court.

"There should be much more than a ripple of apprehension that this country would take the approach that if this is the only way we can control what's available to end users in Australia, then it's a reasonable step to deny it to everybody on earth."

While the matter has been in court, Federal Court Judge Geoffrey Kennett has issued a temporary takedown order of the posts. On Friday he extended the temporary order to June 10 when he will give a final decision.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/australian-regulator-says-musks-x-should-not-set-limits-internet-law-2024-05-10/

https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/1788846188034166915

>>20751248

>>20671085

>>20622417

Australia targets social media with parliamentary probe

Renju Jose - May 10, 2024

SYDNEY, May 10 (Reuters) - Australia announced on Friday that it would hold a parliamentary inquiry to look into the negative impacts of social media platforms, saying they have significant reach and control over what Australians see online, with almost no scrutiny.

The government has criticised social media platforms for not being quick enough to remove violent posts and seeks more oversight over content posted on Meta's Facebook, ByteDance's TikTok and Elon Musk-owned X.

"Across a range of issues, whether it be the issue of domestic violence, whether it be the radicalisation of our young people, across a range of areas, something that keeps popping up over and over again is the role of social media," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.

"(They) can be very positive but also can have a negative influence which is there."

Albanese's Labor government is already in a legal fight with Musk's X over a regulatory order asking the platform to take down videos of the stabbing attack on an Assyrian church bishop in Sydney last month.

X said it has blocked the posts for Australian users, but Australia's e-Safety Commissioner says the content should be taken down for all users since it shows explicit violence. Musk has posted memes criticising Albanese, describing the government's decision as censorship.

The joint parliamentary select committee will also check Meta's decision to withdraw from paying for news in Australia.

Meta declined to comment on the inquiry.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said Parliament needed to understand how social media companies "dial up and down the content that supports healthy democracies, as well as the anti-social content that undermines public safety."

"This inquiry will provide opportunity and resources for parliamentarians to closely scrutinise these companies and make recommendations on how we can make these platforms accountable for their decisions," Rowland said.

The government said it was still determining the terms and scope of the inquiry and did not specify who it would ask to testify. Some Australian parliamentary inquiries have powers to summon individuals to hearings.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/australia-targets-social-media-with-parliamentary-probe-2024-05-10/

>>20550335

>>20705252

>>20837033

Australia leans towards supporting resolution extending Palestinians' rights as United Nations observer

Patricia Karvelas and Georgia Roberts - 10 May 2024

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Australia is leaning towards supporting a resolution to extend Palestinians' rights as a United Nations observer, sources have told the ABC.

The ABC understands the UN General Assembly is no longer trying to grant membership to Palestine in a vote due to be put to the assembly later on Friday night AEST.

Instead, the resolution would extend rights to submit proposals, the right of reply regarding the positions of a group, and the right to raise procedural motions as an observer at the UN.

The resolution still expresses the aspiration for Palestine to attain membership.

It also explicitly rules out Palestine having a vote in the General Assembly.

The draft also expresses support for Israel's right to peaceful existence: "unwavering support for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders".

Australian sources said that the changes mean more "no" votes will now move to "abstentions" and more abstentions will move to "yes" votes.

A source said the prime minister was closely involved in the final deliberations, with Australia shifting to a "yes" disposition on the motion.

On Friday morning Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was still considering its vote, as were other countries as new information is shared between them.

"Countries are still negotiating … there is a lot of negotiation and discussion," she told ABC's RN.

"We will look at what the actual meaning [of] the resolution is, we will look at and we are focused on the situation on the ground, we want a humanitarian ceasefire, we want the release of hostages, we want to increase humanitarian aid."

The minister said that timing and the "situation on the ground" were impacting the country's decision on how it would vote.

"It's not a question of if we will recognise a Palestinian state, it is a question of when," Senator Wong said.

Senator Wong made her comments before it became clear that the UN did not intend to vote on granting full membership to Palestine.

In early April, the foreign minister used an address at the Australian National University to announce that the federal government continued to contemplate recognising Palestinian statehood, which she said remained in line with Australia's long support of a future two-state solution.

"There is a distinction between this vote in the United Nations and bilateral recognition, that is recognition by Australia, and one does not necessarily lead to the other," Senator Wong said.

When asked if Australia, which had previously abstained from voting on a call for an immediate humanitarian truce in the war last year, would abstain from this UN vote, Senator Wong would not be drawn. However, she did defend the choice of abstaining.

"It can send a message that whilst you don't agree with it in full, you're not going to stand in the way. So, abstentions are a common diplomatic position that countries take on matters," she said.

(continued)

>>20846766

2/2

Wong weighs in on encampments

The senator's comments come as encampments continue at Australian universities in support of Palestine. The encampments sprung up at campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra last week.

Students have called on their teaching institutions to disclose and cut ties with weapons manufacturers they say are supplying arms to Israel.

The minister said on Friday morning some of the language being used on campuses was "anti-Semitic" after the opposition had called for there to be an inquiry into anti-Semitism on campuses.

"Universities have to ensure that they are safe spaces for all students, regardless of who they are. Secondly, we do have a right to peaceful protest in this country. And people are entitled to protest in support of their views in a democracy," Senator Wong said.

Senator Wong referred to her speech given in April, which touched on social cohesion in Australia over the conflict in the Middle East.

"We must defend people's right to disagree, respectfully. We must ensure that we don't diminish each other in how we disagree," she said.

"There is too much of that … not only on campuses, but in our parliament, and amongst our politicians. The diminution of the other, the personal denigration, and the tenor of the language used by some in this debate, I think, is irresponsible."

The senator said she hoped the Coalition was "genuine" in its calls for an inquiry.

"If the objective is to actually try and generate social cohesion, then I'll be supportive. But if the objective is to create conflict and division, I think that's a problem," she said.

Albanese says chant 'not appropriate'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese doubled down on comments that the chant "from the river to the sea" would be incompatible with a two-state solution.

"The reason why 'from the river to the sea' is not appropriate whether it be, and it's been used from time to time over the years to describe either Palestine or Israel as one state, we support a two-state solution," he said.

He also echoed the call for social cohesion and respect in the debate over the conflict in the Middle East. He said there was no place for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia.

Senator Wong said she had always believed the chant was contrary to a two-state solution.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said this week the prime minister was "using the words of Palestinians against us, and is in essence telling us that the colonisation of Palestinian land is not enough".

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the pro-Palestinian chant was about "elimination, annihilation, extermination of the race of people of the Jewish faith – it's as simple as that".

On Sunday, Minister for Education Jason Clare said the phrase means different things to different people.

"I've seen people say that those words mean the annihilation of Israel. I've seen people say that it means the opposite. I've seen people say that they're slogans that Israeli political parties have used too," he said.

"What I'd say is this: what I want all Australians to be calling for is a two-state solution."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-10/wong-says-australia-still-considering-palestine-un-vote/103829356

>>20731815

>>20769937

>>20769978

Sack ASIO boss, probe arrests of teens on terror charges: Grand Mufti

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - MAY 10, 2024

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Muslim community leaders have called for the dismissal of ASIO chief Mike Burgess for comments he made that Sunni Islamic violent extremism poses the “greatest religiously motivated threat in Australia”, and claimed Muslim kids were being charged with terrorism offences because of “religious affiliations alone”.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, speaking on behalf of the Islamic leaders which included the Grand Mufti of Australia Sheikh Riad El-Refai, said some of the children charged with terrorism offences in Sydney were “targeted on the basis of faith”, as their parents watched on in support.

Sheikh Wesam demanded an inquiry into what led to the arrests of the teenagers, including transparency about the decision-making and who was involved, and said terrorism laws needed to change.

He also called for the probe to assess why no terrorism charges were laid for the man who left a homemade bomb outside pro-Palestinian’s house in Sydney.

In total: the 16-year-old has been charged with a terror offence for allegedly stabbing Bishop Emmanuel; three 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old boy have been charged with conspiring to commit a terror act. A 17-year-old and 14-year-old have been charged with possessing violent extremist material. All are from southwest or western Sydney.

“Seven young individuals were arrested and charged for possessing violent extremist material, even though the authorities admitted the absence of specific plans to commit a violent act, no specific locations or imminent threats to the community and … determined – and with no evidence – (for) the police to publicise the arrest in the manner that occurred, with 400 police officers and the media in tow,” Sheikh Wesam, also an expert in violent extremism, said.

“What this amplifies is the threat of arrest to the community that any Muslim found with commonly accessible digital content could be at risk of terrorist-related charges under the overtly broad interpretation used by the police. The lives of these minors have forever changed. They face severe consequences, and prolonged incarcerations. Religious profiling through institutional power, is something the community has endured since the so-called war on terrorism.

“The definition of terrorism includes elements that require an assessment by law enforcement individuals in determination processes. These appraisals should be impartial and objective but these recent arrests demonstrate that these decisions have been influenced by religious affiliations alone,” he said.

Sheikh Wesam said “these kids are just kids”.

“Somebody shared videos with them, and under the laws possessing violent extremist material, that is effectively readily-available material on the entire internet.

“What we’re saying here, very clearly, is these young kids were targeted on the basis of faith, religious profiling was occurring. And had they been of any other faith, that would have been a different issue.”

(continued)

>>20846807

2/2

In his annual threat assessment in Canberra in February, Mr Burgess said: “We have also observed an increase in rhetoric encouraging violence in response to the conflict. Hateful rhetoric has targeted Israel and the Jewish community, as well as Muslim and Palestinian communities. Sunni violent extremism poses the greatest religiously motivated violent extremist threat in Australia.”

Sheikh Wesam said it was “unacceptable for senior government officials, including law enforcement to make inflammatory comments that further stigmatise and marginalise the Muslim community” and called for the resignation of Mr Burgess.

Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir questioned why authorities were not going after those bad actors who were “grooming” the children online.

“We are condemning the acts, but we are not condemning the children,” he said.

“No other community is asked to condemn an act of an individual collectively. No other community if forced to say do you condemn this act.”

He added: “We, the Muslim community, seem to be bearing the brunt of certain individual acts that the community is collectively being punished for.”

In response, a NSW Police police spokesperson said: “The NSW Police Commissioner determined the Wakeley incident fell within the definition of a terrorist act under the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002 (NSW) and the incident was declared to be a Terrorist Act.

“The priority of the NSW Police Force is the safety and security of the community. When an incident occurs, police investigate the criminal activity and prosecute those responsible. Police do not target an individual based on their gender, sexuality, ethnicity or religion.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/sack-asio-boss-probe-arrests-of-teens-on-terror-charges-grand-mufti/news-story/072bb340065507e3d3fa5cc7cd2019ca

>>20852029

2/2

Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, said that expanding Palestine’s role at the UN “without direct negotiations is counterproductive and would only reward Hamas for the atrocities they committed on October 7”.

He said it was disappointing that Australia had voted differently to like-minded countries with which it was usually aligned.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the Labor government’s support for the resolution risks harming long-term peace prospects and sends a “shameful message” that violence and terrorism get results.

“By advancing the wishes of terrorists while securing nothing in return, this vote has reduced the incentive for parties to negotiate and increased the risks of future attacks or bloodshed,” he said.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said Australia should have joined the UK by abstaining from the vote.

“One can only conclude that Australia’s vote was driven by domestic political considerations, and not by principle, which makes it a sad and shameful day for all Australians,” he said.

“The Palestinian leadership is as autocratic, corrupt and divided as ever, and remains incapable of forming a single government with the capacity to rule over its claimed territory.”

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni welcomed Australia’s vote as “a favourable move towards a serious international commitment to Palestinian self-determination” but lamented the watering down of previous drafts.

“Even with this successful resolution, the UN has still failed to recognise Palestinians’ basic, inherent right to participate in decision-making about issues that directly affect their lives and political aspirations,” he said.

Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said the vote could not have come at a worse time because he believed it would undermine efforts to convince Hamas to release Israelis taken hostage on October 7.

“I feel like I have been stabbed in the heart,” he said.

Wong began laying the groundwork for supporting such a resolution last month in a speech emphasising the case for Palestinian statehood, separate to a final peace settlement with Israel.

Australia’s ambassador to the UN, James Larsen, told the General Assembly that Australia had been frustrated by the lack of recent progress towards a two-state solution.

Larsen stressed that the resolution “does not provide membership of the United Nations and retains the status of the permanent observer mission with a modest extension of additional rights”.

The vote came as the war in Gaza entered its eighth month, with Israel expanding ground operations in the southern city of Rafah and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that Israel would fight with its “fingernails” if necessary after the US withheld a delivery of bombs.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault, according to health officials in Gaza.

Late on Saturday, Israel ordered new evacuations in Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have been sheltering, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr gave the government “full marks” for the vote, saying it was a way to “salvage the two-state solution from both the settler fanatics and their leaders, and the fanatics of Hamas”.

Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said that a “yes vote is a vote for Palestinian existence – it is not against any state, but it is against the attempts to deprive us of our state”.

“It is an investment in peace and thus empowers the forces of peace,” he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-backs-un-resolution-supporting-palestinian-statehood-20240511-p5jcqt.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri5qgjOPulQ

https://twitter.com/ScoMo30/status/1789070928628060510

United States Space Force CSO speaks at Australian Air, Space Power Conference

Staff Sgt. Adam R. Shanks - May 10, 2024

U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman underscored the importance of the U.S.-Australia strategic partnership during the Royal Australian Air Force’s 2024 Air and Space Power Conference in Canberra, May 9.

The conference brought together members of Australia’s military forces and partners, including the U.S. Space Force, to discuss the nation’s security interests in air and space.

Saltzman’s keynote, titled Deterrence Down Under, began with a brief history of U.S. and Australian defense relations, starting with the Battle of Hamel in 1918 during World War I. In this engagement, U.S. Army infantry fought under the same command as Australian soldiers, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel in Northern France.

“This was the first time in history that U.S. Army troops were commanded operationally by non-American officers,” said Saltzman. “And by the end of the war, [General John Monash] said, ‘success is not measure by how high you climb, but by how many people you bring with you.’’

“I can’t think of a better vision of allies and partners than this, especially in this era of Great Power Competition.” Saltzman continued by underscoring the importance of the partnership between the two nations and their shared interest in maintaining free and open commerce in the Pacific and around the globe.

“Today, the space domain is radically different than when I started flying satellites decades ago,” Saltzman said. “And honestly, it’s radically different than even just four years ago when the U.S. Space Force was established … It has become congested because of more launches, more satellites, more debris, and more players in the space domain.”

China’s recent developments in space have created unacceptable risks, Saltzman explained, creating a rise in competition and orbital congestion.

“Now more than ever, joint and coalition force operations depend on space capabilities and protection from space-enabled attacks—our space forces are an integral part of the joint coalition team,” Saltzman stated.

He then discussed the U.S. Space Force’s theory of success, “Competitive Endurance,” which was unveiled in 2023. This theory of success provides the service and its Guardians with a shared purpose and a common understanding of the overall strategy employed toward its objectives. It defines organizing principles, clarifies assumptions and helps identify the equipment and training needed to be effective in the domain.

An important facet of Competitive Endurance is that it requires an enhanced level of Space Domain Awareness, or SDA. The importance of this awareness drives the need for new sensors, advanced data management and decision support tools, “and most importantly, stronger partnerships with allies around the world,” Saltman emphasized.

One such partnership is AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S, which continues to grow and develop more space capabilities, such as the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability, which falls under Pillar II of the agreement. DARC is a 24/7, all-weather system that increases the shared ability to detect, track, identify and characterize objects deep in space, and if necessary, take defensive action.

Saltzman then touched on the enhanced space cooperation agreement signed by U.S. Space Command and Australian Defense Space Command, deepening military collaboration through force development, combined training, and professional education opportunities.

Another topic Saltzman discussed is security classification reform.

“I think one of the biggest barriers to integration has been our outdated classification policies,” Saltzman said. “Now, to mitigate that barrier, earlier this year the U.S. released an updated classification policy—one that enables us to fundamentally rethink the way we approach classification of space systems and the effects they generate.”

This policy expands access to information and reduces barriers to space integration between the U.S. and its allies, partners and commercial space entities.

Saltzman closed by reiterating the goals of the AUKUS partnership in the space domain.

“All of these initiatives add to the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Australia, and they bolster our shared defensive capabilities by sending a clear message to potential adversaries—any attempt to undermine the security and stability of the [Indo-Pacific region] will be met with unwavering resolve,” he said. “A combined resolve we have demonstrated in the past, and one we will not hesitate to show in the future.”

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3772304/cso-speaks-at-australian-air-space-power-conference/

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